Hickman County, Kentucky

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Historical Marker #895 in Clinton commemorates Hickman County being named for a War of 1812 casualty.

Paschal Hickman moved to Kentucky in 1784. The family settled in Frankfort, and Paschal's house was supposedly "near the railroad tunnel" there. He was active in the Kentucky militia and fought in several military campaigns, including at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in present-day Ohio. By 1812, Hickman was a large land owner, having 5,984 acres across sixteen Kentucky counties.

During the War of 1812, Hickman served as a captain in the First Kentucky Rifle Regiment. Most of his troops were from Franklin County, and these soldiers soon found themselves engaged at the Battle of the River Raisin (Michigan). There, Hickman was wounded. After the battle, he was one of nearly sixty-five Kentuckians murdered by Native Americans. Only thirteen men out of the eighty-six in his company survived the battle.

After Hickman's death, his father wrote that Paschal's mother, who was "Sorely distressed in mind about the massacre of her son at the Raisin . . . pined away and died June 9, 1813."

Hickman County was formed and named in his honor in 1821.