Battle of Kings Mountain

British Major Patrick Ferguson was appointed Inspector of Militia on May 22, 1780. His task was to march to the old Tryon County area, 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. Battle of Musgrove's Mill On the morning of August 18, 1780, 200 mounted Patriot partisans under joint command of Colonels Isaac Shelby, James Williams, and Elijah Clarke prepared to raid a Loyalist camp at Musgrove's Mill, which controlled the local grain supply and guarded a ford of the Enoree River. The Battle of Musgrove Mill occurred on August 19 near the ford. Some Patriot leaders briefly considered attacking the Loyalist stronghold at Ninety Six, South Carolina; but they hurriedly dispersed after learning that a large Patriot army had been defeated at Camden three days prior. Pursuit of Shelby Shelby's forces covered 60 miles with Ferguson in hot pursuit before making their escape. By September 10, Ferguson had established a base camp at Gilbert Town, North Carolina and, according to Shelby issued a challenge to the Patriot leaders to lay down their arms or he would "lay waste to their country with fire and sword". Shelby and Colonel John Sevier met at Sycamore Shoals and agreed to lead their militiamen against him. Muster at Sycamore Shoals Patriot leaders sent word to Virginia militia leader William Campbell, asking him to join them at Sycamore Shoals. The detachments of Shelby, Sevier, and Campbell were met by 160 North Carolina militiamen led by Charles McDowell and his brother Joseph. About 1,100 volunteers from southwest Virginia and today's northeast Tennessee, known as the "Overmountain Men" because they had settled into the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains ridgeline, mustered at the rendezvous on September 25, 1780, at Sycamore Shoals. Their movement had been made possible by easing tensions with the Cherokee, thanks to diplomacy by Benjamin Cleveland's brother-in-law, Indian agent Joseph Martin. Now 1,400 strong, the Patriots marched to South Mountain, North Carolina. The five colonels leading the Patriot force (Shelby, Sevier, William Campbell, Joseph McDowell and Cleveland) chose William Campbell as the nominal commander, but they agreed that all five would act in council to command their combined army. 1915 depiction of the Patriot militias joining up Meanwhile, two deserters from the Patriot militia reached Ferguson and informed him of the large body of militia advancing towards him. Waiting three days for reasons that are unclear, Ferguson ordered a retreat to Cornwallis and the British main forces in Charlotte, sending a message to Cornwallis requesting reinforcements. The request did not reach Cornwallis until one day after the battle. On October 1, Ferguson reached the Broad River where he issued another pugnacious public letter, calling the local militia to join him lest they be "pissed upon by a set of mongrels" (the Overmountain Men). On October 4, the Patriot militia reached Ferguson's former camp at Gilbert Town, finding it deserted. There 30 Georgia militiamen joined them, anxious for action. Patriot spies reported Ferguson was making camp on Kings Mountain with some 1,200 men. Ferguson, rather than pushing on until he reached Charlotte and safety (just a day's march away), camped at Kings Mountain and sent Cornwallis another letter asking for reinforcements. Kings Mountain is 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 camped on a ridge west of Kings Pinnacle, the highest point on Kings Mountain. Needing to hurry, the Patriot militia put 900 men on horseback and rode for Kings Mountain. By early afternoon they arrived and immediately surrounded the ridge and attacked. ==Battle==

The battle opened about 3 p.m., when the 900 Patriots (including John Crockett, father of Davy Crockett) approached the steep base of the western ridge. They formed eight detachments of 100 to 200 men each. Ferguson was unaware that the Patriots had caught up to him and his 1,100 men. He was the only regular British soldier in the command, composed entirely of Loyalist Carolina militia, except for the 100 or so red-uniformed Provincials (enlisted colonials) from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. He had not thought it necessary to fortify his camp. The Patriots caught the Loyalists by surprise. Loyalist officer Alexander Chesney later wrote he did not know the Patriots were anywhere near them until the shooting started. The Patriots crept up the hill and fired from behind rocks and trees. Ferguson rallied his troops and launched a desperate bayonet charge against Campbell and Sevier. Lacking bayonets, the Patriots ran down the hill and into the woods. Campbell soon rallied his troops, returned to the hill, and resumed firing. Ferguson ordered two more bayonet charges during the battle. This became the pattern of the battle; the Patriots would charge up the hill, then the Tories would charge down the hill with fixed bayonets, driving the Patriots off the slopes and into the woods. Once the charge was spent and the Tories returned to their positions, the Patriots would reform in the woods, return to the base of the hill, and charge up the hill again. After an hour of combat, He gathered a few officers together and tried to cut through the Patriot ring, but Sevier's men fired a volley and Ferguson was shot and dragged by his horse behind the Patriot line. There he was confronted by an opposing Patriot officer, who demanded a surrender from the major. Ferguson shot and killed the man with his pistol in a final act of defiance but was immediately shot dead by multiple Patriots on the spot. When the Patriots recovered his corpse, they counted seven bullet wounds. Seeing their leader fall, the Loyalists began to surrender. Some Patriots were seemingly unaware that the Loyalists were trying to surrender. Some Patriots did not want to take prisoners, as they were eager to avenge the Battle of Waxhaws, in which Banastre Tarleton's forces killed a number of Continental soldiers under Abraham Buford after a number of Patriots had raised the white flag of surrender. They took around 668 Loyalist prisoners. ==Aftermath==

The Battle of Kings Mountain lasted 65 minutes. The Loyalists suffered 157 killed, 163 wounded, and 698 taken prisoner. 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 to die. Ferguson's corpse was later reported to have been desecrated and wrapped in oxhide before burial. Both victors and captives came near to starvation on the march due to a lack of supplies in the hastily organized Patriot army. Many of the Patriots dispersed over the next few days, while all but 130 of the Loyalist prisoners escaped while being led in single file through woodlands. The column finally made camp at Bethabara, North Carolina. Lieutenant Anthony Allaire, a New York Loyalist attached to Ferguson's unit, was captured at the battle and endured the forced march and mistreatment of prisoners. He eventually escaped and was able to make his way back to British forces in Charleston. His published diary gives an account of the months leading up to the battle, a brief account of the battle, his time as a prisoner of Patriot forces, and his eventual escape. 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, Beuford's defeat at the Waxhaws — the surprising decisive victory at Kings Mountain was a great boost to Patriot morale. The Tories of the Carolina backcountry were broken as a military force. Additionally, the destruction of Ferguson's command and the looming threat of Patriot militia in the mountains caused Cornwallis to cancel his plans to invade North Carolina; he instead evacuated Charlotte and retreated to South Carolina. ==See also==