The Harpe Brothers of Tennessee: the first serial killers in America?

The Harpe Brothers’ Seven-Year Frontier Killing Spree

The Harpe Brothers cut a path of terror through the early American frontier from 1797 to 1804. These Scottish-born loyalists killed not for money but for the thrill, taking at least 39 lives across four states.

Their brutal method—disemboweling victims and filling them with stones—struck fear into travelers from Kentucky to Mississippi.

Big Harpe met his end in 1799 when Moses Stegall shot and beheaded him, while Little Harpe hung on until 1804.

Their severed heads once warned outlaws along the Natchez Trace, where today you can drive the same historic route they once stalked.

Loyalist Brothers Became America’s First Serial Killers

Joshua and William Harper grew up in North Carolina in a Scottish family loyal to the British crown.

When the Revolutionary War started, they joined Tory raiders and fought against American independence at battles like Kings Mountain and Cowpens.

Their families faced rough treatment from Patriot neighbors, creating deep hatred toward American settlers.

They changed their name from Harper to Harpe to hide their loyalist past.

After the war, they lived with Cherokee-Chickamauga Indians for over ten years, where they kept attacking American settlements and learned tough survival skills.

Three Women Were Forced Into Marriage With The Killers

The Harpes grabbed two teenage girls during Cherokee raids: Susan Wood and Maria Davidson. They forced these women to become their “wives” and have their children while living in the wild.

When a fellow traveler named Moses Doss showed concern about how badly they treated the women, the brothers killed him. The group lived in Nickajack, a Cherokee village near Chattanooga, until 1794.

When American troops prepared to destroy the village, the Harpes ran with their captive women, eventually making their way to Knoxville by 1797.

Their Signature Murder Method Started In Knoxville

The first murder that got people talking about the Harpes happened at Hughes Tavern near Knoxville in 1797-1798.

They killed a man named Johnson, cut him open, filled his body with stones, and threw him into the Holston River.

This awful way of sinking bodies became what they were known for. Local law soon thought the Harpes stole livestock and killed Johnson.

The brothers packed up their women and children and headed north through Cumberland Gap on the Wilderness Road, leaving dead bodies behind them.

Kentucky’s Wilderness Became Their Hunting Ground

In Kentucky, the Harpes ramped up their killing.

They made friends with John Langford, a Virginia traveler carrying silver coins, at an inn before killing him on the road.

After an innkeeper spotted them and told authorities about Langford’s murder, officers caught the brothers and locked them up in Danville, Kentucky in December 1798.

They didn’t stay locked up long. By February 1799, they broke out of jail, leaving their pregnant “wives” behind.

A Child Died For His Father’s Cooperation

Angry about getting caught, the Harpes went after anyone who helped the law.

They took 13-year-old Johnny Trabue, whose father had helped lawmen, and killed him in cold blood. Their violence got so bad that Kentucky Governor James Garrard offered $300 for each brother in April 1799.

The killings sped up with victims like Edmonton, Stump, John Graves and his son.

The Harpes didn’t just target single people – they wiped out whole families camping in the woods. By mid-1799, they had killed more than a dozen people.

Even River Pirates Thought The Harpes Were Too Violent

The brothers briefly joined Samuel Mason’s river pirate gang at Cave-in-Rock on the Ohio River in Illinois. These tough criminals robbed boats for a living, but even they were shocked by what the Harpes did.

For fun, the brothers would strip captives naked, blindfold them, and make them ride horses off cliffs. Mason’s gang, though criminals themselves, kicked the Harpes out.

The brothers went back to Tennessee and kept on killing through the summer of 1799.

Big Harpe Killed His Own Baby For Crying Too Much

July 1799 marked the worst of the Harpes’ killing spree. They murdered farmer Bradbury, a man named Hardin, and a boy named Coffey.

In perhaps their most shocking act, Big Harpe grabbed his own baby daughter and smashed her head against a tree because her crying bothered him.

The brothers kept going, cutting open William Ballard and dumping his weighted body in the Holston River. They cut James Brassel’s throat on a hill later called Brassel’s Knob.

They also came across a family of eight camping in the woods and killed them all.

A Family Massacre Led To Big Harpe’s Downfall

On August 20, 1799, the Harpes stopped at Moses Stegall’s home in Webster County, Kentucky. With Stegall away, his wife Mary let the travelers in, along with their houseguest Major William Love.

During the night, Big Harpe split open Love’s head with an ax, then cut the throats of Mary Stegall and her 4-month-old baby.

The brothers set the house on fire to hide what they did and ran. When Moses Stegall came home to find his family dead, he gathered angry neighbors and set out for revenge.

Moses Stegall Cut Off Big Harpe’s Head While He Was Still Alive

The posse caught up with the Harpes on August 24, 1799. John Leiper shot Big Harpe in the leg and back during the chase, pulling him from his horse.

As he lay dying, Big Harpe admitted to 20 murders, saying he only felt sorry for killing his own daughter. Moses Stegall wanted revenge for his murdered family.

He took a butcher knife and slowly cut off Big Harpe’s head while the killer was still awake and begging for mercy.

Stegall then stuck the head on a pole at a crossroads, which locals still call “Harpe’s Head Road” today.

Little Harpe Turned To Highway Robbery On The Natchez Trace

After his brother’s death, Little Harpe escaped and joined Samuel Mason’s gang of bandits on the Natchez Trace.

Using the fake name “John Setton,” he helped rob and murder travelers on the wilderness road between Nashville and Natchez.

The gang got caught in 1803, but Harpe and Mason escaped during a storm. Later, Mason was shot, and either died from his wounds or was finished off by Little Harpe and another outlaw named Peter Alston.

The pair tried to claim the $2,000 bounty on Mason’s head but became outlaws.

Two Severed Heads Warned Travelers On The Natchez Trace

Authorities arrested Little Harpe and Peter Alston in Greenville, Mississippi in 1804. They faced trial in federal court where both men were convicted of piracy and murder.

On February 8, 1804, they swung from the gallows, ending the Harpe Brothers’ six-year reign of terror. Officials cut off their heads and put them on stakes along the Natchez Trace as warnings to other criminals.

The brothers had killed between 39 and 50 people, making them America’s first documented serial killers and setting a brutal standard that few have matched since.

Visiting Natchez Trace Parkway, Tennessee

The Natchez Trace Parkway runs 444 miles from Nashville to Mississippi with no entrance fees. You can drive the two-lane road at 50 mph from sunrise to sunset year-round.

The Meriwether Lewis site has camping, trails, and a replica of Grinder’s Stand where the Harpe Brothers once terrorized travelers.

Over 100 historical markers tell stories from the original trace. Access the parkway near Hohenwald at Highway 20.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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