Hart Rifle

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Bonds of Trust: Honoring Jack Hart,

Kentucky African American Pioneer

By Helen E. McKinney

“Hats Off to Kentucky History!” is all about honoring Dr. Thomas D. Clark, and Dr. Clark’s life was all about honoring Kentucky history. Dr. Clark wrote extensively about the Kentucky frontier, its people and character. Jack Hart was a slave who lived before and after the Revolutionary War period, and his memory is to be honored on July 9 with a special presentation of a Kentucky long rifle.

Facts about Hart are sketchy, as pieces of his life must be fitted together like a puzzle. No well-preserved memoirs exist, no detailed, accurate oral history passed down through the ages by family members, and no abundance of courthouse documents to record Hart’s life on earth. What is known of Hart exists through a brief mention of him here and there throughout court records, various letters his master wrote and Hart family files tucked neatly away in family file folders among the shelves of county library holdings

Hart was a slave belonging to Kentucky frontiersman Nathaniel Hart. He accompanied Daniel Boone left after the signing of this treaty, Nathaniel Hart and his slave followed him to Kentucky. Ft. Boonesborough was established during the first week of May. Through meticulous research, Butler has learned that Jack Hart served as a pilot for Boone when he sought the future site of Fort Boonesborough.

Hart did not merely accompany Boone; he led or “piloted” him into the Kentucky wilderness, said Butler. This leads one to wonder if Hart had made previous trips into Kentucky; how else would he have been equipped enough to have led a skilled woodsman such as Boone, who usually never needed a guide.

Hart was more than a slave to his master. “From everything I’ve read, the relationship between master and slave was very different during the pioneer settlement era,” said Butler. “Survival was such a key issue. Basically, they lived and worked together.” Initially, that early dependency developed “bonds of trust between the two,” said Butler.

Slaves deemed trustworthy were often given guns to help defend stations and their master’s family during a time of Indian attack.

A brother of Nathaniel Hart, David Hart, gave Jack a gun because of his shooting ability. Jack loaned this rifle to another settler in Fort Boonesborough in 1782, who was traveling to Bryan’s Station, then on to Blue Licks. Hart remained at the fort, but his gun was lost in the Battle of the Blue Licks and never returned to him. For most men on the frontier, the disappearance of their gun would have been a devastating loss

Isaac Shelby, first governor of Kentucky

In 1803, Jack Hart was granted emancipation. Isaac Shelby was a witness and Nathaniel Hart, Jr. signed Jack’s freedom papers. But Jack evidently continued to live with various members of the Hart family, said Butler. No evidence exists to suggest that Jack’s wife was free. So it is assumed he remained with the Hart family, where his wife and children were. Nathaniel Hart, Jr. wrote a letter to pioneer biographer Lyman Draper in 1846, stating that he “had with him an aged Negro in his 70’s,” said Butler. She concluded that this was Jack Hart. “After 1846, I don’t know where he was.”

Butler came across an old letter mentioning that the state of Kentucky had rewarded Jack Hart with a gun, to replace the one he had loaned out and lost. Knowing that family oral history can get a little exaggerated, Butler did not think Jack’s family had ever really received this gun. “I knew that it (the story) was not true, but I hoped to find that it was true,” she said. She searched legislative acts looking for evidence of a resolution that had been passed asking for a replacement gun for Jack Hart’s contributions to the development of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Such a gun would have been awarded to any living descendants. The resolution had been introduced on the floor of the General Assembly three times and failed. “I thought that was unjust,” said Butler.

She wondered, “If the current legislature would agree with my point of view and offer a posthumous resolution on behalf of Jack Hart.” She wrote an essay on Jack for an exhibit at the Kentucky Military Museum. The exhibit, Joining the Ranks: African Americans in the Military, ran from Sept. 2003 to February 2004, said Mike Jones of the Kentucky Historical Society.

David Williams, the president of the Kentucky Senate, took notice of Butler’s essay. Realizing Butler’s research was authentic, Williams was willing to correct what Butler termed an “injustice”. At the close of the 2004 General Assembly session, the resolution passed. A second Senator asked that all Senators names be added to the resolution. The resolution was unanimously passed. Jack Hart “definitely deserved the honor,” said Butler.

It is Butler’s hope that the idea of passing the resolution posthumously will “engender a discussion on why it has taken so long to correct history.” Before the 2005 General Assembly session convened, a stipulation was added which included appropriations for money to buy a traditional Kentucky long rifle.

Butler did find the original resolution of 1846. It stated that Jack Hart was, “a man of color, immigrating to Kentucky in the capacity of a servant to Capt. Nathaniel Hart in 1774.” The resolution went on to verify that Hart’s brother, David, had given a gun to him and that this said gun was loaned to another settler and lost at the Battle of the Blue Licks. The replacement gun was to be given because of Jack’s “valuable and faithful services in the settlement of Kentucky” and “for his fidelity and expertness as a hunter.” Compensation for the cost of a gun was not to exceed $30.

This replacement gun will finally be presented on July 9, 2005 as one of the opening performances for “Hats Off to Kentucky History!” A reproduction Hershel House long rifle will be presented to former Kentucky State University student Darin Battle, who will portray Jack Hart, as a descendant could not be located. Battle will then lead a procession into the Kentucky Historical Society Headquarters, where it will be a permanent exhibit in the newly renamed Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. Copies of the resolution will be available on July 9.

Hershel House crafted this replica long rifle around 1970 for his own personal use, said Jones. It is a left-handed 54-caliber gun, with a 44-inch barrel made from curly maple stock. The resolution called for a statement to be put on the gun about Jack’s contributions to Kentucky. The Kentucky Historical Society’s original plans called for mounting the gun in Commonwealth Hall in the main entrance to the Society, Jones said.

At the time the gun was acquired, it was in the personal possession of a second owner, House having previously sold it. Jones credits Mel Hankla with procuring the long rifle for the Kentucky History Center. Hankla had been apprenticed to House and knew first-hand what a great piece of Kentucky history this gun was.

Hankla had been doing research at the Kentucky Military Museum at Frankfort, and overheard a conversation mentioning the need for a rifle for the Jack Hart presentation. Hankla piped up, “I know the perfect rifle to do that.” Hankla said it would have been very easy for the state of Kentucky to go to Pennsylvania or Ohio to purchase a rifle and give it posthumously during this ceremony. But the House gun had been

Mel Hankla, gun maker, knew of the perfect gun

originally made by a Kentucky gun maker, for a Kentuckian. “Fate allowed them to get the perfect rifle,” said Hankla, also a Kentucky Chautauqua player. “All things happen for a reason. The timing was perfect

.”Hankla had always been a collector of Kentucky things, particularly 18^th century items. He discovered House and wrote a grant, hoping to become House’s apprentice. A grant was awarded through the Folk Arts Apprenticeship Program through the National Endowment of the Arts. Since House had passed on his gun making knowledge to Hankla, he felt a responsibility to pass on what he had learned to others. “House is the most famous, contemporary gun maker in America today,” said Hankla. Now a piece of House’s craftsmanship will be on permanent display in Frankfort.

This gun will symbolically represent Jack Hart’s lost rifle and act as a tribute to any living descendants he may still have. Butler had become interested in Hart while working on a project in Lexington, the African Cemetery No. 2. As part of her effort to identify people buried in this cemetery, she read through many 18^th and 19 century Lexington papers looking for biographical information. She came across a 1927 issue of the Lexington Herald Leader, and noticed something interesting in an obituary for Lizzy Shelton. The notice stated that Shelton was probably the only African American woman in the state who, were it not for her color, would have been able to join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution). Her great grandfather was an early pioneer, presumably Jack Hart.

Some time later, while looking through the African American files in Versailles, Woodford County, Butler discovered a newspaper article from the Woodford Sun describing the family home of Jack Hart’s master. Nathaniel Hart, Jr. lived in Woodford County, KY. The article stated that Capt. Jack Hart was a faithful slave to the Hart family (Jack had three nicknames, “Captain Hart”, “Big Hart” and “Hart’s Jack”, said Jones. The term “Captain” did not refer to a military title). A portrait of Jack hung in the family home for many years. It was even sent to the Columbian Exposition of 1890. Unfortunately, the home burned and the portrait of Jack with it. “An image of Jack began to appear” to Butler, and she started her primary research of Jack through deeds and census records.

Dr. Anne Butler

Butler credits her interest in uncovering early African American history to the fact that “records are very sparse,” she said. Researchers are lucky to come across any mention of slaves in county files. One might find that where a white family occupied a certain area, they may have recorded their memoirs, thus also recording valuable information about their slaves.

With no verified written accounts existing, “Jack Hart’s life is completely erased from public record. His contributions are not acknowledged,” said Butler. This was a man who had led Boone into Kentucky. Jack “is entitled to be called a Revolutionary War soldier,” said Butler, “because he engaged in resisting attacks from Indians.” Proving Jack a Revolutionary War soldier would bestow upon him another well-deserved honor.

Dr. Butler is still conducting research on Jack Hart, and would like to someday locate Hart’s final resting place. She earned her Ph. D. in 1990 and her M.S. in 1979 from the College of Education, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. She came to Kentucky State University in 1996, and is also Associate Professor in the Whitney Young Honors College. Butler has worked with the Kentucky Historical Society, the Kentucky History Center, Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board, Kentucky Book Fair, African Cemetery No. 2 Board, Camp Nelson Heritage Board of Directors and the Kentucky African American Heritage Commission.

The Resolution

A RESOLUTION adjourning the Senate in memory and honor of Captain Jack Hart.

With deepest respect and admiration, we pay homage and tribute to Captain Jack Hart, an early pioneer and a great Kentuckian.

WHEREAS, the contributions of African-American Kentuckians to the settlement of the Commonwealth are sometimes overlooked; and

WHEREAS, through the efforts of Dr. Anne S. Butler, Director of the Center of Excellence for the Study of Kentucky African-Americans at Kentucky State University, the outstanding contributions of Captain Jack Hart have been discovered; and

WHEREAS, Captain Jack Hart emigrated to Kentucky in 1774 as a bodyguard and slave of Nathaniel Hart, and was at Sycamore Shoals in present-day Tennessee, the scene of the signing of the treaty resulting in the purchase of "Kaintucke" from the Cherokee; and

WHEREAS, Captain Hart was a member of Daniel Boone's party exploring the Wilderness Road and was present at the construction of Fort Boonesborough; and

WHEREAS, Hart family history indicates that Captain Jack Hart endured the perils and hardships experienced by the pioneers of "the dark and bloody ground" and that, in recognition of his loyalty and contributions to the settlement of this state, he was presented a rifle by Colonel David Hart; and

WHEREAS, Captain Hart made loan of this rifle to a man who later lost the gun at the Battle of Blue Licks; and

WHEREAS, a Resolution was three times introduced on the floor of the House of Representatives directing that a rifle be made and presented to Captain Hart bearing the following inscription: "Presented by the Legislature of Kentucky to Jack Hart, the Pioneer of the African race to the 'dark and bloody ground,' awarded for faithful service and to compensate him for a rifle lost at the Battle of Blue Licks."; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly failed to recognize Captain Jack Hart, who apparently had never been emancipated when the Resolution was introduced in 1846; and

WHEREAS, Captain Jack Hart remained a permanent attachment to the Hart family and is one of the best-documented early African-Americans in the rich history of the Commonwealth, and was present on September 13, 1845, to witness the re-interment of Daniel Boone and his wife; and

WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Senate that

sufficient funds be appropriated in this budget cycle to purchase a Kentucky Long Rifle, flintlock design, to be inscribed as previously set forth in this Resolution and presented to the Kentucky Historical Society in honor and on behalf of Captain Jack Hart;

NOW, THEREFORE,

Be it resolved by the Senate of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

Section 1. The Senate does hereby recognize with gratitude and admiration the outstanding contributions of Captain Jack Hart as an early pioneer in the settlement of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Section 2. When the Senate adjourns this day, it does so in honor of Captain Jack Hart, and pays homage to all African-Americans who have faithfully, tirelessly, and sometimes thanklessly contributed to the building of this Commonwealth and this nation.

Section 3. The Clerk of the Senate is hereby directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to Michael R. Jones, Curator, Kentucky Historical Society, 100 West Broadway, Frankfort, Kentucky, 40601, so that it might be retained as a part of the Society's permanent collection.

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