Philip Alston was an 18th-century Spanish-American counterfeiter, both before and after the American Revolution. He operated in Virginia and the Carolinas before the war, and in Kentucky and Illinois afterward. He was associated with Cave-in-Rock and his son, outlaw Peter Alston, and counterfeiter John Duff. He was an early American settler in Natchez, as well as in the Cumberland and Red River valleys in Kentucky and Tennessee.
The Natchez District in British West Florida along the Mississippi River where Philip Alston and his brother, John lived from 1772 or 1773 to 1783. Fort Panmure is on the bluff of the city where the pro-American Spanish Army troops were garrisoned.
In the 1790s, Philip Alston and his criminal associate, John Duff, carried out their counterfeiting operation at Cave-in-Rock, a relatively secluded site.
Part of a counterfeit coin mold similar to the type used by Philip Alston and his associate John Duff. The coin mold had two halves that would be lined with clay to make an impression of a genuine coin. Molten mixture would be poured into the funnel feeder cut into the side of the mold, and the fake coin later plated with a thin layer of silver. Legitimate coins were made by government mints and stamped from silver or gold coin discs; most counterfeit coins were molded.
![The Spanish silver peso was the most common currency found on the American frontier.[citation needed] Alston and Duff were illegally "coining" this ty](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Carlos_III_Coin.jpg/500px-Carlos_III_Coin.jpg)
The Spanish silver peso was the most common currency found on the American frontier.[citation needed] Alston and Duff were illegally "coining" this type of money at Cave-In-Rock. The "Spanish milled dollar", minted in México, was considered legal tender in the United States until the Coinage Act of 1857.
Harpe brothers
Videos
Micajah "Big" Harpe, born Joshua Harper, and Wiley "Little" Harpe, born William Harper, were American murderers, highwaymen and river pirates who operated in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Mississippi in the late 18th century. They are often considered the earliest documented serial killers in United States history.
A painting of Loyalist and Patriot militia fighting each other at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. The Harpe brothers with their Tory outlaw gang participated in the battle as irregular Loyalist militia, serving under the command of British Army Major Patrick Ferguson
In 1799, the Harpe brothers were captured, held for trial, and broke out of the Kentucky state jail in Danville before they could be sentenced to death by hanging. This historical reconstruction of the jail, where Micajah and Wiley Harpe were briefly incarcerated, was originally built by Isaac Hite as a log structure, having a central breezeway between two windowed prison cells, with a dirt floor and stone chimney on one side.
The second Governor of Kentucky, James Garrard on April 22, 1799, issued a $300 reward for the Harpe brothers' apprehension and deliverance back to Danville, Kentucky, for trial.