SECOND INVASION OF THE STATE--BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN.
A. D. 1780.
The disaster at Camden left North Carolina without defence
against invasion by the British under Lord Cornwallis. But the
spirit of Governor Nash and his people was high, and they did not
for a moment relax their efforts for the support of the war. In
a short time five thousand Continental and militia troops were in
motion for the neighborhood of Charlotte.
2. Generals Jethro Sumner and William L. Davidson were put in
command of two camps, where the raw levies were drilled and
equipped for the field. Colonel Davie was still continually in
the enemy's front, to watch and report every movement. Since the
rout and dispersion of General Sumter's command by Tarleton, on
August 19th, Davie's Battalion was the only mounted force left in
the South.
3. In September, Lord Cornwallis at last moved forward from his
camp at Camden. He sent Colonel Patrick Ferguson toward the
scene of the late Tory defeat at Ramsour's Mill. This Colonel
Ferguson was one of the ablest officers in the British army. He
was cool, daring and well skilled in everything relating to the
conduct of military affairs. He could command men in camp and in
battle, and excelled all others in arousing the spirit of the
Tories. He induced hundreds of men to take sides with the King
when another would have failed.
4. As Lord Cornwallis marched upon North Carolina, Colonel Davie
hung upon his front and fell back only as compelled by the
advance of the British. He made but one dash against his
pursuers before reaching Charlotte; but on arriving there he and
Major Joseph Graham halted under the courthouse, in the middle of
the village, and surprised Cornwallis and the whole British army
by a resistance so bloody and stubborn as to prove the right of
that place to the name of "Hornet's Nest," which Cornwallis
bestowed upon it.
[NOTE--Davie's whole force did not number more than two hundred
men, and yet so cool and bravely did they meet the British
assault that the enemy was several times driven back. Major
Graham was, at that time, just twenty-one years old, and he
exhibited such courage and conduct as have never been excelled.
In one attack upon him he received nine wounds and was left for
dead on the field, but made his escape.]
5. The English commander was so harassed by the daring attacks
of the militia upon his men at McIntyre's Farm and elsewhere in
that neighborhood that he concluded to remain at Charlotte until
he could hear from Colonel Ferguson. That officer had halted at
a place called Gilberttown, where his one hundred and fifty
British Regulars were soon reinforced by large numbers of native
Royalists, who came to the English flag to take service in its
behalf.
6. Colonel Charles McDowell and others, hearing that Ferguson was
enrolling the Tories, met at Watauga and took counsel against
him. No general was present, and McDowell was so old they feared
he would be unable to endure the probable hard marching necessary
to overtake their wily foe. Colonel Campbell, of Virginia, as a
courtesy to one belonging outside of the State, was put in
command by the North Carolina officers, and they set out with
about eleven hundred men to look for the enemy.
7. Colonels Shelby, Sevier, Cleveland, and Major Joseph McDowell,
of North Carolina, together with Colonel Williams, of South
Carolina, selected nine hundred picked men from their mounted
force, and through the stormy thirty hours of their march kept
their saddles, until, on the morning of the 7th of October, they
found the foe with eleven hundred and twenty-five men on the
summit of King's Mountain. It was a strong position, but the
heroic mountaineers at once surrounded it and began the attack.
8. Ferguson fought like a lion at bay, but the deadly rifles of
the assailants were plied upon his ranks as the Royalists were
pushed back step by step. Time and again the British commander
headed the Regulars, and by desperate charges down the mountain
side drove back a portion of the advancing Whig lines. At last
Ferguson was slain, after being many times wounded, and soon the
British fire slackened, and then to the nine hundred militiamen
of the hills the remnant of the Royalists laid down their guns.
Six hundred men became prisoners of war.
9. This was a bloody but a glorious victory. The number of
British dead was unusually great. Their proportion of wounded
was perhaps smaller than was ever seen in a modern battle. The
Whigs lost three field officers, one captain and fifty-three
privates.
10. It was a most opportune success, and apprised Lord Cornwallis
of what dangers might await his further advance. He became so
disheartened upon learning of the disaster that he at once fell
back to Winnsboro, in South Carolina. North Carolina was again
free from invaders, and the tories of every section felt their
hopes sink as they realized the swiftness and completeness of
this overthrow. Every patriot heart, however, once more beat
with hope and joy.
11. The victory of King's Mountain was the turning point of the
war in the South, and foreshadowed the final success of the
American armies in the following year. The arrival of General
Nathaniel Greene, who now took command of the Southern army, in
place of General Gates, secured every advantage of the situation.
He was from Rhode Island, and had been a blacksmith, but was a
man of rare military genius, and as such had been singled out by
General Washington to occupy an important place.
12. General Greene soon proved himself a great commander. He was
gentle, unselfish and true, and loved the cause for which he
fought better than his own life. He was brave, cautious and
quick to seize upon all the faults of his opponent. He could
patiently wait until battle was proper, and even in apparent
defeat was really more dangerous than less competent commanders
with a foe beaten and in full flight.
QUESTIONS.
1. What number of troops did General Nash raise toward the
defence North Carolina?
2. What generals were put in command? Where was Colonel Davie?
3. What move did Cornwallis make? To what place was Colonel
Ferguson sent? What is said of him as a commander?
4. Where was Colonel Davie? Relate the exploit of Colonel Davie
and Major Joseph Graham at Charlotte.
5. What were the movements of Cornwallis and Ferguson?
6. What preparations were made towards attacking Ferguson? Who
is put in command of the troops, and why?
7. What was the strength of the command? Where did they find the
Enemy? When did the battle begin?
8. Describe the battle of King's Mountain.
9. Mention some of the losses.
10. How did the victory affect Cornwallis?
11. What officer was sent to take the place of General Gates in the South?
12. What was General Greene's military ability?