The Propaganda of Patrick Ferguson

An appeal to the inhabitants of the Carolina backcountry to join the Loyalist militia serving under the King:

Denard's Ford, Broad River,

Tryon County, Oct. 1, 1780.

Gentlemen: Unless you wish to be cut up by an inundation of barbarians, who have begun by murdering an unarmed son before the aged father, and afterwards lopped off his arms, and who by their shocking cruelty and irregularities, give the best proof of their cowardice and want of discipline; I say, if you wish to be pinioned, robbed, and murdered, 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 of men, grasp your arms in a moment and run to camp.

The Backwater men have crossed the mountain; M'Dowell, Hampton, Shelby, and Cleaveland are at their head, so that you know what you will have to depend upon. If you choose to be p––d for ever and ever by a set of mongrels, say so at once, and let your women turn their backs upon you, and look out for real men to protect them.

PAT. FERGUSON,

Major 71st Regiment.

The Battle of Stono Ferry, 20 June 1779

The Battle of Stono Ferry took place 20 June 1779 in South Carolina during the British retreat from an abortive raid on Charleston. Lieutenant Colonel John Maitland was in charge of the large rear guard left by British General Augustine Prevost upon his withdrawal to Savannah. A bridgehead was established on the north side of an area now known as New Cut Church Flats; this was meant to cover Stono Ferry. Three strong redoubts were built, circled by an abatis, and manned by Highlanders and Hessians. It was here that American Major General Benjamin Lincoln chose to lead his main attack. General William Moultrie led a smaller secondary effort to the east against a small group of British soldiers on Johns Island.

Lincoln deployed his troops after a night march of eight miles from the Ashley Ferry, located in the present village of Drayton Hall. Immediately upon their arrival at dawn, they began struggling through thick woods. The Americans advanced in two wings; General Jethro Sumner led his Carolina militia on the right, carrying two guns, while their right flank was covered by a company of light infantry, commanded by the Marquis de Malmady. Continental Army troops, under General Isaac Huger, made up the left wing; they carried four guns into battle. With Huger was a group of light infantry under John Henderson, and it was these troops who, shortly before sunrise, made first contact with the enemy.

The battle began well for the Patriots. They engaged the British positions with small arms and cannon fire for an hour, at which point they advanced to the abatis. Of the Highlanders, two companies resisted until only eleven men were left standing; a Hessian battalion finally broke. Here Maitland shifted his forces in an attempt to counter the larger threat posed by Huger's wing. The Hessians rallied and returned to the fight, and reserves were brought across the bridge. Lincoln chose this moment to order a withdrawal.

At 150 dead and a comparable number missing, Patriot losses had been heavy; among the dead was Andrew Jackson's brother Hugh, felled by heat and exhaustion. Also lost was Col. Thomas Neel. Most of the "missing" were deserters; the British claimed no prisoners from the battle. Huger was severely wounded. For their part, the British lost 150 officers and men, but only one was reported missing.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Ninety Six, South Carolina

Ninety Six National Historic Site, Island Ford Road

The South Carolina settlement of Ninety Six was established in the early 1700s. It was named by traders, who (mistakenly) believed that it was 96 miles from Keowee, the nearest Cherokee settlement. The town figured prominently in the Anglo-Cherokee War and also in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. In 1775, the first land battle of the Revolution south of New England was fought there. Ninety Six became a Loyalist stronghold early in the war and was fortified by the British in 1780. From May 22 to June 18, 1781 Major General Nathanael Greene, with 1,000 patriot troops, staged the longest (yet unsuccessful) siege of the Revolutionary War against the 550 American Loyalists who were defending Ninety Six.

18th Century Swimming Skills

From Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer, Oxford University Press, 2004, pg. 219:

The great majority of the army, like other populations in eighteenth-century America and Europe, were unable to swim a stroke. Soldiers joked that they did not fear to drown, for they were born to hang. Even seamen did not learn to swim, much to the disgust of Benjamin Franklin, who was a great swimmer himself and tried in vain to teach his American generation to take to the water.

Gen. Nathanael Greene in the South

The Continental Congress had been unfortunate in its selection of commanders in the South. It had chosen Robert Howe, who lost Savannah. It had chosen Benjamin Lincoln, who lost Charleston. In August 1780, near Camden, South Carolina, the British attacked Horatio Gates' army, which broke and ran in wild confusion. The way was cleared for Lord Cornwallis to pursue his goals of gathering southern Loyalists and taking the war into Virginia. His southern ports could be mobilized to move men and materiel into the Carolinas.
Congress entrusted General Washington with the choice of Gates' successor. On October 5 it resolved "that the Commander-in-Chief be and is hereby directed to appoint an officer to command the southern army, in the room of Major General Gates." George Washington acted without delay. The day after he received his copy of the resolution, he wrote to Nathanael Greene at West Point, "It is my wish to appoint You." Congress approved the appointment, and gave Greene command over all troops from Delaware to Georgia with extraordinarily full powers, "subject to the control of the Commander-in-Chief." Greene took command at Charlotte, North Carolina on December 2, 1780. Brigadier General Isaac Huger of the South Carolina Continentals was appointed his second in command.

(Source: Wikipedia)

Nathanael Greene to Francis Marion, 4 December 1780:

". . . I have not the Honor of your Acquaintance but am no Stranger to your Character and merit. . . . Untill a more permanent Army can be collected than is in the field at present, we must endeavor to keep up a partizan war and preserve the tide of sentiment among the People as much as possible in our Favour. Spies are the Eyes of any army. . . . At present I am badly off for Intelligence. It is of the highest Importance that I get the earliest Information of any Reinforcements which may arrive at Charlestown or leave the Town to join Lord Cornwallis. I wish you therefore to fix some Plan for procuring such Information and for conveying it to me with all possible Dispatch. The Spy should be taught to be particular in his Enquiries, and to get the names of the Corps Strength and Commanding Officer's name, Place from whence they came and where they are going. It will be best to fix upon some Body in Town to do this, and have a Runner between you and him, to give you the Intelligence as a Person cannot make these Enquiries without being suspected who lives out of Town. The utmost Secrecy will be necessary in this Business."

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge: The Patriot Victory

When Col. Alexander Lillington arrived at Moores Creek Bridge on February 25, 1776, he quickly saw the position's defensive advantages for the patriot army. The creek, a dark sluggish stream about 35' wide, wound through swampy terrain and could only be crossed in the vicinity of this bridge. To dominate the crossing, Lillington built a low earthwork on a slight rise overlooking the bridge and its approach from the east. Joining Lillington the next day, Col. Richard Caswell sent his men across the bridge to build earthworks there. By the evening of February 26th, the patriots straddled the bridge. Lillington's 150 men waited on the east side of the creek, and Caswell's 850 men camped on the west. Donald MacDonald's loyalists, 1,600 strong but with arms for less than half that many, camped six miles away.

MacDonald had lost the race to the Moores Creek Bridge and had to decide whether to avoid battle or to cut through their opponents. At a council of war, agreement was reached to attack the enemy. An element in the decision was a scout's report that Caswell's position lay on their side of the river and was thus vulnerable.

At 1 a.m. on the 27th, the loyalists set out to attack, with 75 Highland broadswordsmen under Capt. John Campbell in the lead. MacDonald had fallen ill, and Donald McLeod was in command. The going was slow, for the route lay through thickets and swampy ground. During the previous night, Caswell and his men had abandoned their camp and withdrawn across the creek to the eastern bank. Once on the other side of the bridge, Caswell's men removed the planks and greased the girders. Posting artillery to cover the bridge, they waited in darkness for the advancing Scots.

An hour before dawn the loyalists came upon Caswell's deserted camp and found the fires burning low. Moving on to nearby woods, McLeod regrouped his men and passed the rallying cry–"King George and Broad Swords"–along the line. There they waited for daybreak. Suddenly gunfire sounded near the bridge. Though it was not yet light, McLeod couldn't wait any longer. Three cheers rang out–the signal for the attack–and the loyalists rushed the partly demolished bridge with broadswords out and bagpipes skirling. Picking their way over the bridge and onto the opposite bank, they got within 30 paces of the patriot earthworks before they were met by a fire of muskets and artillery. Nearly all the advance party were cut down, and the whole force soon retreated. It was over in a few minutes. Pursuit turned the repulse into a rout. The loyalists lost some 30 killed and 40 wounded. Only one patriot died.

Within weeks the patriots had captured "all suspected person" and disarmed "all Highlanders and ex-Regulators that were ... in the late battle." The spoils included 1,500 rifles, 350 "guns and shot-bags," 150 swords and dirks, and £15,000 sterling. Some 850 "common Soldiers" and most of the loyalists were captured. The leaders were imprisoned or banished from the colony. The soldiers were paroled to their homes.

Though the battle was a small one, the implications were large. The victory demonstrated the surprising patriot strength in the countryside, discouraged the growth of loyalist sentiment in the Carolinas, and spurred revolutionary feeling throughout the colonies. The British seaborne force, which finally arrived in May, moved on to Sullivan's Island off Charleston, South Carolina. In late June, patriot militia repulsed Sir Peter Parker's land and naval attack, ending the British hopes of squashing rebellion in the South for two years. "Had the South been conquered in the first half of 1776," historian Edward Channing concluded, "it is entirely conceivable that rebellion would never have turned into revolution ... At Moore's Creek and Sullivan's Island the Carolinas turned aside the one combination of circumstances that might have made British conquest possible."

(Source:  State Library of North Carolina)

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge: Meanwhile...

During Josiah Martin's offshore exile, the patriots, in August and September 1775, set up a Provincial Council to govern the colony. Upon recommendation of the Continental Congress, two regiments of the Continental Line and several battalions of minutemen and militia were raised.

At the news that loyalists were assembling at Cross Creek, the patriots mobilized their forces. In Wilmington, they threw up breastworks and prepared for fighting. In New Bern, authorities mustered the district's militia under Colonel Richard Caswell, and ordered it to join with other militia to counter the loyalists. Colonel James Moore, senior officer of the 1st North Carolina Continentals and first to take the field, was given command.

The loyalists' plan was to advance along the southwest bank of the Cape Fear River to the coast, provision the British troops arriving by sea, and join with them to re-conquer the colony. On February 20, 1776, Donald MacDonald began his movement toward the coast. Blocked by James Moore at Rockfish Creek, he marched eastward in the general direction of Richard Caswell's force, crossed the Cape Fear, and proceeded toward the Negro Head Point Road, a route into Wilmington along which he expected little opposition. Outmaneuvered by MacDonald's march tactics, Caswell withdrew from defending Corbett's Ferry on the Black River in order to "take possession of the Bridge upon Widow Moore's Creek," some 20 miles above Wilmington and a place the loyalists had to cross on their way to the coast. After sending Colonel Alexander Lillington to join Caswell, Moore fell back toward Wilmington, hoping to fall on the rear of MacDonald's column as Caswell obstructed him in front.

(Source: State Library of North Carolina)

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge: Martin's Plan

In exile, royal governor Josiah Martin planned the reconquest of North Carolina. First, he would raise within that colony an army of 10,000 men, two-thirds loyalist Highlanders and former Regulators. This army would then rendezvous on the coast with a powerful expeditionary force under Lord Cornwallis, Sir Henry Clinton, and Sir Peter Parker. These combined army and naval forces were to concentrate at Brunswick, a seaport town below Wilmington, by February 15, 1776. Together they would re-establish royal authority in the Carolinas, striking wherever rebellion showed itself. Martin persuaded his London superiors and commander-in-chief Thomas Gage that this host could easily restore order. The British ministry approved the plan, and dispatched orders to the several commanders.

Martin now set about recruiting his army. On January 10, 1776, he called upon all loyal subjects to unite to put down "a most daring, horrid, and unnatural Rebellion." Six months earlier General Gage had sent Donald MacDonald and Donald McLeod to North Carolina to recruit a Highland battalion. Martin now appointed MacDonald a brigadier general and McLeod a lieutenant colonel in the loyalist militia with directions to enlist men.

To all Highlanders who pledged service to the Crown, the British government promised 200 acres of land, cancellation of land fees, and tax exemption for 20 years. These terms, and Martin's efforts among other groups, brought in recruits, though not nearly as many as had been expected. The call went out for loyalists to assemble under MacDonald near Cross Creek (Fayetteville) and then march to the coast. When the force was organized on February 15, there were about 1,600 men present: Highlanders, other loyalists, and some 130 ex-Regulators.

(Source:  State Library of North Carolina)

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge: The Prelude

As the economic and political controversy with Great Britain gave way to open rebellion in the mid-1770s, North Carolina was left a badly divided colony. The legislature, which was popularly elected, opposed royal governor Josiah Martin, almost to a man. "Government here is as absolutely prostrate as impotent," Martin warned his superiors in London, "and nothing but the shadow of it is left." Yet many people who disliked parliamentary taxation and royal authority over provincial affairs nevertheless found the thought of fighting the mother country abhorrent. By mid-1775, North Carolinians had split into two groups: patriots, perhaps half the people, who were willing to take up arms for independence; and loyalists, primarily the Crown's officials, wealthy merchants, planters, and others of a conservative mind who opposed redressing their grievances by war. This last party included many Highlanders, who in recent decades had immigrated in sizable numbers to North Carolina, and some of the Regulators who had been defeated at Alamance in 1771.

News of the fighting at Lexington and Concord in April, 1775, received in North Carolina a month later, further weakened royal authority. Unable to stem the tide of revolution in the colony, Martin abandoned New Bern, the capital, and fled to Fort Johnston on the lower Cape Fear, arriving on June 2, 1775. Within 6 weeks, North Carolina militia forced him to flee again, this time offshore to the British warship Cruizer, as the fort burned behind him.

(Source:  State Library of North Carolina)

More on the "Shirt Men"

From Washington's Crossing, by David Hackett Fischer, published 2004, Oxford University Press, page 24:

Backcountry regiments from western Virginia were called "shirt men," from their homespun backcountry hunting shirts made of sturdy tow cloth that had been "steeped in a tan vat until it became the color of a dry leaf." In woods or high grass they were nearly invisible. Congress recommended on November 4, 1775, that their hunting shirts and leggings be adopted for the entire army.

The "Shirt Men"

From a letter reprinted in The Magazine of History with Notes and Queries, Vol. III, January-June 1906, published by William Abbatt, New York:

June 12 1775.

"Patriot Dixon son of the once beautiful and good natured York Lady, with some others went in the night to rob the magazine.
There being no ground about it 'tis said some of the seamen of the Fowey when at Wmsburg set some of the guns, so as to go off if a string near them was touched, accordingly off went a gun; when the patriots went in to steal; none of them were wounded. They immediately alarmed the town, swearing that the magazine was full of armed men and 40 guns had been fired at them. You will see the Govr with his famillie on board the Fowey again, I do not think his Lady will return to Williamsburg. 'Tis said he will, provided the shirt men are sent away. These shirt men or Virginia uniform are dressed with an Oznaburg shirt over their cloaths, a belt round them with a Tommyhawk or Scalping Knife. They look like a band of Assassins and it is my opinion if they fight at all it will be in that way." He [Norfolk tory James Parker] ends "I am still of opinion when General Gage begins to act on the offensive the Rebellion will be immediately crushed."

Private James Collins, re: Cowpens

from Autobiography of a Revolutionary Soldier, by James Collins, Clinton, Louisiana: Feliciana Democrat, 1859:

It was not long until it became necessary for us to seek safety by joining Morgan, who was encamped at the Cowpens, but we were not permitted to remain long idle, for Tarleton came on like a thunder storm, which soon put us to our best mettle. After the tidings of his approach came into camp–in the night–we were all awakened, ordered under arms, and formed in order of battle by daybreak. About sunrise on the 17th January, 1781, the enemy came into full view. The sight, to me at least, seemed somewhat imposing; they halted for a short time, and then advanced rapidly, as if certain victory. The militia under Pickins and Moffitt, was posted on the right of the regulars some distance in advance, while Washington's cavalry was stationed in the rear. We gave the enemy one fire, when they charged us with their bayonets; we gave way and retreated for our horses, Tarleton's cavalry pursued us; ("now," thought I, "my hide is in the loft;") just as we got to our horses, they overtook us and began to make a few hacks at some, however, without doing much injury. They, in their haste, had pretty much scattered, perhaps, thinking they would have another Fishing creek frolic, but in a few moments, Col. Washington's cavalry was among them, like a whirlwind, and the poor fellows began to kneel from their horses, without being able to remount. The shock was so sudden and violent, they could not stand it, and immediately betook themselves to flight; there was no time to rally, and they appeared to be as hard to stop as a drove of wild Choctaw steers, going to a Pennsylvania market. In a few moments the clashing of swords was out of hearing and quickly out of sight; by this time, both lines of the infantry were warmingly engaged and we being relieved from the pursuit of the enemy began to rally and prepare to redeem our credit, when Morgan rode up in front, and waving his sword, cried out, "Form, form, my brave fellows! give them one more fire and the day is ours. Old Morgan, was never beaten." We then advanced briskly, and gained the right flank of the enemy, and they being hard pressed in front, by Howard, and falling very fast, could not stand it long. They began to throw down their arms, and surrender themselves prisoners of war. The whole army, except Tarleton and his horsemen, fell into the hands of Morgan, together with all the baggage. After the fight was over, the sight was truly melancholy. The dead on the side of the British, exceeded the number killed at the battle of King's Mountain, being if I recollect aright, three hundred, or upwards. The loss, on the side of the Americans, was only fifteen or sixteen, and a few slightly wounded. This day, I fired my little rifle five times whether with any effect or not, I do not know. Next day after receiving some small share of the plunder, and taking care to get as much powder as we could, we (the militia) were disbanded and returned to our old haunts, where we obtained a few day's rest.

The Retreat of Cornwallis, October 1780

From The History of the Origins, Progress and Termination of the American War, by Charles Stedman, self-published, London, 1794:

On the fourteenth of October, which was as soon after lord Cornwallis received certain intelligence of the loss of Ferguson's detachment as the army could be put in motion, he began his march back to South Carolina. Nearly about this time lord Cornwallis fell sick, and continued ill for some time; the command devolved on lord Rawdon. In this retreat the king's troops suffered much, encountering the greatest difficulties; the soldiers had no tents; it rained for several days without intermission; the roads were over their shoes in water and mud. At night, when the army took up its ground, it encamped in the woods, in a most unhealthy climate; for many days without rum. Sometimes the army had beef, and no bread; at other times bread and no beef. For five days it was supported upon Indian corn, which was collected as it stood in the field, five ears of which were the allowance for two soldiers for twenty-four hours. They were to cook it as they could, which was generally done by parching it before the fire. In riding through the encampment of the [Loyalist] militia, the Author discovered them grating their corn, which was done by two men of a mess breaking up their tin canteens, and with a bayonet punching holes through the tin; this made a kind of rasp, on which they grated their corn: The idea was communicated to the adjutant-general, and it was afterwards adopted throughout the army. The water that the army drank was frequently as thick as puddle. Few armies ever encountered greater difficulties and hardships; the soldiers bore them with great patience, and without a murmur: Their attachment to their commander supported them in the day of adversity; knowing, as they did, that their officers', and even lords Cornwallis and Rawdon's fare was not better than their own. Yet, with all their resolution and patience, they could not have proceeded but for the personal exertions of the militia, who, with a zeal that did them infinite honour, rendered the most important services. The continual rains had swelled the rivers and creeks prodigiously, and rendered the roads almost impassable. The waggon and artillery horses were quite exhausted with fatigue by the time the army had reached Sugar Creek. This creek was very rapid, its banks nearly perpendicular, and the soil, being clay, as slippery as ice. The horses were taken out of some of the waggons, and the militia, harnessed in their stead, drew the waggons through the creek. We are sorry to say, that, in return for these exertions, the militia were maltreated, by abusive language, and even beaten by some officers in the quarter-master-general's department: In consequence of this ill usage, several of them left the army next morning, for ever, chusing to run the risque of meeting the resentment of their enemies rather than submit to the derision and abuse of those to whom they looked up as friends.

(Charles Stedman served in the British Army "under Sir W. Howe, Sir H. Clinton, and the Marquis Cornwallis.")

Washington Irving, re: the Mecklenburg Declaration

From History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston:

[W]hat says our great and beloved author, the first of Americans who gave to his country a character of literature in Europe, and appropriately closed his long and bright career by a Biography of Washington, published in 1857? I speak of Washington Irving, all of whose works are American classics. In the fourth volume 
of this work, speaking of the invasion of North Carolina, which had been assigned to Lord Cornwallis, he says:

"It was an enterprise in which much difficulty was to be apprehended, both from the character of the people and the country. The original settlers were from various parts, most of them men who had experienced political or religious oppressions, and brought with them a quick sensibility of wrong and a strong appreciation of their rights, and indomitable spirit of freedom and independence. And this part of the state was of a hard Presbyterian stock, the Scotch-Irish, as they were called, having emigrated from Scotland to Ireland, and thence to America, and was said to possess the impulsiveness of the Irishman 
with the large resolution of the Covenanter. The early history of the colony abounds with instances of this spirit among its people. 'They always behaved insolently to their governors,' complains Governor Burrington, in 1731; 'some they have driven out of the country—at other times they set up a government of their own choice, 
supported by men under arms.' It was, in fact, the spirit of popular liberty and self-government which stirred within them, and gave birth to the glorious axiom: the rights of the many against the exactions of the few. It was this spirit that gave rise to the confederacy called the Regulation formed to withstand the abuses of power, and the first blood shed in our country in resistance to arbitrary taxation was at Alamance, in this province, in a conflict between the Regulators and Governor Tryon. Above all, it should never be forgotten that at Mecklenburg in the heart of North Carolina, was culminated the first Declaration of Independence of the British crown upward of a year before a like declaration by Congress." Again: "Cornwallis decamped from Camden and set out for North Carolina. Advancing into the latter province, Cornwallis took post at Charlotte, where he had given rendezvous to Ferguson. Mecklenburg, of which it was the capital, was, the reader may recollect, the 'heady, high-minded' county where the first Declaration of 
Independence had been made; and his lordship, from uncomfortable experience, soon pronounced Charlotte 'the hornet's nest of North Carolina.'
"Instead of remaining at home and receiving the King's money in exchange for their produce, they (the inhabitants) turned out with their rifles, stationed themselves in covert places, fired upon the foraging parties; convoys of provisions from Camden had to fight their way, and expresses were shot down and their despatches seized."

Dividing the Spoils at Kings Mountain

From History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston:

After the battle they divided Ferguson's belongings among some of the field officers. To Colonel Cleveland they gave Ferguson's white charger, because he lost his in battle; to Colonel Campbell they gave his correspondence; to Colonel Sevier, his sword and sash; to Colonel Shelby, his large silver whistle; to Major Joe McDowell, they gave his china set, and he gave them to his daughter Ann, who married Captain Charles McDowell of Quaker Meadows, and she gave them to her four daughters—they are in the hands of their descendants to this day. Both of the Joe McDowells of Pleasant Garden and Quaker Meadows, in the great battle above spoken of, commanded the Burke and Rutherford regiments, one on the right wing—the other on the left.

John Hugh McDowell, re: the Josephs McDowell

From History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston:

Joe, of Pleasant Garden, was a mere boy at the commencement of the Revolutionary War. Young as he was, he immediately went into active service in the Patriotic Army. He soon was promoted to the rank of major, in which his cousin Charles was colonel. He was engaged with it in every fight where his cousin commanded. When his cousin Charles retired from the command of the Burke and Rutherford Regiment he was placed in command. At the battle of King's Mountain he commanded the regiment, and Colonel Joe, of Quaker Meadows, commanded the right wing of a ‘portion’ of the regiment ‘under him.’ Hence, there is a dispute, which had the chief command in that gallant struggle. They were equally brave, equally patriotic, and equally able. One is known as Major Joe of Pleasant Garden, the other as Colonel Joe of Quaker Meadows. Both were at the Cowpens, where Colonel Tarleton succumbed to the sturdy blows of Col. Morgan. Major Joe possessed the fighting qualities which distinguished the family in all its branches. In the Rutherford campaign he killed an Indian in a hand-to-hand fight. He served from the beginning of the war to the close. He was not only a distinguished fighter, but an able statesman and civilian. He was a lawyer by profession. Several of his law books are now in my possession, in which he signed his own name. His autograph is "J. McDowell, P. G."

Loyalist Lt. Allaire, re: Cane Creek

Tuesday, 12th [September 1780]. Maj. Ferguson, with forty American Volunteers and one hundred militia, got in motion at two o'clock in the morning, and marched fourteen miles through the mountains to the head of Cane creek, in Burke County, in order to surprise a party of Rebels we heard lay there. Unfortunately for us, they had by some means got intelligence of our coming, in consequence of which, Mr. McDowell, with three hundred infamous villains like himself, thought it highly necessary to remove their quarters. However, we were lucky enough to take a different route from what they expected, and met them on their way, and to appearance one would have thought they meant sincerely to fight us, as they drew up on an eminence for action. On our approach they fired and gave way. We totally routed them, killed one private, wounded a Capt. White, took seventeen prisoners, twelve horses, all their ammunition, which was only twenty pounds of powder, after which we marched to their encampment, and found it abandoned by those Congress heroes. Our loss was two wounded and one killed. Among the wounded was Capt. Dunlap, who received two slight wounds. After the skirmish we returned to one Allen's to refresh ourselves. We got in motion about four o'clock in the afternoon, and countermarched about six miles to a Rebel Mr. Jones', where we halted all night.

(Source: Diary of Lieut. Anthony Allaire, of Ferguson's Corps. Memorandum of Occurrences During the Campaign of 1780.) 

Cane Creek: Prelude to Kings Mountain

From Biographical History of North Carolina, by Samuel A'Court Ashe, published 1908, C.L. Van Noppen, North Carolina, pg. 302:

On August 29th [1780] Cornwallis wrote to Sir Henry Clinton that Ferguson was to move into Tryon, now Lincoln County, with what the latter thought was a reliable body of militia. Ferguson accordingly advanced to Gilbert-town, three miles north of the present village of Rutherfordton, where he issued a proclamation to the citizens to renew their allegiance and join the king's army. Learning that McDowell had retired, and that the Watauga leaders had crossed the mountains to their homes, Ferguson began to send out parties of foragers to ravage the county of Burke. This aroused Colonel Charles McDowell, and learning that he was again mustering his men, Ferguson sent out a detachment in search of him. But he again failed to surprise McDowell, who was lying in ambuscade for him at Bedford Hill, three miles southwest of Brindletown and near Cowan's Ford of Cane Creek. On the [12 September 1780, per Lt. Anthony Allaire’s diary] approach of Ferguson's men, McDowell's men fired upon them, killing many of the Tories and wounding Major Dunlap, the trusted lieutenant of Ferguson. Ferguson was forced to retire hastily to Gilbert-town.

Kings Mountain: Draper's Diagram

From King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King's Mountain, by Lyman Copeland Draper, pub. 1881, P.G. Thomson, page 236:

Sir Henry Clinton, re: Kings Mountain

"... this battle had so encouraged the spirit of rebellion––the first link in a chain of evils that followed each other in regular succession until they at last ended in the total loss of America."

Rev. John Simpson, "ardent Whig"

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, pp. 591-592:

The Rev. John Simpson, a Presbyterian minister of Irish descent, a native of New Jersey, had, some years before, succeeded the Rev. William Richardson in charge of the congregations of Upper and Lower Fishing Creek. He was an ardent Whig, and was regarded as the head of the party who had broken up the assemblies of the Tories both at Beckham's Old Field and at Mobley's Meetinghouse. On Sunday morning, June 11, [1780, British captain Christian] Huck and his party took their way to the church, where they expected to find the pastor with his assembled congregation, determined, as was believed at the time, to burn both the church and the people by way of warning to other "disturbers of the King's peace." The pastor had fortunately escaped. The Friday before he had shouldered his rifle and taken the field, joining Captain John McClure, one of the young men of his congregation, who was then with Sumter across the State line. On their way to the church the British killed, with circumstances of great atrocity, William Strong, an inoffensive and pious young man, who was, at the time of their assault upon him, reading his Bible. Mrs. Simpson, the wife of the pastor, while sitting at her breakfast table, heard the report of the gun which killed young Strong and announced the approach of the enemy. The church was but a short distance from the dwelling-house of the minister. Huck's party went first to the house. Mrs. Simpson, seeing their approach, fled with her four children and concealed herself in an orchard. Huck's party rifled the house of everything valuable, destroyed the bedding, and, after taking all the clothing and other articles they fancied, set fire to the house, which was soon burned to the ground, together with a valuable library of books and important manuscripts which were in Mr. Simpson's study.

Tryon Safety Committee Meeting, 14 Aug 1775

From manuscript records, State of North Carolina, Office of Secretary of State; Vol. x-11; Colonial Records:

Proceedings of the Safety Committee in Tryon County.
Met according to adjournment. [14 August, 1775.]
Present: John Walker, Chairman; Thos Beatey, David Jenkins, Jacob Forney, Thomas Espey, Valentine Mauney, James Coburn, Robert Alexander, Joseph Harden, Benjamin Harden, Frederick Hambright, James Logan, Andrew Hampton, John Morris, Charles McLean, John Robinson, William Graham, James McAfee, George Paris, John Beeman, George Black, Andrew Neel, James Baird and David Whitesides, who took the necessary Oaths for their Qualification.

Andrew Neel was duly elected Clerk of the Committee.

Resolved, That Col. Charles McLean serve as Deputy Chairman in the absence of Col. Walker.
Resolved, That each Company elect three members of Committee for this County who on a Debate, are each man to have his vote.
Resolved, That this Association be signed by the Inhabitants of Tryon county, [viz]
AN ASSOCIATION. The unprecedented, barbarous and bloody actions committed by the British Troops on our American Brethren near Boston on the 19th of April & 20th of May last, together with the Hostile operations & Traiterous Designs now Carrying on by the Tools of Ministerial Vengeance Despotism for the Subjugating all British America, suggest to us the painful necessity of having recourse to Arms for the preservation of those Rights & Liberties which the principles of our Constitution and the Laws of God, Nature, and Nations have made it our duty to defend.
We therefore, the Subscribers Freeholders & Inhabitants of Tryon County, do hereby faithfully unite ourselves under the most sacred ties of Religion, Honor & Love to Our Country, firmly to Resist force by force in defence of our Natural Freedom & constitutional Rights against all Invasions, & at the same time do solemnly engage to take up Arms and Risque our lives and fortunes in maintaining the Freedom of our Country, whenever the Wisdom & Council of the Continental Congress or our Provincial Convention shall Declare it necessary, & this Engagement we will continue in and hold sacred ‘till a Reconciliation shall take place between Great Britain and America on Constitutional principles which we most ardently desire. And we do firmly agree to hold all such persons Inimical to the liberties of America, who shall refuse to subscribe to this Association.

[Signed by]
John Walker, Charles McLean, Andrew Neel, Thomas Beatty, James Coburn, Frederick Hambright, Andrew Hampton, Benjamin Hardin, George Paris, William Graham, Robt. Alexander, David Jenkins, Thomas Espey, Perrygreen Mackness, James McAfee, William Thompson, Jacob Forney, Davis Whiteside, John Beeman, John Morris, Joseph Harden, John Robison, James McIntyre, Valentine Mauney, George Black, Jas. Logan, Jas. Baird, Christian Carpenter, Abel Beatty, Joab Turner, Jonathan Price, Jas. Miller, John Dellinger, Peter Sides, William Whiteside, Geo. Dellinger, Samuel Carpenter, Jacob Mauney, Jun., John Wells, Jacob Costner, Robert Hulclip, James Buchanan, Moses Moore, Joseph Kuykendall, Adam Simms, Richard Waffer, Samuel Smith, Joseph Neel, Samuel Loftin

Resolved, That we will Continue to profess all Loyalty and attachment to our Sovereign Lord King George the Third, His Crown & Dignity, so long as he secures to us those Rights and Liberties which the principles of Our Constitution require.
Resolved, and we do Impower every Captain or other Officer in their Respective Companies to raise sufficient force in order to detain and secure all powder and Lead that may be removing or about to be Removed out of the County; and that they do prevent any of such powder and Lead from being sold or disposed of for private uses; but to be under the direction of this Committee until the Delegates shall return from the provincial Convention; Provided nevertheless that this Resolution is not meant to hinder any persons Inhabitants of other County’s from Carrying powder and Lead through this County to their respective abodes unless there is just Cause to suspect that they Intend such Powder and Lead for Injurious purposes; then and in such case notice is to be given to the Committee of the County in which such person resides, that they make such order thereon as to them shall seem proper.
Resolved, that Mr Daniel MeKissick do make application to the Council of Safety of Charles Town for 500 weight Gun powder 600 weight Lead, and 600 Gun Flints to be distributed under the direction of this Committee when it shall be judged necessary.
Resolved, That we do Recommend to the Captains of the Several Companies in this Regiment to call together their men in order to collect what money they can conveniently to provide powder and Lead, And that they make due return of what money is received to the Committee at next meeting.
Resolved, That this Committee meet at the Court House of this County on the 14th Day of September next there to Deliberate on such matters as shall be Recommended by Our Provincial Convention.
[Signed by]
John Walker, Chairman.

Gen. Charles Lee (1731–1782)

Charles Lee was born in Cheshire, England, the son of General John Lee and Isabella Bunbury (daughter of Sir Henry Bunbury, 3rd Baronet). He was sent to school in Switzerland and became proficient in several languages. He returned to England in 1746 at the age of fourteen to attend school at Bury St Edmunds. That same year his father, then colonel of the 55th Foot (later renumbered the 44th), purchased a commission for Charles as an ensign in the same regiment.

Lee purchased a lieutenant's commission in 1751. He was first sent to America in 1754 for service in the French and Indian War under Major General Edward Braddock, but was apparently not with the regiment when it suffered disastrous defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela. He purchased a captain's commission in the 44th Foot in 1756. The following year Lee took part in an expedition against the French fortress of Louisbourg, and in 1758 he was wounded in a failed assault on Fort Ticonderoga. After recovering, he took part in the capture of Fort Niagara in 1759 and Montreal in 1760. Lee went back to Europe, transferred to the 103rd Foot as a major, and served as a lieutenant colonel in the Portuguese army, fighting against the Spanish in Portugal. He returned to England in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years' War. His regiment was disbanded and he was retired as a major.

In 1765 Lee fought in Poland, serving as aide-de-camp under King Stanislaus II. After many adventures he returned to England. Unable to secure promotion in the British Army, in 1769 he returned to Poland, saw more action, and lost two fingers in a duel in which he killed his opponent. Returning to England again, he found sympathy for the American colonists in their quarrel with Britain. Lee moved to the colonies in 1773 and purchased an estate in western Virginia.

At the start of the Revolutionary War, Lee's military experience won him a commission as major general in the Continental Army. After directing the fortification of New York City early in 1776, he was sent to Charleston, South Carolina, and received credit for the successful defense of that city, despite having advised William Moultrie to abandon the fort that saved the city. Lee was afterwards recalled to New York.

Toward the end of 1776, Lee's animosity for Washington began to show. He dawdled with his troops in New York, disregarding General Washington's numerous pleas to cross the Hudson River and join the retreat following the battle of White Plains. In the meanwhile, Lee intensified a letter campaign to various Congress members in Philadelphia, trying to convince them that he should replace Washington as overall commander. During this time, Washington accidentally opened a letter from Lee to Colonel Joseph Reed, in which Lee condemned Washington's leadership abilities and blamed Washington entirely for the dire straits of the army. Although his army was supposed to join Washington's in Pennsylvania, Lee set a very slow pace. On the night of December 12, 1776, Lee and a dozen of his guard inexplicably stopped for the night at White's Tavern in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, some three miles from his main army. The next morning, a British patrol of two dozen mounted soldiers (including Banastre Tarleton) found Lee writing letters in his dressing gown, and captured him. Lee was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange, after which he rejoined Washington at Valley Forge.

Lee is most infamous for his actions during the 1778 Battle of Monmouth. Washington ordered him to attack the retreating enemy. Instead, Lee ordered a retreat. He retreated directly into Washington and his troops, who were advancing. Washington dressed him down publicly. Lee responded with "inappropriate language," was arrested, and shortly thereafter court-martialed. Lee was found guilty and relieved of command for a period of one year. He continued to criticize Washington abusively, and in 1780, Lee was finally dismissed from service.

(info: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lee_(general); and Infoplease, http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0829226.html)

The Cunningham Mess, part 4: A Defection, A Lie & First Blood

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, pp. 89-92:

In the meanwhile the Congress men under Williamson and the King's men under Cuningham continued embodying their forces. Williamson lay almost a fortnight at Ninety-Six Court House, receiving those who came in and waiting for Colonel Thomson with the Rangers. Captain Richard Pearis, who, then acting with the Revolutionary party, had accompanied Mr. Drayton on his visit to the Indians, disappointed that he had not received the military position he desired, now changed sides and joined the King's party. He charged the Council of Safety with the design of bringing down the Cherokees upon the settlements to cut off all the King's men. He went so far as to make affidavit that the ammunition taken by Patrick Cuningham was on the way to the Cherokee Nation for that purpose. As it was known that he had brought the Indians who had met Mr. Drayton in September, it was naturally supposed that he was acquainted with the intentions of the Council, and his assertions were readily believed. The King's party was thus speedily swelled in numbers, while Williamson's militia came in but slowly. Williamson, however, could not believe that the Loyalists would dare to attack him, until the 18th of November, when he received certain information that they were in full march upon him and had actually crossed the Saluda River for the purpose. Major Mayson now joined him with a small party of Rangers and proposed to march at once, themselves assume the offensive, and attack their opponents in camp. A council of war was called which, as councils of war usually do, overruled this vigorous plan of operations. On the contrary, Williamson with his forces fell back to a position near the Court House, where they fortified themselves as far as they could before the appearance of the opposing forces. They had hardly closed their slight fortification when on Sunday, the 19th of November, Major Robinson and Captain Patrick Cuningham appeared with their party. A conference was called, and a meeting took place between Major Mayson and Captain Bowie on the one side, and Robinson, Cuningham, and Evan McLaurin on the other. Robinson and his party demanded that Major Williamson's militia should surrender their arms and disband. While Williamson was considering this demand two of his men were seized by the other party, whereupon he gave orders to rescue them, and thus brought on a conflict, the first bloodshed in the Revolution in South Carolina. For two hours and a half the firing on both sides was incessant. The garrison including officers consisted of 562 men, while the number of besiegers was about 1890. The siege lasted two days, during which Major Williamson's men suffered great hardship, though but one man was killed and twelve wounded; while on the other side several were killed and about twenty wounded. On Tuesday, the 21st, at sunset the King's party displayed a white flag and called a parley, in which Major Robinson renewed his former demand, allowing only one hour for answer. Captain Bowie was sent at once with the joint answer of Majors Williamson and Mayson, that they were determined never to resign their arms. In two hours Major Robinson returned with Captain Patrick Cuningham, and upon their withdrawing the peremptory demand for surrender it was agreed that a conference should take place the next morning. Accordingly, at the appointed hour, Majors Williamson and Mayson with Captains Pickens and Bowie met Major Robinson, Captain Cuningham, Evan McLaurin, and Pearis, when it was agreed that hostilities should immediately cease, that the garrison should be marched out of their improvised fort and their swivels given up, which by a secret agreement for that purpose were in a day or two privately restored. This mock surrender of the swivels was agreed upon by the leaders to appease a large party of the besiegers who, while the negotiation was progressing, demanded their surrender. The treaty further stipulated that the public differences should be submitted to Lord William Campbell the Governor on the part of the King's men, and to the Council of Safety on the part of Major Williamson and those under his command; that each party should send messengers to their principals, and twenty days be allowed for their return; that Major Robinson should withdraw his men over the Saluda River, and keep them there or disperse them as he pleased until he should receive his Excellency's orders; that no person of either party should be molested in returning home; that should reinforcements arrive, they should be bound by the treaty; that all prisoners should be set at liberty, the fortifications levelled, and the well which had been dug in the forts filled up.

1775: SC Regiment Command, per Wells

From History of South Carolina, by Yates Snowden, Henry Gardner Cutler, published 1920, The Lewis Pub. Co., page 316:

According to Well's "Register and Almanac" for 1775 the colonels of the thirteen regiments were as follows: Of the one regiment of horse, William Moultrie; and of the infantry, Charlestown district, Charles Pinckney; Berkeley County, Richard Singleton; Granville County, Stephen Bull, of Sheldon; Craven County, Job Rothmahler; Colleton County, Joseph Glover; Orangeburg, William Thomson; Cheraws, George Gabriel Powell; Ninety-six, John Savage; Camden, Richard Richardson: Forks of Saluda, Robert Starke; Upper Saluda, Thomas Fletchall; New [Acquisition] District, Thomas Neel. Probart Howarth was colonel and governor of Fort Johnson, and Owen Roberts was captain of the artillery company with headquarters in Charlestown.

The Cunningham Mess, part 3: Enter Sumter

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, pp. 88-89:

... What action should be taken in this emergency was the subject of another contention between the two parties in the Congress, Arthur Middleton as usual urging vigorous measures and Rawlins Lowndes opposing them. The parties were so evenly divided that in a hundred votes two decided the question. Fifty-one supported Middleton and forty-nine Lowndes. By this vote, on the 8th of November [1775], it was determined to assemble a force under Colonel Richard Richardson, and to send him to seize Patrick Cuningham, Henry O'Neal, Hugh Brown, David Reese, Nathaniel Howard, Henry Green, and Jacob Bochman, the leaders of the Royal party. Captain Ezekiel Polk, who had been led to desert the cause by Moses Kirkland in August, had returned and had been taken back into favor, and was again given a company. He now accompanied Colonel Richardson. There was another person in this expedition, whom, before this book closes, we shall find becoming the real leader in the struggle for the American cause, and who, with others whose names were scarcely yet known, was to redeem the State after it had been overrun and lost to those who were now in control of the revolutionary movements. This was Thomas Sumter, and this was the manner in which he was received into the ranks of the Revolutionary party. "We have consulted with Colonel Richardson touching Mr. Sumter's application to the Council," wrote William Henry Drayton and the Rev. Mr. Tennent to the Council of Safety. "The Colonel readily approved not only of the measure, but of the man, notwithstanding Kirkland recommended him as his successor in the company of Rangers which lie quitted and attempted to disband. The Colonel nevertheless from his seeming connection with Kirkland proposes to keep a sharp eye upon Mr. Sumter's conduct." Sumter thus entered the service under suspicion and upon probation. In this expedition he acted as Colonel Richardson's Adjutant General.

The Kings Mountain Surrender, per Col. Sawyers

Colonel John Sawyers' Certificate. 

I, John Sawyers, of the County of Knox, and State of Tennessee, do certify, that Isaac Shelby, late Governor of Kentucky, held the command of Colonel at the battle of King's Mountain—that I was a captain in his regiment, and know that he first planned the expedition with John Sevier, who then held a similar commission—that said Shelby went courageously into the action—was the commander who rallied the Sullivan troops when broken—that I saw him and received directions from him frequently on the mountain in the heat of the action, and heard him animating his men to victory. He was also among the first at the surrender. I saw him and Col. Sevier when the enemy laid down their arms but did not see Colonel Campbell for some minutes afterwards. I also state, that Major Evan Shelby, brother of Isaac and not Isaac Shelby, Sevier or Campbell, as I have heard that some now state, received the flag and sword. I also state that from this circumstance I was led to think of Campbell at the time, looked for him amongst the other officers, and do believe that if he had been there, I should have seen him; and that he did not come up for fifteen or twenty minutes after the enemy had laid down their arms and been placed under guard. I also know that it was the general talk at the time, and that I have frequently since heard it spoken of by men who were in the action, as an indisputable fact, that he was not in the latter part of the action or at the surrender. I also recollect distinctly to have heard it said amongst the officers before we left the mountain, as well as on the way home and since, that Campbell himself admitted it, and in a private conversation with Colonel Shelby on the mountain had said that he could not account for it. I remember to have intended to have asked Shelby if this was so, but it so happened that I have never since named this subject to him or him to me. Given under my hand, 16th Feby., 1823.

JOHN SAWYERS.

(Source: The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries, by John Austin Stevens, Benjamin Franklin DeCosta, Martha Joanna Lamb, Henry Phelps Johnston, Nathan Gilbert Pond, William Abbatt; Compiled by William Abbatt, Published 1880, A.S. Barnes )

The Kings Mountain Surrender, per Col. Sharp

Colonel John Sharp's Certificate.

I, John Sharp, of the County of Sullivan and State of Tennessee, do certify, that I was an Ensign in Capt. Pemberton's company, in the battle of King's Mountain, and that I was in the front line when the enemy surrendered; that Colonel Shelby was the first man I heard order the enemy to lay down their arms; after they began to cry for quarters he damned them, if they wanted quarters, why did they not lay down their arms. I also state, that I did not see Col. Campbell until some minutes afterwards, though I never heard him charged with cowardice on that account and do not pretend to say that he did not do his duty. All I can say is, that I did not see him at that time. Given under my hand this 21st day Feb., 1823.

JOHN SHARP.

(Source: The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries, by John Austin Stevens, Benjamin Franklin DeCosta, Martha Joanna Lamb, Henry Phelps Johnston, Nathan Gilbert Pond, William Abbatt; Compiled by William Abbatt, Published 1880, A.S. Barnes)

The Cunningham Mess, part 2: The Ammunition

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, page 87:

... Drayton while on his mission in that part of the country [Ninety Six District] had had a "talk" with the Cherokees, and had promised to send them a supply of powder and lead; and in compliance with this promise the Council of Safety on the 4th of October [1775] had dispatched a wagon with one thousand pounds of powder and two thousand pounds of lead as a present to them. It unluckily happened that about this time Robert Cuningham's arrest became known; whereupon Patrick Cuningham immediately assembled a party of about sixty armed men to rescue his brother. They failed in doing that, but seized the ammunition on its way to the Indians. Upon this Major Andrew Williamson, who then resided in Ninety-Six, embodied his militia for the purpose of recovering the powder and lead. He formed a camp at Long Cane, and sent a letter to Edward Wilkinson and Alexander Cameron, the Indian agents then in the Cherokee Nation, informing them of the seizure, and requesting that the matter should be explained to the Indians so as to prevent them from revenging themselves upon the people of this frontier. On the other hand, the Cuningham party represented that the ammunition had been sent to the Indians to arm them against the King's friends, who formed so large a part of that population. This unfortunate event added greatly and not unnaturally to the opposition to the government of the Congress and was of great influence in assisting the collection of a considerable force in arms between the Broad and Saluda.

The Cunningham Mess, part 1: The Arrest

From The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1775-1780, by Edward McCrady, published 1901, Macmillan & Co., ltd., South Carolina, pp. 86-87:

1775
On the day the Congress met, the 1st of November, it was informed that Captain Robert Cuningham [sic] had been taken into custody and brought to Charlestown. He had been arrested under orders from Major Andrew Williamson upon the affidavit of Captain John Caldwell, charging him with seditious words. Cuningham having been brought before the Congress did not deny that he had used the words with which he was charged; he did not believe, he said, that Captain Caldwell had perjured himself; but though he did not consider himself bound by the treaty at Ninety-Six, he averred "that he had since behaved himself as peaceably as any man, and although he had opinions he had not expressed them but when asked." Upon this frank statement Captain Cuningham was committed to the jail of Charlestown by a warrant under the hand of William Henry Drayton as President; Thomas Grimball the Sheriff was directed, however, to afford him every reasonable and necessary accommodation at the public charge. But he was enjoined not to suffer him to converse or correspond with any person whomsoever, or to have the use of pen, ink, or papers unless by express leave from the Congress. The arrest of Cuningham was deeply resented by the people of the Upper Country, and in connection with another matter, which occurred about the same time, occasioned further trouble and a far more serious disaffection of the people in that region. They were led to believe that the Revolutionists on the coast were intriguing with the Indians to bring them down upon the frontier settlements because the people there hesitated to join them against the King.