A House resolution approved on March 27, 1926, noted that the battle of Blue Licks, "one of the most historic battles in the State of Kentucky," remains "unmarked and unidentified." It was therefore resolved that the governor appoint a three-person commission for the purpose of acquiring "suitable lands located on the battlefield at Blue Licks in Robertson County." The commission was also empowered "to select and purchase a suitable monument" with the proviso that no such monument be selected until after the public and "all persons interested in the promotion of historic subjects" have an opportunity to be heard at a public meeting. The sum of ten thousand dollars was provided to the commission to accomplish these ends after the land to be acquired shall have been conveyed to the state in fee simple for the sum of one dollar.
Painting, Battle of Blue Licks by George Gray, 1938. This mural on display at the Kentucky Historical Society's Kentucky Military History Museum may have been painted for the Works Progress Administration. On August 19, 1785, one of the last battles of the American Revolution was fought just above the Lower Blue Licks crossing the Licking River, in present-day Robertson County. It was one of the worst defeats in the frontier region of Kentucky, with nearly seventy Kentuckians killed. Donated by the American Hotel Corporation, 1949.44.2. Kentucky Historical Society Collections.
