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THE WAR IN SOUTH CAROLINA 

THE BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN, October 7, 1780

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The Turning of the Tide of War

After the American defeat at Camden, South Carolina, Cornwallis was in almost undisputed control of South Carolina and Georgia, with the seaports of Savannah and Charleston in British possession, strongly fortified, the American forces disorganized and dispirited, with the Tories flocking to the British standard and American resistance confined to backwoods areas in the more remote parts of North and South Carolina. Had Lord Cornwallis merely reinforced his hold on what he controlled, he would have carried out the orders of his Commander in Chief, Sir Henry Clinton in New York, and eventually subjugated the entire South, but he was for an aggressive war and decided to carry the fight into North Carolina which at that time included the Tennessee territory. Cornwallis decided that after he conquered North Carolina he would take Virginia; then the rest of the South up to Pennsylvania "would fall without much resistance and be retained without much difficulty." Cornwallis had arranged with his commander to send reports directly to the War Ministry in London, thus by-passing his commander. The Ministry accepted the plans of Cornwallis and later instructed Sir Henry Clinton, his commander, to fan in with them. Now, Cornwallis decided to carry them out. The British forces had been heavily reinforced at Camden after Gates' defeat. Among forces under his command were the American Volunteers commanded by Major Patrick Ferguson consisting entirely of Tory Militia, about 4,000 men. With this strong force, Ferguson held the District of Ninety-Six - the "upcountry" - in complete subjection, sending detachments in every direction to harass, plunder and destroy the "rebels." Major Ferguson was outstanding, molded in the highest traditions of the British Army. The son of a Scottish judge, he entered the British Army at the age of 15 and served in wars on the continent of Europe until he came to America, where he was eventually Commander-in-Chief of the entire Tory militia in the South, called the "American Volunteers." He invented the first breech-loading rifle, the predecessor of the modem rifle, which could be fired six or seven times a minute, several times as fast as a muzzle loader. At the time of the Battle of Kings Mountain, Ferguson was 36 years of age, a soldier of great merit and, although his right arm had been disabled earlier in the war at the Battle of Brandywine, he was a formidable antagonist with the sword in his left hand, and he was a dead shot with both rifle and pistol. Beyond the mountains on the west in what is now Tennessee were the Watauga settlements inhabited by a hardy breed of frontiersmen, mostly Scotch-Irish, who were hunters and Indian fighters. By and large, those men were courageous, independent and used to hardship, privation and frontier warfare. Their equipment included horse, blanket, hunting rifle, and a bag of ground, parched corn which was supplemented with game. They were not only Whigs and sympathetic to the American cause unanimously, but they were also bitter enemies of Ferguson himself whose merciless plundering in the Carolinas had made his name, with that of Tarleton, infamous. To those frontiersmen, Major Ferguson sent word, by printed handbills which he distributed widely in the area, that if they did not desist from opposition to the King, he would march over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste to their settlements and their crops with fire and sword. The reaction could be predicted. First, the Watauga settlers decided that if any fighting was to be done, it ought to be elsewhere than in their territory, among their farms, homes, women and children. Colonel Isaac Shelby of Virginia and Colonel John Sevier of North Carolina accepted the challenge. They summoned Colonel William Campbell of Virginia and Colonel Benjamin Cleveland of North Carolina. Next, those leaders called for a muster of the Militia (which consisted of all able-bodied men between the ages of 13 and 80) to meet at Sycamore Flats on the Watauga River, which is located in east Tennessee near Johnson City, on September 25. Colonel Charles McDowell also joined them and in all they mustered approximately 1400 men. When Ferguson heard about the gathering at Sycamore Flats, he called on Cornwallis for reinforcements. The Americans called on Heaven and through their chaplain in a prayer service before the march, asked the aid "of the sword of the Lord and of Gideon." Ferguson, with approximately 1,100 American Militia, placed his men on top of Kings Mountain and announced that "he defied God Almighty and all the rebels out of Hell to overcome him." He was confident as well as arrogant. His men were well trained and as experienced as regular soldiers. They were equipped with bayonets and well drilled in their use. Major Ferguson was the only British soldier in the ensuing battle, one of the most important of the war. On both sides, all other participants were Americans. The Battle of Kings Mountain was the first battle in history fought exclusively by men armed with rifles. The rifle, brought to America by Swiss and German immigrants who settled near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and known as the "Pennsylvania" or "Kentucky" rifle, was the most accurate weapon since the last British longbow, 300 years before. While the musket was generally used by all armies, it was ineffective at ranges in excess of 100 yards and inaccurate at closer ranges. The generally accepted standards of the day required troops to point the musket at the enemy and fire one or more volleys, then charge with the bayonet. The rifle, however, was a different weapon. Highly accurate at ranges up to 300 yards, an experienced rifleman could pick his target and hit it. In the hands of the frontiersmen, rifles were used with deadly effect. The American patriots reached the mountain about noon on October 7, 1780, dismounted, fastened their blankets and coats to their saddles, tied their horses and took positions in a line completely around Ferguson's position on top of Kings Mountain. They moved up the mountain, from rock to tree and, although the fighting was intense, hand-to-hand and courageous on both sides, the deadly rifles took their toll and the position of the surrounded Tories soon became hopeless. Ferguson would not give up. He was everywhere on his horse, urging his men on. Twice, when white flags were raised, he cut them down with his sword. To an officer who begged that the carnage might cease, he replied that he "would never surrender to such banditti." Toward the end with a few others he tried to cut his way through the surrounding troops, but a rifle bullet found its mark and he fell from his horse and died with one foot caught in the stirrup. The Tories, in terrified disorder, crowded behind their wagons and tried to keep up the fight, but the infuriated Whigs shot them down, crying, "Buford! Buford! Tarleton's quarter!" As the killing continued, the American officers stopped their troops with difficulty and except for a foraging party which had left before the battle began, not one of Ferguson's men escaped death or capture. The patriots lost 28 killed and 62 wounded, while large stores of arms and ammunition fell into their hands. The victory at Kings Mountain gave the American cause a great lift in the eyes of the people and those who had crowded to the Tory standard had second thoughts. As subsequent events proved, the tide of war had turned. BIBLIOGRAPHY This sketch was made from The War of the Revolution (2 Vols), by Christopher Ward (MacMillan Co., New York, 1952). References and quotations may be found therein.

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