The Battle of Kings Mountain

Following defeats at Camden and Charleston, the Patriot cause looked grim. Lord Charles Cornwallis and his seemingly unstoppable mass of redcoats are advancing into North Carolina and American General Nathaniel Greene does not have the time he needs to set up an army capable of stopping Cornwallis.

Cornwallis knew that there was still opposition to the crown and recruited the help of sharpshooter Patrick Ferguson to raise an army of loyalists to crush them. Ferguson was the son of a Scottish judge, and joined the army at age 15. He proved himself when served as a cornet in the Royal North British Dragoons during the wars with Flanders and Germany during the 1760's. He entered the Seventh Regiment of Foot in 1768 in the West Indies fighting small groups of the Carib. He also served at a fort in Nova Scotia in 1773 but he found the job too boring.

Ferguson's most widely known talent was his ability in firing a rifle very accurately, and invented his own when visiting his family. He then exhibited the rifle for many English military leaders and King George III. His rifle could fire between four to six shots per minute highly accurately at 200 yards. This was quite an amazing feat in the eighteenth century. His breech loading rifle was then issued in small numbers in the British army, and with is he formed and elite band of soldiers. This group joined General Clinton to fight the revolutionists in America.

Ferguson could have made his name famous at the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777). His rifle was aimed from about ten yards away right at George Washington, though he didn't know it. He later wrote "it is ungentlemanly to shoot a man at the back of his head" and he did not pull the trigger. When he was told who he was aiming at, he replied he still wouldn't have shot him anyway. You can view these letters he wrote at the library at Edinburgh University.

Ferguson became Major because of his service in battles like Monmouth and later in the year 1779 he selected a group of Loyalists form New York and New Jersey which sailed to Savannah, Georgia and later marched to Charleston, South Carolina. During the fall of Charleston, Ferguson served with Banastre Tarleton at Waxhaw's, and most researches believe he hated the way Tarleton slaughtered the Americans. Afterwards he was appointed to Inspector General of the Militia and received orders from Cornwallis that he should create a group of Loyalists to battle with the remaining Patriots and many scholars felt that South Carolina remained a Loyalist stronghold largely because of him.

During mid-1980, Ferguson and 150 men traveled around the Carolinas gaining men and support. His men were involved in a few minor skirmishes, but after defeat at the Battle of Camden the Patriots turned back to return on a later date.

Cornwallis invaded North Carolina in September, and was preparing to invade Virginia, which was the center of colonial trade, population, and wealth, and the homes of famous founding fathers like George Washington, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Peyton Randolph. Ferguson was to get rid of the Patriots in western North Carolina before joining Cornwallis in Charlotte. Later that month, he camped at Gilbert Town and sent a message to American leader Isaac Shelby telling him to give up or he would "lay the country waste with fire and sword." Colonel Shelby refused.

On the 25th of September, many opposition leaders like Isaac Shelby, John Sevier, Charles McDowell, and William Campbell met at Sycamore Shoals near the Watauga River. They marched to a plantation owned by McDowell to pick up some more men and set off for Ferguson. Ferguson knew of these men, and marched towards Charlotte and the main British army. He only needed three or four hundred British soldiers to finish off these "backwater men." He also sent 150 men to forage for badly needed food.

When the Americans learned of Ferguson's march, they left Gilbert Town post haste and stopped at Cowpens, where the famous Battle of Cowpens would take place in the future. These over mountain men (for they had crossed the Appalachian Mountains to get to North Carolina) met with 400 South Carolinian militia under the command of Colonel James Williams. Shelby learned from his spies that Ferguson was 30 miles north on Kings Mountain and that Ferguson said that he "was on Kings Mountain, that he was king of the mountain and that God Almighty and all the Rebels from hell could not drive him from it."

The colonels chose Campbell as there leader, and he selected 900 good men to attack Ferguson so he would not escape. Through a storm they traveled all night and arrived at the mountain in the early afternoon. They saw that Kings Mountain was a plateau lying 60 feet above the ground on the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ferguson believed the mountain too steep to climb making it ideal for a campsite.

First, the soldiers surrounded the mountain with mounted soldiers behind them. Ferguson knew the Patriots were unable to fire at him, but he did not realize he could not fire at the Patriots unless he went out into the open, exposing himself to Patriot fire. Additionally, the Patriots were mostly skilled and able hunters, and could fire very accurately.

At 3:00 PM, two Patriot Regiments attack at the same time, and were somewhat protected by Loyalist fire because of the thick woods they were positioned in. On the other side Shelby and Campbell would line there men up and attack. When one side be driven back, the other would march forward and attack, making Ferguson move the main body of his army from side to side. Ferguson would command his army on the sound of a whistle. That with his bright shirt made him and easy target and one moment he fell to the ground, eight bullets in his body. Most say was dead before he even hit the ground but a few say they laid him against a tree and Patrick Ferguson died there.

Immediately after Ferguson's untimely death, his second in command surrendered, though the Patriots did not stop firing, remembering Banastre Tarleton at Waxhaw's (see the "Battle of Cowpens" link above). But the Patriots eventually stopped, and the first American victory in a long time had been won.

All in all, British losses were high; 225 dead, 163 wounded, and 716 were prisoners. Patriot losses were relatively low; 28 dead and 68 wounded. Colonel James Williams of South Carolina also died in the fighting.

Most of the Patriot militia went back to there homes, and a small group escorted the Loyalist prisoners to Hillsboro, which was under American control. They beat the prisoners with clubs and swords the whole voyage and even murdered a few. Surprisingly, some of the Loyalists were tried for breaking into homes and nine were hanged.

Cornwallis retreated to the safer South Carolina, protecting Virginia and North Carolina for a time. General Clinton called this battle "the first link of a chain of evils" and he thought this might bring about the downfall of the British in America. American morale soared. Endless guerrilla warfare led by Francis Marion and others further aggravated the British, who were now on the defensive. It looked like the Americans might actually succeed in beating the British.

To learn more about the fall of Charleston, click here.
To learn more about the Battle of Camden, click here.
To learn more about the Battle of Cowpens, click here.