The First Link:
The Overmountain Victory,
Battle of King's Mountain, South Carolina, October 7, 1780,

The Years from 1776 to 1781
The Armies & More Information
Part 2 of 4 Parts

The Continental Army, too, distrusted militia. That is curious, for most of the officers and men of the Continentals came from militia. Of course, the Revolution was started by militia. Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill were all militia. Those came out alright! The Continental Army was formed from the militia besieging Boston in 1775.

Yet the man whose reputation was built as a commander of militia, distrusted militia. George Washington came to fear how a battle would develop with the volunteers. They were unpredictable. They might run, they might just go home when they wanted to or times turned bad.

But the militia were rarely well trained. Most were not carrying bayonets or trained in use of the bayonet. They were not trained for close-order drill or field maneuvers. They were brave. Those exposed to Indian warfare were used to using the long knife and tomahawk in hand-to-hand combat. Whether or not the Overmountain men were equipped with those items at King's Mountain is not known.

The militia were organized by the individual colonoes (States), usually by counties and towns. Each colony wrote the regulations for its militia. So each militia unit wanted to adhere to its own regulations. This meant there might be many and constant controveries when militia from different colonies were in the same army.

Since there are spotty records for the militia, we rely on the few diaries kept, almost contemporary letters, second-hand reports, and pension applications. These pensions were offered well after the Revolution (1828). The pension application asked for names, places, and dates to confirm how many days the applicant served. They were not asked to describe the battles and actions. Often, these are sparse, often entered by a spouse, or relative, not the participant.

So the militia often appeared to be going home or only on the sidelines.

And yet, we have examples, both north and south, of truly marvelous actions by militia. Look at both King's Mountain and Cowpens. John Robertson, a ranger at Cowpens National Battlefield, always said that militia could be depended upon if they said they would do something. That certainly was true. But good leadership was a key, also.

The militia were key to the Revolution, for a brutal war between neighbors was common. South Carolina has carefully recorded theirs. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, less so. New England escaped some, for they were successful early in overcoming the Crown's sympathizers. But all neighbors suffered.

Patrick Ferguson was born in 1744 to a Scottish jurist. In 1759, the family bought him a commission as a Coronet (the lowest officer rank) in the Royal North British Dragoons (cavalry). He served in Flanders and the German states. After an engagement against the French, he unit won honors for "prodigies of valor."

In 1762 through 1768 he was in Scotland and England recuperating from an illness from "bad water." In 1768, he purchased a captain's commission in the 70th Regiment of Foot (infantry) and served in the Caribbean against slaves and Caribs in St Vincent island. In 1773, the unit was transferred to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Ferguson returned to England.

While home, Ferguson developed a military version of a breech-loading hunting rifle common among wealthy sportsmen. A competition began with another officer, George Hanger, as to who was the best shot in the army. In June and July, he was able to demonstrate his rifle at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich. Reportedly, the King witnessed at least one of these demonstrations. (In 1781, after his death, the British Annual Register reported, "It is not certain these improvements produced all the effect in real service.")

That real service was very short! But, in the spring of 1777, Ferguson was sent to America to train a rifle corps to test his ideas.

The Patriots and Loyalists were very similar. Both groups came into the Piedmont and the Backcountry through the same routes: Mostly through Pennsylvania, an entry point made popular because of the Quakers. Many of these people or their relatives were unable to afford the trip and came as indentured servants. The Quakers had a good reputation as being fair with their indentures. Virginia and the Southern planters did not. Since many wealthy were also Justices of the Peace or related to JPs, manipulation of the indenture contract was quite easy and common.

There wer two types of indentured servants: (1) Those who willing sold their indenture to voluntarily come to America and (2) transportees who were sentenced to deportation by a British or Irish court. Transportees were sold into indenture to pay for their passage and could not return from the colonies at the end of their indenture. (Voluntary indentures could, but few did.) After the Jacobean rebellions in the Highlands, many Highland Scots were transported. The wealthy ones paid their own passage. The Highlanders were most commonly loyal, and rose in North Carolina to support the Crown. They were slaughtered at Moore's Creek Bridge early in the Revolution.

Many moved by generations, gaining wealth as they moved south. For instance, the Sevier family sold lots at New Market in the Shenandoah Valley. (Many Piedmont and Tidewater men of means got land grants from the Crown and then created planned communities. They sold off pieces of the grant to others. The American real estate development began. (Virginia has several towns named So-and-So's Draft, like Stuart's Draft in the Valley. Draft meaning planned or designed town.)

The people who settled on the frontier came from Low-land Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Rhineland of the German states, Wales, England, and around Europe where French Protestants (Huguenots) fled when thrown out of France. The largest group was, ironically, the German Calvinists and Lutherans, with large contingents of "dissenters:" Mennonites, Moravians, Amish, Braunists, Brethren. (Like the Quakers, many of these people were pacifists, complicating the Revolution in the Backcountry. For example, the Loyalist prisoners were paroled to the Moravians at Bethabara, since they were considered neutral.) The Ulster Scots (then called Irish, later Scotch-Irish) were Calvinists or Presbyterians. The immigrants from elsewhere in the British Isles were Baptists, Calvinists, Presbyterians, or Anglicans. They had an advantage, for the most important task of a Protestant was to read the Bible. For that, all men and many women were literate.

It's instructive to note the ethnicity of the Patriot commanders: Sevier, French Huguenot; Shelby, Welch; Hambright, German. Oh, Campbell and the McDowells were Irish!

Both the German and Irish (Ulster Scot) settlers were not warlike. They were not allowed to, or likely to afford, firearms in Europe. That they would learn from the German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania. Being mostly literate, they also frequented the Philadelphia bookstores where they bought books on farming in America and military matters. The Irish made their livings as flax farmers and producers of linen cloth. The Germans were more diversified farmers. The immigrants traded their knowledge with their neighbors to succeed in America. For example, the Irish learned to grow wheat and rye and to like pork, both not their normal fare (being mostly vegetarians in Ireland).

The official religion of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia was Anglican, the Church of England. No weddings outside of the Anglican Church were legal. Births to any family not married in the Anglican Church were illegitimate. The Carolinas had trouble staffing Parishes in the west or Backcountry. In North Carolina, the farthest west Anglican Church was in Salisbury. In South Carolina, no churches were west of Charleston.

One of the British commanders, Major Hanger, who campaigned at times with and came south with Ferguson, remarked on how he saw few churches in the backcountry near Ninety-Six, only what he called "schism houses" or non-Anglican meeting houses. (These often were shared by the non-Anglican churches.) Hanger asked one man what religion did he follow? "Religion does not trouble us much in these parts." Hanger, however, represented the Crown, so this answer might not be accurate, for an answer other than Anglican might cause trouble.

Another example of the trouble for settlers in South Carolina is the story of Charles Woodmason (The Carolina Backcountry on the Eve of the Revolution). He was a wealthy Charlestonian who was bothered by the lack of staffing for the parishes. He went to England and was ordained an Anglican minister. He returned and spent his time in the backcountry. He remarked how many families he married and sermons he preached. When South Carolina declared its independence, he returned to England.

Most of the troops were literate. Most owned land. Most officers also owned slaves. So the Patriot and Loyalist officers were very nearly of identical circumstances. Of course, Clinton's declaration that anyone granted a parole after Charleston, must support the king created chaos. Many Patriots were drafted into Loyalist units. Many would surrender or desert at any opportunity.

The Patriots

The source is Draper, although Dr. Bobby Moss in his The Patriots at King's Mountain says the number was possibly as high as 1,200.

• Campbell (Washington County, Virginia): 200
• Candler (Georgia): 30
• Cleveland (Wilkes County, North Carolina): 110
• Graham & Hambright (Lincoln County, North Carolina): 50
• Lacey (South Carolina): 100
• McDowell & Hampton (Burke & Rutherford Counties, North Carolina): 90
• Sevier (Washington County, North Carolina, today's Tennessee): 120
• Shelby (Sullivan County, North Carolina, today's Tennessee): 120
• Winston (Surry County, North Carolina): 60
• Williams (South Carolina): 30

Total: 910

Note: When General Griffith Rutherford, Salisbury District, North Carolina, Brigadier General, was captured at the battle of Camden, South Carolina, Colonel Charles of McDowell, Burke County Militia Commander, took his place. Major Joseph McDowell (of Quaker Meadows), therefore, was in command for his brother, Colonel Charles McDowell, who was sent with a letter to General Horatio Gates, Southern Continental Commander. Dr. Emmett White in his Revolutionary Soldiers of Western North Carolina: Burke County (two volumes) says Captain Joseph McDowell (Pleasant Gardens) was in command of the Burke County, militia. The author assumes that Quaker Meadows Joe must have taken his brother's place as Salisbury District general, although that position had no function in the command, the campaign, or battle.

African-Americans

All the African-Americans were part of Campbell's Virginians. This material is taken from Dr. Bobby Moss's Patriots at Kings Mountain.

• Essius (Esaius) Bowman: one of the seven or more men who Draper reports shot Ferguson. This mention in Draper is all we know about him. He is not listed on the African-American monument at Kings Mountain National Military Park.
• John Broddy: Campbell's slave, a noncombatant
• Andrew Ferguson: Born in Virginia in July, 1765. At 13 or 15, the British seized him and his father. They escaped. He was drafted in 1780 at age 15. He served with the militia at Musgrove's Mill, King's Mountain, and Cowpens. He was wounded at Camden and Guilford Court House. He died in 1856 in Bloomington, Indiana.
• Primes (Primus): Enlisted in 1777, captured at Charleston, and paroled. He was captured again after violating his parole, paroled again, and rejoined the army. He served at King's Mountain, Cowpens, Guilford Court House, Eutaw Springs, and Yorktown. He was wounded at Camden. He died in 1848 or 1849 in Roane County, Tennessee.
• Ishmael Titus: Born in about 1743 a slave in Amelia County, Virginia. He was sold twice, finally to a man in Roan County, North Carolina. He was freed for substituting (serving in the army) for his master's son. He reenlisted. He served at Deep River, King's Mountain, and Guilford Court House. He was captured by Tories. He helped Benjamin Cleveland escape. He lived in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in 1832.

The Loyalists

The source is Dr. Bobby Moss, The Loyalists at King's Mountain.

• British Regular Army (Major Patrick Ferguson): 1
• Provincials: 118
• Militia: 808
Additional (Unknown): 30

Total: 957

Reportedly, the Provincials included 20 who were mounted, although there are no reports of their use in the campaign. Their mention in the battle are as being shot down when they attempted to mount and aid Ferguson or DePeyster.

Virginia Sal, killed in the battle, and Virginia Paul, were employees of Ferguson.

The numbers engaged and the casualties are still being debated. There are no definite, accurate counts. I've used the numbers from Draper. Of course, this is why King's Mountain is always suspect as a military action: no reliable records!

The Patriots

• Killed: 26
• Wounded: 36

Total: 62

Campbell's Virginians suffered the highest casualties, 13 deaths and 21 wounded, half the deaths, two-thirds the wounded, one-third the total casualties. The Edmondson family is unique: of the eight engaged, three were killed and one wounded. The Virginians were the first to attack. They also engaged the best of Ferguson's troops, the Provincials. In addition, they also diverted attention from the other two Overmountain units attacking. Each time the Provincials retreated, they met two opponents: The unit attacking and the unit they'd just pushed down the ridge.

Several years the OVTA reenactors were stopped by a Washington County, Virginia, Deputy Sherriff, who stopped to wish us well on our trip. His name? Edmondson.

Draper points out the surprising number of officers killed and wounded. This shows the strong leadership, particularly among Virginia's unit. Draper says this shows they "fearlously exposed themselves in rallying the regiment."

The British & Provincials

• Killed: 19
• Wounded: 35
• Captured: 68

Total: 132

The Loyalist Militia

• Killed: 206
• Wounded: 128
• Captured: 648
• Escaped: 200

Total: 1182

Grand Total: 1314

These numbers are from the Patriots' official report and are the hardest numbers to confirm. Among the papers the Patriot leaders examined in Ferguson's camp, the return (account) for rations revealed 1125 present that day. From that all sorts of deductions can be made. It's thought that a foraging party left camp before the battle. They are numbered from 200 to 440 by different sources. The count expressed by most British sources, including DePeyster, Allaire, and, Ryerson (all Provincial officers) indicate about 100 Provincials and 800 Loyalist militia were engaged.

An interesting statistic is that no surgeons (doctors) were with the Patriots. Three were with Ferguson, and two were killed, only Dr. Uzzal Johnson surviving. Curiously, he does not mention in his diary.

Yes, curiously, we must take note of some who were not there, but whose actions contributed to the success. Here's the author's list in no particular order of importance.

Charles McDowell: A controversial choice, for he was unpopular in his day. Dr. Emmitt White, who assembled material on the militia men of Burke County, North Carolina, told the author that "the jug, when passed, lingered too long at McDowell's lips." But he was the commander of the Burke Militia and second-in-command in the Salisbury District. When Rutherford was captured at Camden, McDowell was in charge. There is no doubt he was a dedicated Patriot. He made a major mistake at Earle's Ford when he failed to post pickets. In the surprise attack by Major James Dunlap, Hampton's son was killed. Shelby lost trust in McDowell. At Bedford's Hill, Shelby made sure they did not continue with McDowell. Here's McDowell's moment of greatness, for he did not oppose his ouster. He accepted the bogus errand to Hillsboro, allowing the army to continue united.

There's another curious aspect of the affair. When McDowell left, presumably his brother, Joseph of Quaker Meadows (Morganton), moved up to command the Salisbury District troops. His cousin, Joe of Pleasant Garden (Marion), then commanded the Burke County troops. At least, Emmitt White says PG Joe commanded the Burke men at King's Mountain.

Griffith Rutherford: Had he not been a prisoner, undoubtedly, he would have been in the battle, commanding the Patriot army. His absence brought about the conflict over McDowell's leadership.

Thomas Sumter: He was the Revolution in South Carolina in the area along the North Carolina border. Importantly, he kept in touch with North Carolina militia. He was very active before and after the fall of Charleston.

John Adair: He was the Entry Taker of Washington and Sullivan Counties, North Carolina (today's Tennessee), and the holder of the only public money in the Watauga. He collected the land fees. As soon as John Sevier determined to take his men, he went to Adair and asked for money.

"Colonel Sevier, I have no authority to make that disposition of this money; it belongs to the impoverished treasury of North Carolina, and I dare not appropriate a penny of it to any purpose. But if the country is over-run by the British, our liberty is gone. Let the money go, too. Take it. If the enemy, by its use, is driven from the country, I can trust the country to justify and vindicate my conduct. So take it."

He provided $12,000 to $13,000 that was used to purchase 500 pounds of powder from the Pattons who operated a black powder manufactory near Fort Watauga. It would take years for the money to be appropriated to replace the funds released by Adair. He nearly went to prison for the debt.

It's not strange we have some weird ideas of King's Mountain. Two contemporary accounts are strange, indeed.

Lard Rawdon's "an numerous army.from Nolachucky and other settlements whose very names had been unknown to us" shows one of the Crown's problems: They did not know or understand their colonies. They listened only to the English elites, often not even listening to the colonial elite. They neither knew, nor understood, nor cared to know, the colonies and the different interests of citizens.

An officer under Tarleton, named MacKenzie, recounted an even more bizarre event:

"The wild and fierce inhabitants of Kentucky, and other settlements westward of the Allegheny mountains, under colonels Campbell and Boone, [the others, including Shelby, Sevier] assembled suddenly and silently...advanced with the intention to seize a quantity of Indian presents, which they understood were but slightly guarded at Augusta [Georgia], and which were, about that time, to have been distributed among a body of Creek and Cherokee Indians assembled at that place."

While Sevier would move to the Nolachucky in the winter after King's Mountain, he and most of his men came from the settlements on the Watauga. Of course, Boone not only was not at King's Mountain, he was never involved in the Revolution. It is possible, however, that Georgia's Elijah Clarke told his people they could capture trade goods at Augusta. This is just speculation, however.

Many historians and a few military men have speculated on why Ferguson lost and how he might have prevailed.

• Depeyster, commander of the Provincials, commented, "The position...strong against a regular attack, was not defensible against the attack directed upon it."
• Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution, described the battle ridge as "a strange place for an encampment, or a battle...It is difficult to understand why Ferguson and his band were there at all!"
• Draper points out that Ferguson relied on the bayonet, while his Loyalist militia were riflemen. In essence, Ferguson squandered what his men knew for what Ferguson knew. How ironic that is, since Ferguson was brought over to test using riflemen with the army. Once his rifles were taken away, he was just another British officer forgetting he was not in Europe.
• Draper also speculates a positive outcome if Tarleton or the men who were out foraging or scouting had returned and attacked during the battle. (The author answers that the problem was access. The only road limited how many men could attack.)
• Draper also suggests Ferguson should have chosen a spot in open ground or in the woods with some cover.

The author feels Ferguson could also have fortified his position, although he may not have had time. But, an instructor from West Point feels Ferguson would not fortify, fearing a bad effect on mortale. Furthermore, the instructor believed Ferguson did not have enough troops to defend the ridge.

The author feels Ferguson should have picked an open spot where he was in a cleared space, 200 yards from any cover. He needed to force the Patriots to attack from more than rifle range. The author also points out that the plan developed and followed by the Patriots meant that all of Ferguson's forces were engaged once the encirclement was complete. It was difficult for Ferguson to deploy a reserve to reinforce a weak point or pressure a point to enable a break out.

We are beholden to these historians, lacking any real records of the campaign, they have dug deeply into what they could find, often exploring in places not explored before. All, unfortunately are no longer with us. Here's hoping in the 250th or 300th anniversaries, we can add another.

We have trouble developing the story of King's Mountain, not just because of the lack of official records. No one with the proper military background has studied the campaign. Similarly, all the ground from Abingdon and the assembly at Fort Watauga to the mountain, and the mountain, requires study. We need to know more about the contemporary roads, the mustering and route of each unit. The politics of the time, the militia, the weaponry on both sides needs more study as part of the whole. The armies came from the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia. But Loyalists also came from New Jersey, Connecticut, and New York.

Lyman Draper: His 1881 King's Mountain and Its Heroes is still the definitive account. (Although, he did not visit the mountain.) All accounts start with Draper and his archive in the library at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He originally was interested in several colonial incidents, particularly the report that Christopher Gist had jumped the Clifton Gorge of the Little Miami river when pursued by Shawnee. Collecting accounts of the frontier and later the Revolution led to a tremendous archive of millions of items. Tapping this archive for insights will be key for the Tricentennial. Some distrust Draper, since he never actually saw the battle ridge or the trail. One critic remarked that Draper "printed any lie that people sent him." Actually, Draper tried to resolve many controversies then current. He sifted through the different accounts to identify the truth. True, he believed most Tories were evil!

• A curious article from Wallace State Community College provides some insight into Draper and the collection at University of Wisconsin.
• This "Descriptive Finding Aid" discusses Draper and the Archive at Wisconsin and includes a biography.
• This material is from the Wisconsin Historical Society
• King's Mountain and Its Heroes

Dr. Bobby Gilmer Moss: His attempts to bring together biographical information compiled in his Patriots at King's Mountain and Loyalists at King's Mountain provides names and identities of the two armies. He edited diaries of two Loyalist leaders: Journals of Capt. Alexander Chesney and Uzal Johnson, Loyalist Surgeon. His research revealed the five African-Americans in the Patriot army, all Virginians, one a slave, Campbell's servant. Yes, Dr. Moss does perpetuate the likely bogus story of Ferguson's doxies, Virginia Sal (killed in the battle and buried with Ferguson on the mountain) and Virginia Paul. I asked Dr. Moss why he thought that was true. "Oh, they all knew that." Sounds bogus to me.

Nancy Ellen Ferguson: Rutherford County Historian for many years, she was able to get Gilbert Town, the only camping place of both armies, added to the National Park Service's study of Revolutionary War sites.

Too many treat King's Mountain as a folk event or backwoods pageant. It is a brilliant infantry action showing how intelligence, leadership, and sound planning can bring startling results. These three help make this clear.

We're looking for a young graduate student who will dedicate his or her time to the King's Mountain campaign.

• For women, there's the whole question of what influence did women have. They certainly took the lead in getting the harvest in while the men were away. Draper documents a number of their stories. OVTA founder, Blair Keller, told the story of his ancestor's wife learning of his death and burial along the way back. She left home and rode east to bring his body home. She was not successful. In 1980, he rode the trail. Coming back he said he had a curious feeling near the Green river in today's Polk County, North Carolina.
• The lack of truth in the stories of Virginia Sal and Virginia Paul. In 1815, Dr. William McLean opened the grave. He reported two skeletons, one a man and one a woman. The woman (Virginia Sal) he determined was about 35 and had borne children. This conflicts with the idea of two young women. (We know little about Virginia Paul, except that she was paroled to a British or Loyalist officer.)
• What is the ethnicity of the two armies? Was it really a majority Irish/Scotch-Irish/Ulster Scot/Scotts-Irish in the Patriot or Loyalist army? What was the religious distribution on the two sides?
• Why/how did Ferguson choose the battle ridge? This is a real stunner, for it likely determined the outcome of the battle.
• What was Ferguson's state of mind? The proclamations to the Overmountain people, the Loyalists from Broad river, and his announcing he's on King's Mountain, as well as his almost asking for help suggest a man not ready to take command of his situation.
• Can we define the route more exactly?
• Is there any truth in the story that David Vance told when snowed in in the Black mountains with a surveying party in the early 1800's? The route he described is quite different from that we celebrate?.
• What route did Clarke's people take when they left Georgia? Candler's group traveled along the edge of the Cherokee country and met the Patriots near Gilbert Town, but how did the families go, since we assume they went to Fort Watauga, although, there is also a Watauga in the Cherrokee country.
• A closer look at how the battle ridge looked that day: the camp, the picket posts, water, kitchen, wagon circle, horse tethering, etc.
• An analysis of both armies' tactics, training, and formations. Ideally, a trained tactician, knowledgeable in both British and frontier rifle practices, would prepare plans for the defense of and assault on the mountain. This should be complete as possible, not just restating what happened, but assessing what could fail and what could succeed. (For fun, similar assessments for modern arms and methods would be usefull.)
• Who failed the Crown, Ferguson or the Loyalists? This is an interesting question, since the narrative seems to indict Ferguson, but historians and contemporary Britons feel the Loyalists failed to support the crown. This question is complicated for King's Mountain can be assessed as just local or the results of the whole summer.
• What did the Patriot (and Loyalist) leaders read? There may be answers in estate inventories at their deaths. Or, we may have to settle for inventories of book stores.
• More information on the Williams - Hill controversy, including what Lacey said at Green river when he was interrogated.
• More information on the leaders. For instance, Isaac Shelby would leave today's Tennessee and settle in Virginia's Kentucky County, becoming its first governor when Kentucky reached statehood. He remained active in its militia, leading the Kentucky troops in several actions, including the victory at the Battle of the Thames. William Campbell would not live to have the reputation he deserved. After King's Mountain, he'd lead Virginia's militia under Nathanael Greene at Guilford Court House. His men would suffer, for Light Horse Harry Lee, his fellow Virginian, would fail to notify Campbell to retreat and men needlessly died. Campbell resigned and went home, only to be recalled when Cornwallis came into Virginia. Unfortunately, he died of typhoid before ever serving. Samuel Doak started three Presbyterian colleges, only one of which - Milligan - still exists, although it's now Baptist. Later, he played a role in the life of John Rankin, a young Presbyterian minister who was driven from Tennessee and Virginia for his opposition to slavery. He settled in Ripley, Ohio, building a large house above the Ohio River with a large U.S. flag by day and a red lantern by night. He told a fellow abolitionist a strange tale of a woman and her infant fleeing in winter across the river's ice. That story started the research that resulted in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.
• Cataloging all the skirmishes associated with the campaign, particularly before McDowell was driven over the mountains. Was the Cane creek fight one or three or more? Where was the Cane creek skirmish: Cowan's ford (today's McDowell County), three miles above Cowan's ford, Brindletown, or Allen's mountain?
• Developing more material on the prisoners. Their stories are interesting enough that a volume just on them is warranted.
• More study of the interactions of the local leaders, including the Rutledge/Nash/Jefferson relationships.
• The variations in militia rules and implementation in the different colonies
• Similarly, a closer look at Ferguson's command that included North and South Carolina militia, and Provincials from New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut.
• The diet of the Patriot army along the route. (Draper says the Patriots ate unripe peaches, a comment that confounded OVTA reenactors. It turns out, peaches are unlike apples. The unripe peach is edible and will not upset the digestion.)
• Research the land records to determine the proper name for each location. One historian believes the Bedfords were not in the area of Bedford's Hill in 1780. The ford on the Green river may also have had an earlier name.
• A study of how Helene has affected the trail corridor. So much of the trail corridor is along streams, that Helene must have detroyed or seriously damaged historic facilities, views, or even accessibility.

Yes, there is some artwork for King's Mountain. At Kings Mountain National Military Park is a poster of a postage stamp issued at the Bicentennial. There is also a spectacular view of the battle and the famous diorama. At the Capitol in Nashville is the wonderful depiction of the muster at Sycamore Shoals. Wilma Dykma's neat little With Fire and Sword has marvelous, colorful views of events along the trail.

To the author, several other events should be documented:

• Isaac Shelby meeting with John Sevier during his wedding to "Bonnie" Kate Shelly
• The camp in the rain at Shelving Rock
• The muster in the snow at Yellow Mountain Gap with the two deserters slinking away
• McDowell leaving the camp at Bedford's Hill, perhaps one or two men raising their hats in salute
• Larkin Cleveland being wounded or being carried by canoe up river to Quaker Meadows
• The arrival in the night of the Wilkes-Surry men at Quaker Meadows
• Scouts checking Gilbert Town from Marlin's Knob
• The camp at Green River when the captains questioned the South Carolina officer who claimed they're headed wrong
• The army on its way to Cowpens, perhaps in the rain, some men on foot running alongside a mounted buddy carrying his gear
• The "meal" at Cowpens
• Crossing the flooding Broad at Cherokee Ford
• Enoch Gilmer being "captured"
• Crossing the flooding Catawba on the return

The author grew up spending his summers on Chesapeake Bay, learning to row. This ancient technology is curious, for you sit facing where you're leaving and away from where you're going. (Curious, but practical, for you have more back strength when pulling away from your starting point.) You do this by picking an object you're looking at that is opposite where you want to go: a tree, a house, a moored boat. If you need to change direction, you need more than one.

We who are partial to King's Mountain spend many hours complaining that Northern historians were fixated on Saratoga and ignored King's Mountain as THE turning point. But, I'd learned changing direction takes more than one guiding point. Here's the author's choices of the turning points:

1. The French and Indian War: Both the British and their colonists came to despise each other. The British felt the colonists only wanted to protect their interests and make money off the crown. The colonists seemed cowardly and ungrateful for the Crown. The colonists came to see the British army as incompetent and its officers arrogant and foolish. In addition, that Virginian, George Washington, was viewed, by the colonists, although not by the Crown's officres, as the best military mind in the colonies.
2. The Boston Massacre: This showed the colonists were touchy on the question of paying for the French & Indian War and the presence of British troops in Boston. Yet, the colonists weren't willing to take their proper place in the Bristish Empire. They thought themselves "better."
3. The Tea Parties: Boston's is best known, but there were similar events all up and down the Atlantic coast. (Curoiusly, many ship owners burned their own ships or dumped the tea!) Curiously, the tea tax was lowered, but this was an attempt to stop smuggling and limit the colonists to British East Indian tea. That company was nearly bankrupt and this lowered tax might bail them out.
4. The Abominable Acts: These revoked the Massachusetts' charter and closed the port of Boston. Bad move, for all colonies depended on trade through their ports and valued their charters. Massachusetts gained supporters and revolutionary leaders appeared.
5. Lexington & Concord: Ooops, these colonists would resist even the mighty British army. The results were even more startling: The colonials created an army and besieged the British in Boston!
6. Bunker Hill: Yikes, these colonists could fight, not just a running fight behind fences "and branyard walls."
7. The selection of George Washington as Continental commander. Because of his militia service and his leadership at Braddock's Defeat, he was the best-known military man in the colonies. Furthermore, he believed the British could accept defeat only if it came from a European-style army. Colonists could win, but never be respected for their "Indian" tactics. Furthermore, as Virginia's militia commander with scattered forts and units, he learned those important lessons of logistics and coordination. He understood how to organize and plan to succeed.
8. The Declaration of Independence
9. The Trenton & Princeton Campaigns
10. Saratoga: Yes, this is important for the French decided to stop their clandestine support, recognize the colonies, and provide military and monetary support. This is key, for we could not have prevailed without French support. They armed, fed, and paid the Continental army. In the end, their Navy made Yorktown possibnle.
11. The fall of Charleston, Waxhaws, and Camden: The third Continental Southern commander who replaced the captured Benjamin Lincoln, and the disgraced Horatio Gates (who fled Camden) - Nathanael Greene - would prove up to the task.
11. King's Mountain: Clinton said it nicely: The first "Evil" leading to the end. The opportunities of the summer were wasted.
12. Cowpens: A beautiful battle devised by a man - Daniel Morgan - who understood his Continental and militia troops and acted accordingly. Banastre Tarleton, used to running to the action, ran like the Devil away.
13. The Race to the Dan: Cornwallis showed that he did not always understand the priorities. He burned his wagons to speed up his advance, then was unable to feed his troops. Nathanael Greene planned better, making sure that he destroyed or left the boats on the north side of the rivers between South Carolina and Virginia at the Dan.
14. Guildford Court House: Cornwallis gained the field (won), but it was strewn with one-third of his army.
15. Yorktown: The miscalculations all came together. Curiously, Cornwallis would go on to glory in India. I do not list any other Southern events, for that campaign after Guildford, like the actions in the North and Virginia, amounted to a stalemate. Greene, for instance, besieged but did not take Ninety-Six. As soon as his army was out of sight, the British withdrew to Charleston. The result was that at the end, the British held only Charleston and New York.

Ferguson was a wealthy man and equipped as a British officer should be. So there was much plunder to distribute among the Patriots:

• Shelby got his big silver whistle used to signal actions.
• Elius Powell got the small silver whistle. (This whistle was reported to be in the trail area of the Carolinas at the time of the Bicentennial, but was never offered for display at the park.)
• Sevier got Ferguson's sash, as well as DePeyster's sword.
• Campbell took some of Ferguson's correspondence.
• Samuel Talbot picked up Ferguson's pistol.
• Ferguson's watch went to an unidentified South Carolinian.
• Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens got six dinner plates, a coffee cup, and saucer.

Certainly, there were others, for Ferguson was well equipped. Many of the Provincials and Loyalist militia surrendered their swords to Patriots. (Lenoir remarked that many who only had an iron sword before, now had good swords!

• Part 1 covers the campaign and the battle of King's Mountain.
• This is Part 2 of 4 parts: more information on the two armies and various ideas on the battle
• Part 3 deals with controversies of the battle
• Part 4 explains the development of the National Military Part, the National Historic Trail, OVTA, popular materials on the battle, and source materials