The Battle of Kings Mountain
In the early and mid-18th century, settlers
in what is today Tennessee were unknown to the outside world,
especially the one just over the ridges of the Appalachian mountains.
They would make their first presence on the world stage, however,
one that would be remembered for generations and ensure a legacy
that would not only bring the newly-created United States over
the mountains to them, but push the nation forward as it stretched
itself to the Pacific Ocean.
That first presence would occur at a mountain in present-day
South Carolina and become known as one of the turning points
of the American Revolutionary War.
In September 1780, armed settlers in Sycamore Shoals were called
to assemble. They were known by many names and none were what
you would call the least bit flattering.
Following the British Proclamation of 1758 that gave all land
west of the Appalachians to Native Americans, any British colonist
or immigrant was forbidden to settle there. The act alone made
many colonists head straight for the border of the Appalachians
in order to escape British rule. It was a line on the frontier
that England could not effectively patrol and French and Spanish
trading in the "backwaters" of America meant the law
was unenforceable. Since they were not part of "North America
proper", no one really knew, except by unofficial reports,
who the settlers were and where their loyalties lay.
For most of the settlers in present-day upper East Tennessee,
the American Revolution was an abstract war being fought on
the coast and didn’t concern them. The war’s effects
by 1780, however, began to trickle in to the region and alarming
many that it would expand over the mountain range. Following
Cornwallis’ destruction of the southern Continental Army
in August, the British began to reestablish control through
the efforts of one British Major named Patrick Ferguson.
Ferguson was a talented military officer and engineer. His service
record was considered good enough to earn him command on numerous
occasions and he took the new assignment in the Carolinas with
the same vigor. He, like most British, knew of the settlements
west of the mountains and had heard the reports of British troops
encountering them and being defeated. He knew the settlements
could pose a problem for securing the territory and issued a
proclamation demanding that "all settlers lay down their
arms and swear allegiance to the King or he would cross the
mountains and lay the villages to fire and sword."
The Continental brass didn’t think much of the proclamation.
No one, especially the leaders of the American Revolution, knew
where the settlers’ loyalties were in the war and felt
they would more than likely leave Ferguson alone. They, like
the British, often referred to the settlers as mongrels, barbarians,
or murdering thieves. The self-sufficient Scots-Irish were isolated
by the Southern Appalachian mountains and from any official
chain of command. With traitors to the cause on both sides everywhere,
the settlers were not a factor in any strategic assault or plans.
When the settlers got the proclamation, however, they fumed
with anger. Ferguson’s "scorched earth policy,"
which they had heard about from other settlers, pushed them
over the edge.
While the mountaineers wouldn’t necessarily fight to protect
imaginary causes; the threat to kill their cows, harm their
women and burn their homes, forced them into deciding it was
time to take up arms and go after the British Major.
With their coonskin caps and homespun clothes, they must have
looked like the most rag-tagged unit in the Continental Army.
Following a rousing sermon by Rev. Samuel Doak and under the
leadership of men like John Xavier, Issac Shelby, and William
Campbell, they took upon themselves the responsibilities of
soldiers and decided to hunt down Major Ferguson.
They marched out on September 26, 1780 to what they believed
was his last known location. They camped the first night on
Roane Mountain. During the early morning hours, two of John
Xavier’s men slipped off to warn Major Ferguson that the
settlers were planning an attack. With their plans now possibly
known to the British, Sevier and the other leaders of the party
began to rethink their strategy. They didn’t know how many
men Ferguson had to supplement the British force or how good
their intelligence was going to be in locating him. Based upon
what they were able to find out; the best they could do was
continue their march South into the Carolinas.
Ferguson had received word the "Backwater men" were
coming for him, but his British pride dictated he wouldn’t
run from a "bunch of settlers" and he proceeded to
march his men towards King’s Mountain in upper South Carolina.
If they were coming, he rationalized the mountain would provide
a superb point of defense from which to fight.
The men from the Appalachian settlements were resting from their
march at Cowpens where patriot spy Joseph Kerr caught up with
them. The numbers of the men had steadily increased during the
march to around 700 and moving such a large number was sure
to attract attention from any British spies in the area.
Major McDowell and other leaders recognized Kerr and vouched
for him. He informed the men that Ferguson had stopped to eat
at a plantation six miles from King’s Mountain. His troop
strength numbered less than 1,500. The information confirmed
what they had picked up on the march South and the leaders huddled
together to prepare for what was to come.
At 8 p.m., orders were given to the men to break camp immediately.
Major Campbell ordered his scouts out to pinpoint the British
location while the men marched towards King’s Mountain.
During the night, a steady rain began to fall causing confusion
among some of the men, but they held together and continued
their march. The rain forced most to strip off their shirts
and wrap them around their rifles to keep the gunpowder dry
and the actions clean.
Two of Xavier’s men finally located the British encampment
and returned to tell the others. Those men with horses were
ordered to mount up and start for the mountain where they were
to take up position.
By midafternoon Oct. 6, 1780, the sun was breaking through the
clouds and the "Backwater Men" slipped through the
forest and into position with the others on Kings Mountain.
Tired from the march, hungry, and cold, the men primed their
guns and waited. With all set, William Campbell stripped off
his coat and drew his sword pointing it to the British encampment
at the top.
"There they are, men," he yelled. "Shout like
Hell and fight like devils!"
Witnesses to the battle said King’s Mountain exploded like
a volcano. Hardened by frontier living and Indian war parties;
the men carried a fight to Ferguson he wasn’t prepared
to defend. From tree to tree and deadfall to deadfall, the "Backwater
Men" fought with determination and ferocity.
The British fought back hard and were, for a time, successful
in repelling the patriots from the ridge of the mountain.
In the confusion, British civilian-dressed Tories were mingling
with some of the troops, which could divide the force if they
started a serious counter-attack.
Afraid this might happen, the leaders of the patriot force had
set up a counter-sign earlier to defend against it. The word
"Buford" had to be spoken when they were asked to
identify themselves.
The battle was savage. Brother fired against brother, neighbor
against neighbor, and hunting shirt against red coat. The "Backwater
Men" proved the legends of their marksmanship.
Tomahawks, knives, and bows were carried to the fight as much
as rifles. Witnesses to the battle, however, said the sulphurous
odor of gunpowder and the cries of wounded men resembled Hell
itself.
Under the leadership of Ferguson, the British troops and militia
were making a good fight of it and taking their toll on the
patriot force attacking them.
The lines eventually began to waver from their assault, however,
and the British started backing off from the deadly fire and
turning into retreat. In fact, they overran the survivors trying
to flee the battle - forcing Ferguson and other British officers
to herd the men back towards the enemy.
Patriots under Shelby, Xavier, and Campbell made up the center
column of the attack and continued to drive northeast towards
the British tents and wagons. As their battle cries and words
of encouragement became louder, the other patriots got their
second wind and renewed their efforts in the battle.
Seeing what was taking place in the ranks of his troops forced
Ferguson to decide to cut his losses and withdraw.
On his great white horse, the talented British officer charged
down the northeastern slope of King’s Mountain. One hundred
feet would have cleared him through the enemy forces and one
hundred yards would allow him to break free and retire to Charlotte.
In his left hand, he carried a sword of Toledo steel inscribed
with the Spanish words: "Draw me not without reason, Sheathe
me not without honor." Ferguson was a skilled swordsman
and his charge into the fray swinging the blade had cut him
out of more than one desperate situation in the past.
Ferguson, however, was unaware that he had been identified and
the "Backwater Men" had been looking for his red-checkered
shirt throughout the battle. They had glimpsed it a couple of
times, but this was the first time they had a true sight of
him.
Over a dozen rifles found the target and unleashed a barrage
of fire. One ball hit him in the thigh, another reshattered
his crippled arm, another hit his body and the talented horsemen
still stayed in the saddle.
Robert Young is credited with the shot that hit Ferguson in
the head and tore him from his horse. The British officer fell
hard, but was still alive. The British troops, who still offering
resistance, saw their leader fall and decided to surrender themselves
to the patriots.
The white flags, however, didn’t stop the shooting from
the "Backwater Men." The forces were strung across
the mountain and, not being soldiers, no uniform command could
cease the firing rifles.
Joseph Xavier, eighteen-year-old son of John, was one of those
continuing to fire. He had heard rumors that the British had
killed his father. Those who tried to stop him from his fierce
fighting were pushed off by the youth trying to exact revenge
for his imagined father's loss.
"The damned rascals have killed my father," he said,
"and I’ll keep shooting till I kill every son of a
bitch of them."
The firing was finally stopped and quarters given to the British
who surrendered. The cheers of the patriots echoed through the
mountain range followed by a deafening silence as the men realized
what they had accomplished. Diaries and journals would later
speak of the horrors of the battle’s end.
With their mortal enemy dead, the mountaineers lit the fires
of victory and prepared for the long march back to their homes
in Sycamore Shoals. They slept on the battlefield among the
dead and wounded.
Tradition says the body of Major Patrick Ferguson and his mistress
were buried together in a shallow grave at the foot of a hill
and covered with stones to protect it from the ravages of animals.
The mountaineers whose only wish was to be left alone returned
to their plows and homes. They did not realize how much their
victory would play in the American Revolution.
Until that time, the war had not been going good for the Continental
Army. In fact, only one third of the people of North America
were for it. Much less than a third ever raised a hand to fight
in it.
Oct. 14, seven days after the Battle of Kings Mountain, confusion
forced Cornwallis into retreat from Charlotte ending the first
British invasion of North Carolina. Almost a year to the day,
Corwallis would surrender the British Army to General George
Washington.
The men who fought at King’s Mountain would go on to achieve
great things in early America. Among them, was John Xavier (AKA
John Sevier) who would help found the state of Tennessee and
serve as its first Governor. Issac Shelby would do the same
in Kentucky.
A soldier by the name of John Crockett would go on to own a
tavern in Jefferson County and his son, David, would rise to
legendary status in American history.
The historians who recorded the events of the American Revolution,
however, would never give them the credit they deserved. The
campaigns of the South were overlooked.
In fact, the victory of Kings Mountain was described as a barbaric
victory because the leaders were not those of the Continental
Army. They were instead the natural leaders found in every community-
men who knew how to fight and demand the impossible from people
and to whom improvisation was a way of life.
In fact, it wasn’t until President Theodore Roosevelt wrote
the book "The Winning of the West" that their accomplishment
would be put into proper historical perspective for the American
people.
Of the mountaineers he would, of course, like many authors before
and after him, write of their lack of respect for law and order
and their individualistic fervor to be left alone, but he would
also write of their patriotic efforts in the early days of America’s
founding and their ability to adapt and overcome the most difficult
of obstacles.
No better tribute was given the veterans of King’s Mountain,
however, than a marble plaque placed on an obelisk by the U.S.
government amid the trees and streams of the battlefield. On
its side are the words:
"This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the
American Revolution."
When the men returned home to Sycamore Shoals, however, it marked
a turning point in the region west of the Appalachians and the
people who inhabited it.
They carried with them a tradition that would eventually become
the lifeblood of a nation and the pride of a state. One that
would in the years ahead give Tennessee the "Volunteer"
nickname and provide America with the greatest riflemen the
world has ever seen.
ooooooooo
The Battle of Kings Mountain is one that is still studied by
scholars. There is still some prejudice among them as to the
importance of the battle and to the losses that occurred to
the British.
British Major Patrick Ferguson was an officer who, had he lived,
could have very well altered the future of the United States.
The Scottish engineer’s development of the Ferguson Rifle
could have changed the outcome of the American Revolution. If
not then, it would surely have proved disastrous for America
during the War of 1812.
The breech-loading rifle allowed a soldier to fire up to six
shots per minute from a prone position. A 600 percent increase
in firepower over the single shot weapons of the day.
It was tested and approved for service at Britain’s Woolwich
Arsenal ironically on July 4, 1776.
Because it would have required British Command to retrain and
outfit thousands of soldiers around the world, however, only
a limited number were made and shipped to Ferguson in the colonies.
He proved the rifle’s worth at the Battle of Brandywine,
but injuries prevented him from lobbying officers on the American
front to develop British troop’s abilities with the rifle.
Ferguson’s death at King’s Mountain stopped all forward
progress on the weapon and Britain continued to use the "Brown
Bess" instead. There were rumors that some were captured
by the patriots at Kings Mountain, but few have ever surfaced.
Only one gunsmith in America currently makes the rifle, but
some gunsmiths have expressed interest in learning how to manufacture
them as the interest in black powder shooting continues to grow
in America.
Kings Mountain National Military Park has a Ferguson Rifle on
display in the interpretive center and another manufactured
one they use for demonstrations. The history of the weapon is
well known among military historians and one of the more interesting
stories that came out of the American victory at Kings Mountain.
Recently, finding the final resting places of the King’s
Mountain veterans has been paramount among many southern historians
as they try to protect them. The gravesite of Col. John Hardin,
for whom Hardin valley in Knoxville is named, was a veteran
of Kings Mountains and, in fact, received the land for his service.
His gravesite is believed threatened by an interstate project
in West Knoxville. While residents of the community have rallied
to protest the construction of the so-called "Orange Route,"
the Tennessee department of Transportation says it will build
it, which has set off a firestorm of protest among residents.
If you would like more information on the Battle of King’s
Mountain, Hank Messick’s "King’s Mountain: The
epic of the Blue Ridge ‘Mountain Men’ in the American
Revolution" is considered on of the best works available
on the subject.
King’s Mountain National Military Park is located near
Charlotte, N.C. and open to the public on a daily basis.
Sycamore Shoals State Historic site is near Elizabethton, Tenn.
and features numerous activities and reenactments.
In addition, the first night’s encampment of the "Backwater
Men" on Roane Mountain is located a few miles away and
is marked by a plaque in a natural rock overhang. It is definitely
worth the drive to read for yourself a piece of Americana that
is truly Tennessean in nature. The plaque reads:
"First night encampment of King’s Mountain Men, Sept.
26, 1780. ‘ They trusted in God and kept their powder dry.’"
It and the park are one of the most visited sights in upper
East Tennessee. For more information on hours of operation,
you can call (423) 543-5808.
