USA > North Carolina > North Carolina, 1780-'81 : being a history of the invasion of the Carolinas by the British Army under Lord Cornwallis in 1780-'81 > Part 9
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The mountain men were then only sixteen miles distant, but as Colonel McDowell could not say whether Campbell had moved after his departure or not, they preferred to await developments.
At this time Campbell's men, as we shall briefly designate them for the present, were of opinion that the decisive struggle was to take place at Gilbert- town and they began preparations for the battle. The troops were to be informed of the plans of their leaders and to be exhorted by them to be ready for duty. They were drawn up in a circle and Colonel Cleveland was the orator. Rude and uncultivated as he was, he had an earnestness and honesty in his language and manner that arrested the atten- tion of his hearers, who were in the same sphere of
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intelligent as himself and as devoted to liberty as he.
His speech was short and pointed and plain. He said: " The enemy is at hand; we must be ap end at them. I will be with you when the pinch comes. If any of you shrink from the battle and the glory you can now have the opportunity to back out and leave, and you may have a few minutes for con- sideration." " You who wish to back out will, when the word is given, march three steps to the rear and stand."
There was a pause for three minutes and the word was given, but not a man of that army moved~ they "stood like a stone wall." with eyes that never quailed and nerves that never trembled.
The troops were then dismissed and in three hours the march down Cane Creek began. They came near to Gilberttown on the 4th day of October eager for the fray. They met Jonathan Hampton who first gave them the news that Ferguson had retreated in haste and intended to avoid an action.
On the 27th day of September Ferguson, in the hope of intercepting Colone! Clarke, who had been repulsed at Augusta, Georgia, and was retreating towards North Carolina, moved south from Gilbert- town and halted on Green River, in what is now Polk County.
On the goth day of September the two de- serters, Crawford and Chambers, reached Fergu- son's camp at James Steps' place, and apprised him that the over-mountain men were on his track.
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Ferguson was alarmed. Many of his Tory allies were on furlough, and his ranks were thin. Mes- sengers were sent in all directions to drum up the men ou furlough, and a dispatch to Lord Cory- wallis at Charlotte, acquainting him of the danger, was intrusted to Abram Collins" and Peter Quinn, Tories of that region, who promised to deliver it in person. Collins and Quinn took a direct course. crossing Second Broad at Webb's Ford, then by way of what is now Mooresboro to First Broad at Stices' Shoal, thence by Collins' Mill, on Buffalo. Coming to Alexander Henry's, a good Whig, they deceived him and were given refreshments, but some circumstance aroused Mr. Heury's suspicion after they left, and his sons followed to arrest them. Collins and Quinn got wind of the pursuit and were compelled to secrete themselves by day and travel with great caution at night. and by reason of these delays they did not reach Charlotte until the 7th day of October -- the day of Ferguson's over- throw at King's Mountain.
Ferguson now gave ont that he was in retreat for Ninety-Six. to delude the Whigs towards that route. On the Ist of October, the day the Whigs left " Quaker Meadows," Ferguson was at Baylis Earles', on Pacolet ; thence he turned northwest to Denard's Ford, on the Broad River, where he issued the following proclamation to the country :
"GENTLEMEN :- Unless you wish to be eat up by an inundation of barbarians, who have begun by murder-
Abram Collins was a noted counterfeiter after the revolution.
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ing an unarmed son before the aged, father, and after- wards lopped off his arms, and who, by their shocking cruelties and irregularities, give the best proof of their cowardice and want of discipline ; I say, if you wish to be pinioned, robbed and murderel, and see your wives and daughters, in four days, abused by the dregs of mankind -- in short, if you wish or deserve to live and bear the name ofthen, grasp your arms in a moment and run to camp. The . > Back-water men " have crossed the mountains ; McDowell, Hampton, Shelby and Cleve- land are at their head, so that you know what you have to depend upon. If you choose to be degraded forever and ever by a set of mongrels, say so at once, and let you women turn their backs upon you and look out for real men to protect them.
"PAT. FERGUSON, " Major frs! Regiment."
It was the appeal of a desperate man, who appre- ciated the danger that was rapidly approaching nearer to him. He uttered falsehood and exagger- ated the situation that he might arouse a like feeling of desperation in the hearts of his Tory allies. But to an observant inind it was the cry of despair, the acknowledgment of ruin, the wail over his sinking fortunes.
From Denard's Ford# Ferguson moved, on Mon- day, the ed October, only four miles and lay on his arms all night expecting an attack." On the 3d October he marched east through Rutherford
*This was half mile below the present Twitty's Ford.
+Campbell's force was then at Cane Creek, one day's journey south from "Quaker Meadow -. "
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County crossing Second Broad River, which runs north and south, at Camp's Ford. then six miles further crossing Sandy Run Creek, at Armstrong's, where they rested awhile; thence seven miles further to Buffalo Creek raccording to Drapery and camped at Tate's place."
At Tate's plantation Fergusm tarried the 4th and 5th of October waiting for intelligence from the Whigs. While there he sent the following dispatch to Cornwallis :
"MY LORD :- I am on my march to you by a road leading from Cherokee Ford. north of King's Mountain. Three or four hundred good soldiers would finish this business. Something must be done soon. This is their last push in this quarter.
"PATRICK FERGUSON."
Up to this time Ferguson had escaped from his pursuers and evidently intended to reach Corn- wallis if possible. He was then sixteen miles from " King's Mountain," which was to the southwest, while Charlotte, where Cornwallis lay, was directly east only thirty-five miles distant, and there were no forces, except a few militia, to intercept his march to that place. It may be, and it is probable. that Ferguson's pride outweighed his judgment and he determined to risk a battle rather than enter Charlotte a fugitive from the men he affected to
#This was in the southeastern portion of what is now Cleveland County, N. C.
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despise . or it may be that a destiny was shaping his ends which he felt but could not resist. The King's Mountain stood invitingly out to lure him to his fate, and in the vanity of his soul he believed himself invincible.
Whatever may have been the strange reason that impelled his conduct, Ferguson abandoned his intention to join Cornwallis. He passed to the southwest near where Whitaker's Station. on the Air-Line Railroad, is now, and on in the direction of Yorkville.
On this road, after crossing the creek, on the right hand, and two hundred and fifty yards from the pass. he came to " King's Mountain." This was on the evening of the 6th of October, 1,80. Here he pitched his camp and uttered the impious boast that the "Almighty could not drive him from it."
The disappointment of Campbell's men was sore when they found the "game had fled." and their uncertainty and anxiety was increased when they learned that Ferguson had retreated towards Ninety- Six, giving out that he was on his way to that fort. The Whigs had nothing but rifles and could not subdue it. It seemed for a time that Ferguson had outwitted them and escaped.
The matter, however, was considered in the council of officers and it was determined to follow Ferguson even to Ninety-Six if necessary and strike him as best they could. Colonel Clarke had advanced further west, making his way to the
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Watauga settlement, carrying his own and other Whig families with him. The news reached him of the expedition against Ferguson, and Major Wil- liam Chandler and Captain Johnson of his party, filed off, with thirty Georgians, and joined Campbell at Gilberttown. A few days thereafter Major Chronicle, from the South Fork, in Tryon County. also joined him.
The Whigs did not tarry at Gilberttown. As soon as the resolution to follow was formed they set out on Ferguson's track following to Denard's Ford on the Broad River, where for a time they lost his trail.
I am informed that tradition accounts for this by the fact that Ferguson marched his men down in the stream to elude the pursuit of his foes and came out below the ford, then bore down the stream, instead of following the route southward towards Ninety-Six.#
Baffled by this ruse, many of the Whigs became discouraged and uneasy; many of the men were footsore from travel, and a portion of the horses gave signs of breaking down. They were now encamped at Alexander's Ford, on Green River.
*I learned this from Colonel Frank Coxe, of Polk County, N. C.
tI find in the "North State" the following anecdote of Elias Alexander, which is worth preserving for its humor and to illustrate the feeling that continued after the war was over:
" Elias Alexander. of Rutherford County, was an old revolutionary Whig, who fought at King's Mountain, and died years afterward. with twenty-seven Briti-h and Tory buck shot in his body. Old Major Green, of the same county, was a Tory, and was also in the battle of King's Mountain, on the Tory side. After the war Green was several times elected to the State Senate from Ratherford County,
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A couneil was called and it was determined to select their best men, best rifles and best horses and expe- dite the pursuit, leaving those less strong to follow.
While Ferguson was encamped at Tate's place, on Buffalo, "an old gentleman called on him who disguised the object of his visit." On the next day, the 5th of October, after traveling twenty miles northeast, this old gentleman came to the camp of the South Carolina detachment at Flint Hill (or Cherry Mountain), and related how he had imposed on Ferguson under the disguise of being a Tory, and announced that Ferguson had sent to Cornwallis for aid, and that Ferguson had said he "had selected his ground, and that he defied God Almighty and all the rebels out of hell to overcome him."
That day, on the authority of Colonel Hill, it is stated, that Colonel Williams and Major Brandon of his company were missing and returned in the
and scomed invincible. Inga. Alexander determined to have fireen beaten and brought out his son as a cu liate against him
" Green became apprehensive of defeat an I concluded that something must be done. He fell upon the illa of joining the Baptist Church, and in carrying out the project was immersed in the French Broad River. Alexander, sadewhat dis. courage\ \ this arn, but nothing de mate I went to wares the ceremony. Lean- ing against an old tree on the bank of the river within spe. king distance of the scene, he silently and doubtingly watche i the process of requieration.
" Everybody expected some kind of a declaration from him before the crowd dis persed. Just as Green was raised out of the water, wet as a rat. and gasping for breath. Alexander, who was very tall and towered above the bystanders, slowly raised his hand and pointed at him, at the same time saying, in a loud and meas- ured tone :
There stands old Major Green, nos. neat and clean. Though formerly a Tory. The damndest raseal thit ever was seen -Vote on his way to glory.'
" This furnished a campaign song and worked an overwhelming lefeat of Green at the polls "
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evening. Their actions aroused suspicion, and on being pressed by Hill and Lacey, they admitted that they had ridden across, southwest, to Camp- bell's camp, and that they were to join him next day at the old Iron Works on Lawson's Fork.
Hill discovering that Williams had misinformed Campbell as to the whereabouts of Ferguson, falsely stating that Ferguson had marched towards Ninety- Six, in order to induce Campbell to march to that ' point, where Williams' interest lay, instead of pur- suing Ferguson, charged Williams with the fraud until he admitted it. That night Colonel Lacey. with a guide, made his way to Campbell's camp and acquainted him with the true location of the British army. For awhile Lacey was thought to be a spy, but finally he was enabled to impress Campbell with the truth of his statement, and in order to strike Ferguson. it was agreed between them to form a junction at Cowpens instead of the Iron Works, and to march on Ferguson at once.
Colonel Lacey returned next day to find the whole camp in a ferment of disorder. Williams was ordering the men to follow him to the Iron Works and on to Ninety-Six, while Hill was entreating them to join Campbell. At last the contending factions marched each to itself, when it was discovered that Williams had but few follow- ers. Hill and Lacey calling on their followers. began the march for Cowpens. Colonel Williams .was induced. by a sense of danger, to follow in the rear, but the men of the front derided his men
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during the march, and even threw stones at them. About sunset of the oth of October, they all reached the Compens.
On the 5th of October, on Green River, and nearly all the night following, the Whig officers of Campbell's command were busy choosing the select men, rifles and horses for the fresh pursuit. Seven hundred were chosen, leaving six hundred and ninety (690) or more in the camp, others of the ยท command having fallen by the way from weakness or sickness. These numbers are approximately correct. :
Major Herndon, of Cleveland's regiinent, was left in command of the footmen, with Captain Neal, of Campbell's regiment, in special charge of the Virginians, who were to follow. They were given orders to expedite their march as much as possible, and to follow the horse and support them if disaster should come. The seven hundred men, on the 6th of October, marched twenty miles by way of Sandy Plains to Cowpens, where they found Lacey, Hill, Williams and Graham. Here they slaughtered the fat beeves of Sanders, a wealthy Tory. who herded his cattle at the Cowpens, and pulled the fresh corn from his fields, and the men and horses ate and drank and were refreshed for the chase.
While here the crippled spy, Joseph Kerr, of Williams' command, who had been in Ferguson's camp at Peter Quinn's, six miles from King's Mountain, returned to communicate the news. It was deemed important, however, to obtain later
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tidings, and Major Chronicle suggested Enoch Gilmer, of the South Fork, as the man; for, said he, "Gilmer .can assume any character that occa- sion may require; he could cry and laugh in the same breath, and all who saw it would believe he was in earnest ; that he could aut the part of a lunatic so well that no one could discover him ; above all. he was a stranger to fear."
Gilmer leit, and after traveling a few miles. entered the house of 'a Tory and assumed the dis- guise of a loyalist seeking Ferguson's headquar- ters, and soon won the Tory's confidence. From him he learned all about the movements of Fergu- sou in that region, and his communication with Cornwalls. Gilmer returned and reported. A council of war ' was held, all the officers being present except Colonel Williams. Campbell was retained as chief in command. The North and South Carolina men of Lacey's, Williams', Hill'sand Graham's force numbered about four hundred, being about equally divided. The whole force amounted now to eleven hundred men.
As North Carolina had a little over two-thirds of the men in Campbell's command it is fair to pre- sumie that she had two-thirds of the seven hundred picked men who followed Ferguson, or four hun- dred and sixty-six men, to which add the two hun- dred men who joined at Cowpens and we have six hundred and sixty-six (666) men out of the eleven hundred at King's Mountain who were North Carolinians. As the proportion in Campbell's
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force was a little over two-thirds we may safely state that seven hundred were North Carolinians, and the others, except Clarke's thirty Georgians. were about equally divided between Virginia an 1 South Carolina- two hundred each.
Here was the army that was to make the first turn in the tide of fortune which had been setting so steadily against the cause of liberty. North Carolina was furnishing nearly, if not entirely, two- thirds of that gallant band and she had contributed the money, S12000, by means of which the most of them were furnished with arms and ammunition. The expedition had been conceived by a North Carolinian. The maneuvering of the contending forces had all been in North Carolina, and that 6th day of October each army crossed the boundary line, after the fashion of honor, that the duel might be fought out of the State. How strange the cir- cumstance! But at that date King's Mountain was assumed to be in North Carolina. It was, however. true to the laws of retribution that Ferguson and his marauders should perish in South Carolina, where they had forfeited their lives according to all law, human and divine, by the commission of every crime that depravity could suggest or inge- nuity conceive.
The march from Cowpens to King's Mountain was by night; the rain began to fall and Campbell's men lost their way, so that when day dawned on the 7th of October, the rear of the Virginians was only five miles from Cowpens. Delay ensued until
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they were conducted by a guide to the main force. The column pushed Drward again with spirit, going; eastwardly. As they approached Cherokee Ford, on the main Road River, Enoch Gilmer, the humor- uns spy. was sent forward to reconnoiter. He did not return, but as the vanguard came near they recognized the voice of Gilmer in the valley singing " Barney Lina" a jolly song of the day. and knew that the way was clear. Gilmer's heart was so glad that the chase was nearly over and the game almost in sight, that he had given vent to his soul in a mirthful song.S
The river was crossed and three miles further on they reached Ferguson's former camp. Here they halted and partook of a meal of Tory beef from the Cowpens and then dashed forward briskly through the rain that by this time was falling fast. The men sacrificed their own comfort by putting their blankets around thei: rifles to keep the powder drv. Gilmer had been sent in advance again. Halting at one Beason's, Campbell learned that Ferguson was only nine miles off and in camp. This freshened the zeal of pursuit and aroused the spirit of the Whigs. Revenge was almost in their grasp. As Campbell rode off a girl followed and calling to the Colonel she asked, "How many of you are there?" " Enough to whip Ferguson if we can find him," was the reply. A smile lighted her
*Draper relates many amusing anecdotes of this jolly and fearless Whig spy. He was from that portion of Tryon that is now Gaston County, North Carolina.
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face tele gras . White an I pointing her finger in a direct line to King's Mountain, she said : " He is ou that mountain." Swifter were the footsteps of the leaders, dieses pressed the melowers.
Three miles further Campbell rode up to the house of a Tory, and on entering found Gilmer parta- king of the best in the l: ais : and hurrahing for King George, with two girls and the old woman waiting on him. Campbell couldn't resist the temptation to have some fun, and ordering a rope to be put around Gilmer's neck, had him marched up the road to be hivig, the girls in the meanwhile weep- ing bitterly and begging for his life. Gilmer, after getting out of sight, began to laugh heartily and said: "Colonel. I found them such loval friends I couldn't help, from pure sympathy, giving both the girls a smack."
Gilmer had derived all the information they needed as to Ferguson's exact location and the numbers with him, and that he was only a few miles ahead. The officers came together again for conference, and agreed upon the plan of attack, which was to surround the hill and press the enemy to the top and destroy him there. The men were informed of the plan and assured that there would be no danger of shooting each other, for they would all shoot upwards, as the hill assends, and that the British shooting downwards would overshoot them."
*Colonel Frank Coxe also informs me that an old soldier of the battle said the British shot from the hip, and that their aim was always too high.
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Colonel William Graham was thet here by a messenger to inform him that his wife was at the point of death, and with Campbell's advice and conisent, he left to attend her bedside. The old hero, however, heard the guns before he was well away, and forgetting all else. returned to the battle and reached the mountain at its close. As Colonel Hambright was an elderly man. Campbell out Chronicle, the major, in command of the Lincoln County men. The whole-souled old Dutchman took no offence, and when Chronicle fell he led his men with spirit and courage, even refusing to leave the field after a musket-ball had penetrated his thigli.
In two miles of Ferguson's camp the Whigs cap- tured a young man named John Ponder, and Ham- bright knew him as a Tory and had him searched. On his person was a dispatch from Ferguson to Cornwallis, telling him the situation and imploring help. Ponder, on being questioned in regard to Ferguson, said he was in full uniform, but wore a checked shirt over it. The jolly old colonel laughed, and in his broken English exclaimed: " Poys. hear dot! Shoot for the man mid the pig shirt."
In one mile of Ferguson's camp they met Henry Watkins, a Whig prisoner whom Ferguson had just released, and he was enabled to give them exact and accurate information. Hitherto the men had not been required to ride in order. but now they were drawn up in two lines, two men deep. Colonel Campbell leading the right and Colonel Cleveland
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the left. Then, as General Graham in his unria- tive says, " they moved up a branch and ravine. between two rocky knobs, beyond which theenemy's camp was in full view, one hundred poles 1550 vards) in front of them." They had purposely approached the enemy by this route to cut off his retreat, if it should have been attempted.
" In the rear of the trees and bushes on the east side of King's Creek, a little above where the Quarry Road passes the stream, the Whigs arrived at 3 o'clock in the evening." The orders were given "to dismount and tie horses; tie up blankets and coats to the saddle," and a few men were detailed ( who didn't stay detailed) to take care of the horses. Finally, "Fresh prime your guns ; go in resolved to fight till you die or win."# The rain had ceased about noon that day, the sky was clear and a cool stiff breeze was blowing. The soldiers were comparatively dry and in readiness for the onset.
It seems, from the narrative of General Lenoir of North Carolina, that when in a mile of the camp of Ferguson, Major Winston, of Surry County, had been detached, with orders to make his way south of the Quarry Road and reach Ferguson's right, which movement, though very difficult, was accom- plished successfully.
Ferguson was on King's Mountain in his lair like a wild beast that had been brought to bay.
*Draper, from whom this account is, in a great measure, con- densed.
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He showed no signs of fear. His little army was drawn up along the crest of the mountain from one end to the other. It was composed of one hundred Rangers, as they were called, who had been selected for their soldierly qualities from the King's Ameri- can Rangers, the New Jersey volunteers and the Queen's Rangers. They were picked men who had undergone the severest discipline and were equal to any body of regulars in the English army. To these were added one thousand loyalists who had been recruited in South Carolina and North Carolina, principally from the region of Ninety-Six. These latter were called Provincials and had been well drilled. As far as their personal characters would permit they had been made efficient soldiers. This estimate of Ferguson's force is that given by Tarleton.#
The armies were therefore about equal in num- bers, with the advantage to Ferguson of having chosen his ground for defence and having his troops well rested and fed. Neither had artillery or cavalry. It was a contest of the bayonet and musket on the one hand and the Deckard rifle on the other.
The men who fought were in contrast. The British force fought for the honor of their king or with the varied motives that actuated the American Tory- disappointed ambition, fear of punishment, or the opportunity for plunder. No noble sentiment was' found in their hearts and they felt the disgrace of taking up arms in behalf of oppression and wrong.
#Tarleton's Campaign-, p. 156.
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: A very few may have been conscientious in their principles.
The Whigs fought for freedom ; they fought to prevent the plundering horde from invading their peaceful and plentiful homes; they fought for religious liberty and for independence as a nation. They had no discipline nor drill, but every man knew that his duty was to stand by his comrade to the death; they had no bayonets, but they knew how to fight from tree to tree and to rally from every retreat. They knew that defeat meant ruin and capture meant torture.
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