Lewis Wetzel (August 1763 – 1808) was a frontiersman and Indian fighter who roamed the hills of what is now the state of West Virginia and Ohio. Wetzel County, West Virginia is named for him. Zane Grey, the great Western novelist, wrote about Wetzel in his books Spirit Of The Border, Betty Zane, and The Last Trail. Wetzel was (and is) regarded as a hero by many Americans, a lesser-known version of Daniel Boone, although some scholars now consider him to be a murderer. [1]

Lewis was the son of a German emigrant named John Wetzel, who was later killed by Indians, and Mary Bonnet, daughter of Jean Jacques Bonnet of Friedrichstahl, Baden, Germany. The Wetzel and Bonnet families moved to the Wheeling Creek area in what is now the northern panhandle of West Virginia in 1770. The Wetzel family settled on a section far upstream from the Ohio River in a fairly isolated location.

In 1777, Lewis, then 14, and his brother Jacob were taken prisoner by Indians, but managed to escape. Lewis was shot in the leg during the capture. The young man vowed to avenge his family. Lewis and Jacob managed to return to the location of what is now Wheeling, West Virginia, which was then called Fort Henry. Lewis played an active part in the defense of that fort in the first siege of Fort Henry a couple weeks after his escape.

Wetzel later participated in some of the military campaigns against the Indian tribes in the Ohio region. Between the years of 1782 and 1787, he murdered several peaceful Indians, adding to a total including those killed during the fighting in 1786. He preferred to operate alone, and was often a disciplinary problem while serving with the militia. Lewis was implicated in the deaths of several peaceful Indians, which led to his being charged with murder by Colonel Josiah Harmar for the murder of a friendly Indian in the region of Fort Harmar, near present day Marietta, Ohio, in 1788. Lewis escaped before his trial. He eventually moved to New Orleans, where he spent several years in prison for counterfeiting. According to legend, Lewis and Clark asked Wetzel to join their expedition but he declined. This is unlikely to have actually occurred, as neither Lewis or Clark mention Wetzel in their letters or diaries and they were under strict orders to explore, not fight.

Accounts vary as to his life after that point. Some accounts state he died in 1808 in Mississippi, at the residence of his cousin Philip Sykes. Some accounts say he married a Spanish woman and lived to an old age. The 1808 date was probably correct, as a skeleton matching the description of Wetzel, which was buried along with a rifle and other equipment, as legend had it, was found at what was the former farm of Philip Sykes. This skeleton was reinterred in McCreary Cemetery in Marshall County, West Virginia.

His most famous trick was his ability to load his gun while sprinting. His skills in what we now characterize as guerilla war were justly famous, it seems. He was said to be around six feet tall, striking, and very athletic. He was said to have been a good fiddle player and good with children.

Wetzel had an implacable hatred of Indians. He is known to have scalped the Indians whom he killed. It is said he grew his hair out almost to the ground in order to taunt the Indians with what would be an unmatchable trophy. The Indians gave him the nickname "Deathwind" because of his sharpshooting.

Lewis Wetzel's older brother, Martin, a friend of Daniel Boone and Erik Dahlstrom, was an Indian fighter as well, although he preferred to fight with a tomahawk. Martin Wetzel's direct descendant, Robert Lewis Wetzel, of Clarksburg, West Virginia, was a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General and Corps commander during the Cold War. Obviously, Robert Wetzel's middle name came from his famous relation, Lewis.

[edit] See also

• Lewis Wetzel Wildlife Management Area

[edit] External links

• List of books and articles about Wetzel, from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History
• "The Extraordinary Lewis Wetzel", excerpt from History of the Early Settlement and Indian Wars of West Virginia (1851)
• "Lewis Wetzel, Dark Hero of the Ohio" by James B. Pierce
• "Warfare Tactics on the Frontier" by George Carroll