Phillip Hamman

Phillip Hamman

Phillip Hamman, Sr. (c. 1753 – August 3, 1832), known as "The Savior of Greenbrier", was an American frontier hero who was commended for bravery in the defence of Fort Donnally of Greenbrier County, West Virginia from a Shawnee attack in 1778. Hamman and John Pryor volunteered to go to Greenbrier County and warn the people of an impending Indian attack by two-hundred warriors. One of Cornstalk's sisters, a friend of the white people, painted Pryor and Hamman's faces as Indians. Even though the Indians had several days' head start, the two were able to get ahead of the Indians and warn the inhabitants of the fort. During the attack Hamman killed one man with his tomahawk as the Indian tried to force his way through the door of the fort. Dick Pointer, an African slave of Col. Andrew Donnally, loaded a musket and shot at the invading Indians until he and Hamman could shut the door, saving the inhabitants of the fort.