Battle of Kings Mountain
The Battle of Kings Mountain was a decisive battle between the Patriot and Loyalist militias in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War. The actual battle took place on October 7 1780, nine miles south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina in rural York County, South Carolina, where the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist forces commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot.
Ferguson had arrived in North Carolina in early September 1780 with the purpose of recruiting for the Loyalist militia and protecting the flank of Lord Cornwallis' main force. Ferguson issued a challenge to the rebel militias to lay down their arms or suffer the consequences; in response, the Patriot militias led by James Johnston, William Campbell, John Sevier, Joseph McDowell and Isaac Shelby rallied for an attack on Ferguson.
After receiving intelligence on the oncoming attack, Ferguson elected to retreat to the safety of Lord Cornwallis' host; however, the Patriots caught up with the Loyalists at Kings Mountain on the border with South Carolina. Having achieved surprise on the Loyalists, the Patriots attacked and surrounded the Loyalists, inflicting heavy casualties. After an hour of battle, Ferguson was shot dead while trying to break the rebel ring, after which the Loyalists surrendered. Wanting to avenge the events of the Battle of Waxhaws, the Patriot soldiers gave no quarter to the surrendering Loyalists until the rebel officers re-established control over their men. Although victorious, the Patriots had to quickly move from the area for fear of Cornwallis' advance.
The battle was a pivotal moment in the Southern campaign; the surprising victory over the Loyalist American militia came after a string of rebel defeats at the hands of Lord Cornwallis, and greatly raised morale among the Patriots. With Ferguson dead and his militia destroyed, Cornwallis was forced to abandon plans to invade North Carolina and retreated into South Carolina.
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[edit] Prelude to battle
Major Ferguson was appointed Inspector of Militia on May 22, 1780. His tasking was to march to Tryon County, North Carolina, raise and organize Loyalist units from the Tory population of the Carolina Backcountry, and protect the left flank of Lord Cornwallis' main body at Charlotte, North Carolina.[3][4] On September 2, he and what militia he had already recruited marched west, heading for the Appalachian Mountain hill country along what is now the Tennessee/North Carolina border.[5] By September 10, he had established a base camp at Gilbert Town, North Carolina and issued a challenge to the Patriot leaders to lay down their arms or he would "lay waste to their country with fire and sword."[6]
North Carolina Patriot militia leaders Isaac Shelby and John Sevier, from the Washington District (now present day northeast Tennessee), met after receiving Ferguson's "fire and sword" message and agreed to lead their militia against him.[7]
Patriot leaders also sent a message to Virginia militia leader, William Campbell, asking him to join them.[7] Campbell, in turn, called on Benjamin Cleveland to bring his South Carolina militia to join the rendezvous.[8] The detachments of Shelby, Sevier and Campbell were joined by 160 North Carolina militiamen led by Charles McDowell and his brother Joseph.[8] Campbell's cousin, Arthur, brought 200 more Virginians.[9] Some 1,100 volunteers from southwest Virginia and present-day northeast Tennessee, known as the "Overmountain Men" (so named because they had settled into the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains ridgeline), mustered at the rendezvous at Sycamore Shoals near present day Elizabethton, Tennessee on September 25, 1780. Their movement had been permitted by easing tensions with the Cherokee, thanks to diplomacy by Benjamin Cleveland's brother-in-law, Indian agent Joseph Martin.[10][11][12] The Overmountain Men crossed over Roan Mountain the next day, and proceeded in a southerly direction for about thirteen days in anticipation of encountering the British Loyalist force. By Sept. 30 they had reached Quaker Meadows, the Burke County, North Carolina home of the McDowell brothers, where they were joined by Benjamin Cleveland and 350 men.[13] Now 1400 strong, they marched south to South Mountain, North Carolina,[14] The five colonels leading the Patriot force (Shelby, Sevier, William Campbell, Joseph McDowell and Cleveland) then named Campbell the nominal commander but agreed that all five would act in council to command their pickup army.[15]
Meanwhile, two deserters from the Patriot force reached Patrick Ferguson and informed him that a large body of militia was advancing towards him. After waiting three days for reasons that remain unclear, Ferguson elected to retreat back to Lord Cornwallis and the British main body in Charlotte, meanwhile sending a message to Cornwallis asking for reinforcements. The message did not reach Cornwallis until it was too late, one day after the battle. On October 1 Ferguson reached North Carolina's Broad River, where he issued another pugnacious public letter, calling for local militia to join him lest they be "pissed upon by a set of mongrels" (the Overmountain Men).[16]
The Patriot militia pursuing Ferguson reached his former camp at Gilbert Town on October 4,[17] where thirty Georgian partisans joined their camp, looking for action.[18] On October 6, they had reached Cowpens, South Carolina (which was the site of the future Battle of Cowpens), they received word from local sympathizers that Ferguson was east of them, heading towards Charlotte and Cornwallis. They would have to hurry to catch him.[19] Rebel spies reported that Ferguson was making camp atop Kings Mountain with some 1500 men.[20] The intelligence was accurate. Ferguson, rather than pushing on until he reached Charlotte and safety (just a day's march away), camped out at Kings Mountain and sent Cornwallis another letter asking for reinforcements (which was also received too late).[21] Kings Mountain was one of many rocky forested hills in the upper Piedmont near the border between North and South Carolina. It is shaped like a footprint with the highest point at the heel, a narrow instep, and a broad rounded toe. The Loyalists were encamped on a ridge to the West of Kings Pinnacle, the highest point of Kings Mountain.
Needing to make haste, the Patriot militia put some 900 men on horseback and made for Kings Mountain.[20] They set out immediately, marching through the night of the 6th and morning of the 7th. It rained all night and through the morning. By sunrise on the 7th, they were fording the Broad River, fifteen miles from Kings Mountain.[22] By early afternoon they had reached their goal, whereupon they surrounded the ridge where the Loyalists were encamped and attacked.[23]
[edit] Battle
The battle opened on October 7, 1780, around 3 p.m.[24] when 900 Patriots (including John Crockett, the father of Davy Crockett), approached the steep base of the Western ridge of Kings Mountain. The rebels formed eight groups of 100 to 200 men. Ferguson, completely unaware that the rebels had caught up to him, was at the top of the ridge with some 1,100 men. Ferguson was the only Briton in his command, which consisted entirely of Loyalist militia, save for around 100 red-uniformed Loyalist soldiers from New York state. Most of the Loyalists were of both Carolinas' origin. He had not built any fortifications on his position.[25] As the screaming Patriots charged up the hill, Captain DePeyster turned to Ferguson and said "These things are ominous—these are the damned yelling boys!".[24] Two parties, led by Colonels John Sevier and William Campbell, assaulted the "high heel" of the wooded mountain, the smallest area but highest point, while the other seven groups, led by Colonels Shelby, Williams, Lacey, Cleveland, Hambright, Winston and McDowell attacked the main Loyalist position by surrounding the "ball" base beside the "heel" crest of the mountain.[26] They caught the Loyalists by surprise; Tory officer Alexander Chesney admitted that he didn't know the Patriots were in the vicinity until the shooting started.[25]
No one amongst the Patriot army was in command once the fighting commenced; each group fought independently in accordance with the plan to surround and destroy the Loyalists.[27] The Patriots crept up the hill and fired on the Loyalists from behind rocks and trees. Ferguson rallied his troops and launched a bayonet charge against Campbell and Sevier's men. With no bayonets of their own, the rebels retreated down the hill and into the woods. Campbell rallied his troops, returned to the base of the hill, and resumed firing. Ferguson launched two more bayonet charges during the course of the battle. This became the pattern of the battle all around the Loyalist position; when the Patriots would charge up the hill, the Tories would form and charge down the hill with fixed bayonets, driving whatever Patriots they found down the hill and into the woods. Whereupon the Tories would withdraw when the charge was spent, and the scattered Patriots would reform in the woods, return to the base of the hill, and charge back up the hill again.[27] During one of the charges, Colonel Williams was killed and Colonel McDowell was wounded. It was hard for the Loyalists to find a target because the Patriots were constantly moving and using cover and concealment. Additionally, the downhill angle of the hill caused the Loyalists to overshoot.[28]
After an hour of combat,[29] Loyalist casualties were heavy. Ferguson rode back and forth across the hill, blowing a silver whistle he used to signal charges. Shelby, Sevier and Campbell reached the top of the hill behind the Loyalist position and attacked Ferguson's rear. The Loyalists were driven back into their camp at the toe of the hill, where they began to surrender. Ferguson drew his sword and hacked down the white flags that he saw popping up, but he apparently knew that the end was near. In an attempt to rally his faltering men, Ferguson shouted out "Hurrah, brave boys, the day is ours!",[30] gathered a few officers together and attempted to cut through the Patriot ring, but Sevier's men fired a volley and Ferguson was shot dead from his horse.[31] When the rebels found his corpse they counted seven bullet wounds.[32]
Seeing their leader fall, the Loyalists began to surrender. Captain Abraham DePeyster, in command after Ferguson was killed, asked for quarter. Eager to avenge the Waxhaw Massacre, where Banastre Tarleton's men had killed a sizeable amount of Abraham Buford's Continental soldiers after the latter had surrendered, some rebels did not initially want to take prisoners while others were unaware that the Loyalists had surrendered.[30] The Patriots rejected DePeyster's white flag and continued firing, many of them shouting, "Give 'em Tarleton's Quarter!" and "Give them Buford's play!". After a few more minutes of bloodletting in which a significant amount of the surrendering Loyalists were killed,[33] DePeyster sent out a second white flag and a few rebel officers, including Campbell and Sevier, ran forward and took control by ordering their men to cease fire,[34] giving quarter to around 700 Loyalists.
[edit] Aftermath
The Battle of Kings Mountain lasted 65 minutes.[35] The Loyalists suffered 244 killed, 163 wounded, and 668 taken prisoner. The Patriot militia suffered 29 killed and 58 wounded. The Patriots had to move out quickly for fear that Cornwallis would advance to meet them.[36] Loyalist prisoners well enough to walk were herded to camps several miles from the battlefield. The dead were buried in shallow graves and wounded were left on the field. Ferguson's corpse was later reported to have been mangled and wrapped in oxhide before burial.[37] Both victors and vanquished came near to starvation on the march due to a lack of supplies in the hastily organized Patriot army.[36]
On October 14, the retreating Patriot force held drumhead courtmartials of various Loyalists on various charges (treason, desertion from Patriot militias, incitement of Indian rebellion). Passing through the Sunshine community in what is now Rutherford County, N.C., the retreat halted, perhaps not coincidentally on the property of the Biggerstaff family. Aaron Biggerstaff, a Loyalist, had fought in the battle and been mortally wounded. His brother Benjamin was a Patriot and was being held as a prisoner of war on a British ship docked at Charleston, S.C. Their cousin John Moore was the Loyalist commander at the earlier Battle of Ramsour's Mill (modern Lincolnton, N.C.), in which many of the same troops had participated on both sides. While stopped on the Biggerstaff land, 36 Loyalist prisoners, many of whom were recognized by several Patriots whom previously fought alongside and later changed sides, were convicted and nine were hanged before Isaac Shelby brought an end to the proceedings.[38] His decision to halt the proceedings came after an impassioned plea for mercy from one of the Biggerstaff women, although accounts vary as to whether it was Martha Biggerstaff, Aaron's wife, or Mary Van Zant Biggerstaff, Benjamin's wife.[39] As the Patriot army dispersed, all but 130 Loyalist prisoners escaped over the next few days before the column finally reached camp at Salem, North Carolina; they were able to escape having been moved through wooded areas in a single line.[40]
Kings Mountain was a pivotal moment in the history of the American Revolution. Coming after a series of disasters and humiliations in the Carolinas—the fall of Charleston and capture of the American army there, the destruction of another American army at the Battle of Camden, the Waxhaws Massacre—the surprising, decisive victory at Kings Mountain was a great boost to Patriot morale. The Tories of the Carolina Back Country were broken as a military force.[41] Additionally, the destruction of Ferguson's command and the looming threat of Patriot militia in the mountains caused Lord Cornwallis to cancel his plans to invade North Carolina; he instead evacuated Charlotte and retreated to South Carolina.[41] He would not return to North Carolina until early 1781, when he was chasing Nathanael Greene after the Americans had dealt British arms another devastating defeat at the Battle of Cowpens.
In The Winning of the West, Theodore Roosevelt wrote of Kings Mountain, "This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the American Revolution." Thomas Jefferson called it, "The turn of the tide of success." Herbert Hoover's address at Kings Mountain said, "This is a place of inspiring memories. Here less than a thousand men, inspired by the urge of freedom, defeated a superior force intrenched in this strategic position. This small band of Patriots turned back a dangerous invasion well designed to separate and dismember the united Colonies. It was a little army and a little battle, but it was of mighty portent. History has done scant justice to its significance, which rightly should place it beside Lexington, Bunker Hill, Trenton and Yorktown."[42] In 1931, the Congress of the United States created the Kings Mountain National Military Park on the site of the battle. The park headquarters is in Blacksburg, South Carolina, and hosts hundreds of thousands of people each year.[43]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Mooney, James (1995). Myths of the Cherokee. Courier Dover Publications. p. 57. ISBN 9780486289076.
- ^ a b Dameron p.76
- ^ Buchanan, 202
- ^ Dameron, 22
- ^ Buchanan, 204
- ^ Buchanan, 208
- ^ a b Buchanan, 210–211
- ^ a b Buchanan, 212
- ^ Buchanan, 213
- ^ Fleenor, Lawrence J. (January 2001). "General Joseph Martin". DanielBooneTrail.com. http://www.danielboonetrail.com/historicalsites.php?id=89. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
- ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. James T. White & Company. 1897. http://books.google.com/?id=zV4oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA240&lpg=PA240&dq=%22col.+william+martin%22+tennessee&q=%22col.%20william%20martin%22%20tennessee. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ Publications of the Southern History Association, Volume 4. Southern History Association. 1900. http://books.google.com/?id=vdQRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA443&lpg=PA443&dq=%22col.+william+martin%22+tennessee&q=%22col.%20william%20martin%22%20tennessee. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
- ^ Buchanan, 215
- ^ Buchanan, 217
- ^ Buchanan, 218
- ^ Buchanan, 219
- ^ Buchanan, 220
- ^ "Kings Mountain Georgia Participants". Georgia Sons of the American Revolution. http://www.georgiasocietysar.org/KM_GA_Participants.htm. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
- ^ Buchanan, 221
- ^ a b Buchanan, 223
- ^ Buchanan, 225
- ^ Buchanan, 225-6
- ^ Buchanan, 227
- ^ a b Dameron, 57
- ^ a b Buchanan, 229
- ^ "The Battle of King's Mountain 1780". British battles. http://www.britishbattles.com/kings-mountain.htm. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
- ^ a b Buchanan, 230
- ^ Buchanan, 231-2
- ^ "The Battle of King's Mountain". Tennesseans in the Revolutionary War. TNGen Web Project. http://www.tngenweb.org/revwar/kingsmountain.html. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
- ^ a b Hibbert, 292
- ^ Buchanan, 232
- ^ Buchanan, 234
- ^ Wallace, 229
- ^ Buchanan, 233
- ^ Dameron, 75
- ^ a b Buchanan, 237
- ^ Hibbert, 293
- ^ Buchanan, 238-9
- ^ http://www.overmountainvictory.org/Gtown.htm
- ^ Buchanan, 240, 340
- ^ a b Buchanan, 241
- ^ Herbert Hoover address at Kings Mountain, Oct. 7, 1930, at The American Presidency Project
- ^ "Kings Mountain National Military Park". National Park Service. http://www.nps.gov/kimo/index.htm. Retrieved October 16, 2010.
[edit] References
- Buchanan, John (1997). The Road To Guilford Court House: The American Revolution in the Carolinas. New York: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0471327166.
- Dameron, J. David (2003). Kings Mountain: The Defeat of the Loyalists, October 7, 1780. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306811944.
- Hibbert, Christopher (1990). Redcoats and Rebels: The war for America 1770–1781. New York: Norton/Grafton. ISBN 039302895X.
- Russell, C. P. (July 1940). "The American Rifle: At the Battle of Kings Mountain". The Regional Review (Richmond, Va: National Park Service, Region One) V (1): 15–21. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/popular/12/ps12-2.htm.
- Wallace, Willard (1964). Appeal to Arms: A Military History of the American Revolution. Chicago: Quadrangle.
[edit] Further reading
- Howard, Kate (July 4, 2006). "Kings Mountain Messenger' bravery remembered by few". The Tennessean.
- Sweeney, Bob (January 18, 2004). "Overmountain Victory Organization the Patriot Army at King's Mountain". http://www.overmountainvictory.org/army.htm.
- Ward, Christopher (1952). War of the Revolution (2 Volumes). New York: MacMillan. OCLC 425995.
- Every Insult and Indignity: The Life, Genius and Legacy of Major Patrick Ferguson
[edit] External links
- King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King's Mountain, Lyman Copeland Draper, Peter G. Thompson, Publisher, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1881
- Roan Mountain (Tennessee) Citizens Club – Overmountain Men Celebration
- Georgia Participants at Kings Mountain (offered by Georgia Society, Sons of the American Revolution)
- Lord Cornwallis and Major Ferguson NC state signs (offered by the American Revolutionary War Living History Center) with annual events held by the Town of Grover where Major Ferguson is celebrated as having camped and a NC state historical marker exists for such
- Every Insult and Indignity: The Life, Genius and Legacy of Major Patrick Ferguson
Coordinates: 35°07′10″N 81°23′37″W / 35.11935°N 81.39359°W
