ORTH CAROLINA 1780-1781
ISTORY OF INVASION
NORTH CAROLINA
: .._ :.:....:
LOUD C
AND MAJOR GENERAL GREENE
IN THE
S OUT H E'K >" PROVIIV ( ' E S ,
NOW
STATE s OF NORTH AMERICA.
Comprehending;
Two CAROLINAS,
This volume, "North Carolina 1780-
1781", by David Schenck is a history
of the invasion of the Carolinas by
the Briiish Army under Lord Corn-
wallis with special emphasis on the
Battle of Guilford Courthouse leading
up to Yorktown.
It is No. 6 in the Heritage Series
of reprints on North Carolina in the
Colonial and Revolutionary period.
-Also, it is one of another series on
major battles and campaigns of the
Revolution and part of a still larger
reprinting on Colonial and Revolution-
ary America in general.
Already completed and available
in a projected 100 or more volumes
are basic histories on North Carolina,
New York, Pennsylvania, New Jer-
sey, South Carolina, Virginia and
Georgia. We already are working on
basic New England volumes to com-
plete the coverage of the original 13
Colonies.
Six volumes on Women of Colonial
and Revolutionary Times have been
added for their historical and social
value and the light they shed on the
manners and customs, the ways of
life and the modes of thought of the
people of Puritan, Knickerbocker and
Cavalier origins. The books are on
Eliza Pinckney of South Carolina,
Martha Washington and Dolly Madi-
son of Virginia, Margaret Winthrop
and Mercy Warren of Massachusetts,
and Catherine Schuyler of New York.
They were originally printed in the
late 1890s by Scribners.
Also, "The Heads of Families,
First Census of the United States
1790", a 12 - volume set covering all
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now available. States include: South
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This Volume Was Reproduced
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NORTH CAROLINA.
178CV81.
BEING A
HISTORY OF THE INVASION OF THE CAROLINAS
BY THE
British Army Under Lord Cornwallis in 1780-'81,
WITH THE
PARTICULAR DESIGN OF SHOWING THE PART BORNE
BY NORTH CAROLINA IN THAT STRUGGLE FOR
LIBERTY AND INDEPENDENCE, AND TO COR-
RECT SOME OF THE ERRORS OF
HISTORY IN REGARD TO THAT
STATE AND ITS PEOPLE.
BY DAVID SCHENCK, LL. D.
Happy are that people who have a noble history and read it."
RALEIGH, N. C:
EDWARDS & BROUGHTON, PUBLISHERS.
5-3
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1889, by DAVID SCHENCK,
in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
TO THE MEMORY
BRIGADIER GENERAL JETHRO SUMNER,
THE HERO OF EUTAW SPRINGS,
WHOSE LOFTY COURAGE, WHOSE UNDAUNTED SPIRIT AND
UNSWERVING PATRIOTISM DESERVE THE ADMIRA-
TION OF MANKIND, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED,
AS THE ONLY MONUMENT WHICH THE
AUTHOR IS ABLE TO RAISE IN
HONOR OF THAT EMI-
NENT SOLDIER.
INTRODUCTION.
The author, who has been, since 1882, a citizen
of Greensboro, North Carolina, has frequently
visited the spot, where, on Thursday, the I5th day
of March, 1781, the battle of Guilford Court-House
was fought. It is located five miles north of the
city, on the Cape Fear and Yadkin Valley Rail-
road.
A visit to the battle-field, in the Autumn of
1886, suggested the idea of the formation of " The
Guilford Battle Ground Company," which was
incorporated by the Legislature of North Carolina,
March the yth, 1887.
The author was elected President of that Com-
pany, and in the examination of the different
histories of the battle of Guilford Court-House, by
Lee, Johnson and some other writers of less reputa-
tion, he became convinced that great injustice had
been done to the militia of North Carolina, in regard
to their conduct on that occasion. Further research
confirmed this opinion and led to the conviction that
the inj ustice done to North Carolina was not con-
fined to the events occurring in this battle, but that
(12)
the State had been robbed of the honor due her for
repelling the British invasion in lySo-'Si ; that the
credit of her noble deeds had been ascribed to others ;
that the citizenship of her heroes had been claimed
by other States, and that the truth, in regard to these
stirring events, had, either intentionally or by gross
negligence, been greatly and wrongfully perverted
to the injury of her good name.
The author, therefore, as a dutiful son of North
Carolina, determined to write this book in defence
of his native State, and in vindication of the honor
and patriotism of her people. His work is now
submitted to the judgment of public opinion.
In the preparation of this History, the author
desires to acknowledge his obligation for assistance
to the Honorable William L. Saunders, Secretary
of State for North Carolina; to David Hutcheson,
Esq., Assistant Librarian of Congress, and J. C.
Birdsong, Esq., State Librarian of North Carolina.
He is particularly indebted to Colonel Saunders for
the very valuable correspondence of Brigadier
General Jethro Sumner, which has hitherto been
unpublished and inaccessible to the public.
GREENSBORO, N. C., September 2oth, 1889.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Invasion of Georgia, South and North Carolina, lySo-'Si Its Cruel
and Desperate Character Organization of North Carolina Reg-
ulars and Minute Men, I775~'76 Their Movements Death of
Gen. James Moore Death of Gen. Francis Nash Reorgani-
zation of the Six Regular Regiments The North Carolina
Mihtia in South Carolina, 1779 Mr. Piuckney's Complimentary
Letter in regard to North Carolina Troops Page 17.
CHAPTER II.
Condition of the States of Georgia, South and North Carolina in
I779~'8o Siege of Charleston All the North Carolina Regu-
lars of the Continental Line captured Patriotism and Public
Spirit unabated Massacre of Buford's Command by Tarleton
Battle of Ramsour's Mill, the 2oth June, 1780 Col. William R.
Davie Affair at Hanging Rock Campaign of McDowell and
Shelby, August, 1780 The Deckhard Rifle Generals Ruther-
ford, Gregory and Butler Battle near Camden Gates' Defeat
Splendid Courage of Colonel Dixon's North Carolinians in the
Battle Flight of Gates to Charlotte Page 37.
CHAPTER III.
The Scattered Troops and Militia assemble at Charlotte Colonel W.
L. Davidson General Sumner in Command of the Militia
Letter from Governor Nash Patriotism of the People Corn-
wallis leaves, September 7th, 1780, for North Carolina De-
fence of Charlotte by Davie and Graham Hostile Spirit of the
People Colonel Patrick Ferguson Movements of the Whig
Leaders Battle of King's Mountain Page 99.
(M)
CHAPTER IV.
Cornwallis Retreats from Charlotte to Wiunsboro General Morgan
joins Gates at Hillsboro Gates moves from Hillsboro to Char-
lotte General Nathanael Greene supersedes Gates December
4th, 1780, at Charlotte Personal Sketches of Greene and Corn-
wallis Greene Moves to " Camp Repose " on the Pee Dee
Morgan sent to the Western Part of the State December i6th
Sketch of General Morgan Lee's Legion joins Greene Char-
acter of Lee The North Carolina Riflemen join Morgan 310
Strong The Fight at Hammonds' Store Maneuvering of
Tarleton and Morgan Their respective Strength Tarleton's
Character Battle of Cowpens January the 1 7th, 1781 .-Page 178.
CHAPTER V.
Morgan's Retreat from Cowpens to the Catawba River Sends his
Prisoners by Island Ford to Virginia He Crosses the Catawba
with his Main Army at Sherrill's Ford January 23d, 1781
Cornwallis reaches Ramsonr's Mill the 25th Destroys all his
Heavy Baggage Greene meets Morgan the 3oth at the Ca-
tawba ; Orders the Army from "Camp Repose" to Join
Morgan on the Yadkin Battle at Cowan's Ford February
ist Death of General William Lee Davidson Frederick
Hager, the Tory, Fires the Fatal Shot Morgan Crosses the
Yadkin at Trading Ford The two Armies Unite Finally at
Guilford Court-House February loth General Morgan Disa-
bled by Rheumatism Greene's Great Confidence in Him
Retreat of Greene into Virginia Crosses the Dan, February
I4th - . -. Page 226.
CHAPTER VI.
Greene on the Dan Cornwallis at Hillsboro General Andrew
Pickens, of South Carolina, selected by a Brigade of North
Carolina Militia at Shallow Ford, to lead Them Movements of
General Richard Caswell with the Militia in the East "Coun-
cil Extraordinary," its Acts General John Butler's Move-
ments Major Craig, of the British Army, enters Wilmington
Jan uary the 2gth ,1781 Letter of Govern or Abn er Nash Green e
Recrosses the Dan February 23d, 1781 Graham's Dash at Hart's
Mill Pyle's Defeat, 25th February, 1781 Affair at Whitsill's
Mill, March 6th Lieutenant Colonel Webster's Marvelous
Escape from Death Reinfcrcements Reach General Greene
at High Rock Ford, on Haw River, Sunday, March the nth,
1781 Page 260.
CHAPTER VII.
North Carolinians with Greene at the Battle of "Guilford Court-
House" Virginians with Him The Troops constituting His
Regular Army The Number and Character of the Troops
under Cornwallis Description of the Battle-Ground Descrip-
tion of the Battle Defence of the North Carolina Militia
Incidents and Anecdotes of the Battle Results of the Battle
in its Effect on the Military History of the Country Mr. Ben-
ton's Review of the Importance of this Battle The Precursor
of Yorktown The Lesser the Father of the Greater Event.
Page 293.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Retreat of Cornwallis from Guilford Court-House Pursued by
General Greene Disbandment of the Militia Colonel James
Read's Command from North Carolina Remains with Greene
The Militia who Fled from Guilford Court-House Reorganized
as Part 6f the Continental Line under Major Pinketham
Eaton Battle of Hobkirk's Hill Fall of the British Out-
postsSplendid Courage and Dash of the North Carolinians
at Augusta, June 5th, 1781 Death of Major Eaton Greene
Retires to the High Hills of Santee, i6th July, 1781 --Page 388.
CHAPTER IX.
General Jethro Sunnier Raises a Brigade of Continental Troops in
1781 His Correspondence in Regard Thereto Marches, in
July, 1781, to Join General Greene Colonel John B. Ashe,
Major John Armstrong and Major Reading Blount, his Lieu-
tenants Brigade Numbers 800 Men North Carolina Militia
Join Greene General Sumter, of South Carolina, Recruits his
Brigade in Rowan and Mecklenburg Counties Page 426.
(Ib)
CHAPTER X.
Battle of Eutaw Springs, Fought the 8th day of September, 1781
The Noble Part borne by North Carolinians in this Battle
Greene Retires to the High Hills of the Santee Hears of the
Fall of Yorktown The War Virtually Ends Page 444.
CHAPTER XL
Sketches of Charles and Joseph McDowell Joseph Graham Major
"Hal." Dixon General Rutherford General Butler Briga-
dier General Jethro Sumner The End Page 463.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
David Schenck Frontispiece
Major Joseph Graham opposite page 112
Major Joseph McDowell opposite page 176
Battle-field of Guilford Court-House 386
MAPS.
North and South Carolina 16
Battle of Camden 88
Battle of King's Mountain.- 164
Battle of Cowpeus 210
Battle of Guilford Court-House 320
Battle of Hobkirk's Hill 402
Battle of Eutaw Springs -- 446
NORTH CAROLINA, 1780-81.
CHAPTER I.
Invasion of Georgia, South and North Carolina, lySo-'Si Its Cruel
and Desperate Character Organization of North Carolina Reg-
ulars and Minute Men, i775-'76 -Their Movements Death of
Gen. James Moore Death of Gen. Francis -Nash Reorgani-
zation of the Six Regular Regiments The North Carolina
Militia in South Carolina, 1779 Mr. Pinkney's Complimentary
Letter in regard to North Carolina Troops.
* I ^HE student of history who reads carefully the
-- incidents connected with the invasion of the
three Southern States, Georgia, South Carolina and
North Carolina, in lySo-'Si, will be impressed with
the desperation of this last attempt of the British
Government to subdue the American colonies.
No respect for morality or humanity was allowed
to thwart the purposes of conquest ; no rights of
property were to be recognized among rebels ; no
appeals for mercy from the helpless were to be
heeded, if destruction could injure the American
cause ; executions, cruel and remorseless, were to
be inflicted on prisoners who dared to love or fight
for liberty ; the savage Indian was to be incited by
English emissaries to lay waste the frontiers and
murder its citizens ; the brutal slave was offered
freedom and licentious indulgence as a reward for
treachery to his master and service in the English
camp ; the rules of civilized warfare were to be
2
(iS)
disregarded ; solemn pledges to the citizens were
broken, paroles .of prisoners ignored, and every
oppression that devilish ingenuity could suggest
was to be exercised in order to crush the spirit of
the patriots and suppress the so-called rebellion.
The marauding bands of the invaders committed
acts of vindictiveness that would have made the
Duke of Alba blush with shame.
Lord Corn \vallis, who affected " amiability " and
was bred a soldier, shut his eyes to these atrocities
and, by proclamations in violation of his faith,
breathed out terror and threats and dismay in
advance of his coming ; there was to be neither
safety for life nor property nor virtue, unless the
citizen was an active loyalist, or became an apostate
to his principles. The butcheries of Tarleton were
lauded as victories, and he was addressed in affec-
tionate terms by his commander and congratulated
for his conduct. Cornwallis never assumed to do
justice until retaliation convinced him that such
deeds as he encouraged could not be practiced with
impunity, and that an unrelenting vengeance would
dog his advance. It was necessity and apprehen-
sion, not justice or mercy, that compelled him to
respect human beings whom the fate of war placed
in his power.
This bloody and cruel invasion aroused the indig-
nation and stirred the eloquent spirit of the younger
Pitt, and, in excited language and with vehement
manner, he cried out in the British Commons :
"The noble Lord has called the American war a holy
war; I affirm that it is a most accursed war; wicked,
barbarous, cruel and unnatural; conceived in injustice,
it was brought forth and nurtured in folly; its footsteps
are marked with slaughter and devastation, while
it meditates destruction to the miserable people who
are the devoted objects of the resentments which pro-
duced it."
The American army, under Major-General Lincoln,
which had been besieged at Charleston, surrendered
to Sir Henry Clinton on the 1 2th, day of April, 1780.
By the terms of the capitulation the Continental
troops and sailors became prisoners of war until
exchanged ; the rnilitia from the country were to
return home on parole and to be secure in their
property so long as their parole should be observed.
But these terms were set at naught. The Conti-
nental troops were confined in the filthy, crowded
prison ships, or forced to reside in the most malari-
ous spots, on the coast, so that in a few months they
were reduced by deaths one-third of their number,
and many of those who survived returned, at last,
to their homes with their physical constitutions
broken down by disease and their health forever
gone.
1780. By the proclamation of Lord Cornwallis,
issued in June,the prisoners on parole were required
to take active part in securing the royal govern-
ment. "Should they neglect to return to their
allegiance," so the proclamation read, " they were
to be treated as rebels to the government."
(20)
We shall see in the sequel with what sanguinary
results this proclamation was enforced ; but the
blood of the patriots, to use a paraphrase, was the
seed of the American cause, and the u burnt houses
of its citizens made patriots of them all."
The military strength of North Carolina was
greatly reduced by the surrender of General Lin-
coln's army at Charleston, and but for the unflinch-
ing patriotism and devotion to independence which
pervaded her people, she too, would soon have
become a prostrate State. It will be with a feeling
of pride that we shall endeavor to trace the history
of her military forces during this eventful period,
from the siege of Charleston, its darkest day, to the
victory at Eutaw Springs, where her troops consti-
tuted so large a portion of the army of General
Greene and won for themselves imperishable laurels
of victor}*.
The Legislature of North Carolina, which met at
Hillsboro the 2ist day of August, 1775, in the
dawn of the revolution, passed an act to raise two
regiments of Continental troops which had been
asked for by Congress.
The following were the officers of these regiments:
FIRST RKGIMKXT.
*J ames Moore, Colonel.
^Francis Nash, Lieutenant Colonel.
Thomas Clark, Major.
\Yilliam Williams, Adjutant.
^Afterwards Brigadier General.
(21)
CAPTAINS.
William Daves, George Daudson,
William Packett, Alfred Moore,
*Henry Dickson, John Walker,
Thomas Allen, William Greene,
Robert Rowan, Caleb Grainger.
LIEUTENANTS.
John LilKngton, William Berryhill,
Hesekiah Rice, Lawrence Thompson,
Joshua Bowman, Abraham Tatnm,
Hector McNeil, William Hill,
William Brandon, Thomas Hogg.
SECOND REGIMENT.
f Robert Howe, Colonel.
Alexander Martin, Lieutenant Colonel.
John Patton, Major.
Dr. John White, Captain and Adjutant.
CAPTAINS.
James Blount, Nathan Keais,
JJohn. Armstrong, Simon Bright,
Charles Crawford, Michael Payne,
Hardy Murfree, John Walker.
Henry Irwin Toole,
*Known as " Hal " Dickson, afterwards Colonel. General Joseph
Graham's Sketches.
fAfterwards Major-General.
{Afterwards Major and commanding battalion at Eutavf Springs.
(22)
LIEUTENANTS.
John Grainger, Joseph Tate,
Robert Smith, William Fenner,
John Herritage, J^hn \\ r illiams,
Clement Hall, James Gee,
Edward Vail, Jr., Benjamin Williams.
The Legislature met again the 4th day of April,
1776, at Halifax, when four additional regiments
were raised, James Moore and Robert Howe having
been made Brigadier Generals. The field officers
were as follows :
ist Regiment Colonel, Francis Nash ; Lieuten-
ant Colonel, Thos. Clarke ; Major, Win. Davis.
2d Regiment Colonel, Alex. Martin ; Lieuten-
ant Colonel, John Pattoii ; Major, John W'hite.
3_d Regiment Colonel, Jethro Sunnier; Lieu-
tenant Colonel, William Alston ; Major, Samuel
Lock hart.
4th Regiment Colonel, Thomas Polk ; Lieuten-
ant Colonel, James Thackston ; Major, William
Davidson. : ' :
5th Regiment Colonel, Edward Buncombe ;
Lieutenant Colonel, Henry Irwin ; Major, Levi
Dawson.
6th Regiment Colonel, Alexander Lillington ;
Lieutenant Colonel, William Taylor; Major,
Gideon Lamb.
These regiments were known as Regulars. They
*Afterwards Brigadier General and killed at Cowan's Ford.
: (23)
were enlisted under an act of Congress for the war
and were under the control of the general govern-
ment. The Legislature also raised six battalions
known as " Minute Men."
I attach a list of the officers of these troops for
reference, as many of them rose to distinction during
the revolution.
Officers of the battalions, ordered to be raised,
appointed by the House :
EDEXTON DISTRICT. Peter Simon and John
Pugh Williams, Captains ; Andrew Duke and Thos.
Whitmel Pugh, ist Lieutenants ; Neheniiah Long
and Joseph Clayton, ad Lieutenants ; Benjamin
Baily and Elisha Rhodes, Ensigns ; Jerome Mc-
Laine, Thomas Grandbury and Kedar Ballard,
Captains ; Jacob Pollock and John Grandbury, ist
Lieutenants ; Whitmel Blount and Zephaniah Bur-
gess, ad Lieutenants ; Wm. Knott, Ensign ; Roger
Moore, Captain ; William Goodman, ist Lieuten-
ant ; Benij ah Turner, ad Lieutenant; Abel Moss-
lander, Ensign.
HALIFAX DISTRICT. W 7 illiam Brinkley and
Pinketham Eaton* t Captains ; Isaac Prevat and
Jas. Bradley, ist Lieutenants ; Christopher Luckey
and Robert Washington, ad Lieutenants ; William
Etheridge and Joseph Montford, Ensigns ; John
Gray and Jacob Turner, Captains ; Joseph Clinch
?nd Daniel Jones, ist Lieutenants ; Matthew Wood
and Aisop High, ad Lieutenants ; William Linton
and Benjamin Morgan, Ensigns.
*Afterwards Major and killed at Augusta, June, 1781.
HILLSBORO DISTRICT. Philip Taylor and Archi-
bald Lytle,* Captains ; John Kenon and Thomas
Donoho, ist Lieutenants; Dempsey Moore and
William Thompson, 2d Lieutenants ; Solomon
Walker and William Lyttle, Ensigns ; Jas. Emmet,
Captain ; William Clements, ist Lieutenant.
WILMINGTON DISTRICT. John Ashe, Jr., and
John James, Captains ; Charles Hollingsworth and
Daniel Williams, ist Lieutenants; Mark McLainy
and John McCan, 2d Lieutenants ; David Jones
and Edward Outlaw, Ensigns; Griffith John McKee,
Captain; Francis Child, ist Lieutenant.
NEWBERN DISTRICT. Simon Alderson and John
Enloe, Captains ; William Groves and Geo. Suggs,
ist Lieutenants ; John Custin and Henry Camion,
ad Lieutenants ; James McKenny and Shadrack
Wooten, Ensigns ; William Cassel and Reading
Blount^ Captains ; Henry Darnell and Benjamin
Coleman, ist Lieutenants; John Sitgreaves and
John Allen, 2d Lieutenants; John Bush and Thomas
Blount, Ensigns; Benjamin Stedman, Captain;
Robert Turner, ist Lieutenant ; John Eborn, 2d
Lieutenant ; Charles Stewart, Ensign.
SALISBURY DISTRICT Robert Smith and Wil-
liam Temple Cole, Captains ; William Brownfield
and James Carr, ist Lieutenants; William Cald-
well and David Craig, 2d Lieutenants ; Thomas
McLure and Joseph Patton, Ensigns ; Thomas
Haines and Jesse Saunders, Captains ; Thomas
Pickett and William Clover, ist Lieutenants ; John
*Afterwards Colonel in the Continental line.
("Commanded battalion of Regulars at Eutaw Springs.
Madaris and Pleasant Henderson, 2d Lieutenants ;
John Morpis and Thomas Grant, Ensigns ; Wil-
liam Ward, Captain ; Christopher Gooding, ad Lieu-
tenant ; John Whitley, ist Lieutenant; Richard
Singletary, Ensign ; Willis Pope, 2d Lieutenant ;
John Hopson, Ensign ; George Mitchell and Austin
Council, Captains ; Amos Love and Thomas White,
ist Lieutenants ; Benjamin Pike and Thomas Arm-
strong, 2d Lieutenants ; Reuben Grant and Denny
Poterfeild, Ensigns ; James Farr, 2d Lieutenant ;
James Coots, Ensign ; Joseph Phillips and John
Nelson, Captains ;. James S'hepperd and William
Dent, Jr., ist Lieutenants; Micajah Lewis and
James Starrat, 2d Lieutenants ; W 7 illiam Meredith
and Alex. Nelson, Ensigns ; John Baptiste Ashe*
Captain ; George Dougherty, ist Lieutenant ; An-
drew Armstrong, 2d Lieutenant ; Joshua Hadley,
Ensign ; James Cook, Captain ; Adam Hampton,
ist Lieutenant ; John Walker, 2d Lieutenant :
Adam McFadden, Ensign.
LIGHT HORSE.
ist Company John Dickerson, Captain ; Samuel
Ashe, Jr., Lieutenant; Abraham Childers, Cornet.
2ff Company Martin Pfifer, Captain; James
Sunnier, Lieutenant ; Valentine Beard, Cornet.
$d Company James Jones, Captain ; Cosimo
Madacy, Lieutenant ; James Armstrong, Cornet.
The first two regiments of Regulars seem to have
"^Commanded battalion of Regulars at Eutaw Springs.
(26)
been hurried off to South Carolina to repel the first
attack on Charleston in 1776, for in the Life of
Iredell, vol. i, p. 325, we read that the "two bat-
talions of Continental troops from North Carolina,
under Cols. James Moore and Alexander Martin,
are spoken of as numbering fifteen hundred men."
The gallantry of the officers and men is sufficiently
attested by Gen. Charles Lee, in a letter to Edmund
Pendleton, to whom he writes on the 29th June,
1776, in these words :
"I know not which corps I have the greatest reason
to be pleased with, Mughlenbergh's Virginians or the
North Carolina troops. They are both equally alert,
zealous and spirited."*
Col. James Moore had been promoted, while at
Charleston, to the rank of Brigadier General, on
account of his gallant and meritorious conduct, but
while in that vicinity he contracted some malarial
disease which so prostrated him that he returned
to the mansion of his brother, Judge Maurice Moore,
near Wilmington, to recruit his health. He found
his brother also declining rapidly, and in a few
days both of these distinguished men were in the
pale hands of death, in the same house, and were
buried at the same time.
General Moore had given brighter promise of
future greatness than any of his cotemporaries in
the military service, and his death was grievously
and universally lamented.
*Life of Iredell, vol. i, Appendix.
Col. Francis Nash, of Hillsboro, was promoted
to the vacancy caused by General Moore's death,
and succeeded immediately to the command of the
brigade.
It further appears that in July and August, 1776,
the whole six regiments of North Carolina Regu-
lars were concen crated at Wilmington, North Car-
olina, where they were drilled twice a day and
subjected to rigid military discipline until Novem-
ber, when they received orders to march North.
They numbered about 4,000 men at that time. On
reaching Halifax, North Carolina, they were coun-
termarched to Charleston, South Carolina, to meet
the British, who were near St. Augustine, and
threatening Georgia. Here they remained until
March, 1777.*
On the 1 5th day of that month, these six regi-
ments were ordered to join General Washington,
whose losses in the retreat from New York City,
across the State of New Jersey, had reduced his
army to 7,000 effective men. The North Caro-
linians reached his camp, at Middlebrook, New
Jersey, in June. Such substantial increase of the
army enabled Washington to assume the aggressive
once more, and on the nth day of September,
these troops participated in the battle of Brandy-
wine ; October the 4th, they were engaged at Ger-
inaiitown ; at Monmouth June 2Oth, 1778, and at
Stony Point July i6th, 1779. They were also with
*University Magazine, May, 1855, p. 158.
(28)
their commander in the winter of - 1777 '78 at Valley
Forge.
Brigadier-General Francis Nash, their gallant
and patriotic leader, was killed at Germantown.
Wheeler, in his Reminiscences, says, " his thigh
was shattered by a spent cannon-ball, and the same
shot killed his aid, Major Witherspoon, son of
Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, President of Princeton
College. He was buried at Kulpsville, Mont-
gomery county, Pennsylvania, twenty-six miles
from Philadelphia. John F. Watson, Esq., a pat-
riotic citizen, has placed a handsome monument
over his grave.*
I find, however, in Moore's History, vol. i, p.
243, the following account of his death :
"I am assured by my excellent and most sensible
friend, Dr. Richard B. Haywood, that he had it from
the lips of Col. William Polk, that he (Polk) was also
injured in the same battle, and was with General Nash
when he died ; they were both shot down by a volley
which came from their left and raked their line with
terrible effect. This deadly round was the work of the
Queen's Yagers. General Nash was shot through the
face in such a manner that he lost both his eyes, while
Colonel Polk was wounded in the tongue and was unable
to speak. He used to repeat a remark of General Nash,
that both were thus unfitted for future service and would
be useful to each other in the trip home. General Nash
NOTK. This account of Wheeler is very nearly the same as that of
Hugh McDonald in University Magazine, vol. 5, 208. McDonald
was an illiterate man, a private soldier.
*Wheeler's Reminiscences, p. 332.
(29)
died a few days after the battle, but Polk recovered to-
enjoy future military laurels and the multiplied honors
of a long and useful life."
Governor Graham, in his lecture on General
Greene, says : " Through the remainder of this year
(1777) other troops followed from the State and the
nine regiments called for by Congress appear to
have all gone forward to this department of the
'army" under Washington.
McDonald speaks of Hoguii's and Ingram's regi-
ments, which he calls the 8th and 9th, reaching
camp, and says Colonel Armstrong joined them a
few days before the battle of Germaiitown, fought in
June, 1777. The roster, ::: however, puts Hogun as
Colonel of the 7th and Armstrong of the 8th.
Ingram was only Lieutenant Colonel of the 8th.
The roster puts John P. Williams as Colonel of
the 9th, with William Polk as Major.
As the sources of information in regard to the
history of our regular troops, while under Wash-
ington, are so extremely meagre, I draw from the
McDonald record, as suggestive merely, for I do
not give credence to all the stories he relates, and
especially do I discredit the very base statement
made by him in regard to Colonel Alexander Mar-
tin. It is to be regretted that General Wheeler, in
his Reminiscences, should quote it without naming
the author. The gentleman who furnishes the
McDonald journal to the University Magazine has
*See Appendix A.
(30)
taken the precaution to state that McDonald was
ignorant and uneducated and u had to employ
another hand some years afterwards to write down
what he related." It seems to have been an effort
to relate from memory the events of the war, with-
out having any written data before him, and while
it may be correct in the main, its details are hardly
to be relied upon.*
It is from this journal we learn of the reorgani-
zation of the North Carolina Regulars, and his
account seems to be confirmed by subsequent and
cotemporaneous events transpiring in regard to
those regiments. He informs us that
"On the ist of May, 1778, our brigade from North
Carolina was inspected and the seven regiments which
iiad been two years in service were discovered to be too
small for their officers. The 7th Regiment, commanded
by Colonel Armstrong, having joined us a few days before
*The statementof McDonald, published in the University Magazine,
October, 1856, was, that Colonel Alexander Martin was cashiered for
cowardice at the battle of Germantown, and sent home to Hillsboro
with a wooden sword.
This is not true. In a letter from Thos. Burke to Cornelius Harnett,
dated Philadelphia, November 2oth, 1777, he says :
"Colonel Martin has been tried by a court-martial or court of
inquiry, I don't know which, on his behavior at Germantown, and
acquitted."
On the 8th November, he writes again :
" Colonel Martin has been tried and acquitted and has since
resigned." (See University Magazine, February, 1861.)
The many honorable positions, including that of Governor and
Senator, subsequently conferred by the State on Colonel Alexander
Martin, shows the confidence and esteem in which he continued to
be held by his fellow-citizens in North Carolina.
the battle of Germanto\vn, in which it lost some of its
men, all except the two last that joined us* were reduced
to three regiments and the surplus officers were discharged
and sent home to North Carolina."
The 6th regiment (formerly Islington's) was put
into the ist (formerly Moore's), under the command
of Colonel Thomas- Clark, of New Hanover County.
The 4th (formerly Thomas Folk's) was put into
the 2d (formerly Robert Howe's), under the com-
mand of Colonel John Patton.
The 5th regiment (formerly Edward Buncombe's,
who was killed at Germantown) was put into the
3d (formerly Jethro Sumner's) , under Colonel Jethrp
Sunnier.
The oldest captain of each regiment that was
broken up, was retained in the regiments to which
they were attached, with the privilege of selecting
the men who should compose their companies from
the regiment to which they first belonged.f
Colonel James Hogun was promoted to be the
Brigadier General of this brigade.
Governor Graham states that
"In a letter from Governor Burke, then a delegate in
Congress, to Governor Caswell, in January, 1779, he
(Burke) justifies his support of Hogun for the appoint-
ment of Brigadier General over Colonel Thomas Clark,
whom the Legislature recommended, upon the ground of
*He seems to allude to Hogun's and Ingram's regiments that he
speaks of as the 8th and gih.
fUniversity Magazine, vol. 5, p. 362.
(32)
priority of commission and also that Colonel Hogun had r
at Germantown, behaved with distinguished intrepidity
and that Colonel Clark had been restrained by superior
command which denied him the opportunity to obtain
the like distinction."
In the autumn of 1779, the movements of Sir
Henry Clinton, who had succeeded Sir William
Howe in the command of the British Army, indi-
cated his intention to transfer the seat of war to the
South, and General Washington determined to
detach the Southern troops under his command to
that section of the country for its defence.
The North Carolina Regulars were then under
the command of Brigadier General James Hogun,
who had been promoted. January 9, 1779.* In
November, 1779, these troops began their tedious
march for Charleston, South Carolina, encountering
great severity in the weather on their way. When
they passed through Philadelphia, as we learn from
Governor Graham's lecture, they numbered about
700 men. Recruits had been gathered at Halifax,
North Carolina, to reinforce them, but they were
never sent forward.
General Hogun reached Charleston the i ^ tli aay
of March, 1780.
Leaving the North Carolina Regulars at Charles-
ton, it will be necessary to see what the other forces
from this State had been doing for the protection
and safety of South Carolina.
'"University Magazine, March, 1878, p. 9, by Gov. Graham.
(33)
Major General Lincoln succeeded Major General
Howe, of North Carolina, in the command of the
Southern forces in December, 1778. General
Howe had incurred the displeasure of the Gov-
ernors of Georgia and South Carolina, whom he
had reproached for failing to give him a proper
support, and Mr. Christopher Gadsden, of South
Carolina, had been impulsive enough to use oppro-
brious language about General Howe. This pro-
voked a challenge, and on the i3th day of August,
1778, near Charleston, a duel was fought, in
which General Howe's bullet grazed Mr. Gadsden's
ear. Explanations and a reconciliation followed.
Mr. Gadsden fired his pistol in the air.
Early in 1779 the British General Prevost
marched to Savannah, and Colonel Campbell took
possession of Augusta.
An earnest appeal was made to Governor Caswell,
of North Carolina, for assistance, and he was offered a
major general's commission in the Continental line
and a position as second in command to General
Lincoln. Governor Lowndes, of South Carolina,
seconded this appeal in frequent letters, but Governor
Caswell, after deliberation, thought proper to decline
the honor. He, however, called out three thousand
militia and conferred the command on Major Gen-
eral John Ashe, of New Hanover. The troops were
from Wilmington, Newbern, Edenton and Halifax
districts. The Statejiad no arms, -and sent the militia
forward to South Carolina on the promise of that State
to equip them; but so scarce were arms that only the
3
(34)
most inferior patterns could be furnished. The
danger was imminent, and the militia were hurried
forward without discipline or training, against the
remonstrances of General Ashe, and a large body
of them were surprised and defeated at Briar Creek,
in Georgia, March 3d, 1779, and, as their "tour"
of three months was nearly at an end, most of them
returned home.
General Ashe demanded an investigation, and,
though the court-martial " acquitted him of any
imputation on his personal honor or courage, he
received censure for want of sufficient vigilance,"
which saddened the evening of this good man's life.
His patriotic and brave spirit, which had in 11
times of trial and danger defied the enemies of his
country, could not endure the unmerited censure of
his friends ; the wound rankled in his heart, and he
retired from military service to seek the solace of
his home. He was, however, compelled to live in
seclusion, as the British were then in possession of
Wilmington. Shortly after his return his place of
retreat was divulged by his body servant, a negro,
and a force of the enemy were detailed for his cap-
ture. In the attempt to escape General Ashe was
wounded in the leg and taken prisoner. He was then
thrust into prison where he contracted small-pox
and on this account was paroled. But in October,
1781, he sank under his accumulated sufferings, and
died at the hous"e of a friend in Sampson County.
No braver, better or purer man ever served his
(35)
State, and his sad fate only endeared his memory
the more to those who knew and loved him.
1779. "A second contingent of militia, underGeneral
Rutherford, of the Salisbury District, and General John
Butler, of the Guilford District, accompanied by the
recent levies of North Carolina troops of Lytle's and
Armstrong's regiments, entered South Carolina in the
early spring, and participated in the battle of Stono in
June, and the militia returned after their tour of five
mouths expired."*
On the 24th day of February, 1779, Charles
Pinckney writes to his aunt, Mrs. Pinckney :
"As to further aid from North Carolina, they have
agreed to send us 2,000 more troops immediately. We
now have upwards of 3,000 of their men with us, and I
esteem this last augmentation as the highest possible
mark of their affection for us and as the most convincing
proof of their zeal for the glorious cause in which they
are engaged. They have been so willing and ready on
all occasions to afford us all the assistance in their power
that I shall ever love a North Carolinian, and join with
General Moultrie in confessing that they have been the
salvation of this country ."f
As late as the 6th of April, 1780, Colonel Har-
rington, of North Carolina, with Colonel Wood-
ford's Virginia troops, entered the city of Charleston.
*Documentary History of the American Revolution, p. 106.
fGovernor Graham's Lecture, University Magazine, April, 1878.
(36)
It is almost impossible, among the shifting scenes
of that day, when the militia were going and
coming every few months, to locate the commanders
and their troops, and trace their services in the
camp ; we can only catch glimpses of these gallant
men now and then through the shadowy lights of
history, and leave conjecture to fill the spaces in
their career.
CHAPTER 11.
Condition of the States of Georgia, South and North Carolina in
zyyq-'So Siege of Charleston All the North Carolina Regu-
lars of the Continental Line captured Patriotism and Public
Spirit unabated Massacre of Buford's Command by Tarleton
Battle of Ramsour's Mill, the 2oth June, 1780 Col. William R.
Davie Affair at Hanging Rock Campaign of McDowell and
Shelby, August, 1780 The Deckhard Rifle Generals Ruther-
ford, Gregory and Butler Battle near Camden Gates' Defeat
Splendid Courage of Colonel Dixon's North Carolinians in the
Battle Flight of Gates to Charlotte.
^ T ^HB lamentable condition of the States of Georgia
-*- and South Carolina in the winter of i779~'8o
is thus graphically described by Bancroft :
u Before the end of three months after the capture of
Savannah, all the property, real and personal, of the
rebels in Georgia was disposed of. For further gains,
Indians were encouraged to bring in slaves wherever
they could find them. All families in South Carolina
were subjected to the visits of successive sets of banditti,
who received commissions, as volunteers, with no pay
or emolument but that derived from rapine, and who,
roaming about at pleasure, robbed the plantations alike
of patriots and loyalists.
"The property of the greatest part of the inhabitants of
South Carolina was confiscated, families were divided,
patriots outlawed and savagely assassinated, houses
burned, and women and children driven shelterless into
the forest; districts so desolated that they seemed the
abode only of orphans and widows."
(38)
Major General Lincoln, with less than two thou-
sand effective men, occupied the city of Charleston,
and determined to defend it to the last. He took
no counsel from his officers, and learned no wisdom
from past experience. The only army of the Con-
tinental Government in the South was to be anni-
hilated at one fell blow, when it should have
retreated, and, by maneuvering in front of the supe-
rior enemy, at least have maintained a show of
resistance and afforded a nucleus around which the
numerous partisan bands of Whigs might have
rallied, and, when opportunity offered, strike a blow
for freedom.
Sir Henry Clinton, who was then in command of
the royal army, resolved to renew the attack 011
Charleston, and, to prevent a repetition of the dis-
aster of 1776, he determined to command the expe-
dition in person. On the 2 6th day of December,
1779, he sailed with a numerous fleet from New
York, on which was embarked eight thousand five
hundred soldiers. They encountered severe storms
on the way, nearly all the horses perished, vessels
laden with ordnance went down, others were sepa-
rated entirely from the fleet, and many of the trans-
ports were captured by American privateers. It
was nearly the end of January, 1780, before most
of the ships reached Tybee, the place of rendezvous
in Georgia. The expedition was so crippled that
Clinton immediately ordered Lord Rawdoii's bri-
gade of three thousand men, then in New York, to
join him.
(39)
Charleston was at that time a city of fifteen thou-
sand inhabitants all told, but was wealthy, and
among its leaders were representatives of large
British interests. The country around the city was
flat and three sides of the city lay upon the water.
An enemy who commanded the sea could easily
invest it by throwing up its works across the narrow
entrance of land which lay between the Ashley and
Cooper rivers. There were no forts nor ramparts
for its defence, and General Lincoln could rely only
on the temporary field works which he was able to
construct.
This was the situation, when on the 2 6th day of
February, 1780, the British forces first came in
sight of the city. On the 2yth, the officers of the
Continental squadron reported to General Lincoln
that they were unable to prevent the entrance of
the British fleet. " It was then that the attempt to
defend the city should have been abandoned," said
Washington. Clinton moved with caution to the
attack, leaving nothing to chance, and it was not
until the 9th day of April that " Arbuthnot, taking
advantage of a gentle east wind, brought his ships
into the harbor without suffering from F0rt Moultrie
or returning the fire."*
On the loth, the city was summoned to surrender,
but Lincoln replied, " From duty and inclination ,
I shall support the town to the last extremity."
There was yet time for the American army to
escape, but Lincoln procrastinated from day to day
^Bancroft, vol. 5, p. 377.
(40)
until the British had completed the investment of
the city, and nothing was left but to fight "to the
last extremity " or to surrender on humiliating
terms to the enemy.
"On the i3th of April, Lincoln for the first time
called a council of war and suggested an evacuation.
The officers replied, 'We should not lose an houf in
getting the Continental troops over Cooper river, for on
their safety depends the salvation of the State." '
Lincoln, however, dismissed the council without
action, and this procrastination and " slowness of
perception and will " cost the Colonies the army
which they had, with so many sacrifices, collected
to oppose this formidable invasion. The usual
steps of progress in the siege took place, the British
continued to advance their works, and Lincoln made
but a feeble resistance.
There was only one sortie made by the besieged.
This \vas on the 24th day of April, and was con-
ducted by Lieutenant Colonel Henderson.'" He
led out three hundred men and attacked the
advanced working party of the British, killed
several and captured eleven prisoners. In this
affair Capt. Moultrie, of the South Carolina line, was
*This attacking party numbered 300 men, and was composed of
detachments from Hogun's North Carolinians, Woodford's Virginians,
and Scott's brigade, and 21 South Carolina Continentals. Gibbs
Doc. His. (f857),p. /jj. The leader was Colonel William Henderson,
of the South Carolina Continental troops, who afterwards commanded
Sumter's brigade at Eutaw. He was formerly from Granville County,
N. C., brother of Major Pleasant Henderson. See Pleasant Hender-
son's petition for pension under act of 1832.
UO
killed.* On the 26th of April the British flag was
seen floating over Fort Moultrie, and the garrison
became disheartened. A council of war was called
and negotiations opened between Clinton and Lin-
coln, but the terms' of surrender offered by the
former were rejected. On the nth of May, how-
ever, the " British had crossed the wet ditch by
sap and advanced' within twenty-five yards of the
lines of the besieged." Lincoln was now pressed
011 all sides by his friends to surrender and save
the unnecessary effusion of blood, and under the
circumstances he assented to the terms of Clinton
without conference or explanation. Mr. Bancroft
says, " This was the first instance in the American
war of an attempt to defend a town, and the unsuc-
cessful event, with its consequences, makes it proba-
ble that if this method had been generally adopted
the independence of America could not have been so
easily supported, "f
The defence of Charleston was disapproved by
General Washington, who urged that the army
should keep the open country where it could be
free to attack or retreat as circumstances dictated
and he pointed out the danger of risking both the
army and the city on the result of a siege where
the Americans could be greatly outnumbered by
concentrating the British forces on that point.
The British commander, in order to magnify his
victory, claimed to have captured five thousand
prisoners, swelling the number by the civilians
*Ramsay's South Carolina, p. 186. fBancroft, vol. 5, p, 187.
(42)
whom he put on the list ; but the real number of
Continental soldiers who surrendered was only
1,977, and 500 of these were, at that time, lying in
the hospitals prostrated by the dreadful malaria of
the coast.* More than 1,000 of these Continental
soldiers were the North Carolina regulars, who were
detached from the army of Washington, and their
recruits. They were composed of the three regiments
"compressed" from the original six which marched
from Wilmington, North Carolina, and the two other
regiments who joined Washington later. General
Hogun commanded these troops all veterans. In
addition to the regulars, there were over i ,coo
North Carolina militia at the fall of Charleston; so
that, by this great blunder of General Lincoln,
North Carolina lost her whole force of Continental
soldiers, leaving not even one regiment in which
the stragglers might be collected. Colonel Clarke,
of New Hanover, and Colonel Patton, commanded
two of these regiments of regulars.
I regret that my most diligent inquiry has failed to
discover any future record of General Hogun. That
lie was a brave and skillful officer his rapid promotion
proves, and to this, is added the positive testimony
of Governor Burke who.eifected his promotion over
his seniors in office. His family name exists now
in Alabama and these persons trace their genealogy
to North Carolina. It is more than probable, if not
certain, that General Hogun died in captivity, as
did hundreds of others of these brave men.
*Ramsey's History of South Carolina, p. 188.
(43)
The loss of these troops was a terrible blow to
North Carolina, but it did not destroy her spirit
nor lessen her determination to be free. She called
on her militia to rally to her standard and put forth
every effort to stay the progress of the invader.
We shall see how nobly and courageously the
people responded to the call.
By the terms of the capitulation, the militia from
the country were to return home as prisoners of
war, on parole, and to be secure in their property
so long as their parole was observed. Many of the
officers and troops were confined in prison ships
reeking .with filth and the germs of disease while
others were sent to unhealthy locations on the coast
during the sickly summer of 1780. One-third of
their number perished from disease while others
were so prostrated as to be unfitted for military
duty. Following the trace of these gallant men,
we find that on the nth day of March, 1781, in the
midst of the most thrilling events in North Caro-
lina, General Greene renewed negotiations with
Lord Cornwallis for the exchange of prisoners.
" The negotiation was first commenced whilst the
American army lay at Halifax Old Court House (Vir-
ginia), but was then broken off because the British
commissioner insisted on considering paroled privates
as prisoners of war, to favor their practice of exacting
paroles of all the militia in the country. The negotia-
tion was renewed and finally adjusted by Colonel Car-
rington, on the American side, and Captain Frederick
(44)
Cornwallis, on that of the British, at a subsequent meet-
ing, held on the Pee Dee on the 8th May, 1781."*
The American prisoners were shipped to James-
town, Virginia, where they were exchanged, June
22d, iySi,t and soon thereafter history records
their services again in various military capacities
in the South.
What followed the fall of Charleston is so graph-
ically described by Air. Bancroft, that I quote it
entire :
"For six weeks all opposition ceased in South Carolina.
One expedition was sent by Clinton up the Savannah
to encourage the loyal and reduce the disaffected in the
neighborhood of Augusta ; another proceeded for the
like purpose to the district of Ninety-Six, where Wil-
liamson surrendered his post and accepted British pro-
tection. Pickens was reduced to inactivity. Alone of the
leaders of the patriot militia, Colonel James Williams;!;
escaped pursuit and preserved his freedom of action. A.
third and large party under Cornwallis moved across the
Santee towards Camden.
"The rear of the old Virginia line, commanded by
Colonel Buford, arriving too late to reinforce the garrison
of Charleston, had retreated toward the northeast of the
State.
" They were pursued, and on the twenty-ninth of May
were overtaken by Tarleton with seven hundred calvary
^Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 470.
fWheeler's Reminiscences, p. 399, and Wheeler's History, vol. 2,
p. 281.
^Formerly of Granville County, North Carolina, and afterwards
killed at King's Mountain.
(45)
and mounted infantry. Btiford himself, and a few who
were mounted, and about a hundred of the infantry, saved
themselves by flight. The rest, making no resistance,
vainly sued fot quarter. None was granted.*
" A hundred and thirteen were killed on the spot ; a
hundred and fifty were too badly hacked to be moved ;
fifty-three only could be brought into Camden as pris-
oners. The tidings of this massacre, borne through the
Southern forests, excited horror and anger, but Tarleton
received from Cornwallis the highest encomiums.
" The capture of Charleston suspended all resistance to
the British army.
"The men of Beaufort, of Ninety-Six, and of Camden,
capitulated under the promise of security, believing that
they were to be treated as neutrals, or as prisoners on
parole. The attempt was now made to force the men of
Carolina into active service in the British army, and so
to become the instrument of their own subjection.
1780. "On the 22d of - May, confiscation of property
and other punishments were denounced against all who
should thereafter oppose the King in arms, or hinder
any one from joining his forces.
" On the first of June a proclamation by the commis-
sioners, Clinton and Arbuthnot, offered pardon to the
penitent on their immediate return to allegiance; to the
loyal, the promise of their former political immunities,
*" In this bloody encounter Captain John Stokes, of Guilford
County, North Carolina, participated with his company and was
horribly mutilated by the brutal troopers of Tarletou. One of his
hands was cut off and he was besides badly wounded in many places
on his body. He was the brother of Governor Montford Stokes and
Judge of the U. S. District Court in North Carolina." Moore's His-
tory, vol. i, p. 264.
including freedom from taxation, except by their own
legislature.
"On the 3d of June, Clinton, by a proclamation which
he alone signed, cut up British authority in Carolina by
the roots. He required all the inhabitants of the pro-
vince, even those outside of Charleston, ' who were now
prisoners on parole,' to take an active part in securing
the royal government.
u Should they neglect to return to their allegiance,' so
ran the proclamation, ' they will be treated as rebels to
the government of the King. ' He never reflected that
many, who accepted protection from fear or convenience,
did so in the expectation of living in a state of neutrality,
and that they might say: ' If we must fight, let us fight on
the side of our friends, of our countrymen, of America.'
"On the eve of his departure for New York, he reported
to Germain : ' The inhabitants from every quarter declare
their allegiance to the King, and offer their services in
arms. There are few men in South Carolina who are
not either our prisoners or in the army with us.' "
So complete was the subjugation of South Caro-
lina, and so hopeless appeared to them the future
of that State, that " many fainted at the hard option
between submission and ruin." Charles Pinckiiey,
lately President of the South Carolina Senate,
classing himself among those who, from the hurry
and confusion of the times, had been misled, desired
to show every mark of allegiance. Rawlins Lowndes,
who but a few months before had been President of
the State of South Carolina, excused himself for
haying reluctantly given way to necessity, and
(47)
accepted any test to prove that, with the unre-
strained dictates of his own mind, he now attached
himself to the royal government. Henry Middle-
ton, President of the first American Congress,
though still partial to a cause for which he had
been so long engaged, promised to do nothing to
keep up the spirit of independence, and to demean
himself as a faithful subject."*
At the end of June, 1780, Cornwallis reported
that all resistance in Georgia and South Carolina
had ceased, and that as soon as the harvest was
gathered he would march into North Carolina and
subdue that State. He little suspected that those
who appeared so submissive under duress were
then meditating revenge for his indignities, and
that common suffering was bringing exiles and
patriots into concert of action and that they only
waited the magnetic names of such leaders as
Marion and Sumter and Clarke to form them into
a combined force of relentless foes.
Clinton, on the 5th of June, had sailed for New
York, and left Lord Cornwallis in command of his
victorious army.
Cornwallis had 5,000 troops in South Carolina
and 2,000 in Georgia, and expected to supplement
this force with regiments he determined to organize
among the loyalists of those States. The inhabi-
tants in the districts were enrolled; the men above
forty years were to be held responsible for order and
the younger men were held liable to military service.
*Bancroft, vol. 5, pp. 393-'4-
Major Patrick Ferguson was sent into the dis-
tricts to see that these organizations were made
and the lists furnished to the commander. Any
one found thereafter in arms against the King was
to be sentenced to death for desertion and treason.
u Commissions were put into the hands of men void
of honor and compassion, and who gathered about
them profligate ruffians and roamed through the
State indulging in rapine and ready to put patriots
to death as outlaws. Cornwallis never regarded a
deserter, or any one whom a court-martial sentenced
to death, as a subject of mercy. A quartermaster
of Tarleton's Legion entered the house of Samuel
Wyley, near Camden, and, because he had served
as a volunteer in the defence of Charleston, cut him
in pieces."
The recitation of the wrongs and oppressions
inflicted by this heartless commander upon the .
people of these prostrate States might be length-
ened into a volume of itself. Lord Rawdon, the
next in command to Lord Cornwallis, vied with his
chief in the burthens and exactions which he put
upon the unfortunate and wretched citizens, and
boasted of his shame and inhumanity.
Cornwallis established military posts at George-
town, Beaufort, Charleston and Savannah, on the
coast, and at Augusta, Ninety-Six and Camden, in
the interior. Camden was the key between the
North and the South.
We shall now leave Cornwallis indulging the
delusive idea that he had conquered a lasting peace
(49)
by breaking the strength and spirit of his seem-
ingly helpless victims, and only waiting for the
harvest to be gathered that he might find subsist-
ence for the sanguinary hordes which he expected
to lead in triumph through the devoted province of
North Carolina. He knew her history : that in
1771 her citizens had made armed resistance to
extortion and tyranny at the bloody field of Ala-
inance ; that the men of Mecklenburg had been the
first to hurl defiance at British authority, and he
was impatient to visit upon them the power of his
wrath.
Mr. Houston, a member of Congress from Georgia,
hearing of the oppressive measures inflicted on his
people, wrote to Mr. Jay in prophetic language :
" Our misfortunes are, under God, the source of our
safety. When they have wrought up the spirit of the
people to fury and desperation, they will be driven from
the country."
The perilous condition of Charleston had aroused
apprehensions over the whole country for the safety
of that city and the army which was hemmed in its
narrow limits. Washington, understanding the
importance of prompt and decisive measures for the
rescue of Lincoln, detached from his small army of
only ten thousand five hundred men, the Maryland
division of 2,000 men, and the Delaware regiment,
and put them under marching orders for the Caro-
linas.
(50)
The Baron DeKalb was given the command, but
he met with many obstructions in his way. Charles-
ton fell before he had passed through the State of
Virginia. He entered North Carolina the 2oth
June, 1780, and halted at Hillsbcro to rest his
weary troops.
North Carolina was at this time in poor condi-
tion to resist invasion or repel her aggressive enemy.
All of her regulars were languishing in British
prisons on the sea-coasts ; such of her militia as
had learned to make war in the recent campaigns
of Georgia and South Carolina, and their veteran
officers, were fettered with paroles and many of
those who returned before Charleston was invested
came to their homes with shattered constitutions and
enfeebled by the malaria of that unhealthy region.
She had only her militia and a part of her
"minute men " to whom she could appeal for aid;
and yet, so patriotic was the response to her call,
that more men offered their services than could be
armed. The State was almost destitute of military
equipments.
The Legislature called for 8,000 militia to repel
the invasion, and Caswell in the east and Ruther-
ford in the west were soon actively engaged in
organizing these forces. " North Carolina made a
requisition for arms on Virginia and received them.
With a magnanimity which knew nothing of fear,
Virginia laid herself bare for the protection of the
Carolinas."*
^Bancroft, vol. 5, p. 384.
In the western part of the State, General Grif-
fith Rutherford, of Rowan County, on the approach
of Tarleton, after the massacre at the Waxhaws,
put himself at the head of 900 militia from tjie
surrounding country and advanced to meet him,
but on Tarleton's. retreat they were temporarily
disbanded.
The subsequent actions of this command are so
lucidly and accurately related by General Joseph
Graham, of Lincoln County, that we prefer to incor-
porate it in this work, rather than attempt to
condense or enlarge it :
" BATTLE OF RAMSOUR'S MILL,
" Fought the 2oth day of June, ijSo.
" On the 3d of June, General Rutherford was informed
of the advance of a part of the troops, under Lord Raw-
don, to Waxhaw Creek, thirty miles south of Charlotte,
and issued orders for the militia to rendezvous on the
loth, at Rees' plantation, eighteen miles northeast of
Charlotte. The militia, to the number of eight hundred,
promptly assembled on the i2th. Having heard that
Lord Rawdon had retired to Hanging Rock, General
Rutherford advanced ten miles to Mallard Creek.
"On the i4th the troops under his command were
organized. The cavalry, sixty-five in number, under
Major Davie, were equipped as dragoons, and formed in
two troops under Captains Simmons and Martin. A
battalion of three hundred light infantry was placed
under the command of Colonel Win. L. Davidson, a
regular officer, who could not join his regiment in
(52)
Charleston, after that place was invested, and now joined
the militia.
" Five hundred men remained under the immediate
command of General Rutherford. On the evening- of
the i4th he received intelligence that the Tories were
embodying in arms beyond the Catawba River, in Tryon
County, about forty miles northwest of his (then) posi-
tion. He issued orders to Colonel Francis Locke, of
Rowan, Major David Wilson, of Mecklenburg, to Cap-
tains Falls and Brandon, also to other officers, to make
every effort to raise men to disperse the Tories, it being
deemed impolitic by General Rutherford to weaken his
own force until the object of Lord Rawdon's expedition
was better ascertained.
" On the 1 5th, General Rutherford advanced two miles
to the south of Charlotte. On the lyth he was informed
that Lord Rawdon had retired toward Camden, and the
Tories were assembled in force at Ramsour's Mill, near
the south fork of the Catawba. A man by the name of
John Moore, whose father and family resided about six
miles from Ramsour's Mill, had joined the British army
the preceding winter, and leaving the detachment under
Cornwallis on the march from Charleston to Camden, he
arrived at his father's on the yth of June, wearing a
sword and an old tattered suit of regimentals. He
announced himself as a lieutenant colonel of the regi-
ment of North Carolina loyalists commanded by Colonel
John Hamilton, of Halifax County. He gave to the
people of the neighborhood the first particular account
they had received of the siege and capture of Charleston
and the advance of the British troops to Camden. He
appointed the loth of June for an assembling of the
people in the woods on Indian Creek, seven miles from
(53)
Kamsour's. Forty men assembled, and Moore told them
it was not the wish of Lord Cornwallis that they should
embody at that time, but that they and all other loyal
subjects should hold themselves in readiness, and in the
meantime get in their harvest; that before the getting
in of the harvest it would be difficult to procure provis-
ions for the British army; and that as soon as the country
could furnish subsistence to the army, it would advance
into North Carolina and support the royalists.
" Before this meeting broke up an express arrived to
inform them that Major Joseph McDowell, of Burke
County, with twenty men, was within eight miles of them,
in search of some of the principal persons of their party.
Confident' of their strength, they resolved to attack Mc-
Dowell, but some preparation being necessary, they
could not march until next morning, when, finding he
had retired, they pursued him to the ledge of the moun-
tains which separate the counties of Lincoln and Burke,
and not being able to overtake him, Moore directed them
to return home and meet him on the i3th at Ramsour's
Mill. On that day two hundred men met Moore, and
they were joined on the next day by many others, among
whom was Nicholas Welch, a major in the regiment
commanded by Colonel Hamilton. He had lived in
that neighborhood and had joined the British army
eighteen months before. He was directly from the army
of Lord Cornwallis, and gave information of Colonel
Buford's defeat. He wore a rich suit of regimentals,
and exhibited a considerable number of guineas, by
which he sought to allure some, while he endeavored to
intimidate others by an account of- the success of the
British army in all operations of the South and the total
inability of the Whigs to make further opposition. His
(54)
conduct had the desired effect, and much more confi-
dence was placed in him than in Colonel Moore. They
remained in camp until the 2oth, during which time a
detachment, commanded by Colonel Moore, made an
unsuccessful attempt to capture Colonel Hugh Brevard
and Major Joseph McDowell, each of whom came into
the neighborhood with a number of Whigs to harass
the Tories, who were assembling.
" By the 2Oth nearly thirteen hundred men had assem-
bled at Ramsour's, one-fourth of whom were without
arms. General Rutherford resolved to concentrate his
force and attack them as soon as he learned that Lord
Rawdon had retired to Camden. With this view, he
marched, on Sunday, theiSth, from his camp, south of
Charlotte, to the Tuckaseege Ford, on the Catawba River,
twelve miles nearer to Ramsour's. In the evening of
that day he dispatched an express to Colonel Locke,
advising him of his movement, and of the enemy's
strength,, and ordering Locke to join him on the igth
in the evening, or on the 2oth in the morning, a few
miles in advance of the Tuckaseege Ford. The express
was neglected and did not reach Colonel Locke. The
morning of the i9th was wet, and the arms of General
Rutherford's men were out of order. At midday the
weather cleared up and orders were given to the men to
discharge their guns. This discharge produced an alarm
in the neighborhood, and the people, thinking that the
Tories were attempting to cross the river, many of them
came in with arms and joined Rutherford. In the even-
ing- he crossed the river and encamped sixteen miles from
Ramsour's.
"When Rutherford crossed the river, it was believed he
would march in the night and attack the Tories next
(55)
morning; but, expecting that his express had reached
Colonel Locke, he awaited for Locke's arrival, that he
might, on the next day, march in full to the attack.
"At ten o'clock a-t night, Colonel James Johnston,*
of Tryon County, reached Rutherford's camp. He had
been dispatched by Colonel Locke to give notice of his
intention to attack the Tories at sunrise the next morn-
ing, and requesting Rutherford's co-operation. Ruther-
ford, in confident expectation that his express had reached
Colonel Locke, shortly after Colonel Johnston had left,
made no movement.
" In pursuance of the orders given to Colonel Locke,
and the other officers at Mallard, on the i4th, they
severally collected as many men as they could, and, on
the morning of the i8th, Major Wilson, with sixty-five
men, passed the Catawba at Tool's Ford and joined
Major McDowell with twenty-five men. They passed
up the river at right angles with the position of the
Tories, to join the detachment of friends who were
assembling at the upper fords.
"AtMcEwen's Ford, being joined by Captain Falls,
with forty men under his command, they continued
their march up the east side of Mountain Creek, and
on Monday, the iQth, they joined Colonel Locke, Captain
Brandon and other officers, with two hundred and seventy
men. The whole force united amounted to four hun-
dred men. They encamped on Mountain Creek, sixteen
miles from Ramsour's.
"The officers met in council and they were unanimous
in the opinion that it would be unsafe to remain in that
position, as the Tories could attack them after a march
of a few hours, and, from the inferiority of their force,
*Father of Robert Johnston, Esq., of Lincoln county.
(56)
they had no doubt the Tories would march on them as
soon as they learned where they were.
"It was first proposed that they should recross the
Catawba at Sherrill's Ford, six miles in their rear, and
wait for reinforcements, believing that they could pre-
vent the Tories from crossing. To this, it was objected
that a retrograde movement would embolden the Tories,
whose numbers were increasing as fast as, probably, their
own numbers would increase, after they had recrossed the
River, and no additional security could therefore be
obtained by such a movement.
"It was next proposed that they should march directly
down the river and join General Rutherford, who was
then distant from them about thirty-five miles.
"It was said this movement could be made without risk,
as, in making it, they would not be nearer Ramsour's
than they were. To this prudent proposition it was
objected that nearly all the effective Whigs of that sec-
tion were from home either with them or General Ruther-
ford, and such a movement would leave their families
exposed and their houses unprotected from pillage; that
it would also be a dangerous movement for themselves
and they might encounter them in their march. It was
insinuated that these propositions proceeded, if not from
fear, at least from an unwillingness to meet the Tories,
and therefore another proposition was made, which was,
notwithstanding their disparity of force, they should
march during the night and attack the Tories in their
camp early next morning.
"It was said that, the Tories being ignorant of their
force and suddenly attacked, would be easily routed.
The more prudent members of the council could not
brook the insinuation of cowardice, and, trusting to that
(57)
fortune which sometimes crowns even rashness with suc-
cess, it was unanimously resolved immediately to march
and at daybreak to attack the Tories. Colonel Johnston,
being well acquainted with the country, was immediately
dispatched to apprise General Rutherford of this resolu-
tion.
"Late in theevening they commenced their march from
Mountain Creek, and passing down the south side of the
mountain they halted at the west end -of it for an hour
in the night, and the officers convened to determine on
the plan of attack. It was determined that the com-
panies commanded by Captains Falls, McDowell and
Brandon should act on horseback and inarch in front. No
other arrangements were made and it was left to the offi-
cers to be governed bv circumstances after they should
reach the enemy. They resumed their march and
arrived within a mile of the enemy's camp at daylight.
"The Tories were encamped on a hill three hundred
yards east of Ramsotir's Mill and a half mile north of the
present flourishing village of Lincolnton. The ridge
stretched nearly to the east on the south side of the mill-
pond, and the road leading to the Tuckaseege Ford, by
the mill, crosses the point of the ridge in a northwestern
direction. The Tories occupied an excellent position
on a summit of the ridge, their right on the road front-
ing the south. The ridge has a very gentle slope, and
was then interspersed with only a few trees, and the fire
of the Tories had full rake in front for more than two
hundred yards. The foot of the hill was bounded by a
glade, the side of which was covered with bushes. The
road passed the western end of the glade at right angles;
opposite the centre of the line and on the road a fefice
extended from the glade to a point opposite the right of
the line. The picket guard, twelve in number, were
stationed on the road, two hundred and fiftv yards south
of the glade, and six hundred yards from the encamp-
ment.
"The companies of Captains Falls, McDowell and
Brandon, being mounted, the other troops under Colonel
Locke were arranged in the road, two deep behind them,
and, without any other organization or orders, they were
marched to battle. When the horsemen came within
sight of the picket, they perceived that their approach
had not been anticipated.
"The picket fired and fled to their camp. The horse-
men pursued, and turning to the right, out of the road,
they rode up within thirty steps of the line and fired at
the Tories, who, being in confusion, had not time to form
their line; but seeing only a few men assailing them,
they quickly recovered from their panic, and poured in a
destructive fire, which obliged the horsemen to retreat.
They retreated in disorder, passing through the infantry,
who were advancing; several of the infantry joined them
and never came into action. At a convenient distance
the greater part of the horsemen rallied, and returning
to the fight, exerted themselves with spirit during its
continuance. The infantry hurried to keep near the
horsemen in pursuit of the picket, and their movements
being very irregular, their files were opened six or eight
steps, and when the front approached the Tories, the
rear was eighty poles back.
"The Tories seeing the effect of their fire, came down
the hill a little distance and were in fair view. The
infantry of the Whigs kept the road to the point between
the glade and the corner of the fence opposite the centre
of the Tories.
(59)
"Here the action was renewed; the front fired several
times before the rear came up. The Tories being on
their left they deployed to the right in front of the glade
and came into action without order or system. In some
places they were crowded together in each others' way;
in other places there were none. As the rear came up,
they occupied' those places, and the line gradually
extending, the action became general and obstinate on
both sides. In a few minutes the Tories began to retire
to their position on the top of the ridge, and soon fell
back a little behind the ridge, to shelter part of their
bodies from the fire of the Whigs, who were fairly
exposed to their fire. In this situation their fire became
very destructive, so that the Whigs fell back to the
bushes near the glade, and the Tories, leaving their safe
position, pursue i half way down the ridge. At this
moment Captain Harden led a party of Whigs into the
field and under cover of the fence, kept up a galling fire
on the right flank of the Tories; and some of the Whigs
discovering that the ground on the right was more favor-
able to protect them from the fire of the Tories, obliqued
in that direction towards the east end of the glade. This
movement gave their lines the proper extension. They
continued to oblique in this direction until they turned
the left flank of the Tories; and the contest being well
maintained in the centre, the Tories began to retreat up
the ridge. They found part of their position occupied
by the Whigs. In that quarter the action became close,
and the parties mixed together in two instances; and,
having no bayonets, they struck at each other with the
butts of their guns. In this strange- contest, several of
the Tories were taken prisoners, and others, divesting
themselves of their mark of distinction (a twig of green
6o
pine-top stuck in their hats), intermixed with the Whigs,
and all being in their common dress, escaped unnoticed.
"The Tories finding the left of their position in pos-
session of the Whigs, and their centre being closely
pressed, retreated down the ridge towards the pond,
exposed to the fire of the centre and of Captain Harden 1 s
company behind the fences. The Whigs pursued until
they got entire possession of the ridge, when they dis-
covered, to their astonishment, that the Tories had
collected in force on the other side of the creek beyond
the mill. They expected the fight would be renewed,
and attempted to form a line, but only eighty-six men
could be paraded. Some \vere scattered during the
action, others were attending to their wounded friends,
and, after repeated efforts, not more than one hundred
and ten men could be collected.
" In this situation of things, it was resolved that Major
Wilson and Captain Win. Alexander, of Rowan, should
hasten to General Rutherford and urge him to press
forward to their assistance. Rutherford had marched
early in the morning, and at a distance of six or seven
miles from Ramsour\s, was met by Wilson and Alexan-
der. Major Davie's cavalry was started at full gallop,
and Colonel Davidson's infantry were ordered to hasten
on with all possible speed. At the end of two miles they
were met by others from the battle, who informed them
that the Tories had retreated. The march was continued,
and troops arrived on the ground two hours after the
battle had closed. The dead and most of the wounded
were still lying where they fell.
" As soon as the action begun, those of the Tories who
had no arms, and several who had, returned across the
creek. They were joined by others when they were first
beaten up tht ridge, and by two hundred well armed,,
who had arrived two^days before from Lower Creek, in
Burke County, under Captains Whiston and Murray.
Colonel Moore and Major Welch soon joined them.
Those of the Tories who continued the fight to the last
crossed the creek and joined as soon as the Whigs got
possession of the ridge. Believing that they were com-
pletely beaten, they formed a stratagem to secure their
retreat. About the time that Wilson and Alexander
were dispatched to General Rutherford, they sent a flag,
under a pretence of proposing a suspension of hostilities,
to make arrangements for taking care of the wounded
and burying the dead. To prevent the flag officer from
perceiving their small number, Major James Rutherford
and another officer were ordered to meet him a short
distance from the line. The proposition being made,
Major Rutherford demanded that the Tories should sur-
render in ten minutes, and then the arrangements should
be made that were requested.
"In the meantime, Moore and Welch gave orders
that such of their men as were on foot, or had inferior
horses, should move off singly as fast as they could, and
when the flag returned not more than fifty remained.
They immediately fled. Moore, with thirty men, reached
the British army at Camden, where he was threatened
with a trial by a court-martial for disobedience of orders
in attempting to embody the royalists before the time
appointed by the Commander-in-chief. He was treated
with disrespect by the British officers, and held in a state
of disagreeable suspense; but it was at length deemed
impolitic to order him before a court-martial.
"As there was no organization of either party, nor
regular returns made after the action, the loss could not
(6 2 )
be ascertained with correctness. Fifty-six lay dead on
the side of the ridge where the heat of the action pre-
vailed. Many lay scattered on the flanks and over the
ridge toward the mill. It is believed that seventy were
killed, and that the loss on each side was equal. About
one hundred men on each side were wounded, and fifty
Tories were taken prisoners. The men had no uniform,
and it could not be told to which party many of the dead
belonged. Most of the Whigs wore a piece of white
paper on their hats in front, and many of the men on
each side being excellent riflemen, this paper was a mark
at which the Tories otten fired, and several of the Whigs
were shot in the head. The trees, behind which both
W 7 higs and Tories occasionally took shelter, were grazed
by the balls; and one tree on the left of the Tory line,
at the root of which two brothers lay dead, was grazed
by three balls on one side and two on the other.
" In this battle neighbors, near relations and personal
friends fought against each other, and as the smoke from
time to time would blow off, they would recognize each
other. In the evening, and on the next day, the rela-
tions and friends of the dead and wounded came in, and
a scene was witnessed truly afflicting to the feelings of
humanity.
"After the action commenced, scarcely any orders
were given by the officers. They fought like common
soldiers, and animated their men by their example, and
they suffered severely. Captains Falls, Dobson, Smith,
Bowman and Armstrong were killed; and Captains
Houston and McKissick wounded."
The battle of Ramsour's Mill was fought the
very day the Baron DeKalb arrived at Hillsboro,
North Carolina.
(6 3 )
Its effect was to completely crush out the Tory
element in that portion of the State, and they never
attempted to organize again during the war. The
men who assembled at Ramsour's Mill to resume
their allegiance to the British Government were
not marauders in" search of plunder, nor violent
men seeking revenge for injuries inflicted in border
warfare ; the}' were nearly all simple-minded, artless
Germans, industrious, frugal and honest citizens,
who had never been in arms before, nor suffered
persecutions from the Whigs. They believed the
representatives of the army of Cornwallis, who
informed them that the royal authority had been
re-established in the South, and they were confirmed
in this by the accounts of the absolute subjection
of South Carolina and Georgia, and the example of
leading citizens of those States who had " taken
Britisl] protection." They came to renew their
citizenship and allegiance, as they thought duty
and conscience required. Only a few hundred were
armed, they were undisciplined and unorganized,
and yet, when contending for what they believed
to be right, they evinced a courage and resolution
worthy of a better cause.
Though Cornwallis encamped on this very ground,
in the January following, and urged them to join
the royal standard again, none of them were after-
wards found among the British forces. They went
back to their peaceful and plentiful homes " wiser
and better men."
("6-4)
Captain Dobson, of the Whigs, was buried upon
the battle-field and several of his family have been
laid beside him. His grave, surrounded by a neat
brick wall, is near-the highway leading north from
Lincolnton to Newton, Catawba County. The next
day after the battle the friends and neighbors of
both parties assembled and decently interred the
dead. A long trench or grave was dug, running
northeast and southwest, and into this were placed
Whig and Tory alike, while those who performed
this sad rite were representatives of both sides. A
large pine tree on the summit of the hill, in the
field, marks the line of this burial place.
The McDowell mentioned in General Graham's
narrative was Joseph McDowell, of Burke County,
known as " Quaker Meadows Joe " to distinguish
him from his cousin " Pleasant Garden Joe."
McDowell was afterwards a leader at King's Moun-
tain and Cowpens, a member of Congress, and
brigadier general of militia, and was called General
Joseph McDowell. We shall have occasion to speak
more fully in regard to him hereafter.
After the battle of Ramsour's Mill, Major Davie
took position on the north side of Waxhaw Creek,
south of Charlotte. Here he was reinforced by
Major Crawford with some South Carolina troops,
and 35 Catawba Indians under their chief u New
River, 11 and the Mecklenburg County militia under
Colonel Higgins :
i i
Davie was one of the most splendid and knightly
figures on the American continent. He was then fresli
o
from his law books and only 25 years old. Tail, grace-
ful and strikingly handsome, he had those graces of
person which would have made him the favorite in the
clanging lists of feudal days. To this he added elegant
culture, thrilling eloquence, and a graciousness of manner
which was to charm in after days the salons of Paris.
He had won high honors and had been dangerously
wounded at Stono, on the 2oth June, 1779. . Since then
he had expended the whole of his estate in equipping,
at his own cost, the only organized body of troops now
left to do battle in behalf of the cause he loved."*
"General Davie was not only distinguished as an
intelligent but an intrepid soldier. His delight was to
lead a charge ; and, possessing great bodily strength, is
said to have overcome more men, in personal conflict,
than any individual in the service, "f
Such was the soldier and hero who was now, in
this dark and depressing hour of our history, about
to strike the British outposts and restore confidence
and hope to the people. He was on familiar
ground, among the scenes of his early childhood
and maturer years. He was inspired by a fervid
ambition to deeds of valor and patriotism, and his
friends and associates were to be witnesses of his
achievements. Their hopes of deliverance from the
sword and the prison, or perhaps the gallows, were
centred on him, and with noble daring he entered
the lists determined with his little band of patriots
and soldiers to strike the foe before "the harvest
*Moore's History, vol. i, p. 265.
tGarden's Anecdotes of the Revolution, p. 39.
5
(66)
was gathered." He was now in four and a half
miles of Hanging Rock, one of the British outposts,
and on the 2pth July, he intercepted at Flat Rock
a convoy of provisions and clothing intended for
that garrison. The dragoons and volunteer loyalists
who guarded the convoy were captured and brought
to camp. The wagons and provisions were destroyed,
but the horses, which were much needed, and the
arms more so, were brought off in safety.
This seemingly small affair aroused the spirit of
his troops and they were ready for adventurous
deeds. Davie resolved to gratify this spirit, and
planned a strike at Hanging Rock. u With forty
mounted riflemen and the same number of dragoons
he approached the outpost. It was garrisoned by
a strong force. While he was reconnoitering the
ground to begin the attack, he received the informa-
tion that three companies of mounted infantry,
returning from an excursion, had halted at a house
near the post. This house was in full view of
Hanging Rock. It was a point of a right angle
made by a lane, one end of which led to the enemy's
camp, the other end to the woods. Davie advanced
cautiously from the end near the .woods, while he
detached his riflemen, whose dress was similar to
the Tories, with orders to rush forward and charge.
The riflemen passed the enemy's sentinels without
suspicion or challenge, dismounted in the lane, and
gave the enemy, before the house, a well-directed
fire; the surprised loyalists fled to the other end,
where they were received by the dragoons in full
(6 7 )
gallop, who charged boldly on them and gave them
another destructive volley. They retreated in con-
fusion to the angle of the lane, where they were
received by the infantry and charged with impetu-
osity, which closed up all retreat. The dragoons
surrounded them and they were cut to pieces in the
very face of the British camp at Hanging Rock."*
One hundred good muskets, recently issued to
these recreant Tories, and sixty horses, so much in
demand for the mounted riflemen, were secured by
this second adventure. There was joy in the
American camp, confidence was restored and the
troops were eager to follow their dashing leader
wherever his vigilance discovered a place to strike.
They had arms and ammunition and horses now,
furnished by Lord Cornwallis through his recent
converts to loyalty, and they felt the impulse to
use them.
Colonel Sumter, of South Carolina, and Colonel
Irwin, of North Carolina, had made an attempt on
Flat Rock, the day that Davie cut the loyalists to
pieces at Hanging Rock, but had been repulsed
with severe loss.
Davie had not, to this time, lost a single man.
Colonels Sumter and Davie now met at Lansford,
on the Catawba~ River, and agreed to unite their
forces and make a combined attack on Hanging
Rock. This was on the 5th day of August, 1780.
When Major Davie advanced to" the Waxhaws,
General Rutherford moved up the Yadkin River,
*Wheeler's History, vol. 2, p. 192.
(68)
hoping, to overtake or intercept Colonel Samuel
Bryan, a Tory leader, from the upper Yadkin, who
had embodied the loyalists of that section and was
on his way to join the swelling numbers of Lord
Cornwallis.
These Tories presumed, too, that the struggle
was over, and, like vultures, were flocking together
to share the prey. Bryan \vas too fleet for Ruther-
ford. The news of Ramsour's Mill had put expe-
dition into the feet of these renegades, and they
inarched with great celerity until they reached
Hanging Rock. There were about 100 of them.
The garrison of Hanging Rock had in it now
these North Carolina Tories, and about the same
number of Tarleton's troops, who had taken part
in the dreadful massacre of Buford's men, near
where Davie lay in camp.
Goaded by the tales of horror which the witnesses
of that wretched butchery daily poured into his
ears, and mortified beyond measure that North
Carolina Tories were now in front of him, in the
ranks of the oppressors, and remembering that his
own fellow-citizen, Captain Stokes, had been slashed
and dismembered of his good right arm by the men
who were in the garrison of Hanging Rock, Davie
was impatient to avenge himself and his State upon
this miscreant band. " Tarleton's Quarters," mean-
ing the black flag of revenge, had become a familiar
by-word in the American camp, and the soldiers of
Tarleton had little hope or reason to expect mercy
when the day of reckoning should come. The
(6 9 )
Whigs of that day seldom had time to take Tory
prisoners, and no place to put them if captured.
I shall now incorporate the account of the
BATTLE OF HANGING ROCK
as related by Major Davie himself. It is taken
from Wheeler's History:
"On the 5th day of August, the detachments met
again at Lansford, on the Catawba. Their strength was
little diminished ; Major Davie had lost not one man.
The North Carolina militia under Colonel Irwin and
Major Davie numbered about five hundred men, officers
and privates, and about three hundred South Carolinians
under Colonels Sumter, Lacy and Hill.
" It became a matter of great importance to remove
the enemy from their posts, and it was supposed, if one
of them was taken, the other would be evacuated. Upon
a meeting of the officers, it was determined to attack the
Hanging Rock on the following day. As this was an open
camp, they expected to be on a more equal footing with
the enemy, and the men whose approbation in those
times was absolutely requisite, on being informed of the
determination of the officers, entered into the project
with spirit and cheerfulness. The troops marched in the
evening and halted about midnight within two miles of
the enemy's camp, and a council was now called to settle
the mode of attack.
"Accurate information had been obtained of the
enemy's situation, who were pretty strongly posted in
three divisions.
"The garrison of Hanging Rock consisted of five
(70)
hundred men ; one hundred and sixty infantry of Tarle-
ton's Legion, a part of Colonel Brown's regiment, and
Bryan's North Carolina Tory regiment. The whole
commanded by Major Carden.
"The regulars were posted on the right; a part of
the British legion and Hamilton's regiment were at some
houses in the centre, and Bryan's regiment and other
loyalists some distance on the left, and separated from
the centre by a skirt of wt>ods ; the situation of the
regular troops could not be approached without an entire
exposure of the assailants, and a deep ravine and creek
covered the whole of the Tory camp.
"Colonel Sumter proposed that the detachments
should approach in three divisions, march directly to the
centre encampments, then dismount, and each division
attack its camp. This plan was approved by all the
officers but Major Davie, who insisted on leaving the
horses at this place and marching to the attack on foot,
urging the confusion always consequent on dismounting
under a fire, and the certainty of losing the effect of a
sudden and vigorous attack. This objection was, how-
ever, overruled. The divisions were soon made, and as
the day broke the march recommenced. The general
command was conferred on Colonel Sumter, as the senior
officer; Major Davie led the column on the right,- con-
sisting of his own corps, some volunteers under Major
Bryan, and some detached companies of South Carolina
refugees ; Colonel Hill commanded the left, composed of
South Carolina refugees, and Colonel Irwin the centre,
formed entirely of the Mecklenburg militia. They
turned to the left of the road to avoid the enemy's picket
and patrol, with an intention to return to it under
cover of a defile near the camp; but the guides, either
from ignorance or timidity, led them so far to the left
that the right centre and left divisions all fell on the
Tory encampment. These devoted people were soon
attacked in front and flank and routed with great
slaughter, as the Americans pressed in pursuit of the
Tories who fled toward the centre encampment. Here
the Americans received a fire from one hundred and sixty
of the Legion infantry, and some companies of Hamil-
ton's regiment posted behind a fence ; but their impetu-
osity was not one moment checked by this unexpected
discharge ; they pressed on, and the Legion infantry
broke and joined in the flight of the loyalists, yielding
their camp, without a second effort, to the militia.
"At this moment a part of Colonel Brown's regiment
had nearly changed the fate of the day. They, by a
bold and skillful maneuvre, passed into a wood between
the Tory and centre encampments, drew up unperceived,
and poured in a heavy fire on the militia forming from
the disorder of the pursuit on the flank of the encamp-
ment. These brave men took instinctively to the trees
and brush-heaps, and returned the fire with deadly effect;
in a few minutes there was not a British officer standing,
and many of the regiment had fallen, and the balance,
on being offered quarters, threw down their arms.
"The remainder of the British line, who had also
made a movement, retreated hastily towards their former
position and formed a hollow square in the centre of the
cleared ground.
"The rout and pursuit of these various corps by a
part of one detachment, and plunder of the camp by
others, had thrown the Americans into great confusion.
"The utmost exertions were made by Colonel Suniter
and the other officers to carry the men on to attack the
(72)
British square ; about two hundred men and Davie' s
dragoons were collected and formed on the margin of
the roads, and a heavy but ineffectual fire was com-
menced on the British troops. A large body of the enemy,
consisting of the Legion infantry, Hamilton's regiment,
and Tories, were observed rallying, and formed on the
opposite side of the British camp, near the wood; and
lest they might be induced to take the Americans in
flank, Major Davie passed around the camp under cover
of the trees, and charged them with his company of
dragoons. The troops, under the impressions of defeat,
were routed and dispersed by a handful of men.
"The distance of the square from the woods, and the
fire of the two pieces of field artillery, prevented the
militia from making any considerable impression on the
British troops, so that, on Major Da vie' s return, it was
agreed to plunder the encampment and retire. As this
party were returning towards the centre, some of the
Legion cavalry appeared and advanced up in the Camden
road with a countenance as if they meant to keep their
position, but on being charged by Davie' s dragoons, they
took the woods in flight, and only one was outdone.
"A retreat was now become absolutely necessary; the
British commissary's stores were taken in the centre
encampment, and a number of the men were already
intoxicated; the greatest part were loaded with plunder,
and those in a condition to fight had exhausted their
ammunition. About an hour had been employed in
plundering the camp, taking the paroles of the British
officers, and preparing litters for the wounded.
"All this was done in full view of the British army,
who consoled themselves with some military music, and
an interlude of three cheers for King George, which was
(73)
immediately answered by three cheers for the hero of
America. The militia at length got into the line of
march, Davie and his dragoons covering the retreat; bnt
as the troops were loaded with plunder, and encumbered
with their wounded friends, and many of them intoxi-
cated, this retreat was not performed in the best military
style. However, under all these disadvantages, they
filed off unmolested, along the front of the enemy, about
one o'clock.
u The loss of the Americans was never correctly ascer-
tained, for want of regular returns, arid many of the
wounded being carried immediately, home from action.
Captain Read, of North Carolina, and Captain McClure,
of South Carolina, were killed. Colonel Hill, South
Carolina, Major Wynn, South Carolina, Captain Craig-
head, Lieutenant Fleucher. Ensign McLinn, wounded.
u The British loss greatly exceeded ours. The loss of
Bryan's regiment was severe. Sixty-two of Tarleton's
Legion were killed and wounded.
u Major Davie' s corps suffered much while tying their
horses and forming under a heavy fire from the Tories,
a measure which he had reprobated in the council which
had decided on the mode of attack.
"It is an evincible trait in the character of militia,
that they will only obey their own officers in time of
action, and this battle would have been more decisive
had the troops not fallen into confusion in pursuit of the
loyalists and the Legion infantry, by which circumstances
the different regiments became mixed and confounded;
or, had the divisions of this army left their horses where
it was proposed they should, and inarched in such a
manner as to have assailed each encampment at the same
time, a vigorous and sudden attack might have pre-
(74)
vented the British from availing themselves of their
superior discipline; the other encampments must have
been soon carried, and the corps remaining distinct,
would have been in a situation to push any advantages
that Davie's column might have gained over the British
line.
" This account is nearly verbatim from the manuscript
left by Mr. Davie.
"After the affair at Hanging Rock, Major Davie con-
veyed his wounded to a hospital, which his foresight
had provided at Charlotte, then hastened to the general
rendezvous for the army under General Gates at Rugely's
MiDs.
u On the 1 6th of August, 1780, about ten miles from
Camden, Major Davie, on his way to unite his forces
with General Gates, met a soldier. He was an American,
and was in full speed. He arrested him as a deserter,
but soon learned from him that on that fatal day, the
whole American army, under General Gates, and the
whole British force, under Cornwallis, had met, and
that the British were triumphant. This unexpected
information was too soon confirmed by the appearance of
General Gates himself, in full flight.
"General Gates desired Major Davie to fall back on
Charlotte, or the dragoons would soon be on him. He
replied, ' His men were accustomed to Tarleton, and did
not fear him. ' Gates had no time to argue, but passed on.
"Of General Huger, who then rode up, Major Davie
asked how far the directions of Gates ought to be obeyed,
who answered, 'Just as far as you please, for you will
never see him again.' He again sent a gentleman who
overtook General Gates, to say, that if he wished, he
would return and bury his dead. The ahswer of Gates
was, ' I say retreat ! Let the dead. bury the dead.' "
(75)
The massacre of Buford's men was partially
avenged. Bryan's Tories ended their weary march
to fall before the sabres of Davie's dragoons, and
learned that treachery was as dangerous as it was
dishonorable.
The Americans had now crossed bayonets with
British infantry, flushed with victory and pride,
and led them away captive. The spell of invinci-
bility which had surrounded them was broken,
their prestige was gone, and they were no longer
dreaded nor feared by the Americans. Major
Davie retreated to Charlotte sullen and irritated,
and was rejoiced when a leader came in whom he
confided. Leaving him at Charlotte, I will follow
another band of patriots, who had gathered on the
right of Davie and under leaders as impetuous and
bold, if not as accomplished, as he, and whose track
was marked by victor}' and vengeance keen and
severe.
IA 1780, before the formation of the State of
Tennessee, the counties of Washington and Sulli-
van, the homes of Colonel Isaac Shelby and Colonel
John Sevier u Nollichucky Jack" as his soldiers
and neighbors familiarly and lovingly called him
were in North Carolina, and both of these military
heroes held civil and military offices in this State.
Both of these men were the friends and fellow-
soldiers of Colonel Charles McDowell, of Burke,
and their lives ran parallel even to the storming of
King's Mountain and the death of Patrick Ferguson.
Governor Swain, in the University Magazine of
( 76)
March, 1861, says that the most correct account of
the expeditions, in the summer of 1 780, of McDowell
and Shelby, is found in the " National Portrait Gal-
lery" (now before me), and that it was known to
have been written substantially by Shelby himself ;
and I shall offer no apology for transferring it to
these pages. My object in this work is to give as
nearly as possible the exact truth of history, and I
can imagine no safer guide to such a result than to
let those who made the history, if they be honest
and true, tell the tale. Many authors, in endeavor-
ing to extract truth from cotemporary narratives,
give the gloss of their own feelings or judgment to
the acts they record and seize only upon such facts
as seem essential to establish their own opinion of
these deeds:
COLONEL ISAAC SHELBY AND COLONEL CHARLES
MCDOWELL'S CAMPAIGN IN 1780.
" In the summer of 1780, Colonel Shelby was in Ken-
tucky locating and securing those lands which he had
five years previously marked out and improved for him-
self, when the intelligence of the surrender of Charleston,
and the loss of the army, reached that country. He
returned home in July of that year, determined to enter
the service of his country, and remain in it until her
independence should be secured. He could not continue
to be a cool spectator of a contest in which the dearest
rights and interests of his country were involved.
" On his arrival in Sullivan, he found a requisition from
Colonel Charles McDowell, requesting him to furnish all
(77)
the aid in his power to check the enemy, who had over-
run the two Southern States, and were on the borders of
Nortli Carolina. Colonel Shelby assembled the militia
of his county, and called upon them to volunteer their
services for a short time on that interesting occasion, and
marched, in a few days, with three hundred mounted
riflemen, across the Alleghany Mountains.
"In a short time after his arrival at McDowell's camp,
near the Cherokee Ford of Broad River, Colonel Shelby,
Lieutenant Colonels Sevier and Clarke, the latter a
refugee officer from Georgia, were detached, with six
hundred men, to surprise a post of the enemy in front,
on the waters of the Pacolet River. It was a strong fort,
surrounded by abattis, built in the Cherokee war, and
commanded by that distinguished loyalist, Captain Pat-
rick Moore. On the second summons to surrender, after
the Americans had surrounded the post within musket
shot, Captain Moore surrendered the garrison, with one
British sergeant major, ninety-three loyalists, and two
hundred and fifty stand of arms, loaded with ball and
buckshot, and so arranged at the portholes as to have
repulsed double the number of the American detach-
ment.
"Shortly after this affair, Colonels Shelby and Clarke
were detached, with six hundred mounted men, to watch
the movements of the enemy, and, if possible, to cut up
his foraging parties.
"Ferguson, who commanded the enemy, about twen-
ty-five hundred strong, composed of British and Tories,
with a small squadron of British horse, was an officer of
great enterprise, and, although only a major in the
British line, was a brigadier general in the royal militia
establishment, made by the enemy after he had overrun
(78)
South Carolina, and was esteemed the most distinguished
partisan officer in the British army.
44 He made several attempts to surprise Colonel Shelby,
but his designs were baffled. On the first of August,
however, his advance, about six or seven hundred strong,
came up with the American commander at a place he
had chosen for battle, called Cedar Spring, where a sharp
conflict ensued for half an hour, when Ferguson
approached with his whole force. ,
"The Americans then retreated, carrying off the field
fifty prisoners, mostly British, including two officers.
"The enemy made great efforts for five miles to regain
the prisoners ; but the American commander, by forming
frequently on the most advantageous ground to give
battle, so retarded the pursuit that the prisoners were
placed beyond their reach. The American loss was ten
or twelve killed[and wounded. It was in the severest
part of this action, that Colonel Shelby's attention was
arrested by the heroic conduct of Colonel Clarke. He
often mentioned the circumstance of ceasing in the
midst of battle, to look with astonishment and admira-
tion at Clarke fighting.
"General McDowell having received information that
five or six hundred Tories were encamped at Musgrove's
Mill, on the south side of the Enoree, about forty miles
distant, again detached Colonels Shelby, Clarke and Wil-
liams, of South Carolina, with about seven hundred
horsemen, to surprise and disperse them. Major Fergu-
son, with his whole force, occupied a position immediately
on the route.
"The American commanders took up their line of
march from Smith's Ford of Broad River, just before
sundown, on the evening of the i8th of August, 1780,
continued through the woods until danc, and then pur-
sued a road, leaving Ferguson's camp about three miles
to the left. They rode very hard all night, frequently
in a gallop, and just at the dawn of day, about a half a
mile from the enemy's camp, met a strong patrol party.
A short skirmish ensued, and several of them were killed.
At that juncture, a countryman, living just at hand,
came up and informed them that the enemy had been
reinforced the evening before with six hundred regular
troops (the Queen's American regiment from New
York, under Colonel Innes, destined to reinforce Fergu-
son's army.) The circumstances attending the informa-
tion were so minute that no doubt was entertained of its
truth. To march on and attack the enemy then seemed
to be improper; fatigued and exhausted .as were the
Americans and their horses, to attempt an escape was
impossible. They instantly determined to form a breast-
work of old logs and brush, and make the best defence
in their power. Captain Inman was sent out with
twenty-five men to meet the enemy, and skirmish with
them as soon as they crossed the Enoree River.
"The sound of their drum and bugle horns soon
announced their movements. Captain Inman was ordered
to fire upon them and retreat, according to his own dis-
cretion. This stratagem (which was the suggestion of
the Captain himself) drew the enemy out in disorder,
supposing they had forced the whole party ; and when
they came up within seventy yards, a most destructive
fire commenced from the American riflemen, who were
concealed behind the breastwork of logs. It was an hour
before the enemy could force the riflemen from their
slender breastwork ; and just as they began to give away
in some parts, Colonel limes was wounded, and all the
(So)
British officers, except a subaltern, being previously killed
or wounded, and Captain Hawsey, a noted leader among
the Tories being shot down, the whole of the enemy's
line commenced a retreat. The Americans pursued
them closely, and beat them across the river.
"In this pursuit Captain Inman was killed, bravely
fighting the enemy hand to hand. Colonel Shelby com-
manded the right wing, Colonel Clarke the left, and
Colonel Williams the centre. According to McCalPs
History of Georgia, the only work in which this battle is
noticed, the British loss is stated to be sixty-three killed
and one hundred and sixty wounded and taken; the
American loss to be four killed and nine wounded.
Amongst the former, Captain Inman and amongst
the latter, Colonel Clarke and Captain Clarke. The
Americans returned to their horses, and mounted with a
determination to be, before night, at Ninety-Six, at that
time a weak British post, distant only thirty miles. At
that moment an express came up from General McDowell
in great haste, with a short letter in his hand from Gov-
ernor Caswell, dated on the battle ground, apprising
McDowell of the defeat of the American grand army
under General Gates,, on the i6th, near Camden, and
advising him to get out of the way, as the enemy would,
no doubt, endeavor to improve their victory, to the
greatest advantage, by destroying all the small corps of
the Alnerican army.
" It was a fortunate circumstance that Colonel Shelby
knew Governor Caswell' s handwriting, and what reli-
ance to place upon it ; but it was a difficult task to avoid
the enemy in his rear, his troops and their horses being
fatigued, and encumbered with a large number of British
prisoners. These, however, were immediately distributed
(Si)
amongst the companies, so as to make one to every three
men, who carried them alternately on horseback, directly
towards the mountains. The Americans continued their
inarch all that day and night, and the next day until
late in the evening, without even halting to refresh.
This long and rapid march saved them ; as they were
pursued, until late in the afternoon of the second day
after the action, by a.strong detachment from Ferguson's
army. Colonel Shelby, after seeing the party and pris-
oners out of danger, retreated to the western waters with
his followers, and left the prisoners in charge of Colonels
Clarke and Williams, to convey them to some point of
security in Virginia ; for at that moment there was not
the appearance of a corps of Americans south of that
State.
"The panic which followed the defeat of Gates and
Sumter induced the corps of McDowell's army to dis-
perse, some to the west and some to the north. The
brilliancy of this affair was obscured, as indeed were all
the minor incidents of the previous war, by the deep
gloom which overspread the public mind after the disas-
trous defeat of General Gates. ' '
This was the foretaste that Ferguson had of
these "dare-devils," u over-mountain men;" these
hardy hunters and Indian fighters of the mountain
wilderness ; these children of nature, whose expe-
rience and common sense were their only guides,
and whose sleepless vigilance was their protection
from danger. They all carried the Deckhard rifle,
called for the maker, who lived in Lancaster, Penn-
sylvania. It was generally three feet six inches
(82)
long, weighed about seven pounds, and ran seventy
bullets to the pound of lead. This rifle was remark-
able for the precision and the distance of its shot. :i:
Ferguson himself was one of the finest rifle
shots in the world, and was the inventor of a breech-
loading rifle used at that date in the British army.
It could be fired seven times a minute. He, there-
fore, knew how effective the rifle was in the hands
of a steady and determined soldier, and he dreaded
the encounter with these men which was, in the
near future, before him.f
There was still a third partisan corps of North
Carolinians that gathered to the left of Davie on
the Pee Dee.
A considerable number of North Carolina militia
assembled on the 2Oth of July at Anson Court
House. Observing this movement Major Me Ar-
thur, who commanded the British forces on the Pee
Dee, called in his detachments and marched to join
the royal army at Camden. On the day that he
left, the inhabitants, distressed by McArthur's
depredations upon them, generally took up arms.
Lord Nairne and one hundred and six invalids,
descending the river, were made prisoners by a
party of the Americans command'ed by Major
Thomas, who had lately been received as loyal sub-
jects. A large boat, well filled with supplies for
McArthur, was also seized. All the new-made
*Ramsay's Annals of Tennessee, p. 228.
+Ramsay's Annals of Tennessee, p. 224.
British militia officers, excepting Colonel Mills,*
were made prisoners by their own men.f
While these partisan leaders in Western North
Carolina, volunteers without wages or rations,
were threatening and attacking the British out-
posts and intercepting and destroying their convoys,
the militia of the State was assembling at Cheraw
Hill, in South Carolina, where whey arrived about
the ist day of August, 1780. This point is just
across the State line, sixty-five miles from Char-
lotte and one hundred and six miles from Wil-
mington. The men of the west were under Briga-
dier General Rutherford of Rowan, those of the
east under General Isaac Gregory of Camden
County, and those from the centre under General
John Butler of Orange. This last was an old Regu-
lator, for whose head Tryon had offered a high
reward in 1771. Butler had never ceased to hope
and to struggle for freedom. The militia, to use a
familiar term, were " raw " and undisciplined and
not accustomed to be organized into large bodies.
Their mode of fighting was in small bands, under
chosen leaders individually known to every soldier
in the ranks, and they followed their leader because
they confided in him personally. Personal faith
gave them steadiness and energy. The rifle was
their weapon and a tree their protection from the
cavalry and the bayonet. In this mode of warfare
they excelled; they knew but little of any other.
^Captured at King's Mountain and hung.
fRamsay's History of South Carolina, p. 202.
(8 4 )
These generals were all sincere patriots and brave
men. " General Rutherford was an Irishman by
birth, uncultivated in mind and manners, but brave,
ardent and patriotic, "* and, no doubt, as impulsive
in his nature as any son of the Emerald Isle and
as heartily opposed to British tyranny as any of
his race. He resided west of Salisbury, in the
Locke settlement. He was an Indian fighter and
had commanded 2,400 men in 1776 in a successful
invasion of the Cherokee nation. Of General
Gregory we know but little, but- that little is hon-
orable alike to his courage and his patriotism. He
shed his blood for the cause.
General Horatio Gates, the captor of Burgoyne's
army, the accidental victor of one battle, had, on the
1 3th day of June, been appointed by Congress corn-
man der-in-chief of the Southern army and about
the 25th of July he reached the camp of DeKalb,
on Deep River, in North Carolina, seventy-five
miles northeast of Caswell's camp at Cheraw, and
superseded him. Sad day for American history
when vanity and arrogance were promoted over
unselfish courage and conservative j udgment ; when
the martinet ranked the soldier, and the adventurer
took command of the patriot.
General Washington greatly desired to have
General Nathanael Greene appointed to this com-
mand, but popular enthusiasm had become so much
aroused by the capture of Burgoyne that the people
and their representatives in Congress were deaf to
*Wheeler, vol. 2, p. 382.
(85)
every remonstrance and impatient of any suggestion
which questioned the greatness and' invincibility
of General Gates. It was said that Washington
"had slain his thousands, but Gates had slain his
tens of thousands." The opposition of Washington
was attributed to jealousy and envy and he was
compelled to yield reluctantly to the popular clamor.
It was a repetition 'of the old story of republics in
which the people sing hosannas one day to the
conquering hero and cry "crucify him" the next;
but the people are much like children or "foolish
virgins" they seldom learn wisdom except in the
suffering school of experience. Like children they
often need to be restrained or forced, as occasion
may require, 'by a master's hand. A little tyranny
might have been wholesome in 1 780, but Washing-
ton had no element of this character in his nature.
He preferred sacrifice with the people rather than
glory or success through the exercise of arbitrary
power.. He not only yielded to Congress but gave
to Gates more than one-fourth of his best troops,
regulars and.veterans from Maryland and Delaware.
A strange infatuation took possession of General
Gates; he contemned cavalry and heard with
indifference the suggestion of their necessity in an
open country where they could move with celerity
and obtain the information so absolutely necessary
to the success of military operations. Cavalry are
figuratively called the eyes and ears of an army,
and these Gates closed and went forward like the
blind leading the blind, and the ditch of disaster
(86)
was not far removed. Caswell has been accused of
" disregarding orders from the vanity of acting
separately, " :i: but Gates was equally foolish in
making no attempt to reconcile these differences
and secure unity and harmony of action. DeKalb,
wise, prudent and cautious, advised that Camden
should be approached from the direction of Meck-
lenburg and Rowan, where stores could be procured
for the army and a line of retreat be prepared in
the event of disaster ; but Gates was imperious and
obstinate and would listen to no plan except march-
ing directly through a barren wilderness to attack
Rawdon, without inquiring what was his force or the
strength of his situation.
"Orders were immediately issued to the troops
to hold themselves in readiness to move at a
moment's warning, and on the 2yth July, 1780, the
irmy was marching in the direct route across the
barrens to Mark's Ferry on the Pee Dee. He had
not at this time one day's provision to serve out for
his army."t On the yth da}^ of August Gates
formed a junction with Caswell and on the i3th the
combined forces encamped at Rugely's Mills near
Camden. The next day General Stevens of Vir-
ginia came up with a brigade of militia. In the
meantime Lord Cornwallis, having been apprised
of the advance of the American army, left Charleston
with a large reinforcement and reached L-ord Raw-
don at Camden before dawn of the i4th, and at ten
*Bancroft, vol. 5, p. 384.
tjohnsou's L,ife of Greene, vol. r, p. 294.
(87)
o'clock on the night ot the i5th set his troops in
motion in the hope of attacking the Americans at
the break of day.
General Gates was wholly ignorant that Corn-
wallis had reinforced Rawdon, and supposing that
he could obtain an easy victory over the latter, who
was inferior in numbers, he put the American army
in motion on the liight of the i5th of August also,
with the view of surprising Lord Rawdon.
"The unhappy fate which awaited, him is that
which must ever attend the commander who neg-
lects the means of intelligence. His laurels were
strewn in the dust, his venerable head bowed down
with humiliation, an army destroyed and the South-
ern States brought to the verge of ruin."*
Both armies unexpectedly met in the night. The
British fired into Colonel Armand's cavalry which
became disordered and fled, but the infantry under
Porterfeild and Armstrong, of North Carolina,
checked the advance. Both armies were surprised
and apprehensive, and by mutual consent, as it were,
withdrew to await the attack of the other. When
the long night of weary suspense had passed the
lines of battle were formed, which Bancroft thus
describes : "The position of Lord Cornwallis was
most favorable. A swamp on each side secured his
flanks against the superior numbers of the Ameri-
cans. At daybreak his last dispositions were made.
The front line, to which was attached two six-
pounders and two three-pounders, was commanded
on the right by Lieutenant Colonel Webster, on
*Johnsou's Life of Greeue, vol. i, p. 297.
the left by Lord Rawdon ; a battalion with a six-
pounder was posted behind each wing as a reserve ;
the cavalry were in the rear read}- to charge or to
pursue.
" On the American side the second Maryland
brigade with Gist for its brigadier, and the men of
Delaware occtipied the right under DeKalb; the
North Carolina division, with Caswell, the centre,
and Stevens with the newly arrived Virginia militia,
the left; the best troops on the side strongest by
nature, the worst on the weakest.
"The first Maryland brigade, at the head of which
Smallwood should have appeared, formed a second
line about two hundred yards in the rear of the first.
The artillery was divided between the two brigades."'
This corresponds with the account given by
Steadman.f
The opposite armies being thus arranged in order
of battle, Lieutenant Colonel \Yebster was ordered
by Lord Cornwallis to advance and charge the
enemy. They met Stevens on the left, who was also
advancing. The Virginia militia were untrained
and undisciplined and soon gave way, the retreat
became a rout and they fled in even- direction,
throwing away their arms and knapsacks and intent
only on escaping from the cavalry, which they
dreaded, in their rear. The left flank of the North
Carolina militia being thus exposed to a raking fire
from the advancing British line and having no
^Bancroft, vol. 5, pp. 3S7-'S.
fHistory American War, vol. 2, p. 208.
Posrt/ort.
flbiitiat*lten 0r Kate felULJaei-ic
iraiut cofrmaiti/ed rilishLemnir<J
extend/Kg from rtxntlii atrorker sa*f.
Second Posifloit parent UeKali breaks ttrea.
Compiled anctDrai?*by(W.Carrirt(%OH.
(89)
cavalry to protect them, began also to give way.
General Rutherford acted with distinguished gal-
Ian try, until he received a musket ball through his
thigh, which disabled him and he was captured.
General Butler vainly endeavored to keep the centre
of the North Carolina line in position, but it and a
part of the line under General Gregory, who was
on the left, fled also. General Gregory, too, was
wounded during the thickest of the fight, but by
his courageous example a part of his brigade stoutly
maintained its position and adhered to the Mary-
land line.
Lee, in his ".Memoirs" of the war, thus narrates
the noble conduct of this part of the North Carolina
militia :
" None without violence to the claims of honor and
justice can withhold applause from Colonel Dixon and
his North Carolina regiment of militia. Having their
flank exposed by the flight of the other militia, they
turned with disdain from the ignoble example; and
fixing their eyes on the Marylanders, whose left they
became, determined to vie in deeds of courage with their
veteran comrades. Nor did they shrink from this
daring resolve. In every vicissitude of the battle this
regiment maintained its ground, and when the reserve
under Smallwood, covering our left, relieved its naked
flank, forced the enemy to fall back. Colonel Dixon had
seen service, having commanded a Continental regiment
under Washington. By his precepts and example he
infused his own spirit into the breast of his troops, who,
emulating the noble ardor of their leader, demonstrated
(90)
the wisdom of selecting experienced officers to command
raw soldiers.
"The American war presents examples of first-rate
courage occasionally exhibited by corps of militia, and
often with the highest success. Here was a splendid
instance of self-possession by a single regiment out of
two brigades. Dixon had commanded a Continental
regiment, and of course to his example and knowledge
much is to be ascribed, yet praise is nevertheless due to
the troops.
"While I record with delight facts which maintain
our native and national courage, I feel a horror lest
demagogues, who flourish in a representative system of
government [the best when virtue rules, the wit of man
can devise] shall avail themselves of the occasional testi-
mony to produce a general result.
" Convinced, as I am, that a government is the mur-
derer of its citizens which sends them to the field, unin-
formed and untaught, where they are to meet men of
the same age and strength mechanized by education and
disciplined for battle, I cannot withhold my denuncia-
tion of its wickedness and folly, much as I applaud, and
must ever applaud those instances like the one before us>
of armed citizens vicing with our best soldiers in the
first duty of man to his country."*
The English historian Lamb, an officer in the
British army, say:f
"The Continental troops behaved well, but some of
the militia was soon broken. In justice to the North
Carolina militia, it should be remarked, that part of the
*Lee's Memoirs, pp. iS6-'7.
fLamb's History, p. 304.
(9O
brigade commanded by General Gregory acquitted
themselves well. They were formed immediately on
the left of the Continentals, and kept the field while they
had a cartridge to fore ; Gregory himself was twice
wounded by a bayonet in bringing off his men. Several
of his regiment and many of his brigade, who were made
prisoners, had no wound except from bayonets."
There can be no doubt that if the North Carolina
militia had been supported on their left by the
Virginians, that the event of this battle would have
been far different from the unfortunate result which
followed their stampede.
The stubborn courage of Dixon's regiment, which
formed the left of the Maryland line, is the more
conspicuous when we consider that it was not only
attacked in front by Rawdon, but bore the brunt of
the charge from the light infantry and twenty-third
regiment, which had wheeled from the pursuit of
Stevens and Rutherford and concentrated its fire
on the North Carolinians who had stood their
ground. Steadman relates that "Lord Rawdon
began the action on the British left with no less
vigor and spirit than Webster had done on the
right; but here and in the centre, against a part of
Webster's division, the contest was more obstinately
maintained by the Americans, whose artillery did
considerable execution. Their left flank was, how-
ever, exposed by the flight of part of the militia;
and the light infantry and twenty-third regiment,
who had been opposed to the fugitives, instead of
(92)
pursuing them, wheeled to the left and came upon
the left of the American Continentals, who after a
brave resistance for near three-quarters of an hour
were thrown into total confusion."*
The Marylanders and Delawares under DeKalb,
with Dixon's regiment of North Carolinians, main-
tained their position until, outflanked and outnum-
bered, they were compelled to give ground. DeKalb's
horse was killed under him and he himself severely
wounded, but he continued the fight on foot. " At
last," says Bancroft, a he led a charge, drove the
division under Rawdon, took fifty prisoners and
would not believe that he was not about to gain the
day when Cornwallis poured against him a party
of dragoons and infantry. Even then he did not
yield until disabled by many wounds."
Ramsay gives the following account of the cap-
ture of DeKalb and General Rutherford :
" Major General Baron DeKalb, an illustrious German
in the service of France, who had generously engaged
in the support of American independence, and who
exerted himself with great bravery to prevent the defeat
of the day, received eleven wounds, of which, though he
received the most particular assistance from the British,
he in a short time expired. Lieutenant Colonel Du-
Buysson, aid-de-camp of Baron DeKalb, embraced his
wounded General, announced his rank and nation to the
surrounding foe, and begged that they would spare his
life. While he generously exposed himself to save his
friend, he received sundry dangerous wounds and was
*Steadman, vol. 2, p. 209.
(93)
taken prisoner. * Brigadier General Rutherford, a val-
uable officer of the most extensive influence over the
North Carolina militia, surrendered to a party of the
British Legion, one of whom, after his submission, cut
him in several places."
With the fall of DeKalb all was lost. Tarleton's
cavalry had now returned from the pursuit of the
militia, and the only escape for the remaining
Americans was to wade through the morass on their
right. In this effort many of the officers made
their way out singly or in groups, but Major An-
derson, of the ad Maryland, who afterwards died a
glorious death at Guilford, was the only officer who
succeeded in keeping any organization. About one
hundred of his men clung together with him, and
came safely through to Charlotte, North Carolina.
"Colonel Howard and others collected some men
in their train, and the whole proceeded in a state
of utter dissolution to Charlotte. Scarcely any of
the wagons escaped, for the horses were used to
carry the wounded officers. The artillery, baggage,
everything became a prize to the victor, and to the
utter astonishment, but infinite relief of the scat-
tered Americans, Lord Cornwallis, satisfied with
his triumph, returned to celebrate it in Camden,
by offering the lives of his prisoners to the manes
of his soldiers or the demon of revenge. "f
The bayonet wounds received by General Greg-
ory, of North Carolina, and the men of his brigade
*Ramsay's South Carolina, p. 207.
tjohnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, pp. 2g8-'9.
attest the fact that the militia of North Carolina
stood before this terrible weapon in the hands of
the disciplined regulars of the British army, and
grappled with their adversaries in deadly conflict.
But few instances in military history occur where
the cross of bayonets is recorded; but when it is,
the weapons were in the hands of veterans who had
been "mechanized" into unflinching soldiers. I
venture to assert that history does not record
another instance where native courage and a sense
of duty enabled untrained militia to engage regular
troops with the bayonet and "force them back."
This peculiar glory belongs to North Carolina, by
the concurrent testimony of friend and foe.
Colonel Dixon, who won such immortal renown
on this battlefield, was one of the officers who lost
his position as major when the seven regular regi-
ments were compressed into three in May, 1778.
, He was familiarly known among his troops as
"Hal. Dixon," a pet name of the soldiers who
seem to have been familiar with him, and to have
borne him great affection. He came to North Car-
olina, and as soon as the call for the militia to join
Caswell was made, he volunteered, and as colonel
of militia performed heroic deeds at Camden. He
survived the battle, and in 1781, as we shall see.,
was acting as Inspector General of militia, for want
of a regular command. He never sulked in his
tent, and was never idle when he could find any
military duty to perform. I do not know his native
county. He speaks in his letters in 1781 of
(95)
returning to Caswell County. The roster of regu-
lar troops has this entry opposite his name, " Dec'd
July 17, 1782."
Colonel Otho Williams, who wrote a defence of
General Gates, and who is said to have advised
Gates to march direct to Camden, says :
"If in this affair the militia fled too soon the regulars
may be thought as blameable for remaining too long on
the field, especially after all hope of victory was
despaired of."
It is not within the scope of this work to discuss
the merits of the question, but only to deal with
facts and results.
No place of rendezvous had been appointed by
General Gates in case of defeat ; 110 order was given
by him after the battle began, and every soldier
who fled followed his own judgment and instinct
of safety. Gates fled day and night until he reached
Charlotte. He outstripped all his troops in this
race.
Rivington in his Gazette of September i3th,
1780, says in regard to his continued flight, "that
it was effected on a celebrated horse, the son of
Colonel Baylor's Fearnaught, own brother to His
Grace, of Kingston's famous 'Careles,' purchased
of a general officer of the first distinction. "f
It was in this Gilpin race that Gates met Colonel
Win. R. Davie, who was inarching to his assistance,
*Carrington Battles of the Am. Rev., p. 517.
fMoore's Diary of Revolution, vol. 2, p. 312.
(96)
and Davie urged that at least some one should be
sent to look after the dead and wounded, and Gates
replied: " Let the dead bury the dead." This was
the only text of Scripture that occurred to the
General that day, and in its literal application he
seems to have found some justification and comfort.
His usual reply, when reproached, was "I know
how to pit a cock but I don't know how to make
it fight," but in this apology there was little reason.
Cornwallis reports the British arm}' at two
thousand two hundred and thirty-nine, and his
casualties sixty-eight killed and two hundred and
fifty-six wounded, but it was undoubtedly more.
General Gates subsequently reported the loss of
General DeKalb and five officers killed and thirty-
four officers wounded, including Lieutenant Colo-
nels Woodford, Vaughn, Porterfeild and DeBuysson,
who. were captured, and that by the 29th of August
seven hundred non-commissioned officers and soldiers
of the Maryland division had rejoined the army. :k
The Delaware regiment was almost destroyed.
" Lieutenant Colonel Vaughn and Major Patton
being taken, its remnant, less than two companies,
was afterwards placed under Kirkwood, Senior
Captain.
The North Carolina militia also suffered greatly;
more than three hundred were taken prisoners and
a large number killed and wounded. " Contrary
to the usual course of events, and the general wish,
the Virginia militia who set the infamous example
*Carrington's Battles, pp. 5i7-'l8.
(97)
which produced the destruction of the army r
escaped entirely."*
Well did the noble Delawares maintain the name
of the "Blue Hen's Chickens" on that fatal day.
They were "pitted" and their dead bodies were
strewn all over that bloody field, while he who
"pitted" them was cutting the wind on the "son
of Fearnaught."
This sobriquet of the " Blue Hen's Chickens "
is said to have had its origin in the fondness of a
certain Captain Caldwell for cock-fighting. He
was an officer of this regiment distinguished for his
daring and undaunted spirit. When officers were
sent home for recruits they were admonished to get
"game cocks," and as Caldwell insisted that no
cock could be truly game whose mother was not a
"blue hen," the expression "blue hen's chickens"
was substituted for game cocks. This sport of
cock-fighting was so popular in that day that General
Sumter was called the "game cock" for his fight-
ing qualities, while Marion, for his caution and
cunning, was called the "swamp fox." We shall
record the deeds of this gallant remnant of "blue
hen's chickens " on other fields where glory and
renown were won.
By this victory the British came into possession
of seven pieces of artillery, two thousand muskets,
the entire baggage train and prisoners to the num-
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 185.
ber of one thousand, including Generals DeKalb,
Rutherford and Gregory. *
It was an appalling misfortune and carried con-
sternation and dismay over the whole country ; and
had Cornwallis followed up his victory by march-
ing at once into North Carolina the last of the
Southern States in his district might have been
overrun, but in the exuberance of his joy over the
defeat of the conqueror of Burgoyne and the recap-
ture of the English cannon and the subjection of
South Carolina, he lost his energy and j udgment
and sat down to secure and organize the territory
he had won, rather than add to his conquests.
Tardiness was the weakness of Cornwallis. His
extreme caution often taught him the danger of
procrastination. It was owing to this fault that
Morgan escaped with his men from the Cowpens
later in the year.
*Carrington's Battles.
CHAPTER III.
The Scattered Troops and Militia assemble at Charlotte Colonel W.
L. Davidson General Sumner in Command of the Militia
Letter from Governor Nash Patriotism of the People Corn-
wallis leaves, September 7th, 1780, for North Carolina De-
fence of Ctarlotte by Davie and Graham Hostile Spirit of the
People Colonel Patrick Ferguson Movements of the Whig
Leaders Battle of King's Mountain.
ALL opposition in South Carolina seemed to be
at an end.
Late on the night of the i6th of August General
Gates and General Caswell reached Charlotte
together in their ignoble flight. Gates, leaving
Caswell to collect the scattered troops at Charlotte,
pressed onward to Hillsboro, riding altogether more
than two hundred miles in three and a half days.
Caswell, after remaining one day, followed Gates.
Before leaving Charlotte General Caswell issued
a proclamation calling on the scattered troops of
the army to repair to Charlotte and for the militia
to assemble there also. The militia of Mecklen-
burg assembled, and the fugitives from Camden
came in daily, but in a deplorable condition, hungry,
fatigued, and almost naked, and many had thrown
away their arms.* The regular troops mostly
passed on to Hillsboro, where General Gates finally
established his headquarters. William L. David-
son, lieutenant colonel of regulars, who was just
recovering from a wound received at Colson's
^General Joseph Graham in University Magazine, vol. 5, p. 97.
( TOO)
in July, was appointed brigadier general of the
militia, in the Salisbury district, in the place
of General Rutherford who was then a prisoner.
General Davidson formed a brigade and encamped
on McAlpine's Creek, about eight miles below
Charlotte, and in the course of a few weeks was
reinforced by General Sumner, who, having no
regulars to command, took the command of the
militia from the counties of Guilford, Caswell and
Orange.*
On the loth September, 1780, Governor Abner
Nash writes to Willie Jones, that " General Small-
wood, with the whole of the Maryland line left, is
here (Hillsboro) by the order of General Gates.
They amount to upwards of 700, which, with above
200 regulars (arrived here yesterday) from Vir-
ginia, make the whole of our Continental force.
And how long they are to remain here I know not,
for the general says that they must be completely
refitted with clothes, tents and blankets before he
will move them. The Virginia militia are mostly
gone home. By the last accounts from Stevens, in
Guilford, he had only about 120 men ; 1200 of our
militia of the second draft, under General Sumner,
are gone to Salisbury ; about i ,000 militia of the
upper counties are assembled there and at Char-
lotte, and in about five days hence 1200 fresh men
will march from this district for the westward.
In short, sir, we are, for the present, left pretty
much to ourselves for the defence of this State, in
want of wagons, horses, magazines of provisions,
*University Magazine, vol. 5, p. 54.
I O I
arms, ammunition, tents and blankets, and a great
portion of the interior part of the country against us.
At the same time, I have the pleasure to assure
you that our zeal and spirit rises with our difficul-
ties, drafts are nearly at an end, our men yield to
the necessity of the times and turn out to service
with willing hearts. We are blessed with plentiful
frops^ and, with proper laws, resources may easily
be drawn forth for the defence of the country."
This letter, so full of hope and courage, in a
day when all seemed to be lost, and suffering and
distress and confusion were on every hand, reflects
honor on the history of the State, and the Governor
who then wielded her executive power. Her. citi-
zens "turned out to service with willing hearts,"
and their "zeal and spirit rose with their diffi-
culties."
Major Win. R. Davie, who was hastening to join
Gates, and met him in retreat, now fell back with
his small force and took post at Charlotte.
A letter published in 1856 from Major Davie to
General Casvvell, dated August 29th, 1780, at Char-
lotte, presents a vivid view of the state of affairs at
that crisis.* He says: u Last Saturday, with some
difficulty, a conflnand of 100 horse was made up.
I proceeded with them down the country as far as
three miles below Hanging Rock. The Tory
militia have returned to their plantations, and
threaten to plunder the country, and are murder-
ing the Whiggist inhabitants. The counties of
Rowan and Mecklenburg are rich in provision and
(102)
strong in men, staunch, numerous and spirited, if
the}- were only encouraged to take the field by
timely assistance. A small body of regulars, with
a few militia from .these counties, would still keep
the enemy at bay. Our poor wounded in Camden
are in a most wretched situation. Colonel Wilson
told me General Rutherford had no surgeon but
himself, and that many of them had never been
dressed. Something should be done for them it
is cruel. " :
During this uncertain state of affairs, the Legis-
lature of North Carolina, from an exaggerated
estimation of General Small wood's services, created
him a major general, and requested him, though a
citizen of Maryland, to take command of our State
militia. This very justly offended the pride and
sensibilities of a number of State officers, and so
mortified General Sunnier that for a short time he
retired from the service and refused to serve under
Small wood. Bancroft does not conceal his disgust
at Small wood's absence from the scene at Camden,
when the reserve was ordered to support the Mary-
landers, Delawares, and North Carolinians, who
were so sorely pressed in front and on the flanks,
and Smallwood's claim to have saved them from
rout is very questionable.
1780. The suspense in regard to the future
movements of Lord Cornwallis was broken on the
yth day of September, when he moved out of Cam-
den and marched by the way of the Waxhaws to
^University Magazine, vol. 5, p. 184.
Charlotte. At the same time he dispatched Colonel
Patrick Ferguson in the direction of Ninety-Six,
with a corps of one hundred picked regulars, where
he -soon attached to him about 1200 of the hardy
natives in. that region. His camp became the
rendezvous of the desperate, tlie idle and the vin-
dictive, as well as the youth of the loyalists/'"
Colonel Tarleton, with the cavalry and light legion
of infantry, was to pursue an intermediate course
and move up the western banks' of the Wateree.
Steadman says that "the reduction of the province
of North Carolina was undoubtedly, at this time,
confidently looked for. But to confound human
wisdom and set at naught the arrogance and pre-
sumption of man, unexpected incidents daily arise
in the affairs of human life, which, conducted by
an invisible hand, derange the best concerted
schemes, as will be exemplified in the event of the
present expedition." An expansion of the aphorism
that "man proposes but God disposes," and never
was the truth so strikingly beautiful as in this
historical instance. u Darkness and clouds were
round about the throne of God" and his mercy
seemed to have forsaken the American cause, but
" justice and judgment were still the habitation
of that throne." The "invisible hand" was moving
in the transition tane regions among the pioneers
of American civilization and the}' were soon to
descend as a destroying angel on the invading hosts.
*John.son's Greene, vol. i, p. 305.
(104)
1 780. On the 6tli of September Major William
R. Davie was appointed by Governor Nash colonel
commandant of cavalry, and directed to raise a regi-
ment; but lie succeeded in raising only part of it,
and with two small companies of riflemen under
Major George Davidson, he took post at Providence.
With fearless resolution he attacked a party of the
enemy at \Vahab's plantation, killed fifteen or
twenty and wounded forty, and came off with
ninety-six horses and one hundred and twenty-six
stands of arms a precious acquisition at that junc-
ture, when patriots were more numerous than rifles.
On the advance of the British, Generals Sunnier
and Davidson retreated by Phifer's, the nearest
route to Salisbury, ordering Colonel Davie, with
150 men and some volunteers under Major Joseph
Graham, to watch and annoy the foe. Obeying
these orders Colonel Davie entered the town of
Charlotte on the night of the 2Oth day of September.
At the same time the British were lying within a
few miles of the town.*
General Graham relates that at this time the
people met to talk over the situation, and "several
aged and respectable citizens insinuated that further
resistance would under such circumstances be
temerity, and only produce more certain destruction
to themselves and families, which by some other
course might be averted. But this was indignantly
repelled by a great majority and especially by those
who had been in action at Hanging Rock. Several
-Wheeler's History, p. 195, from Life of Davie.
of them Stated that they had seen the British
soldiers run like sheep, and many of them bite the
dust; *that they were by no means invincible; that
under suitable commanders and proper arrange-
ments they would at any time risk a conflict with
them man to man; that their cause was just and
they confided thac Providence would ultimately
give them success, notwithstanding the present
unfavorable appearances. As to endeavoring to
obtain terms of the enemy, that was out of the ques-
tion. That their sister State, South Carolina, had
tried the experiment and found that no faith was
to be placed in British promises, justice, generosity,
or honor. Several of them declared that while there
was any part of the North American continent to
which the British authority did not extend the}'
would endeavor to occupy that. This was one of
the times which emphatically 'tried men's souls'
rather than, when the enemy was at a distance,
sitting in deliberative bodies and passing abstract
resolves, to which it is generally applied."*
The general result of the meeting was to make
resistance to the last extremity, which accorded
with the spirit and judgment of Major Graham.
This accomplished writer, as well as soldier, has
given us a most minute account of the daring
defence of the handful of men under him and
Colonel Davie. As this account has reached com-
paratively few through the pages of the University
Magazine, I am persuaded it will prove most inter-
*General Graham in University Magazine, vol. 5, p. 53.
(io6)
esting to the general reader, and therefore I cop} 7 it
entire. The young " hornets " of the old nest will
appreciate it, I know.
1780. " Before sunrise on the 26th day of September,
Graham's party discovered the front of ^the enemy
advancing, and two of his men, who had been sent down
their left flank, reported that the whole army was in
motion; that they had seen their artillery, baggage, &c.,
coming on. They were immediately sent to give Col-
onel Davie notice, and Graham's troops receded slowly
before them. After going a short distance the party-
were covered from the view of the British by a swell in
the ground. They halted and fired on their front as they
approached, which the enemy returned briskly, and
began to deploy. Graham's party moved on, expecting
the British cavalry to pursue, but could see none. (It
turned out that they were gone with Tarleton after
General Sumter.)
"Within two miles of Charlotte, where the road from
the ferry comes in, Tarleton joined them. In five
minutes after he arrived, being indisposed after his night's
inarch, Major Hanger, took command of the cavalry, and
coming in front, compelled Graham to keep at a more
respectful distance. He was pursued by the front troops
in a brisk canter for a mile; after that they went at a
common travel until they came in sight of the village,
when they halted that the rear might close up, and some
of their officers endeavored to reconnoiter.
" Colonel Davie had nearly completed his disposition
for their reception, and during the night and morning
had the hospital and military stores removed. Charlotte
stands on an eminence of small elevation above the adja-
(ioy)
cent ground; two wide streets crossing each omer at
right angles (Tryon and Trade streets), the court-house
was in the center, a frame building raised on eight brick
pillars, ten feet from the ground, which was the most
elevated in the place. Between the pillars was erected
a wall of rock three and a half feet high, and the open
basement answered as a market for the town. Suitable
gaps were made in the lots and other enclosures on the
east side of the village for the troops to retire with facil-
ity, when compelled to do so. The main body was
drawn up in three lines across the street leading to Salis-
bury, about fifty yards apart, the front line twenty steps
from the court-house. Owing to the swell in the ground,
and the stone wall aforesaid, the whole was nearly
masked from the view of the advancing foe until he
came near. One troop was drawn up on each side of
the court-house in the cross street, at the distance of
eighty yards from it. That on the left was masked by
a brick house, that on the right by a log house. Major
Dickson of Lincoln (since General Joseph Dickson), with
a party of twenty men, was placed behind McComb's house
about twenty-nine poles in advance of the court-house
on the left of the street. Graham's command (just
arrived before the enemy), with Captain John Brandon's
troops from Rowan, were placed as a reserve in one line
at right angles with the street where the jail now stands.
In about thirty minutes after the enemy made his appear-
ance, he had condensed his forces from the loose order
of march, by sections, and increased the front of his
columns his cavalry arranged in subdivisions, his
infantry in platoons (except the Legion which followed
the cavalry). There appeared an interval of about one
hundred yards between the columns ; the cavalry
(io8)
advanced at a slow pace until fired on by Major Dick-
son's party ; they then came on at a brisk trot until
within fifty yards of the court-house, when our first line
moved up to the stone wall and fired, then wheeled out-
wards and passed down the flanks of the second line,
which was advancing. The enemy supposing that we were
retreating, rushed up to the court-house and received a
full fire on each side from the companies placed on the
cross street (Trade street) ; upon which they imme-
diately wheeled and retreated down the street to their
infantry, halted and fronted. Their infantry passed out
through the lots on each flank and advanced. Our
second line, when it reached the court-house, fired at
the column of cavalry in retreat, but at rather too great
a distance for much execution. Their cavalry now began
to move forward again, but the Legion infantry were near
one hundred yards in advance on each flank. When
they came in view in rear of the lots, they opened a cross-
fire on each flank of Davie's men, which, for a short time,
was handsomely returned from behind the buildings, but
their numbers and firing increasing as they deployed,
and the cavalry advancing along the street in a menacing
attitude, Colonel Davie ordered a retreat. As soon as
the troops who had been engaged passed the reserve,
they had to sustain the whole fire of the Legion, which
kept advancing parallel with the street, about eighty-
yards from it. The reserve held their position until they
fired two rounds, and moved off in order through the
woods on the left of the road. The British cavalry kept
in thirty poles until Graham's party passed the first
Muddy Branch, about three-quarters of a mile from the
court-house, and one hundred yards from the road, where
they wheeled and fronted (the Muddy Branch being
(109)
between them and the enemy, one hundred yards beyond),
and gave them one fire. They halted, waiting for their
infantry, which in a short time came running down their
flank and began to fire. Graham ordered his men to
disperse, as the woods were thick and they all knew the
country. At the distance of two or three miles the most
of them collected, where the road crosses Kennedy's
Creek (where Frew's, farm now is), and as the woqds
were here thick and deemed suitable to rally in, the men
were drawn up fronting the ford, and two men sent over
to see whether the horse or foot were marching in front,
it being decided that if the former, the troops should fire
from their saddles. The men sent over had not gone
one hundred yards from their party before they discov-
ered the front of the cavalry at a small distance, and
came back and gave information. The party sat on
horseback waiting the approach, when the first thing
that presented itself to their view, in the euge of the
bottom beyond the creek, at the distance of linety steps,
was the front of a full platoon of infantry on each side
of the road, on whom they instantly fired and retreated.
The enemy fired nearly at the same time, and their balls
passing directly through the woods where our line was
formed, and skinning saplings and making bark and
twigs fly, produced more of a panic in the militia than
any disaster which occurred on that day. All the firing
in Charlotte and beyond had generally passed over their
heads, but here it appeared to be horizontal. The
parties commanded by Brandon and Graham passed on
in disorder by Sugar Creek Church until they ascended
the hill near the cross-roads, where they formed and
fronted. The enemy's infantry, which came before,
and at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards halted
(no)
and took to trees and fences, and commenced an irregu-
lar fire for near a half hour at long shot. Many of our
men dismounted and fired in the same manner, but
owing to the distance and shelter of each, it is believed
no damage was done on either side. Colonel Davie,
with his main force, heard the firing distinctly, and
knowing the enemy were coming on, sent an officer to
apprise General Davidson, who drew up his men near
the ford on Mallard's Creek, where the woods and deep
ravines would protect him from the cavalry. Colonel
Davie himself formed a mile and a half in his front, at
a place called Sassafras Fields; from thence to the cross-
roads, near three miles, was an open ridge and large
timber (at that time scarcely an undergrowth being upon
it) which was quite favorable to the action of cavalry.
During the time the enemy had halted and kept up a
desultory fire, he was making his arrangements near a
small creek in his rear, by placing his best horses in
front and sending about one hundred cavalry thraugh
the woods to his right, in order that they might come
into and up the cross-road, so as to surround the party
in front. Their conduct indicated some such movement
would be attempted, and the reserve and others who
joined them moved on. When they passed the cross-
roads, that part of the enemy which debouched were dis-
covered coming up the road on their right within thirty
poles distance, and Major Hanger, with the remainder,
the same distance in their rear, the whole about three
hundred and fifty in number. When the two parties
joined at the cross-roads, they came on at a brisk trot,
and from that to a canter, as fast as they could preserve
order, until they discovered the party before them was,
by their pursuit, pressed out of order. Then they
(Ill)
charged at full speed. When the pursuit became close,
near one-half took to the woods on each side of the road.
The front troop of the enemy (commanded by Captain
Stewart) pursued them, but the main body, commanded
by Major Hanger, kept the road until they came in view
of the place where Colonel Davie had formed at Sassa-
fras Fields. Being much out of order by the pursuit, they
collected their scattered troopers and returned to their
Legion infantry, and one other battalion, about eight
hundred men in all, which accompanied the cavalry as
far as the cross-roads, and remained there drawn up in
position until their return. The main body had halted
in Charlotte, whither, the whole repaired about sunset.
"On this day we lost Lieutenant George Locke (son of
General Matthew Locke) who was literally cut to pieces
in a most barbarous manner. The barrel of his rifle with
which he endeavored to shelter himself from their sabres
was cut in many places. He and two privates were
killed, and Colonel Lindsay, of Georgia, who served as a
volunteer without any command, and Adjutant Graham*
and ten others were wounded. The loss of the enemy
could not be ascertained, but was believ.ed to exceed
ours. Afterwards two of their dead were found, near
where Locke was killed and Graham wounded, one of
whom was known to have been shot by Robert Ramsay
of Rowan at the time they charged. But they must
have sustained the greatest damage in Charlotte. The
enemy seemed to understand this Parthian kind of
wartare, and maneuvered with great skill the cavalry
and infantry supporting each other alternately as the
nature of the ground or opposition seemed to require.
*Joseph Graham received 'nine wounds, three with ball and six with
sabre, and was left on the ground.
(H2)
They taught us a lesson of the kind, which in several
instances was practiced against them before the end of
the war. During the whole day they committed noth-
ing to hazard, except when the cavalry first charged up
to the court-house, and received a heavy fire in front and
both flanks at the same time, which compelled them to
retreat before their infantry were thrown forward on their
flanks. Had we omitted fighting on this day, kept our
men and horses fresh (except a few to reconnoiter and
give intelligence of the enemy's movements) and been in
readiness to strike the foraging parties which 'his new
position would have compelled him to send out, and thus
endeavored to take him by detail, it would have been
better policy than, with three or four hundred mounted
militia men, of whom not one-fourth were equipped as
cavalry, attacking a regular army, completely organized,
of ten times their number, in an open field, when every
person was sure we would be beaten. The small damage
sustained in proportion to the risk appeared providential.
"Several of the British officers stated afterwards, if
Colonel Tarleton had commanded their van instead of
Major Hanger it would have been worse for us. General
Davidson retired in the night to Phifer's plantation,
twenty miles from Charlotte, and Colonel Davie behind
Rocky River, sixteen miles from Charlotte, and four
miles in front of Davidson. "
This chivalrous defence of their homes and fire-
sides by the men of Mecklenburg and Lincoln and
Rowan, reckless as it may seem in the light of
future events, is to be commended for the noble
and patriotic impulses which prompted it. The
lesson of experience in Parthian warfare which the
MAJOR 'JOSEPH GRAHAM,
VOUNTED INFANTRY i7eo-8i.
Afterward General ofMhtia,Histbrian,'Manufacturer8cc.
.LINCOLN CO. N.C.
British taught them that day more than compen-
sated for the loss they suffered in learning the
lesson.
It also taught the militia that the British troops
were not so dreadful in attack or destructive in the
charge as they may have anticipated. It was well
that they were led by so experienced and intrepid
a soldier as Major "Joseph Graham, whose heroic
courage was so conspicuous in the fight. His
soldiers were deprived of his example for two
months while tender hands dressed his wounds and
tender hearts sympathized with his suffering.
"He fell with nine sabre wounds and three from
lead. His life was narrowly and mercifully pre-
served by a large stock-buckle which broke the
violence of a stroke which, to human view, must
have proved fatal. He received four deep gashes
of the sabre over his head and one on his side, and
three balls were afterwards removed from his body.
After being much exhausted by loss of blood he
reached the house of Mrs. Susannah Alexander,
where he was kindly nursed and watched during
the night."*
It was these wounds which prevented Major
Graham from sharing in the glory of King's Moun-
tain a month afterward. He was only twenty-one
years old when he received this baptism of blood ;
but he lived to avenge it all and to see his country
independent among the nations of the earth.
*Wheeler's History, vol. 2, p. 234.
(H4)
Tarleton says "the King's troops did not come
out of this skirmish unhurt. Major Hanger, who
was in command of the Legion" (Tarleton being
sick of a violent fever) "and Captains Campbell and
McDonald were wounded and twelve non-commis-
sioned officers and men killed and wounded."
Tarleton was evidently not impressed very favor-
ably with what he discovered in this new region
into which, for the first time, the King's army had
penetrated, and his disparagement of the people is
so honorable to their manhood and patriotism that
I cannot forbear to give a few extracts from his
narrative. He petulantly says:
"The town and environs abounded with inveterate
enemies ; the roads were narrow and crossed in every
direction and the woods were close and thick. It was
evident, as had been frequently mentioned to the King's
officers, that the counties of Mecklenburg and Rowan
were more Jwstilc to England than any others in America.
No British commander could obtain any information in
that position which would facilitate his designs or guide
his future conduct. The foraging parties were every day
harassed by the inhabitants, who did not remain at home
to receive payment for the produce of their farms, but
generally fired from covert places to annoy the British
detachments. Notwithstanding the different checks and.
losses sustained by the militia of the district, they con-
tinued their hostilities with unwearied perseverance, and
the British troops were so effectually blockaded in their
present position that very few out of a great number of
messengers could reach Charlottetown in the beginning
of October to give intelligence of Ferguson's situation."
Tarleton had discovered a wonderful difference in
the temper and disposition of the people of the two
Carolinas. The leading men of North Carolina did
not hasten to express their penitence for rebellion,
but met the foe with arms in their hands and when
their regulars were captured, they organized the
militia for defence; when these were scattered by
British troopers the inhabitants fired upon them,
singly and in squads, from the coverts, and scorned
the British gold that was offered for the produce of
their plantations. Our enemies being onr judges,
the men of North Carolina "were more hostile to
England than any others in America." These
splenetic utterances of disappointment and rage
have become the pride and boast of those who pro-
voked them. They can well respond in the old
Hebrew idiom, ".Thou sayest it."
The "amiable Cornwallis" seems to have become
as impatient and irascible as his lieutenant, and in
his cooler moments even, when writing to Colonel
Balfour, of the British army, he could not find
decent language sufficiently strong to express his
indignation and descended to profane epithet to
relieve his chafed spirit.
11 Charlotte is an agreeable village," says his
lordship, "but in a d d rebellious country."
The British army which entered Charlotte the
26th September, 1780, consisted of three brigades
besides the Legion infantry and cavalry and some
Tories who accompanied them. The brigade on the
right, commanded bv Colonel \Yebster, encamped
16)
on the southeast of the court-house, forty poles
from it. ' The brigade of lord Rawdon encamped
across the street leading to' Salisbury, thirty poles
from the conrt-house; O'Hara's brigade on the
southwest of the court-house; the cavalry, infantry
and Tories encamped across the street by which
they came (South Tryon).*
Cornwallis immediately took possession of Colonel
Thomas Folk's mill, where he found 28,000 pounds
of flour and a quantity of wheat, and killed, on an
average, 100 cattle per day. The army could only
be supported by Webster moving one day aud
Rawdon the next as covering parties to protect the
foragers. f
The vicinity was aptly characterized by lord
Cornwallis as a " Hornet's Nest," and this appella-
tion clings to it until this day as the highest enco-
mium which British malignity could unwillingly
bestow upon the county.
We can imagine with what suspense and anxiety
the British commander was harassed during his
short stay, with his sources of information cut off,
his messengers intercepted and an enemy concealed
along every pathway. Here we shall leave him to
contemplate the difficult task of conquering North
Carolina, while we follow Ferguson to his fate at
King's Mountain.
We have seen that when Cornwallis advanced
towards Charlotte that orders were issued to Lieu-
""General Joseph Graham.
tSteadman.
tenant Colonel Patrick Ferguson to advance towards
Ninety-Six,* in what is now Abbeville County, South
Carolina, on the upper waters of the Saluda River
and about sixty or seventy miles directly south of
King's Mountain. The purpose of this expedition
was to blend the loyalists into military organiza-
tions, overawe the Whigs, and to exercise such
civil power as might be necessary to place that
region of South Carolina completely under the
British yoke. He was jocularly said to have had
power plenary enough to justify him in celebrating
the marriage ceremony. Ferguson was an intrepid
soldier and had the entire confidence of his com-
mander. His career had been bold, dangerous and
brilliant.
He was the second son of James Ferguson, lord
Pitfour, an eminent advocate and for twelve years
a Scotch judge. When only fifteen years of age
a commission was purchased for him, and on the
1 2th day of July, 1759, he entered the British army
as cornet. He had a varied fortune on the Continent
in many battles and when the war of the revolution
began he found his way to America as a captain.
He had heard much of the superiority of the
Americans in the use of the rifle, and this inspired
his genius to the invention of a weapon which
would counteract the effect of this arm. Ferguson
invented a new species of rifle which could be loaded
at the breech, without a ramrod, and could be fired
seven times in a minute.
"Took its name from beinj^ 96 miles from Keowee, principal towii
of the Cherokees.
( i i 8 )
He was at that time the best rifle shot of the
British arm}-, and in adroitness in loading and firing
is said to have excelled the best American frontiers-
man or even the expert Indian of the forest. He
was also famous as a pistol shot. While riding he
would check his horse, draw a pistol from his
holster, toss it aloft, catch'it as it fell, aim, and shoot
)ff a bird's head on an adjacent fence. *
In 1777 Sir Henry Clinton placed him at the
head of a corps of riflemen picked from the different
regiments, and he participated in the battle of
Brandywine. Here he was made to experience the
accuracy of American aim and the excellence of the
American rifle. A rifle-ball shattered his right
arm and disabled it for life; but Ferguson, with
undaunted resolution, practiced sword exercise with
his left until he was a formidable and skilled
antagonist with that weapon.
It was at this battle, he relates, that General
Washington came in the range of his rifle, but he
scorned to shoot so illustrious a man in the back or
allow his men to do so. There is doubt, however,
as to the identity of the person and many reasons
to believe that it was Pulaski and not' Washington.
It is, however, creditable to Ferguson as a soldier
that he spared either of them from assassination.
In 1779, when Sir Henry Clinton fitted out his
expedition to Charleston for the subjugation of the
Southern provinces, Ferguson was assigned to
command a corps of three hundred men and was
*Draper's Heroes of King's Mountain, pp. 50-51.
allowed to choose both his men and officers. He
was given the rank of lieutenant colonel com-
mandant. Early in March, 1780, Ferguson and
Major Cochrane, with Tarleton's Legion infantry,
were sent in pursuit of some American force and
the Americans having been ad vised.of their approach
abandoned their camp, which Ferguson occupied.
Cochrane subsequently arriving in the vicinity,
and supposing the persons in the camp to be
Americans, charged them furiously, and a dreadful
conflict took place in the night between these Bng-
lish detachments, until at last Cochrane recognized
Ferguson's voice and stopped the carnage. Fergu-
son defended himself gallantly, wielding his sword
in his left hand against three assailants until one
of them thrust his bayonet through Ferguson's left
arm. It was at this moment that Cochrane recog-
nized Ferguson's voice and rescued him.
Ferguson was also at the surprise and defeat of
Huger at Monk's Corner. Three of Tarleton's
dragoons committed violence on some ladies near the
village and were apprehended in the diabolical act.
"Ferguson was for putting them to instant death,
but Tarleton rescued them." Tarleton it was who
afterwards had the "effrontery to boast that he had
killed more men and ravished more women than
any man in America."*
Ferguson is described as of "middle stature,
slender make and possessing a serious countenance,
*Draper, p. 67.
I 2 O
yet it was his peculiar characteristic to gain the
affections of the men under his command."
Irving says "Ferguson xvas a fit associate for
Tarleton in hardy, scrambling partisan enterprise;
equally intrepid and determined, but cooler and
more open to impulses of humanity."
This was the man wlw was to lead the left wing
of the army of Cornwallis into North Carolina and
humiliate the " over-mountain men" and reduce
them to subjection and obedience.
Mr. Lvinan C. Draper spent twenty years of an
industrious and energetic life in writing his splen-
did work "King's Mountain and its Heroes"- a
book perfect in all its parts, evincing a research
unsurpassed by any American writer, and so jnst
to North Carolina and her soldiers in the King's
Mountain campaign that I hope I will be pardoned
for drawing almost entirely upon it for the facts
connected with that battle. Mr. Draper has ex-
hausted the sources of information on this portion
of history, and nothing can be added to it, and, as
far as my examination goes, nothing can be taken
from it, without marring the truth.
The meagreness of the account by l^arleton and
Steadman is astonishing. It seems to have been a
historical bog to them, out of which they floundered
with all haste and energy ; but to the American
student it is the first ebbing of the long-tide of mis-
fortune which had swept over the States of Georgia
and South Carolina and submerged them in its
billows. It was the first ray of hope that gleamed
.(121)
through the darkness and desolation of that period
of conquest and wretchedness which followed the
advance of a victorious invader.
It was the pivot upon which the steady line of
defeat and disaster first deviated from its course and
swung from the American arms.
It was the appalling defeat which brought terror
to the heart of Cornwallis and drove him sick and
faint from the confines of North Carolina and -forced
him to plunge through the mud of the Waxhaws
to the rear line of his defences at Winnsboro.
Mr. Draper has therefore wisely selected this
battle as one of the central events of the war for
independence, and while many who were conver-
sant with the circumstances attending it were still
living, has gathered the rich stores of information
and woven them into the most charming narrative
of American history.
The camp of Ferguson was on Little River,
which is the northern prong of the Saluda. He
had come to this place with "from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred of the Provincial corps,"
and was here joined by "the desperate, the idle, the
vindictive, who sought plunder or revenge, as well
as the youthful loyalists whose zeal or ambition
prompted them to take up- arms ; all found a warm
reception at the British camp, and their progress
through the country was marked with blood and
dghted with conflagration."*
*Draper, p. 72.
The young men of this multifarious collection
were thoroughly drilled and disciplined by Fergu-
son in military tactics, and transformed into a body
of formidable soldiers.
It was here that David Fanning, the Tory leader
of Orange and Chatham counties, in North Caro-
lina, visited Ferguson and obtained commissions for
his followers who were expected to organize when
Cornwallis took possession of the State; but this
dream was never realized. It was Fanning, too,
who forced Andrew Pickens to take British protec-
tion. It was this that so embittered General Pickens
and gave impetus to his subsequent military career.
In order to train his little army and embody the
Tories, Ferguson continued to move about the
country and send detachments in every direction.
He marched into Union district on the Tyger River
and .thence northward, through Spartanburg dis-
trict, South Carolina, to the "Quaker Meadows,"
in Burke County, North Carolina, the home of
Colonel Charles McDowell. The Tories plundered
the citizens as they went, of cattle, horses, beds,
wearing apparel, even wresting rings from the
fingers of ladies, until they were heartily despised
by the British officers as well as their countrymen
who were contending for liberty.
1780. In July Colonel Elijah Clarke, the noted
partisan leader of Georgia, formerly a X^irginian,
and well known to all the Whigs in upper South
Carolina and western North Carolina, attempted
to pass through from the Savannah River to join
(123)
Colonel Charles McDowell, but was so pressed that
most of his followers retraced their steps and dis-
persed for a while. Colonel John Jones, of Burke
County, however, proposed to lead those who would
follow to North Carolina. Jones was chosen the
leader of this little band and John Freeman as
second in command. Passing through a Tory
settlement they assumed the disguise of loyalists
and hearing of a Tory gathering near by, they
attacked and captured them and with them a lot of
good arms and stout horses. Ne^t day at Barle's
Ford on the Pacolet, in what is now Polk County,
they formed a junction with Colonel Charles
McDowell.
About twenty miles south of McDowell's camp
was Princes' Fort, on the north bank of the Tyger
River, occupied by a British and Tory force under
Colonel Innes. Unapprised of Colonel McDowell's
approach Colonel Innes sent out Colonel Ambrose
Mills, a Tory leader of Rutherford County, N. C.,
in pursuit of Jones. Mills surprised McDowell's
camp, supposing the troops of Jones were alone
there, and killed and wounded about thirty of them.
Among the latter was Jones, who received eight cuts
from the sabre. Young Noah Hampton, a son of
Colonel Andrew Hampton, was roused from his
slumbers and asked his name. He responded
u Hampton." This was enough for the "Mills"
part}'. They thrust him through with a bayonet
while he was begging for mercy and Colonel Mills
(124)
paid the penalty for this ac: under a limb at Gil-
3ert town.*
Colonel McDowell was censured by Hampton
for not placing videttes further from his camp,
across the river.
Before sunrise the next morning Captain Edward
Hampton, with fifty-two a'ctive men, including Free-
man, began the pursuit of Colonel Mills, and over-
taking him routed his party, killing eight at the
first fire, and continued the pursuit to the very
entrance of Fort Prince.
At 2 o'clock Hampton returned with thirty-five
good horses and much baggage, without the loss of
a man. Noah Hampton was avenged. It was
more than "an eye for an eye."f
I have related in previous pages the campaign of
Colonels Charles McDowell, Shelby, Clarke and
Williams and the affair at Musgrove's Mill, which
it is not necessary to repeat.
1780. On the 29th August Lord Cornwallis
writes Sir Henry Clinton, " Ferguson is to move
into Try on Count)'' (since Lincoln) with some
militia whom he says he can depend upon for doing
their duty and fighting well ; but I am sorry to say
that his own experience, as well as that of every
other officer, is against him." As McDowell,
*Mills was also accused of hanging Adam Cusack on the Pee Dee.
Gordon, vol. 4, p. 29.
fCaptain Edward Hampton was a brother of Colonel Wade Hamp-
ton of Sumter's command. He was killed by Colonel Cunningham's
" Blood}- Scouts " in October, on Fair Forest Creek.
(125)
Shelby, Clarke and Williams had now retired to
the back parts of North Carolina and many across
the mountains to their homes in Sullivan and
Washington counties, Ferguson followed in that
direction, and for awhile encamped at Gilberttown,
three miles north of the present village of Ruther-
fordton. Here he issued his proclamation calling
on the citizens to renew their allegiance and join
the King's army. Some were overawed by this
bold display of royal power in their very midst, and
hearing of the rout and flight of the only Conti-
nental army then in the South, they were induced
to take protection ; and a few from premeditation,
and by advice of the Whig leaders, took the oath
in order that they might save the cattle and prop-
erty of that region, as much as possible, for the use
of the Whig forces and their families.*
*NoTE. While in this mountain region Ferguson found he had a
case of small-pox developing itself. It was one of his officers, who
was left at a deserted house, taking his favorite charger with him,
and there this poor fellow died in this lonely situation. It is said his
horse lingered there till he died. It was long before any one would
venture to this pest-house.
" There lay the rider, distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail."
Finally some one ventured there and carried off the sword, holsters
and pistols, selling them to John Ramsour of Lincoln, who gave them
thirty years after to Michael Reinhardt. Draper's King's Moun-
tain, p. 147.
This sword was given by W. M. Reinhardt, son of Michael Rein-
hardt, to Dr. D. R. Schenck, by whom it was presented to the Guilford
Battle-Ground Company in 1887, and it now hangs, at that battle-
ground, among the Revolutionary relics collected by that company.
(126)
But Ferguson was not allowed to ravage the
country with impunity. He inarched, with a
detachment, in search of Colonel Charles McDowell.
He found him, but not where he expected or wished
to find him. McDowell laid an ambuscade for him
at Bedford Hill, three miles southwest of Brindle-
town, near a crossing of Cane Creek, called Cowan's
Ford. While the British were crossing the Whigs
fired upon them, severely wounding Major Dunlap,
one of the favorite and most energetic officers of
Ferguson's corps, in the leg, and killing others.
Ferguson was forced to retire to Gilberttown to
escape with his own life.
McDowell being unable to resist the large British
force now in North Carolina, retreated across the
Blue Ridge to the " Watauga Settlements," as the
region where Shelby and Sevier lived was then
called. He related to Sevier and Shelby the deso-
lation which marked the advance of Ferguson, and
urged them to join the mountain men on the other
side and resist his approach.
1780. Colonel Shelby, with the approbation of
Major Robertson, then proposed that an army of
volunteers be raised on both sides of the mountain,
in sufficient numbers to cope with Ferguson. :i: All
the officers and some of the privates were consulted
and all cordially coincided with the proposition. It
was agreed that the over-mountain men should
recruit and strengthen their numbers, while Colo-
nel Charles McDowell should send a messenger to
*Draper, p. 118.
( 127)
Colonels Cleveland and Herndon of Wilkes County,
and Major Joseph Winston of Surry County, North
Carolina, urging them to raise a volunteer corps
and share in this patriotic enterprise. McDowell
was moreover requested to convey intelligence con-
stantly to the "over-mountain" men of Ferguson's
movements, and to preserve, as much as possible,
the beeves of the. .Whigs in the upper Catawba,
which would be needed by them.
Colonel Clarke took the mountain trails and
returned to Georgia. Colonel Williams, who had
a few years before resided in Orange County, North
Carolina, conducted the Musgrove prisoners to
Hillsboro, in that county.*
Ferguson continued his headquarters at Gilbert-
town. Major Dunlap, who was perhaps the most
hardened of all the Tory leaders, and whom Mc-
Dowell's men had severely crippled at Cane Creek,
was on crutches at the house of William Gilbert, a
loyalist. He had followed the fortunes of Fergu-
son in his northern campaigns, and Johnson, in his
life of Greene, says, u Dunlap had rendered him-
self infamous by his barbarities." Numerous
instances of his oppression and cruelty at Gilbert-
town are related by Draper, and he thus describes
an attempt on Dunlap's life:
" ;; "Very many of the facts related by Draper are derived from a
manuscript prepared by Captain David Vance, the grandfather of
Senator Z. B. Vance, of North Carolina, which was preserved by
Robert Henry, of Buncombe County. Both were American soldiers
at King's Mountain.
(128)
11 When Ferguson suddenly left Gilberttown on the
approach of the over-mountain men, Dunlap was left
behind. The avenger of blood was nigh. Two or three
men from Spartanbnrg rode to the door of the Gilbert
house, when the leader, Captain Gillespie, asked Mrs.
Gilbert if Major Dunlap was not up stairs. She frankly
replied that he was, supposing that the party were loy-
alists, and had some important communication for him.
They soon disabused her of their character and mission,
for they declared that he had been instrumental in put-
ting some of their friends to death, and moreover had
abducted the beautiful Mary McRea, the affianced of
Captain Gillespie, as she would not encourage his amo-
rous advances, and kept her in confinement, trusting that
she would in time yield to his wishes ; but death came
to her relief; she died of a broken heart. They had
now come for revenge, Gillespie particularly uttering his
imprecations on the head of the cruel destroyer of all
his earthly hopes. So saying they mounted the stairs,
when Gillespie abruptly approached Dunlap as he lay in
bed, with the inquiry: 'Where is Mary McRea?' 'In
heaven !' was the reply. Whereupon the injured Cap-
tain shot Dunlap throiigh the body, and quickly mount-
ing their horses, Gillespie and his associates bounded
away to their homes."
Gilberttown was to witness other tragedies in
the near future, when the Whig leaders sat in
judgment upon the murderers of McDowell's men.
It was " a dark and bloody ground" where Whig and
Tory alternately meted out vengeance to their cap-
tured foes.
( 129)
Singular to relate, Dunlap did not die of this
wound, but was concealed by his friends and turned
up at Ninety-Six the ensuing March, where he went
out. with a foraging party of seventy-six dragoons.
He was overtaken by Colonel Clarke and Major
McCall at Beattie's Mill, in which he took refuge.
He resisted until thirty-four of his men were killed
and wounded, himself among the latter. The party
then surrendered. "The British account of this
aifair stated that Dunlap was murdered by the
guard having him in charge after the surrender ;
but such was not the fact," adds McCall, " for he died
of his wounds the ensuing night." It is, however,
justly surmised that he fell a victim to a just
revenge and met a timely end.
We shall now endeavor to trace the events trans-
piring in the transmontane counties of Sullivan
and Washington, North Carolina, and the regions
of Rutherford, Burke, Wilkes, Surry and Tryon,
from whence came the heroes and the men who
were soon to make for themselves an immortal fame ;
also to look to Virginia, from which the "Camp-
bells were coming" to the rescue of their neighbors
and -friends, and not forget the Spartan band from
South Carolina, who joined the others to share in
the* glory of King's Mountain.
1780. The "over-mountain men" were so called
from their location on the west of the Alleghany
Mountains. North Carolina, at that time, extended
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from the Vir-
ginia line on the north to a line south in latitude
9
35 34"> extending from ocean to ocean, and took
in all of that territory now embraced in the State
of Tennessee.
Sullivan County was bounded by the Virginia
line on the north, and just south of it was Wash-
ington County, both in North Carolina. North of the
Virginia line and joining Sullivan Comity, North
Carolina, was Washington County, Virginia. Sul-
livan and Washington counties, North Carolina,
had been settled by Virginians who gradiially
made their way south along the slopes of the moun-
tain, following the beautiful streams of the Holston,
Watauga and Nollichucky and settling on their
fertile valleys. Just south and southwest of these
frontier settlements were the Cherokee Indians,
extending in their domains to the Mississippi River.
These Indians were at this time hostile to the
whites, having been stirred up against them by
British emissaries who had been sent among the
tribe for that purpose. The}'- had promised to
invade the frontiers in the Fall, and to penetrate, if
possible, as high .up in southwest Virginia as the
Chiswell Lead Mines, from which the Americans
drew their supply of lead, and destroy the works
and stores at that place.
Colonel John Sevier was the commander of the
militia of Washington County, North Carolina, and
resided on the Nollichucky River, from which cir-
cumstance he was familiarly known as "Nolli-
chucky Jack."
Colonel Isaac Shelby was the commander of the
militia of Sullivan County, North Carolina, and
Colonel William Campbell was in command of the
militia of Washington County, Virginia, though
his cousin and brother-in-law, Colonel Arthur
Campbell, seems to have been his superior in rank
in the county.
Colonel Benjamin Cleveland was the Colonel of
the militia of Wilkes County, North Carolina, on
the eastern slope of the Alleghanies, bordering on
Washington County, Virginia, and Major Winston
was from the adjoining county of Surry on the east.
Colonel Hambright and Major Chronicle were
from Tryon County, North Carolina, and as we
have seen before, Colonel Charles McDowell, and
his brother, Major Joseph McDowell, were from
Burke County, North Carolina, south of Wilkes,
and Colonel Andrew Hampton was from Ruther-
ford County. All these counties were contiguous.
1780. When Ferguson took post at Gilbert-
town in the early part of September, smarting under
the .remembrance of Musgrove's Mill, he paroled
Samuel Phillips, who had been left at the mill
wounded, and sent him with the verbal message to
the " over-mountain men" that if they did not
desist from their opposition to the British arms he
would inarch his men over the mountains, hang
their leaders and lay their country waste with fire
and sword. It was a threat that Ferguson would
have carried into effect if power and opportunity
had been at his command. Phillips resided near
Colonel Shelby's home in Sullivan County and
( 132)
soon communicated to him the message of Fergu-
son and the information he had in regard to Fer-
guson's command.
A few days after this message was received
Colonel Shelby rode forty miles to a spot near the
present site of Jonesboro, Tennessee, where he met
Colonel Sevier and told him of the return of Phil-
lips, and the information imparted to him.
These frontier men always acted 'upon the idea
that it was much safer for their homes and their
wives and children to meet a foe on his approach,
and defeat him on his own territory, rather than
allow him to make the seat of war in their own
county ; and these two men agreed at once that they
would call together their own forces and endeavor,
if possible, to procure assistance from Colonel Wil-
liam Campbell, to repel this threatened invasion.
There was no time to lose ; their safety was in the
celerity of their movements and the boldness of
their attack. It was agreed that the clans were to
gather at the Sycamore Flats, on the Watauga
River, below the present village of Elizabeth town,
Tennessee, on -the 2 5th day of September. Colonel
Shelby immediately wrote to Colonel William
Campbell, apprising him of the situation, and
urged him to join the expedition with all the men
he could raise. Captain Moses Shelby, a brother
of the Colonel^ was the messenger. Campbell did
not at first approve the plan, and declined, to go.
Colonel Shelby then wrote a still more urgent
letter, entreating him to come to the rescue of
themselves and the Burke men, who were there as
exiles among them and ready to join the expedi-
tion. Campbell was touched with this appeal to
his generosity and gave his consent to the expe-
dition. At a consultation of the field officers of his
county it was arranged that half the militia should
remain to repel the expected Indian invasion and
the other half should join Shelby and Sevier.
At the same time Colonel Campbell sent an
express to Colonel Cleveland, of Wilkes County,
North Carolina, apprising him also of the situation
and requesting him to meet them on the eastern
side of the mountain with the militia of his county.
The time of assembling indicated was the 3Oth
of September, the place was the " Quaker Meadows,"
in Burke County, North Carolina, the home of the
McDowells, two miles north of Morganton.
Sevier found great difficulty in raising the neces-
sary funds to properly equip his men, as his own
means, which he freely offered, were small, and in
this pressing emergency he applied to John Adair,
the agent of North Carolina for the sale of lands in
that county, for aid. Adair replied : "I have no
authority to loan the money, but if the country is
overrun by the British our liberty is gone. Let
the money go too. Take it." Thus about twelve
thousand dollars of a campaign fund was raised
and ammunition and equipments were procured.
Both Sevier and Shelby pledged themselves person-
ally to return the loan or to have the act of the
agent legalized by the Legislature of the State.
(134)
The appointment of the over-mountain men was
kept. On the 25th day of September Colonel
Campbell appeared at the Sycamore Flats with two
hundred men and Colonels Sevier and Shelby with
two hundred and forty men each. There Colonels
McDowell and Hampton's part}- had been in camp
for some time. The whole force at that place aggre-
gated about eight hundred and fifty men. They
were mostly mounted men and armed with the
deadly Deckard rifle which I have described in pre-
vious pages.
They were expert in its use alike against the
Indians and the wild beasts of the forest. Their
muscles were strong and steady, their aim unerring.
They feared no foe while the Deckard was in their
grasp. It had been their defence against the savage
foe; with it they had combatted the bear and the
panther successfully ; it had brought the deer and
turkey for their subsistence; the loyalists had
quailed before it at Musgrove's Mill and they felt
confident that Britith valor and discipline would
succumb before its deadly missile. Bayonets they
had none, but the trees of the forest were a breast-
work for refuge ;' they had no tents, but the -deep
blue sky of the mountains, bestudded with stars, was
a canopy more splendid than oriental imagination
could conceive. They had neither baggage wagons
nor quartermaster's stores, nor commissary to pro-
vide them food. The noble horse which each man
owned, and loved with an Arab's fondness, carried
the wallet and the blanket : the one contained a
supply of parched meal, and they trusted Providence
to increase the store as necessity required ; the other
was the only covering from the winter's chill.
Their dress was the hunting shirt made from
woolen cloths manufactured by their wives and
daughters, and the fur skin cap, taken from the
animals of the forest, covered their heads. At their
side in the belt was the tomahawk and the knife.
With the little ax a brush arbor niight be con-
structed and the knife was the camp tool for every
purpose. A tin cup completed the outfit. The
horses were to be subsisted on the grass which was
at that time in luxuriant abundance all over the
mountains and far off into the plains.
We can imagine these sturdy sons of the wilder-
ness shouting welcome to every gathering band as
it approached the camp and running to greet them
hand in hand; how quickly and anxiously they
inquired the news from Ferguson, and pressed
around the camp-fires of McDowell to listen to the
story of his exile and hear his plans for expelling
the foe from their homes.
The exclamations of defiance and the voice of
indignation were heard from every lip. The hand
impulsively grasped the rifle, the eye flashed, rest-
lessness and impatience characterized every action.
The glance of the men met the gaze of the leaders
and unison was felt though only a smile or a nod
was given. Their hearts were locked, as the shields
of old, and nothing but death was to separate their
strength.
(136)
When nearly read} 7 to begin the march the
sound of approaching voices was heard once more.
The camp was astir ; unexpected visitors \vere dis-
covered in the distance ; nearer they came and recog-
nition was announced by a wild shout of joy, and
Colonel Arthur Campbell led two hundred men
more into' the camp. One thousand and fifty voices
now made the welkin ring with their glad acclaim.
Colonel Campbell fearing that there might not be
men enough to secure certain victory, determined,
after Colonel William Campbell had left, to rein-
force his strength. This being now done, he bade
his men '.'Godspeed" and a hearty "good-bye" and
returned to his home again.
As soon as Colonels McDowell and Shelby and
Sevier had finally determined to attack Ferguson,
Colonel McDowell hastened across the mountain to
encourage the people, to obtain information and
hasten the march of Cleveland and Winston to the
place of rendezvous at the "Quaker Meadows."
Early on the 26th of September the little army
was ready to begin its march and only one prepara-
tion for the journey w r as yet to be made. God's
blessing must be invoked and His omnipotent pro-
tection supplicated. The Rev. Samuel Doak, the
pioneer missionary of the Watauga settlements, was
present. These stern, hardy, stalwart men, "true
lightwood at heart," bowed their heads in reverence
while the good man recounted to God the dangers
with which they were threatened from the maraud-
ing hosts of the British in their front and the
"barbarous savage, little less wicked, in their rear,
and repeating the promises of mercy with which
the word of God abounded, he earnestly plead for
protection and safety, in this time of need, and for
guidance and victory to those who were marching
to defend their homes and their families. As he
proceeded his voice faltered but his faith grew
stronger. He remembered the Midiaiiites and the
children of Israel hid in the holes of the mountains
and the greatness of God's deliverance, and pausing
fora moment, he exclaimed, "The sword of the
Lord and of Gideon !" Tears stole down the furrows
of the rough-skinned men of the forest but their
faith was strengthened. The preparation was over,
the march was begun.
The prayer was recorded in heaven. The answer
came through the fire and smoke of battle on King's
Mountain. Its voice was heard above the rattle of
British muskets and the rifle's shrill crack on the
ascending heights. The blasphemous boast of Fer-
guson, that he was on the " King's Mountain" and
that God Almighty could not drive' him from it,
had been rebuked and his lifeless form lay prostrate
on his chosen spot.
The march continued through the solitary wil-
derness along the mountain trails. That evening
they reached the " resting-place,"* after a twenty
miles inarch.
The next day they were delayed in slaughtering
some beeves for the journey, and went only four
*In Cherokee, "Aquone."
miles, to the base of the Roan and Yellow Moun-
tains.
The 28th September they ascended these moun-
tains, following " Bright's trace." As they climbed
higher the snow was shoe-mouth deep. On top
they found a hundred acres of beautiful table-land;
here was a bold spring and they struck camp.*
When the troops paraded they fired off their rifles,
and it is related that the air was so rarified there
was little or no report.
While on this "bald" of the mountain the devil
entered into James Crawford and Samuel Chambers
and they deserted and made their way to Ferguson,
hoping to save their lives by their treachery. It
was therefore resolved to take a different trail from
the one at first chosen, so as to baffle any spy Fer-
guson might send to intercept and watch their
approach.
" Descending Roaring Creek eastwardly, they
came to the North Toe River, running south, and
a mile below passed Bright's place, now Avery's,
thence down North Toe southwardly to a noted
spring on the Davenport place (now the Childs'
place), and rested at noonday." v After a hard day's
march they reached Cathey's, at the mouth of
Grassy Creek,f and rested for the night. Here
they ate their parched corn meal and the rem-
nant of beef in their wallets.
On Friday, the 29th, the route lay up Grassy
*Most probably the Avery Spring at Cloudland Hotel, on the Roan.
fNear by what is now known as Spruce Pine P. O.
Creek to its head, and over Gillespie's Gap, on the
Blue Ridge. Here they divided, Campbell follow-
ing a trail six miles south to Wofford's Fort, the
others to Hunnycut's Creek. At this latter place
Colonel Charles McDowell rejoined the forces and
imparted such information as he had acquired. He
had sent James Blair to hasten Cleveland's march.
Blair met Colonel -Cleveland on the way, at Fort
Defiance, but on his route Blair was waylaid by a
stealthy Tory and wounded from an ambuscade.
On Saturday morning, the 3Oth September, the
over-mountain men, passing over Silver and Lin-
ville Mountains, in an eastwardly course, and down
Paddie's Creek, reached the " Quaker Meadows,"
the hospitable home of Colonel Charles McDowell,
and his brother, Major Joseph McDowell. Here
the "fatted calf" was killed, the corn-cribs and
smoke-houses thrown open, the camp-fires lighted
and good cheer prevailed in that lovely valley. It
was not long until another shout of welcome was
heard echoing among the mountains and carrying
glad tidings down the valley of the Catawba. Col-
onel Cleveland and Major Winston, with three
hundred and fifty North Carolinians from the
counties of Wilkes and Surry, were approaching
the camp. They were kindred spirits from the
mountains on the eastern slope, and were soon
mingling joyfully with their comrades in arms.
Cleveland's regiment had marched up the Yadkin
to the mouth of Warrior Creek, thence in a south-
west course to old Fort Defiance, thence to Fort
( i 4 o )
Crider, where the village of Lenoir now stands,
thence by way of Lovelady Ford on the Catawba,
and passing the present site of Morganton to Qua-
ker Meadows.* As they crossed Lovelady Ford, a
stealthy Tory was lying in wait for Colonel Cleve-
land, and mistaking his brother Lieutenant Larkin
Cleveland for him, shot -Larkin through the leg,
severely wounding him, so that he was left at Mc-
Dowell's home. Another Tory had wounded Blair,
the messenger that McDowell had sent to Cleve-
land. It was an internecine strife among these
mountain men. This little army was now consti-
tuted as follows: North Carolinians under Shelby,
Sevier, McDowell and Cleveland, nine hundred and
eighty (980) men ; Virginians under Campbell,
four hundred (400) men, aggregating 1380 hardy
and determined soldiers.
The weather had been fair, the air bracing and
crisp. The men were cheerful and full of spirit ;
the horses fresh and active.
Sunday morning, October the ist, 1780, dawned
brightly upon the Whigs. The work of deliver-
ance was a work of necessity. The horses were
saddled and the march resumed.
Ferguson was almost in their grasp (as they sup-
posed) at Gilberttown, and with eager footsteps they
pressed forward for the prey. They passed Brindle-
town at noonday and camped in a gap of the South
Mountain near where Colonel McDowell had pun-
*These routes can easily be traced on Kerr's large map of North
Carolina.
(MO
ished Ferguson so severely when he went in quest
of the Burke men. That evening it rained for the
first time since they started.
Monday the rain descended all day and the army
remained in camp. They were now in sixteen miles
of Gilberttown and no commander had been chosen.
A conference was held and Colonel Charles McDowell
was selected to visit' General Gates at Hillsboro and
request him to send them a general officer.
Shelby proposed that during the absence of a
general officer Colonel Campbell should command.
He argued that all the field officers were from North
Carolina, except Campbell, and it would be gener-
ous for them to elect him to that high position;
that this would heal all jealousy and give them a
trustworthy head, which was indispensable in the
prompt execution of any plan they might adopt.
This counsel prevailed and Colonel Campbell
accepted the honor conferred upon him. Colonel
Shelby in 1823 explained his object in effecting this
result by saying that he wished to displace Colonel
McDowell, who by seniority of commission was
entitled to the command; that " McDowell was
brave and patriotic but too far advanced in life and
too inactive for such an enterprise." This objec-
tion of age, however, was but a pretext, as Colonel
McDowell was only thirty-seven years old. The
truth was that Shelby considered him as lacking
"in tact and efficiency." It was hoped too that
McDowell would hasten back with General Morgan,,
whom the troops preferred above all others.
Colonel McDowell, than whom no braver man or
purer patriot lived, looking steadily to the redemp-
tion of the land from the invaders, and sacrificing
all personal considerations, submitted without mur-
muring to the counsel of his brother officers. He
set off at once on his mission, leaving his men tinder
the command of his brother, Major Joseph McDowell.
Colonel Campbell was now the commander-in-
chief but subject to the council of the officers of this
little army.
In order to trace the concentration of another
clan, who were to become aUies in this campaign, it
is necessary to leave our friends, who were at Cane
Creek, for a few days.
The digression is painful, because it necessitates
the repetition of unpleasant incidents in the career
of one who was soon to yield his life as a sacrifice
on the altar of his country; one who was brave;
one who, when his neighbors and friends were taking
British protection around Ninety-Six, scorned to
save his property by so base an act; one who left
family, comforts and home to endure the hardships
of the camp rather than be a slave of a tyrant at
home. Whatever may have been his infirmities or
his faults he was true to his principles and yielded
up his life in the fight to maintain them. No nobler
death could have befallen him, and we honor the
man who fills a patriot's grave.
It will be remembered that Colonel James Wil-
liams, lately from South Carolina, though for some
years previous a citizen of Granville County, North
Carolina, where he was raised from boyhood, was sent
(M3)
with the Musgrove Mill prisoners to Hillsboro, North
Carolina. While there he met Governor Rutlege,
who was a refugee from his State, and on Colonel Wil-
liams' representations of his own conduct in the late
engagement, the Governor, who had been invested
with dictatorial powers, commissioned him as a
brigadier general. It is alleged that these repre-
sentations were nof true ; at any rate this appoint-
ment excited the jealousy of Colonels L/acey and
Hill, who were then located with a detachment of
troops in fork of the Catawba River and the " South
Fork" of that stream. They were Sumter's com-
mand, Sumter being at that time wounded and not
on duty. The piedmont section of South Carolina
had been entirely overrun and the patriot band,
under Lacey and Hill, had sought, with thousands
of others, a refuge in North Carolina, where they
found welcome and friends.
General Williams, before returning to duty,
requested and obtained permission from Governor
Nash to recruit one hundred men in North Carolina.*
*NOTE. 'flu- following is tin- original order:
A. NASH TO COM >x EL JAMES WILLIAMS.
i < >nymal MS.)
HILLSBOROUGH, Sep. 8th, 1780.
SIR : You are desired to ,m> to Caswell County, and to such other counties as you
think proper, and use your best endeavors to collect any number of volunteer
horsemen, not exceeding one hundred, and proceed with them into such parts as
you judge proper, to act against the enemy, and in this you are to use your own
discretion. You may assure the men who turn out with you that they shall be
entitled to all the advantages and privileges of militia in actual service, and that
it shall be considered as a tour of duty under the militia law, they serving the time
prescribed bylaw for other militia-men. All commissaries and other staff offi-
cers are required to grant you such supplies as may be necessary.
In getting your men you are to make no distinction between men already drafted
and others: and in case of need, you are to impress horses for expresses and
other cases of absolute necessity. A. NASH.
(144)
" Under this authority he enlisted these men, while
encamped at Higgins' plantation, in Rowan Count}",
North Carolina. Colonel Brandon and Major Ham-
mond of his force were quite active in this service.
His call for troops was dated the 2 3d of September,
1780. These new troops constituted the largest
part of his force, and with this addition he marched
to the camp of Lacey and Hill, and exhibiting his
commission as brigadier general, demanded that
they should put themselves under his command.
This they refused, w r hether rightfully or wrong-
fully it is too late to determine now. Hot words
ensued and Williams separated himself from them.
It had been the design of Lacey and Hill to join
General Davidson, who was posted at that time
between Charlotte and Salisbury, North Carolina,
and they had sent a messenger to him with this
proposition. The messenger returned with the
tidings which Davidson had received through Col.
Charles McDowell, that a considerable body of men
from the mountains were approaching Ferguson
with a view of attacking him. That day Colonel
William Graham and Lieutenant Colonel Frederick
Hambright of Tryon County joined Lacey and
Hill with sixty or more men. These with the one
hundred men under Williams aggregated one hun-
dred and sixty more North Carolinians who were
soon to join the " over-mountain men."
Lacey and Hill now thought best to attempt a
reconciliation with General Williams, which was
finally accomplished by an agreement that they
(145)
should elect a commanding officer. Information
was now received through spies that Campbell's
army was in the South Mountains of Burke County
and advancing. The combined . forces of Lacey r
Hill, Williams and Graham immediately decamped,
and crossing the upper forks of Dutchman's Creek
proceeded to Ramsour's Mill, near where the town
of Lincolnton, in Lincoln County, is now situated;
from there they marched west, taking the Flint Hill
road to "Flint Hill," in Rutherford County, now
known as " Cherry Mountain," which is eight or
ten miles east of what is now Rutherfordton in that
county. Here on the 3d day of October they took
up quarters and waited for information, and here it
was that Colonel Charles McDowell called upon
them on his way to see General Gates at Hillsboro.
The mountain men were then only sixteen miles
distant, but as Colonel McDowell could not say
whether Campbell had moved after his departure
or not, they preferred to await developments.
At this time Campbell's men, as we shall briefly
designate them for the present, were of opinion that
the decisive struggle was to take place at Gilbert-
town and they began preparations for the battle.
The troops were to be informed of the plans of their
leaders and to be exhorted by them to be ready for
duty. They were drawn up in a circle and Colonel
Cleveland was the orator. Rude and uncultivated
as he was, he had an earnestness and honesty in
his language and manner that arrested the atten-
tion of his hearers, who were in the same sphere of
10
intelligence as himself and as devoted to liberty
as he.
His speech was short and pointed and plain. He
said : " The enemy is at hand ; we must be up and at
them. I will be with yon when the pinch comes.
If any of you shrink from the battle and the glory
you can now have the opportunity to back out and
leave, and you may have a few minutes for con-
sideration." " You who wish to back out will, when
the word is given, march three steps to the rear
and stand."
There was a pause for three minutes and the
word was given, but not a man of that army moved
they " stood like a stone wall," with eyes that never
quailed and nerves that never trembled.
The troops were then dismissed and in three
hours the march down Cane Creek began. They
came .near to Gilberttown on the 4th day of October
eager for the fray. They met Jonathan Hampton
who first gave them the news that Ferguson had
retreated in haste and intended to avoid an action.
On the 27th day of September Ferguson, in the
hope of intercepting Colonel Clarke, who had been
repulsed at Augusta, Georgia, and was retreating
towards North Carolina, moved south from Gilbert-
town and halted on Green River, in what is now
Polk County.
On the 3Oth day of September the two de-
serters, Crawford and Chambers, reached Fergu-
son's camp at James Steps' place, and apprised him
that the over-mountain men were on his track.
(M7)
Ferguson was alarmed. Man} 7 of his Tory allies
were on furlough, and his ranks were thin. Mes-
sengers were sent in all directions to drum up the
men on furlough, and a dispatch to Lord Corn-
wallis at Charlotte, acquainting him of the danger,
was intrusted to Abram Collins* and Peter Quinn,
Tories of that region, who promised to deliver it in
person. Collins and Quinn took a direct course,
crossing Second Broad at Webb's. Ford, then by
way of what is now Mooresboro to First Broad at
Stices' Shoal, thence by Collins' Mill, on Buffalo.
Coming to Alexander Henry's, a good Whig, they
deceived him and were given refreshments, but
some circumstance aroused Mr. Henry's suspicion
after they left, and his sons followed to arrest them.
Collins and Quinn got wind of the pursuit and
were compelled to secrete themselves by day and
travel with great caution at night, and by reason
of these delays they did not reach Charlotte until
the ;th day of ( )ctober the day of Ferguson's over-
throw ;it King's Mountain.
Ferguson now gave out that he was in retreat
tor Ninety-Six, to delude the Whigs towards that
route. ( )n the ist of October, the day the Whigs
left li Quaker Meadows," Ferguson was at Baylis
Earles', on Pacolet ; thence he turned northwest to
Denard's Ford, on the Broad River, where he issued
the following proclamation to the country :
"GENTLEMEN : Unless you wish to be eat up by an
inundation of barbarians, who have begun by murder-
* Abram Collins was a noted counterfeiter after the revolution.
( i 4 8 )
ing an unarmed son before the aged father, and after-
wards lopped off his arms, and who, by their shocking
cruelties and irregularities, give the best proof of their
cowardice and want of discipline ; I say, if you wish to
be pinioned, robbed and 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 ' Back-water men ' have crossed
the mountains ; McDowell, Hampton, Shelby and Cleve-
land are at their head, so that you know what you have
to depend upon. If you choose to be degraded forever
and ever by a set of mongrels, say so at once, and let
you women turn their backs upon you and look out for
real men to protect them.
"PAT. FERGUSON,
" Major fist Regiment."
It was the appeal of a desperate man, who appre-
ciated the danger that was rapidly approaching
nearer to him. He uttered falsehood and exagger-
ated the situation that he might arouse a like
feeling of desperation in the hearts of his Tory
allies. But to an observant mind it was the cry of
despair, the acknowledgment of ruin, the wail over
his sinking fortunes.
From Denard's Ford* Ferguson moved, on Mon-
day, the ad October, only four miles and lay on his
arms all night expecting an attack. t On the 3d
October he marched east through Rutherford
*This was half mile below the present T witty 's Ford.
fCampbell's force was then at Cane Creek, one day's journey south
from " Quaker Meadows."
( M 9 )
County crossing Second Broad River, which runs
north and south, at Camp's Ford, then six miles
further crossing Sandy Run Creek, at Armstrong's,
where they rested awhile; thence seven miles
further to Buffalo Creek (according to Draper) and
camped at Tate's place. *
At Tate's plantation Ferguson tarried the 4th
and 5th of October waiting for intelligence from
the Whigs. While there he sent the following
dispatch to Cornwallis :
" MY LORD : I am on my march to you by a road
leading from Cherokee Ford, north of King's Mountain.
Three or four hundred good soldiers would finish this
business. Something must be done soon. This is their
last push in this quarter.
"PATRICK FERGUSON."
Up to this time Ferguson had escaped from his
pursuers and evidently intended to reach Corn-
wallis if possible. He was then sixteen miles from
"King's Mountain," which was to the southwest,
while Charlotte, where Cornwallis lay, was directly
east only thirty-five miles distant, and there were
no forces, except a few militia, to intercept his
march to that place. It may be, and it is probable,
that Ferguson's pride outweighed his judgment
and he determined to risk a battle rather than enter
Charlotte a fugitive from the men he affected to
*This was in the southeastern portion of what is now Cleveland
County, N. C.
despise ; or it may be that a destiny was shaping
his ends which he felt but could not resist. The
King's Mountain stood invitingly out to lure him
to his fate, and in the vanity of his soul he believed
himself invincible.
Whatever may have been the strange reason that
impelled his conduct, Ferguson abandoned his
intention to join Cornwallis. He passed to the
southwest near where Whitnker's Station, on the
Air-Line Railroad, is now, and on in the direction
of Yorkville.
On this road, after crossing the creek, on the
right hand, and two hundred and fifty yards from
the pass, he came to "King's Mountain." This
was on the evening of the 6th of October, 1 780.
Here he pitched his camp and uttered the impious
boast that the "Almighty could not drive him
from it."
The disappointment of Campbell's men was sore
when they found the "game had fled," and their
uncertainty and anxiety was increased when they
learned that Ferguson had retreated towards Ninety-
Six, giving out that he was on his way to that fort.
The Whigs had nothing but rifles and could not
subdue it. It seemed for a time that Ferguson had
outwitted them and escaped.
The matter, however, was considered in the
council of officers and it was determined to follow
Ferguson even to Ninety-Six if necessary and strike
him as best they could. Colonel Clarke had
advanced further west, making his way to the
i 5 ' )
Watauga settlement, carrying his own and other
Whig families with him. The news reached him
of the expedition against Ferguson, and Major Wil-
liam Chandler and Captain Johnson of his party,
filed off, with thirty Georgians, and joined Campbell
at Gilberttown.. A few days thereafter Major
Chronicle, from the South Fork, in Tryon Count}-,
also joined him.
The Whigs did not tarry at Gilberttown. As
soon as the resolution to follow was formed they
set out on Ferguson's track following to Denard's
Ford on the Broad River, where for a time they lost
his trail.
I am informed that tradition accounts for this by
the fact that Ferguson inarched his men down in
the stream to elude the pursuit of his foes and
came out below the ford, then bore down the stream,
instead of following the route southward towards
Ninety-Six. :::
Baffled by this ruse, many of the Whigs became
discouraged and uneasy ; many of the men were
footsore from travel, and a portion of the horses
gave signs of breaking down. They were now
encamped at A/c.vatidcr's Ford,t on Green River.
*I learned this from Colonel Frank Coxe, of Polk County, N. C.
fl find in the "North State" the following anecdote of Elias
Alexander, which is worth preserving lor its humor and to illustrate
the feeling that continued after the war was over:
" Klias Alexander, of Rutherford County, was an did revolutionary \Vhijy, who
fought at Kind's Mountain, and died years afterward, with twenty-seven Uritish
and Tory buck-shot in his body, old Major C.reen. of the same county, was a
Tory, and was also in the battle of Kinsj's Mountain, on I lie Tory side. After the
war Green was several times elected to the State Senate from Rutherford County,
(152)
A council was called and it was determined to select
their best men, best rifles and best horses and expe-
dite the pursuit, leaving those less strong to follow.
While Ferguson was encamped at Tate's place,
on Buffalo, " an old gentleman called on him who
disguised the object of his visit.' On the next
day, the 5th of October, after traveling twenty
miles northeast, this old gentleman came to the
camp of the South Carolina detachment at Flint
Hill (or Cherry Mountain), and related how he had
imposed on Ferguson under the disguise of being
a Tory, and announced that Ferguson had sent to
Cornwallis for aid, and that Ferguson had said he
"had selected his ground, and that he defied God
Almighty and all the rebels out of hell to overcome
him."
That day, on the authority of Colonel Hill, it is
stated, that Colonel Williams and Major Brandon
of his company were missing and returned in the
mid seemed invincible. In 1823, Alexander determined to have Green beaten and
broiight out his son as a candidate against him.
" Green became apprehensive of defeat and concluded that something- must be
done. He fell up .in the idsa of joining the Baptist Church, and in carrying out the
project was immersed in the French Broad River. Alexander, somewhat dis-
couraged at this turn, but nothing daunted, went to witness the ceremony. Lean-
ing against an old tree on the bank of the river within speaking distance of the
scene, he silently and doubtingly watched the process of regeneration.
" Everybody expected some kind of a declaration from him before the crowd dis-
persed. Just as Green was raised out of the water, wet as a rat; and gasping for
breath, Alexander, who was very tall, and towered above the bystanders, slowly
raised his hand and pointed at him, at the same time saying, in a loud and meas-
ured tone :
' There stands old Major Green, now neat and clean,
Though formerly a Tory,
The damndest rascal that ever was seen
.V07' on his way to glory.'
" This furnished a campaign song and worked an overwhelming defeat of Green
at the polls."
(153)
evening. Their actions aroused suspicion, and on
being pressed by Hill and Lacey, they admitted
that they had ridden across, southwest, to Camp-
bell's camp, and that they were to join him next
day at the old Iron Works on Lawson's Fork.
Hill discovering that Williams had misinformed
Campbell as to the whereabouts of Ferguson, falsely
stating that Ferguson had marched towards Ninety-
Six, in order to induce Campbell to inarch to that
point, where Williams' interest lay, instead of pur-
suing Ferguson, charged Williams with the fraud
until he admitted it. That night Colonel Lacey,
with a guide, made his way to Campbell's camp
and acquainted him with the true location of the
British army. For awhile Lacey was thought to
be a spy, but finally he was enabled to impress
Campbell with the cruth of his statement, and in
order to strike Ferguson, it was agreed between
them to form a junction at Cowpens instead of the
Iron Works, and to march on Ferguson at once.
Colonel Lacey returned next day to find the
whole camp in a ferment of disorder. Williams
was ordering the men to follow him to the Iron
Works and on to Ninety-Six, while Hill was
entreating them to join Campbell. At last the
contending factions marched each to itself, when it
was discovered that Williams had but few follow-
ers. Hill and Lacey calling on their followers,
began the march for Cowpens. Colonel Williams
was induced, by a sense of danger, to follow in the
rear, but the men of the front derided his men
(154)
during the inarch, and even threw stones at them.
About sunset of the 6th of October, they all reached
the Cowpens.
On the 5th of October, on Green River, and
nearly all the night following, the Whig officers of
Campbell's command were busy choosing the select
men, rifles and horses for the fresh pursuit. Seven
hundred were chosen, leaving six hundred and
ninety (690) or more in the camp, others of the
command having fallen by the way from weakness
or sickness. These numbers are approximately
correct.
Major Herndon, of Cleveland's regiment, was
left in command of the footmen, with Captain Neal,
of Campbell's regiment, in special charge of the
Virginians, who were to follow. They were given
orders to expedite their march as much as possible,
and to follow the horse and support them if disaster
should come. The seven hundred men, on the 6th
of October, marched twenty miles by way of Sandy
Plains to Cowpens, where they found Lacey, Hill,
Williams and Graham. Here they slaughtered the
fat beeves of Sanders, a wealthy Tory, who herded
his cattle at the Cowpens, and pulled the fresh corn
from his fields, and the men and horses ate and
drank and were refreshed for the chase.
While here the crippled spy, Joseph Kerr, of
Williams' command, who had been in Ferguson's
camp at Peter Quinn's, six miles from King's
Mountain, returned to communicate the news. It
was deemed important, however, to obtain later
tidings, and Major Chronicle suggested Enoch
Gilmer, of the South Fork, as the man ; for, said
he, "Gilmer can assume any character that occa-
sion may require ; he could cry and laugh in the
same breath, and all who saw it would believe he
was in earnest ; that he could act the part of a
lunatic so well that no one could discover him ;
above all, he was a stranger to fear/'
Gilmer left, and after traveling a few miles,
entered the house of a Tory and assumed the dis-
guise of a loyalist seeking Ferguson's headquar-
ters, and soon won the Tory's confidence. From
him he learned all about the movements of Fergu-
son in that region, and his communication with
Cornwallis. Gilmer returned and reported. A
council of war was held, all the officers being
present except Colonel Williams. Campbell was
retained as chief in command. The North and
South Carolina men of Lacey's, Williams'; Hill's and
Graham's force numbered about four hundred, being
about equally divided. The whole force amounted
now to eleven hundred men.
As North Carolina had a little over two-thirds of
the men in Campbell's command it is fair to pre-
sume that she had two-thirds of the seven hundred
picked men who followed Ferguson, or fo.ur hun-
dred and sixty-six men, to which add the two hun-
dred men who joined at Cowpens and we have six
hundred and sixty-six (666) men out of the eleven
hundred at King's Mountain who were North
Carolinians. As the proportion in Campbell's
force was a little over two-thirds we may safely
state that seven hundred were North Carolinians,
and the others, except Clarke's thirty Georgians,
were about equally divided between Virginia and
South Carolina two hundred each.
Here was the army that was to make the first
turn in the tide of fortune which had been setting
so steadily against the cause of liberty. North
Carolina was furnishing nearly, if not entirely, two-
thirds of that gallant band and she had contributed
the money, $12000, by means of which the most of
them were furnished with arms and ammunition.
The expedition had been conceived by a North
Carolinian. The maneuvering of the contending
forces had all been in North Carolina, and that 6th
day of October each army crossed the boundary
line, after the fashion of honor, that the duel might
be fought out of the State. How strange the cir-
cumstance ! But at that date King's Mountain was
assumed to be in North Carolina. It was, however,
true to the laws of retribution that Ferguson and
his marauders should perish in South Carolina,
where they had forfeited their lives according to
all law, human and divine, by the commission of
every crime that depravity could suggest or inge-
nuity conceive.
The march from Cowpens to King's Mountain
was by night; the rain began to fall and Campbell's
men lost their way, so that when day dawned on
the yth of October, the rear of the Virginians was
only five miles from Cowpens. Delay ensued until
( 1 5 7 )
they were conducted by a guide to the main force.
The column pushed forward again with spirit, going
eastwardly. As they approached Cherokee Ford,
on the main Broad River, Enoch Gilmer, the humor-
ous spy, was sent forward to reconnoiter. He did
not return, but as the vanguard came near they
recognized the voice of Gilmer in the valley singing
"Barney Linn" a jolly song of the day, and knew
that the way was clear. Gilmer 's heart was so
glad that the chase was nearly over and the game
almost in sight, that he had given vent to his soul
in a mirthful song.*
The river was crossed and three miles further
on they reached Ferguson's former camp. Here
they halted and partook of a meal of Tory beef
from the Cowpens and then dashed forward briskly
through the rain that by this time was falling fast.
The men sacrificed their own comfort by putting
their blankets around their rifles to keep the powder
dry. Gilmer had been sent in advance again.
Halting at one Beason's, Campbell learned that
Ferguson* was only nine miles off and in camp.
This freshened the zeal of pursuit and aroused the
spirit of the Whigs. Revenge was almost in their
grasp. As Campbell rode off a girl followed and
calling to the Colonel she asked, u How many of
you are there?" " Enough to whip Ferguson if we
can find him," was the reply. A smile lighted her
^Draper relates many amusing anecdotes of this jolly and fearless
Whig spy. He was from that portion of Tryon that is now Gastoii
County, North Carolina.
face (she was a Whig,) and pointing- her finger in a
direct line to King's Mountain, she said: "He is
on that mountain." Swifter were the footsteps of
the leaders, closer pressed the followers.
Three miles further Campbell rode up to the house
of a Tory, and on entering found Gilmer parta-
king of the best in the house and hurrahing for King
George, with two girls and the old woman waiting
on him. Campbell couldn't resist the temptation
to have some fun, and ordering a rope to be put
around Gilmer's neck, had him marched up the
road to be hung, the girls in the meanwhile weep-
ing bitterly and begging for his life. Gilmer, after
getting out of sight, began to laugh heartily and
said: "Colonel, I found them such loyal friends I
couldn't help, from pure sympathy, giving both
the girls a smack."
Gilmer had derived all the information they
needed as to Ferguson's exact location and the
numbers with him, and that he was only a few
miles ahead. The officers came together again for
conference, and agreed upon the plan of attack,
which was to surround the hill and press the enemy
to the top and destroy him there. The men were
informed of the plan and assured that there would
be no danger of shooting each other, for they would
all shoot upwards, as the hill ascends, and that the
British shooting downwards would overshoot them.*
*Colonel Frank Coxe also informs me that an old soldier of the
battle said the British shot from the hip, and that their aim was
always too high.
(i59)
Colonel William Graham was met here by a
messenger to inform him that his wife was at the
point of death, and with Campbell's advice and
consent, he left to attend her bedside. The old
hero, however, heard the guns before he was well
away, and forgetting all else, returned to the battle
and reached the mountain at its close. As Colonel
Hambright was an elderly man, Campbell put
Chronicle, the major, in command of the Lincoln
County men. The whole-souled old Dutchman
took no offence, and when Chronicle fell he led his
men with spirit and courage, even refusing to leave
the field after a musket-ball had penetrated his
thigh.
In two miles of Ferguson's camp the Whigs cap-
tured a young man named John Ponder, and Ham-
bright knew him as a Tory and had him searched.
On his person was a dispatch from Ferguson to
Cornwallis, telling him the situation and imploring
help. Ponder, on being questioned in regard to
Ferguson, said he was in full uniform, but wore a
checked shirt over it. The jolly old colonel laughed,
and in his broken English exclaimed: " Poys, hear
dot! Shoot for the man mid the pig shirt."
In one mile of Ferguson's camp they met Henry
Watkins, a Whig prisoner whom Ferguson had
just released, and he was enabled to give them
exact and accurate information. Hitherto the men
had not been required to ride in order, but now they
were drawn up in two lines, two men deep, Colonel
Campbell leading the right and Colonel Cleveland
( i 6 o )
the left. Then, as General Graham in his narra-
tive says, " they moved up a branch and ravine,
between two rocky knobs, beyond which the enemy's
camp was in full view, one hundred poles (550
yards) in front of them." They had purposely
approached the enemy by this route to cut off
his retreat, if it should have been attempted.
" In the rear of the trees and bushes on the east
side of King's Creek, a little above where the
Quarry Road passes the stream, the Whigs
arrived at 3 o'clock in the evening." The orders
were given " to dismount and tie horses ; tie up
blankets and coats to the saddle," and a few men
were detailed (who didn't stay detailed) to take care
of the horses. Finally, " Fresh prime your guns ;
go in resolved to fight till you die or \vin." : The
rain had ceased about noon that day, the sky was
clear and a cool stiff breeze was blowing. The
soldiers were comparatively dry and in readiness
for the onset.
It seems, from the narrative of General Lenoir
of North Carolina, that when in a mile of the camp
of Ferguson, Major Winston, of Surry County, had
been detached, with orders to make his way south
of the Quarry Road and reach Ferguson's right,
which movement, though very difficult, was accom-
plished successfully.
Ferguson was on King's Mountain in his lair
like a wild beast that had been brought to bay.
"-Draper, from whom this account is, in a great measure, con-
densed.
( i 6 i )
He showed no signs of fear. His little army was
drawn up along the crest of the mountain from one
end to the other. It was composed of one hundred
Rangers, as they were called, who had been selected
for their soldierly qualities from the King's Ameri-
can Rangers, the New Jersey volunteers and the
Queen's Rangers. They were picked men who
had undergone the severest discipline and were
equal to any body of regulars in the English army.
To these were added one thousand loyalists who
hid been recruited in South Carolina and North
Carolina, principally from the region of Ninety-Six.
These latter were called Provincials and had been
well drilled. As far as their personal characters
would permit 'they had been made efficient soldiers.
This estimate of Ferguson's force is that given by
Tarleton.*
The armies were therefore about equal in num-
bers, with the advantage to Ferguson of having
chosen his ground for defence and having his troops
well rested and fed. Neither had artillery or cavalry.
It was a contest of the bayonet and musket on the
one hand and the Deckard rifle on the other.
The men who fought were in contrast. The British
force fought for the honor of their king or with the
varied motives that actuated the American Tory
disappointed ambition, fear of punishment, or the
opportunity for plunder. No noble sentiment was
found in their hearts and they felt the disgrace of
taking up arms in behalf of oppression and wrong.
*Tarleton's Campaigns, p. 156.
II
(i6a)
A very few may have been conscientious in their
principles.
The Whigs fought for freedom ; they fought to
prevent the plundering horde from invading their
peaceful and plentiful homes; they fought for
religious liberty and for independence as a nation.
They had no discipline nor drill, but every man
knew that his duty was to stand by his comrade to
the death ; they had no bayonets, but they knew
how to fight from tree to tree and to rally from
every retreat. They knew that defeat meant, ruin
and capture meant torture.
With these sentiments and hopes to impel them
and these discordant masses in front of them, w r e
do not wonder that victory perched on the banner
of the Whigs. No mercenary can stand before a
man who is moved by the conviction of duty.
"Thrice armed is he who hath his quarrel just."
Ferguson viewed their approach with firmness
and courage, but not with indifference or confidence.
His last dispatch, by John Ponder to Cornwallis,
indicated his apprehension of defeat. He was a
Scotchman from the bonny hills and he knew that
the gathering of the mountain clans foreboded evil
to those who roused them to the battle. He knew
that such men as had dogged him through the
mountains and through the streams, through wet
and cold, and were now deploying beneath his last
bivouac, were men whom no danger could appall
and no threat could intimidate.
What a sight to contemplate in this lonely
mountain wilderness ! No pyramids to look down
upon them and challenge their claim to courage or
incite them to glory ; no forty centuries of battle
scenes to provoke their emulation. It was untraine "
men, in the wilderness of a virgin region, who had
come to contend for the land and the country on
which they stood.
No' maiden hand bore the wreath to crown the
victor; no applauding thousands waited to honor
the survivor of the carnage; no titles of nobility
nor badges of knighthood were in the expectancy
of the men who struggled for freedom. It was the
conflict of men who came to contend for principle
and who sought no reward but the "glorious privi-
lege of being independent;" who courted no
applause, and were content with the approval of a
good conscience; who knew nothing of romance or
fiction and lived only to love the women and the
children they had left behind them.
It was fit that the God of battles should be the
only spectator and that His omnipotent hand should
crown whom He willed with the wreath of victory.
The spur of the mountain which Ferguson had
chosen for the conflict runs from southwest ascend-
ing to the northeast. Its summit is about five hun-
dred yards long and from seventy to eighty yards
in width. A branch of Clarke's Fork sweeps around
the northern declivity ; at the northeastern extremity
of the eminence the descent is precipitous ; on either
side were deep hollows parallel to the course of the
mountain. The Whigs were drawn up near the
(i6 4 )
southwestern extremity where the declivity is com-
paratively gentle. The army was divided into two
corps. Campbell was to command the corps
approaching from the south side of the mountain
and Cleveland that from the north.
Winston had already made a detour in order to
approach from near the northeastern extremity and
Campbell now led his men in the following order:
McDowell in advance, whose right joined Winston's
left; Sevier, whose right joined McDowell's left ; the
right of the Virginians joined Sevier's left, so that
the column from southwest to northeast stood
Campbell first, then Sevier, then McDowell, then
Winston.
On the north side of the mountain Colonel Ham-
bright marched around the northeastern declivity,
and his left joined Winston's right, Cleveland's
left reste'd on Hambright's right, then Lacey on
Cleveland's right, then Williams on Lacey's right,
and lastly, Colonel Shelby at the southwestern
extremity.
Campbell was to swing to the north with the
left of his column and Shelby to the south with
his right wing, so that their united columns should
stretch across the mountain at its southwestern
base. When all were in column at their respective
positions, it formed a complete cordon around the
mountain, and the coil was to be drawn closer and
closer to the centre. If Ferguson pushed back one
side, the other was to press his rear. The plan
was admirable, and if executed was a sure success.
The diagram which we present illustrates the posi-
tions as above described.*
The Whigs marched in double column to their
respective places, headed by the officers in command
of each regiment.
Shelby and Campbell's men began the attack.
As soon as the approach of the Americans was dis-
covered, the drum beat to arms in the British camp,
and the shrill whistle of Ferguson was distinctly
heard,f notifying his men to take their respective
places for the battle. "Orders had been given
that when Shelby and Campbell were ready to
begin the attack, they were to give the signal
by raising a regular Indian war-whoop ;" when
this signal was given, the other columns were to
press forward simultaneously. The enemy opened
fire on Shelby first, and it was with difficulty that
he restrained his men from returning it until the
proper time. "Press on to your places," he cried,
" and your fire will not be lost." Very soon Camp-
bell's stentorian voice was heard, as they wheeled
by the left into line, shouting, " Here they are, boys ;
shout like hell and fight like devils!" The Indian
war-whoop reverberated through the valleys and
hills and the battle was begun. DePeyster hearing
the yell, recognized it as the same he had first
heard on the i8th of August, and remarked to
*The map was made by General Joseph Graham from an actual
survey made by him.
fFerguson used a shrill whistle which he carried with him as cav-
alry use a bugle.
( i 6 6 )
Ferguson, ''These are those same yelling devils
that were at Musgrove's Mill." Campbell pressing
forward, was delayed in his march ten minutes by
a swampy marsh in his front. Shelby going a short
distance ahead received the first bayonet charge
and was driven down the hill, but quickly reloading
they gave the British a galling fire that drove them
up the hill again. The trees, which retarded the
charge of the Rangers, afforded a rampart for the
riflemen, and from this cover they poured in the
balls, each going with the marksman aim to its
deathly work. The crest of the mountain was
almost bare, and the British, unprotected when in
column, were a splendid target for the mountaineers.
Harry Lee said of King's Mountain that " it was
more assailable by the rifle than defensible with
the bayonet."
The battle now raged with fury from every side
of the mountain as the coil drew nearer, and Fer-
guson, dashing from one side to another to rally
his men or lead a charge, was typical of Satan
when he cried, "Which way I fly is hell !"
The rattle of musketry, the keen crack of the
rifle, the yells and whoops of the assailants, the
commands of the officers, the groans of the dying,
all mingled with one discordant noise around this
little mountain, making a pandemonium in which
devils might have disported themselves with joy.
Many heroic deeds of daring were done, hand-to-
hand conflicts were occurring on every side, splen-
did shots were being made, soldiers were leaping
(i6 7 )
.from lock to rock for shelter, the trees were being
peeled by the bullets intended for the man behind
them, the wounded were scrambling away for safety
and the dead lay prostrate at every step ; but amidst
the infernal din- the coil drew nearer still. As the
British bayonets drove the men down one side, the
Whigs from the other side shouted, "They retreat !
they retreat!" and rushing to the British rear they
poured in the bullets like hail on their backs.
At every repetition of this charge and counter-
charge the ranks of the Rangers grew thinner and
thinner. The Provincials, with butcher knives
fitted to their guns as a substitute for bayonets,
came to their assistance, but soon they too began
to reel and stagger in the storm. The retirement
before the bayonet created 110 panic, it was under-
stood to be the order of the day, and then followed
the fresh crack of the rifle and the advance again.
The Whigs kept out of the way of the bayonet
and were comparatively unharmed, but there was
no British foot swift enough to outstrip the bullets
of the old Deckard, and every renewal of the charge
came with weakened force.
Major Chronicle had led the South Fork boys up
to the ascent on the northeast end, and turning to
his men gave the command, " Face to the hill." It
was his last speech. A ball struck him and he fell
to rise no more.
The men, undaunted, pressed 011 under their
brave old Colonel Hambright, with Joseph Dickson,
Captains Mattocks, Johnson, White, Espey and
(i68)
Martin at the head of their squads of men, each
with a rifle in hand and doing the duty of a private
in the fray. DePeyster was commanded to charge
them, and firing a volley which killed Mattocks, the
British pushed them back with the bayonet.
The old Colonel received a ball through his thigh
which filled his boot leg with blood. His men
begged him to retire. " No, poys, I vill stay as long
as I can sit up," was the brave response of Ham-
bright.
The coil was getting tight around the crest of the
"hill and at times Whig and Tory were going for
the same tree or rock. The countersign of the
Whigs was "Buford," a reminder of the massacre
at the Waxhaws, and when this "shibboleth" was
not given on demand, up went the rifle to the
shoulder and the quickest was the survivor. The
cloud of smoke was too thick to discern the white
paper in the hat of the Whig or the bunch of pine
in that of the Tory.
Relatives and acquaintances often recognized
each other as the quarters grew closer. A Tory
named Branson being severely wounded, seeing his
Whig brother-in-law, Captain James Withrow, of
Hampton's command, near by, solicited his help.
"Look to your friends for help," was the reply.
Captain William Lenoir's company of Cleveland's
command was left behind at Green River, but the
Captain refused to remain and went forward as a
private. He received two wounds, one in the side,
another in the arm.
( i 6 9 )
Colonel Sevier's North Carolinians were the first
to reach the summit of the hill and hold their posi-
tion ; sheltered by the rocks around, they poured
destruction into the British flank. Captain Robert
Sevier, a brother of the Colonel, was mortally
wounded as he was ascending the mountain.
Colonel Williams, who felt the mortification of
neglect, fought with reckless desperation, pressing
on into the thickest of the fight. He received a
mortal wound and was borne unconscious to the
rear. Water being sprinkled on his face he revived,
and while gasping for breath he looked at the men
around and said, "For God's sake, boys, don't give
up the hill."
Shelby was now in conjunction with Campbell's
column, getting nearer the summit. He constantly
admonished his men "never to shoot till you see
your enemy and never see him without bringing
him down." Winston and McDowell were in close
rifle shot and Cleveland had led his men up the
steep acclivity in the rear of Ferguson's line.
Colonel Lacey's horse had been shot but he was
advancing on foot and driving the enemy before
him.
The British were enveloped and the fire was so
hot from every quarter and their ranks so thin,
they were unable to compel the troops to renew the
charge.
"The combat deepened."
The Provincials were now giving way on the
southwestern side of the crest, pressed by Camp-
(1 70)
bell, Sevier and Shelby, and taken in the flank by
McDowell and Winston, and in the rear by Cleve-
land. Two white flags were raised in token of
surrender, which Ferguson cut down with his sword.
An officer remonstrated and begged that the carnage
might cease, but Ferguson swore he " would never
surrender to such banditti." Captain DePeyster,
his second in command, seeing his men huddled
on the crest and being shot down on every side,
urged him to surrender. At length, being satisfied
that all was lost, u Ferguson, with a few chosen
friends, made a desperate attempt to break through
the Whig lines on the southeastern side of the
mountain and escape." As he went he cut and
slashed with his sword, using his left hand, until
the sword was broken.
To pass a file of mountain riflemen and live was
more than man could do. Gilleland, one of Sevicr's
men, recognixed Ferguson and "drew a bead"
upon him, but his rifle missed fire. Calling to
Robert Young, one of his comrades, u There goes
Ferguson shoot l>im," Young, drawing his rifle
affectionately to his shoulder, replied, "I'll see
what Sweet-lips can do." There was a flash, a
sharp lingering crack, and Ferguson tumbled from
his saddle. u Sweet-lips " had been true to her
reputation. Others, too, had marked the "pig
shirt" and revenged Hambright's wound by put-
ting six or eight more bullets through that same
u pig shirt." Ferguson fell near Sevier's column ;
(17 I)
he was unconscious when he fell, and lived but a
few minutes. The prayer of Parson Doak had been
answered. Two Tory officers, Colonel Vezey Hus-
bands and Major Daniel Plummer, who were with
Ferguson, turned to flee, but both were shot dead.
Seeing their leader fall, the enemy began to
break, and took refuge behind their wagons, where,
for a short while, they renewed the combat, but
being fired on from the rear by Cleveland, who had
gotten close to them, they retreated into a sunken
place or hollow. Few of the Rangers now survived
and they were in terror. All order and organiza-
tion was lost, and these wretched beings stood like
a herd of deer in a corral, and were slaughtered in
their tracks. "Buford!" "Buford!" "Tarletou's
Quarters!" "Tarleton's Quarters!" rang with fear-
ful tones in the ears of these perishing beings.
The day of justice and judgment, awful in its
reality, had come to them. Young Sevier, son of
the Colonel, had heard of his uncle's death, and
would not be -restrained. "Standing erect, with
deliberate aim he would bring down a Tory," to
avenge the blood of the Seviers.
In vain were white handkerchiefs raised. Those
who raised them became targets for the infuriated
Whigs, and their holders fell beneath the signal.
One man on horseback rode out with a white flag,
but fell as he came in view ; a second shared the
same fate. The Wilkes men were lying in wait
to shoot everything that made an attractive target.
u Larkin Cleveland-must be avenged before we cease
(172)
firing !" " Chronicle and Hambright and Williams
must have blood for blood !" Such was the maddened
sense of these enraged men who had come for vic-
tory and vengeance. They determined that the
work should be effectually done. The Rutherford
men reminded each other of the cowardly assassi-
nation of their leader's son on Pacolet ; they listened
a moment and shot again. One more victim to the
unbending law of retribution. Thus from lip to
lip went tales of wrong, and from rifle to rifle came
the voice of vengeance. The scene is too sad to
contemplate the curtain must fall. Major Evan
Shelby shouted to the victims, "Throw down your
arms !" It was instantly done, and rushing forward
he implored his followers to shoot no more. The
firing had almost ceased, but a? stragglers, or those
who were too weak to be in front, gained the crest,
they emptied their rifles once more. Campbell,
riding to the front, exclaimed : " For God's sake,
quit! it is murder to shoot any more." DePeyster,
a brave soldier, rode up to Campbell and said, " It
is unfair." There was no time for argument.
Campbell, addressing the enemy, ordered DePeyster
to dismount, and called out : " Officers, go to your-
selves; prisoners, take off your hats and sit down."
The Whigs were then " drawn up and around them
in a continuous circle, then double guards, and
finally four deep." The game was bagged and the
hunters stood around gazing at their victims. Now
and then an old marauder or bushwhacker was
recognized and his sin proclaimed. According
(173)
to the enormity of their cruelties each wretch was
endeavoring to hide behind his neighbor. A fear-
ful reckoning was at hand. The arms were removed
from the prisoners and strongly guarded that they
might not be resumed in the confusion.
As Ferguson fell, his small silver whistle dropped
from his pocket and was picked up by a Tory
named Elias Powell, who lived in Caldwell County.
It was preserved until Powell died in 1832, when
his children took it west where it was lost.
Ferguson's sword was given either to Cleveland
or Sevier, most probably the latter.
Such was the curiosity to see the dead body of
Ferguson that many wounded soldiers had their
friends to convey them to the spot that they might
gaze upon it.
Ferguson was buried near where he fell. "No
martial cloak" was around him ; he was enclosed
in a beef's hide and buried in a hole. It is dis-
creditable, perhaps, to chronicle such a fact, but it
seems to be well authenticated.
The envenomed hatred of Ferguson by the Whigs,
whom he had so cruelly wronged, became a mono-
mania and its cravings for revenge were insatiable.
Ferguson had two mistresses with him : the one,
a red-haired woman, "Virginia Sal," was killed;
the other, "Virginia Paul," survived and was
indifferent to his fate. Tradition says that the
former was buried in the same grave with Ferguson.
The engagement had lasted only fifty minutes
when Ferguson fell, and that may be considered the
end of the fight.
(174 )
Not one of the enemy who were on the hill when
the fight began escaped; there was a party of two
hundred foragers out who left that morning and
did not return.
From the many reports of the British loss I think
that made by Colonel Shelby in a letter to his
father, five days after the battle, is perhaps nearest
to the actual facts. He says the loss of Ferguson's
corps the Rangers was 30 killed, 28 wounded
and 57 prisoners. That the loss of the Tories was
127 killed, 125 wounded and 649 prisoners ; or both
classed together, 157 killed, 153 wounded and 706
prisoners total 1016. The official report of the
Whig commanders, it was admitted, was exagger-
ated somewhat for effect. Of the Tories, three
hundred were North Carolinians under Colonel
Ambrose Mills.* The others were from South
Carolina, mostly from the region of Ninety-Six,
where Ferguson had his headquarters. The Ameri-
can loss w r as 28 killed and 62 wounded. The
great disparity in the respective losses was attribu-
table to the fine marksmanship of the mountain
men, and that the British were huddled together
when the close firing occurred.
The command of Chronicle, from Try on County,
suffered very much more than any of the others.
Chronicle was killed, Colonel Hambright severely
wounded, Captain Mattocks, William Rabb, John
Boyd and Arthur Patterson killed, Moses Henry
mortally wounded ; Captain Espey, Robert Henry,
*He was hung at Biggerstaff's.
William Gilmer, John Chittim and William Brad-
ley wounded. Four others of Captain Martin's
company, names unknown, were wounded.*
Ferguson's personal effects were distritnited as
follows: Captain Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant
Garden, first cousin of Major Joseph McDowell,
who was in command of Colonel Charles McDow-
ell's regiment, secured six pieces of his china dinner
plates and a small coffee cup and saucer. These
are still retained among his descendants. Colonel
Shelby obtained the larger silver whistle ; Colonel
Sevier was allotted the silken sash and Ferguson's
commission as lieutenant colonel, and DePeyster's
sword ; Colonel Campbell took his correspondence ;
the white charger, from which Ferguson was shot,
was, by common consent, awarded to Colonel Cleve-
land, who had lost his horse in the battle and was
too unwieldly to travel on foot.f
So much space has been devoted to this impor-
tant battle that I cannot pursue the subject any
more in detail. The heroes who fought it returned
to their homes, feeling that they had been saved
from calamities which only such a band of free-
booters as the Tories could inflict. A few of these
*Major Chronicle was a young man of good family and more than
ordinary intelligence. He was engaged to be married to a Miss
Alexander of Mecklenburg County, and when killed was wearing a
gold ring which she had presented to him. The ring is now in the
family of her descendants of Charlotte, N. C., as I am informed.
Miss Alexander subsequently married Judge/ l,owrie of North Car-
olina.
fDraper, pp. 307- '8.
(176)
Tories were hung for their crimes at Biggerstaff's,
in Rutherford County, among them Colonel Mills.
The other prisoners were sent to Virginia.*
u The victory at King's Mountain, which, in the spirit
of the American soldiers, was like the rising at Concord,
in its effect like the success at Bennington, changed the
aspects of the war. The loyalists no longer dared to
rise. It fired the patriots of the two Carolinas with fresh
zeal. It encouraged the fragments of the defeated and
scattered American army to seek each other and organ-
ize themselves anew. It quickened the Legislature of
North Carolina to earnest efforts. It encouraged Vir-
ginia to devote her resources to the country south of
her border. The appearance on the frontiers of a numer-
ous enemy from settlements beyond the mountains,
whose very names had been unknown to the British,
took Cornwallis by surprise, and their success was fatal to
his intended expedition. He had hoped to step with ease
from one Carolina to the other, and from those to the
conquest of Virginia, and he had now no other choice
but to retreat.
"That memorable victory, Jefferson declared, was the
joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success
which terminated the revolutionary war with the seal of
independence."!
North Carolina may glory in this decisive and
splendid victory, which relieved her from further
invasion of her western borders. Her sons had
originated the campaign, her money equipped its
*Those who desire to continue the story can derive pleasure and
profit perusing it in Mr. Draper's book.
(Bancroft, vol. 5, p. 400.
Hon. J SEPH M<? D OWE L.L,
OF"quAKER MEADOWS" BURKE. COUNTY, N.C.
ITero of Rams ours Mill, Kings T'louri tain and Cowpens
andlVleTriber of Congress.
soldiers, her sons constituted two-thirds of its army
and most of its leaders were her citizens.
We yield to Virginia her full share of the glory,
and accord to South Carolina praise for unexpected
assistance which she so freely gave, but we must
be pardoned for publishing the facts of history as
they are, that North Carolina's name may not be
obscured in the story of this great achievement.
NOTE. A monument thirty feet high and constructed of granite
blocks now stands upon the summit of King's Mountain to com-
memorate the deeds of the patriotic men who won this memorable
victory. The Legislature of North' Carolina appropriated $1500 to the
work, and yet among the list of names chiseled on this monument
the name of McDowell does not appear. The McDowells of Burke,
in conjunction with Sevier, conceived the scheme and organized the
American force which captured Ferguson and led the attack in the
battle. Such are the egregious blunders and injustice which char-
acterize history ; such are the sins committed in its name.
CHAPTER IV.
Cornwallis Retreats from Charlotte to Winnsboro General Morgan
joins Gates at Hillsboro Gates moves from Hillsboro to Char-
lotte General Nathanael Greene supersedes Gates December
4th, 1780, at Charlotte Personal Sketches of Greene and Corn-
wallis Greene Moves to " Camp Repose " on the Pee Dee
Morgan sent to the Western Part of the State December i6th
Sketch of General Morgan Lee's Legion joins Greene Char-
acter of Lee -The North Carolina Riflemen join Morgan 310
Strong The Fight at Hammonds' Store Maneuvering of
Tarleton and Morgan Their respective Strength Tarleton's
Character Battle of Cowpens January the I7th, 1781.
TTTHEN we took up the story of King's Moun-
* ^ tain, Cornwallis was at Charlotte, North
Carolina, where his army was every day subjected
to insult and annoyance from the rancorous Whigs,
who listened to no overtures of conciliation, and
continued to shoot down his sentinels and foragers.
General Davidson was, with his brigade of militia,
between Charlotte and Salisbury, watching events.
General Gates, with the scattered remnants of his
army and some accessions of militia, was at Hills-
boro. The Governor, Abner Nash, was exerting
himself with patriotic energy to supply the wants
of the army and place it again in the field. Public
spirit was manifested by the people, and the officials
seemed determined " to pluck safety from this
nettle of danger."
The messengers whom Ferguson had sent to
Cornwallis from Tate's plantation (in Cleveland
(i79)
County now) narrowly escaped capture in the Whig
settlement of Crowder's Creek, where the Scotch-
Irish Presbyterians resided, and consequently they
did not reach Cornwallis until the yth day of
October, while the conflict was raging on King's
Mountain. Cornwallis appreciating Ferguson's
danger, and suddenly aroused to the consciousness
that an unexpected army had sprung up, from
some unknown region, in front of him, immediately
ordered Colonel Tarleton to hasten to his rescue.
Tarleton left next morning.
The messengers, Collins and Quinn, returned
with him as guides, and Tarleton intended to cross
the Catawba at Armour's Ford, near the mouth ol
the South Fork. The ford was deep and the cross-
ing proved dangerous, many of the advance guard
being compelled to swim. It was resolved, there-
fore, to remain on the east side until morning; but
the next day, before the water subsided, two men
who had been near the battle, or perhaps some of the
foragers who escaped, informed Tarletou of the
disaster which had befallen Ferguson at King's
Mountain, and he beat a hasty retreat to Charlotte,*
arriving there the same evening.
Coruwallis was panic-stricken at the news of the
destruction of his left wing, and his own exposure
thereby to sudden attack. The Whigs purposely
exaggerated the number of the army that had over-
whelmed Ferguson, and conveyed to Cornwallis
intimations that these men were marching westward
*General Graham in University Magazine, vol. 5, p. 101.
(i8o)
to join Davidson and attack the British at Char-
lotte. Ninety-Six was now at the mercy of these
invincible mountain hordes and the British army
could be cut off from its line of retreat. His lord-
ship did not tarry to hear arguments on the other
side; he thought "discretion was the better part
of valor" in the emergency, and therefore ordered
his whole army to be in readiness in one hour to
begin the retreat to Winnsboro, in Fairfield district,
South Carolina, about seventy miles south of Char-
lotte. The mud in the Black Jack (oak) country
of the Waxhaws is proverbial for its sticky quality
and the depth of its softness in rainy weather. It
was then and is now a terror to all travelers, espe-
cially wagoners, who are compelled to pass through
it in the winter. At this time, the 8th of October,
the rainy season had begun, and the roads were
almost impassable.
One McAfferty, a merchant of Charlotte, who
was at heart a Whig, but who had remained in
Charlotte to save his property, was selected as their
guide. The retreat began at sunset on the even-
ing of the Qth, taking the road leading to the old
Nation Ford on the Catawba. "McAfferty led
them the road to the right, about two miles below
Charlotte, which went to Park's Mill. When they
got near that place, he suggested that they were
on the wrong road, and he must ride out to the left
to find the right one, and in pretending to do this
he escaped from them."*
*Joseph Graham's account.
The night was dark, and being near the hills of
Cedar Creek, and floundering through the mud
without guide or compass, the confusion was " worse
confounded." In attempting to find roads leading
to the left, so as to regain their proper route, they
became separated and overcome by the fear that
the Whigs had laid this snare to cover an attack.
By midnight the two forces were three or four miles
apart and did not succeed in reaching the Nation
Ford road, and collecting their forces, until noon
next day.
McAfferty had ridden all night to reach Colonel
Davie's camp and inform him of the situation.
Davie started in pursuit next morning, but found
the cavalry so formidable in their rear that he was
unable to make an attack. Davie returned to his
camp, on Sugar Creek,* the same evening. The
roads were so deep with mud that Cornwallis was
ten or twelve days reaching Winnsboro.
This narrative of the British retreat is condensed
from General Graham's article in the University
Magazine. Tarleton denies that he returned to
Charlotte. He says he received orders, at the Ca-
tawba, to cross the country and intercept the line of
retreat of the main army, and he complains bitterly
that not being present to get the Legion baggage
off, he lost all his knapsacks, which were in the
rear wagons that were left sticking in the mud.
Graham says forty wagons. No doubt Colonel
*Tarleton places General Sumner at that time at Alexander's Mill,
on a branch of Rocky River ; p. 165.
Davie's cavalry enjoyed this a treasure-trove" and
added it to his scanty supply.
Tarleton* says, "The royal forces remained two
days in an anxious and miserable situation in the
Catawba settlement, owing to a dangerous fever
which suddenly attacked Lord Cornwallis, and to
the want of forage and provisions." Tarleton him-
self had just passed through a spell of fever. "When
the physicians declared his lordship could not
endure the motion of a wagon, Colonel Lord Raw-
don, the. second in command, directed the troops to
cross Sugar Creek."
Tarleton, in his usual vein of criticism, reflects
on the judgment of Cornwallis for choosing Char-
lotte as the basis of ' operations against North
Carolina, on account of the disloyalty of the people
of that region, whose hostility to the British was
so injurious and annoying to him, and for allowing
Ferguson to march so far from the main army that
he could not be supported when necessity required.
Tarleton was of opinion that the invasion should
have been attempted by Cross Creek (near Fayette-
ville), where the loyalists abounded, and would
have assisted his march by communicating to him
the movements of the American forces. At Char-
lotte the Whigs watched every suspicious person,
and intercepted ail communication with the country.
To this cause is to be attributed the fact that Fer-
guson received no reinforcement.
It was the end of October before Cornwallis
*Page 167.
(i8 3 )
recovered entirely from his fever. His headquar-
ters were now established at Winnsboro, which, as
before stated, was seventy miles south of Charlotte.
The region of South Carolina north of Ninety-Six,
was abandoned. Camden on the right was in sup-
porting distance, and the section around Winnsboro
afforded provisions for the army during the winter.
Coniwallis hoped to rest and recruit his army at
this point, and be ready to renew his march into
North Carolina in the spring. "The winter cam-
paign was abandoned."'
His lordship, however, was not the sole arbiter
of his own destiny. It was being "rough hewn"
by the up-country men, who were gathering again
to disturb his winter's repose, and force him a
second time to navigate the miry roads that led
him to the devoted province he fain would enter
for conquest and glory. He had aroused the spirit
of the hardy men of the mountains, who never
waited for weather or the rules of warfare, as they
are taught in books; men who had discovered their
strength and were eager to encounter the British
regulars, now they had " Burgoyned " Ferguson
and his Provincials.
We shall leave his lordship to indulge in the
dreams of a cozy fireside, while we visit the Ameri-
can lines and relate the preparations being made to
disappoint these dreams and hopes of conquest.
General Gates was exerting himself with unusual
energy, at Hillsboro, North Carolina, to reorganize
*Tarleton, p. 168.
(i8 4 )
"his army and collect reinforcements. When he
had begun his march to Camden, he had, for-
tunately, been compelled to leave two pieces of
cannon behind for want of transportation. To
these he added a few iron pieces, and thns was able
to form a small park of artillery. On the i6th of
September Colonel Buford, of Virginia, with the
mangled remnant of his regiment and two hundred
recruits, arrived in camp. Another small detach-
ment from Virginia, without arms, came in a few
days after. About fifty of Colonel Porterfield's
regiment, that escaped from Camden, now joined
this force and constituted the Virginia line.
About this time Colonel Daniel Morgan, a Vir-
ginian, who had acquired such harvests of laurels
at Quebec and Saratoga, arrived in camp. His
great reputation as a hard fighter and intrepid
leader greatly encouraged the troops and revived
the hopes of the people. He had only a few fol-
lowers, young men who had come to share with
him in service and honor. General Gates ordered
four companies to be drafted from the regiments, to
be equipped as light infantry and to form a partisan
corps under command of Morgan. Colonel White
and Colonel William Washington, who had been so
roughly handled by Tarletoii after the fall of Charles-
ton r had seventy cavalry and these were added to
this corps.* Colonel White, who was in disrepute,
was granted leave of absence, and Colonel Wash-
ington was placed in command. To these were
*Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 313.
still added a small company of sixty riflemen under
Major Rose.
North Carolina, whose military resources had
been well-nigh exhausted by the capture of all her
regulars at Charleston, and in supplying the
militia who were under Caswell at Gates' defeat,
was enabled, by extraordinary exertions, to collect
a suit of comfortable clothing for each one of Mor-
gan's command before they entered on the severe
and active duties before them. She also supplied
the other troops, but not so comfortably as Morgan's.
Tents they had none, and blankets but a scant
supply.
1780. Morgan's corps began its march for Salis-
bury from Hillsboro, North Carolina, on the ist
day of November, and the remainder of the army
followed on the 2d day.
General Smallwood, who had been commissioned
by the State, was in command of the militia and
posted at Providence, six miles south of Charlotte.
Morgan passed Charlotte and ventured to the neigh-
borhood of Camdeii and occupied the ground which
was the scene of the great misfortune in August.
Cornwallis heard with amazement that the inva-
sion from the enemy to the south was substituted
for his own invasion to the north, and began to
realize that his conquest of South Carolina was far
from completion, and that North Carolina defied
his boasting threats.
The winter campaign of the Americans had
begun when his lordship abandoned his own.
( i 8 6 )
There was to be no repose for the distinguished
convalescent.
Cornwallis had at this time about five thousand
men at his various posts, and five hundred recruits
had just reached him from the north.
On the 2Oth of November Colonel Sumter de-
feated Tarleton at Blackstocks, but himself received
a ball through his right breast near the shoulder,
which detained him for a length of time from ser-
vice. Suspended between horses and guarded by
out hundred faithful followers, he was conveyed to
a place of safety in North Carolina.
The cavalry under Colonel Davie, and the militia
under Davidson, whose term of service expired in
November, returned home.* General Gates moved
slowly westward, arriving at Charlotte the latter
part of October. He recalled Morgan and Small-
wood to that place and fixed his headquarters there.
This was the military situation when Major
General Nathanael Greene, a native of Rhode Island
and the trusted friend of General Washington,
arrived at Charlotte on the 2d day of December,
1780, and assumed command on the 4th of the same
month at that place.
Judge Johnson announces the appointment of
General Greene and describes him personally as
follows :
"The order of the commander-in-chief, which assigned
General Nathanael Greene to the command of the South-
*General Joseph Graham.
ern Department, bears date the i4th day of October,
1780. Until that period his standing in the army was
of the first order of respectability. He enjoyed the con-
fidence of Washington and the country, and had ever
discharged the duties of the man and the soldier with
fidelity and ability. But no opportunities had yet been
afforded him of displaying .those eminent talents which
then broke upon the American people and exhibited a
splendor of military character excelled only by him
whom none can equal.
"General Greene was at that time in the thirty-ninth
year of his age ; his stature about five feet ten or eleven
inches ; his frame vigorous and well proportioned ; his
port erect and commanding ; nor was his martial appear-
ance diminished bv a slight obstruction in the motion
J O
of his right leg, contracted in early life. The general
character of his face was that of manly beauty. His
fair and florid complexion had not entirely yielded to the
exposures of five campaigns ; nor was a slight blemish
in the right eye observed but to excite regret that it did
not equal the benevolent expression and brilliancy of the
left. Such is the portrait of the man. His manners
were uniformly consonant to the gravity of his character
and dignity of his station. Yet he could be cheerful,
even to playfulness, and his intercourse with the world
was marked with that unaffected urbanity of manners
that flowed from the politeness of his heart. Whether
grave or gay, he could accommodate himself to society
with a grace and facility which may be acquired from
long and general intercourse with polite circles, but
which, in him, is to be attributed to rapid observation,
a quick perception of propriety, and a mind well stored
with sound and useful information.
(i88)
"Advantages in early life he had none ; born and
raised in obscurity, without education and without
society, he exhibited a striking instance of what good
examples, sound principles, and native genius, and above
all, industrious habits and a careful improvement of time
can accomplish."*
Perhaps the best delineation of his military char-
acter was given by a British officer who opposed
him in New Jersey. He writes :
1 f Greene is as dangerous as Washington ; he is vigi-
lant, enterprising and full of resources. With but little
hope of gaining any advantage over him, I never feel
secure when encamped in his neighborhood."
General Washington thus bears testimony to his
unselfish devotion to the cause of independence :
"There is no officer in the army more sincerely
attached to the interests of his country than General
Greene. Could he but promote those interests in the
character of a corporal, he would exchange without a
murmur his epaulette for the knob. For although he
is not without ambition, yet ambition has not for its
object the highest rank so much as the greatest good."
"Greene was born the 26th of May, 1742. His father
was a miller, an anchor smith and a Quaker preacher.
In early, life he followed the plow and worked at the
forge. His education was of an ordinary kind ; but
having an early thirst for knowledge, he applied himself
sedulously to various studies whilst subsisting by the
*Life of Greene, vol. i, pp. 1-2.
*Garden's Anecdotes, p. 76.
(i8 9 )
labor of his hands. Nature had endowed him with
quick pans and a sound judgment, and his assiduity was
crowned with success. He became fluent and instruc-
tive in conversation, and his letters, still extant, show
that he held an able pen."*
With these precedents and snch a character as
we have seen portrayed by the leading historians
01 our country, he came to the South to contend
with one of the best trained soldiers of England.
He found the fragments of a defeated army,
unclothed and without tents, in the midst of winter,
with a scant supply of provisions in a country
already exhausted by a hostile army ; soldiers
poorly equipped with arms, and dispirited by defeat
and loss of confidence in their commander. He
was to create an army out of this raw material
and fight it against the veteran soldiers of England.
This was all that stood between North Carolina
and British conquest.
We have this sketch of the early life of Corn-
wallis, which will be interesting to a reader who
follows his subsequent career:
"Earl Cornwallis, Viscount Brome, was born in Gov-
ernor Square, London, December 31, 1738. He was
educated at Eton. While at college, playing at hockey,
he received a blow which produced a slight but perma-
nent obliquity of vision. The boy who accidentally caused
this was Shute Barrington, afterwards Bishop of Dur-
ham. After finishing his education he chose the army
*Irving's Washington, vol. 2, p. 8.
( 190)
for his profession. His first commission, as ensign in
the Foot Guards, is dated December 8th, 1756. His
first lesson in war was as aid to the Marquis of Grandby
in the contest between England and France in 1761.
He had been elected a member of Parliament from Eye,
and, upon the death of his father the following year, took
his seat in the House of Lords. When in Parliament
he was strongly opposed to the scheme of taxing America,
but when the war came, as an officer of the army, he
accepted active employment against the colonists. On
February the loth, 1776, he embarked for 'America in
command of a division."*
Cornwallis was personally a very brave man and
an accomplished soldier. While he did not indi-
vidually commit acts of cruelty, he allowed his
subordinates to do so without rebuke, and at times
commended them for their conduct. He was a
hard-hearted man, that never listened with pity to
the supplications for mercy, and oppressed the people
whom he conquered without compunction or com-
passion. He did not hesitate to violate his promises
or break his engagements, if they stood in the way
of his success. As a general he was vigilant and
cautious, but slow. His judgment was not sound,
and he was wanting in diplomacy or management.
As a whole he was a military failure. He lost
South Carolina and Georgia, and failed to overrun
North Carolina. In Virginia he was captured and
the cause he espoused went down beneath his ban-
ners. It may be that with an ordinary man like
*Wheeler's Reminiscences^ p. 186.
General Lincoln for an opponent, he might have
attained renown, but unfortunately for his fame he
was opposed by a man who was by intuition a
soldier, and by experience skilled in the art of war.
The first preparation made by General Greene for
the campaign in North Carolina, which was soon to
begin , manifested his foresight and military sagacity.
The country through which the movements of his
army, whether in advance or retreat, were to be
made, was traversed by three large streams, the
Dan, the Yadkin and the Catawba, and a knowl-
edge of their crossings and the roads leading to
their fords and ferries was indispensable to safety
and success.
Colonel Edward Carrington of Virginia, Greene's
Quartermaster General, an energetic, judicious and
efficient soldier, was sent to make a thorough explo-
ration and map of the Dan; General Stevens, at
that time commanding a detachment of militia,
undertook the same work on the Yadkin, and
Kosciusko, the patriotic Pole, then chief engineer
of the army, explored the Catawba. The historical
retreat across these streams was made possible by
the information which General Greene derived from
these reports. The first duty of a good soldier is
to make himself master of the geography of the
country in which he is to maneuver. Looking to
future necessities, General Greene also established
magazines of stores and ammunition on the Roanoke
and at Oliphaut's Mill, on the upper waters of the
Catawba River.
( 192 )
The first success of his little army was of a
humorous character, and greatly enlivened the
camp. Colonel Washington rode to Cleremount,
in South Carolina, to attack a band of loyalists
who held that fort. Not being able to storm it,
Washington resorted to the stratagem of painting
a pine log and mounting it on wheels, which he
brought in sight of the besieged, threatening dire
vengeance with his cannon if Rugely did not sur-
render immediately. The garrison was surrendered,
and when disarmed was allowed to inspect the
cannon.
The whole number of regulars of all arms in
Greene's camp did not exceed eleven hundred, and
of these not eight hundred could be mustered with
arms' and clothing fit for duty. Some of Colonel
Washington's cdvalry were so naked that they were
ordered back to Virginia to be clothed.
The provisions around Charlotte were nearly
exhausted, and Colonel Thomas Polk, who was
acting as Commissary General, reported that he
could not gather more than a week's supply.
Colonel Polk resigned this place, and General
Greene insisted on Colonel William R. Davie, who
was j 1 t at this time without a command, taking
the office of Commissary General. Colonel Davie
reluctantly accepted, his nature being more adapted
to field service and partisan warfare, but he yielded
these objections and went to work with system and
energy to find subsistence for the army ; and to his
timely efforts General Greene owed much of the
( 193 )
success of his future operations. We have seen
heretofore the adventurous skill and intrepidity of
this distinguished North Carolinian, who was now
to enter through his office into the most confiden-
tial relations with his commander, and who in after
life was to have heaped upon him honors which
seldom fall to the lot of man. Colonel Davie was,
at this time, only twenty-four years old.
The selection of Carringtoii and Davie was the
evidence of Greene's wonderful discrimination in
the selection of men.
In order to subsist his army, General Greene
selected the head of navigation on the Pee Dee
River as a " camp of repose," where he could feed
and rest and drill his little army. Kosciusko was
sent to select and lay out the camp and explore the
country.
The States had been called upon by Congress to
provide subsistence directly to the army, and Colo-
nel Davie was sent to the Legislature of North
Carolina to urge compliance with this reasonable
requirement. He met with a prompt and liberal
support, and " arrangements were made to collect
magazines at every court-house in the State, and
officers appointed to register and report the produce
on hand and the wagons and means of transporta-
tion in every county."
The next matter which strongly presented itself
to General Greene was the re-establishment of the
North Carolina Continental line. The whole of
this class of the State's military force had been
13
94)
captured at Charleston, but it was estimated that
two or three hundred had escaped or were left
behind in North Carolina from sickness and other
causes, and the supernumerary officers who had
lost their commands at the reorganization were
scattered through the country.
General Jethro Sunnier, the senior officer on the
Continental establishment in the State, was called
upon to pay immediate attention to this matter, and
strong appeals were made to the Governor to aid
in this work.
There were various other matters requiring con-
sideration, and it is said that Greene allowed him-
self not a moment's respite from the most intense
application to business until everything necessary
for .the operations of an army, even down to an axe
or a nail, had received his attention.
On the 2oth of December the army, except
Morgan's command, abandoned their huts at Char-
lotte and .took up their line of inarch by Wadesboro
to Haley's Ferry on the Pee Dee, where it was
originally designed to be posted ; but at the sug-
gestion of Kosciusko they moved down the east
side of the river to Hicks' Creek, nearly opposite
the Cheraw Hill. General Isaac Huger, the only
general officer, except Morgan, with Greene, was in
command. Morgan had been appointed a Briga-
dier General by Congress, with a commission dating
the 1 3th day of October, 1780. On the i6th day
of December he was given a separate command by
General Greene, and ordered to put himself on the
left flank of Cornwallis.
(195)
The order itself is the best explanation of this
movement, and it is given in full :
u CAMP CHARLOTTE, December i6th, -1780.
' ' You are appointed to the command of a corps of light
infantry of 320 men detached from the Maryland line, a
detachment of Virginia militia of 200 men, and Colonel
Washington's regiment of light horse, amounting to
from sixty to an hundred men. With these troops you
will proceed to the west side of the Catawba River,
where you will be joined by a body of volunteer militia
under command of General Davidson of this State and
by the militia lately under command of General Sumter.
u This force and such others as may join you from
Georgia you will employ against the enemy on the \vest
side of the Catawba, either offensively or defensively, as
your own prudence and discretion may direct, acting
with caution, and avoiding surprises by every possible
precaution. For the present I give you entire command
in that quarter, and do hereby require all officers and
soldiers engaged in the American cause to be subject to
your orders and command.
"The object of this detachment is to give protection to
that part of the country and spirit up the people ; to
annoy the enemy in that quarter ; to collect the provi-
sion and forage out of their way, which you will have
formed into a number of small magazines in the rear of
the position you may think proper to take.
"You will prevent plundering as much as possible, and
be as careful of your provisions and,, forage as may be,
giving receipts for whatever you take to all such as are
friends to the independence of America.
(i 9 6)
"Should the enemy move in force towards the Pee Dee,
where the army will take a position, you will move in
such a direction as to enable you to join me if necessary,
or fall upon the flank, or into the rear of the enemy, as
occasion may require. You will spare no pains to get
good intelligence of the enemy's situation, and keep me
constantly advised of both your and their movements.
"You will appoint, for the time being, a commissary,
quartermaster, and foragemaster, who will follow your
instructions in their respective lines. Confiding in your
abilities and activity, I intrust you with this command,
persuaded," &c.
General Morgan was born of Welsh parents in
Himterdon Comity, New Jersey, in the winter of
1736, and was now forty-four years old, but his
strength and his spirit was unimpaired, except from
occasional attacks of rheumatism, which he had
contracted at Valley Forge. His parents were
poor and he had in early age wandered from them
never to- return. Fate 'brought him to Virginia,
where he became a wagoner, and in that capacity
was attached to Braddock's army. It was while
here that he struck a British officer who insulted
him, and for this manly act was condemned to
receive five hundred lashes. He languished but
recovered from this inhuman and barbarous punish-
ment; his accuser afterwards admitting that he
himself deserved the blow that he received.
Morgan was an Indian fighter of the frontiers,
and when the revolution came it found him ready
for war and enjoying the full confidence of his
people. He entered the army and was captured in
the assault on Quebec. After nearly a year's
captivity he was exchanged, and feeling the love
of his native earth, he fell upon the ground and
cried, "Oh! my country." He did not kiss the
earth as his mother, but embraced it as his home.
In 1779 he retired from the army, but when Gates
was defeated he offered his services and came to
Hillsboro for duty. Gates had done him great
injustice while serving under him in New York,
but this he forgave. He is described as u tall,
muscular, vigorous and active ; trained from his
childhood to an outdoor life of exertion which gave
strength and elasticity to his limbs, with a clear
and kindling eye, an open countenance full of char-
acter, but full too of good humor, with a keen rustic
wit and a hardihood which secured him the first
place in bold enterprises and athletic sports."*
General Greene reached his encampment the day
after Christmas and immediately bent his whole
energy and talent in improving his little army.
He healed all jealousies, roused the spirit of the
troops, sought for them food and clothing, nursed
the sick, encouraged the feeble, and personally
supervised every effort to bring them into soldierly
training. Here these cold and hungry and naked
troops found some repose in their huts, and had
many of the social enjoyments of camp life. They
soon became acquainted with their commander, and
learned to love him and confide 'in him as their
*Greene's Life of Greene, vol. 3, p. 95.
(198)
leader. He had much magnetism about him, and
all soldiers under his command drew closer to him
and became devoted to his fortunes. Greene called
this encampment the " Camp of Repose "; but while
his soldiers were enjoying the repose, his fertile
and active brain was conceiving stratagems and
snares which were to perplex and worry his antag-
onist. From this camp Camden, Georgetown and
Winnsboro were all in striking distance, and the
lines of their communication exposed, while Morgan
threatened the British left and cut off their foragers.
While at "Camp Repose" on the Pee Dee, Colo-
nel Henry Lee, known as "Light-Horse Harry,"
and father of the late General Robert E. Lee, joined
General Greene. Lee commanded a Legion com-
posed of 300 men 150 infantry and 150 horse.
Both men and officers were picked men : the officers
were chosen in reference to their talents and expe-
rience; the men in proportion, from the regulars
of the army. Virginia furnished twenty-five of
these men. The Continental troops of the other
Southern States had been sent south, and of course
those States did not contribute.*
The uniform of Lee's Legion was exactly like
that of Tarleton's, which made it difficult to dis-
tinguish them from each other, f
The horses for the three cavalry companies were
procured in Maryland and were of the best the
country afforded. It was all in all a magnificent
*Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. I, p. 354.
fjohnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 453.
( 199)
Legion, and we can well excuse the vanity of its
colonel, whose tardiness of approach was attributed
to his desire to be seen and admired of % men on his
march south . Lee had distinguished himself already
as a dashing, intrepid soldier, and his advent was
hailed with deligrit. He was young and handsome.
Born the 29th January, 1756, he was just about to
enter his twenty-fifth year. He was proud and brave
but not generous ; he was a genius, full of resources,
and when acting independently, quick, restless and
fierce. He was not just to his comrades when
acting with others; self-willed and hard to be
restrained. It is to be lamented that to so many
virtues he added infirmities and faults which often
exposed him to the severest criticism. He was,
however, a sincere and ardent patriot and devoted
to the cause he had espoused with so much fervor
and zeal.
Lee reached the Pee Dee on the I2th of January,
and with him came Colonel Green, of Virginia,
with 400 men a fine body of soldiers.
1781. General Greene immediately ordered Lee
to join General Marion, which he did on the 23d
January, and made with him a combined attack on
Georgetown, South Carolina. The attempt was
unsuccessful, after promising the greatest results;
but it produced a panic among the British at that
place which soon caused them to evacuate the town.
Marion was thereby given greater latitude, and the
troops were encouraged. Cornwallis discovered
that Greene was never idle.
( 2 O O )
We shall now follow General Morgan to victory.
1781. Morgan's march led him across the
Catawba River at Biggin's Ferry, just below where
the South Fork River empties into that stream, and
across the Broad River above the mouth of the
Pacolet. He took post on the north bank of the
Pacolet on the 25th day of December and began to
.gather forces and information. Many of the Whigs
of upper South Carolina had been compelled, under
duress, to take protection and give their paroles to
be inactive, but seeing an opportunity now to recover
independence, they began to embody for defence.
Andrew Pickens was one of this olass, and he
determined to take all the risks and enter the field.
After sending off their families to the mountains
Colonel Pickens and Colonel McCall joined Morgan
with 100 men. Colonel William Lee Davidson, of
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, also led to
Morgan 120 men and returned to bring 500 more
and thereby missed the battle of Cowpens.* He
reached Morgan's camp on the 29th December.
Major Joseph McDowell of "Quaker Meadows"
also joined Morgan with 190 North Carolina rifle-
men from Burke County ;f aggregating 310 men
from North Carolina at that time with General
Morgan, all of whom participated in the battle of
"Cowpens."
Judge Johnson commits the unpardonable error
of stating that Major McDowell was from South
*Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 362.
|Gordon's History, vol. 4, p. 31.
(201)
Carolina. It is passing strange that it could have
been conscientiously committed, when we consider
that Major McDowell had never quit the field after
the battle of King's Mountain, in October, where
he had so distinguished himself, and the further
fact that after the war he had been a prominent
member of the Congress of the United States from
North Carolina, and, most probably, was personally
known to Judge Johnson. It can only be excused
on the ground of intemperate zeal on the part of
tli at author to claim almost everything for South
Carolina, regardless of the justice due his neigh-
boring State. He shows but little appreciation, in
his whole history, of the fact that North Carolina
soldiers were foremost in every battle fought to
redeem South Carolina from the conquest which
followed the surrender of Charleston, and that her
whole Continental line defended that ill-fated city
to the last extremity when South Carolina troops
refused to enter that pitfall of Lincoln's folly.
Colonel Pickens' command proper was only 70
meii.t He had recently escaped from captivity at
Ninety-Six;!; and had no time to raise a force or to
equip it when raised. Colonel McCall's Georgians
were only 30 in number, but they were trained men,
volunteers who had kept the field after the affair at
Blackstocks. McDowell's 190 men were all mounted
volunteers, hardy mountaineers who had fought at
Musgrove's Mill and King's Mountain, riflemen,
*Jolinson's Traditions, p. 308.
tCrordon, vol. 4, p. 31.
jGordon, vol. 4, p. 31.
(202)
with Deckards in their hands, and withal were as
good troops as any that Morgan had in his com-
mand. The first dash that Morgan made at the
British, McDowell's mounted men, under Colonel
McCall, who ranked Major McDowell, constituted
two-thirds of the force.
On the second day after Morgan's arrival at his
camp, information was brought him that 250 Tories
had advanced from the Savannah River to a point
twenty miles south of him, and were committing
outrages on the Whigs. Morgan detached Colonel
Washington with 75 cavalry, McCall's small com-
mand, and McDowell's mounted men in quest of
this party. The Tories, hearing of his approach,
retreated to Hammond's Store, twenty miles further
south, where Washington overtook them and imme-
diately ordered a charge. It was a bloody retribu-
tion that so early overtook these marauders. The
killed and wounded were 150, prisoners 40 ; the
remainder' escaped. These men, cowardly and
vindictive, had come to plunder and oppress their
neighbors, supposing that there was no resistance
to encounter, and they fell victims of justice before
an outraged foe. McCall's men remembered that
Colonel Brown., the Tory who occupied Augusta,
had, a few weeks before, brought twelve Whig
prisoners into his house, where he lay wounded,
and had them hung in his presence from the stair-
way, one by one, and other twelve he had delivered
to his Indian allies, who tortured them to death at
(203.)
the stake. Such fiends deserved every vengeance
that justice could inflict.
Morgan having some apprehension for the safety
of Colonel Washington, who was near Tarletoii's
Legion of 250 cavalry, crossed the Pacolet and
advanced to cover his retreat. This done he resumed
his former post.
Lord Cornwallis was restless over these bold
movements of his enemy, and concluded to open the
campaign again which he had abandoned in the
winter. General Leslie had been sent south with
2000 men as a reinforcement, and they were
approaching Camden, as Cornwallis explained
afterwards, to threaten Greene, and were to be
moved rapidly across to Winnsboro, where the
combined army was to be thrown forward between
the Catawba and the Broad Rivers to separate
Greene from Morgan, and Morgan was to be anni-
hilated by a corps of the best troops, selected for
that purpose, and under the command of Lieuten-
ant Colonel Banistre Tarleton, a more vindictive
and merciless marauder than Ferguson ; but of a
class usually chosen by Cornwallis to do the inhu-
man work which he was ashamed to do in person.
His orders were to "push Morgan to the utmost."
He did "push" Morgan in the race, but Tarleton
was \\\ front of it just a little ahead of "Washing-
ton's cavalry. He underrated Morgan, who, Ban-
croft says, " was at that time the ablest commander
of light troops in the world; in no European army
of that day were there troops like those he trained."*
*Bancroft's History, vol. 5, p. 480.
(204)
The vainglorious correspondence between Corn-
wallis and Tarleton reminds one of some of the
ludicrous scenes in the comic opera of the "Grand
Duchess":
1781. "Dear Tarleton," affectionately writes his
lordship, on the 2d of January, "if Morgan is still
anywhere within your reach I shall wish you to push
him to the utmost. No time is to be lost !"
"My Lord," Tarleton responds, "I will either destroy
Morgan's corps or push it to King's Mountain.
"I feel bold in offering my opinion, as it flows from
well-grounded inquiry of the enemy's intentions."
" Dear Tarleton : You have understood my inten-
tions perfectly."
Those "intentions" were understood to mean
that if Morgan was overcome his corps was to be
""destroyed" after the precedent set at the Wax-
haws.
Cornwailis was to advance towards Charlotte a.
few days ahead of Tarleton, in order to capture the
fugitives from Morgan's defeated army and prevent
them from joining Greene; but without informing
Tarleton of his change of mind, he concluded to
await at Turkey Creek, forty miles north of Winns-
boro, the result of Tarleton's expedition, having
wisely, considered that it was possible that as unex-
pected a reverse might attend Tarleton as that
which overtook Ferguson.
On the 1 4th January, Tarleton crossed the Enoree
and Tyger rivers above Cherokee Ford and north-
(205)
west of it. These tributaries of the Broad flow east
into that stream. On the i5th, Morgan was at
Burr's Mill on Thicketty Creek. He there received
information of Tarleton's approach with noo men
and was anxious^ to avoid an action if possible. He
sent a courier to Greene informing him of his desires
and reminding him that he had previously urged
that he be recalled to the main army, as the country
was laid waste and no subsistence was to be found.
On the 1 5th, Morgan crossed Thicketty Creek
and marched north toward the Broad, which here
runs almost east, while in the evening Tarleton
occupied the camp he left at Burr's Mill.
Tarletou's command consisted of 550 men which
constituted his Legion, the yth regiment of 200
men, the first battalion of the yist regiment, the
light infantry of the yist, and some loyalists who
were the "bummers" of that dav. To this was
added two field pieces served by a detachment of
royal artillery; amounting in all to eleven hundred
men, though Tarleton says he had only 1000 men.
Morgan's corps consisted of 320 men from the
Maryland line, 200 Virginia militia, Colonel Wash-
ington's cavalry, 75 men these making 575 men
of all arms with which he started. To this were
added McDowell's mounted North Carolina volun-
teers, 190 men, Davidson's Mecklenburg volunteers,
a part of whom, however, were from Tryon in all
310 North Carolinians, Pickens' South Carolinians,
70 men, and the Georgians under McCall, about 30.
Sum total 985 men.
(206)
It is probable that a few Georgia militia were
added to this command before the battle took place.
Banistre Tarleton was born in Liverpool, August
2ist, 1754, and was not yet twenty-seven years old,
but he was notorious even at that age not famous
but infamous. He had selected and trained his
Legion and infused his own spirit and opinions into
it. He set examples and they followed them. He
declared " that severity alone could effect the estab-
lishment of regal authority in America," and exer-
cised that severity without mercy or humanity
whenever opportunity offered.
A writer who was cotemporary with him says:
"It is difficult to speak with temper of a man whose
invariable aim was to destroy, whose resentments
were only to be appeased by an increasing flow of
blood." :i:
The slaughter of Buforcl's men was so cruel and
heartless that an American officer of undoubted
integrity, who visited his wretched victims, declares
that
" Many of them were left in a perfect state of naked-
ness, having been stript of every article of clothing ; and
that the wounds inflicted amounted on an average to
sixteen to each individual."! Finally, "after partaking of
the hospitality of the widow of General Richardson, he
not only plundered the house and burned it, but spurned
this venerable lady with his foot. "I
*Garden, p. 284.
fGarden, p. 284.
JGarden, p. 284.
(20 7 )
Such was the venomous character of the man
who was nearing the Cowpens, and in sight
of King's Mountain was burning vvith rage against
Ferguson's conquerors. How many horrors were
averted by his defeat no human wisdom can calcu-
late.
Morgan's camp was at the Cowpens, "on a wide
plain covered with primeval pines and chestnut and
oak, about sixteen miles from Spartanburg, seven
miles from Cherokee Ford on the Broad River, and
a little less than five miles south from the North
Carolina line."* It was also on the same ground
where the "Backwater men" encamped the even-
ing of the 6th of October and refreshed themselves
for the night march in pursuit of Ferguson, and
in Morgan's camp were a part of those same men
who had brought him to bay and scattered his
army to the four winds of heaven. Feeling the
pride of conquest, they were ready to pluck fresh
laurels for their brow by disposing of Tarleton as
they did of Ferguson. McDowell's'.men were eager
*br the fray. Morgan's little army were in the best
spirits over their recent adventure with the Tories,
ai}d the regulars were anxious to wipe out the
recollection of Camden by a victory at Cowpens.
Tarleton believed at that time that Corn wallis was in
the rear of Morgan, instead of being a day's march
southeast of him, waiting events at Turkey Creek;
consequently Tarleton moved northwest towards
the upper Pacolet to drive Morgan east into the
*Bancroftj vol. 5, p. 482.
(208)
snare they had set for him. Morgan had announced
at Cowpens, to his army, his resolution to fight,,
and the cry to "lead them to victory" was the
response from every lip. He therefore moved south
on the 1 6th to intercept and fight Tarleton at the
crossing of the Pacolet, but Tarleton, suddenly
turning down from the upper Pacolet, crossed that
stream above Morgan to its northern bank. This
necessitated the falling back of Morgan to his
former position at the Cowpens, where he deter-
mined to give Tarleton battle.
1781. Tarleton halted the evening of the 1 6th on
the ground the Americans had left, and finding that
Morgan had retreated, supposed that he intended
to fly in order to avoid a battle. Early on the
morning of the ijih day of January Tarleton
resumed his march to overtake Morgan.
" It was 8 o'clock A. M. that the British army
arrived in view of the Americans; and instead of
overtaking his adversary in the hurry and confu-
sion and fatigue of a flight, Tarleton found him
rested, breakfasted, deliberately drawn up, every
man at his post, and their commander in a popular
and forcible style of elocution haranguing them." 1
Tarleton had been five hours on the march
through the darkness and his troops were much
fatigued, but he determined to take advantage of
the excitement and attack at once.
Morgan has been criticised severely by tacticians
for his selection of ground, the Broad River being
*Johnsou's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 372.
(209)
in his rearancl his wings unprotected "in the air,"
but Morgan's genius rose above the rules of theorists
and was successful. In defence of himself he wrote :
" I W'tild not have a swamp in view of my militia for
any consideration." They would have made for it and
nothing' could have detained them. As to covering my
wings, I knew my adversary, and was perfectly sure I
should have nothing but downright fighting. As to
retreat, it was the very thing I wished to cut off all hope
of. I would have thanked Tarleton if he had surrounded
me with his cavalry. It would have been better than
placing my own men in the rear to shoot down those
who broke from the ranks. When men are forced to
fight they will sell their lives dearly ; and I knew that
the diead of Tarleton's cavalry would give due weight
to the protection of my bayonets and keep my troops
from breaking as Buford's regiment did. Had I crossed
the river one-half the militia would have immediately
abandoned me."
The reasoning is sound and the result proved
that it was correct.
There was a slope of three hundred and fifty
yards gently ascending to an eminence on which
Morgan had taken his ground. It was covered with
an open wood. "On the crown of this eminence
was posted 290 Maryland regulars, and in line on
their right the two companies of the Virginia militia
under Triplet and Tate and a compaii}^ of Georgians
under Captain Beattie, about 140 in the whole,
making his rear line to consist of 430 men. This
14
(210)
was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hoxrard of
Maryland."
In front of this line and about one hundred and
fifty yards distant was the second line composed of
190 North Carolina militia,* all of whom had seen
service and were good soldiers, and about 80 South
Carolinians. Johnson puts this line as 270 men.
I am persuaded, however, that it was stronger than
this, because the Mecklenburg militia numbered
150 and perhaps only one-half, or 95, of McDowell's
men were detailed as sharp-shooters in the front.
This would leave 245 North Carolinians for the
second line, and these added to the 70 South Caro-
linians would make the total 315 instead of 270
men, which is approximately correct. I judge this
too from the gallant stand made by these troops,
who were really veteran militia, except the new
recruits recently organized by Pickens. It was
these veterans who did the destructive work with
their Deckard rifles that caused such slaughter
among the British officers and threw them into con-
fusion for want of orders and leaders. The militia,
or second line, was put under the command of
Colonel Andrew Pickens, of South Carolina, who
was the ranking officer.
In front of the militia, and one hundred and fifty
yards in advance, General Morgan posted 150 picked
riflemen as sharp-shooters, whose orders were to
shoot for the "men who wore the epaulettes" kill
the officers. It is probable, as we have seen, that
*Ramsay's South Carolina, p. 225.
13^- ^-^ ^^Z^Vt?^^--" 4 "-- 5
^^acr-i-^* :r,i7^r
- I'-'S.:;."^
T:
- 5a F
546*
(211)
at least 95 of these men were North Carolinians ;
the other 55 were Georgians, remnants of Clark's
command. The Georgians were on the right, com-
manded by Cunningham and Jackson, and the North
Carolinians, under Major Joseph McDowell of Burke
County, North Carolina, were on the left.
In the rear of the regulars, under Howard, the
ground descended gently and then rose again to
another eminence, and behind this eminence, and
concealed from view and secure from the cannonade,
was Washington's cavalry, numbering about 90, and
McCall's mounted, men, about 35, Baking only 125
cavalry, to oppose the Legion of 550 men.
The order to the sharp-shooters was to cover
themselves by trees, if necessary, and not to fire
until the enemy was in fifty yards ; after the first
fire they were to fall back, loading and firing until
they came to the main line under Colonel Pickens,
where they were to fall in with the militia. This
would give the second line a force of 450 men at
least.
The order to the militia or second line was to
deliver two deliberate charges at the distance of fifty
yards and then retire and take their post on the left
of the regulars. If charged by cavalry every third
man was to fire and two remain in reserve, lest the
cavalry should continue to advance after the first
fire, or these reserves were to fire if the cavalry
wheeled to retire.
The orders to the regulars were to fire low and
deliberately, not to break on any account, and if
(212)
forced to retire to rally on the eminence in their
rear.
The baggage and militia horses had been sent
several miles to the rear under a small escort.
The order was then given to all the force to
"ease their joints," that is, to assume comfortable
attitudes until the enemy came in sight. All were
in high spirits and full of confidence.
Morgan went along the lines encouraging the
men and exhorting them to stand firm and assuring
them that they were about to gain a great victory.
No doubt too that all eyes had surveyed the King's
Mountain, not far distant in their view, and gathered
from that glorious field fresh inspiration to their
courage. They were reminded that militia alone
had defeated Ferguson and that Tarleton's troops
were, many of them, only galvanized regulars
recruited from the ranks of desperate' Tories who
cared to follow Tarleton more for plunder than for
fight.
These noble men calmly surveyed the British as
they deployed into line and waited their onset with
the coolness of men determined to win.
Tarletou gives the formation of his troops as
follows :
"The light infantry were ordered to file to the
right till they became equal to the flank of the
American front line; the Legion infantry were
added to their left and, under the fire of a three-
pounder, this part of the British troops was
instructed to advance within three hundred yards
(213)
of^the enemy. This situation being acquired, the
7th regiment was commanded to form on the left
of the Legion infantry, and the other three-pounder
was given to the right division of the yth ; a cap-
tain with fifty dragoons was placed on each flank
of the corps, who formed the British front line, to
protect their own and threaten the flanks of the
enemy; the first battalion of the yist was desired
to extend a little to the left of the second regiment
and to remain 150 yards in the rear. This body
of infantry, and near 200 cavalry, composed the
reserve. During the execution of these arrange-
ments the animation of the officers and the alacrity
of the soldiers afforded the most promising assu-
rances of success."
Tarleton now advanced to reconnoiter the Amer-
ican lines, but received a volley from the sharp-
shooters in ambush. The cavalry were ordered to
dislodge them, but fifteen saddles were quickly
emptied. The sharp-shooters then retired, slowly
firing as opportunity offered, until they reached the
main line of the militia.
The deadly aim of these riflemen, now for the
first time encountered by Tarleton, so demoralized
his cavalry that they could not be induced, after
this, to charge upon them, and Tarleton complains
severely against his troops for their consternation
and want of daring. This rifle was an arm so
destructive in the hands of men trained to its use
in the hunting grounds of the mountains that it
required the most desperate courage to advance
within its range.
Tarleton's whole line now advanced steadily
under the fire of their artillery until the " dead
line " of fifty yards distance was reached, when the
riflemen, obeying orders, took deliberate aim,
" marking as much as possible the epaulette men,"
and fired upon their assailants.
As the shrill crack, sharp and thrilling,- resounded
through the forest, the officers of the British line
reeled like drunken men, or tnrew up their hands
in the agonies of death and fell to the ground, and
the sting of the bullet caused many a brave soldier
to recoil from the charge. Still these trained men
pressed forward in the face of death and received a
fire more galling than the first. With bayonets
fixed they moved forward again, and the 'militia,
obeying the instructions given them, retired behind
the regulars and on to the eminence in the rear.
But the work had been done by them ; the mortal
wound had been inflicted. The British were with-
out officers and the line became a tumultuous mob,
carried forward without method or order.
The regulars now received them, firing low and
striking the moving targets as they ascended the
slope. The line halted, but continued to fire for
thirty minutes, but the fire grew less frequent and
slower in repetition. Tarleton was soldier enough
to know that this was the precursor of retreat, and
quickly ordered up the yist regiment into line and
restored the attack ; he also ordered the cavalry to
(215)
sweep upon the American left and turn their right
flank. A portion of Tarletoii's dragoons had
charged upon the militia in their retreat around the
American left, and Colonel Washington, discovering
the danger, made a furious charge from his covert
under the eminence, and taking them by surprise,
drove them in disorder to their lines. The militia-
were now enabled to make their way undisturbed,
and in order, around the second eminence to the
right flank of the American line.
Morgan, perceiving the threatened charge on his
right flank, ordered the militia to form at right
angles to the regulars and repel this assault of the
cavalry. This movement of the militia was under-
stood by llie regulars as the signal for their retreat
to the second eminence, and they fell back in order.
Tarleton, supposing this meant flight from the
field, was exultant with joy, and sounded the charge
along his whole line. The Americans were now
in line on the second eminence, with the militia in
order, covering their right flank, and as the British
rushed forward with a shout, to run over and trample
down and bayonet the expected fugitives, they were
shocked with a terrific fire from the whole Ameri-
can line.
Morgan, who kept close to his regulars, had
marched slowly back with them and watched the
place he had selected for a stand. As the line came
to the spot he called out in a stentorian voice,
u Face about, give them one fire and the victory
is ours !" The British were coming on in great
(216}
disorder, at only thirty paces distant, and many
of the Americans fired with their guns in the posi-
tion for the use of the bayonet. Colonel Wash-
ington had discovered the confusion of the enemy
also, and cried out, "They are coming like a mob;
give them one fire and I will charge them." As soon
as the fire was delivered Morgan ordered a charge,
and in a moment was upon the confused mass, strik-
ing them down on every hand. The British were so
bewildered by this sudden onset, and thrown into
such confusion by their loss of officers, that they
fell on their faces in consternation and begged
piteously for quarter. The cry was heard, u Give
them Tarleton's quarters," but Colonel Howard,
calling to his men, reminded them of their duty to
a fallen foe. Hearing his voice his soldiers obeyed
his order and spared the men, who, a few moments
before, were impatient to repeat the carnage in
which they had revelled at the Waxhaws.
The cavalry of the Legion seeing the riflemen in
their front again, and witnessing the discomfiture
of the infantry, could not be brought to the charge,
but turning their heads they fled in confusion,
trampling down their officers who vainly tried to
rally them, and never stopped until they reached
the camp of Cornwallis on Turkey Creek.
Washington had fallen upon the enemy's right
and was making for the artillery. Morgan ordered
one company to go to his support, and putting the
prisoners under three other companies, he wheeled
upon the yist, which was still maintaining its
(217)
ground. The British cavalry was gone, the militia
disengaged bore down also on the 7ist, and all
hope of escape having vanished, Colonel McArthur
surrendered, Colonel Pickens receiving his sword.
It was j nst at this time that Washington made
so narrow an escape from death. The affair is thus
related :
"Whilst Washington was engaged with the artillerists
Colonel Tarleton, at the head of all the cavalry who would
follow him, hastened to their relief. Washington per-
ceiving his approach, ordered his men to advance, and
dashed forward himself.
' l Tarleton prudently ordered a retreat. Being of course
in the rear of his men, and looking behind, he perceived
that Washington was very near him and full thirty yards
ahead of his troops. Attended by two officers lie
advanced to meet Washington.
" One of the officers led, and parryinga blow aimed at
him by Washington, the sword of the latter proved of
inferior temper and broke midway. The next effort
must have brought Washington to the ground. But a
little henchman, not fourteen years old, who was devoted
to his master, and carried no other weapon but a pistol
at his saddle bow, had pressed forward to share or avert
the danger that threatened his beloved master, and arrived
in time to discharge the contents of his pistol into the
shoulder that brandished the sword over Washington's
head. It fell powerless, but the other officer had his
sword all ready to inflict the wound, when Sergeant
Major Perry reached the side of his commander just in
time to receive the sword-arm of the officer upon the
edge of his extended weapon. The wound also broke
(218)
this blow. But Colonel Tarleton in the meantime was
securely aiming another from his pistol. The noble
animal that bore Washington was destined to receive the
ball that had, rather discourteously, been aimed at his
rider. Poor Perry's destiny was bound up with that of
his commander, for at the battle of Eutaw, when the
latter was made prisoner, Perry, by the same discharge,
fell under five wounds. We are uninformed, but believe
that he never recovered from them.' 1
The victory was complete. Tarleton rallied,
according to his account, fourteen officers and forty
men and escaped from the field. Colonel Wash-
ington's cavalry were unable to catch him in the
pursuit.
It was Miss Jones, of Halifax, North Carolina,
who had the encounter of words with Tarleton
abont Washington. Tarleton, with a sneer of dis-
dain, said he would like to see Colonel Washington
of whom she spoke in such terms of praise. " You
could easily have seen him by looking back at
Cowpens," was the sarcastic reply.
The material results of this splendid victory were
two field pieces, which had heretofore been captured
at Saratoga, then retaken at Camden, and now by
the fortunes of war were in the hands of Morgan
again, eight hundred muskets, two stands of colors,-
thirty-five baggage wagons, one hundred dragoon
horses and their equipments.
The battle lasted fifty minutes, about the same
as the battle of King's Mountain. The American
^Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 382.
(219)
loss was comparatively small, the British, as
usual, shooting too high. The whole loss of the
Americans was only IT killed and 61 wounded, no
officer of rank being in the list.
The British loss was about 150 killed, 200
wounded and 400 prisoners. At least one-tenth of
their killed and wounded were officers, picked off
by the militia riflemen. Ten officers were found
in front of the militia where they received the first
fire, and to this was attributed the confusion that
ensued as they advanced. The men receiving no
orders, every man advanced at his \vill and the
lines became confused.
Johnson, speaking of this fire, says: u At the
assigned distance they delivered their fire with
unerring aim and it was the magnanimous confes-
sion of a gallant officer of the Maryland line who
fought on this day 'that here the battle was
gained/ and the killed and wounded lying in their
front fully justified the assertion."
The fatality among the British troops was won-
derful, perhaps never equalled except at King's
Mountain. There were about 650 infantry soldiers
who bore the brunt of the battle and the killed and
wounded were 350; assigning 50 to the cavalry,
which is full enough, and we have 300 men, out of
650, killed or wounded. There was no slaughter
here after the battle was over, either, as was alleged
at King's Mountain. It was simply the "unerring
aim" of the North Carolina and Georgia riflemen;
for the Georgians were veterans and also armed
( 2 2 O )
with the rifle. Of the men who served under
McDowell we have but little information, as no
permanent records were ever kept of these numer-
ous expeditions. We do know, however, that Cap-
tain Joseph McDowell, a first cousin of the Major,
who was known as "Pleasant Garden Joe," was
among the "bravest of the brave," and followed
the fortunes of the Burke men into every conflict.
He was so prominent as to have misled Wheeler
into the error of assigning him to the command.
I have, however, examined the evidence and it is
conclusive that he did not command, but was only
a captain, both at King's Mountain and Cowpens.
To this conclusion Mr. Draper has also arrived,
after a most patient and exhaustive research. The
evidence is chiefly the affidavits of men who applied
for pensions and who speak of "Quaker Meadows
Joe," or "General Joe," as their commander, for
he was, after the revolution, made a general of
militia. " Pleasant Garden Joe," Draper says, " was
a physician and is regarded as having possessed
the brightest intellect of any of the connection."
Thomas Kennedy was another captain. He was
wounded at Ramsour's Mill, shared in the battles
of Cane Creek and King's Mountain. He removed
to Kentucky and served in the legislature and
convention of that State, and was quite a prominent
citizen.
David Vance, the grandfather of United States
Senator Z. B. Vance and Congressman General
Robert Vance, of North Carolina, was a conspicu-
( 2 2 I )
ous figure in all the campaigns, and to the Vance-
Henry memoranda we are largely indebted for the
information we have of these men. Vance was too
modest to record his own exploits and they are lost.
We also find mention made of Samuel Wood and
Joseph White as'captains in this command. Both
followed the immigration west to the u dark and
bloody ground" of Kentucky. Edmund Fear and
John Ligman were also captains the latter a
prominent leader.
It is the fault of history to give too much promi-
nence to commanders and ignore the men who died
or fought to make them great, and in that way the
truth is confounded. Colonel Andrew Pickens, by
mere accident, outranked Major McDowell, and
being in command, and from South Carolina, her
historians are ever ready to ascribe all the glory of
Cowpens to that State, when the fact is she had
fewer troops present than either Georgia or North
Carolina, and these were citizens who had, like
Pickens, been forced to take British protection and
had been quiet in the struggle. Finding an oppor-
tunity now to throw off the yoke, they enlisted
under Pickens and figuratively fought u with halters
around their necks," as Judge. Johnson of that State
relates.
I do not detract from the noble life and patriotic
deeds of this gallant South Carolinian. No North
Carolinian can afford to take one laurel from his
crown of honor, for we shall see in the sequel that
when he came to North Carolina, without troops,
(222)
he was honored with position, and became so identi-
fied with North Carolina history that it is difficult
to assign him, as a military chieftain, to our sister
State. He won his spurs and his Brigadier Gene-
ral's commission at the head of North Carolina
soldiers. North Carolina is entitled to share any
honor that may be ascribed to him in this great
struggle for independence.
In our zeal to give to North Carolina her proper
credit for this victory, we must not forget to assign
all the honor due the Maryland line and its distin-
guished commander, who afterwards became the
Governor of his State. It was a Spartan band who
had "pushed bayonets" (to use the phrase of that
day) with the British at Camden and drove them
from their front; they, with Dixon's North Caro-
linians, and the "blue hen's chickens" of Dela-
ware, were the only mourners around the dying
DeKalb; they alone had followed him to the death
and avenged him with the blood' of the men who
murdered their fallen leader. Major Anderson of
this line was the only officer who brought off an
organized force from that ill-fated field, and all that
remains of him is mingled with North Carolina
soil at "Guilford Court-House," where he fell.
No mark distinguishes his resting-place as yet,
but it is a reproach which ought not longer to rest
on his fellow-citizens, who followed after to enjoy
the blessings purchased with his blood.
Another hero of this veteran band was Captain
John Smith, who met the Honorable Lieutenant
(223)
Colonel Stewart, of the yist, in personal combat at
Cowpens, and when separated, was menaced with
the promise, "we shall meet again." The promise
was kept, and Colonel Stewart's sword is now in
an American museum, instead of hanging in honor
aniong the heir-looms of his family. North Caro-
lina regulars came to Washington's rescue in the
hour of his "extremest danger," and far from
home, without a chronicler, these deeds of valor are
only seen here and there through the crevices of
histories which were opened to illuminate the con-
duct of others who stood by them. Let it not go
unsaid that these brave Marylanders were the very
heart of Greene's little army, that gave to it vitality
and force, and that its blood moistened the soil of
the Carolinas in every conflict from Camden to
Eutaw. The names of Howard, and Anderson, and
Ford, and Smith, all heroes indeed, should be em-
blazoned on imperishable granite, where they could
be u seen and read of all men," as future genera-
tions may pass before it. Baltimore, "the Monu-
mental City," has strangely forgotten the memory
of those who gave this nation an existence and
honored a few who repulsed simply an assault
which was made upon it.
How bitter was the disappointment of the British
commander at this defeat of his pet Lieutenant is
reflected through the account of Stedman, who
upbraids Tarleton with incompetency and rashness
and depreciates him as a military leader.
(224)
"During the whole period of the war," he says, "no
other action reflected so much dishonor upon the British
arms. The British were superior in numbers. Morgan
had only 540 Continentals, the rest militia. Tarleton's
force composed the light troops of Lord Cornwallis' army.
Every disaster that befell Lord Cornwallis after Tarle-
ton's most shameful defeat at the Cowpens, may most
justly be attributed to the imprudence and unsoldierly
conduct of that officer in the action. It was asked why
he did not consult Majors McArthur and Newmarsh,
officers of experience and reputation who had been in
service before Tarleton was born? *
Is it possible for the mind to form any other conclusion
than that there was a radical defect, and a want of mili-
tary knowledge on the part of Colonel Tarleton ? That
he possesses personal bravery, inferior to no man, is-
beyond a doubt ; but his talents at the period we are
speaking of never exceeded that of a partisan captain of
light dragoons, daring in skirmishes."*
It is a singular coincidence in history that both
the victor and the vanquished were severely criti-
cised by their friends ; but the strictures on Morgan
were by scientific soldiers who never fought in a
Parthian war or had the sons of the forest to com-
pose their irregular lines. Irregular troops cannot
be restrained or handled like the disciplined
machinery of a continental line; they must have
latitude for individual thought and be allowed some
discretion themselves in the combat. Morgan, who
had been one of these "irregulars" in early life,
*Stedman's History, vol. 2, p. 324.
was cognizant of these peculiarities and knew how
to utilize them in times of danger.
This triumph of Morgan's was the most pro-
nounced and brilliant of any achieved by the South-
ern army, prior to Yorktown. In fifty minutes a
wh jle corps of the army of Cornwallis was destroyed,
and this in the hearing of the British cannon. It
was not Provincials or Tories who u fell on then
faces and begged for quarters;" it was the flower of
the British army; regulars, veterans, men who had
been soldiers ''before Tarletoii was born."
The humiliation of their prestige was the more
keenly felt because they were routed by the
"militia," whom they affected to contjmn and
despise.
Morgan had proved his skill and strategy in the
field and in battle and demonstrated his wonderful
influence over his troops; by the celerity of his
movements, his unceasing vigilance and masterly
tactics, he was now about to win for himself the
honor of being the Xenophon of the Revolution.
We shall narrate the wonders of his retreat in
the next chapter.
CHAPTER V.
Morgan's Retreat from Cowpens to the Catawba River Sends his
Prisoners by Island Ford to Virginia He Crosses the Catawba
with his Main Army at Sherrill's Ford January 2^(1, 1781
Cornwallis reaches Ramsour's Mill the 25th Destroys all his
Heavy Baggage Greene meets Morgan the 3oth at the Ca-
tawba : Orders the Army from "Camp Repose" to Join
Morgan on the Yadkin Battle at Cowan's Ford February
i st Death of General William Lee Davidson Frederick
Hager, the Tory, Fires the Fatal Shot Morgan Crosses the
Yadkin at Trading Ford The two Armies Unite Finally at
Guilford Court-House February loth General Morgan Disa-
bled by Rheumatism Greene's Great Confidence in Him
Retreat of Greene into Virginia Crosses the Dan, February
1 4th.
^ I ^HE British army was resting quietly in camp
-* on Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Broad
River, in the northwestern corner of what is now
York County, South Carolina, and only twenty-
five miles from Cowpens, where the battle was
fought, waiting, as his lordship says, for L,eslie to
reach him. The fright that followed King's Moun-
tain had not entirely subsided, and he intended to
secure his position and avoid another plunge
through the blackjack mud before he advanced into
North Carolina again.
He had confidence in " Dear Tarleton," too, and
was, perhaps, sipping a glass of wine, of which he
was very fond, to make his heart glad and put it
in unison with the tidings which he was every
moment expecting from that intrepid leader.
(227)
\Vhen tlie night gathered around his camp the
sound of the cavalry approaching with rapid gait
\Vcis heard, the wary sentinel challenged the ad-
vance, the countersign was exchanged, and then
the news was broken : u Tarleton is defeated and
his corps destroyed." No more revelry now; grief
and dismay were written on every face; the guards
were doubled and parties sent to gather more tidings
from the battle. It came, but only sorrow was
added to dismay. Cornwallis seems to have been
dumbfounded by the appalling news, and not
knowing what to do, he did nothing for a whole
day, and that da}' Morgan made his escape and
carried his prisoners out of the reach of British
pursuit.
The battle began about half-past 8 o'clock in the
morning early for that season of the year and
was over by 10 o'clock. Morgan knew that Tarle-
ton \s cavalry had left without standing "on the order
of their going," and that before the sun set Corn-
wallis would be apprised of the defeat of his troops ;
that if Cornwallis acted as his situation demanded
he would at once advance northward to throw him-
self between Morgan and Greene and prevent a
junction of their commands and, if fortune favored,
overtake Morgan and rescue the prisoners and
scatter his forces in the mountains. Morgan,
therefore, immediately detailed Colonel Pickens to
bury the dead and collect the wounded of both
armies and provide them with what comforts he
could from the captured stores and tents of the
(223)
enemy, while he began the retreat. The day was
spent in this work, and the unfortunate men were
left in tents under a safeguard and a flag and
Pickens, with his mounted command, made all
haste to overtake his general.
Morgan had left before noon, taking the pris-
oners and cannon and captured muskets and ammu-
nition along. The other wagons and all the heavy
baggage that could not be removed were burned on
the field. Morgan was still, however, encumbered
with so many prisoners that his inarch was neces-
sarily slow, but he persevered with all the energy
possible, being aware that his safety depended on
eluding the pursuit of the main army under Corn-
wallis. He intended, if Cornwallis got between
him. and Greene, to retreat into or across the moun-
tains, if necessary, and either fight at some strong
pass or make his way by a circuitous route into
Virginia. But the fatal delay of one day by Corn-
wallis gave Morgan the requisite start, and he
never lost the distance and advantage which was
thus given him.
He left the battle-field shortly after noon of the
same day it was fought and crossed Broad River,
in Rutherford County, that evening. Early on the
morning of the i8th Morgan resumed his march,
going north towards Gilberttown; the same line
of advance and retreat formerly travelled by 'the
King's Mountain men, no doubt being guided by
the McDowells who knew every path and strong
position in the country. Patrols were sent out in
(229)
the direction of approach of the army of Corn-
wallis and, on their return in the evening, Morgan
was as much surprised as delighted to learn that
not only had Coniwallis not moved yet, but that
there were no signs ot his moving. All was u sn-
pineness and indecision" around his camp.
At Gilberttown, three miles from where the town
of Rntherfordton now is, Morgan u detached the
greater part of his militia and a part of Colonel
Washington's cavalry (as a guard) with the pris-
oners. The detachment took the Cane Creek road,
through the ledge of mountains which divides the
head-waters of the South Fork from the main
Caftiwba, and then down the Catawba near where
Morgan ton now stands, and on, until they crossed
at the Island Ford. At this ford Washington's
cavalry left the prisoners with the militia (under
Pickens) and rejoined Morgan."* This reconciles
the contention that Morgan crossed at Island Ford.
It was only this part of his force that crossed
there, while he himself, with his main army, which
he constantly kept between his militia and prisoners
on the one hand and Coniwallis on the other,
crossed at Sherrill's Ford, eight or nine miles further
down the stream. He had approached Sherrill's
Ford by taking the old Flint Hill road running
east from Gilberttown and leading across the South
Fork River, about one mile northwest of the present
town of Lincolnton, at Gattis' Ford, to Ramsour's
Mill, on Clark's Creek, which is about half mile
^General Joseph Graham in the University Magax.ine, vol. 5, p. 104.
(230)
from the junction of that creek with the South
Fork. Morgan crossed at SherriU's Ford on the
evening of the 23d of January, 1781.
1781. At the Island Ford, on the east bank of the
Catawba, "Major Hyrne, the Commissary of pris-
oners, received from Pickens the 600 prisoners," and
they took the upper route, going northwest, into Vir-
ginia. Prisoners were generally kept in the neigh-
borhood of Charlottesville, Virginia, at that date.
Returning now to the British camp we find that
it was not until the iQth, the second day after the
battle, that Cornwallis moved north, taking all
his cumbrous baggage along, and with orders to
the cavalry to return to his camp every night. He
marched up the east bank of the Broad, crossing
Buffalo and King's Creek, to the second, or little
Broad River, where, hearing that Morgan had gone
east, he turned to the northeast until he came to
the old Flint Hill road, which Morgan had traveled,
and thence down that road to Ramsour's Mill, on
the 25th day of January, 1781. If he had made a
forced march, even as late as the iQth, directly
across from Turkey Creek, he could have easily
reached Ramsour's Mill on the 2oth, where he
would have intercepted Morgan at this junction of
their respective roads, and Tarleton censures Corn-
wallis for not moving in that direction. It is prob-
able, however, that Morgan would have been early
advised of this movement and escaped by the upper
route. When Cornwallis reached Ramsour's Mill
Morgan had crossed the Catawba River twenty-five
miles beyond and was read} to turn the captured
cannon on his British pursuers.
It is a common error, in the histories of this
remarkable retreat, to attribute the escape of Morgan,
from the pursuit of Cornwallis, to the sudden
rise in the water of the Catawba. Providence may
have confounded the judgment of Cornwallis and
thus retarded his march, but up to this time, had
not sent the floods to redeem the patriot host.
Morgan outstripped the British army in the race
and had a day of rest before resuming it again.
The vigilance of Morgan was unceasing; he was
soon informed that Cornwallis had stopped at
Ramsour's Mill for reflection and he took advantage
of it to rest his own troops on the eastern bank of
the Catawba while the militia under Pickens were
pushing the prisoners out of reach. Morgan was
anxious to secure every one of them to exchange
for the Continental line of North Carolina, cap-
tured at Charleston, who were then languishing
and wasting away in the British prison ships.
Greene had sorely lamented the paroling of the
King's Mountain prisoners, by which he had lost
the opportunity for exchange.
Cornwallis had lost the iyth and iSth of January
in his camp waiting for Leslie, and when he did
move he took six days of a circuitous route to reach
Ramsour's Mill, which he ought to have reached
in two. At Ramsour's Mill some fatuity over-
shadowed his reason and caused him to stop two
davs more.
(232)
On the 25th of January, the day that Cormvallis
reached Ramsour's Mill, the news of Morgan's
victory reached General Greene at his camp on
the Pee Dee. His little army was immediately
ordered to prepare to march to the assist;, n ? of
Morgan. The troops were poorly clad ana the
winter was cold ; but they received the orders of
their commander with cheerfulness and confidence.
The 25th, 26th and 2/th of January were spent in
energetic preparation for the march, and the most
minute orders were given as to every detail before
General Greene would consent to leave.
On the 28th, the day that Cormvallis left Ram-
sour's Mill, General Greene did what will be deemed
by many the most imprudent act of his life. " With
only a guide, an aid and a sergeant's guard of cavalry,
he struck across the country to join Morgan and
aid him in his arduous operations." The distance
he had to traverse was one hundred miles; yet on
the 3oth we have his letters dated from Sherrill's
Ford. :;: Erroneous traditions have crept into history
that after Greene's arrival he and Morgan disagreed
or quarreled, and that for this reason Morgan so
soon retired from the campaign. Nothing is further
from the truth. They were cordial, confidential
and in entire accord. They both agreed that if
Cornwallis resumed the pursuit, before the prisoners
had been far enough away for security, that they
would give him battle as he crossed the stream.
They were in no hurry to leave.
*Johnson's Life; of Greene, vol. i, p. 403.
The proper name is Sherrill's, not Sherard's Ford.
(233)
The army of Greene had been ordered to march up
the Yadkin (called lower down the Pee Dee) and to
be in position near Salisbury to join Morgan, and
were now on their way under General H tiger.
Lord Cornwallis, having lost most of his light
troops at Cowpehs, determined to relieve himself
of ever_v possible encumbrance and enter with
renewed ardor upon the pursuit of Morgan. Sted-
man says that
"Previously to the arrival of the British troops on the
banks of the Catawba, Lord Cornwallis, considering that
the loss of his light troops could only be remedied by
the activity of the whole army, resolved to destroy all
the superfluous baggage. By first reducing the size aud
quantity of his own, he set an example which was cheer-
fully followed by all the officers in his command, although
by so doing they sustained a considerable loss. No
wagons were reserved except those loaded with hospital
stores, salt and ammunition, and four empty ones for the
accommodation of the sick or wounded. And such was
the ardour, both of officers and soldiers, and their will-
ingness to submit to any hardship for the promotion of
the service, that this arrangement, which deprived them
of all future prospect of spirituous liquors, and even
hazarded a regular supply of provisions, was acquiesced
in without a murmur."*
To this destruction of his whole material train
and necessary outfit for a winter campaign is
attributed the final discomfiture of Cornwallis at
*It is curious to read in this day of the threat emphasis laid upon
the loss of the liquors ; Stedman gives it preference to " provisions."
(234)
Guilford Court House. The supplies he burned
could not be replaced short of Wilmington, and
thither he was compelled to go when a reverse met
his arms.
While at Ramsour's Mill many of the Hessian
mercenaries deserted, and some English soldiers;
in all it is estimated that 250 deserted. This is
accounted for first, on the ground that the Hes-
sians found here a German-speaking population,
and caring no more for British than American
principles, they escaped and became laborers in the
country. The English, it is said, rebelled at the
loss of the porter* and rum the "want of his gill
of rum was more distinctly reali/ed than the love
of his King and country.''
Finally the British army resumed its march on
the 28th of January, taking the highway leading
to Beattie's Ford, which is the direct route to Salis-
bury. This, however, was intended to deceive the
Americans, as the real place selected for crossing
was Cowan's Ford, a few miles lower down.
We do not know the exact numbers of the British
army at this time. In a letter of Cornwallis, dated
the 1 8th December at Winnsboro, he says: u I have
a good account of our recruits in general, and hope
to inarch from hence with 3500 fighting men.' 1 He
lost, perhaps, Soo men at Cowpens, and received
the 1500 men under General Leslie, and in round
numbers must have had at least 4000 fighting men.
~*NoTK. The jrlass from the broken porter bottles were gathered
for years by the potters to j^lax.e their earthen-ware.
( 235 )
Sir Henry Clinton estimates it at "considerably
above 3000, exclusive of cavalry and militia."
AYe must now look to the east and see what
preparations were being made on that side of the
Catawba to dispute the passage of the British army.
General Rutherford was then a captive at St. Au-
gustine and General William Lee Davidson, of
Mecklenburg, had been appointed to the command
of his militia district during his absence. This
division, General Graham states, embraced the
" old superior court districts of Salisbury and Mor-
ganton, now composing the fourth and fifth divis-
ions of North Carolina militia, whose returns of
effective men at this time (1821) exceed twenty
thousand men." : As soon as General Davidson
was informed of the advance of the British army
he ordered out the next detachment, which was
detailed for duty from the counties under his com-
mand, to rendezvous between Charlotte and the
Catawba River. On the i9th he received informa-
tion of Tarleton's defeat and hastened a letter, by
special messenger, to General Greene on the Pee
Dee. On the 2 1 st a body of twenty \Yhigs brought
in twenty-eight British stragglers whom the}- had
picked up after the battle of Cowpens, and from
them all the details were gathered.
I now incorporate the narrative of General Gra-
ham, which is so interesting that I need make no
apology for doing so.
^University Maga/ine, p. 103.
(236 )
"General Davidson was without cavalry and directed
Adjutant Graham (afterwards General Joseph Graham),
who had now recovered from his wounds received the
26th of September, to raise a company of cavalry, prom-
ising that those who furnished their own horses and
equipments and served six weeks should be considered
as having served a tour of three months, the term of
duty required by the law. In a few days he succeeded
in raising a company of 56, mostly enterprising young
men, who had seen service, but found it difficult to pro-
cure arms. Only 45 swords could be produced, and one-
half of them were made by the country blacksmiths.
Only 15 had pistols, but they, all liad rifles. They car-
ried the muzzle in a small boot, fastened beside the right
stirrup leather, and the but ran through the shot-bag
belt, so that the lock came directly under the right arm.
Those who 'had a pistol carried it swung by a strap,
about the size of a bridle-rein, on the left side over the
sword, which was belted higher than the modern mode
of wearing it, so as not to entangle the legs when acting
on foot. They had at all times all their arms with them,
whether on foot or on horseback, and could act as infantry
or cavalry, and move individually or collectively as
emergencies might require. With those arms, and
mounted generally on strong and durable horses, with a
pair of saddle-bags for the convenience of the rider and
a wallet of provender for his horse, they were ready for
service without commissary, quartermaster or other staff.
"General Davidson finding the enemy approaching so
near, divided those under his command in order to guard
the different fords on the Catawba. At Tuckaseege
Ford, on the road leading from Ramsour's to Charlotte,
he placed two hundred men under Colonel Joseph Wil-
(237)
liams, of Surry. At Tool's Ford seventy men under
Captain Potts, of MerVlenburg,* at Cowan's Ford
twenty-five men under Lieutenant Thomas Davidson, of
Mecklenburg. With his greatest force and Graham's
cavalry, he took post at Beattie's Ford on the road from
Ramsour's Mill to .Salisbury being twenty miles above
Colonel Williams. On the 3ist of January the cavalry
were dispatched over the river, and ascertained that the
enemy were encamped within four miles. Within two
miles they discovered one hundred of their cavalry, who
followed them to the river, but kept at a respectful
distance. The dispositions that were being made caused
them to fear an ambuscade.
"The same evening General Morgan sent on the troops
under his command with Colonel Howard, directly
towards Salisbury. He himself and Colonel Washington
came down to Beattie's Ford, about 2 o'clock, and in
ten minutes General Greene and his aid, Major Pierce,
arrived. He had been early informed of the movements
of the British army and had first put his troops in motion,
then leaving them under command of General Huger on
their march towards Salisbury, he had come on to ascer-
tain the situation of affairs, and give orders to the officers
in this quarter ; General Morgan and Colonel Washington
met him at this place, by appointment. They and
General Davidson retired with him out of the camp,
and seating themselves on a log, had a conversation of
about twenty minutes they then mounted their horses,
General Greene and aid took the road to Salisbury,
Morgan and Washington took a way that led to the
*At Tuckaseege and Tool's fords, trees were felled in the road,
and a ditch dug and parapet made. There was no such defences at
the other fords.
( 2 3 S )
troops inarching under Howard. About the time General
Greene had arrived the British vanguard of about four or
five hundred men appeared on the opposite hill beyond
the river. Shortly after their arrival, some principal
officer witli a numerous staff, thought to be Lord Corn-
wallis, passed in front of them at different stations, halt-
ing and apparently viewing us with spy-glasses. In
about one hour after General Greene's departure General
Davidson gave orders to the cavalry and about two
hundred and fifty infantry to march down the river to
Cowan's Ford, four miles below Beattie's, leaving nearly
the same number at that place, under the command of
Colonel Farmer, of Orange. On the march he stated to
the commanding officer of the cavalry that, though
General Greene had never seen the Catawba before, he
appeared to know more about it than those who were
raised on it, and it was the General's opinion that 'the
enemy were determined to cross the river, and he thought
it probable their cavalry would pass over some private
ford in the night ; and in the morning when the infantry
attempted to force a passage would attack those who
resisted it, in the rear ; and as there was no other cavalry
between Beattie's and Tuckaseege fords, he ordered that
patrols who were best acquainted with the country should
keep passing up and down all night, and on discovering
any part of the enemy to have gotten over, to give imme-
diate information to him. These orders were carried
into effect. The party arrived at the ford about dusk
in the evening, and after encamping it was too dark to
examine our position.
"At Cowan's 'Ford the river is supposed to be about
four hundred yards wide, of different depths and rocky
bottom. That called the wagon ford goes directly across
(239)
the river ; on coming out on the eastern shore, the road
turns down and winds up the point of a ridge, in order
to graduate the ascent until it comes to its proper direc-
tion. Above the coming-out place a flat piece of ground,
not much higher than the water, grown over with haw
and persimmon bushes and bamboo briars, five or six
yards wide, extends up the river to the mouth of a small
branch and deep ravine.
" Outside of this the bank rises thirty or forty feet, at
an angle of thirty degrees elevation ; then the rise is
more gradual. That called the horse ford, at the
present time much the most used, comes in on the west
at the same place with the wagon ford, goes obliquely
down the river about two-thirds of the way across, to
the point of a large island, thence through the island
and across the other one-third to the point of a rocky
hill. Though it is longer, this way is much shallower
and smoother than the wagon ford, and comes out about
a quarter of a mile below.
11 From the information received General Davidson
supposed that if the enemy attempted to cross here they
would take the horse ford. Accordingly he encamped
on the hill which overlooks it. Lieutenant Thomas
Davidson's picket of twenty-five men remained at their
station, about fifty steps above the wagon ford, on the
flat piece of ground before described, near the water's
edge.
"On the same day, as Cornwallis was inarching to
Beattie's Ford, about two miles from it at Colonel Black's
farm, he left behind him, under the command of Brigadier
General O'Hara, twelve hundred infantry and Tarleton's
cavalry, which in the night moved secretly down to
Cowan's Ford, onlv three miles below. The next morn-
( 2 4 o )
ing at dawn of day, the ist of February, 1781, he had
his columns formed, the infantry in front with fixed
bayonets, muskets empty, carried on the left shoulder
at a slope, cartridge-box on the same shoulder, and each
man had a stick about the size of a hoop-pole, eight
feet long, which he kept setting on the bottom below
him to support him against the rapidity of the current,
which was generally waist deep, and in some places
more. (It is stated by historians that the river was
swollen so as to impede the passage of the British. The
fact is, it ivas fordable from the week before until tzvo
days after this time, though a little deeper than usual.
The cause of the enemy's delay must have been the dis-
position by General Davidson to guard the fords.)
"The command of the front was committed to Colonel
Hall of the guards, who had for a guide Frederick Hager,
a renegade Tory who lived within two miles of the place.
They entered the river by sections of four, and took the
wagon ford.
"The morning was cloudy, and a fog hung over the
\vater, so that Lieutenant Davidson's sentinel could not
see them until they were near one hundred yards in the
river. He instantly fired on them, which roused the
guard, who kept up the fire, but the enemy continued to
advance. At the first alarm those under General Davidson
paraded at the horse ford, and Graham's cavalry was
ordered to move up briskly, to assist the picket ; but by
the time they got there, and tied their horses and came
up in a line to a high bank above the ford, in front of
the column, it was within fifty yards of the eastern shore.
They took steady and deliberate aim and fired. The
effect was visible. The 'three first ranks looked thinned,
and they halted. Colonel Hall was the first man who
appeared on horseback, behind, about one hundred yards.
He came pressing up their flank on the lower side and
was distinctly heard giving orders, but we could not
hear what they were.
"The column again got in motion and kept on. One
of the cavalry rifleinen reloaded and aimed at Colonel
V^ J .l. At the flash of the .*\\.' both horse and rider went
under the water, and rose down the stream. It appeared
that the horse had gone over the man. Two or three of
the soldiers caught him and raised him on the upper side.
"The enemy kept steadily on, notwithstanding our
fire was well maintained. As each section reached the
shore they dropped their setting poles, and brought
their muskets and cartridge-boxes to their places, faced
to the left, and moved up the narrow strip of low ground
to make room for the succeeding section, which moved
on in the same manner.
"By the time the front ranks go* twenty or thirty
steps up the river they had loaded their pieces and began
to fire up the bank.
' ' The Americans receded a few steps when loading,
and when ready to fire would advance to the summit of
the hill, twenty-five or thirty steps from the enemy, as
they deployed up the river bank. They had gained the
ford and just commenced firing when General Davidson
arrived from the horse ford with the infantry, and finding-
his cavalry on the ground he chose to occupy, and
impressed with opinion given by General Greene, that
the enemy's cavalry would attack them in the rear, he
ordered Graham's men to mount and go up the ridge
and form two hundred yards behind. As they moved
off, the infantry took their places, and the firing became
brisk on both sides.
16
(242 )
"The enemy moved steadily forward, their fire increas-
ing, until their left reached the mouth of the branch
upwards of thirty poles from the ford. The ravine was
too deep to pass. The rear of their infantry and front
of their cavalry was about the middle of the river, when
the bugle sounded on the left, on which their fire slacked
and nearly ceased. (They were loading their pieces,)
In about a minute it sounded again, when their whole
line from the ford to the branch advanced up the bank,
with their arms at a trail. The hill was in many places
so steep they had to pull up by the bushes.
"General Davidson, finding them advancing with
loaded guns, ordered a retreat for one hundred yards.
On gaining the point of the ridge their fire was so heavy
that he had to recede fifty steps beyond the ground
assigned for formation ; he then ordered his men to take
trees, and had them arranged to renew the battle.
"The enemy was advancing slowly in line, and only
firing scatteringly, when General Davidson was pierced
by a ball and fell dead from his horse,
("The General was shot with a small rifle-ball near
the nipple of the left breast, and never moved after he fell.
It was well known that their pilot, Frederick Hager,
had a rifle of this description, and it was always believed
that he shot him. Most of the other Tories returned at
or before the close of the war, but Hager went to Ten-
nessee and stayed there until some of the Davidson
family moved to that country, when he moved, with
eight or ten others, all fugitives from justice, and made
the first American settlement on the Arkansas River
near Six Post ; married and raised a family there, and died
in the year 1814. Major David Wilson and two others
found the General's body in the evening, carried him off
'243)
in the night and buried him at Hopewell Church, higher
lip on the Catawba River. Tne grave is yet known,
and though Congress afterwards passed a resolution
appropriating $500 for a monument, strange to tell, noth-
ing is vet done to execute it.)
?-> ^
"His infantry retreated in disorder from the unequal
contest. They dispersed in small squads, and took
through the thickets in order to evade the enemy's
cavalry. Graham's cavalry, which was formed about
one hundred yards in the rear of where Davidson fell,
moved off in order.
"At an early hour Cornwallis placed his remaining
force in array on the face of the hill fronting Beattie's
Ford, and as soon as the firing commenced at Cowan's
Ford, made demonstrations of attacking the post at
Beattie's. A company went into the water forty or fifty
steps and fired. Four pieces of artillery fired smartly for
thirty minutes, and his front lines kept firing by platoons,
as in field exercises. It was only a feint, however. Few
shots of the musketry reached the opposite shore, and
the artillery did no injury but cut off the branches of
some trees near our line, which was masked by the point
of the hill from the enemy's fire. The ford was one
hundred yards higher up then than now. When the
British were deploying up the bank at Cowan's Ford,
owing to the fog and density of the atmosphere, the
report of the artillery and platoons at Beattie's Ford came
down the river like repeated peals of thunder, as though
it were within a mile, and was heard over the country,
to the distance of twenty-five miles. Although it had
no effect on our troops engaged at Cowan's (for the}' acted
well under the circumstances), yet it had a wonderful
effect on the people of the adjacent country. Hitching
(244)
up their teams in great haste, and packing up their most
valuable goods and some means of subsistence, the men
who were not in service, and women and children, aban-
doned their homes, and drove off in different directions.
"In one hour after the firing the whole country appeared
in motion, but unfortunately too many of them fled into
the Salisbury road. The baggage and provision wagons
had started from Cowan's as soon as the action began.
Graham's cavalry maintained their order, and expected
the enemy's cavalry would pursue the baggage.
"A disposition was therefore made by placing four
men with good horses as a rear guard, and despatching
two others to give directions to the wagon-master, if he
heard firing in his rear, to cause the teamsters to cut the
horses from their wagons and clear themselves. Moving
on slowly, halting occasionally, and no enemy appearing,
it occurred to the commanding officer that the enemy's
design must be to take Colonel Fanner in the rear, at
Beattie's Ford (if he had maintained his position against
the 'tremendous cannonade). It was believed he had no
intelligence of their being actually across below the ford.
The cavalry filed off along a by-road to give him notice,
intending to form a junction with the foot one and a
half miles from the ford at a farm. An old lady (the
only person at the place), informed ,them that shortly
after the firing had ceased General Davidson's aid had
given notice to the party at Beattie's and they had retired
already some distance on the Salisbury road. Some rain
had fallen, and the men were wet and cold, and both
men and horses having had but a scanty supply of pro-
visions at Cowan's the evening before, it was concluded
to get some sustenance and take it off a mile or two in
the woods and eat it. V.idettes were ordered out, and,
(245)
agreeably to rule in such cases, each right-hand file
ordered to dismount and procure food for himself, com-
rade and their horses, while the left file held the horses.
They had not gotten half their supply when one of the
videttes gave notice that on the other side of the farm
some men were in. view, believed to be the enemy, but,
having Hussar cloaks over their uniforms, could not be
clearly ascertained, but by the taik of their horses
being docked square off, which all knew was the mark
of Tarleton's cavalry, they were instantly recognized ,
and orders given to mount, fronting the enemy. When
all were in their places, they wheeled off, and up a lane,
the whole British cavalry coming briskly round the farm
on the other side. When Graham's party passed over a
rise in the ground beyond the lane, they turned short to
the right, and in twenty-five poles crossed a swampy
branch. When the advance got over they wheeled to
protect the rear, but the enemy were so eager in the pur-
suit that they did not discover them, but kept on, at a
brisk gallop, along the Salisbury road. This was about
two miles from Torrence's tavern, whither they were
bound.
"The men who retreated from Beattie's Ford, and some
of those who had been at Cowan's, and many others,
some of them South Carolina refugees, as they arrived
at Torrence's tavern, halted. Being wet, cold and
hungry, they began to drink spirits, carrying it out in
pailsful. The wagons of many of the movers with their
property were in the lane, the armed men all out of
order and mixed with the wagons and people, so that
the lane could scarely be passed, when the sound of the
alarm was given from the west end of the lane, ' Tarle-
ton is coming /' Though none had had time to become
intoxicated, it was difficult to decide what course to
pursue at such a crisis. Captain Nathaniel M. Martin,
who had served under Colonel Davie, and six or eight
others (armed as cavalry), rode up meeting the enemy,
and called to the men to get over the fences and turn
facing the enemy ; that he could make them halt until
they could be ready ; some appeared disposed to do so ;
others, when they crossed the fence, kept on, some with
their pails of whiskey. Martin moved forward until
within fifty yards of the enemy. They halted near two
minutes. Tarleton could readily discover the confusion
and disorder that prevailed. One of his party fired a
carbine and shot down Captain Martin's horse ; he was
entangled and taken prisoner, but escaped from the
guard two days after. Tarleton and corps charged
through the lane. The militia fled in every direction.
Those who were on horse-back and kept the road were
pursued about half a mile. Ten were killed, of whom
several were old men, unarmed, who had come there in
the general alarm, and a few were wounded, all with
sabres. But few guns were fired. On the return of
the dragoons from the pursuit they made great destruc-
tion of the property in the wagons of those who were
moving ; ripped up beds and strewed the feathers until
the lane was covered with them. Everything else they
could destroy was used in the same manner.
" At Cowan's Ford, besides General Davidson, there
were killed James Scott of Lieutenant Davidson's picket,
Robert Beaty of Graham's cavalry, and one private of
General Davidson's infantry in all, four. We had none
wounded or taken. The enemy's loss,, as stated in th^
official account, published in 'the Charleston Gazette two
months after, was Col or ell Hall of the guards, and
another officer, and twenty-nine privates thirty-one in
all, killed, and thirty-five wounded. They left sixteen,
who were so badly wounded they could not be taken
along, at Mr. Lucas' (the nearest farm), and a surgeon,
under protection of a flag, was left with them. Two
wounded officers wjere carried on biers, and such of the
other wounded as could not walk were hauled in wagons.
Some of their dead were found down the river some
distance, lodged in fish-traps and on brush about the
banks, on rocks, etc. An elegant beaver hat, made
agreeably to the fashion of those times, marked inside,
" The property ofjosiah Martin, Governor," was found
ten miles below. It never was explained by what means
his excellency lost his hat. He was not hurt himself.
u When General O'Hara sent on Tarleton, his men
kindled fires on the battle-ground to dry themselves,
cook their breakfast, etc. They buried their dead, dis-
posed of their wounded, and about midday he marched,
and in the afternoon united with Lord Cornwallis at
Givens' plantation, two miles from Beattie's Ford and
one mile south of the Salisbury road. Tarleton joined
them before night. It had rained at times all day, and
in the evening and at night it fell in torrents.
"The men under Colonel Williams and Captain Potts,
who were guarding at Tuckaseege and Tool's fords, had
early notice of the enemy's crossing, and retired. The
different parties met in the afternoon at Jno. McK. Al-
exander's, eight miles above Charlotte. By noon the
next day all the men who were not dispersed were col-
lected near Harriss' Mill, on Rocky River, ten or twelve
miles from the enemy.
"On the ad of February the morning was clear,
though the roads verv bad with the rain that had fallen
(2 4 8)
the preceding night. The British army marched ten
miles to Wilson's plantation and encamped. On their
way they burnt Torrances' tavern (at that time kept by
the widow Torrance ; her husband had been killed at
the battle of Ramsour's Mill), and the dwelling-house of
John Brevard, Esq. (Mr. Brevard was the father-in-
law of General -Davidson, and at that time had several
sons in the regular service. No other cause could be
assigned for this barbarous mode of warfare.) Being
now within twenty miles of Salisbury, the British Gen-
eral, not doubting that the rains and bad roads would
obstruct the march of General Morgan as much as it did
his own, on the 3d of February marched at an early
hour. His pioneers opened a kind of track in the bushes
on each side of the road for a single file. The wagons,
artillery and horsemen only kept the road. By the time
they got within eight miles of Salisbury, their line of
inarch was extended tour miles, but there were no troops
near to intercept them. Their van arrived at Salisbury
about three o'clock. Before the rear came in, Brigadier
General O'Hara and the cavalry moved on. It was
seven miles to the Trading Ford on the Yadkin, and it
was getting dark when he came near. General Morgan
had passed his regulars and baggage all over, and there
remained on the south side only one hundred and fifty
militia and the baggage-wagons of the troops which had
escaped at Cowan's Ford, and some others. Finding
the British approaching, the militia were drawn up near
a half a mile from the ford, where a branch crosses,
which was covered with small timber and bushes, and
there was an old-field along the road in their front.
When O'Hara came, twilight was nearly gone. The
American position was low along the branch, under
(249)
shade of the timber ; that of the advancing foe was open
and on higher ground, and between them, and the sky
was quite visible. When they came within sixty steps
the Americans commenced firing; the enemy returned it
and began to form a line. As their rear came up they
extended their line- to the right, and were turning the
left flank of the militia by crossing the branch above.
This being discovered, a retreat was ordered, after having
fired, some two, some three rounds. It was easily effected
in the 'dark. They passed down the river two miles
and crossed over, abandoning the baggage and other
wagons which could not be gotten over, to the enemy,
after taking out the horses. Two of the militia were
killed. The loss of the enemy was not known, but from
appearances of blood in different places, believed to be
ten or twelve. They were by far the most numerous,
yet from the positions of the contending parties, were
most exposed. After the firing ceased the British
marched on to the river, but found the water was too
deep to ford, and still rising, and that General Morgan,
encamped on the other side, had with him all the boats
and canoes. General O'Hara returned to Salisbury the
same night, notwithstanding the badness of the roads.
Those under his command marched thirty-four miles in
the course of this day and part of the night. On the
4th the army needed rest, and their commander being,
it is supposed, undecided what course to pursue, they
remained in Salisbury."
From Sherrill's Ford, on the 3Oth, General Greene
writes General Huger explaining the military
situation and ordering him to lead the army to the
fords of the Yadkin and there await further orders.
(2 50)
111 this letter General Greene expresses an appre-
hension that Arnold would make an incursion, by
way of Wilmington and the Cape Fear River, and
he directs that Colonel Islington should call out
the militia to oppose him. He closes by saying:
"I am not without hopes of ruining Lord Corn-
wallis if he persists in his mad scheme of pushing
through the country. Desire Colonel Lee to force
a march to join us. Here is a fine field and great
glory ahead." It is astonishing to discover how
many varied circumstances are foreshadowed and
orders given to meet them, and the many details
and particulars discussed in this lengthy letter.
Greene was not only comprehensive in intellect, but
accurate and specific in his information, and saga-
cious beyond measure, ready for any emergency.
In another letter of the 3Oth he mentions the fact
that Cornwallis had arrived at Ramsour's Mill.
This demonstrates that Cornwallis was not press-
ing the pursuit closely, and General Graham's
narrative confirms .this view. It is strange that
Colonel Lee should have fallen into the common
error of supposing that Morgan was saved from the
grasp of Cornwallis by a flood of water. But it is
appropriate to remark that Lee's "general inaccu-
racy," as Johnson calls it, is conspicuous through
his whole Memoirs. He had the infirmity of Lord
Erskine, of .using the personal pronoun, first person,
singular number, rather too often, and his memory
was frequently treacherous in describing the acts
of others. These defects are not perhaps incon-
sistent with patriotism or military skill, but are a
little annoying to the patient investigator of truth.
On the 3ist of January, Morgan had gone to Beat-
tie's Ford, six miles nearer Salisbury, and on that
evening, perceiving that Cornwallis would force a
passage at some of the numerous fords, all of which
could not be defended, he moved silently away
towards Salisbury, marching all night and a part
of the next day, thus gaining a full day's march on
the British army. When Cornwallis crossed at
Cowan's Ford on the morning of the ist of Febru-
ary, Morgan was well on his way to the Trading
Ford, on the Yadkin, seven miles east of Salisbury,
which he crossed on the evening of the 3rd.*
General Greene remained behind to bring off the
militia, and directed them to rendezvous on the
Salisbury road, sixteen miles from the river, and
thither he repaired to await their coming. His
clanger was more imminent at this point than he
apprehended. He was unattended, and only six
miles in advance of Torrance's Tavern, where
Tarleton, at noon, had scattered the carousing
Whigs. He was unaware of Greene's proximity
and of the fact that twenty of his troopers could
easily have led Greene captive into the British
camp. Here, perhaps, Divine Providence was more
conspicuously displayed. At midnight of the ist
of February, Greene left the rendezvous, with his
staff, for Salisbury. Johnson relates the story of
*NOTE. Trading Ford is just below the railroad bridge on the
North Carolina Railroad.
(252)
the General's reception at the Steele tavern so well
that we give it in his words :
"On his arrival at Steele's tavern, in Salisbury, it
was impossible not to perceive, in the deranged state of
his dress and stiffness of his limbs, some symptoms of
his late rapid movements and exposure to the weather ;
and to the inquiries of Dr. Read, who received him on
his alighting, he could not refrain from answering, ' Yes,
fatigued, hungry, alone and penniless.' This reply did
not escape the quick ears of his benevolent landlady ;
and he was scarcely seated at a comfortable breakfast
when she presented herself in the room, closed the door
and exhibited a small bag of specie in each hand.
'Take these,' said she, 'for you will want them, and I
can do without them.' "*
The meal being finished, he hastened away to
overtake General Morgan.
Cornwallis made but little progress on the ist,
owing to the narrowness and badness of the private
road he travelled from Cowan's Ford. He now
added General O'Hara, with his mounted infantry,
to his cavalry and ordered them to push forward
rapidly to overtake the Americans, but this flying
corps only came to Trading Ford in time to capture
a few militia wagons that had been stuck in the
mud, and for which the militia fired upon them
from an ambuscade and killed about twenty, as
related above.
Morgan had transferred his troops across the
*This lady was Mrs. Steele, the ancestor of Hon. John Steeie Hen-
derson, of this generation.
(253)
river on boats which Colonel Carrington had pre-
viously collected, and the cavalry forded the stream.
So that if the Yadkin had been too high to ford the
ferry-boats were, by General Greene's foresight, in
readiness to put his army across. These boats, and
all others for miles around, were secured on the
eastern bank, and Morgan, complacently viewing
the swelling tide between him and Cornwallis, halted
for a much-needed rest. Frustrated in this attempt
to overtake the Americans, O'Hara gave vent to his
anger by opening upon them a furious cannonade.
Morgan had none to reply, as he had sent the little
three-pounders, called " grass-hoppers," which he
captured at Cowpens, along with the prisoners to
a secure retreat. Morgan would not be encum-
bered with artillery.
During the cannonade General Greene occupied
a little cabin under a hill, only the roof being visi-
ble above it. Here, while issuing his orders, a
cannon-ball struck the roof and scattered it in every
direction, but Dr. Read, who relates the incident,
says that the General "wrote on and seemed to
notice nothing but his dispatches."
Cornwallis awaited O'Hara's return to Salisbury,
where he came the same night. Having sent out
reconnoitering parties higher up the Yadkin, and
discovering that he could cross at Shallow Ford,
Cornwallis put his army in motion on the 5th and
crossed at that point on the evening of the 6th.*
*NoTE. I follow General Graham in preference to Johnson as to
the last two dates. Tarleton says it was on the 6th, but Graham, who
was in their rear, says it was the 5th.
(254)
Greene had already sent forward Colonel Car-
rington and Captain John Smith, of the Maryland
line, to secure the boats on the Dan and provide all
possible facilities for crossing that stream, and had
issued orders to Huger to press forward to Guilford
Court-House, where a junction of the two armies
was to take place. General Greene did not move
from the Trading Ford until the evening of the
4th of February, 1781. The retirement was orderly
and deliberate, and was not the " race " which
some imaginative writers have colored with the
figures of rhetoric. Greene was master of his own
movements, and forced Cornwallis to change his.
After leaving Trading Ford, General Greene
moved in a direction nearly north, as if he were
making for the upper fords of the Dan, and Corn-
wallis pushed on with great spirit to intercept him
on the way, but this was a part of the strategy of
the American General, whose original purpose was
to cross the Dan River lower down in ferry-boats.
At the forks of Abbott's Creek, a few miles from
Salem (in Forsyth County now), he halted the
army to obtain definite information as to the move-
ments of the British, and then turning due east,
he marched to Guilford Court-House, where he
made the junction with his army, under General
Huger, on the loth of February.
On the 8th of February Greene had hoped to be
able to fight Cornwallis at Guilford Court-House,
where he formed a junction with his main army, and
on that day addressed earnest proclamations to the
(255)
militia to turn out and meet him there, and couriers
were sent to Hillsboro to bring up a few troops who
were left there, and further supplies of ammunition.
As soon as Greene arrived at Guilford Court-House
he began to reconnoitre the grounds and adjacent
country.
"It was at this time that the celebrated position
was selected, which directed the steps of Greene to
this point a month after, when he found it advisa-
ble to give the enemy a challenge to battle ; so
truly did he exemplify the military maxim, that
4 a good general will fight only when and where he
pleases.'"*
But Greene was disappointed. The militia did
not turn out with the alacrity that he expected,
nor had the recruits and ammunition from Hills-
boro arrived. About 200 of the Guilford militia,
under Colonel James Martin, including the com-
pany under Captain Arthur Forbis, were, perhaps,
the only reinforcements that responded to the call.
As a reason for not having more men, Colonel
Martin says "that guns were wanting by a num-
ber of the militia, and that he had to impress all
he could to arm the few militia that did assemble."
These men marched with Greene to the Dan and
about half of them crossed the Dan into Virginia,
as volunteers, and subsequently returned with him
and participated in the battle at that place.
Greene called a council of war at Guilford Court-
House and submitted to it the question of further
*Jolmson, vol. i, p. 425.
(256)
retreat or giving battle where they were. The
council was unanimous that the army should retreat
across the Dan. The returns of the army at that
time showed that Greene had, of rank and file, of
all arms, only 2036 men; of these 1426 were regu-
lars. The Virginia militia, whose time had expired,
were already discharged. The force of Cornwallis
was ascertained to be 3000, all regulars, in the
highest state of discipline and equipment. It is
said that Greene would have risked a battle if he
could have collected 1500 militia. He writes that
retreat would depress the Whigs and encourage the
Tories, and he believed, with his splendid cavalry,
in which arm of the service he had great confidence,
that he could prevent a route of his army in any
event ; he also expressed great sympathy for Meck-
lenburg and Rowan counties, which he desired to
protect from the ravages of the enemy.
The resolution to retreat was, however, adopted,
and General Greene made his dispositions accord-
ingly. The Dan was to be crossed at Irwiii's Ferry,
seventy (70) miles from G nil ford Court-House, and
Colonel Carrington was sent to secure all the boats
and make every preparation necessary for the army
to cross.
" The route of retreat being determined, the place
of crossing designated and measures taken for the
collection of boats, General Greene formed a light
corps, consisting of some of his best infantry, under
Lieutenant Colonel Howard, of Washington's
cavalry, the Legion of Lee, and a few militia rifle-
(257)
men" (most probably the Guilford men who joined
-Greene at the court-house), " making in all seven
hundred. The troops were to take post between
the retreating and advancing army, to hover around
the skirts of the latter, to seize every opportunity
of striking in detail, and to retard the enemy by
vigilance and judicious positions; while Greene,
with the main body, hastened towards the Dan, the
boundary of his present toils and dangers."'
General Morgan, who was at that time prostrated
with a severe attack of rheumatism, contracted in
his late retreat by exposure to wet and cold, was
offered the command of these light troops, but was
reluctantly compelled to decline the honor. His
sufferings at the Catawba River were intense, often
compelling him to abandon duty and seek comfort
in a bed or an ambulance. He had in former years
suffered greatly from this painful malady, and it
had now returned upon him with more distressing
symptoms. He had not only to refuse this com-
mand, but to retire, by slow and easy marches,
taking rests by the way at the hospitable homes of
his friends, to his own home in the western part of
Virginia.
There was no man in Greene's army, or perhaps
in the whole service, so fitted to command such a
force, in the execution of the duty assigned them,
as Morgan, and there was no associate of General
Greene's who so entirely possessed his confidence
and enjoyed his friendship.
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 236.
17
( 2 5 S )
Greene, not being well acquainted with the mode
of warfare on the frontiers and in the South, was
greatly dependent on Morgan for advice and coun-
sel in this respect, and the splendid achievement
at Cowpcns and the masterly retreat to the Catawba,
had so impressed General Greene with the pre-emi-
nent abilities of Morgan that he leaned upon him,
in this hour of need and this crisis in the affairs of
the country, as a brother and a friend. His distress
and disappointment was strongly manifested when
General Morgan communicated to him the condi-
tion of his health and his determination to retire
temporarily from service. In the sequel it will be
seen that Morgan's heart was still' with his friend,
and that he wrote him letters containing valuable
suggestions, upon which General Greene did him
the honor to act.
Upon Morgan's declining this important com-
mand, it was tendered to and accepted by Colonel
Otho Williams, of the Maryland line.
In order to deceive Cornwallis, who was then at
Salem, about twenty-five miles west of Gnilford
Court-House, Williams made a sudden movement
north as if to secure the upper fords of the Dan
and cross them in front of the British army. The
British commander, mistaking this detachment for
the main body of the American army, hastened for-
ward to cut it off from escape by these fords into
the mountains of Virginia, which he supposed they
were endeavoring to reach for safety. In the
meantime, Greene, with the remainder of the army,
(259)
marched rapidly to Irwiii's Ferry, according to his
original design, and crossed the Dan in safety.
The strategy was completely successful, and
Williams now changed his course, and annoying
the advance of the enemy, which camped in sight
of him every night, he finally reached the vicinity
of the Dan on the izj-th day of February, and having
received the joyful news that Greene had crossed
that day, Williams, leaving his camp-fires burning,
stole away from Cornwallis, who reached the bank
of the river on the next day, the I5th, only to see
the last of Williams' command ascending the hill
on the opposite side.
The 1 5th February, 1781, found Greene and his
united army at the end of their long and toilsome
retreat, and with an impassable barrier between
him and his adversary. Cornwallis, crest-fallen,
outwitted and desperate, knew not what to do. His
subsequent movements manifest indecision, want
of purpose and a knowledge of the great danger in
which he was placed by the Fabian tactics of his
wily antagonist. He was in an enemy's country,
his winter supplies all burned, the militia were
" swarming in his rear," recruits were increasing
Greene's army, his base of supply was far away
and his foe refused to fight until he selected his own
time and place. A beleaguered situation indeed !
CHAPTER VI.
Greene on the Dan Cornwallis at Hillsboro General Andrew
Pickens, of South Carolina, selected by a Brigade' of North
Carolina Militia at Shallow Ford, to lead Them Movements of
General Richard Caswell with the Militia in the East "Coun-
cil Extraordinary," its Acts General John Butler's Move-
ments Major Craig, of the British Army, enters Wilmington
January the 29th, 1781 Letter of Govern or Abner Nash Greene
Recrosses the Dan February 23d, 1781 Graham's Dash at Hart's
Mill Pyle's Defeat, 25th February, 1781 Affair at Whitsill's
Mill, March 6th Lieutenant Colonel Webster's Marvelous
Escape from Death Reinforcements Reach General Greene
at High Rock Ford, on Haw River, Sunday, March the nth,
1781.
r^HE final conclusion of Cornwallis was to march
"*" to Hillsboro, then the capital of the State, and
the recent headquarters of the American army, at
that time quite an important place. It was also
in easy distance of the Scotch settlements, whose
inhabitants were generally loyalists or neutrals in
the fight.
His lordship, after taking one day of repose,
began his march on the i8th to Hillsboro, where
he "raised the royal standard," and invited, by
his proclamation, "all liege subjects to prove their
fidelity by contributing their aid in restoring the
blessings of peace and order in their convulsed
country."*
"In the camp of Greene," says Lee, "joy beamed
on every face, as if every man was conscious of
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 251.
(26l)
having done his duty ; the subsequent days to the
reunion of the army on the north of the Dan were
spent in mutual gratulations; with the rehearsal
of the hopes and fears which agitated every breast
during the retreat, interspersed with the many
simple but interesting anecdotes with which every
tongue was strung."
But Greene relaxed no vigilance nor neglected
any precaution against surprise. The waving of
a handkerchief by a patriotic lady on the North
Carolina bank of the river announced the retro-
grade movement of Cormvallis. Major Pierce, of
General Greene's staff, with a select party, were
sent to recounoiter and give intelligence, while
Colonel Williams and Colonel Campbell, two emi-
nent North Carolina militia officers, with their
faithful adherents on horseback, patroled and
guarded the passes, and Otho Williams, with his
light troops, were thrown across the stream to
harass his lordship's retreat."" 5
Leaving the two contending armies watching
each other, and preparing for the conflict, which
must sooner or later occur, it is necessary to nar-
rate events transpiring elsewhere in North Caro-
lina which influenced, to a great degree, the subse-
quent results of the unfinished campaign.
The militia, who had defended the fords of the
Catawba, had made good their retreat tt> the Rocky
River, a western tributary of the Yadkin, which
traverses from west to east the present county of
*Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 448.
(262}
Cabarrus, North Carolina, but which at that time was
a part of Mecklenburg Count} 7 . They were advised
as to the location of the British army, and Captain
Joseph Graham, who had been sent to reconnoiter,
followed in its rear; but beyond the capture of
half a dozen stragglers, and killing a Tory or two in
arms, was not able to do more than gather infor-
mation.
About the loth of February the militia were in
camp near Shallow Ford, on the Yadkin. General
Davidson had been killed, and "no small conten-
tion" had arisen between the different colonels of
the regiments as to the seniority of their commis-
sions and their right to command. But this con-
tention, hot as it was, did not lead to a separation.
The fervent patriotism of these brave men rose
above self and State, and the difficulty w r as happily
and generously settled by electing Andrew Pickens,
of South Carolina, who had recently been appointed
Brigadier General, to the command. Pickens was
at that time a refugee in North Carolina, accom-
panied by not exceeding forty (40) South Caroli-
nians and Georgians ; among the latter was Lieu-
tenant Jackson, afterwards Governor of that State.
Lieutenant Jackson was appointed Brigade Major.
Rev. James. Hall, then of Rowan, was selected as
chaplain. "The only infantry in the brigade was
placed under the command of Colonel Locke of
Rowan County, and Major John Caruth of Lincoln
County." This statement is taken from General
( 2 6 3 )
Graham's narrative, written in 1821, and he adds a
note in which he says:
u This circumstance (the election of Pickens to the
command) lias occasioned every professed writer of his-
tory to represent these troops as South Carolina militia,
whereas thc\ were simply the brigade of Davidson, from
Mecklenburg and Rowan, the field officers of which
conferred the command on General Pickens, who was
with them as a refugee, to avoid conflicting claims of
rank among themselves, there not being forty South
Carolinians in the body of 700 men."
The Tor}- bullet that killed General Davidson,
the absence of General Rutherford, who "was a
prisoner, and the magnanimity of the North Caro-
lina soldiers coincided to place General Pickens in
command of a full regiment of splendid troops, who
followed him with unswerving devotion in the short
but brilliant campaign which followed.
This organization being completed, the brigade
marched, via Salem, toGnilford Court-House, where,
"learning that Greene had passed the Dan and
Cormvallis had retired to Hillsboro, they moved
slowly towards the enemy."
General Caswell was now engaged in calling out
the militia in the middle and eastern part of the
State and had succeeded in collecting a considerable
force with which he was threatening the left flank
of Cormvallis. General Greene was, at this period,
apprehensive that Cormvallis would march into
Virginia by way of Halifax, Xorth Carolina, cross-
( 2 6 4 )
ing the Roanoke at that place. Kosciusko had
been sent to that point to throw up breastworks
and General Greene was resolved to prevent the
enemy getting possession of that town if possible.
"Being accessible from the ocean, having a very
fertile country around it, convenient to Chesapeake
and possessing the only manufactories in the State,
it was too strong a military point to surrender
without a struggle."* As we have but little informa-
tion in regard to the whereabouts of General Caswell
when the battle of Guilford Court-House was fought,
a month later, I am of opinion that he was at
Halifax for the defence of that place, to which
General Greene was so anxiously looking. I find
the following order from Governor Abner Nash to
General Caswell, in the 4th volume of the Uni-
versity Magazine, which throws considerable light
on the movements of troops in North Carolina
during February and March, 1781:
"NEWBERN, February 23d, 1781.
"Major General Caswell will march the detachment of
militia now assembled and assembling to Halifax, or to
such other parts as the motions of the enemy or the
exigency of the public affairs may require. He will also
take such measures for posting these, as well as the
militia of Halifax district, in such a manner and fortify
in such places as he shall deem best for the public security.
He will take such order respecting the militia, in Hills-
boro and the other western districts, as shall seem
expedient. The General will also, on his arrival at
*Johnson's Life of Greene, vol, i. p. 434.
Halifax, call on the other members of the "Council
Extraordinary" to meet, and he will pursue such further
steps as may be concluded on by the said council, for the
further operations of the militia against the enemy.
General Lillington having the command of the militia
in the district of Wilmington, and there being no occa-
sion for the presence of any other general officer there,
Brigadier General Caswell* will serve in the army to the
westward and take his orders from the Major General,
who will also commission the officers for the Light Horse
corps in such way (agreeable to the resolve of the General
Assembly) as he shall deem best for the public service.
"The General will endeavor to have General Butler
supplied with ammunition as speedily as possible, and
he is earnestly requested to send forward, with dispatch,
any important intelligence he may receive respecting the
motions of the enemy.
"A. NASH."
It is more than probable that Caswell, as Major
General, detached General Butler and General
Eaton, with their brigades, to the assistance of
General Greene (as the}^ were at Gnilford Court-
Honse) and remained himself in the command of
the eastern part of the State, with Halifax as head-
quarters. This is in accord with the general scope
of Greene's plan for preventing the invasion of
Virginia by that route.
It is much to be lamented that General Caswell
did not have sufficient sagacity to place these
brigades under the command of some one of the
*He \vas the son of (iovcrnor Caswell.
numerous Continental soldiers, from Washington's
army, who were then in the State. It was the
appointment of General Stevens, of Virginia, to
command her militia, that caused that particular
brigade in her service to do such noble work at
Guilford Court-House. But Governor Caswell had
more genius for the forum than for the field; in
the former he was foremost in zeal and devotion to
American liberty, but as a soldier he obtained but
few honors on the field of battle. There was a
jealousy in the minds of the militia against the
veterans, and Caswell seems to have shared in it to
a great degree.
General Greene was anxious that Brigadier
General Jethro Sumner, of Warren, who had greatly
distinguished himself in the New Jersey campaign
under Washington, should command the North
Carolina troops who were to join him, and wrote to
General Sumner suggesting that he should make
this known to General Caswell.
In a letter from General Sumner to General
Greene, dated February 24th, 1781, he says:
"I received yours of the loth inst. on the 2ist, and
immediately, through Major Hawkins, aid to Major
General Caswell, I proffered my assistance and sent
expresses to Lieutenant Colonel Ashe and Major Mur-
free, who, by the temporary arrangement of the officers
of the North Carolina line, present in the State, were to
take charge of two of the regiments, to acquaint them
without delay that it was your wish that they join the
militia camp to render such assistance as may be in their
(267)
power. * I await General Caswell's sentiments
respecting myself. However, since I wrote him, I am
informed by Major Eaton* that General Jonesf is
desirous that I take charge of the brigade of Halifax,
which I believe will amount to 1500 or 1800 men. I
shall make it my business to see General Jones to-morrow
and shall, if I have* the offer of that brigade, inform you.
I am satisfied it will meet the approbation of the great
majority of the officers and soldiers of that brigade I
mean as a Continental officer, who, two years ago, the
militia were very averse to."
The information alluded to was that " General
Jones was sick and compelled to return home, and
that he would have been exceedingly happy to have
given the command of his brigade to you (Stunner)
provided he had continued with it, but as he is
obliged to return, the command devolves on General
Eaton ,J who insists on taking it."
The services of General Sunnier \verenotaccepted
and there is some ground for believing that the}
were repelled with circumstances calculated tc
offend that gallant and distinguished officer.
On the nth March, General Simmer writes
Governor Abner Nash :
"Second thoughts are often best ; therefore, I nov*
write under apprehension that my attending you, when
General Caswell may be, will be injurious to my char
acter, and perhaps hurtful to his. For my part, I declan
*Pinkethan Eaton.
tWillie Jones.
jThomas Eaton.
(268)
that I wish to render service to my country at this alarm-
ing crisis. Believe me, I only wish to have no enemy."
Neither the expressed wishes of General Greene
nor the" desires of the Governor prevailed. Caswell
seems to have been inexorable. Neither Suinner,
Ashe nor Murfree were given commands, but the
militia were left under inexperienced officers in this
great crisis of the State, when discipline and military
skill were so essentially necessary to success. It is
useless to conjecture what might have been the result
at Guilford Court-House if the North Carolina
militia had been commanded by Sumner and Ashe,
as the Virginians were by General Stevens. We
can only regret that such a patriot as Governor
Caswell should have been so narrow and contracted
in his views and so obstinate in maintaining them.
The Legislature of North Carolina met at Halifax
the 1 8th day of January, 1781, and directed their
attention at once to the defence of the State. " Bills
were passed for giving greater efficiency to the
militia and for the reorganization of the Continental
battalions; the latter, nominally six, were reduced
to four and provision made for speedily filling up
the ranks to the proper complement." " The Board
of War" was discontinued. By an extraordinary
stretch of authority, whose only palliations were
the crisis and the purity of their motives, they
established a "Council Extraordinary," to consist
of three persons of integrity and abilities such as
the General Assembly can have the greatest confi-
( 2 6 9 )
deuce in, and invested the actual Governor, Nash,
and this council, with the powers of government,
"after the expiration of his, Nash's, official term,"
provided the invasion of the enemy should prevent
the holding of elections and the meeting of the
Assembly at the usual time. After thus guarding
against the chances of war, the Assembly closed
the session February i4th, 1781.
The "Council Extraordinary," newly created,
consisted of General Richard Caswell of Lenoir
County, Colonel Alexander Martin of Guilford
County, and Mr. Bignal of Newbern. This
"Council Extraordinary" succeeded to all the
powers of the recent u Board of War " and " Coun-
cil of State," and was required to keep a journal.
This renewed expression of confidence in Colonel
Martin is evidence of his constancy and fidelity to
the cause of independence. He may not have been
adapted by nature to the duties of a soldier, but
his fidelity as a citizen and civilian were never
questioned.
I have not been able to trace the history of Mr.
Bignal.
The formation of this "Council Extraordinary"
was analogous to the action of. South Carolina,
Which had clothed Governor Rutlege with dictato-
rial powers: "inter arma leges silent" Happily
for the State these powers were not abused. It was
to this "Council Extraordinary" that Governor
Nash alludes in his order to General Caswell, and
which, it seems, was about to assemble at Halifax.
(270)
In the meantime, on the 29th day of January,
1781, Major James H. Craig, with an English force,
took possession of Wilmington. Greene no doubt
had some intimation of this movement before it
was made, but supposed it was to be under the
command of Arnold, and attended with the atrocities
which characterized his expedition into Virginia.
Cornwallis, of course, was cognizant of this part of
the plan of invasion into North Carolina, and ex-
pected to open a communication with Major Craig,
through the loyalists of the Cape Fear, who
abounded in that region, though they had not em-
bodied to any considerable extent since the battle
of Moore's Creek. They were waiting the advent
of the British army, and, for the present, contenting
themselves with predatory excursions here and
there in that region.
The American troops had suffered painfully in
their long marches through the mud and ice of a
dreary winter, more severe than usual at this
period. The Maryland line, which had been ex-
posed without tents ever since Morgan left Char-
lotte in December, and which had now been in
retreat from the i;th day of January to the i5th
of February, were the greatest sufferers. After
Greene crossed the Dan an inspection of the line
showed 86 1 men fit for duty, and 274 in the hospitals.
General Greene writes Washington a doleful
account of the condition of the army. We copy it :
(271)
"IRWIN'S FERRY, Feb. i5th, 1781.
- u The miserable situation of the troops, for want of
clothing, has rendered the march the most painful im-
aginable, many hundreds of the soldiers tracking the
ground with their bloody feet. Your feelings for the
sufferings of the soldier, had you been with us, would
have been severely tried."
How little does the average reader appreciate the
privations and exposures of the soldier ! They
turn from it with impatience to listen to the tale
of combat and the shout of victory, and, too often,
amid the comforts of home, are disposed to criticise
the errors of the field. The endurance and forti-
tude of these soldiers are as noble evidences of their
true manhood as their most splendid exploits on
the field of battle. Under excitement one may be
nerved to deeds of daring, but to submit to priva-
tion and nakedness and hunger, in the cheerless
inactivity of a bivouac, requires the sternest stuff
that men are ever made of.
On* the i yth the report exhibited, of men fit for
duty: infantry, 1078, artillery 64, cavalry 176,
Legionary infantry 112 1430 in all.
It would be a story too tedious and vexatious to
recount all the perplexities of General Greene at
this time. Arnold had invaded Virginia and plun-
dered Richmond; the whole State was in terror at
his approach, and the reinforcements intended for
Greene's army were diverted to the James River.
The militia of eastern North Carolina were march-
(.272)
ing to the assistance of their neighboring State,
Finally, when the Baron Stenben had organized
400 regulars, under Colonel Richard Campbell, and
2()(,o militia, and had them on their way to camp,
the whole militia turned back on a false rumor that
Cormvallis had retreated to Wilmington, and only
Campbell persevered in the march and reached
Greene.*
Maryland had early adopted the policy of enlist-
ing for the war, and to that fact may be assigned
the splendid heroism of her troops in the South.
Virginia and North Carolina only partially adopted
this policy, and the Continental line of the latter
was now in prison, and the militia of both States
being generally called out for six weeks, spent one-
third of this time in getting to camp and the other
two-thirds in calculating the day of their return.
They came without drilling or discipline, with
only ordinary guns, without bayonets or equip-
ments, and were a poor match for veteran soldiers,
armed and equipped for battle. It was this short-
sighted policy that prolonged the struggle for inde-
pendence, and for a long time held the event of it
in doubt. Colonel Lee very truthfully remarks
that the exposure of such undisciplined troops to
the attack of trained soldiers was murder. The
riflemen of the mountains, the volunteers of King's
Mountain and Cowpens, were not of this class, and
*Richard Campbell was afterwards killed at P^utaw, and must not
be confounded with Colonel William Campbell, who commanded at
King's Mountain.
we will discover Greene's mistake in supposing that
the ordinary militia could be depended on like
these highland hunters.
As soon as General Stevens had conveyed the
Cowpens prisoners to a place of safety he joined
Greene's army, and being authorized to raise troops
for six weeks' service, soon raised 1000 men from
the counties in Virginia around Greene's camp.
With the reinforcement of Colonel Richard Camp-
bell's regulars and Stevens' militia, and the brigade
of North Carolinians under Pickens, Greene deter-
mined to recross the Dan, and on the 23d day of
February he entered North Carolina again. This
was three days after Cornwallis entered Hillsboro.
His lordship was greatly encouraged by the num-
bers of men who flocked to Hillsboro from curiosity
or for gain, and he offered "guineas and lands to
those who would enlist under his banner ;" but it was
only a day or two subsequent that he sorrowfully
wrote to the British ministry that he was " sur-
rounded by timid friends and inveterate enemies."
His lordship also did the region of Orange and
Guilford counties the distinguished honor of de-
claring, "I could not get one hundred men in all
the Regulators' country to stay with us even as
militia."* It was another " Hornet's Nest " his
lordship had gotten into. There was one regiment
of the British army under Colonel Hamilton, form-
erly of Halifax, North Carolina, called the North
Carolina regiment, but it was like the street in
*Cornwallis to Clinton, April loth, 1781.
18
(274)
Damascus, only called straight. This regiment was
formed at St. Augustine, Florida, from renegades
who came in from every quarter, and with but a
small proportion from North Carolina. Colonel
Hamilton, however, was an English gentleman of
culture and refinement, and was honorable and
brave as a soldier, never allowing his troops to
plunder or murder. He was for years English
Consul at Norfolk, after the revolution.
Before Greene recrossed the Dan, Colonel Otho
Williams, with the same detachment which was
placed under him to cover the retreat, was pushed
forward with orders to hang on the enemy's flanks
and watch his movements, and if the British army
started for Wilmington, to harass and retard its
march. Lee and Washington, with their cavalry,
were also directed to watch every opportunity to
strike the enemy and overawe any rising of Tories
in the lower settlements. General Butler was, at this
time, marching up the Cape Fear with his brigade
of militia, and at one time Lee thought of joining
him and making a sudden attack on the British.
General Pickens did not remain idle, and, as we
stated, had marched with his North Carolina brigade
of infantry, under Colonel Locke of Rowan, and
cavalry under Graham, towards Hillsboro in search
of adventure, and with him was McCall of South
Carolina, with about thirty cavalry and a few Geor-
gians. Cornwallis was scarcely encamped at Hills-
borq before Pickens' command was hovering around
him in sight of the town. On reaching Stony
Creek, ten miles from Hillsboro, General Pickens
( 2 7 5 ]
sent Captain Graham iorward with twenty cavalry
and twenty infantry, under Captain Richard Sim-
mons, to examine the position of the enemy and to
strike a blow if practicable. Captain Graham
discovered a detachment of British soldiers, num-
bering twenty-five men, at Hart's Mill, on the Eno,
one mile and a half from Hillsboro. He concealed
himself for the night, and as soon as it was light
enough for the riflemen to see the sights on their
guns, he made a sudden onset upon them, taking
them entirely by surprise, and captured their cap-
tain, sixteen privates of the regulars and two Tories.
One sergeant and eight privates were left on the
ground killed or wounded. This was a brilliant
opening for the Whigs, and threw the British camp
into consternation for awhile. The whole of Tarle-
ton's cavalry were paraded and sent in pursuit, but
in vain. Captain Graham baffled his pursuers and
reached the camp in safety. Judge Johnson falls
again into an egregious error in ascribing this coup
de main to Captain McCall of his own State, when
in fact he was ten miles from the scene. This is a
second glaring injustice done to North Carolina;
for this success, though comparatively small, was
greatly commended by General Greene and caused
rejoicing all around the camp. It was a gem of a
skirmish, and shone brightly, if not with extended
effulgence. In reflecting on these injustices done
one State by another, we cannot refrain from quot-
ing from Judge Johnson himself the tacit acknowl-
edgment of his fault. He says :
(2/6)
".There is and perhaps ought to be a clannish spirit
in the States of the Union which will ever dispose the
writers they produce to blazon, with peculiar zeal, the
virtues and talents of the eminent men of their respective
States. It is a tendency so natural to man that religion,
the retirement of the cloister and the barefooted friar,
who has renounced the world, acknowledge its influence
in exaggerated eulogies on a patron saint or beatified
brother. And it will probably happen that, in future
times, the States that have produced the ablest ivriters
ivill enjoy the reputation of having produced the ablest
statesmen, generals and orators"
South Carolina did not lack for an "able writer"
or a " clannish spirit " in the distinguished biogra-
pher of General Greene.
Graham and his men had just tumbled down for
a little rest after this arduous duty, when they were
startled by the cry, "Tarleton's coming!" The
whole camp was astir in a moment and put in readi-
ness to receive the charge; when, to their great
joy, it was discovered to be Colonel Harry Lee and
his cavalry, who had started to surprise this same
detachment at Hart's Mill.*
On the night of the 2ist of February, General
Greene, attended by a small escort of dragoons,
crossed the Dan and visited Pickens and Lee to
confer with them as to the future movements of
the army and the proper measures to annoy the
enemy. Having spent the greatest part of the
night in anxious consultation, Pickens and Greene
*Graham, in University Magazine.
" wrapped up in their cloaks and shared tne same
blanket in a refreshing nap."
Pickens being the superior officer, was given the
command of Lee's Legion as well as his own
brigade, as one corps, and both officers were
exhorted to harmony and good will. This visit
was another of Greene's bold enterprises, which to
us, at this day, appears almost reckless, yet, as he
returned safely next morning, we must admit he
did not err in his calculations.
About the aistor 22d February, General Pickens
was apprised of the advance of Colonel John Preston
and Colonel William Campbell (he of King's Moun-
tain fame) with a reinforcement to join his command,
and on the next day perhaps, for we cannot fix the
exact days, the General also was informed that
Tarleton, with his cavalry, four hundred infantry
and two pieces of artillery, had left Hillsboro in the
direction of Haw River to the west.
Being apprehensive that Tarleton would fall in
with these approaching reinforcements, and feeling
strong enough now to cope with him, Pickens
called in his forces and set out in pursuit of Tarleton.
They found he had crossed the Haw River, and
at noon of the 25th of February, they were so near
to him as to capture two of his officers who had
lingered behind, and while eager in the pursuit,
and with even the order of attack arranged, a most
singular occurrence happened, which defeated all
their ardent hopes of destroying this ''scourge "
of the British arnry. As Johnson says that Lee's
(278)
account of " Pyle's Defeat," sometimes termed
" Pyle's Massacre," is inaccurate and fanciful, I will
do as I have done before give the unvarnished story
as it is related by Joseph Graham, who prepared it
for Judge Murphy, to be incorporated into a history
of North Carolina. Resuming the narrative at the
junction of Lee's force with Pickens, he writes:
"The whole army moved a few miles and encamped
at an adjacent farm for the night. The next day it was in
motion, in different directions, nearly the whole day ;
but did not go far, beating down nearer Hillsboro. The
two corps kept near each other, though they moved and
camped separately, as they had done the previous evening.
Reconnoitering parties, which were sent out in the
evening and had returned in the night, gave notice of a
detachment passing from Hillsboro towards the ford on
Haw River.
"Pickens and Lee put their forces in motion at an early
hour, and came into the great road eight miles west of
Hillsboro,- near Mebane's farm.
"The whole of the militia cavalry, seventy in number,
that had swords, were placed under Captain Graham,
and in the rear of Lee's horse. Such of Graham's men
as had not swords were ordered to join another company.
They followed the enemy's trail on the road to Haw
River, with the cavalry in front.
"During the whole day's march every man expected a
battle and hard fighting. Men's countenances on such
occasions indicate something which can be understood
better than described in words. The countenances of
the whole militia, throughout the day, never showed
better.
(279)
" Lee states (page 311) that Pyle's men, on seeing the
militia in the rear of his cavalry, recognized and fired on
them.
' ' The true statement of this is, that Major Dickson, of
Lincoln, who commanded the column on our right
(when the disposition for attack had been made at the
last farm), had been thrown out of his proper order of
march by the fences and a branch, and when Pyle's men
were first seen by the militia they were thought to be
the party under Dickson, which had come round the
plantation and gotten in the road before them. On
coming within twenty steps of them, Captain Graham
discovered the mistake ; seeing them with cleaner clothes
than Dickson' s party, and each man having a strip of
red cloth on his hat. Graham, riding alongside of Cap-
tain Eggleston, who commanded the rear of Lee's horse,
remarked to him : "That company are Tories. What is
the reason they have their arms?" Captain Eggleston,
addressing a good-looking man at the end of the line,
supposed to be an officer, inquired, "To whom do you
belong?'' The man promptly answered, " A friend to
his majesty." Whereupon Captain Eggleston struck
him over the head. The militia looking on and waiting
for orders, on this example being set, rushed on them
like lightning and cut away. The noise in the rear
attracted the notice of Lee's men, and they turned their
horses short to the right about five steps, and in less
than a minute the attack was made along the whole line.
The same page* states that ninety loyalists were killed.
The next day our militia counted ninety-three dead, and
there was the appearance of many more being carried
off by their friends. There were certainly many more
*Referring to Lee's Memoirs.
(280)
wounded. When Lee and Pickens retired, it appeared
as if three hundred might be lying dead. Many, per-
haps, were only slightly wounded and lay quietly for
security.
"At the time the action commenced, Lee's dragoons,
in the open order of inarch, extended about the same
distance with Pyle's men, who were in close order, and
on horseback ; and most of them having come from
home on that day, were clean, like men who now turn
out to a review. Lee's movement was as if he were
going to pass them five or six steps on the left of their
line. When the alarm was given in the rear, as quickly
as his men could turn their horses, they were engaged ;
and as the Tories were over two to one of our actual
cavalry, by pressing forward they went through their
line, leaving a number behind them. The continual
cry by the Tories was, 'You are killing your own men !
I am a friend to his majesty. Hurrah for King George !'
Finding their professions of loyalty, and all they could
say were of no avail, and only the signal for their destruc-
tion, twelve or fifteen of those whom Lee's men had
gone through, and who had thrown down their guns,
now determining to sell their lives as dearly as possible,
jumped to their arms and began to fire in every direc-
tion, making the cavalry give back a little. But as soon
as their guns were empty, they were charged upon on
every side by more than could get at them, and cut
down in a group together. All the harm done by their
fire was that a dragoon's horse was shot down. Falling
very suddenly, and not moving* afterwards, the rider's
leg was caught under him, and by all his efforts he could
not extricate himself, until the action began to slacken,
when two of his comrades dismounted and rolled the
( 2 8i)
horse off him. Lee's men had so recently come to the
South that they did not understand the usual marks of
distinction between Whig and Tory, and after the first
onset, when all became mixed, they inquired of each
man, before they attacked him, to whom he belonged.
The enemy readily answered, 'To King George.' To
many of their own militia they put the same question.
Fortunately no mistakes occurred, though in some
instances there was great danger of it.
"At the close of the action the troops were scattered
and mixed through each other completely disorganized.
General Pickens and Colonel Lee gave repeated orders to
form, but the confusion was such that their orders were
without effect. These officers appeared sensible of the
delicate situation we were in. If Tarleton, who was
only two or three miles off, with nearly an equal force,
had come upon us at this juncture, the result must have
been against us.
"Lee's men, though under excellent discipline, could
with difficulty be gotten in order. The commandants
exhibited great perturbation, until at length Lee ordered
Major Rudolph to lead off and his dragoons to fall in
behind them ; Captain Graham received the same order
as to the militia dragoons, and by the time the line had
moved a quarter of a mile there was the same order as
when we met Pyle. Lee himself, while they were form-
ing, staid in the rear of his own corps and in front of
Graham's, and ordered one of the sergeants to go directly-
back and get a pilot from among the Tories, and bring
him forward without delay. The sergeant in a short
time returned with a middle-aged man (his name __.
and he lived near that place), who had received a slight
wound on the head, and was bleeding freely. The
(282)
sergeant apologized to his Colonel because he could find
none who were not wounded. Lee asked him several
questions relative to the roads, farms, water-courses, etc.;
how O'Neal's plantation (where Tarleton then was) was
situated : whether open, woods, hilly or level, etc. After
answering the several questions, and after an interval of
about a minute, while Lee appeared to be meditating, the
man addressed him: 'Well, God bless your soul, Mr.
Tarleton, you have this day killed a parcel of as good
subjects as ever his Majesty had.' Lee, who at this time
was not in the humor for quizzing, interrupted him, say-
ing : ' You d d rascal, if you call me Tarleton I will
take off your head. I will undeceive you: we are the
Americans and not the British. I am Lee of the Ameri-
can Legion, and not Tarleton.' The poor fellow
appeared chop-fallen."*
Colonel Pyle and his men were misled by the
uniforms of Lee's Legion, both his cavalry and
infantry being dressed in short green coats, with
other distinctions resembling the uniform of Tarle-
ton's Legion.
Pyle, though wounded with many cuts of the
sabre, crawled into a pond of water, where he con-
cealed himself and was afterwards rescued by his
Tory friends and survived.
In Governor Swain's lecture on the War of the
Regulation, I find this allusion to Colonel Pyle :
"The forced requisition of a wagon and team from
*NoTE. The scene of Pyle's defeat is very near the present town of
Burlington (formerly "Company Shops"), on the North Carolina
Railroad, in Alamance County.
( 2 8 3 )
John Pyle, exhibited in our last number, shows the
severe process which secured his allegiance. His fol-
lowers, who, with him, rendered such fearful retribution
in the sanguinary conflict with Pickens and Lee, on the
25th February, 1781, were fellow-sufferers in the ravages
of Try on in 1772. - Colonel Pyle was a physician and an
amiable man, and for faithful and skillful services, ren-
dered to wounded Whigs at the battle of Cane Creek, a
few months after his discomfiture on Haw River, was
pardoned by the executive authority."
Colonel Pyle had been a Regulator, and, after the
battle of Alamance, Governor Tryon had impressed
his wagons and other property. He subsequently
took the oath of allegiance, and feeling conscienti-
ously bound by it, became a Tory in the revolution.
Perhaps many of his followers owed their apostacy
to the same causes.
Tarleton was only a mile or two in advance.
Pickens ordered his column to move forward, and
about sunset his scouts came in view of the enemy's
camp, who seemed to be resting in a state of security.
After a conference it was decided to postpone the
attack until morning, as the troops were weary with
marching and hungry for food. Patrols and senti-
nels were placed in every direction to prevent
intelligence reaching Tarleton's camp; but during
the night a messenger reached him from Corn-
wallis, who had been informed of the movement of
Pickens. Tarleton was ordered to return to Hills-
boro in haste. So urgent was the command that
several couriers had been dispatched with the same
( 2 8 4 )
message. Tarleton obeyed the order by decamping
at 2 o'clock in the morning and riding with all
speed towards Hillsboro. Pickens followed, but
only to get in sight of Tarleton as he entered the
town.
The sanguinary destruction of Pyle's command
had the effect of striking terror into the hearts of
the Tories of Randolph and Chatham, and so com-
pletely subdued their spirit that they never em-
bodied again during the war. There were maraud-
ing parties of banditti who stole and plundered,
but their forces were never again brought together
as a military organization. The good name of the
American troops suffered, even in the estimation of
their friends, for this bloody slaughter of the Tories ;
but in extenuation of the fierce passions of that
hour, it must be remembered that Tarleton had
been the first to inaugurate this unsparing and
merciless warfare, the summer before, at the Wax-
haws, and many of the North Carolinians who
faced Pyle's command had friends and relatives
among the slain who were hacked to pieces on
that unfortunate day. " Tarleton 's Quarters " had
become a proverb in the American army ; it was
the watchword of revenge the spirit of memory
that never slept in the hearts of our people ; by it
"they nursed their wrath to keep it warm," and, in
muttering tones around the camp-fires of the
bivouac, they vowed that vengeance should be
meted out, "an eye for an eye," when the auspi-
cious day should come to put their enemies in their
grasp. Neither discipline, nor authority, nor hu-
manity could stand before the dreadful wrath which
the blood of Buford's men had stirred within their
hearts. " Blood for blood," was the cry of the men
who that day hacked the Tories, and now and then
"Tarleton's Quarters" put fresh strength into the
sabre arm which seemed to grow weary of slaughter
and death. Buford, too, was a Virginian, and
Kggleston and Armstrong did not keep their swords
at rest while the memory of the slaughter was fresh
in their minds. It was a dreadful day, sickening
to the heart ; but how many other tales of butchery
it prevented can only be known by the Omniscient
One. If Pyle had succeeded in joining Tarleton,
and Preston, Armstrong and Winston had fallen
into his hands next day, as he expected, the
tears would only have been transposed from Tory
to Whig homes, and the weeeping and lamentations
would have made patriots, instead of traitors, shud-
der at the result. Whatever may be said of the
deed itself, the results were most salutary to the
American cause, and it may, in this instance, per-
haps, be claimed that
" All's well that ends well."
Tarleton had marched to intercept the detach-
ments of militia under Preston, Armstrong and
Winston who were on their way to reinforce
Pickens ; and the massacre of Pyle's was the fortu-
nate circumstance, from the British standpoint,
that prevented the extermination of Tarleton's
command. Some destiny shaped the ends of this
bad man so strangely that he seems to have been
(286)
excepted from the just and certain laws of righteous
retribution. He survived the war, lived to an old
age, and requited the affection of Cormvallis by
exposing his errors and magnifying his faults.
General Greene was again in North Carolina,
and evidently was making preparation to attack
Cornwallis or repel his lordship if attacked by him.
He was expecting reinforcements every day and
was strong enough already to choose his battle-field
and the day of battle. In the meantime, he was goad-
ing and harassing and irritating the British com-
mander until his enemy was growing obstinate and
desperate the frame of mind that precedes mistakes
and destruction.. His foraging parties were cut off,
his camp insulted, his reinforcements hacked to
pieces, and even Tarleton and his famous Legion
were not strong enough to stand before the detach-
ments sent to annoy him. He was compelled to
leave his camp at Hillsboro and seek a more friendly
region. On the 2 6th of February, Cornwallis left
Hillsboro and marched to Alamance Creek, in what
is now Alamance County, but was then the south-
eastern portion of Guilford County. This was a
little south of west from Hillsboro, a good day's
journey, and on the direct road to Salisbury. It
was designed, too, to put Greene in doubt, whether
the British commander would retrace his steps to
Salisbury or move suddenly to the Cape Fear and
fall back on Wilmington. Greene was anxiously
watching the movement and awaiting impatiently
the arrival of the North Carolina and Virginia
( 2 3 7 )
brigades of militia, then well on their way to his
camp, in order that he might resume the offensive
and defeat either of the movements of the enemy.
But he was also, as ever, alert to prevent surprise,
knowing 1 that Cornwallis was in a mad state of
mind and ready t*o do even a rash act. His orders
to Otho Williams and Pickens, who commanded the
two detachments in the front of the British camp,
the one being on one side of the Alamance Creek,
the other on the other side, was to be wary and
watchful and let not the slightest motion of the
enemy be unobserved.
Greene was now at his camp at Speedwell Iron
Works, on the upper waters of Troublesome Creek,
thirty miles distant. The two brigades of Virginia
militia Binder Stevens and Laws on, and the two
brigades of North Carolina militia, were marching
on a highway, running west, from a point below
Hillsboro, to join Greene at his camp. The nearest
point that this road came to the camp of Cornwallis
was twenty-five or thirty miles, and in a north-
wardly direction. The command of Williams lay
between that point and Cornwallis. The roads from
the camp of Williams and from the camp of Corn-
wallis to that point intersected each other at
Whitsill's Mill, which was on the direct route that
Cornwallis would travel to strike the approaching
militia. It was soon developed that he was at last
aroused to energetic action, and that he came to
Alamance as a crouching spot, from which he might
pounce upon the prey as it passed, all unconscious
(288)
of danger, as he thought, within the length of his
spring. If the militia were scattered and the 3000
arms which they were bringing to camp destroyed,
Greene would be forced to cross the Dan again and
North Carolina would be at the mercy of the British
crown. These were the anxious hopes that agitated
the bosom of the British commander and brought
victory to his imagination once more.
J O
The line of march of the militia was a hazardous
one, but General Greene was so much impressed
with the idea and apprehension that Cornwallis
would escape, that he resolved that they should
approach by the nearest route. In order to guard
against the possibility of their falling a prey to a
sudden dash from the enemy, General Greene moved
his .camp down and across Troublesome Creek,
fifteen miles, and put himself about the same
distance from Cornwallis. Colonels Williams and
Pickens \vere between them on the flank of the
enemy. The American commander was confident
that Cornwallis could not move without the knowl-
edge of Williams and Pickens, and that they could
impede his march until the militia could escape;
or if Cornwallis forced Williams and Pickens into
a sudden or precipitate retreat they could fall back
and join him, and their combined forces could so
retard the enemy that he could not reach the rein-
forcements. Greene now waited anxiously at his
camp, at Boyd's Mill, on Reedy Fork, seven miles
above Whitsill's Mill, for the event of these several
dispositions of his troops.
( 2 8 9 )
Cornwallis, in the meantime, maneuvered con-
stantly, so as to impress Williams with the idea
that he was about to begin a retreat to Cross Creek
(now Fayetteville), on the Cape Fear River; but
on the 6th day of March, when least expected, the
British commander made a sudden dash north,
hoping to outstrip Williams to Wlritsill's Mill, on
Reedy Fork, and passing on ten miles further, and
directly north, to intercept the train of the Ameri-
can reinforcements at High Rodk Ford, on the
Haw River, which ford they would necessarily pass
on their route to the permanent camp of Greene at
the Speedwell Iron Works, further up that river
Cornwallis had scarcely moved out of his camp
before the intelligence of it reached Williams, who
was then on his left flank, and the race for Whit-
sill's Mill was immediately begun. It was "neck
and neck," on parallel roads Williams flying, with
his light troops, to the rescue of his friends ; Corn-
wallis dashing through every obstruction, with
reckless speed, to reach the prize his heart had so
anxiously coveted. Williams was unincumbered
and full of vigor; Cornwallis, though obliged to
move his trains with his army, was desperate and
determined. As the patrols and scouts passed from
the one column to the other, apprising each of the
advance of his competitor, the race grew more
animated, the competitors more earnest and resolute ;
the goal was now getting nearer and the excitement
greater, when Williams, putting forth his whole
energy, urged his men to a triumphant speed and
19
(290)
dashed down the hill and across the Reedy Fork
as the enemy appeared upon the crest in their rear,
entering from the other road.
Williams drew up his forces on the north bank
of the stream and gave the British a warm recep-
tion. The enemy was checked; he had failed in
his purpose to separate Williams from Greene.
Williams was now in seven miles of Greene, at
Boyd's Mill, and soon informed him of the occur-
rences of the day. Sending orders to Williams to
fall back north, towards the High Rock Ford, on
Haw River, where he proposed to meet him, General
Greene at once moved in that direction for the pro-
tection of the advancing reinforcements. The
British commander finding that his stratagem had
not succeeded, fell back to his old encampment.
The fight at Whitsill's Mill was sharp and
severe bloody while it lasted.
Lee, in his Memoirs, relates the thrilling story
of Colonel Webster's almost miraculous escape in
the skirmish :*
"The British van appeared, and after a halt for a few
minutes on the opposite bank, descended the hill, ap-
proaching the water, when, receiving a heavy fire of
musketry and rifles, it fell back, and quickly reascending,
was rallied on the margin of the bank. Here a field
officer rode up, and in a loud voice addressed his soldiers,
then rushed down the hill at their head and plunged
into the water, our fire pouring upon him. In the
woods occupied by the riflemen stood an old log school-
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 266.
(291 )
house, a little to the right of the ford. The mud stuffed
between the logs had mostly fallen out and the apertures
admitted the use of the rifle with ease. In this house
twenty-five (25) select marksmen, of King's Mountain
militia, were posted by Lee, with orders to forego taking
any part in the ^general resistance, but to hold them-
selves in reserve for any particular objects. The lead-
ing officer, plunging into the water, attracted general
notice, and the school-house party, recollecting its order,
singled him out as their mark. The stream being deep
and the bottom rugged, he advanced slowly, his soldiers
on'each side of him, and apparently some of them hold-
ing his stirrup leathers. This select party discharged
their rifles at him, one by one, each man sure of knock-
ing him over ; and having reloaded, eight or nine of
them emptied their guns a second time at the same
object. Strange to tell, though in a condition so peril-
ous, himself and horse were untouched ; and having
crossed the creek, he soon formed his troops and ad-
vanced upon us."
In a note Colonel Lee says :
"The twenty-five riflemen were selected for their
superior excellence as marksmen. It was no uncommon
amusement among them to put an apple on the point of
a ramrod, and holding it in the hand, with the arm
extended, to permit their comrades, known to be expert,
to fire at it, when many balls would pass through the
apple; and yet Lieutenant Colonel Webster, mounted on
a stout horse, in point-blank shot, slowly moving through
a deep water-course, was singled out by this party, who
fired seriatim thirty- two or thirty-three times at him
and neither struck him nor his horse."
(292)
This wonderful escape is only equaled by that
of Washington at Braddock's defeat. It seems
marvellous, yet we cannot doubt its truth.
Cornwallis now "withdrew from his camp on
the Alamance to Bells' Mill, on Deep River," not
far from where Jamestown now is, u with the reso-
lution of restoring by rest the strength of his troops,
and of holding it up for that decisive day which,
from his knowledge of the character of his adver-
sary, he was assured would arrive as soon as he
had acquired his expected reinforcements."*
The reinforcements, approaching, now continued
on their way unmolested and reached Greene's
camp at High Rock Ford, on the Haw River, on
Sunday, March the nth, lySi.f This was only
four days before the great battle at Guilford Court-
House, which I will attempt to describe truthfully
and impartially in the succeeding chapter.
*Lee's Memoirs.
fjohnson's Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 472.
CHAPTER VII.
North Carolinians with Greene at the Battle of " Guilford Court-
House" Virginians with Him The Troops constituting His
Regular Army The Number and Character of the Troops
under Cornwallis Description of the Battle-Ground Descrip-
tion of the Battle Defence of the North Carolina Militia
Incidents and Anecdotes of the Battle Results of the Battle
in its Effect on the Military History of the Country Mr. Ben-
ton's Review of the Importance of this Battle The Precursor
of Yorktown The Lesser the Father of thNe Greater Event.
The battle of Guilford Court-House, fought on
Thursday, March the I5th, 1781, between the
American forces under Major General Nathanael
Greene, and the English forces under Lord Corn-
wallis, was, in my opinion, second in its results to
110 battle of the revolutionary war. It was the only
pitched battle fought on the soil of North Carolina,
between the two regular contending armies, of any
magnitude, and for that reason is more conspicuous
in North Carolina history than any other event of
that period.
It has been described by Lee and Campbell, Vir-
ginians, who participated in it, on the American
side, and in their respective narratives they have
severely reflected on the conduct of the North
Carolina militia, who formed the first, or front line
of Greene's army, and received the cannonade and
first fire of the enemy. General Greene, though
abstaining from the use of harsh language, has
adopted that account and reported the militia as
( 294 )
delinquent in duty in the fight; and for these rea-
sons North Carolinians, without investigating the
correctness of these statements, or considering the
sources where they originated, or reflecting upon
the extenuating, if not the justifying, circumstances
which surrounded these troops, have suffered morti-
fication at this supposed dereliction of duty on the
part of their fellow-citizens.
These statements of Lee and Campbell have been
repeated so often, and have been so greatly exagger-
ated by subsequent historians, especially by Johnson
in his u Life of General Greene," that it seems almost
presumptuous to question their correctness. It is
the more embarrassing because our own writers
have carelessly fallen into this beaten track of error
and repeated this story literally from others, until
we are condemned "out of our own mouths." I
shall not, however, shrink from the task of
endeavoring to unfold the whole truth of history,
and to publish important facts and circumstances
which have either been intentionally or criminally
suppressed by these historians, who have gone before,
and also to show that much of the glory of this
battle belongs to other classes of troops, from North
Carolina, who participated in it and whose identity,
as North Carolinians, has been overlooked by histo-
rians because their names were not on the muster-
rolls of the regular army, and who, though embodied
as North Carolina soldiers, w r ere fighting under
commanders from other States.
There were three English historians, all soldiers,
participating in this battle on the side of the crown,
(295)
to-wit, Colonel Tarleton, Colonel Stedman and
Sergeant Lamb, who have given their account of
the struggle. Their testimony is entitled to respect,
especially that of Stedman, whose fairness and
honesty is admitted by American historians.
There is another source of information open
to us in the cotemporaneous literature of that day,
written by the soldiers engaged in the battle, many
of them afterwards distinguished in church and
state, and, last of all, is tradition, coming down to
us from trustworthy sources. We may add to this
positive testimony, the natural evidence which is
always truthful and cannot be neglected by any
reasonable tribunal investigating truth.
To all these sources of information I shall appeal
for truth, and for justice to North Carolina, with
the confidence that very much, if not all, the odium
attached, to her militia will vanish away, and that
the honorable part borne by her other volunteer
troops, in this battle, shall be established beyond
cavil or doubt.
On the loth day of March, 1781, on Saturday
before the battle, General Greene wrote to Governor
Jefferson, of Virginia, as follows:
"Every day has filled me with hopes of an augmen-
tation of my force ; the militia have flocked in from
various quarters, but they come and go in such irregular
bodies that I can make no calculation on the strength of
my army, or direct any future operations that can insure
me success. At this time I have not above 800 or 900
of them in the field. Yet there have been upwards of
5000 in motion in the course of four weeks. A force,
fluctuating in this manner, can promise but slender
hopes of success against an enemy in high discipline,
and made formidable by the superiority of their num-
bers. Hithertp I have been obliged to effect that by
finesse which I dare not attempt by force. I know the
people have been in anxious suspense, waiting the event
of a general action. But let the consequence be what
it may, nothing shall hurry me into a measure that is
not suggested by prudence, or dictated by the interests
of the Southern department.
"General Caswell is on his way with a considerable
force of the Carolina militia; and Colonel Campbell,*
with the Virginia regulars, I expect, will be up in a few
days. When this force arrives, I trust I shall be able to
prescribe the limits of the enemy's depredations, and at
least dispose of the arm\' iti such a manner as to incnm-
ber him with a number of wounded men.' 1 ' 1 ]'
From this we learn that the militia with Greene
had recently been as many as 5000 at one time, of
which number there were less than 1000 Virginians.
The "finesse" to which Greene alludes was get-
ting rid of mounted militia, who, Greene alleged,
consumed the forage of the country and made it
difficult to support his cavalry. For dispensing
with this class of troops, who, from long custom in
that kind of warfare, were, active, rapid and vigi-
lant, besides being hardy and courageous, General
Greene has been severely censured. His whole
*Richard Campbell.
tjohnson's Life of Greene, vol. r, p. 473.
(297)
correspondence shows in what low esteem he held
the citizen soldiery, and with what distrust he
looked upon them. He seems to have made one
exception, if Johnson is correct. This was General
Pickens' command of North Carolinians, " on whose
services he could depend from day to day."
But it seems, that on that loth day of March,
there were still 800 or 900 militia with General
Greene, and as the Virginia reinforcements had not
reached his camp, and those who w^re with him at
Halifax had remained behind,* it is to be presumed
that nearly if not quite all of these militia were
North Carolinians. These were the men left after
General Greene had gotten rid of the " mounted
militia " by finesse, and were no doubt hardy
infantry and followed the fortunes of the American
commander to Guilford Court-House, though he
gives no names of these officers, and no muster-rolls
show who they were. They were an unknown
factor in that important conflict of arms.
Occasionally we can get glimpses of facts in the
voluminous pages of Johnson, who had access to
all the papers of General Greene, which throw
much light on the number and character and indi-
viduality of the troops engaged, though his con-
clusions are so paradoxical that we cannot trust to
their correctness. We can only gather together
isolated facts, from here and there, and draw from
them our own inferences. From Johnson's account
of the battle one would infer that there were no
*Johnson, vol. i, p. 471.
( 2 9 < s )
North Carolina troops present except the two-
brigades of militia under Butler and Eaton, which
readied Greene on the nth of March, and that
these ran without firing a shot. This is the absurd
and arbitrary assertion which he makes.
I shall now extract the real truth, or very much
of it, in regard to the North Carolina troops in this
battle, from Johnson's own statements, made else-
where, and disconnected with the battle.
In his account of the battle of Hobkirk's Hill r
fought the 25th day of April, 1781, he uses this
language :
"The only militia force then with the army consisted
of 254 North Carolinians ; 150 of these, under Colonel
Read, had joined Greene soon after he crossed the Dan,
and had faithfully adhered to him from that time. They
were volunteers, men of the first respectability, and much
might have been expected of them in action."*
Honorable George Davis, of Wilmington, kindly
furnishes me the following sketch of Colonel James
Read:
"WILMINGTON, N. C., February gth, 1888.
" HON. D. SCHENCK, Greensboro, N. C. -
"Mv DEAR SIR : It affords me pleasure to give you
what meagre information I possess about Colonel James
Read, of the Continental army, who was my great-uncle,
the brother of my maternal grandmother. He was born
in the town of Armagh, Ireland, but at what time, and
"Vol. 2, p. 77.
(299)
when he emigrated to North Carolina, I do not know.
From the fact that he threw himself early and heartily
into the patriot cause, I infer that he must have been
here some y^ars before the revolution long enough to
have identified himself thoroughly with our country and
people. On the 7^1 of July, 1776, he was commissioned
a Lieutenant; and on the 8th day of July, 1777, a Cap-
tain in the ist Regiment of North Carolina troops, com-
1 manded by Colonel, afterwards General, James Moore. I
have no account of his military services, beyond what is
related in McRee's Life of Iredell, vol. i, pages 494,
499) 54> 545> 54^- He was with .Greene at Guilford
Court-House and Hobkirk's Hill, and was reputed to
have behaved well on both occasions. After the war he
stoutly opposed the adoption of the Federal Constitution
by North Carolina, and so drew upon himself the
animadversion of Archibald Maclaine. (Life of Iredell,
vol. 2, p. 219.)
"In 1785, under an act of the General Assembly passed
in 1784, Colonel Read was appointed, under the authority
of the State, Collector of the Port of Brunswick, which
position he held until the adoption by this State of the
Federal Constitution, when that office was superseded
by the authority of the United States. In 1790, Wil-
mington was made the port of entry for the Cape Fear,
and he was appointed Collector of that port by President
Washington. This office he held until his death in 1802
or 1803. He lived and died in Wilmington. He was
never married. Colonel Read had no relatives in this
country, except his young sister Sarah, whom he brought
over from Ireland, and who married my grandfather,
Joseph Eagles. He had a brother, Andrew Read, who
was a Colonel in the British army, but he never served
in America, but was stationed in India, where he died
without issue."
Greene recrossed the Dan the 23d of February,
and these men joined him "soon after." They
were "volunteers," not militia, and men of the
"first respectability" and had "faithfully adhered
to Greene," and beyond question were in the battle
at Guilford Court-House; but the account of that
battle, by either Johnson or Lee, may be searched
in vain for any mention of these "faithful volun-
teers."
Here, then, we have 150, as a remnant of Read's
volunteers; in all probability they numbered 200
at the battle of Guilford Court-House.
At another place* we are informed that on the
25th day of February, the day of " Pyle's defeat,"
Pickens' command was reinforced by "two detach-
ments of 100 each under Majors Winston and
Armstrong," both of North Carolina. Here then,
were 200 more North Carolina " volunteers "
who joined the American forces and " adhered
faithfully to Greene." Draper, in his biography
of Major Winston, says positively that he "shared
in the battle of Guilford. "f
Major Winston was conspicuous for his bravery
at King's Mountain, and led the van of the attack
on the rear of the hill. He was a member of Con-
gress from North Carolina in 1793, and again in
*Volume i, p. 455.
fKing's Mountain and Its Heroes, p. 455.
1803. He lived near German town, in Stokes
County, and died in 1814, leaving a large family.*
It is not only true that these riflemen of Surry
were present, but they were the very last to leave
the field, after Tarleton's final charge which dis-
persed the American forces on the left; for in that
charge Talliaferro, of Surry, was killed, and Jesse
Franklin, afterwards. Governor of North Carolina
and United States Senator from this State, made a
very narrow escape. The narrative of these occur-
rences is given by Caruthers, in his Sketches of
North Carolina, second series, upon the authority of
the present Judge Jesse Franklin Graves, a grand-
son of Governor Franklin, than whom no better
man or purer Judge now adorns the bench of the
" Old North State."
In " Tarleton's Campaigns," page 320, we find
the official report of the killed and wounded in
the battle of Guilford, by Otho Williams, Deputy
Adjuant General. It contains this statement:
"The North Carolina cavalry, commanded by
the Marquis Bretigny, lost one man killed and one
man wounded." We learn elsewheref that this
company consisted of 40 men.
From Colonel James Martin's application for a
pension under the act of 1832, we learn that his
force, about 200 strong, joined Greene at Guilford
Court-House on the icth February, and that about
100 of them were still with Greene at the battle.
*Wheeler's History, vol. 2, p. 149.
tGordou's History, vol. 4, p. 54.
Ramsay, in his Annals of Tennessee, page 251,
also says that " in response to Greene's earnest
entreaties, a few of the pioneers of Tennessee were
tinder Greene's command at the hotly-contested
battle of Guilford Conrt-House."
"These men were under Charles Robertson,"
and were all North Carolinians. They numbered
perhaps 100 men.
To sum up the organized "volunteer" force of
North Carolinians, in the Battle of Guilford Court-
House, of whom no official report gives any account,
we have the following:
Colonel Read's men, 200
Major Joseph Winston's men, - 100
Major Armstrong, - 100
Forbis' men from Guilford, - - 100
Sevier's men tinder Robertson, - TOO
Total, - 600 men.
Add to these the North Carolina
cavalry, 40 men,
And we have a total of - - 640
North Carolina volunteers who were in this
battle, besides the 1000 militia who joined Greene
on the nth day of March. The failure of Lee, in
his Memoirs, or Campbell in his letter, :: ' : to mention
these troops or their organizations, or the absence
of their names from the official report, are scarcely
to be considered as evidence against my position,
*Gibbs' Doc. His. (1857) p. 139.
(303 )
as but few persons are mentioned in the official
report, except those on the muster-rolls of the army.
It is as well established that Thomas Watkins,
with a militia company of dragoons, from Prince
Edward, Virginia, was present at this battle, as it
is that Lee's Legfon was there,* and yet this troop
of Watkins is nowhere mentioned by Lee or
Campbell, or in Greene's official report. It is also
well established that Watkins' dragoons did gallant
service in the charge on the Guards, and remained
to cover Greene's retreat after. Lee had, without
orders, left the field. f
I think it but fair to infer from Greene's letter of
the' loth of February, when all his forces had
rejoined the main army, that the "800 or 900"
militia, as he termed them, included the 600 whom
we have been able to trace directly to him, and
that, in fact, instead of 600, there were "800 or
900" North Carolina volunteers, select, good infan-
try, who remained with Greene after the " mounted
infantry" had left.J
The brigade of North Carolinians under Pickens
were not in the battle of Guilford. Their term of
service ended on the 3d of March, but they remained
a few days hoping to join in a general battle, and
at last, by General Greene's order, they marched,
in companies, for Rowan, Mecklenburg and Lincoln,
where they were directed, should occasion require,
*Foote's Sketches of Virginia, ist series, p. 403.
tjohnson, vol. 2, p. 20.
tjohnson, vol. i, p. 470.
(304)
to embody again, and hang- on the flanks of the
enemy if he retreated in that direction. There
were, however, a number of individuals of this
North Carolina brigade, who remained for the battle ;
among them Abram Forney, of Lincoln Comity,
ancestor of the present Judge Shipp, and of General
Robert D. Johnson and Captain J. F. Johnson, of
Birmingham, Alabama, late of Charlotte, N. C.
Abram Forney was an old Indian and frontier
fighter and could not endure the idea of missing
his favorite pastime. He was on the front line and
fired until the point of the British bayonet was too
close for further amusement. There were others,
of that Mecklenburg and Lincoln Legion, who were
with Forney, but I cannot gather their names.
There were also many individual riflemen of the
surrounding country who, as soon as Greene
advanced to Guilford Court-House, repaired to the
"shooting-match," as they designated it; some of
these we may mention by name in subsequent pages.
It has been previously stated that the North
Carolina militia who joined General Greene at
High Rock Ford (or Troublesome Creek, according
to General Graham), consisted of two brigades of
500 men each. The aggregate, however, was 1060.
The one was under Brigadier General John Butler, of
Orange County, one of the old Regulators, who had
adhered to his ideas of resistance to tyranny, from
Alamance, in May 1771, to that time. He had
been in arms from the beginning of the war and
had recently been at Gates' defeat and escaped
(305)
capture. He is represented as a man of great cour-
age and much force of character. He was very
popular with his neighbors and retained their
respect by his honest and straightforward dealings
with them. There was no time during the revolu-
tionary war when the name of General Butler was
not conspicuous in North Carolina, as a patriot and
soldier. He never laid down his arms until inde-
pendence was declared and won. The militia who
served under him at Guilford Court-House were
from Orange, Granville and GuilfordTounties.
General Thomas Eaton, who commanded the
other brigade, had been prominent in the civil and
political service of the State. In 1775 he was one
of the councillors of the Provisional Government
in North Carolina, of which Cornelius Harnett was
the "head."*
In 1776 he was Colonel of a battalion of militia
and was ordered out to repel a threatened invasion
by Sir Henry Clinton, on the Cape Fear.f He
was at the battle of Briar Creek, under General
Ashe, March the 3d, 1779, and narrowly escaped
capture.
In the " Life and Times of Iredell,"J we find this
anecdote about him:
"Eaton (afterwards General) was at Briar Creek. He
had a very small foot and wore a boot of unusual finish
*Moore's History, vol. I, p. 197.
fMoore's History, vol. i, p. 215.
JVol. i, p. 408, note.
( 3 o 6 )
and neatness. In the haste of his flight he left his boots
behind ; they were recognized and purchased of a soldier
by Colonel John Hamilton, who afterwards commanded
a regiment of loyalists in the British service. After the
war, at a dinner party at Willie Jones', Colonel Hamilton,
with some good-hnmored raillery, produced the boots
and passed them to their former owner, who, greatly
incensed, threw them across the table at Hamilton's
head."
General Eaton was the ancestor of the late
Honorable William Eaton, of Warren County,
Attorney General of the State.
The aggregate of the North Carolina troops who
were in the battle of Gnilford Conrt-House was,
approximately, 1700 of all arms.
We shall now endeavor to ascertain the troops
from Virginia, outside of the regulars, who composed
the army of General Greene.
On the 25th day of February, after the "Hack-
ing Match," as Pyle's defeat was called, Johnson
says :*
"But notwithstanding the approach of darkness, the
American commander resolved not to rest until he had
thrown himself between Tarleton and the approaching
reinforcements. For this purpose the detachment was
ordered to proceed, and a place of encampment being
selected, three miles in advance of the British party,
Pickens halted for the night and made every arrange-
ment for attacking the enemy by the break of day.
*Vol. i, p. 455.
(307)
Never was there a more fortunate step taken than this ;
for one mile beyond the American encampment, Colonel
Preston" (of Virginia), " with 300 respectable followers,
had halted for the night, and at small intervals beyond
him were two other small detachments of about 100
each, under Majors Winston and Armstrong."
Colonel William Campbell, of Washington
County, Virginia, did not arrive at the camp of
Pickens, in Guilford County, near Alamance, until
about the 3d of March. He was on his way the
25th of February, as we learn by the following
letter from Martin Armstrong to him :
" FEBRUARY 25, 1781.
"DEAR COLONEL: Yesterday I had an express from
Colonel Locke's camp ; he is at the High Rock Ford on
Haw River ; General Pickens is near Hillsboro, and by
this time considerable strong ; General Greene on his
march towards the enemy, with a number of the Virginia
militia and regulars ; General Butler, with the Orange
district militia, lies below Hillsborough, and by even-
intelligence, the enemy are penned up in that town. It
is generally supposed that a reinforcement is on its
march to the assistance of the British ; our people are
gathering from all quarters, and the enemy's pickets are
constantly harassed by our reconnoitering parties. The
arrival of your troops would add vigor to us and discour-
age the enemy, who, no doubt, have heard of your being
on your march towards them. Pray send back this
express as quick as possible. I shall endeavor to have
some meat for von at Bethabara ; meal and corn von can
have a plenty, but meat is scarce. However, I shall try
my best. This day Colonel Preston, I think, will join
General Pickens ; if any extraordinary news conies to
hand before you arrive at Bethabara, 1 shall let you
know by another express.
"I am, in haste, sir, your humble servant,
"MARTIN ARMSTRONG."
Lee, in relating the dash of Cornwallis on the
6th of March, says:
"The left of our light troops was composed of militia
who had lately joined under Colonel Campbell, one of
the heroes of King's Mountain, relieving Brigadier
Pickens and the corps who had so faithfully adhered to
General Greene during the trying scenes just passed.
Campbell's men were part of the conquerors of Ferguson ,
better suited, as has been before observed, for the field
of battle than for the security of camp. In this quarter,
through some remissness in the guards, and concealed
by the fog, Lieutenant Colonel Webster, commanding
the British van, approached close before he was discov-
ered."*
Johnson, relating the junction of Colonel William
Campbell with Greene's army, states :f
"The gallant Colonel Campbell, who had promised a
reinforcement of one thousand hardy mountaineers,
flushed with the capture of an entire army on King's
Mountain, had, almost desperate with mortification,
presented himself with only sixty followers"
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 265. tjohuson, vol. I , P- 469.
( 309 )
The reason for this disappointment was, that the
Cherokee Indians, instigated by British emissaries,
had suddenly appeared on the western frontiers,
and almost every available man of that portion of
the State was called out to repel the invasion.
This fact, too, accounts for the absence of Sevier's
and Shelby's men, who were engaged in the same
service. These latter spared a company, under
Robertson, for General Greene, as we have seen.
It is worthy of observation that, though Campbell
brought fewer men to the field than any other
leader, he is made one of the most conspicuous
figures in the battle. His reputation was made by
commanding leaders subordinate to him in rank,
and all his command was, for convenience of narra-
tive, called " Campbell's Corps."
The next volunteer corps of Virginia was a
battalion of riflemen under Colonel Charles Lynch.
I have not been able to find in Johnson or Lee,
who give particulars, or in any general history, an
estimate of their number.
In a note, p. 269, Lee says: "Colonel Lynch had
lately joined, commanding one of the battalions of
Virginia militia which arrived" (on the nth
March) u under Brigadier Lawson," and Johnson
says they were all volunteers and riflemen. It may
be safe to estimate them between one and two hun-
dred men, say 150.
This was the Colonel Charles Lynch who gave
the name of u Lynch law" to the summary punish-
ment of violent and desperate criminals.
( 3 i o)
He was of Quaker descent and an ardent Whig;
he folded up his non-combatant principles when
they were in the way of his patriotic impulses. He
inflicted these punishments generally on the worst
class of Tories; but to his character for mercy, be
it said, he did not take human life. In Judge
Lynch 's court there generally sat as associates
Robert Adams and Thomas Galloway, and an old
song commemorating their judgments ran thus:
"Hurrah for Colonel Lynch, Captain Bob and Galloway,
They never turned a Tory loose
Until he shouted liberty."
Colonel Lynch died October 29th, 1796, aged 60
years.*
There was a company of militia dragoons from
Prince Edward County, Virginia, commanded by
Thomas Watkins, with Lieutenants Philemon Hoi-
comb, Charles Scott, and Samuel Venable, and
among the privates was the giant Peter Francisco,
long the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Bur-
gesses in Virginia. They did gallant service, as
we shall see. They perhaps numbered' 50 men.j'
The militia of Virginia which joined Greene on
the nth March, and constituted the brigades of
Stevens and Lawson, has been variously estimated.
Gordon fixes the number at 1693,^ Johnson, who
underrates the number of Greene's forces of every
*Robert Carroll in Chicago Inter-Ocean.
fFoote's Sketches of Virginia, first series, p. 403.
JGordon, vol. 4, p. 54.
U M )
corps, puts the number "as two brigades of 600
each."*
The aggregation of Virginia forces under Greene,
outside of the regular army, is
Colonel William Preston's command, 300
Colonel William Campbell's command, 60
Colonel Charles Lynch's command, - 150
Watkins' dragoons, 50
Virginia militia,
Total, 2253
Greene's regular troops were as follows:
Virginia brigade, two regiments, under Colo-
nel Green and Lieutenant Colonel Hawes, 778
commanded by Gen.Huger of South Carolina.
Two Maryland regiments of regulars, under
Lieutenant Colonel Howard and Colonel
Ford, forming a brigade under Otho Wil-
liams, to which were attached Kirkwood's
Delawares, the remnant brought off from
Gates' defeat, in all 630
The artillery consisted of four (4) six-pounders
under Captain Anthony Singleton and
Lieutenant Finley, with sixty matrossesf 60
from Virginia and Maryland.
Lee's cavalry, 75
Washington's cavalry, 90
Lee's infantry, 82
Total, - 1715
*Vol. 2, p. 3.- t Artillerymen.
(3*2)
These are the figures of Johnson as to the regu-
lars, which, I suspect, are too small.
To make a summary of Greene's forces, we have
North Carolinians, - 1700
Virginians, 22 53
Regular army, - - 1715
Total, 5668
In my opinion, this is more probably under the
true figures than over it, as there were so many
irregular troops, going and coming, that it is impos-
sible to locate them at any one place.
Turning to the camp of Cornwallis at Bell's
Mill, on Deep River, I will endeavor to ascertain
the number and character of the troops composing
the British army, though I find it a most difficult
and complex problem to solve. I do not know that
I can do better than condense the argument in the
words of Johnson :*
u lt is no easy undertaking to determine the number
of men brought by the enemy into the battle of Guilford.
The assertion of Lord Cornwallis that they amounted to
only 1360 is sneered at by Sir Henry Clinton, and not
even contended for by the British historians. It is an
unfortunate fact, for the support of this assertion, that he
admits a loss of more than 500 killed and wounded, and
yet admits a total on the ist of April of 1723. Deduct
from this number Hamilton's loyal regiment, which
does not appear to have been in the action, and there
will still remain more than 2000 exclusive of the artillery.
-Vol. 2, pp. 3-4.
(313)
It is also observable that Colonel Tarleton admits his
cavalry to have amounted to 200, and yet the whole
Legionary corps is set down in Cornwallis' account at
174. By the army returns of the ist March, it appears
that his total was 2213, which will leave 2000 after
deducting Hamilton's regiment. Sir Henry Clinton
supposes that Lord Cornwallis ought to have had with
him, after the affair of the Cowpens, 3000 men, exclusive
of cavalry and militia, and General Greene constantly
insists that his force, when at Hillsboro, as ascertained
from his daily rations and other means resorted to by
military men, exceeded 2500 and approached 3000. No
author, that we recollect, ventures to state it at less
than 2000."
It is probable that Cornwallis had at least 2000
men engaged in the fight, with Hamilton's loyalists
iii charge of his baggage in the rear.
These were all veteran soldiers, inured to war
by long experience and inspired to deeds of glory
by the history and traditions of these regiments.
The brigade commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
James Webster was composed of the 23d and 33d
regiments of infantry.
The 23d was the regiment of the Prince of Walcb
and was known as the "Welsh Fuzileers." Thev
bore the motto of the Prince fc/i dieii (I serve) on
the buttons of their uniform. :i:
Sir William Howe was its Colonel in 1775, with
Nesbett Balfour Lieutenant Colonel, and William
Blakeny, Major.
:; "I have one of these buttons in my possession.
The 33d regiment was one of the most honorable
in the English service. It was the old regiment
of Cornwallis and was his pet and pride. In the
British Army Records we find that on the 2ist
March, 1766, Charles E. Cornwallis was appointed
its Colonel, and that he was made Lieutenant
General, August 29th, 1777. Its other officers were
Lieutenant Colonel James Webster and Major Wil-
liam Dansey. Captain Frederick Cornwallis com-
manded one of the companies in the regiment.
The 7 ist was a Scotch regiment. It seems from
the "Historical Records of the British Army"
that it was newly reorganized in October, 1775,.
specially for service in America. They wore " green
plaid pants, close fitting red vests and high fur
caps." They were Highlanders. Their officers in
1779 were Colonel Simon Fraser, afterwards Major
General, Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell
and Major Alexander McDonald.
This regiment was composed of two battalions,,
one of which, under Me Arthur, was captured at
Cowpens.
Next to the 7ist was the Hessian regiment a
brutal and ignorant mass of Dutchmen, who had
been hired as slaves, and, as Lee expresses it,
"mechanized" into soldiers.
The contract of the English Government with
the Prince of Hesse was, that the Prince
u Should receive as Levy money for every foot soldier
30 Crowns Bunco, at 53 Holland Stivers the Crown.'*
(315)
Three men wounded were to be reckoned, as usual, for
one man killed. "Those that are killed shall be paid at
the rate of the Levy money."
The Prince was an avaricious man, loving money*
more than subjects or human life, and complained
that these "mercenaries were not killed in suffi-
cient numbers to replenish his empty treasury."
The English always reported the missing as
wounded, and saved two-thirds of the u Crown's
Bunco."
The yist regiment and Bose's regiment of Hes-
sians were under Major General Leslie.
Brigadier General O'Hara supported Webster
with the 2d battalion of Guards and the Grenadiers.
After O'Hara was wounded, this battalion was
under the immediate command of Lieutenant
Colonel Robert Stuart. " He was fifth son of Robert
Stuart, seventh Baron Blaiityre, in the Peerage of
Scotland. The present Baron Blantyre is his grand
nephew. "f
The ad battalion of the Guards was in command
of Lieutenant Colonel Norton. Both battalions
were of the best material and under the most ac-
complished officers.
Tarleton's Legion was not equal in material to
the other regiments. He had seriously injured its
esprit de corps by recruiting its ranks with Tories.
The artillery was commanded by Lieutenant
*New York His. Soc. Collection, 1879, vol. u, p. 348.
|I am indebted for this information to David Hutchesou, Esq.,
Assistant Librarian of the Congressional Library.
McLeod, with Lieutenant O'Hara, a spirited young
officer, as second in rank. Lieutenant O'Hara was
unfortunately killed in the opening cannonade.
The field of battle is undulating ground, mostly
covered with forest. If we approach it, as Corn-
wallis did, from the westward, until we come
in sight of the first American line of battle, we
come first to a small creek, a tributary of Horse-
pen Creek, and generally known as Little Horsepen.
It runs a little west of north, and is about five or
six hundred yards in front of the American line.
After crossing the creek we climb a long, gently-
ascending hill, with fields on either side, making
an open country of from four to five hundred yards
wide, and skirted by primitive forest. Half way
up this hill, on the southern side, is the Hoskin's
farm house, which is still standing, and occupied
by the grandchildren of the proprietor who owned
it in 1781, and, to whose credit be it said, he never
allowed the face of the battle-field to be changed
any more than was absolutely necessary.
At the end of the field on the east, the road
which in 1781 was known as the old Salisbury or
New Garden Road enters a dense forest of sturdy
oaks, where the groiind is nearly level, and this forest
extended on both sides to the Bruce Road, which is,
by measurement, 750 yards distant. There is a
slight ascent from the mouth of the forest for 295
yards, and from there to the "Bruce Road" the
road is nearly level. Near the Bruce Road begins
the descent of a steep hill about 125 yards long, then
across a valley 100 yards wide. On either side of
this part of the road were old fields ; that on the
northern side is intersected by a deep ravine, in
which, in wet weather, is a running rivulet. Along
the road on the north side, and enclosing one of these
fields,, was a fence grown up with a thick hedge row.
Pursuing the road further, we cross a small branch,
coming from the south and forming a second valley
at an acute angle to the road ; then ascending a
short, steep, rocky ridge about fifty yards, we come
to the intersection of the "New Salisbury Road."
This is a high point overlooking the whole field of
battle. From this eminence, which is at the end
of a ridge, the descent is steep to the valley of
Hunting Creek, one hundred yards distant ; then
crossing a little fertile valley, the ascent is at first
steep, then gradual to Guilford Court-House, four
hundred (40x3) yards off.
From the front line to the court-house is very
little less than a mile. A log house, tradition says,
stood on the south side of the old Salisbury road
just opposite the fork made by the Bruce road, and
a spring was used at the foot of the hill, which is
now called the "Clyde Spring,"* so well known for
the purity and refreshing coolness of its water.
Guilford Court-House was the capital of Guil-
ford County, which then embraced Davidson and
Alamance. It had perhaps two or three hundred
inhabitants, the court-house, jail and a large copper-
smith shop being its principal buildings; the
*This spring is now beautifully adorned, by a generous donation
from Mr. William P. Clyde to the Guilford-Battle Ground Company.
(3 i 80
Lindsays, Whittingdons, Bevills, and Colonel
Hamilton, a rich man of his day, being among
its citizens. Its name, after the revolution, was
changed to Martinsville, in honor of Governor
Alexander Martin. In May, 1809, the court-house
was moved to Greensboro, five miles southwest, and
the old town soon went to decay. It is now a wheat
field, there being no vestige of it remaining except
an ancient well of pure water, still used, and the
scattered rocks and debris of the court-house and
jail, and pieces of copper which never corrode.
Tradition has much to say of "Uncle Mose," an
old slave, who was chief artificer in this curious old
shop, and who was allowed one quart of whiskey
per day to counteract the fumes of heated copper.
There was an old grist-mill that stood on the
west side of Hunting Creek, north of the old Salis-
bury road, which belonged to Colonel Hamilton.
This was a great convenience to the town and a
place of note in 1781. The race that conveyed the
water along the hillside is still visible. It lay in
the line of Greene's retreat from the old field where
the last stand was made, and some graves, near by,
are marked with rude headstones of ccrmmon rock.
Who rest there only eternity's roll-call will divulge.
In approaching the description of the battle of
Guilford Court-House, I am forcibly impressed with
the confession made by Judge Johnson as to the
confusion of history in regard to that event, and I
may, therefore, be pardoned for attempting to draw
my own conclusions instead of "taking up" and
repeating what has been said by "other writers."
That author says:
"Like most other interesting battles, the descriptions
handed down to us are very confused, and although all
the incidents may be gathered from a careful examina-
tion of the several accounts, the connection and depend-
ence of the several incidents are involved in much
obscurity. This is the necessary result of the manner
in which such narratives are collected and transmitted.
Each party publishes an account most favorable to him-
self; these are taken up by writers under the influence
of opposite partialities and seldom collated by those who
fol/ott 1 with the patience necessary to the attainment of
truth. Nor is it always practicable for the most labori-
ous investigation to detect the errors or impositions
practiced upon the public, since it is in the power of
parties interested to conceal material facts, at least from
the existing generation, and as to motives, by a com-
parison with which alone can a fair estimate of the
merits, talents and success of the parties be formed, they
may forever lie in the bosom that conceived them."
The Memoirs of Lee are roughly handled by
Johnson, and Johnson in turn has been roughly
handled by the critics, who accuse him of magnify-
ing his hero and disparaging all others who are
rivals for the honors of history gathered around
him. The truth is not yet established by the ver-
dict of history and the matter is open for further
testimony and additional argument. No one need
be deterred from entering this field of discussion
(3 20)
and contributing what facts he may have collected
or presenting such conclusions as have been formed
in his mind.
We have seen that General Greene had examined
this battle-field carefully, on the loth of February,
and pronounced it one of the most desirable for the
character of his troops and the number of his army.
It afforded a forest where the militia could fight
from tree to tree for shelter and be protected from
the charge of cavalry; and for the same reason a
solid column of bayonets could not be kept together
among the undergrowth and trees. The roads that
concentrated from the north, northeast and east, all
afforded safe lines of retreat, for his army, to his
supplies and reinforcements.
It was in a country loyal to the American cause,
where, as Tarleton says, the British " had no friends
or partisans, at this period, except those included
within the extent of the royal camp."
The British commander had burned all his heavy
baggage and stores at Ramsour's Mill, and had
consumed nearly all his medicines and much of
his scant supply of ammunition.
If he were now crippled in battle and- incumbered
by his wounded, he must fall a prey to the gather-
ing hosts of militia who were preparing to fall upon
him on every side, or he must make a precipitate
and inglorious flight to the sea, where he could find
protection from his ships.
The only escape left for his lordship was by
winning a decisive victory like that at Camden,
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and against this General Greene had made most
certain provisions. He would risk his militia, but
he knew that his Continentals, who could not be
broken, and his superior cavalry, were able to secure
him a safe retreat and constitute a nucleus around
which a fresh army could soon be collected and
organized.
The order of battle chosen by the American com-
mander was the same which General Morgan adopted
at Cowpens, and the progress and result were ex-
pected to be the same. With Morgan in command,
who had dash and confidence, almost to recklessness,
or with Tarleton for an opponent, who had more spirit
than endurance, no doubt that the British would
have been driven from the field; but it does not
follow, therefore, that Greene committed a mistake.
On the aoth of February, General Morgan writes
to General Greene :
u I have been doctoring these several days, thinking
to be able to take the field, but I find I get worse. My
pains are now accompanied with a fever every day. I
expect Lord Cornwallis will push yon until yon are
obliged to fight him, on which much will depend. Yon
have, from what I see, a great number of militia. If they
Jig/if, yon beat Cornwallis, // not, lie will beat you, and
perhaps cut your regulars to pieces ; which will be losing
all your hopes. I am informed, among the militia, will
be a number of old soldiers. I think it would be advisa-
ble to select them from the militia and put them in the
ranks with the regulars. Select tJie riflemen also and
fight them on the flanks under enterprising officers, who
21
are acquainted with that kind of fighting, and put the
remainder of the militia in the centre, with some picked
troops in their rear with orders to shoot down the first
man that runs"
Greene was most confidential with Morgan, and
Morgan's experience in fighting Southern militia,
in his earlier days, gave much weight to his advice.
Greene formed his first line in exact accordance
with the advice of Morgan. The North Carolina
militia were placed in the centre, General Thomas
Baton's brigade, from Halifax and Warren coun-
ties, was placed at a right angle to the old Salis-
bury or New Garden road, behind a rail fence which
separated the woods from the fields. Eaton's left
rested on the road. General John Butler's brigade,
from Orange, Guilford and Granville, continued
the line on the south side of the road, Butler's
right resting on the road, and his whole line being
behind a zig-zag rail fence, the fashion of that day.
On the left of Butler's line was the separate com-
mand of Colonel Arthur Forbis, of Alamance, in
Guilford County, which consisted of ^about 100
men, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians; Forbis himself
being an elder in the pastorate of Doctor David
Caldwell.
Between the left of Eaton's brigade and the right
of Butler's brigade, in the old Salisbury road, and
a little in advance of the militia line, were placed
two six-pounder cannons, under the command of
Captain Anthony Singleton, a Virginia officer/' 1
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 275. Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. 2, p. 6.
(323)
The artillery was thus supported by the North
Carolina militia, and, in fact, formed a part of that
line. It was compelled to act in concert with the
militia, and to be observant of and governed by its
movements to stand when it stood, and retire
when it retired." Singleton would necessarily be
cognizant of the orders given this line, and be
acquainted with their conduct in the battle.
On the right flank of Eaton's brigade a " cover-
ing party," as it was called in that day, was placed.
It was under the command of Colonel William
Washington, of the cavalry, and consisted of Kirk-
wood's Delawares,* "The Blue Hen's Chickens, "
about eighty (80) in number, and a battalion of
riflemen under Lynch, about 200. They were
*The State of Delaware furnished one regiment only, and certainly
no regiment of the army surpassed it in soldiership. The remnant
of that corps, less than two companies, from the. battle of Camden,
was commanded by Captain Kirkwood, who passed through the war
with high reputation ; and yet, as the liiie of Delaware consisted of
but one regiment, and that regiment reduced to a captain's com-
mand, Kirkwocd never could be promoted in regular routine a
very glaring defect In the organization of the army, as it gave ad-
vantages to parts of the same army denied to other portions of it.
The sequel is singularly hard. Kirkwood retired, upon peace, a
captain; and when the army, under St. Clair, was raised to defend
the west from the Indian enemy, this veteran resumed his sword as
the eldest captain of the oldest regiment. In the decisive defeat on
the 4th of November, the gallant Kirkwood fell, bravely sustaining
his point of the action. It was the thirty-third time he had risked
his life for his country ; and he died as he had lived brave, meri-
torious, unrewarded Kirkwood. Lee's Memoirs, p. /S$, note.
Captain Kirkwood was a relative of Colonel Julius A. Gray, of
Greensboro, whose grandfather visited Captain Kirkwood at Hills-
boro, North Carolina, in 1780.
(324)
extended in the woods obliquely to the main line,
and its right rested near a swamp in a little valley.
In the rear of the angle formed by the militia and
the " covering party," and in the woods, was the
cavalry command of Colonel Washington.
On the left of Butler's line, and obliquely to it,
in the woods, was another " covering party," under
the command of Colonel William Campbell, of Vir-
ginia he of JCing's Mountain fame and in the
rear of the angle formed by these two lines was
Lee's Legion cavalry, his infantry being in the
line of the "covering party."
The strength of this covering party is estimated
by Johnson as only two hundred and fifty, all told,
which a moment's reflection will show to be incor-
rect ; but he has been followed by most subsequent
historians, who have not been interested in correct-
ing the error, supposing it to be immaterial. It is,
however, very material to North Carolina, because
her troops formed a large part of that corps, and
have been ignored in the reports of the battle.
We have seen in a former page that Colonel
Preston joined Pickens on the 25th of February
with three hundred (300) " respectable followers," 1
and they adhered to Greene's army until after the
battle, and were under Campbell. I am of opinion,
however, that Preston's battalion did not exceed
two hundred, which was the strength of Lynch's
other Virginia battalion.
Campbell had sixty men, and Lee's Legion
*Johnson, vol. i, p. 455.
(325 )
infantry numbered eighty men. These low esti-
mates would aggregate three hundred and forty
men , and to these must undoubtedly be added the
riflemen of Surry, under Major Armstrong,* 100
men, and Major Joseph Winston i oo men ,f making
a total aggregate of five hundred and forty (540)
men.
In the rear of this line, in the forest, under the
gentle slope of the hill, and about three hundred
yards distant to the east, was posted the Virginia
militia. On the south side of the road, with its
right resting at a right angle on the old Salisbury
road, was Stevens' brigade. In the rear of this
brigade was "a line of sentinels extending from
right to left at about twenty yards distance from
the line. These were chosen, confidential men,
selected by General Stevens on personal knowl-
edge, and posted there with orders to shoot down
any individual who broke from the ranks. This
may appear to have been a strong measure, but it
is one which, with irregular troops, or troops com-
posed of diversified materials, ought never to be
omitted. The good effects of it will be presently
seen."."};
Stevens, "who had been stung by the recollec-
tion of the inglorious flight" of his militia brigade
at Gates' defeat, had frequently expressed his
determination to have them shot down if they
"1 am convinced that this was Martin Armstrong,
tjohnson, vol. I, p. 455.
tjohnson, vol. 2, p. 6.
(326)
repeated the disgraceful conduct; but the gallant
stand of his brigade at Guilford Court-House is
not wholly due to this line of executioners, in the
rear, as Johnson supposes. Among the troops of
Stevens were many veterans of the army of Wash-
ington whose terms of service had expired, and on
their return they had been hired as substitutes, or
called in occasionally by the draft or by volunteer-
ing. It was to these that Morgan alluded in his
letter to Greene^ Stevens was an accomplished
officer and had the entire confidence of General
Greene, and his heroic conduct on this field is
deserving of honor and praise.
On the north side of the "old Salisbury road,"
in the forest, with its left resting at a right angle
to the road, was Lawson's Virginia brigade of
militia. Lynch's battalion had been detached
from it, and to this is probably due the weakness of
its resistance, as it lost only one man killed in the
battle.
The third and last line was drawn up in an old
field, around the brow of a hill, in semi-circular
form, on the north side of the old Salisbury road.
I have located the second and third lines at the
places indicated by Johnson and Lee, and they are
at least five hundred and fifty (550) yards apart by
actual measurement. I am quite familiar with
every foot of the battle-ground and visit it very
often. I have measured all the distances on it.*
"Johnson puts this distance at 300 yards, which is just about half
of the real distance.
(327)
This was the line of Continental troops, or
regulars, and included two brigades. The first
brigade, on the right of the line, was composed of
two Virginia regiments, the one under Colonel
Green, the other under Lieutenant Colonel Hawes,
the whole commanded by Brigadier General Huger
of South Carolina. These troops, as an organiza-
tion, had not yet been in battle. The second
brigade was composed of the first and second Mary-
land regiments, the first was under Colonel Gunby r
at the opening of the battle, the second under Colo-
nel Ford; the whole commanded by Colonel Otho
Williams, a veteran soldier of the Maryland line.
The First Maryland was the finest regiment in
Greene's army, and had seen service under Wash-
ington in all his New Jersey campaigns. It came
South, under DeKalb, after the fall of Charleston,
in May, 1780. It bore the onset of the whole
British army, with the aid of Dixon's North Caro-
lina battalion, at Gates' defeat, and Major Anderson,
of this regiment, was the only officer who retreated
with an organized force to Charlotte. Under Lieu-
tenant Colonel Howard it charged and routed the
British regulars at Cowpens and finished the defeat
of Tarleton on that auspicious day. It was about to
add another laurel to its wreath of glory.
The Second Maryland was a new levy and had
never been in battle before, and did not remain
very long in this one.
Greene placed two pieces of artillery between the
(328)
flanks of these two brigades, at the sharp curve, of
the semi-circle, around the hill.
General Greene, during the battle, was with the
Continental line, eight hundred and fifty yards
from the front, with the forest intervening, and did
not have personal observation of the battle until its
tide flowed to his position.
Leaving General Greene's army in position, with
the exception of Colonel Lee, who, as an advanced
guard, brought on the battle, before falling back
into the line, I will take the reader to the camp of
Cornwallis on Deep River, \vhich was twelve miles
nearly west from G nil ford Court-House. The Brit-
ish commander correctly interpreted the advance of
Greene, to a point so near his camp, as a challenge
to battle and immediately prepared to accept it.
Earl}* on the morning of the i5th March, 1781,
which was Thursday, he sent back his baggage to
Bell's Mill, under the escort of Colonel Hamilton's
regiment of loyalists and a few infantry and cavalry,
and advanced with his main army directly towards
Guilford Court-House by the route which intersects
the old Salisbury road at New Garden Quaker
Meeting-House.
Lee, with his dragoons and infantry, and a de-
tachment from the riflemen under Campbell, were
sent out by Greene to reconnoiter and report the
position and movements of the enemy. They met
Tarleton in the advance, at the point where the
present New Garden Meeting-House stands, be-
tween four and five miles from Greene's camp, and
(329)
where the Deep River road intersects the old
Salisbury road. Here a very sharp skirmish took
place. Lee at first made a brilliant charge, driving
Tarleton before him, but, venturing too far, he
received a galling fire from the advanced infantry,
and was compelled to retreat precipitately. Colo-
nel Lee relates that it was in the early morning,
and his horse became so badly frightened at the
sheen of the British muskets that he was com-
pelled to dismount and change to another in the
thickest of the encounter. Lee retreated, reaching
the American line sometime before the battle, and
took the position assigned him on the left.
Captain Tate of Virginia, so distinguished at
Cowpens, received a ball which broke his thigh;
Lieutenant Snowden, of the Legion infantry, was
severely wounded also and left behind. The British
suffered more severely. Captain Goodricks of the
Guards was badly wounded and quite a number
killed.
At the cross-roads, near the Quaker Meetiiig-
House, off from the side of the Salisbury road, in
a little cove at the head of the hollow or valley, are
the graves of about twenty soldiers who were buried
there after the skirmish ; friend and foe alike await-
ing the final trumpet sound which shall summon
them to the common array before the Judge of all
the earth.
The British now pursued their march unmolested
until they wound around a valley which leads to
Little Horsepen Creek ; descending this in a gentle
1330)
slope, between the hills, they soon came to the
creek and in sight of the American line. Singleton
opened on them with his six-ponnders, and the
British responded with their three-ponnders, and a
lively cannonade ensued. The British, in the
meantime, marched rapidly into the valley of the
creek, and, under cover of the hill, "displayed"
their line.
"The yist regiment. Scotch Highlanders, known
as the 'King's Own Borderers,' and the Hessians,
known as the Regiment of Bose, but commanded
now by Major DnBny, formed on the right, or
sotith of the old Salisbury road, and at a right
angle to it. These were under the command of
Major General Leslie, and constituted the force
that was to assail the American left. They had in
reserve, as a support, the first battalion of Guards,
under Lieutenant Colonel Norton.
"Colonel Webster was directed to form the 23d
and 33d regiments on the left of General Leslie's
division," 1 and on the left or north side of the old
Salisbury road, and at a right angle to it. Briga-
dier General O'Hara was directed to support Colo-
nel Webster with the second battalion of Guards
and the Grenadier company of the Guards. Whilst
these troops were forming, the Yagers and the light
infantry of the Guards remained near the guns in
the road, but when the line moved on the}' attached
themselves to the left of W 7 ebster's brigade. The
artillery, under Lieutenant McLeod, proceeded
"""Tarleton, p. 272.
along the high-road; the dragoons likewise could
only move in column in the same direction, and
Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton was ordered to keep
his regiment in reserve till the infantry should
penetrate through the woods to the open ground
near the Court-House, where the country was rep-
resented to be more favorable for the operations of
cavalry. "*
Colonel Carrington gives the following official
figures as containing the number of these respect-
ive organizations on the first day of March, 1781,
to-wit:
23d Regiment, - 258
33d Regiment, - 322
yist Regiment and ad Battalion, 212
Regiment of Bose, - 313
The Yagers, 97
British Legion, - 174
Total,
This does not include the First Battalion of
Guards, the artillery or the Grenadiers, whose
numbers are not given.
Thus was the front of battle formed, by the
British commander, in the valley of Horsepen, a
bright and sparkling rivulet, which went on its
racy way all unmindful of the bloody carnage
which was soon to crimson and pollute its crystal
fountains. It was at noon when the scarlet uni-
forms and burnished arms of the British soldiery
*Tarleton, pp. 272-3.
were glistening in the sunlight of that beautiful
day. Not a furrow had been turned in the fields;
not a bud was yet seen upon the trees, nor a flower
in the valleys; but the first warm sunshine of
spring was beginning to cast its rays upon the
earth and enliven nature into activity again after a
dreary winter of repose. It was not a day that
suggested the conflict of arms or the shedding of
blood, but rather the lassitude of peace and the
dreaminess of rest; but war, like death, "has all
.seasons for its own," and places its iron hand on
every scene of beauty and loveliness without con-
sideration or remorse.
The last remnant of the Continental army in the
South was now arrayed in front of the British com-
mander, and he fondly hoped that its rout or cap-
tivity would be succeeded by the fall of Virginia
and the subjection of the States.
It was. a supreme moment in the life of Corn-
wallis and the crisis in the revolution. This victory
won, there was no foe to obstruct his passage into
the defenceless province of Virginia; North Caro-
lina would be at the mercy of the frown, and
Georgia and South Carolina, already prostrate and
subdued, could never rally for defence again.
Should Greene be beaten, Cornwallis could take
up his triumphal march to the sea to be welcomed
by the English fleets which rode unchallenged in
the harbors of Norfolk and New York.
The prisoners of war at Charlottesville, Virginia,
would be set free to plunder and pillage their cap-
(333)
tors. France, capricious and fickle, would forsake
the waning fortune of the colonies, and, making
peace for herself, leave her allies to their fate.
Washington would be crushed by the army of Clin-
ton in his front and that of Cornwallis in his rear,
or be driven into" the frozen regions of the North
for refuge. Congress would be scattered from its
halls and carry dismay wherever they fled for safety.
These were the precious hopes and dazzling vis-
ions that stimulated the ambition and nerved the
hand of Cornwallis for the battle now before him.
The greater the odds against him, the greater
would be the glory of his triumph and the more
important its results.
Not only hope and glory allured him to battle,
but retaliation and revenge rankled in his heart
and drove him to desperate deeds. His lieuten-
ants, Ferguson and Tarleton, had been defeated
and humbled by the militia of North Carolina whom
they despised, and British pride demanded that the
insult be avenged.
Every officer and soldier remembered King's
Mountain and Cowpens, and were eager to wipe
out the disgrace of those disastrous fields.
Nothing but news of misfortune had gone to
Clinton from the army of invasion since the frosts
of October, 1780, had chilled their zeal, and the
great rival of Cornwallis was secretly gloating over
the misfortunes of his personal and political enemy.
The recover}- of prestige and the restoration of
(334)
royal confidence added a powerful incentive to the
achievement of victory.
Cornwallis resolved, therefore, that " he would
conquer or die " on this field, and the reckless
exposure of his person during the battle indicated
the determination with which he entered the con-
flict.
None the less was the appreciation of the Ameri-
can army and its officers of the decisive crisis which
was now upon them.
General Greene, the confidential friend and
trusted counsellor of Washington, had been selected
by him as the commander-in-chief of the Southern
Department of the American army. Their friend-
ship had begun at Boston with the first enthusiastic
outburst of the revolution, and had steadfastly ma-
tured in the camp and the council.
He bad been intrusted with almost dictatorial
powers, and he knew that the eyes of the confeder-
ation were upon him. He was fully aware of the
discipline and strength of the magnificent soldiery
in his front; that they were led by men whose
honor was dearer, by far, to them than life, to whom
disgrace and defeat meant ruin and shame. Greene
knew the desperate straits to which he had driven
his adversary, and the obstinacy that characterized
his nature. He sadly knew the want of discipline
in his own hastily-gathered forces, and how inferior
were their arms ; that the larger part of them had
never faced a British column with their dreadful
" push of the bayonet" ; that few of his militia
(335)
had ever endured the suspense and terror of a can-
nonade, while compelled to inaction themselves.
He hardly hoped for victory; but he was confident
that he could wound and cripple his adversary and
prevent that adversary from destroying his army.
He trusted that the militia would so stagger and
demoralize the British columns that when they
encountered his regular troops they would fall a
prey to the Continental line as they did at Cow-
pens. Desiring that in all things this battle should
be a repetition of that, he seems to have endeavored
to imitate Morgan in the details and particulars of
that splendid achievement.
"When his arrangements were completed, Greene
passed along the first line. The day was hot, and, hold-
ing his hat in one hand, he was wiping the perspiration
from his ample forehead with the other. His voice was
clear and firm as he called his men's attention to the
strength of their position, and, like Morgan at the Cowpens,
asked only THREE ROUNDS. 'THREE ROUNDS, MY BOYS,
AND THEN YOU MAY FALL BACK !' Then taking his posi-
tion with the Continentals, he held himself in readiness
to go wherever his duty might call him."
The only error in this statement is that it was
TWO, not three, rounds which Greene required. The
quotation above is taken from "The Life of Major
General Nathanael Greene," by his grandson George
Washington Greene, vol. 3, page 196.
The error was from inadvertence, not intentional ;
for on pages 143-4 of the same volume, the author
(336)
gives this account of Morgan's speech and require-
ment of his troops at Cowpens. Addressing the
militia, Morgan
"Bade them call to mind his own long experience
and unvarying fortune, and exhorted them to take confi-
dence from his example, be firm and steady and above all
aim true. ' Give me TWO FIRES, at killing distance^ he
exclaimed, ^and I will make the victory sure /' "
The author says he received the knowledge of
this incident from "tradition"- no doubt a direct
tradition from his grandfather, and handed down
from sire to son as one of the circumstances of this
battle often repeated around the fireside.
It is a fact so significant as to become a pivotal
one in the further narrative of this battle. I verily
believe that "upon this rock" the North Carolina
militia may rest their vindication against the asper-
sions cast upon them in history, and that neither the
excuses and pretexts of defeated soldiers, nor the
jealousies of States, nor the slander of enemies, nor
the oft-repeated misrepresentations of careless and
superficial writers, can drive them from this solid
foundation of eternal truth and justice. When this
incident and order, now established in history, shall
be accepted as truth, it is easy to demonstrate, from
the testimony of eye-witnesses and participants in
this battle, that the requirement of General Greene
was fulfilled; that the order given to the North
Carolina militia by him in person was obeyed, and
that their
"Twice-lit tongue of bolted flame
Blazed full upon their foemen."*
I propose to fortify my position, that General
Greene gave this order, or made the requirement
of only " Two Fires" from the North Carolina
militia, by the testimony of other authors and
writers.
Johnson, in his Life of Greene, vol. i, p. 378,
says, that the
' ' Orders to the first line (at Cowpens) were to deliver
two deliberate discharges at the distance of fifty yards
and then to retire."
Lee, in his Memoirs, page 227, repeats this
speech in these words:
"If you will pour in but two volleys, at killing dis-
tance, I will take upon myself to secure victory."
All historians agree that "two rounds" were
required by Morgan, and then the militia were to
fall back.
In further confirmation of George Washington
Greene, that this same order was given the North
Carolina militia at Guilford Court-House, I add
other testimony. Garden, who was one of Lee's
Legion, and heard the speech, says:
*J. W. Rumple, poem on this battle.
22
(33)
"The North Carolina militia were assured by General
Greene that if they would only preserve their station
long enough to give their enemy two fires they should
obtain his free permission to retire from the field."
Garden" 1 s Anecdotes, p. 40.
Gordon's History, vol. 4, page 55, has also this
language :
"General Stevens had the address to prevent his
brigade from receiving any bad impression from the
retreating North Carolinians by giving out that they had
orders to retire after discharging their pieces. To cherish
this idea he ordered his men to open their files to favor
their passage."
It is evident that General Stevens and his whole
command were apprised of the order to the North
Carolina militia (as they should have been) to
prevent surprise and panic in their ranks by the
retreat of the North Carolinians in their front.
Gordon affects to believe this was a ruse of General
Stevens, but in this he is manifestly in error. The
order was given just as General Stevens commu-
nicated it to his command.
Rev. E. W. Caruthers, D. D., who wrote the Life
of Rev. Dr. David Caldwell in 1842, had been over
the battle-field of Guilford Court-House very often
in company with the soldiers who participated in
the battle and had conversed with many old people
of the neighborhood who knew its history from
their cotemporaries, and was therefore familiar with
(339)
the incidents and traditions of the battle. Robert
Rankin, a member of the Buffalo Church, often
pointed out the different localities of the field,
especially on the left, where Rankin fought under
Colonel Campbell among the North Carolina rifle-
men.' With this familiar knowledge of events, Dr.
Caruthers assumes, in his Life of Caldwell, as an
established fact, known by everybody, that the
militia were ordered to fire twice and then retreat.
*
Speaking of Captain Forbis' command, page 236,
he says:
"They stood firm until they had fired twice, accord-
ing to orders."
Again, he says :
" They were placed in the front rank, stood firm and
fired the number of times prescribed in the general
order. Forbis himself fired the first gun in that division,
and killed his man."
There are several incidental allusions to this
" order" to fire twice, and always as one of the
unquestionable facts connected with the battle.
It is not, however, emphasized because the Doctor
ivas writing the biography of a minister of the
Gospel, and not a defence of the North Carolina
militia, and the order was only a collateral fact in
the narrative.
Subsequently, in 1856, Dr. Caruthers, in his
Sketches^-Second Series vindicated the North
(340)
Carolina militia from the charge of inefficiency in
the battle.
It was indeed a fact well known, and often spoken
of by old persons to succeeding generations ; and
it is incomprehensible that a circumstance so well
known and understood should have been omitted in
his Memoirs, by Colonel Lee, who must have been
cognizant of it, for he was on the front line when the
order was given. It is inexplicable that Johnson,
too, who had access to General Greene's correspond-
ence and papers, should have suppressed it, while
he gives great prominence to the like order of
General Morgan at Cowpens.
I have in my possession also an interesting letter
from Captain James F. Johnson, of Charlotte, North
Carolina, giving me the statement of Abram Forney,
of Lincoln County, who remained from Pickens'
brigade to participate in the impending battle.
Forney states distinctly that it was " two rounds,"
and adds that his portion of the line obeyed the
order.
There can be nothing settled, by testimony, more
certainly than the fact that the No-rth Carolina
militia were, by the personal order of General
Greene, directly instructed to fire twice, and assured
that he required no more of them. And it is the
failure to observe and state this all-important fact
that has placed these troops in a false light before
their posterity. When we reflect for a moment,
this order is so reasonable and natural that we
cannot doubt the truth of the assertion that it was
given.
The North Carolinians were armed with their
hunting rifles. They carried their powder in a
powder-horn with a charger attached. Their bul-
lets and patching were in a pouch to their leftside,
and the tallow to grease the patching under a spring
in the stock of the rifle. To load a rifle required
that the powder be measured in the charger and
poured carefully into the small muzzle bore of the
rifle. The patching was to be greased and placed
over the muzzle and the ball placed upon it and
pressed into the gun. A knife was then used to
cut off the surplus patching. The ball was to be
rammed down the gun with a ramrod, which was
then to be replaced in the thimbles along the barrel.
The last operation was to prime the pan in the
flint and steel lock before the rifleman was ready
to fire upon his enemy. The -operation required at
least three minutes to perform it.
If the British line were fired upon at fifty yards,
they could be over the intervening ground in less
than fifty seconds, or if at one hundred yards, in
one and a half minutes. So that, unless the British
line was repulsed in its advance by the deadliness
of the fire, they would be upon the militia before
it was possible to load three times, or, if the opera-
tion of .loading were delayed, by trepidation or
accident, before they could fire twice.
It is evident that General Greene, as well as
every reasonable person, expected that the militia
(342)
would give way whenever the bayonet did reach
them ; for against it they had no arm of defence
nor discipline to beat it back. Johnson well remarks,
in speaking of the terror of the bayonet, that
" nothing but the absolute subjection of every
human feeling to the restraints of discipline can
dissipate the real or imagined terrors of such a
conflict;" and L,ee has said that "to expose militia
to such a charge, without discipline or arms to
repel it, is murder." Therefore, General Greene
instructed them, so they could understand it, to
fire until the bayonet did reach them, which he
calculated would be two rounds, and then to retire.
Otherwise it would have been to expect more of them
than of the conquerors of Ferguson at King's
Mountain.
The sequel will show that the North Carolinians
disobeyed no order in retreating before the bayonet,
and that they performed the whole duty required
of them, and if the day had gone as did Cowpens,
the order of Greene to the militia would, most prob-
ably, not have been suppressed.
General Greene having now retired to the Con-
tinental line, exhorted the second Maryland, which
was a fresh regiment, though regulars, to firmness
and courage. He was no more on the front line,
and as to its conduct he could only afterwards
speak from hearsay.
The British army having completed its array,
advanced with that steadiness and coolness charac-
(343)
teristic of veteran and disciplined soldiers. The
ground, on the north side of the road, is compara-
tively level for several hundred yards in front of
the position occupied by Brigadier General Eaton's
brigade, and being an open field, the line of the
enemy, with their bright uniforms, presented a
tempting mark to the riflemen. Impatient to fire
and have time to reload for a second discharge, they
threw in their first fire at one hundred and fifty
yards a distance at which an ordinary rifleman
could bring down a turkey or a deer at almost every
shot, and it is not surprising that they felt sure of
hitting the scarlet body of a British soldier.
Lieutenant Colonel Webster, seeing the effect of
this first fire, and desiring to reach the militia before
it could be repeated, rode to the front and gave the
order to charge and he himself headed the advance.
Colonel Tarleton, who was in the road, in the
rear of Webster's brigade, and in full view of its
advance against Baton's brigade, thus describes the
scene transpiring before his eyes:
"The order and coolness of that part of Webster's
brigade which advanced across the open ground exposed
to the enemy* s fire cannot be sufficiently extolled. The
extremities were not less gallant, but were more pro-
tected by the woods in which they moved. The militia
allowed the front line to approach within 150 yards
before they gave their fire."
Stedman, the English historian, who was the
(344)
Commissary General of Cornwallis, and was also a
spectator of the scene, repeats this account of Web-
ster's advance and vouches for Tarleton's general
description of the battle. Colonel Lee, who knew
Stedman's character well, and the incidents of the
whole campaign, in correcting an unintentional
error into which Stedman had fallen about the
defeat *of Pyle, says: "I have acknowledged my
conviction of Stedman's impartiality and respect
for truth." Therefore, this account of Tarleton's
comes, endorsed by Stedman, and Stedman's char-
acter is endorsed by Lee.
Tarleton's statement is a prominent and important
fact, because, if "the order and coolness of" Web-
ster's brigade under the fire of the North Carolina
militia cannot be "sufficiently extolled," the fire
must have been very deadly and continuous.
Tarleton and Stedman would not acknowledge
the insufficiency of the English language to describe
this charge unless it was made in the face of a gall-
ing and destructive fire. The tribute to the "cool-
ness and courage" of Webster's brigade involves
the highest tribute to the firmness of the North
Carolina brigade.
Another- English historian, Lamb, who was at
that time an officer of the Thirty-third regiment
and participated in this charge, has also quoted
Tarleton's language with approbation, and in order
to give further and greater emphasis to the coolness
and courage of Webster's brigade, he says :
(345)
"As the author belonged to Colonel Webster's brigade,
he is enabled (and the reader Xvill naturally expect it of
him) to state some circumstances, unnoticed by any his-
torian, from his own personal observation. After the
brigade formed across the open ground, Colonel Webster
rode on to the front and gave the word, ' Charge ! '
Instantly the movement was made in excellent order at
a sharp run, with arms charged ; when arrived within
forty yards of the enemy's line it was perceived that their
whole force had their arms presented and resting on a
rail fence, the common partition in America. They were
taking aim with the nicest precision.
" "Twixt host and host but narrow space was left
A dreadful interval, and front to front,
Presented, stood in terrible array.'
"At this awful period a general pause took place;
both parties surveyed each oilier a moment with most
anxious suspense. Colonel Webster then rode forward
in front of the Twenty-third regiment and said, with
more than his usual commanding voice, which was well
known to his brigade, ' Come on, my brave Fusileers ! '
This operated like an inspiring voice. They rushed
forward amidst the enemy* s fire. Dreadful ivas tlie havoc
on both sides.
" ' Amazing scene !
What showers of mortal hail, what flaky fires !'
"At last the Americans gave way and the brigade
advanced to the attack of the second line."*
Lamb wrote his work in 1809, after seeing other
*Lamb's History of the American Revolution, p. 361.
accounts of this battle, arid felt constrained to give
his personal recollections of this particular part of
the engagement, because he was an active partici-
pant in it and no other historian had described the
action in detail in that part of the field. This
author is one of the highest respectability and is
frequently quoted by American historians. In
Carrington's " Battles of the American Revolution,"
a standard work of recent date, copious quotations
are made from Lamb. He is also quoted by George
Washington Greene in his biography of the General.
Lamb's work was published by subscription, and
among the list of subscribers are most of the noble-
men and literati of his day. Lamb was a teacher
in a high school in Scotland and a man of letters
as well as a soldier.
Can any one doubt the truth of such a statement,
coining from a participant in the scene, who gives
such emphasis and particularity to details, and who
is of unimpeachable character for truth and intelli-
gence ?
I can safely rest the reputation of that part of
the North Carolina militia under General Eaton,
on these splendid tributes to their courage and
firmness.
It establishes the fact that they had fired once
and reloaded, and when the enemy were in forty
paces were resting their rifles on the rails and aim-
ing with the " nicest precision" at their foe. So
appalling was their martial array that even the
(347)
British veterans^ who had faced so many dangers
from Quebec to Camden, paused and stood aghast
at the spectacle, and that only the magic voice of
their commander, accompanied with his reckless
exposure in their front, could prevail upon them to
advance.
The " havoc " was great, says Lamb, and we may
well believe it. Riflemen who could take a squirrel's
head from the highest tree would not be likely to
miss a scarlet uniform at forty paces.
In Foote's Sketches of Virginia, Second Series,
p. 149, is a biography of the Rev. Samuel Houston,
a Presbyterian minister, whose simple epitaph tells
the story of his useful and honorable and pious life :
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY
OF THE
REV. SAMUEL HOUSTON,
WHO IN EARLY LIFE WAS A SOLDIER OF THE
REVOLUTION,
AND FOR 55 YEARS A FAITHFUL MINISTER OF THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST.
HE DIED ON THE 2OTH DAY OF JANUARY, 1839,
AGED 8 1 YEARS.
Mr. Houston was a student at Lexington Academy,
but responded to a call for volunteers, and was one
of General Stevens' command at this battle, and
kept a diary of his movements from February a6th
to March 23d, in which are related many interest-
(348)
ing incidents. He was fond of telling the story of
this battle, and thus describes its opening:
"The Virginia line was in the forest, the Carolina
militia partly in the forest and partly in the skirt of the
forest and partly behind the fence inclosing the open
space, across which the British force was advancing with
extended front.
"According to orders, the Carolina line, when the
enemy were very near, gave their fire, which on the left
of the British line was deadly, and having repeated it,
retreated. Some remained to give a third fire and some
made such haste in retreat as to bring reproach upon
themselves as deficient in bravery, while their neighbors
behaved like heroes."
Here is a direct confirmation of L,amb's account
of the "deadly fire" on Webster's brigade, and a
positive assertion that the fire was " repeated," and
that some remained to fire the third time, and that
they acted " according to orders."
That there was "haste in the retreat" when it
began, is conceded ; .but no military man or intelli-
gent reader of the history of militia contests would
have expected it to be otherwise. The -Virginians
and North Carolinians, being undisciplined troops,
were alike disorderly when retreating from the field.
The North Carolinians' had done all they were
commanded or instructed to do, and hastened to the
rear, where they were ordered to rally again. Mr.
Houston was frank and just as well as truthful, for
in describing the advance of the British on Stevens'
(349)
brigade, after the North Carolinians retreated, he
relates as the first fact occurring that "our brigade
Major, Mr. Williams, fled."
The Rev. J. Henry Smith, D. D., one of the most
distinguished ministers of the Presbyterian Church
in the South, and for twenty -five years pastor at
Greensboro, North Carolina, has seen Mr. Houston
in his old age and knew his character well, and
testifies to the great esteem and reverence in w T hich
he was held.by all who knew him. He was one of
the leading spirits of the Presbyterian Church in
Virginia in his day.
These men of North Carolina did their duty, and
after firing every shot possible, before the bayonet
was upon them, obeyed orders, and retreated behind
the second line, who were in readiness to give the
enemy a similar reception.
On Butler's side of the road the North Carolina
militia and Forbis' volunteers gave the British a
bloody repulse. The Scotch Highlanders, a regi-
ment of Leslie's brigade, rested its left on the New
Garden or old Salisbury road, and therefore was
immediately in front of Butler's militia, chiefly
from Orange, Granville and Guilford.
Captain Dugald Stuart, who commanded a com-
pany in the 7 1 st regiment (called "Scotch High-
landers") on that day, when writing to a relative
in Guilford County under date of October 25th, 1825,
uses the following language:
"In the advance we received a very deadly Jire from
(350)
the Irish line of the American army, composed of their
marksmen, lying on the ground behind a rail fence.
"One-half the Highlanders dropped on that spot.
There ought to be a very large tumulus on that spot
where our men were buried."*
This letter was written by Captain Stuart to a
relative in Guilford County, who had suggested that
most of the Highlanders had been killed in the
charge oil the Continental line, and these particu-
lars were given to correct that error.
The centre of the State had among its popula-
tion, at that period, many Irish and Scotch-Irish,
and for that reason the militia line was called the
Irish line.
The tumulus to which Captain Stuart refers is,
no doubt, the two large graves, sixteen feet square
and six feet deep, near the Hoskins residence,
which were filled with the dead bodies of the English
army, thus confirming Captain Stuart's memory in
regard to it.
A further confirmation of this positive statement
of Captain Stuart is an extract from " Brown's
History of the Highland Clans," as 'quoted by
Caruthers, vol. 2, p. 134:
"The Americans, covered by a fence in their front,
reserved their fire till the British were in thirty or forty
paces, at which distance they opened a destructive fire,
which annihilated nearly one-third of Webster's brigade."
The Highlanders, however, were under Leslie,
*Caruther's Sketches, Second Series, p. 134.
(350
instead pf Webster, that day, but joined Webster's
right.
The Hessians were opposed by the left of Butler's
brigade and the volunteers under Forbis. These lat-
ter, Lee confesses, were firm and never gave way
except to sullenly and slowly retreat before the
English bayonet, and adhered to Campbell's com-
mand to the very last.
It was a North Carolina rifle that brought down
the first English officer in this battle.
Colonel James Martin, in his petition for a pen-
sion, thus describes the scene:
"I was posted on the front line with a company com-
manded by Captain Forbis, a brave, undaunted fellow.
We were posted behind a fence, and I told the men to sit
down until the British, who were advancing, came near
enough to shoot. When they came within about 100
yards, a British officer with a drawn sword was driving
up his men. I asked Captain Forbis if he could take
him down. He said he could, for he had a good rifle. I
told him to let him come in fifty yards and then take
him down, which he did. It was a Captain of the
British army, and at that instant General Greene sent
his aid-de-camp to me to go to him, and I went and
asked him his command. He told me as he had begun
battle, and I had not a complete regiment, he wished me
to go with Major Hunter to the court-house, and in case
of defeat to rally the men, which we did and collected
about 500 and were marching them to the battle-ground
when I met General Stevens, of the Virginia corps,
retreating. I asked him if the retreat was by General
Greene's orders. He said it was. I then retreated with
him and ordered the men to repair to the Troublesome
Iron Works to outfit, as he had ordered me, which we
obeyed."*
It was stated by Peter Rife, of Virginia, one of
Lee's Legion, to Caruthers, that he witnessed the
fact with his own eyes, that the men of Guilford
fired till the Hessians mounted the fence, and then
clubbed their rifles and fought them back, hand to
hand. When asked if this was not done by Camp-
bell's men, he replied indignantly, "No, it was the
North Carolinians. I sat on my horse and saw
them with my own eyes."
Caruthers then remarked to him, " According to
history, the North Carolina militia did nothing on
that occasion," and he replied with some sternness :
"Whoever says the North Carolina militia did
nothing on that day, says what is false, for I know
better."^
I quote further from Caruthers : J
"William Montgomery, of Guilford County, who was
one of Captain Forbis' company and one of the four who
stood by him to the last, when describing 'the scene in
after life, usually illustrated it by saying that, after they
delivered their first fire, which was a deliberate one, with
their rifles, the part of the British line at which they
aimed looked like the scattering stalks in a wheat field,
when the harvest man has passed over it with his cradle.'*
*Wheeler's Reminiscences, p. 414.
tCaruthers, Second Series, p. 132.
JCaruthers, Second Series, p. 134.
( 353 )
As evidence of the coolness and pluck of the
men of Alamance, Carnthers relates the following
anecdote :
"William Paisley, father of the Rev. Samuel Paisley,
who is yet living, was one of Captain Forbis' neighbors
and one of his fiunest men. He was one of the last to
leave the ground, and when about to retreat, on looking
under the smoke, the British were so near that there
seemed to be no chance of escape ; and dropping on the
ground, he lay with his face in the leaves as if he were
dead. Supposing that he was dead, they rushed by
without noticing him and engaged with the Virginians.
As soon as they had done so, he got up, and on looking
around he saw a British soldier who was a very large
man, and so much afraid of the rifles that he was keep-
ing a tree between him and danger, peeping first from
one side and then the other. He said he thought lie
would give the cowardly dog one 'pop' at all events,
and leveling his rifle he laid him on the ground at the
foot of the tree. ' '
Caruthers adds the personal testimony of numer-
ous others, either soldiers who participated in the
battle or visitors to it next day, and with whom he
had conversed, confirmatory of the deadly effect of
the fire from Butler's brigade and Forbis' men.
Many of these soldiers survived and were cotempo-
raries of Doctor Caruthers, who was for many years
the distinguished pastor of Alamance Presbyterian
Church and successor to Doctor David Caldwell.
I copy from "Jefferson's Correspondence," vol.
i, p. 213, the following letter:
23
(354)
"RICHMOND March 2ist, 1781.
4 ' To His Excellency the President of Congress:
"SiR: The enclosed letter will inform you of the
arrival of a British fleet in Chesapeake Bay.
"The extreme negligence of our stationed expresses
is no doubt the cause, as yet, why no authentic account
has reached us of a general action, which happened on
the 1 5th inst. , about a mile and a half from Guilford
Court- House, between General Greene and Lord Corn-
wallis. Captain Singleton, an intelligent officer of
Harrison's artillery, who was in the action, has this
moment arrived here, and gives the general information
that both parties were prepared and desirous for action ;
the enemy were supposed about twenty-five hundred
strong, our army about four thousand ; that after a very
warm and general engagement of about an hour and a
half, we retreated about a mile and a half from the field,
in good order, having, as he supposed, between two and
three hundred killed and wounded the enemy between
five and seven hundred killed and wounded ; that we lost
four pieces of artillery ; that the militia, as ivell as regu-
lars, behaved exceedingly ivell; that General Greene, he
believes, would have renewed the action the next day,
had it not proved rainy, and would renew it as soon as
possible, as he supposes ; that the whole of his troops,
both regulars and militia, were in high spirits and wish-
ing a second engagement ; that the loss has fallen pretty
equally on the militia and regulars ; that General Stevens
received a ball through the thigh ; Major Anderson, of
Maryland, was killed, and Captain Barrett, of Washing-
ton's cavalry ; Captain Fauntleroy, of the same cavalry,
was shot through the thigh and left on the field.
"Captain Singleton, having left the camp the day after
(355)
the battle, does not speak from particular returns, none
such having been inen made. * * *
"I have the honor to be, with very high respect and
esteem, your Excellency's most obedient and most humble
servant, "Tn. JEFFERSON."
>
The statement of Captain Singleton, who com-
manded the artillery, which was stationed immedi-
ately between the two North Carolina brigades on
the. front line, and had the best opportunity to
observe their conduct, and who was a Virginian, in
no way partial to North Carolina, "thai the militia,
as well as the regulars, behaved exceedingly ivell" is
certainly entitled to very great weight on this dis-
puted point. He was not only an eye-witness and
participant in the battle, but his movements
depended on the action of the North Carolina
militia and his own safety was involved in their
conduct. I cannot imagine a witness whose testi-
mony could be more pertinent and reliable than
that of Captain Singleton.
We may further consider that he did not leave
Greene's camp until the day after the battle, and
had therefore an opportunity to converse with his
fellow soldiers about its incidents and occurrences
and to get a correct impression of the conduct of the
troops. He was no doubt a messenger to convey
tidings of this battle to Governor Jefferson, and had
no motive to conceal the truth and every inducement
of honor to tell it. His other statements in regard
to the battle are correct, and why should we suspect
that he prevaricated in this one? Where is the
motive or the reason for an}' such suspicion ? There
was no man in Greene's whole command who bore
a higher character than Singleton or who more
heartily despised a falsehood.
Jefferson could not have misunderstood him,
eager, as he evinces himself to he, for news from
the battle. We may imagine that the two talked
long about it, and if Singleton had said that the
North Carolina militia shamefully fled and lost
the battle, Jefferson would not have been slow to
hear it and denounce- it. The conclusion is, that
Singleton spoke the truth.
I have thus endeavored to sustain, by the testi-
mony of credible witnesses, the affirmation that the
North Carolina militia performed the duty assigned
them, in this battle, by the order of General Greene,
delivered to them "in person, on the field, and that
this duty was well performed by giving the enemy
two well-directed and "deadly" fires.
To summarize the argument on the first point,
that the order, to fire twice and then retire, was
given to the militia, we have the uiicontradicted
testimony of Garden, who heard it, of George Wash-
ington Greene, who received it as a family tradL
tioii, and of Caruthers, who heard it from numerous
soldiers who were in the battle. No author nor
writer has ever contradicted or doubted the testi-
mony, and the characters of the witnesses are above
reproach. The fact is, therefore, established, as far
as human testimony can establish any fact.
(357)
On the other point, that the order was obeyed in
letter and spirit, we have the testimony of the Eng-
lish authors Tarleton, Stedman and Lamb, who
were present and either participating or observing
the facts about which they wrote, and of Captain
Dugald Stuart, whose men fell under this "deadly"
lire.
On the American side we have the testimony of
the Rev. Samuel Houston, a man of exalted char-
acter and an eye-witness of what lie relates; of
Captain Anthony Singleton, of the artillery, who
was in line with the North Carolina militia ; and
Peter Rife, a soldier, who denounces as false the
assertion "that the North Carolina militia did
nothing.' 1 All these are Virginians fellow-citi-
-/ens of Lee and Campbell ; Rife, a soldier in
Lee's command.
To these we may add the evidence of William
Montgomery, of Guilford County, who was well
known to persons yet living, and whose character
as Christian, patriot and soldier no man would dare
assail where Montgomery was known.
With such a u cloud of witnesses," may we not
be pardoned for disbelieving the account written by
Lee in 1809, twenty-eight years after the battle,
from memory alone ? That memory, too, was so
treacherous and inaccurate, in regard to this very
battle, that, in describing the positions of the
American troops, he placed Law-son's brigade of
Virginia militia on the front line, and speaks of it
as receiving the charge of Webster's brigade; and
(358)
placed all the North Carolina militia on the south
side of the New Garden road errors so palpable that
no subsequent author has ever repeated them If
Lee could not even remember where the North Caro-
lina militia were, how could he recall the picture of
their flight, as he rhetorically describes it ? The
errors of Lee, in his Memoirs, are so numerous that
Johnson, after exposing many of them, speaks of
the "general inaccuracy" of the whole narrative.
But Lee has written so charmingly that his book
has become a popular favorite, and, indeed, when
he is accurate, no one describes the incidents of that
period with more force and beauty than he.
Campbell's statement is contained in a letter
written to the Rev. Mr. Gumming, in September,
1781, and says "a whole brigade of North Carolina
militia abandoned their party from the first onset."'"
Lee does not confine the abandonment to one
brigade, but includes both in his exuberant fancy.
Of such like inconsistent accusations it was said,
in Holy Writ, a but neither so did their witness
agree together." Both Lee and Campbell profess
to describe what they saw, but they did not see it
alike, or did not see it at all.
We will resume the narrative.
The British not only received a galling fire from
the front, but Washington's corps on the right and
Campbell's on the left poured in a heavy fire on
their flanks.
*Gibbs' Doc. History.
(359)
It was so heavy on the left flank that Colonel
Webster wheeled the 236 and 33d regiments to the
left, so as to face Lynch and Kirkwood, while the
Light infantry of the Guards and the Yagers, under
General O'Hara, turned obliquely across the field
and formed to their extreme left, and the front of the
battle, at that point, was nearly at a right angle to
the former line. This movement left a vacancy in
the British. line next to the old Salisbury road,
formerly Webster's right flank, and into this the
Second battalion of Guards was inarched and
continued to move eastwardly, resting their right
on the road.
Lynch and Kirkwood being hard pressed, re-
treated under cover of Washington's cavalry and
formed on the extreme right of Lawson's brigade
of Virginians.
Colonel Webster was now free to readjust his
old line and make it co-extensive with the Virgin-
ians in his front, the only change being that the
Second battalion of- Guards now formed his
right.
The North Carolina militia had left the field and
retreated towards the Court-House. Their retreat
was disorderly and resulted in a flight. They were
without discipline, and the flight became a rout,
and in this consisted their misfortune that day ;
one common to militia everywhere.
On the left of the American line the militia had
generally been driven from their position, but the
(36o)
iire from Campbell's corps became so deadly that
Colonel Norton, with the First battalion of Guards,
was ordered to join the British line on the right
and oppose themselves to Campbell.
As the Hessian regiment passed the line of the
militia, it wheeled to the right, and, in line with
Norton, faced Campbell. Campbell was reinforced
by many of Butler's brigade, who retreated in that
direction, and by all of Forbis' men, who formed
on Campbell's right. Lee's Legion was on that flank.
The ;ist Regiment, of Highlanders, continued on
its course up the road and soon engaged Stevens'
brigade of Virginians.
It had been the intention of Campbell to fall back
and put his corps in line on the left of Stevens, but
the Hessians passed so rapidly in his front as to
cut him off. He was also delayed by his conflict
with Norton on the left. The riflemen, retiring
deeper into the forest, took to the trees and made
it so hot for the Guards that they \vere compelled
to retreat in great disorder. Cornwallis came in
person to their rescue, and by riding in their front
and exposing himself to imminent danger*, succeeded
in rallying them. The Hessians being now joined
again by the Guards, made a combined charge and
drove Campbell to the south, and entirely separated
his command from the American army, so that in
fact two distinct battles were raging at the same
time.
About one-quarter of a mile on the southeast of
( 3 6 i )
Campbell's first position, Cornwallis, who was fol-
lowing up Norton and the Hessians, had a large
iron-gray horse shot from under him. The spot
is now marked by a persimmon tree, a century old,
whose identity is well authenticated by tradition.
Campbell would retreat and fire, then the British
would fall back, and using the bayonet, push the
riflemen back again ; so it raged and alternated
between them until Campbell was driven to a high
range of hills, or a little mountain range, as it is
sometimes called, about one mile from Campbell's
first position. Here the riflemen began to gain a
decided advantage and to drive the Hessians before
them, when Lee, unexpectedly, left Campbell's flank
and Tarleton appeared on the scene.
We must now return to the front of the Virginia
line.
The British artillery had advanced, supported by
Tarleton's Legion. Lieutenant O'Hara of the
artillery had been killed early in the action. Corn-
wallis had abandoned the right and come to the
left of his line, riding a dragoon's horse.
Singleton had retired with his guns and taken
his position on a high ridge to the left of the Mary-
land brigade, where the new Salisbury road
intersects the old Salisbury road, west of Hunting-
Creek, and quite a commanding eminence.
The right of the British line being weakened by
the engagement of the Hessians and First battalion
of Guards with Campbell's corps, the 23d joined
(362)
the yist in its assault upon Stevens, while Webster
assailed Lawson with the 33d, in conjunction with
the Light infantry and Yagers on his left, and the
Second battalion of Guards on his right.
Lawson 's brigade soon gave way, and in its
retreat wheeled upon its left flank as a pivot, so as
to bring the brigade to the south side of the road,
in the rear of Stevens, and thence moved along that
side of the road, avoiding the field at the Bruce road,
and clinging to the forest to escape from Tarleton's
dragoons. Washington conducted them to the
new Salisbury road, and Kirk wood and Lynch
marched to a position on the right of the Conti-
nental line; Washington remaining on the ridge in
the new Salisbury road, where he could overlook
the field and protect the left flank of the Conti-
nental line.
The contest between Stevens' brigade and the
7ist and 23d was protracted and stubborn.
Mr. Houston, who was in this brigade, says that
they drove the British back three times and were
as often compelled to retreat before the bayonet.
Lee having gone south with Campbell, And the left
of Stevens' brigade being thus without 'any protec-
tion, Tarleton was ordered to charge them on that
flank, and they were compelled to give way. Gen-
eral Stevens had, in the meantime, been shot
through the thigh and was unable to remain on
the field.
Colonel Webster having driven Lawson from his
(363)
front, moved rapidly through. the forest in a direct
line with the 33d and the Light infantry and Yagers.
The Second battalion of Guards were dropped, per-
haps, to assist in the assault on Stevens.
Webster soon reached the Bruce road, on the
western edge of the old field, in which the Conti-
nental line was drawn up.
They were about 200 yards apart at this point of
the American line. The hill from either position
descends rapidly, and in the valley was -a ravine
where the water runs in wet weather. The old
field had not been in cultivation for some years,
and was grown up with weeds, and here and there
were small scrubby pines and bushes, but not so as
to obstruct the view across it.
Colonel Webster did not stop to count* the odds
against him, or to wait for the Second battalion of
Guards, but immediately sounded the charge in
front of the ist Maryland regiment and Hawes'
Virginians. The Americans waited for the charge
until the British line was within forty (40) paces
of their front, when they poured in upon them a
most destructive fire, and followed it up with the
u push of the bayonet," as they did at-Cowpens.
Webster's line at first recoiled, then broke and fled
in disorder to the forest, out of which they had
emerged.
The Mary landers followed up this brilliant
charge until the British troops under Webster were
routed and scattered in the forest. Colonel Webster
(364)
himself received a musket-ball in his knee, from
which he died a few weeks thereafter.*
The battle on the American side had so far been
a counterpart of Cowpens, and it only remained for
Greene to push his victory to completion as Morgan
did. To do this, however, would have required a
general advance of the whole Contin-viitfil line. If
the movement succeeded, the victory would be com-
plete and glorious, but if his left were to give way,
or it should be true, as he then feared, that Campbell
had been driven from the field and the Hessians
were coming on his flank and rear, then the advance
would have been a disaster.
Prudent and cautious, as well as brave and stub-
born in fight, Greene determined not to risk his
army for glory not to sacrifice the only remaining
army in the South to personal ambition. The con-
duct of the 2d Maryland soon demonstrated the
wisdom of his decision. The ist Maryland was
ordered to fall back to its original strong position
on the brow of the hill across the ravine. It had
hardly begun this retrograde movement before the
Second battalion of Guards, now under Lieutenant
Colonel Stuart, O'Hara being wounded, swept
around the hill, at the fork of the Bruce road, and
moving along the valley, to the right and south of
the old Salisbury road, struck the 2d Maryland
regiment, under Colonel Ford. Scarcely any resist-
*I have in my possession a silver knee buckle, with the initial W
on it, found near this spot.
ance was made by this regiment; it is not even
said in history that they fired a gun?
Colonel Washington, who was on the ridge above
this little valley with his cavalry, witnessed this
inglorious flight of the Mary landers. He had with
him one company.of North Carolina cavalry, forty
men, under the Marquis of Bretigny, and a fine
company of Virginia volunteer cavalry from Prince
Edward, under Captain Thomas Watkins, and in
this company was Peter Francisco the giant.*
Washington sounded the bugle for a charge, and
pushing down the slope of the ridge, leaped across
the branch in his front and rushed in a full gallop
upon the rear of the Guards, and passing through,
slew them right and left. Lieutenant Holconib, of
Captain Watkins' company, relates " that the strong
arm of Francisco leveled three of the enemy during
one charge and eleven before the fight was over."
In Foote's Sketches of North Carolina"}* it is said :
"The carnage was dreadful. At this time it was that
Lieutenant Hoi comb related to Dr. Jones, of Nottoway,
that the noted Francisco performed a deed of blood with-
out a parallel. In that short renconntre he cut down
eleven men with his brawny arm and terrible broad-
sword. One of the Guards thrust his bayonet, and, in
spite of the parrying O f PVancisco's sword, pinned his leg
to the horse. Francisco forebore to strike, but assisted
him to extricate his bayonet. As the soldier turned and
*Foote's Sketches of Virginia, First Series, p. 403.
fFoote's Sketches of North Carolina, p. 278.
( 366 )
fled, he made a furious blow with his sword and cleft the
poor fellow's head down to his shoulders."
Washington had hardly passed, like a destroying
angel, through this devoted regiment of gallant
Englishmen, in this valley of death, before the ist
Maryland arrived on the scene. It wheeled to
the south and rushed like a whirlwind on Stuart's
left flank, bearing down all before it, slaughtering
its victims and piling up its sacrifices as it rolled
on. But still Stuart refused to fly. He stood like
a lion at bay and repelled the fury of his adversaries.
Cornwallis arrived at the fork of the road and looked
down upon the struggle with dismay. Then gallop-
ing down the hill to the old white oak at its base,
(now decaying under the weight of a century of
years), looked into the face of the unequal combat.
Reascending the hill, he ordered Lieutenant McLeod,
who had come up with the artillery, to open with
grape-shot upon the mass of struggling soldiers
beneath him. O'Hara, who lay bleeding in the
road, remonstrated and begged that his men be
spared, but Cornwallis was determined and des-
perate and repeated the order. O'Hara-hid his face
in his hands and refused to witness the slaughter.
The remedy was dreadful and sanguinary, but it
was effectual. The combatants separated and the
few brave men that escaped the awful carnage came,
limping up the hill, for protection behind the guns
which had so recently been trained upon them.
(36?)
Colonel Gunoy had been unhorsed early in the
charge, and Lieutenant Colonel John Eager How-
ard, * the same who had handled the regiment so
skillfully at Cowpens, took the command. Major
Anderson, of this regiment, was killed. Lieuten-
ant Colonel Stuar,t, of the Guards, was also among
the slain. Johnson gives this thrilling account of
his death :
"Two combatants particularly attracted the attention
of those around them. These were Colonel Stuart of
the Guards and Captain John Smithf of the Marylanders,
both men conspicuous for nerve and sinew. They had
also met before on some occasion, and had vowed that
their next meeting should end in blood. Regardless of
the bayonets that were clashing around them, they rushed
at each other with a fury that admitted of but one result.
The quick pass of Stuart's small sword was skillfully
put by with the left hand, whilst the heavy sabre of his
antagonist cleft the Briton to the spine. In one moment
the American was prostrate on the lifeless body of his
^nemy; and in the next was pressed beneath the weight
of the soldier who had brought him to the ground.
These are not imaginary incidents they are related on
the best authority."
NOTE. On the 14th of November, 1781, Greene, writing to a friend
about Colonel Howard, said : " He deserves a statue of gold no less
than the Roman and Grecian heroes." Colonel Howard was, after
the revolution, Governor of Maryland and served in Congress.
fCaptain Smith survived the struggle for liberty. I have in my
possession a sword exhumed near the scene of this conflict, in 1866,
which is undoubtedly the one Colonel Stuart wore. It is beauti-
fully chased with a coat of arms and is of the finest steel. Its scab-
bard is German silver.
(368)
The separation of the combatants enabled Gen-
eral Greene to restore order to his line. The two
pieces of artillery, lost at the new Salisbury road,
were regained and placed on the left flank in the
old Salisbury road. The ist Maryland was sub-
stituted on the left of the line for the 2d Maryland,
which had fled. Lynch and Kirk wood formed the
centre, with the other two pieces of artillery under
Lieutenant Finley. Hawes' and Green's regiments
were on the right ; Colonel Washington with his
cavalry was in the concavity of the semi-circle in
the rear.
Webster had rallied on the British left, and had
made an unsuccessful charge, on Hawes and Kirk-
wood, and been repulsed. The remnant of the Second
battalion of Guards, though few, had come into
line. The yist and 23d, now disengaged, were
coming up on the right. A cannonade and occa-
sional musketry fire were going on across the ravine
between the contending forces.
Lee had suddenly left Campbell, without warning,
and was now an idle spectator of this scene from
the Court-House hill, across Hunting Creek, with-
out notifying Greene of his presence, or offering to
cover the flanks. :i: Tarleton had been sent hur-
riedly to bring Norton, with the First battalion of
Guards, to the field for a final onslaught on the
American line, and finding that Campbell was un-
protected, had ordered the Hessians to fire, and
then rushed on the riflemen under cover of the
*Johnson, vol. 2, p. 14.
(369)
smoke and cut them to pieces. Colonel Campbell
never forgave Lee this desertion. He retired from
Greene's army shortly after in disgust.*
Colonel Campbell, with his Virginia and North
Carolina riflemen, wer^ the last to fire a gun on
this bloody field, and were still firing when Greene
sounded the retreat. They became scattered after
the charge of Tarleton upon them, and made their
way, as best they could, to the camp of Greene next
day.
The American commander, having now lost his
militia from the field , and the ad Maryland also,
and Campbell's fate being unknown, and Lee inac-
tive in the fight, perceived that the enemy were
about to outnumber him in the charge, which they
were preparing, and concluded to save his army by
a timely retreat.
Green's regiment of Virginians were thrown in
front to hold the line, while Washington covered
the retreat through the rear of the old field and
across the valley of Hunting Creek, until they
came to the high-road leading north to McQtiis-
tian's Bridge, on Reedy Fork Creek, three miles
distant.
Green checked the feeble pursuit of the enemy,
and Washington easily drove Tarleton back to his
lines, while General Greene leisurely pursued his
retreat to Reedy Fork, where he waited to collect
his stragglers and rest his men. He himself was
so prostrated by the long and arduous labors
*Draper, p. 394.
24
(370)
through which he had been passing for weeks, that,
in this hour of relaxation, he fainted from sheer
exhaustion, and for awhile was unconscious. He
wrote his wife after the battle that he had not taken
off his clothes for six weeks.
Lee, though in half a mile of the rear of Greene's
retreating army, did not join it, but pursued his
own line of retreat by the High Rock Ford road,
and came into camp twenty-four hours after Greene.
Cornwallis, who had but little means of transpor-
tation, and a very scant supply of provisions and
medicines, found his ammunition nearly exhausted,
more than one-third of his force (over 600) killed or
wounded. Stuart was cold in death ; O'Hara and
Howard wounded and sick; Webster, the pride of
the army, valiant in battle and wise in council, had
received a mortal wound ; and the mournful spectacle
of the dead and dying, on every hand, was enough
to dishearten the British commander. He gathered
his wounded, as best he could, and buried his dead,
and realizing that his only safety was now in flight,
he left the field on the lyth, and placing those of
his wounded, whom he could not transport, in care
of the humane Quakers at New Garden Meeting-
House, he hastened to put the Deep River between
him and his adversary, and gave no rest to his feet
until he reached the fork of that river, with the
Haw, at Ramsey's Mill. Here he could burn a
bridge behind him on either stream, as necessity
required. From thence he fled to Wilmington,
leaving the corpse of Webster in North Carolina,
(37i)
near EHzabethtown. He had died near town while
swung in a litter between two horses. He literally
died in the flight.*
In the evening of the battle the weather turned
suddenly cold and a heavy rain began to fall, lasting
through the whole night. Many wounded died
from the dreadful exposure.
The next morning after the battle, as was the
English custom, Cornwallis sent his officers to the
few prisoners he had captured with offers of liberty
and money, if they would join his service. They
*I am indebted to Colonel T. D. McDowell, of Bladen County, for
the following account of Colonel Webster's death :
"ELIZABETHTOWN, March zoth, 1888.
"Hon. D. Schenck:
. " DEAR SIR :-The postmaster has handed me your letter dated in February. I
have just received it, and give you what information I can in regard to Colonel
Webster.
" It seems in those days the army had no ambulances, as at the present day, and
the wounded men were carried on a litter swung between two horses. It was in
this manner that Colonel Webster was carried on the retreat from the battle of
Guilford Court-House. On ascending the hill at Baker's Creek, five miles above
EHzabethtown, it was first discovered that he was dead. The army marched on
through the village and cainped two miles below on Brown's Creek, on the planta-
tion belonging to the Waddell family. Lord Cornwallis stopped in the village and
got his supper.
" Captain James Childs, who was well known to the old citizens of Hillsboro, told
me tha,t he was a small boy, and going to the Waddell mill, with a bag of com on
a horse, had to pass along by where the army was camped, and he saw the corpse
of Colonel Webster lyiu'g on a litter between two pine trees. (I have frequently
seen the stumps of the trees.) When the late Judge Toomer was comparatively a
young man, he, in company with several other gentlemen, spent a night with Mr.
Waddell during our court week, and allusion being made to Colonel Webster, it
was proposed that they should dig open the grave (as the spot was well known to
an old negro man belonging to the Waddell family). They found the body with
the sword lying beside it. It looked quite natural, until a puff of wind scattered it
like dust. The exact spot is now known to no one though it is certain he is buried
near the stumps referred to.
" If this information is of any service to you, you are welcome to it.
"Very respectfully,
" THO. D. MCDOWELL."
(372)
had been confined all that dreary, rainy, cold night
in a rail pen, herded like cattle, and listened to
these appeals with silence and sullenness. They
were then told that the American army had been
routed and Greene had fled from the State, but still
these staunch old Whigs, drenched with rain and
shivering with cold, maintained their stolid indiffer-
ence.
Just then the sound of the morning guns from
Greene's camp came reverberating from the hills.
An old Tar Heel, who had squatted in a corner of
the rail pen, heard the familiar signal, and, rising
with a smile, he cried out: " LISTEN, HOYS! THK
OLD COCK is CROWING AGAIN," and a shout of defi-
ance went up from the rail pen that convinced the
English ofHcer that patriotism, in the old North
State, was above the temptation of bribery or the
intimidation of British power.
That "old cock" Nathanael Greene, and the
"blue hen's chickens" around him, continued to
crow until Cornwallis was admonished of his sins
and his danger, and prepared for flight.
Eager to meet the American army, \\hich he had
been pursuing for two months through mud and
rain, thirsting for the glory of annihilating his foe,
Cornwallis had marched out from his camp with
fluttering banners and martial music to accept the
challenge of the American General ; he looked with
pride on the veteran soldiers of his line and the
splendid officers who led them ; the half-clad soldiers
of the American armv and the untutored militia of
(373)
the State were contemptible in his eyes. The scene
at Camdeii was to be repeated the militia would
flee at his approach, the Continentals would be
outnumbered and crushed, and Tarleton would
revenge the defeat of Cowpens by putting the re-
creating masses to the sword; Greene would for-
sake the field and find a refuge in the mountains
of Virginia, and the Royal government would be
restored in North Carolina.
These were the exultant visions that floated
before his lordship's eyes as he gave the command,
"Forward for Guilford Court-House !"
He sought the American arm}'- and advanced
apon the militia, but he found them in " forty
paces, with their rifles resting on the rails," and
.liming with the "nicest precision" at his line, and
the next moment there was "havoc" in Webster's
brigade. He looked to the right and witnessed
one-third of the Highlanders drop ; he galloped his
charger into the midst of the fight, but in a moment
was unhorsed by the riflemen on the flank; in fury he
rode to the valley where his Guards were weltering
in blood, and returned to shoot them down in pro-
miscuous carnage with his own guns ; he called for
Webster to lead the last charge for victory, but
found him in the hands of the surgeon; he
looked for O'Hara and saw him bleeding at his
side ; to the inquiry for General Howard came the
response, "wounded and carried to the rear;"
ga/ing anxiously at the Guards, who were emerging
from the smoke and carnage under the hill, he
(374)
missed the stalwart figure of Stuart, now stiff and
cold in death. Still he hoped for the realization of
his dreams when he saw the Americans turn from
the field of blood, and calling for Tarleton, he
ordered him to charge the retreating foe. Tarleton
came with a rifle-ball through his hand, but was
met by Green and Washington and hurled back to
his commander with disordered ranks.
The visions of glory had vanished; the truth
came rushing over his mind that the victor of this
battle was not the man who held the field, and that
the ground on which he stood would soon become
the scene of his captivity if he tarried to rest his
bleeding cohorts.
Greene had lost but three hundred and twenty
(320) men, and by the evening of the iyth, he
found still around him 1350 Continental soldiers,
more than 1500 militia, and the 600 riflemen.
An American officer relates that his compassion
was so excited by the pitiable condition of the Eng-
lish army, in their retreat, that he had no heart to
strike them a blow. The roadside was strewn with
the dead who had vainly tried to drag their wounded
bodies along with the retreating army.
The march was tracked by the blood that flowed
from the wounds of those who were borne in litters,
and here and there a soldier, wounded and forsaken,
begged for mercy and protection. When pressed
in their camp at Ramsey's Mill, they made a hur-
ried flight across the bridge and burned it behind
them. Reaching Cross Creek (now Fayetteville),
(375)
his lordship expected to glide safely down the Cape
Fear in boats; but found Islington's militia lining
the river and ready to pick off his men from every
covering on the banks. Sadly he resumed his
mournful march and only found safety under his
guns at Wilmington.
Cornwallis had boasted, in the spring of 1780, that
he was only waiting for the harvest to ripen in
North Carolina, to subsist his troops, and he would
then hasten to effect its subjection. The harvest
had ripened, but his lordship had not garnered the
sheaves; he came to the fields of Mecklenburg, but
a voice from King's Mountain sent dismay and ter-
ror to the hearts of his reapers and they forsook the
State.
Another spring had come with its sunshine and
warmth, and the earth was waiting for the seed.
The furrows were drawn but the sowers were free-
men still; the summer came and patriots rested
undismayed under the shade of their own vines
and fig trees ; no royal standard floated over their
heads and North Carolina, yet, was free. Georgia
and South Carolina were trodden under foot, but the
proud hearts of the "Old North State" were never
humbled before the British throne. They declared
for liberty and maintained it, unsubdued, to the end.
The Battle of Guilford Court-House made it
impossible that another British soldier should
invade her soil, and thenceforth she had peace and
rest and a free government for her people.
(376)
No longer able to maintain the conflict in the-
Carolinas, his lordship continued his flight to York-
town, and before the frosts of October had tinged
the leaves of the forest, he marched out of his
breastworks an humbled and heart-broken captive,
and with the surrender of his army came indepen-
dence to the colonies.
The fatal wound to royal authority, from which
it lingered, and lingering died, on the ipth day of
October, 1781, was given at Guilford Court-House
on this 1 5th day of March, 1781.
There are many interesting anecdotes and inci-
dents of this bloody battle preserved by the various
writers who have attempted to describe it, each
illustrating some characteristics of the struggle or
the men who were engaged in it.
Cornwallis had two horses shot under him and
made two narrow escapes from death or capture.
Lamb, who was in Webster's brigade on the left,
relates the following incident as occurring after
Eaton's brigade had retreated and the British were
about to assail the front of the Virginians under
Lawson :
"On the instant, however, I saw Lord Cornwallis
riding across the clear ground. His lordship was
mounted on a dragoon's horse, his own having been shot;
the saddle-bags were tinder the creature's belly, which
much retarded his progress, owing to the vast quantity
of underwood that was spread over the ground; his lord-
ship was evidently unconscious of his danger. I immedi-
ately laid hold of the bridle of his horse and turned his
head. I then mentioned to him that if his lordship had
pursued the same direction he would, in a few moments,
have been surrounded by the enemy, and perhaps cut to
pieces or captured. I continued to run along the side of
the horse, keeping the bridle in my hand, until his lord-
ship gained the 23d" regiment, which was at that time
drawn up in the skirt of the woods." P. ?6?.
Tradition fixes the point where the second horse
of his lordship was shot as -on the right of Law-
son's brigade, probably a shot from Lynch's or Kirk-
wood's men.
"The next escape from danger by Lord Cornwailis,
took place at the foot of the steep hill just beyond the
fork of the Bruce road, near the ancient white oak which
still marks the spot.
"Cornwailis came down from his post at the fork of
the Bruce road, to the ravine below, to see the condition
of the battle, and under the cover of the smoke, rode up
to that old white oak, just in the skirts of the fiery con-
test. Washington, who had drawn off his troops, was
hovering round to watch his opportunity for another
onset, and approached that same oak unperceived by his
lordship ; stopping to beckon on his men to move and
intercept the officer, then unknown to him, he happened
to strike his unlaced helmet from his head. While he
dismounted to recover it, a round of grape from the
British artillery so greviously wounded the officer next
in command to Washington, that, incapacitating him to
manage his horse, the animal wheeled around and carried
him off the field, followed by the rest of the cavalry, who,
(378)
unhappily, supposed that the movement, had been
directed. Thus Cornwallis escaped."
General Greene was not exempt from peril during-
this sanguinary battle. Johnson relates his escape
during the conflict with the Continental line, as
follows :
"Such also had been the apprehensions for the conse-
quences ( of the defeat of the second battalion of the
Guards, that the first battalion had been ordered up from
the left and had reached the New Garden road, on which
Greene was anxiously observing the progress of events.
The bush on the roadside had so effectually concealed
the advance of this corps from view that General Greene
had approached within a few paces of them, when they
were discovered by his aid, Major Morris, and pointed
out to him. He had the presence of mind to retire in a
walk ; a precipitate movement would, probably, have
drawn upon him a volley of musketry."
The death of Colonel Arthur Forbis was tragical
and cruel. After he had fallen with two bullets,
one in the neck, the other in his leg, and after
he had endured all the horrors of that dreadful
night of cold and rain, a Tory by the name
of Shoemaker, a weaver from the neighborhood of
Alamance, who was plundering, came near to Forbis,
who begged him for water. Shoemaker, recog-
nizing him, cursed him and thrust at him with a
bayonet, which passed entirely through his leg.
Another Tory, more Jiumane, brought water in his
hat and administered to the famishing soldier.
(379)
On the same day, Miss Montgomery, who was
searching for her brother, discovered Colonel Forbis,
and helping him on her horse, she held the bridle, and
led the horse towards home. At a point near where
Holt's Chapel now is, two miles east of Greensboro,
they were met by the wife of Colonel Forbis, who
was starting to look for him. She did not recog-
nize the pallid face and sunken eyes of him who
was so dear to her, when in a feeble voice he said,
"Bettie, don't yon know me?"
Colonel Forbis was carried to his home, and
Doctor Caldwell, both a Doctor of medicine and of
divinity, with his son, attended him. They insisted
on amputating the leg, but the Colonel replied:
"I want all my body to be buried together," and
refused. He lived three weeks. His remains are
buried in the cemetery at Alamance Church, five
miles south of Greensboro. The citizens of Guilford
County erected a handsome marble monument over
his grave, and a granite monument has been erected
by the "Guilford Battle-Ground Company," who
own the battle-ground, on the battle-field, to his
memory. He was not more than thirty-five years
old when killed. "Shoemaker" was soon found
at his home, one night, by the Whigs and hanged
to a tree near an old church. The door of the old
church was used as a litter to convey his body to
his family.
Cornwallis makes the following official report of
his losses in this battle :
(38o)
" RETURN OF THE KILLED, WOUNDED AND MISSING OF
THE TROOPS UNDER THE COMMAND OF LIEUTENANT
GENERAL EARL CORNWALLIS, IN THE ACTION AT
GUILFORD, MARCH I5TH, 1781.
"Royal Artillery One Lieutenant, one rank and file,
killed ; four rank and file wounded.
"Brigade of Guards One Lieutenant Colonel, eight
Sergeants, twenty-eight rank and file, kilkd ; two Briga-
dier Generals, six Captains, one Ensign, one staff officer,
two Sergeants, two drummers, one hundred and forty-
three rank and file, wounded ; twenty-two rank and file
missing.
"2jd Foot :One Lieutenant, twelve rank and file,
killed ; one Captain, one Sergeant, fifty-three rank and
file, wounded.
"33d Foot One Ensign, one Sergeant, nine rank and
file, killed ; one Lieutenant Colonel, two Lieutenants,
three Ensigns, one staff officer, one Sergeant, fifty-five
rank and file, wounded.
"fist Foot One Ensign, one Sergeant, eleven rank
and file, killed ; four Sergeants, forty-six rank and file,
wounded.
"Regiment of Bose Three Sergeants, seven rank and
file, killed ; two Captains, two Lieutenants, one Ensign,
six Sergeants, three drummers, fifty-three rank and file,
wounded ; one Sergeant, two rank and file, missing.
" Yagers Four rank and file, killed ; three rank and
file, wounded ; one rank and file, missing.
"British Legion Three rank and file, killed ; one
Lieutenant Colonel, one Sergeant, twelve rank and file,
wounded.
"Total One Lieutenant Colonel, two Lieutenants,
(38i)
two Ensigns, thirteen Sergeants, seventy-five rank and
file, killed ; two Brigadier Generals, two Lieutenant
Colonels, nine Captains, four Lieutenants, five Ensigns,
two staff officers, fifteen Sergeants, five drummers, three
hundred and sixty-nine rank and file, wounded ; one
Sergeant, twenty-five rank and file, missing.
''OFFICERS: NAMES KILLED AND WOUNDED.
" ist Royal Artillery Lieutenant O'Hara, killed.
u Brigade of Guards Honorable Lieutenant Colonel
Stuart, killed ; Brigadier Generals O'Hara and Howard
and Captain Swanton, wounded ; Captains Schultz, May-
nard and Goodricke, wounded, and since dead ; Captains
Lord Douglass and Maitland, Ensign Stewart and Adju-
tant Colquhoun, wounded.
" 2jd Foot Second Lieutenant Robinson, killed;
Captain Peter, wounded.
"jjd Foot Ensign Talbot, killed ; Lieutenant Colonel
Webster (since dead), Lieutenants Salvin, Wynyard,
Ensigns Kelly, Gore and Hughes, and Adjutant Fox,
wounded.
"fist Foot Ensign Grant, killed.
" Regiment Bosc Captains Wilmousky (since dead),
Eichendrobt, Lieutenants Schwener and Graife, Ensign
de Trott (since dead), wounded.
u British Legion Lieutenant Col. Tarleton, wounded.
U J. DESPARD,
"Deputy Adjutant General.' 1 ' 1
Cornwallis also reports that he captured four
brass cannons, six-pounders, mounted on traveling
carriages, with limbers and boxes complete.
Of the British officers wounded, the following
died: Colonel Webster, Captains Schultz, Maynard
(382)
and Goodricke. General O'Hara was so badly
wounded that his recovery was long in doubt.
General Leslie's health gave way under the expos-
ure and fatigue, and he was obliged to retire a
long time from service. General Howard, who was
without a regular command, it seems, was only
slightly wounded. Colonel Tarleton received a
rifle-ball through his right hand (his unlucky
member) in the morning encounter.
Johnson says that "the American killed and
wounded could never be ascertained with precision.
That the returns of the day could furnish no cor-
rect idea on the subject, for one-half the North
Carolina militia, and a large number of the Vir-
ginians, never halted after separating from their
officers, but pushed on to their homes."
This proportion of the North Carolina and Vir-
ginia militia is too large. It is based on the reports
made on the iyth, and many of these men came in
afterwards. The North Carolina militia, being
nearer home, could the more easily return. The
Virginians left by whole companies, in the face of
raging officers, and, Mr. Houston says, they hid
in the mountains, so that for years they feared the
approach of officers.
The North Carolinians, whose term of service
was only six weeks, and four of which had expired,
supposed they would escape censure and punish-
ment ; but they were mistaken in this. The law
followed them and brought them back to service,
where, as we will see in the sequel, they became
brave and disciplined soldiers, who wiped out their
disgrace in blood, and returned, after twelve months
(such of them as did not sleep under the sod of
South Carolina and Georgia), crowned with honors
and welcomed with the plaudits of their fellow-
citizens. They added training to courage and made
the best of soldiers.
It is probable that Greene's loss was about three
hundred besides the militia.
The American commander having collected his
stragglers and rested his soldiers an hour or two,
continued his march to the Iron Works, on Trouble-
some Creek, where he was soon after joined by Lee.
The next day the soldiers were all in the best of
spirits and anxious to be led again against the
enemy, some to acquire more glory, others to
retrieve the reputation that they had lost. Greene,
however, knew that his enemy was fatally wounded,
and that his losses would compel a retreat instead
of a pursuit, and spent his time in reorganizing his
little army, preparing ammunition and getting
ready to follow the British forces.
While he is resting we may contemplate the
splendid results of this fatal blow to British pres-
tige and power in North Carolina, and its bearing
on the subsequent military events which followed.
Stedman wrote "that a victory achieved under
such disadvantages of numbers and ground was of
the most honorable kind, and placed the bravery
and discipline of the troops beyond all praise ; but
/- J
(384)
the expense at which it was obtained rendered it of
no utility"
Tarleton says: "The position and strength of
General Greene at the Iron Works, on Trouble-
some Creek, did not invite the approach of the
British army; Earl Cornwallis, therefore, com-
menced his march on the iSth* for Deep River, on
his way to Cross Creek."
Fox, in the British Parliament, contended that
the victory was Greene's. He argued that "if the
British army had been vanquished, they could only
have left the field and fled to the coast, precisely
the measure Cornwallis was compelled to adopt,"
and exclaimed, "Another such victory would destroy
the British army!"
Senator Benton, in his eulogy on Nathaniel
Macon, the great Commoner, who was a soldier
under Greene up to February, 1781, takes occasion
to discuss the historical results of this battle. It
is so lucidly and eloquently told that I offer no
apology for incorporating it in my narrative :
"In the year 1778 the Southern States had become a
battle-field, big with their own fate, and possibly in-
volving the issue of the war. British fleets and armies
appeared there, strongly supported by the British cause;
and the conquest of the South was- fully counted upon.
Help was needed in these States ; and Mr. Macon, quit-
ting college, returned to his native county in North
Carolina, joined a militia company as a private, and
marched to South Carolina, then the theatre of the enemy's
*He sent off his wounded on the lyth.
(385)
operations. He had his share in all the hardships and
disasters of that trying time ; was at the fall of Fort
Moultrie, surrender of Charleston, defeat at Camden,
and in the rapid winter retreat across the upper part of
North Carolina. He was in the camp on the left bank
of the Yadkin when" the sudden flooding of that river, in
the brief interval between the crossing of the Americans
and the coining up of the British, arrested the pursuit of
Cornwallis, and enabled Greene to allow some rest to
his wearied and exhausted men. In this camp, desti-
tute of everything and with gloomy prospects ahead, a
summons came to Mr. Macon from the Governor of
North Carolina, requiring him to attend a meeting of
the General Assembly, of which he had been elected a
member, without his knowledge, by the people of his
county. He refused to go, and the incident being
talked of through the camp, came to the knowledge of
the General. Greene was a man himself, and able to
know a man. He felt at once that if this report was
true, this young soldier was no common character, and
determined to verify the fact. He sent for the young
man, inquired of him, heard the truth, and then asked
for the reason of this unexpected conduct this prefer-
ence for a suffering camp over a comfortable seat in the
General Assembly. Mr. Macon answered him, in his
quaint and sententious way, that he had seen the faces
of the British many times, but had never seen their
backs, and meant to stay in the army till he did.
"Greene instantly saw the material the young man was
made of, and the handle by which he was to be worked.
That material was patriotism ; that handle a sense of
duty ; and laying hold of this handle, he quickly worked
the young soldier into a different conclusion from the
one that he had arrived at. He told him he could do
more good as a member of the General Assembly than
as a soldier ; that in the army he was but one man, and
in the General Assembly he might obtain many, with
the supplies they needed, by showing the destitution and
suffering which he had seen in the camp ; and that it
was his duty to go. This view of duty and usefulness
was decisive. Mr. Macon obeyed the Governor's sum-
mons ; and by his representations contributed to obtain
the supplies which enabled Greene to turn back and face
Cornwallis, fight him, cripple him, drive him further
back than he had advanced (for Wilmington is south of
Camden), disable him from remaining in the South (of
which, up to the battle of Guilford, he believed himself
to be master), and sending him to Yorktown, where he
was captured, and the war ended.
"The philosophy of history has not yet laid hold of
the battle of Guilford, its consequences and effects. That
battle made the capture at Yorktown. The events are
told in every history ; their connection and dependence
in none. It broke up the plan of Cornwallis in the
South and changed the plan of Washington in the North.
Cornwallis was to subdue the Southern States, and was
doing it, until Greene turned upon him at Guilford.
Washington was occupied with Sir Henry Clinton, then
in IStew York, with 12,000 British troops. He had
formed the heroic design to capture Clinton and his army
(the French fleet co-operating) in that city, and thereby
putting an end to the war. All his preparations were
going on for that grand consummation when he got the
news of the battle of Guilford, the retreat of Cornwallis
to Wilmington, his inability to keep the field in the
South, and his return northward through the lower part
^387)
of Virginia. He saw his advantage an easier prey,
and the same result if successful. Cornwallis or Clinton,
either of them, captured, would put an end to the war.
Washington changed his plan, deceived Clinton, moved
rapidly upon the weaker general, captured him and his
7,000 men, and ended the Revolutionary War. The
battle of Guilford put that capture into Washington 1 s
hands ; and thus Guilford and York town became con-
nected ; and the philosophy of history shows their
dependence, and that the lesser event was father to the
greater.
"The State of North Carolina .gave General Greene
25,000 acres of western land for that day's work, now
worth a million of dollars ; but the day itself has not yet
obtained its proper place in American history. " Bentoit's
Thirty Years in the U. S. Senate^ p. 115.
I shall reserve for the next chapter the further
movements of General Greene and the vigorous
measures adopted by North Carolina to prosecute
the war.
It is gratifying to close this chapter with the
freedom of North Carolina from British invasion,
which never again desecrated her soil.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Retreat of Cornwallis from Guilford Court-HousePursued by
General Greene Disbandment of the Militia Colonel James
Read's Command from North Carolina Remains with Greene
The Militia who Fled from Guilford Court-House Reorganized
as Part of the Cpntinental Line under Major Pinketham
Eaton Battle of Hobkirk's Hill Fall of the British Out-
postsSplendid Courage and Dash of the North Carolinians
at Augusta, June 5th, 1781 Death of Major Eatou Greene
Retires to the High Hills of Sautee, i6th July, 1781.
"Speedwell Iron Works," on Trouble-
some Creek, was the camp of General Greene,
to which he retired, reaching there on the morning
of Friday, the i6th of March, 1781. He remained
here until the morning of Tuesday, the 2Oth of
March.
The disorder and derangement incident to such
a fierce and sanguinary battle had to be repaired.
The Americans carried their powder and lead and
bullet moulds along with the army and manufac-
tured their cartridges in the camp. Greene had
lost his two ammunition wagons and the remnant
of cartridges contained in them, and one of the first
duties of his soldiers was to mould musket and rifle
balls for the next battle.
The second duty was to reorganize his Virginia
and North Carolina militia, who had only been
called out for a six weeks' "tour." Much of this
short time had already expired, and he could not
hope to retain them long. The North Carolina
militia who had fled from the field after the battle
and went to their homes, which lay in a day or two
of march from the battle-field, were about four hun-
dred and fifty or five hundred. Some few had
reported after the main army reached the camp.
About five hundred and fifty Virginians fled from
the field who never returned, and after they reached
the camp they left by regiments, while their com-
manders were u raging" at their perfidy. Every
one of Colonel McDowell's* regiment of Virginians
left in this way, but the gallant Colonel adhered to
Greene after his men were gone.
Mr. Houston, in his Diary, gives a most amusing
account of this stampede, or, to use the ingenious
circumlocution of Colonel Lee, this " voluntary
and customary return of the Virginians to their
homes.' 11
Generals Butler and Eaton were immediately
sent after the recreant North Carolinians, and the
remainder were, it seems, attached to Colonel Read's
volunteer corps and marched with General Greene
in pursuit of Cornwallis. March the 2ist, Greene
writes to Colonel Lee, whom he had thrown forward
to gain intelligence:
"Your letter, dated at New Garden yesterday, has this
moment been received. Our army marched .yesterday
in the direct route for Magee's Ordinary, near the head-
waters of Rocky River, which will be twelve miles from
Bell's Mill. We expect to get two or three miles beyond
*Close kinsman of the North Carolina McDowells.
(390)
Passley to-night. We have got provisions to draw,
cartridges to make, and several other matters to attend
to, which will oblige us to halt a little earlier than com-
mon. I beg you will try to forward me the best intelli-
gence you can get of the enemy's situation this morning
and whether they move or not. / wean to fight the
enemy again, and wish yon to have your Legion and
riflemen ready for action on the shortest notice. Lord
Cornwallis must be soundly beaten before he will release
his hold."
This was the spirit of the American commander,
and demonstrated that he was the real victor at
Guilford and was read}' to renew the combat, while
his antagonist was using every artifice to avoid the
contest and, redeeming the time in rapid retreat,
always keeping a stream between him and his pur-
suer.
Cornwallis at first crossed to the southwestern
bank of the Deep River, as if he intended to inarch
for Salisbury, but suddenly recrossing that stream,
he moved down its eastern bank, having the Haw
River to his left and the Deep River to his right,
and nearing their junction at Ramsey's Mill.
Arriving here, he threw a temporary bridge across
the Deep River, there being one already across the
Haw, so that if the American army pressed him he
could retreat by either outlet and burn the bridge
behind him. Here at Ramsey's Mill he paused to
reorganize his forces and repair his damage as much
as possible and to gather what provisions he could
for his further retreat. He had left the wounded
American prisoners at Guilford Court-House, and
(390
those of his own wounded who could not be trans-
ported, about eighty, at New Garden Meeting-House.
The British army had neither courage nor spirit
left. Their condition was mournful .indeed, and
all their energies were directed to the one idea of
reaching a port of safety.
On the 3oth day of March the terms of service of
the Virginia and North Carolina militia expired
and they insisted on their discharge. General
Greene was much distressed over this loss, but see-
ing it inevitable, under the call of enlistment,
submitted as gracefully as possible, and returning
his thanks to those who had adhered to him, they
were allowed to return to their homes. Colonel
Read, of North Carolina,who commanded a volunteer
force of two hundred men, spoken of in a former page,
was the only North Carolina organization which
voluntarily remained with the American comman-
der and continued to share with him in the subse-
quent successful campaign in South Carolina.
It seems very difficult to trace the history of this
command. I find the following letter from Colonel
James Read to General Sumner, dated February
2yth, 1781, from "Miller's tavern":
"Since I had the pleasure of seeing you at Halifax,
the Assembly honored me with the command of a regi-
ment of horse. As I had your approbation to accept a
command in the militia, I did not think it necessary to
trouble you about this command particularly."
This is the only communication I can find in
regard to it, either by Colonel Read or any one else.
(392)
On the 29th March, General Greene writes
General Washington:
u ln this critical and distressing situation I am deter-
mined to carry the war directly into South Carolina.
The enemy will be obliged to follow us or give up his
posts in that State. If the former takes place, it will
draw the war out of this State and give it an opportunity
to raise its proportion of men. If they leave their posts
to fall, they must lose more than they can gain here. If
we continue in this State the enemy will hold their
possessions in both."
Colonel Hampton, of South Carolina, had visited
Greene at the Iron Works, and made him acquainted
with the condition of affairs in South Carolina, and
urged him to return to that State.
Before entering upon another campaign, how-
ever, General Greene deemed it proper to give a
short repose to his wearied troops and to gather
supplies for tjiat part of his journey which lay
through a comparatively barren country between
the Yadkin and Camden, and consequently the
American commander did not renew his march
until the 6th of April,* the day before Cornwallis
reached Wilmington.
Neither . was General Greene unmindful of the
vicissitudes of war and the necessity of providing a
line of retreat and stores for his army, should he
be forced to seek shelter again in North Carolina.
It was this provident characteristic that enabled
*Lee's Memoirs, p. 325.
(393)
him to make his former wonderful retreat before the
British army. To Colonel Win. R. Davie, his Com-
missary General, was intrusted the important service
of collecting magazines on the banks of the Catawba,
and measures were adopted for establishing a con-
siderable depot at Oliphant's Mill.*
As all the artillery was lost, Captain Singleton
was dispatched to Prince Edward Court-Honse,
Virginia, to obtain whatever pieces could be pro-
cured from that quarter.
Perhaps it will be appropriate here, before tracing
the progress of Greene, to record something of the
North Carolina militia who " deserted their colors "
and "returned" to their homes; for these same
men will make a conspicuous figure in the history
which is to follow.
During the administration of Governor Nash,
the Legislature of North Carolina passed an act to
punish those of her citizens who refused to perform
the military duty required of them. It provided
that
*On Tarleton's Military Map, Oliphant's Mill is located in Iredell
County, North Carolina, where Buffalo Creek runs into the Catawba
River, on the present Western North Carolina Railroad ; but the
Hon. Win. M. Robbins, who has made some research, for the author,
as to its location, can hear of no tradition of a mill of any kind at
this point. But on the opposite side of the Catawba River, in Ca-
tawba County, on Ball's Creek, there was, many years ago, Iron
Works, which continued to a recent period of time, and I am much
inclined to the opinion that Oliphant's Mill was located at this Iron
Works, which would be an appropriate place for the repair of arms
and the storage of provisions.
(394)
"Those persons who have been lawfully drafted and
have neglected or refused to march and go into actual
service on due notice, or find a substitute, as is therein
directed, shall be held and deemed a Continental soldier
for twelve montJis; and that those persons who have
deserted their colors, when in actual service, shall be
held and deemed a Continental soldier during the war."
William Hooper writes Mr. Iredell on the 29th
day of March, 1781, from Halifax, North Carolina,
that
"'The Council Extraordinary' have passed an order
to take from every inhabitant a fifth part of his provision
for the use of the army; and tliat every man who aban-
doned Iris post in tJie last action, sJionld be enrolled in the
Continental army for twelve months"
On the 6th day of April, 1781, Thomas Gilchrist
writes to Air. Iredell from Halifax, North Carolina,
that
" Part of the scattered militia from G nil ford Court-
House were rendezvousing here at the time your letter
came to hand by one of them (a captain). These militia
are now marched under the command of Colonel Linton
and are sentenced to twelve months' duty, as Continentals,
for their desertion."
On the 1 3th of April, Major Pinketham Eaton
writes General Sunnier from Chatham Court-
House:
*Johnson, vol. 2, p. i.Si.
(395)
" I this day received of Lieutenant Colonel William
Linton, one hundred and seventy (170) men turned over
into the Continental service, but am without a single
officer to assist me. I shall, by General Greene's orders,
march them immediately to headquarters.''
On the nth of April, General Butler writes
General Sunnier from Ramsey's Mill :
44 We have now in the field 240 men of those who
fled from the field on the I5th ulto. They are for one
year, and will in a few days join headquarters. My
orders were to inform you from time to time of their
nymbers, in order that you might send on as many offi-
cers as are necessary to command them. Major P. Eaton,
Captain James Read, Captain Yarborough and Lieutenant
John Campbell, are in service and mean to continue, with
your leave."*
In less than one month after the battle these men
had been collected for duty. They were neither
cowards, as we shall see, nor did they avoid arrest
or flee from the State ; they were undisciplined men,
who returned to their homes instead of their camp.
They were ashamed of their conduct and willing to
redeem their reputations. We shall soon find them
organized as Continental soldiers under the gallant
and ill-fated Eaton.
The Continental Congress had passed an act,
after the compression of the regiments, in May,
17/8, requiring North Carolina to raise four (4)
"These are the titles ami rank held in the Continental line.
more regiments or battalions for the Continental
service, for twelve months. Brigadier General
Sumiier, of Warren County, was given the com-
mand of this new brigade, and the Continental offi-
cers who had lost their positions by the "compres-
sion," and those who might be exchanged from
prison, were to be assigned to duty in these
regiments. General Sunnier entered upon this
important duty with systematic energy and patri-
otic spirit. These regiments were to be raised by
volunteering, or, if this failed, by draft.
A rendezvous, for these levies, was appointed in
the several districts of Wilmington, Newbern,
Halifax, Hillsboro and Salisbury, and the militia
officers were ordered to assemble their commands
and. return their respective quotas and have them
in readiness by the 25th April, 1781.
The voluminous correspondence of General
Sumner with Colonel Nicholas Long, the Commis-
sary General of the State, Major Eaton, -Colonel
Hal. Dixon, General Butler and numerous subordi-
nate officers, discloses the insuperable difficulties
which prevented the consummation of this plan at
that time; want of arms and clothing being the
greatest, while other parts of the State were disloyal
and refused to respond. In the meantime, General
Sumner, anxious to render service to his country,
had offered to command a brigade of militia under
Greene, but for some unfortunate and inexplicable
reason the offer was declined.
One of the four regiments was to have been
(397)
cavalry, but no effort, it seems, was made to raise it.
The total inability of the State to equip cavalry was
probably the reason for abandoning it.
In a letter of General Sumner's, without date,
he alludes to the fact that General Greene had
instructed him to make " an arrangement for the
Continental line," and " that he had met the officers
of the State, who could convene at Halifax the 23d
January, 1781, but the difficulty of making the forma-
tion, at this time, was that the dates of the officers'
commissions who were in captivity could not be
procured. However, they had formed a temporary
arrangement of the officers present to receive the
four regiments ordered to be raised by the State.
Since the arrival* of the officers who were in cap-
tivity we have been as expeditious as desirous in
making a re-arrangement of the line of officers.
Colonel James Armstrong, Colonel Gideon Lamb,
Lieutenant Colonel James Thackston, Lieutenant
Colonel William Lee Davidson, Captain Micajah
Lewis and Captain Francis Childs resigned, to be
recommended by the board of officers, at Halifax,
to Congress, to permit them to retire on half pay.
Lieutenant Colonel Wm. Lee Davidson, Colonel
Gideon Lamb and Captain Micajah Lewis are since
dead."
February 24th, 1781, General Sumner writes
General Greene that he
*In June, 1781.
(393)
u Had sent expresses to Colonel Ashe* and Major
Murfreet, who were, by the temporary arrangement of
the officers of the North Carolina line, present in the
State, to take charge of two of the regiments, to ac-
quaint them without delay that it was your wish that
they join the militia camp to render such assistance as
may be in their power. Major Dixont and Major Arm-
strongH are to take charge of the other two regiments.
Major Dixon is in your camp, who is Inspector General
of militia, and promised me to join that camp upon a
general rendezvous. Major Armstrong is with the forces
from the district of Salisbury. A large number of the
officers of the State are, to my knowledge, already in
the militia camp."
I quote this letter entire, so far as it refers to the
organization of the regular troops, to show the
changes that afterwards occurred ; for when the
three regiments moved, in July, they were com-
manded respectively by Colonel John B. Ashe and
Majors John Armstrong and Reading Blount, as
General Stunner's correspondence shows. How
it was that Murfree did not reach the rendezvous
from Newbern, or did not take the command as-
signed him, I am not able to solve.
While General Sumner was still exerting all his
power to collect the new levies and provide them
with arms, Major Pinketham Eaton, who was at
or near the camp of General Butler, on Deep River,
was ordered to march and join the- army under
General Greene, with the, now, re-assembled militia
*John B. Ashe. fHardy Murfree.
J"Hal" Dixon. ||John Armstrong.
(399)
from Guilford Court-House, and we will have
to trace their history as a part of that magnificent
little army which was, so soon, to redeem South
Carolina and Georgia from the British power.
1781. On the lyth day of April, Major Dixon,
as Inspector General, was ordered to forward two
subaltern officers to Major Eaton, u who was
informed that more of the militia were on their
way to his command."
Baton was detained until about the 23d of April
before he began his march to South Carolina, and
did not reach General Greene until about the i6th
of May, when his command was attached to Lee's
Legion as one of the corps which was to act against
Augusta.*
On the 6th day of April, General Greene detached
Colonel Lee, with orders to seek General Marion
and make a junction with his forces. He was
directed, however, to follow in the track of Corn-
wallis as far as Cross Creek, in order to produce
the impression that the American army would fol-
low in that direction to Wilmington.
From Cross Creek, Lee moved east rapidly, then
south, crossing Drowning Creek, then by Marion
Court-House to Pope's Ferry, on the Great Pee
Dee, where, on the i4th day of April, he formed a
junction with General Marion. Marion furnished
the boats, which he had concealed, to cross the
stream, and with their joint force they made a hur-
ried march almost west to Fort Watson, on the
*Johnson's Life of Greene, vol. 2, p. 126.
(4oo)
Santee, below Camden and below the confluence of
the Wateree and Santee.
On the yth day of April, General Greene crossed
the Deep River with his army and moved west in a
direct line to Mark's Ferry on the Yadkin; then
south, crossing Rocky River and Lynch's Creek, to
Camden, which vicinity he reached on the iQthday
of April.
Lord Rawdon, who was in command of that post
with 900 men, had been informed by the numerous
Tories in that State of General Greene's approach,
and, much to Greene's surprise, had six days' notice
of his coming and had called in detachments from
the Saluda and Broad until his force was fully
equal to Greene's army. In addition, he had
strengthened his fortifications so that it was impossi-
ble to take them by storm. Nothing was left but
to set down and endeavor to entice the British com-
mander into battle. With this view, on the 2oth,
Greene advanced to a hill on the Waxhaw road, in
half mile of Rawdon's breastworks, but the challenge
was not accepted. He then moved his army one
and a quarter miles and took post on a rising
ground of moderate elevation, known by the name
of "Hobkirk's Hill," with his left covered by an.
impassable branch and his right approaching a
thicket almost impenetrable.
General Greene had lost his four six-pounder
cannons at Guilford Court-House, all he had, but
" order had been taken for procuring from Oliphant's
Mill, at the head-waters of the Catawba, two pieces
(4oi)
that had been forwarded to that place for repair.' 7
One of these he sent to Marion, who had advanced
towards Carnden, on the fall of Fort Watson (which
was the 23d), in order to intercept the approach of
Colonel Watson's force, which was marching to rein-
force Rawdon. Gfeene, unfortunately, was too con-
fident of the power of General Marion and Colonel
Lee to prevent that officer from getting into Camden,
if Marion could have a piece of artillery to counter-
act the artillery of Watson. I state this with some
precision, because Greene has been much criticised
for parting with this artillery, which he needed so
badly at Hobkirk's Hill. General Greene also
knew that Colonel Harrison was on his way from
Prince Edward Court-House with two other pieces
of artillery; these reached him on the 23d. The
piece of artillery intended for Marion was sent to
Rugeley's Mill, under escort of the North Carolina
militia of Read's command. These troops General
Greene designed to send as a reinforcement to
General Marion, and Colonel Carringtoii, in order
to get them together at a safe spot, retired eight
miles further off than Rugeley's Mill, at a place
called Upton's Mill, and this made it difficult for
Greene to communicate with him. The conse-
quences of this mistake, on the part of Carrington,
who was in command of this detached corps, ex-
hibited themselves in the hurry in camp, on the
morning of the battle, which occurred on the 25th.
I take from Johnson, page 77, the following esti-
mate and classification of Greene's force. He says :
26
(402)
"The whole regular infantry of the American army,
at the battle of Hobkirk's Hill, was 843 present and fit
for duty. The cavalry consisted of two regiments,
White's and Washington's, but actually it numbered
only 87, and 56 only of these were mounted. The
artillery also nominally constituted a regiment, and was
commanded by Colonel Harrison in person ; but actually
there were not men enough to fight three pieces ; after
detaching Finley, not above 40. The only militia force
then with the army consisted of 254 North Carolinians.
One hundred and fifty of these, under Colonel Read, had
joined Greene soon after he recrossed the Dan, and had
faithfully adhered to him from that time. They were
volunteers, men of the first respectability, and much
might have been expected of them in action. The rest
had escorted the supplies sent to the army by Colonel
Davie."
Perhaps the most intelligible account of this
battle is given by Colonel Lee. He was not a. par-
ticipant, and could, therefore, be impartial to all.
I give his account in the following words:
" The position of Greene was upon a ridge covered
with uninterrupted wood, the Waxhaws road running
directly through it ; his army resting with its left upon
the swamp of Pine Tree Creek, where the ridge or emi-
nence was easiest of ascent, and extending to the right
to woods imcovered by water-courses or any other ob-
structions. In this quarter the American position was
easiest assailed, but the probability of an undiscovered
approach was not so encouraging. Therefore, Lord
Rawdon preferred the route to our left, inasmuch as an
(403 )
unexpected assault upon our camp was a leading feature
in his plan.
u In the morning Carrington joined, with a comforta-
ble supply of provisions, which had been rather scarce
during the late hurried changes of position. These were
issued, and, of course, engaged a portion of the troops,
while the residue were employed along the rivulets in
washing their clothes, an occupation which had been
for some days past impracticable.
"Absorbed in these employments, the period was very
propitious to the enemy's object. His advance was never
discovered until his van fell upon our pickets. The two
in front commanded by Captain Benson, of Maryland,
and Captain Morgan, of Virginia, received him hand-
somely ; and, retiring in order, disputed bravely every
inch of ground, supported by Kirkwood with the remains
of the Delaware regiment. This rencounter gave the
first announcement of the contest at hand. Disposed for
battle by the order of encampment, the American army,
notwithstanding its short notice, was quickly ranged for
action an event, although unexpected, of all others the
most desirable ; because, in all probability, the readiest
for the production of that issue so anxiously coveted by
the American General.
"During the contest with the pickets, Greene formed
his army. The Virginia brigade, with General Huger at
its head, having under him the Lieutenant Colonels
Campbell and Hawes, took the right ; the Maryland
brigade, led by Colonel Williams, seconded by Colonel
Gunby, and the Lieutenant Colonels Ford and Howard,
occupied the left. Thus all the Continentals, consisting
of four regiments, much reduced in strength, were dis-
posed in one line, with the artillery, conducted by Colonel
(404)
Harrison, in the centre. The reserve consisted of the
cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel Washington, with a
corps of North Carolina militia, about two hundred and
fifty, commanded by Colonel Read.
"The British General, pushing before him the pickets
and Kirk wood, pressed forward to battle. The king's
American regiment on the right, the New York volun-
teers in the centre, and the sixty-third on the left, formed
the line of battle. His right wing was supported by
Robertson's corps, and his left by the volunteers of
Ireland. The reserve consisted of the South Carolina
regiment, with a few dragoons, all the cavalry then at
Camden. Greene, examining attentively the British
disposition, discovered the very narrow front which it
presented, and gratified as he was with the opportunity,
so unexpectedly offered, of completing, by one blow, his
first object, he determined to avail himself of the advant-
age given by the mode of attack.
"He directed Lieutenant Colonels 'Campbell and Ford
to turn the enemy's flank ; he ordered the centre regi-
ments to advance with fixed bayonets upon him ascend-
ing the height ; and detached Lieutenant Colonel Wash-
ington with his cavalry to gain his rear. Rawdon no
sooner cast his eyes on our disposition than he perceived
the danger to which his unequal front exposed him, and
bringing up the volunteers of Ireland into line, he
remedied the defect, seized by Greene, in time to avert
the expected consequence.
"The battle opened from right to left with a vigor which
promised a keen and sanguinary contest ; but the supe-
riority of our fire, augmented by that from our well-
served artillery, must have borne down all opposition,
had the American line maintained itself with becoming
firmness. On the right Huger evidently gained ground;
Washington was carrying everything before him in the
rear, and Lieutenant Colonel Hawes, with fixed bayonets,
conformable to order, was descending the hill ready to
fall upon the New York volunteers.
"In this flattering movement, the veteran regiment of
Gunby, having first joined in the fire, in violation of
orders, paused ; its right falling back. Gunby unfortu-
nately directed the disordered battalion to rally by retiring
to its right company. Retrograde being the consequence
of this order, the British line, giving a shout, pressed for-
ward with redoubled ardor ; and the regiment of Gunby,
considered as the bulwark of the army, never recovered
from the panic with which it was at this moment unac-
countably seized. The Virginia brigade, and the second
regiment of Maryland, with the artillery, notwithstand-
ing the shameful abandonment by the first Maryland,
maintained the contest bravely. Williams and Gunby,
assisted by Lieutenant Colonel Howard, who had so often
and so gloriously borne down with this very regiment all
opposition, vainly exerted themselves to bring it to order.
Not the menaces of the one, nor the expostulations of the
other, and the exhortations of the third, not the recollec-
tion of its pristine fame, could arouse its cowering spirit.
The second Maryland, which had from the commence-
ment of the action acted with gallantry, feeling severely
the effect produced by the recession of the first, became
somewhat deranged ; and Lieutenant Colonel Ford being
unluckily wounded while endeavoring to repress the
beginning disorder, this corps also fell back.
" Rawdon's right now gained the summit of the emi-
nence, flanking Hawes' regiment, which had undeviat-
ingly held its prescribed course, although early in the
( 4 o6)
action abandoned on its left by the first Maryland, and
now but feebly sustained on the right by the first Vir-
ginia for this corps had now begun to recede, notwith-
standing its preceding success. Greene recalled Hawes,
our only unbroken regiment, and finding every effort to
reinstate the battle illusory, wisely determined to dimin-
ish the ills of the sad and unaccountable reverse by
retiring from the field. Orders were given to this effect,
and Lieutenant Colonel Hawes was commanded to cover
the broken line.
u The retreat was performed without loss, although
the enemy continued to pursue for a few miles. Wash-
ington, with his cavalry, retiring from the rear the mo-
ment he discovered that our infantry had been forced,
came in time to contribute greatly to the safety of the
army, having necessarily relinquished most of the fruits
of his success. Checking the enemy's efforts to disturb
our rear, he at length, by a rapid charge, effectually
discomfited the British van and put a stop to further
pursuit.
"General Greene, having passed Saunder's Creek,
about four miles from the field of battle, encamped for the
night, and on the next day proceeded to Rugeley's Mill.
The loss sustained by the respective armies was nearly
equal. On the side of America, two hundred and sixty-
eight were killed, wounded and missing ; on the side of
the enemy, two hundred and fifty-eight, including the
prisoners brought off by Lieutenant Colonel Washington
and those paroled by him on the ground. The British
lost no officer of distinction, which was not the case
with us. The wound of Lieutenant Colonel Ford proved
mortal; and Captain Beatty, of the first Maryland, was
killed, than whom the army did not possess an officer of
more promise.'*
(40?)
Gordon says " the militia was coming into action,
when suddenly a number of the Americans began
to retire, though the danger was not apparently
great, and everybody seemed ignorant of the cause."*
In the Life and Times of Iredellf it is said:
"North Carolina soldiers followed Greene's flag to
the close of the contest; and I believe that a care-
ful examination will disclose the fact that their
number has been carelessly stated and greatly
underrated by our historians. Colonel Readis regi-
ment of North Carolinians, under the command of
Colonel Washington, greatly distinguished them-
selves at the battle of Hobkirk's Hill."
The most brilliant conduct in this unfortunate
battle was that of Captain John Smith and his light
infantry company. This was a company of 45
select Irishmen, detailed from the Maryland line,
not one of whom was over thirty years old. They
were intended for critical service in the absence of
the Legion of Lee.
When Greene had withdrawn his line and formed
it again in rear of his first position, it left the artil-
lery, three pieces, exposed to imminent danger.
Captain Smith, with his company of Irishmen, was
ordered to defend and secure it at all hazards. The
British were ascending the hill with loud shouts,
and Coffin, in command of their cavalry, was charg-
ing up the road to join in the pursuit. "The
matrosses were now quitting the drag-ropes, when
General Greene galloped up alone, his aids being
*Gordon, vol. 4, p. 83. fVol. i, p. 504.
(408)
in other portions of the field, and dismounting and
seizing the drag-ropes with one hand, whilst he
held his horse with the other, exhibited an example
which the most timid could not resist. Smith's
men arrived, and gathering the drag-ropes in one
hand and holding their muskets in the other, they
were dragging off the cannons when Coffin rushed
up with his cavalry. Smith immediately forming
his company in rear of the artillery, poured such a
deadly fire into Coffin's face that he retired in con-
fusion. Again Coffin rallied his men and with
determined courage rushed upon the devoted band,
but only to be sent back with shame and defeat.
Three times it was renewed with the same result,
but in the intervals they continued to remove the
guns farther from danger. At length the British
infantry advanced and their marksmen in the wood
soon began to sacrifice this heroic company ; Smith
himself was wounded and his 45 men had been
reduced to 14. At this instant Coffin charged upon
them again and all were either killed or captured.
Captain Smith fell into the hands of the enemy.
The artillery was for a moment lost, but at this
crisis Colonel Washington returned from his circuit
in the rear, and in a moment was upon the enemy
with his cavalry. They fled before his impetuous
onset, and the artillery was redeemed."
Greene had led a Virginia regiment to the charge,
twice that day, in person, and exposed himself with
reckless courage to the fire of the enemy. He
seems to have become desperate over the failure of
(409)
his favorite regiment, the ist Maryland, which had
become panic-stricken in the very moment of vic-
tory. Even these men, victors of Cowpens and
saviors of Gnilford Court-House, fled before the
charge of the British regulars; a most amazing
fact, but one that teaches us the duty of charity to
the conduct of others, who, under more trying cir-
cumstances, might imitate the example.
A court-martial was convened for the investiga-
tion of Gunby-'s conduct, and its finding was that
" Gimby's spirit and activity were unexceptionable ;
but his order for the regiment to retire was improper
and unmilitary, and in all probability the only cause
why we did not obtain a complete victory."
In August, Greene wrote "that he found him
more blamable than he had represented him in his
public letters." Poor fellow! brave, but imprudent
and unwise, he lingered awhile with the army, and
being mortified by assignment to duty in the rear,
he retired from the service, leaving the regiment
under Howard, who was the favorite son of fortune.
It is due to Colonel Gunby to say, that Colonel
Lee, an accomplished and scientific soldier, defends
him and says that "Howard performed the same
movement at Cowpens that Gunby attempted to
repeat at Hobkirk's Hill " which is true.
Bancroft censures Greene for " weakening him-
self irretrievably" by sending Washington to the
enemy's rear and having no protection from the
dangers of disaster, and characterizes this maneuver
as " inconsiderate confidence ;" but Bancroft is not
an admirer of General Greene.
Stedman's comment on the result was, that " the
victory at Hobkirk's Hill, like that at Guilford
Court-House, although most honorable and glorious
to the officers who commanded, and the troops that
were engaged, produced no consequences beneficial
to the British interest."
My admiration for the enthusiastic courage and
distinguished patriotism of Captain John Smith,
" the hero of Hobkirk," constrains me to incorporate
the following account of him, which I find in John-
son's Traditions of the Revolution, by Joseph
Johnson, M. D., of Charleston, South Carolina:
"CAPTAIN JOHN SMITH.
"The first Maryland regiment, commanded by Col-
onel Gnnby, was very highly considered by General
Greene ; ever ready to encounter danger at the word of
command, and ever ready to lead in battle, under the
most discouraging circumstances.
"It had conquered at the battle of Cowpens, and
acquired the highest distinction at the battle of Guilford;
yet, at the battle of Hobkirk, near Camden, they had
been thrown into confusion and retreated disgracefully.
Captain John Smith, commanding a light infantry com-
pany in that regiment, was not with them at that time.
He was particularly distinguished at the battle of Guil-
ford, as well as that of Hobkirk.
" At the head of his company he charged the enemy's
line at Guilford, encountered Colonel Stuart, of the
Guards, in the open field, and slew him. He also slew,
as the British asserted, on that occasion, two or three of
Stuart's men. He had been detached from the Mary-
land line by General Greene, at Hobkirk, for the protec-
tion of the artillery, and not only avoided their disgrace
on that occasion, but acquired additional honors.
"His company then consisted of forty-five men, they
were all Irishmen, and ail under thirty years of age.
They continued to defend the retreating artillery, and
finally preserved it till Washington came up with his
cavalry at the critical moment when Smith's men, having
been reduced to fifteen, the enemy overpowered them',
and all were either killed or taken prisoners. Smith was
wounded and captured among the survivors. On being
carried into Camden, Lord Rawdon ordered him into
close confinement, under a misrepresentation of his con-
duct at Guilford, where he was said to have killed two
or three men after they had surrendered. The charge
having been disproved by the united testimony of Greene,
Washington and Howard, he was sent down to Charles-
ton on parole and on foot.
"Some persons connected with the British army, in
disguise, calling themselves Whigs, seized him a few
miles below Camden, stripped him, tied him up and
whipped him with switches on his bare back.
"On his arrival in Charleston, his character for
bravery being known, he became intimate with a num-
ber of British officers of kindred spirits, equally hon-
orable and equally brave.
"Dining one day with some of them, an officer was
introduced, whom he immediately recognized as one of
those who had treated him so ignominiously. Smith
took occasion to say that their whole deportment to him
had been so honorable, that it was a pity that any dis-
(412)
honorable fellow should intrude among them. The
officers called upon him to explain, as they suffered no
such intrusion into their society.
"He accordingly pointed out the man, and declared
the treatment received from him and his associates, while
a prisoner on parole.
"'Then kick him, Smith,' was the general reply;
and Smith had the gratification of kicking the rascal out
of the company.
" Many years after these events I knew Captain Smith
well; he was styled 'the hero of Hobkirk,' and com-
missioned by President John Adams in the armament
against France."
But great as the mortification and disappointment
of General Greene was, at his defeat, it did not alter
his plan to drive the enemy from Camden. On the
day after the battle he wrote General Marion , " We
are now within five miles of Camden, and shall
closely invest it in a day or two again." To the
French minister he wrote, "We fight, get beat, rise
and fight again."
There is one feature of Greene's usual consolatory
letters that is "conspicuously absent" from his
correspondence in regard to Hobkirk Hill. He
had no militia to scold; no scape-goat of citizen
soldiery.
He tried the militia in front at Guilford Court-
House and on them he put the blame. He thought
to reverse it at Hobkirk Hill, but the result was
worse, and subsequently at Eutaw he returned to
the plan of Cowpens and Guilford. There was a
Higher Power whose wisdom and providence was
ordaining all these things for good, and though
mysterious in His ways, the liberty of a mighty
Christian people was "worked out" through all
these tribulations and delays.
It is not my purpose to record all the subordinate
military movements and actions of General Greene's
army in South Carolina, but only such as will
disclose the part taken by North Carolina in this
eventful campaign. I shall, therefore, only give a
rapid review of those minor affairs, that the reader
may not lose the thread of the history.
On the 26th the news of the fall of Fort Watson
reached the army of Greene at Gum Swamp. " It
was joyfully announced in orders next day and the
names of Marion and Lee were given out as the
countersigns in honor of the captors of that fortifi-
cation."
Greene, with all his greatness, was capricious
and irritable. His ill humor led him into incon-
sistencies, which it had been well that his biographers
had not made public. In five days after this bril-
liant achievement of the modest and devoted Marion,
General Greene writes to President Reed:
"Generals Sinnter and Marion have a few people who
adhere to them, perhaps more from a desire and the
opportunity of plundering than from any inclination to
support the independence of the United States."
If there was one trait in Marion's character con-
spicuous above all others, it was his pure and simple
devotion to principle and his abhorrence of the
41 plunderer " in warfare. No opportunity for plun-
der was ever afforded by him. A more unfounded and
grosser wrong was neyer done to an unselfish patriot
and his followers than this. It was, I regret to
observe, a custom of General Greene, to reflect on
Southern soldiers, when writing private letters to
his Northern friends. Pity it is that the unguarded
expressions of his great mind, when irritated by
disappointment, should have been paraded as his-
tory. No doubt that General Greene himself
regretted these expressions in after life. I allude
to them "more in sorrow than .in anger," but this
peculiar characteristic is necessary to be understood
in order to weigh correctly similar expressions of
his in regard to North Carolina troops.
Colonel Watson, whose junction with Rawdon
General Marion and Colonel Lee had in vain en-
deavored to prevent, entered Camden on the yth of
May. With this substantial reinforcement, which
gave him a superiority over Greene, he marched
out to give him battle, but the American comman-
der skillfully avoided action.
The British commander, having lost Fort Wat-
son on the Santee, and finding his communication
with Charleston entirely cut off, determined to
abandon Camden.
" On the loth May, after destroying all public
buildings and stores, and many private houses, the
British abandoned Camden never to hold it again."
On the nth the post at Orangeburg, held by
(4i5)
sixty British militia and twelve regulars, surren-
dered to Sumter. Rawdon marched down the
Santee on the north side, anxious to save the gar-
rison at Fort Motte, to which Marion had laid siege.
To hasten its surrender, Rebecca Motte, the owner
of the house in which they were quartered, on the
1 2th, brought into camp a bow and a bundle of
Indian arrows, and when the arrows had carried
fire to her own abode, the garrison of 165 men sur-
rendered. Two days later the British evacuated
their post at Nelson's Ferry. On the i5th, Fort
Granby, with 352 men, capitulated. General Marion
turned his army against Georgetown, and on the
first night after the Americans had broken ground,
the British retreated to Charleston. The troops
under Rawdon did not halt until they reached
Monk's Corner. "*
Thus, in less than one month after General
Greene appeared before Camden, he had compelled
the British General to evacuate that important post,
forced the submission of all the intermediate posts,
and was now upon the banks of the Congaree, in
the heart of South Carolina, ready to advance upon
Ninety-Six (the only remaining fortress in that
State, except Charleston, in the enemy's posses-
sion), and to detach a force against Augusta, in
Georgia; comprehending in this decisive effort the
completion of the deliverance of the two lost States,
except the two fortified towns of Charleston an4
Savannah safe because the enemy ruled at sea.f
^Bancroft, vol. 5, p. 500. fLee's Memoirs, p. 352.
( 4 i 6 )
General Pickens, with such force as he had col-
lected in the upper districts, had been ordered to
concentrate his force before Augusta, then defended
by Colonel Brown, an American loyalist.
General Greene now attached Major Pinketham
Baton, of North Carolina, with his 200 men, militia
from Guilford Court-House, to Lee's Legion, and
commanded Lee to join Pickens at Augusta.
On the 2ist Lee captured Fort Galphin, below
Augusta, by a stratagem. Appearing before it
with a very small force,, the garrison sallied out in
pursuit, when Captain Rudolph, who was concealed,
rushed into the fort. Those outside surrendered.
This gave the Americans "powder, ball, small
arms, liquor, salt, blankets," and other valuable
and much needed articles.
The defences at Augusta were Fort Cornwallis,
in the centre of the town, and Fort Grierson, a half
mile up the Savannah River. The regulars were
with Brown in Fort Cornwallis, and the loyalist
militia in Fort Grierson.
It was determined by General Pickens to attack
Fort Grierson first, and carry it by storm. Colonel
Lee gives the following graphic account of the
affair, w r hich took place June the 5th, 1781 :
"Brigadier General Pickens, with the militia, was to
attack the fort on the north and west ; Major Eaton,
with his battalion of North Carolinians, by passing down
the north side of the lagoon, was to approach it on the
south, co-operating with the militia ; while Liutenant
(417)
Colonel Lee,' with his infantry and artillery, was to move
down the lagoon on its southern margin, parallel with
Eaton, ready to support his attack if required, or to
attend to the movements of Brown, should he venture
to leave his defences and interpose with a view to save
Grierson. The cavalry, under Eggleston, were ordered
to draw near to Fort Cornwallis, keeping in the wood
and ready to fall upon the rear of Brown, should he
advance upon Lee. These arrangements being finished,
the several commandants proceeded to their respective
points. Lee's movement, open to view, was soon discerned
by Brown, who was drawing his garrison out of his
lines, accompanied by two field pieces, and advancing
with the appearance of risking battle to save Grierson,
now assailed by Pickens and Eaton. This forward
movement soon ceased. Brown, not deeming it prudent,
under existing circumstances, to persevere in its attempt,
confined his interposition to a cannonade, which was
returned by Lee, with very little effect on either side.
Grierson's resistance was quickly overpowered ; the fort
was evacuated ; himself, with a Major and many of his
garrison, killed ; the Lieutenant Colonel, with others,
taken ; and the few remaining, by reaching the river,
escaped under cover and concealment of its banks to Fort
Cornwallis. Lieutenant Colonel Brown, perceiving the
fall of this post, withdrew into his fort, and apprehend-
ing, from what he had seen, that he had to deal with
troops fitted for war, applied himself to strengthening
his situations.
"Whatever was attainable in the town, and necessary
to his defence, was now procured, and every part of the
works requiring amendment was repaired with industry.
These exertions on the part of the enemy could not be
27
counteracted ; all now to be done was to assume proper
stations for close investure, and by regular approaches,
to compel his surrender.
"In the late contest our loss was trivial a few
wounded, and fewer killed. But, unhapp ly, among the
latter was Major Eaton, of North Carolina, who had
served only a few weeks with the light corps, and in
that short period had endeared himself to his commandant
and fellow-soldiers by the amiability of his manners. He
fell gallantly, at the head of his battalion, in the moment
of victory. ' '
Major Pinketham Eaton was the intimate friend
of General Stunner, and in o'ne of his late letters
had said, "I shall not be happy until I am in your
command again."
He began his military career as a Captain in
General Simmer's regiment, the third ; his commis-
sion as Captain was dated the i6th of April, 1776,
and on the 22d November, 1777, he was promoted
to be Major. He had been General Simmer's most
active assistant in raising the new levies, and was
the first officer of the Continental line assigned to
active service in the campaign of 1781. His early
promotion and the admiration which General
Sunmer had for him, is sufficient evidence of his
skill and courage as a soldier, and Lee testifies to
his great amiability of temper, which had endeared
him to his late comrades.
Colonel John Armstrong, in a letter to General
Sumner, dated June i3th, 1781, says:
(419)
"I have the disagreeable news to inform you of the
death of Major Eaton. He was wounded at Augusta,
taken prisoner and surrendered up his sword, and was
afterwards put to death with his own sword. This I
have by a letter from Captain Yarborough."
>>
Captain Yarborough, as we have seen, was one
of the Continental officers of Eaton's command,
while at Deep River, and continued with him to
Augusta.
Colonel Grierson, for whom the fort was named,
was captured in the further progress of the assault,
and a similar death was awarded to him by his
captors, no doubt, in retaliation for the abominable
murder of Eaton ; though Grierson's cup of iniquity
had long been full.
The splendid courage and dash of the command
of Eaton, composed, as it was, entirely of the militia
who had fled to their homes from Guilford Court-
House, cannot be too lavishly extolled. Native
courage was common to them all, but they needed
discipline, drill and experience to make them soldiers.
It gives me the greatest pleasure to trace the
history and march of these patriotic men direct
from Guilford Court-House to this bloody baptism
of fire at Augusta, and this pleasure will be height-
ened by the continued observance of their subsequent
and glorious achievement at Eutaw Springs.
Pickens now pressed the siege against Fort Corn-
wallis with all diligence and activity. It was
approached by earth-works on the south side until
(420)
the parallels drew near to the fort. Colonel Brown,
who defended the fort, was fertile in resources,
brave to a fault, and an obstinate and determined
foe. Nothing that genius, labor and desperation
could accomplish, was left undone to strengthen
his position, and for two nights in succession he
made reckless sallies on the besiegers, but was
driven back by the discipline and valor of the
Legion infantry.
General Pickens, gathering from Lee the idea
of erecting what was known as the Maham Tower,
at once put a force to collecting logs, which were
notched firmly together as a pen, and the enclosure
was filled with rock and earth. To conceal this
work it was located behind a house, and was not
discovered, even by the vigilance of Colonel Brown,
until late in the second day, when the tower had
nearly reached its desired height. Brown, judg-
ing that this queer military tumuJus, which over-
looked and commanded the inside of his fort, must
be destroyed or his fate would be sealed, mounted
two of his best pieces of artillery on platforms, at
the angle of the fort, nearest the town, and opened
upon it a furious and incessant cannonade ; but the
American six-pounder, from its lofty height, soon
silenced the artillery of the fort and made sad havoc
with the works, for protection, inside the fort, and
uncovered its magazine.
The situation was almost hopeless for the Tory
commander, but his undaunted courage still prompt-
ed him to resistance. Another desperate assault
was made on the night of the 29th of May. It met
a bloody repulse by the militia and Rudolph's
company of the Legion. Pickens now pressed
forward his approaches with renewed zeal and reso-
lution. On the 4th of June Pickens and Lee were
read}- to make the final assault, and the troops
were in the highest spirits. The Georgia militia
anticipated a bloody revenge on the commander,
who had hanged thirteen of their number with
remorseless cruelty. The regular troops, who had
been laboring all day and fighting all night, were
impatient for the final struggle, and all seemed to
be concentrating on a day of carnage and retalia-
tion ; for no authority nor officer would be respected
when the men were once in the heat of blood and
the presence of death. All human pity would be
smothered in the struggle for the mastery, and men,
losing their superiority over the inferior animals,
would, like them, only remember their wrongs and
the opportunity to revenge them with blood.
The American commander having witnessed the
fury of the assailants of Fort Grierson, and being
willing to avoid such another scene of slaughter at
Fort Cornwallis, sent a final demand to Colonel
Brown for surrender. Negotiations followed,
which resulted in a capitulation of the fort and
garrison on the 5th June, 1781.
The officers and soldiers who surrendered were
to be conducted to such places as the commander-
in-chief of the American army should direct, and
the officers to be indulged in their paroles.
(422)
At the appointed time the garrison marched out.
Colonel Brown was placed in the care of Captain
Armstrong, of the Legion, with a safe-guard to
protect him from the violence of the enraged Geor-
gians, whose disappointment only whetted their
appetite for his blood.
Colonel Lee kept Brown at his headquarters
until next day, when he was sent down the river
to Savannah as a paroled prisoner, under care of
Captain Armstrong.
Georgia was now redeemed, and the unrestrained
rejoicing of the Whigs evinced the spirit with
which they received the gladsome news. The
English power was confined to Savannah, and the
Indian allies of the British fled to their wigwams
in the pathless forests of the frontier. The loyal-
ists sought refuge within the British lines, or hid
themselves in the swamps from the avengers of
blood. The names of Pickens and Lee and Clarke
were idolized, and paens of praise, to them, were
sung at every fireside.
On the 6th June, Lee recrossed the Savannah
River and hastened to join Greene, on the 8th, who
was then laying siege to Ninety-Six. General
Pickens, after securing the baggage and stores,
followed on the same day, the 8th.
Lord Rawdon, who was at Charleston, heard
with consternation of the fall of Augusta, and was
impatiently awaiting reinforcements to enable him
to march to the rescue of Ninety-Six. These rein-
forcements landed on the 3d of June, and on the
(423)
yth his lordship set out for the relief of Ninety-Six
with three Irish regiments, just arrived, and was
joined by some other troops from Monk's Corner,
giving him a total of 2000 men.
General Sumter advised General Greene, on the
i ith, of Rawdon's approach. Sumter, Pickens and
Marion were sent immediately to Rawdon's front to
impede his progress and give all the time possible
to Greene to press the siege. Colonel Cruger, who
was a faithful and skillful officer, declined with
contempt all conditions of surrender and exerted
every nerve to defend his fort to the last extremity.
About the i5th, one attired as a farmer rode into
the American camp, representing himself as a friend,
and, as was usual, moved among the troops, when,
at last coming near the front line, he spurred his
horse to a fearful speed and dashed through the
fire of sentinels and pickets, until, unharmed, he
entered the open space between the contending
lines, where he took from its concealment a letter,
and holding it aloft to the view of the besieged, he
rushed for the gate of the fort, where he was given
a vociferous welcome. But a few minutes more
elapsed until the ground almost trembled under
the shouts of triumph inside the fort. Rawdon
had communicated to them the joyful news that he
was at Orangeburg, on his way for their rescue, and
would soon relieve them from danger.
On the 1 8th General Greene made an assault
upon the fort, but it was repulsed with great lo'ss
to the American troops. He has been severely
censured by historians for this useless sacrifice of
human life. The American loss was 185 killed
and wounded, the enemy's loss only 85 men.
On the 1 9th of June, General Greene, being
advised of the rapid advance of Rawdon with an
army superior to his own in numbers, withdrew
from Ninety-Six and retreated in the direction of
Charlotte, North Carolina, crossing the Enoree,
Tiger and Broad rivers.
On the morning of the 2ist the British army
reached Ninety-Six. A few hours were spent in
rejoicing, but in the evening of the same day, not-
withstanding the fatigue of his soldiers, the intrepid
Englishman sounded the signal for an advance,
hoping to overtake the American army and destroy
it. On the Enoree he encountered Colonels Wash-
ington and Lee, who were covering the retreat. He
soon learned that General Greene was beyond his
reach, and finding that the American cavalry were
superior to his own and likely to greatly harass his
weary army, he beat a hasty retreat to Ninety-Six.
Here, after reflecting on the situation and seeing
the unsupported condition of this outpost, so long
held by his troops, but now* in imminent danger,
he determined to evacuate the place and fall back
to his line on the coast.
The light troops of Lee harassed his retreat, to
some extent, but he soon reached Orangeburg,
where, on the 8th of July, he made a junction with
Lieutenant Colonel Stewart. No further attempt
upon him was made by the American Generals.
(425)
The heated season was now oppressive, and sick-
ness began to show itself alarmingly among the
American troops. General Greene, therefore, deter-
mined to withdraw his troops from the field and
rest his little army 011 the high hills of the Santee,
south of Camden, which was a healthful region
and a strategic position from which he could com-
mand the State.
We shall leave him here, the i6th of July, and
return to North Carolina to trace the history of the
three new battalions of the Continental line, com-
manded respectively by Colonels John B. Ashe,
John Armstrong and Reading Blount, which formed
the splendid brigade of General Jethro Sumner.
CHAPTER IX.
General Jethro Sumner Raises a Brigade of Continental Troops in
1781 His Correspondence in Regard Thereto Marches, in
July, 1781, to Join General Greene Colonel John B. Ashe,
Major John Armstrong and Major Reading Blount, his Lieu-
tenants Brigade Numbers 800 Men North Carolina Militia
Join Greene General Sumter, of South Carolina, Recruits his
Brigade in Rowan and Mecklenburg Counties.
FT is somewhat discouraging to discover the many
*- errors that have crept into history in regard to
the general events in North Carolina during these
stirring times; and it is surprising to find how
little of history has been recorded in regard to
.General Sumner and his Continental brigade.
Governor Graham, though generally accurate,
in his lecture on General Greene, fixes General
Sumner as one of the captives at Charleston in
May, 1780; and Moore, the historian, says he was
at Gates' defeat at Camden, in August, 1780. Both
these statements are incorrect. General Sumner
was at that period in North Carolina endeavoring
to recruit the levies for the ntew Continental regi-
ments. Various letters to and from him in his
voluminous correspondence show this.
General Sumner was called to command the
North Carolina militia, at Charlotte, in August,
1780, when they were left without a leader, after
Gates and Caswell had fled to Hillsboro; but
he left that camp when, through somebody's influ-
(42?)
ence, the Legislature had him superseded by Gen-
eral Smallwood, of Maryland, an officer much
inferior in talent and military genius to Sumiier,
and withal not a citizen of the State. After retiring
from this militia command, General Sumner re-
newed his exertions, against all obstacles, to hasten
the drafts and collect volunteers for his brigade.
He was constantly in correspondence with General
Greene, LaFayette, Steuben, and Washington him-
self, in 1780 and 1781, showing the esteem these
great* men had for his worth as a soldier. He also
constantly wrote letters to the commanders of the
military districts, urging them to complete the
drafts, and visited various sections of the State in
prosecution of his noble work. He was applying
in all directions for arms, and even as late as July
the .ist, after his battalions were ready to move,
they were delayed for want of muskets. At one
time, so hopeless was the prospect for arms in
North Carolina, that General Sumner was ordered
to join the Baron Steuben in Virginia, as the only
hope of arming his men. The history of these
events are obscurely traceable through this volu-
minous correspondence, and as far as the limits of
this book will allow, I will endeavor to note the
progress and trials which marked the completion
of the three North Carolina Continental regiments.
The first order was, that the drafts should be at
the places of rendezvous by the 25th of April, 1781,
and General Greene was urging the fulfillment of
this order with constant importunity, but at that
(428)
date nothing scarcely had been accomplished. The
militia officers were u lazy," some disloyal, others
feared unpopularity, those drafted deserted, some
had no clothing, all were without arms, and a
thousand excuses and misfortunes brought disap-
pointment and failure to the hopes of General
Sumner. To Colonel John Armstrong, who was
at Salisbury April 3oth, General Sumner writes:
"I wrote you a few days ago respecting the drafts of
the district of Salisbury remaining in Salisbury until
further orders. Since then I have received several ex-
presses from General Greene. You are to march the
drafts of Salisbury to Harrisburg, in Granville County,
by companies and officered."
On May ist, he writes General Greene that the
"small-pox was raging at Hillsboro, and that there
could be no collection of stores there; that General
Jones, who had gone to Virginia to procure arms,
had returned without success."
May 6th he writes General Greene:
"I have not been able, sir, to arm, of the drafts, more
than sixty."
On the 22d May, Major Dixon writes General
Sumner from Hillsboro :
"We are scarce of arms, and what we have are bad.
I expect trie troops from Caswell County Thursday.
They are pretty well clothed."
(429)
On the 22d of May, Colonel John Armstrong
writes Sunnier from Salisbury:
"Since my last, I have received about 30 men of the
drafts of this district. I expect 50 more, and by the last
of this month I think I will have 200 in all, if they come
according to promise. I have received 50,000 cartridges
for the use of your brigade, which I intended to bring
with me to your headquarters, but I understand by
Captain James Read (recently sent to Salisbury on special
mission by General Greene) 'that it is General Greene's
express orders for the Salisbury drafts to join him soon. '
If I inarch southward I will leave 20,000 cartridges with
Captain Gamble, Quartermaster, in Salisbury, to be
delivered to your order."
May 26th, Armstrong writes again :
"Our army to the southward is in great spirits and
increasing very fast. General Greene's heavy baggage
and artillery that lay high upon the Catawba is ordered to
camp. / shall start for camp to-day, and will take every
opportunity to write you. I am so unhappy not to be
under your immediate command."
But Colonel Armstrong did not start on the 26th
of May.
June the i3th, he was still at Salisbury, and
writes General Sumner:
"I am almost ready to march, with 200 good men of
this district. I sent on 180 before"
(430)
Who went on with these 180 men is not recorded.
I presume they left on the a6th May.
In examining the applications for pensions under
the act of 1832, I find that of John Wilfong, of
Lincoln, now Catawba County, who was the great-
grandfather of the late Major General Stephen D.
Ramseur, of the Confederate army. Wilfong was
one of the volunteers at King's Mountain, and was
wounded in the arm. He states that
"In July, 1781, I volunteered for ten (10) months
with Captain Cowan and Lieutenant George Hammond,
who marched from Lincoln County, to near Augusta,
then joining the army of General Greene, thence to
Eutaw Springs, and was in that battle."
I think it probable that most of the levies in the
Salisbury district w T ere volunteers; the Whigs
abounded in that portion of the State more than
any other.
June i Qth, General Sumner seems to have written
an appeal to the people to raise the new levies. A
copy, in his handwriting, is among his papers. It
is evident that the General fought better than he
wrote. His orthography is hardly tolerable, and
the chirography is worse a heavy, large hand-
writing, irregular and not well constructed ; but the
matter is vigorous and strong. He recounts the
"savage waste and destruction of the enemy in
making their way, the indefensible father, the aged
mother, the loving sister appealing with groans and
(43i)
wringing hands to their friends to preserve their
innocence and virtue from pollution."
On the 2oth of June, General Sunnier writes to
General Greene:
"CAMP HARRISBURG,* June aoth, 1781.
"DEAR SIR : I enclose a return of the drafts collected
at this place. Colonel Armstrong I expect in two or
three days with the troops of the district of Newbern.
On his arrival I shall immediately form the second regi-
ment. I have, sometime since, wrote Major Eatonf for
a return of those men under his command with you, and
to have them arranged as the first regiment, together
with those of the district of Salisbury ; and I have
directed him to report to me the number and companies,
and the part wanting to complete the regiment, to be
made here. Captain Doherty, who attends at Wilming-
ton district .rendezvous, has orders to repair to general
rendezvous with what drafts have been received from
that district, and a general order has been issued to the
several districts that a diligent officer remain at each
district rendezvous to receive drafts from such counties as
have not yet delivered its drafts to the Continental officer.
"I shall, as soon as possible, march to join the Baron
Steuben in Virginia, having no prospect of being sup-
plied with arms, &c., in this State.
"I received yours of the 2Oth instant, and shall pay
our respects to the contents.
"The Marquis, by last accounts, was in twenty miles
of Lord Cornwallis, who was in the vicinity of Peters-
burg ; that a very respectable force of riflemen had
*Harrisburg was in Granville County. It was a camp and depot of
provisions.
tHe had not, it seems, yet heard of Eaton's death.
(432)
joined the Marquis last Wednesday. I shall, in a few
days, be able to give you a more particular account of
their maneuvers. Major Craig, at Wilmington, con-
tinues his ravages for thirty or forty miles up Cape Fear,
with little or no opposition. His Excellency, the Gov-
ernor, a few days since, sent me orders to march all the
drafts collected to Duplin ; but, sir, it was so incom-
patible with my orders that I did not do so, and, at that
time, I was not joined by Major Dixon with the Hills-
boro drafts, neither were those of Edenton come up. I
have heard nothing of this matter since.
"Permit me to congratulate you on the very conse-
quential success the army immediately under your com-
mand have had in South Carolina and Georgia.
"I am, sir, with regard and esteem,
"Your very obedient servant,
"JETHRO SUMNKR."
Fortunately Virginia was able to furnish the
muskets so essentially necessary, and by this gen-
erosity Sunlner's brigade was enabled to join Greene
instead of Steuben. Some of the trials incident to
raising recruits is graphically set out in the follow-
ing letter:
" DUPLIN, June 22, 1781.
"SiR : I embrace the opportunity of Colonel Kenan's
going to the Assembly to inform you that the tumults
in this part of the country have been the cause of the
drafts, and everything in relation thereto, being delayed
and more out of order here than in any other part of the
State.
"We have at present some little respite from the
cursed Tories, but cannot say they are entirely subdued.
(433)
The draft was made in Duplin, but more than half of
them have been among the Tories, or so disaffected they
will not appear. The number that we ought to have
here is about seventy men, and there has not above
twenty-four yet appeared, and about twenty from Ons-
low. The men have been so harassed by being kept in
arms, that hitherto they could not attend to providing
the clothing required by law, and without clothing the
men cannot march, as not one among them have a
second change, and some have hardly duds to cover
them. The Colonel has used all possible means to urge
the people to clothe their soldiers, and when this is done
I will march with the few we have.
"If an opportunity offers from your camp towards
Wake, I should be glad to hear from you. If it is di-
rected to the care of Colonel Kenan, he will forward
it to
u Your humble servant,
"GEORGE DOHERTY."
Captain Doherty was one of the officers of the
Continental line and had been in General Sumner's
old regiment.
June 2Qth General Stunner informs Baron Stenbeii
that General Greene had j list ordered the North Caro-
lina brigade to join him in South Carolina, as the
enemy had been largely reinforced. He urges the
Baron, notwithstanding this, to forward arms to him.
Major Reading Blount was in Salisbury on the
29th of June, attending to the organization of the
third battalion, and writes to General Sumner:
(434)
"I am sorry to inform you that there is no account of
those parties yet that were expected when you left here.
In case any should come in a short time, it would be out
of my power to have them equipped, unless you send me
an order from General Greene for that purpose, as he
has given Gamble orders not to issue cartridges or stores
of any kind to any order but his own. But should troops
come on before I get such an order, I shall run all risks
of taking them, if not to be had other ways."
Colonel John Armstrong had, at last, gone forward,
with orders to incorporate Major Eaton's com-
mand with those men who accompanied him from
Salisbury, and on the ist day of July had reached
"Camp Big Springs, 20 miles from Broad River,"
"halfway between Nation Ford on the Catawba,
and Fish Dam Ford on Broad," and gives General
Stunner the following information:
"We are now in camp half way between the Nation
Ford on the Catawba, and Fish Dam Ford on Broad
River, in a fine situation; plenty of good water. It hath
one failing it will not make grogg. The General seems
very uneasy about the delay of the drafts of Salisbury
district and the desertions that frequently happen by
reason of the forced number of Tories into the service,
and as soon as they receive the bounty they desert. I
have received nigh 300 men and will not have above two
hundred in the field. I did everything in my power to
bring out the drafts of this district, but all to no purpose;
there is one-half at home yet, and remain without
molestation ; as for clothing, there was little or none
(435)
sent, fit for a negro to wear, except from Rowan. I am
sorry that I ever had anything to do with such slothful
officers and neglected soldiers ; there is a number of
them now almost naked, and when cold weather sets in
the}- must be discharged, for no officer would pretend to
put them on duty. The neglects that we have labored
under heretofore, together with the present, makes the
service very disagreeable to every officer in camp ;
we are without money, clothing, or any kind of nourish-
ment for our sick, not one gill of rum, sugar or
coffee, no tents or camp kettles or canteens, no doctor, no
medicine. Under these circumstances we must become
very indurable.
14 1 wish it had been my lot to have gone with you to
Virginia, where we would have been under your imme-
diate care, and shared the fate of the other drafts and
other officers of the State. I am fully satisfied that you
were not acquainted with our circumstances here, or
otherwise it would have been removed. I have received
yours of the i2th inst. , directing me to order the Lewis'
to the field again; one is dead, the other is a member of
the Assembly, and Joel resigned and denies serving any
longer; I am afraid that in a short time you will have
but few officers in the field, by reason of the shameful
neglect of the State. We seem rather a burden than a
benefit to them; we are tossed to and fro like a ship in a
storm. We cannot learn what has become of Major Eaton's
men; Saunders has a few to the southward of this.
"McCree, Lytle and Brevard were sent back with the
prisoners, to Salisbury; I have about ninety (of Eaton's
men) in camp. I will do my best to gather them all to
camp, if possible, and make you a full return."
(436)
Since the gallant Major's death, on the 5th of
June, at Augusta, his command seems to have been
broken into several detachments, and Colonel Arm-
strong had not been able to gather up more than
" ninety " of them. The others were to the " south-
ward."
Colonel Armstrong disappears now from our
correspondence until after the battle of Eutaw
Springs. In July, 1782, he apologizes for delay
and excuses himself on the ground that he "had
the misfortune to be wounded in a duel with Major
Lewis, and that his wounds were not yet well." It
may be it grew out of the order alluded to in the
above letter.
General Sumner was at Frohawk's Mill, in
Mecklenburg County, on the i6th July, lamenting
the delay of Major Murfree and Captain Doherty ;
but his heart, no doubt, leaped for joy when he
received the gladsome intelligence, contained in a
letter from "J. Pryor, Charlottesville, Virginia, n
dated July iQth, saying:
"Some days since I was ordered by the Honorable
Major General Marquis de Lafayette to send on 300
stands of arms to you by the most safe and convenient
route. The movements of a detachment of the enemy
on the south side of James River proved a great obstacle,
but since hearing they had passed toward the southward,
I have ventured them on under the care of Mr. Edward
Moore, whose precaution and diligence, I am in hopes,
will convey them safe, and in time, to your camp.
(437)
(< Two hundred and fifty-three of the arms are very
fine and complete, sent from Philadelphia, intended for
Virginia new levies, of which I must beg the greatest
care be taken. Forty-seven are not so complete."
It was these fine muskets that did the fine work
at Eutaw Springs.
Colonel John B. Ashe was ready, on the i4th
day of July, to march for Greene's camp, and
received from General Sumner the following order,
to be executed on his arrival :
u You are to take charge of all the Continental troops
from this State in camp now, under the command of
Major John Armstrong, and incorporate them as of the
first regiment of the four Continental regiments of Con-
tinental troops of this State."
On the same day, i4th of July, Sumner writes
Governor Burke a letter, dated from Salisbury:
"My expectation of being supplied with arms is now
otherwise, 300 wanting repairs. We shall, however, be
able to march, three hundred (300) rank and file,
equipped, except bayonets, this evening (i4th July) or
very early to-morrow morning. I shall leave Major
Hogg and Major Blount at this place, who are to follow
as soon as a number of these muskets can be put in
repair. I have left Captain Chapman at Harrisburg
Station, who is also to act as a detail officer there until
further orders. Major Murfree, of Edenton district, and
Captain Doherty, have not yet joined me, but might be
far advanced on their march."
General Sumner had reached Hanging Rock,
South Carolina, by July 3Oth, as he informs Gov-
ernor Burke.
I copy the following from Major Blount :
"SALISBURY, August ist, 1781.
"SiR : I have the pleasure to inform you that Captain
Goodman arrived at this post on the 28th (July) with
about 1 20 men, on the same day the arms arrived from
Virginia, which I shall take on to you unless ordered to
the contrary. I shall be able to leave this place in about
five days, and not sooner. Many of the soldiers are
barefooted and can't march without shoes. I have pro-
cured an order from the clothes General for as many
shoes as will do them by sending to Davidson's for them.
"You should have been furnished with a general
return of what men there are at this post, but Captain
Goodman has not time to make one since he arrived.
If you have any order relative to the arms or the troops,
I should be happy to receive them as soon as possible.
' ' I am sir, yours,
"READING BLOUNT.
"To General Sumner."
General Sumner had now taken the field in
person, his Lieutenants, Ashe and Armstrong, were
with him, and Blount was ready to follow from
Salisbury in five days.
(439)
From the foregoing correspondence we learn that,
June i3th, 1781, Colonel John Armstrong had
sent forward to Greene's camp, - 180
He followed very soon with 200
General Simmer left Salisbury, July I4th, with 300
August the ist, 1781, Major Blount had ready
to march, - -120
Total, - 800
The Guilford Court-House militia, with Greene
were - - 90
" To the southward " there was another detach-
ment of this milititia, about - no
Aggregate, - - 1000
men, whom North Carolina sent forward from the
6th of April to the ist of August, 1781, as regulars.
Perhaps 200 deserted or were unfit for active service,
leaving at least 800 effective men with Greene, in
August, 1781, under the command of General
Sumner.
We have no further correspondence showing the
route taken by these troops. Fighting and march-
ing were resumed, and the pen, never fertile in
Sumner's hand, seems to have been put away.
They no doubt reached General Greene's camp at
the High Hills of the Santee in a fortnight, and
while in this salubrious location and enjoying
immunity from battle, they received training, drill-
ing, and exercise necessary to "mechanize" the
soldier. Then they met with the men of Eaton's
(440)
battalion and heard them recount their exploits at
Augusta, and repeat the sad tale of their leader's
death, and how his comrades of all arms grieved
over his untimely fate. These new levies learned
from the old veterans, who had followed Greene so
long, that the British were not invincible, even with
the bayonet in their hands, and were encouraged
to imitate the day of Cowpens. They saw what
splendid soldiers experience and discipline had
made out of the militia of Guilford Court-House, and
how nobly those men had wiped out their reproach
in the charge on Fort Grierson, and they were eager
to share in that glory on the next field of battle.
Sumner, thoughtful of all their necessities and
comforts, rigid in discipline, sharing in their toil
and privations and giving them an example of
endurance and courage, infused into them his own
heroic spirit. Ashe, Armstrong and Blount, all
veteran soldiers, who had passed through the dangers
of many battles, with reputations for exalted courage,
were models for their imitation, and that esprit dc
corps, so necessary to confidence, and combined attack
or defence, was generated among officers and men
around the camp-fires of the "Hills," and on the
parade grounds of the regiments. Mutual acquaint-
ance, friendship and State pride grew up among
them and united them as one man, in one cause,
with one glorious end in view the independence
of the American colonies.
In addition to this brigade of North Carolina
regulars, there were five hundred North Carolina
(44'*)
militia who joined General Greene* at this camp,
but it was not possible to arm but two hundred of
them. North Carolina had sent more troops to the
field than the General Government and the States
combined could arm.
These, however, were not all the North Caroli-
nians in this camp. General Sumter had been
authorized by Governor Rutlege to raise a brigade of
regulars and most of these men had been recruited
in North Carolina. I state this upon the authority
of Joseph Graham, and it is fully sustained by
cotemporary evidence. In the University Maga-
zine, June, 1856, the narrative of General Graham
is published as follows:
"Shortly after the battle of Guilford (March
1781), Governor Rutlege, of South Carolina, who had
been invested with full power by the Legislature of that
State, authorized General Su inter to raise a brigade of
State troops for the term of ten months, each man to
find his own clothing, horse, arms and equipments, but
to be found in forage and rations by the public, and
receive a grown negro for his pay. Colonel William
Polk, Wade Hampton, William Hill and Middleton,
commanded. The greater part of the regiments of
Polk, Hampton and Hill were raised in the, then, coun-
ties of Mecklenburg and Rowan, between the Yadkin
and Catawba. The act of Assembly of North Caro-
lina, 1781, exempted those counties from levies, for
the Continental line, which had furnished men for
General Sumter. Many of them might be considered
*Johnson, vol. 2, p. 208.
(442)
as seasoned to a camp life, and from the services they
had seen, accustomed to endure hardships and privations
and encounter dangers. How well they acted their'part
in the summer of 1781, until after the battle of Eutaw,
is recorded in the history of the war within the State of
South Carolina. They sustained considerable loss of
both officers and men in that action, in the autumn ;
but suffered much more from the climate in that low
country. Many of them never returned.''
In another communication from General Graham^
published in the University Magazine of October,
1855, he says:
"It may further.be remembered that the brigade of
State troops raised by the State of South Carolina, in
the spring of 1781, where each man furnished his own
horse and military equipments, the regiments commanded
by Colonels Polk, Hampton and Middleton, were mostly
raised in the counties aforesaid.
"It is admitted that some, of both officers and soldiers,
of the militia of South Carolina, were as brave and
enterprising as ever went to a field of battle, but those
well affected to the cause of independence were but few
in number.
"The most of the lower districts (except Marion's
brigade) were endeavoring to save their property, either
by moving to North Carolina or Virginia, or the greater
number by taking protection from the enemy.
"From the conduct of the few, before alluded to
(who were not disaffected), Ramsay's History gives char-
acter to the whole militia of the State, when it is well
known a great majority of them saw little military
(443)
service. The counties r>f Mecklenburg and Rowan not
only furnished the greater part of the troops commanded
by General Sumter, but it was in all cases his place of
retirement when menaced by a superior force of the
enemy, and from whence he mostly organized and set out
on his several expeditions.
"The writer, finding those things unfairly represented,
has undertaken in his plain way to present a more cor-
rect account of several transactions than has heretofore
been given, and to take notice of some which have been
entirely omitted, which, in his opinion, are worthy of
being preserved.
"For the truth of the facts he states^ he appeals to
those who were present on the several occasions related,
of whom, it is believed, more than a hundred are living.
"Some of the details may appear minute and trivial,
but not so to those who were present, and it is expected
the present generation will read with some interest the
part their fathers and relatives acted in those times, more
especially when they have a personal knowledge of the
very spot where each transaction took place."
CHAPTER X.
Battle of Eutaw Springs, Fought the 8th day of September, 1781
The Noble Part borne by North Carolinians in this Battle
Greene Retires to the High Hills of the Santee Hears of the
Fall of Yorktown The War Virtually Ends.
E now return to the movements of General
Greene. On the 22d of August he issued an
order to his troops in these words :
"The army will march to-morrow morning by the
right, in the following order : The North Carolina
brigade, two pieces of artillery ; Virginia brigade, two
pieces of artillery ; Maryland brigade ; the baggage in
the usual order according to the line of march. The
General will beat at 4 o'clock, when all the small
guards will join their corps ; the assembly in forty min-
utes after, and the march at 5 o'clock."
The two armies were only sixteen miles apart,
but the Santee intervened, and it was not safe to
attempt its passage in the face of the enemy. The
route, therefore, lay up the Santee and above the
junction of the Congaree and Wateree; then cross-
ing the Wateree first and descending its southern
side, then crossing the Congaree in all a circuit of
seventy miles. The weather was so sultry that the
army only moved in the cooler hours of the day,
in the morning and evening.
As soon as Stewart was informed of Greene's
movement, he fell back down the Santee, to Eutaw
(445)
Springs, forty miles distant, in the direction of
Charleston.
Lord Rawdon had, previously to this, sailed from
Charleston for England, but was captured by a
French vessel on his way and was now a prisoner.
He was an unwilling witness to the surrender of
York town, and returned, a captive, with Lord
Cornwallis.
He was a fit subject of retaliation for the execu-
tion of Colonel Isaac Hayne, but Colonel Fanning,
the Tory leader, about this time, made his celebrated
incursion to Hillsboro and carried off Governor
Burke. This gave the British a hostage for the
life of Rawdon, and, perhaps, saved his lordship
from the gibbet.
General Greene's march was necessarily slow.
On the a8th of August he reached Howell's Ferry,
where he received intelligence that the enemy had
been reinforced and were making preparations for
a permanent post at Eutaw. It did not seem to
occur to the British commander that Greene would
have the temerity to attack him in his camp, but
that was exactly what Greene was preparing to do.
The American commander sent back all his
heavy baggage, on the line of retreat, under a
suitable guard, mostly militia, and took with him
only two wagons, ladened with hospital stores and
rum (the latter, in that day, considered the most in-
dispensable article for an army, next to medicines).
On the 5th of September General Greene, in his
order of the day, informed the army of a brilliant
(446)
victory of General Francis Marion, over a British
convoy of three hundred men, in which twenty of
the enemy were killed and eight}'- wounded, with
inconsiderable loss to the American force.
The victory was announced in glowing words
and aroused the greatest enthusiasm and confidence
in the hearts of the army, and they were eager for
an opportunity to add more victories to the cam-
paign.
On the yth day of September, General Marion
joined General Greene at Burdell's plantation.
Colonel Stewart lay in fancied security at Eutaw,
wholly unapprised of the approach of his adversary.
Every messenger or scout from his army had been
captured or killed by the vigilance of the Ameri-
cans, and no tidings had reached him.
On the morning of the 8th, Colonel Stewart had
sent out his "rooting party," as they were called,
to gather sweet potatoes for his army, and these
the advance of Greene's army discovered, and, after
a feeble resistance, captured.
The same morning, however, two deserters from
Greene's forces made their way to the British camp
and communicated the news of the proximity of the
American army. Colonel Coffin, commanding the
British cavalry, was sent immediately to recon-
noiter the situation, and coming in contact with the
American vanguard, soon gave information of the
fact.
Colonel Stewart began at once to dispose his
(447)
troops for battle. Few situations were more favor-
able for defence.
"On the right, was the Eutaw Creek, which,
issuing from a deep ravine, ran under high banks,
thick bordered with brush and underwood. The
only open ground was a large field which had been
cleared of its timber on both sides of the road, and
this was commanded by a brick house two stories
high, with garret windows, which answered the
purpose of a third story, and with walls thick and
strong enough to withstand the light artillery of
the Americans. In the rear of the house there was
a garden surrounded by a strong palisade, and cov-
ering the space between it and Eutaw Creek. A
barn and some smaller buildings near it afforded
good rallying points in case of disaster. The ap-
proach to the rear was embarrassed by springs and
deep hollow ways, and on the right by the ravine
from which the creek flowed, and a thicket, rendered
almost impenetrable by a low shrub, called, in the
language of the country, 'black-jack.' On every
side the woods came down in dark masses to the
border of the clearing. Midway through the clear-
ing, and dividing it into almost equal parts, a road
had been recently opened, which, forking directly
in front of the house and garden, and about fifty
3*ards from them, formed two branches, one of
which led to Charleston, and the other to a planta-
tion on the Santee. The British camp lay in the
field under cover of the house and on both sides of
(448)
the road, and when the troops marched out to form
for battle their tents were left standing."*
Colonel Stewart, as was the usual custom of
British officers, drew up his army in only one line
of battle, with a strong reserve in the rear to act as
emergencies might require. This line was in the
woods, a few hundred yards west of the open field,
where they had their camp, and extended on both
sides of the Congaree road, with the artillery in
the centre, and moving along this highway. Hutaw
Creek covered the right wing effectually, the left
was in the woods to the south of the road and cov-
ered by the cavalry under Major Coffin, a dashing
and skillful officer. Major Majoribanks, the hero
of the battle, was in command of the right wing,
with his troops protected by the thick growth along
the bank of Kutaw Creek, and the scrubby black-
jack oaks which extended out a short distance from
the creek bank. It was impenetrable by cavalry,
and almost unassailable by infantry. To the south
and left of the light infantry battalion, under
Majoribanks, came, in their order, Crttger's com-
mand, which was composed of several broken corps r
then the "Buffs," with their left resting on the
Congaree road. To the south of the road were the
63d and 64th, two veteran regiments. Two sepa-
rate bodies of infantry in the rear formed the
reserve. A small detachment of infantry was
thrown in front of the line of battle as skirmishers,
with orders to fall back into the main line.
*Greene's Life of General Greene, vol. 3, p. 388.
(449)
The British officer, fully realizing the strategic
importance of the brick mansion-house in his rear,
as a rallying point in which a small garrison might,
in case of disaster, be thrown, ordered it to be occu-
pied, together with the barn, outhouses and pali-
saded garden, and this judicious foresight saved
his army from utter destruction.
The British troops were well armed, and equipped
with every necessary military outfit, and were inured
to service and under the best discipline. It was,
indeed, what, in this day, is called a " crack corps "
of soldiers. Many of them were American loyalists
and deserters, good marksmen, whose deadly aim
was severely felt in the action. They were aware,
to use a common figure of speech, that they fought
with "halters around their necks," and that the
penalty of desertion would be promptly meted out
to them if captured. They, therefore, went into
the fight to win or die.
The approach of the American army was from
the west along the Congaree road. General Greene
had placed his militia in front at Guilford Court-
House, and he was discomfited; at Hobkirk's
Hill, he reversed this order, and his front line was
composed of his veteran troops; but still fortune
forsook him and the disaster was worse than at
Guilford ; now, at Eutaw, the American commander
determined to re-assume the arrangement made at
Guilford Court-House, by again placing his militia
in the front line. The militia, at this time, under
Greene, had the advantage over those at Guilford,
29
(450)
in that they had seen service and been trained in
his camp, on the Santee, for the duties of the field.
They were, in fact, well-drilled troops, and as the
tide of victory had steadily set with the American
army, they were inspired with the spirit of triumph
and were impatient to end the long struggle by one
determined effort to destroy the British army.
They were fresh from the rest, and strong from
the plenty they had enjoyed in camp. Physically,
they were in the best trim for the fight and eager
for it to begin.
"Greene, wishing his troops to form with cool-
ness and recollection, halted his columns, and after
distributing the contents of his rum casks, ordered
his men to form in order of battle."
"The column of militia, when .displayed, formed
the first line; the South Carolinians, in equal
divisions, on the right and left, and the North
Carolinians in the centre. General Marion com-
manded the right, General Pickens the left, and
Colonel Malmedy, a French nobleman, who held a
commission from North Carolina, commanded the
centre. Colonel WilJiam Henderson, with the
South Carolina State troops, including Sumter's
brigade, 'covered' the left of this line, and Lieu-
tenant Colonel Lee, with his Legion, 'covered'
the right."
"The column of regulars, also displayed into one
line (the second) ; the North Carolinians, under
Brigadier General Jethro Sumner, occupied the
right, divided into three battalions, commanded
(45 i )
respectively by Colonel J. B. Ashe and Majors John
Armstrong and Reading Blount; the Marylanders,
under CMonel Williams on the left, divided into
two battalions, commanded by Colonel Howard and
Major Hardman; the Virginians in the centre,
under command of Colonel (Richard) Campbell,
were also divided into two battalions, led by Major
Sneed and Captain Edmonds. The two three-
pounders, under Captain Gaines, moved in the road
with the first line, which was equally distributed
to the right and left of it ; and the two six-pounders,
under Captain Brown, attended the second line in
the same order. Colonel William Washington still
moved in the rear in columns, with orders to keep
under cover of the woods, and hold himself in
reserve."*
The American army had begun its march at 4
o'clock in the morning, but it was 8 o'clock before
the advanced parties of the British army were driven
in and the battle begun in earnest. "The day was
clear and calm and the sun was rising in a cloud-
less sky."
The advanced guard of the British was encount-
ered by Lee's Legion and Colonel William Hender-
son of the South Carolina State troops (mostly North
Carolinians, as we have seen).f Coffin was soon
thrown into confusion and fled pell-mell, leaving
forty prisoners behind him.
*Johnson, vol. 2, p. 223.
fColonel Henderson was in command of Sumter's brigade. Sumter
had not recovered from his wound.
(45*)
The regular lines, as before indicated, were
formed, and "a steady and desperate conflict eii-
sued " between the militia in the front line, North
and South Carolinians, and the veteran regulars of
the British service. The duel between the artillery
was "bloody and obstinate in the extreme; nor
did the American artillery relax for a moment from
firing until both pieces were dismounted and dis-
abled. One piece of the enemy shared the same
fate."
The gallant and glorious record of the citizen
soldiery of the Carolinas is thus described by
Johnson: "Nor had the. militia been wanting in
gallantry and perseverance. It was with equal
astonishment that both the second line of the
American regulars and the troops of the enemy
contemplated these men, steadily and without, fal-
tering, advance with shouts and exhortations into
the hottest of the enemy? s fire , unaffected by the con-
tinued fall of their comrades around them. Gene-
ral Greene, to express his admiration of the firm-
ness exhibited on this occasion b\> the militia, says
of them in a letter to General Steuben, ' Such con-
duct would have graced the veterans of the great
King of Prussia? But it was impossible that this
could endure long, for those men were all this time
receiving the fire of double their- number. Their
artillery was dismounted and disabled, and that
of the enemy was vomiting destruction in their
ranks."*
*Johnson's Life of Greene, TO!! 2, p. 225.
(453)
Colonel Carrington, in '"His Battles of the
American Revolution,"" says " the North Caro-
lina militia, however, fired seventeen rounds before
their retreat, and General Sumner so promptly
pushed the battalions of Ashe, Armstrong and
Blount into the gap that the first line was restored
and the British in turn retreated."
G. W. Greene thus describes the conflict : "Mean-
while, the first line was bearing up against the
weight of the whole English army. Their blood
had been warmed by the skirmish, and their fire
now ran from flank to flank throughout the line,
neither too high nor too low, but striking with that
fearful precision which daily practice gives to the
hunter's aim. It was answered by the deep, regu-
lar volleys of the British musketry. The fearful
sound spread far and wide through the gloomy
twilight of the wood. And still the militia held
their ground without wavering, and still the un-
shaken British line kept up its deadly fire."
Stedman, in his History ,f says u the pressure
of the enemy's fire was such as compelled the
third regiment, or 'Buffs,' to give way, the regi-
ment being composed of new troops. The re-
mains of those veteran corps, the 63d and 64th
regiments, who had served the whole of the
war, lost none of their fame in this action. They
rushed with bayonets into the midst of the enemy,
nor did they give ground until overpowered by
nirnabers and severe slaughter."
The courage and constancy of the North Carolina
*p. 580. tvoi. 2, p. 378.
(454)
militia are thus avouched by American and Eng-
lish historians. Colonel Malmedy, who commanded
them on that day, was a French nobleman, who,
like Lafayette, had volunteered his services to the
Continental Congress and came to aid the colonies
in their struggle for freedom.
If, justly or unjustly, reproach had been cast on
the name of the North Carolina militia, for not rally-
ing again to their standard at the battle of Gnilford
Court-House, after having poured such deadly fires
into the advance of the British line, that reproach was
blotted out on the sanguinary field of Eutaw Springs.
They set thereto their seal of blood, on this bright
September day, that, in the language of Erskine,
"they were born free and would never die slaves."
This militia was mostly from the strong Whig
districts who had early and devotedly espoused the
cause of independence, and were ever ready to main-
tain the liberty for which they declared. Their obsti-
nate and unyielding courage, on this day, was never
excelled by any troops, and was equalled only once,
in the invasion of the South, by the troops of North
Carolina, who fought, at Camden, under "Hal."
Dixon, "as long as a cartridge remained in their
belts." To these "embattled farmers" be everlasting
honor ! In war they handled their muskets and bayo-
nets with the skill and gallantry of heroes ; in peace,
they drove the ploughshare with the industry and
constancy of patriot citizens. In both spheres they
were Carolinians worthy of their race and their
(455)
State, and their memories should be ever enshrined
in the hearts of their liberated countrymen.
Overpowered by numbers, these stern men
retreated sullenly ; but as they fell back in sight of
the North Carolina regulars, General Sumner gave
the "Forward!" and the battalions of Ashe, Arm-
strong and Blount, were pushed so promptly into
the gap, says Carrington, that the first line was
restored and the British in turn retreated.
It was at this crisis in the battle, when the North
Carolinians had forced the British to retreat, that
General Greene sent the laconic message to Otho
Williams, who commanded on the left of the second
line, "Let Williams advance and sweep the field with
his bayonets" So admirable and soldierly was the
forward movement of the North Carolina regulars,
made under General Sumner, that General Greene,
in a burst of enthusiasm, exclaimed, "/ was at a
loss which most to admire, the gallantry of the officers
or the good conduct of their men"* It is probable
that at least one-third of the troops who drove back
this charge of the British, with so much impetuosity
and intrepidity, were the same men who did such
deadly work, with their hunting rifles, at Guilford
Court-House.
They had been drilled and disciplined at Halifax,
and at the camp on the Santee, and were burning
to redeem the reputation which their inexperience
had so tarnished in the former conflict. They had
bayonets now, instead of squirrel rifles, and had
been taught to use them, and their splendid charge
*Johnson, vol. 2, p. 225.
(456)
on the advancing line of English veterans, " who
had fought through the whole war," was evidence
of how well they had learned the military lessons
of the camp. Officers and soldiers vied with each
other in deeds of daring and heroism, and as the
watchful eye of the American commander glanced
from one to the other, in this brilliant amp de main,
his face beamed with joy and admiration ; but when
the conflict was over, he declared that he did not
know on which to bestow the highest praise. Here
let history place the wreath of honor, undivided and
unfading forever, on the brow of officer and soldier
alike.
Colonel Stewart, witnessing the discomfiture of
his line, ordered up his reserve, but it was swept
away in the torrent of retreat, which was rushing
before the bayonets of Williams and Sumner, and
all seemed lost to the British army. Majoribanks
alone held his position in the black-jacks on the
creek, and the whole British line swung around
him, like a pivot, on the right. Helter-skelter they
fled through the field containing their camp, and
on to the brick mansion-house in its rear. Lee's
infantry alone was saved from disorder and confu-
sion in the pursuit, and were well nigh entering
the house with the enemy, but Major Sheridan
was victor in the race, and repelled the infantry,
who retreated, holding some prisoners they had
taken between them and the garrison to protect
themselves from its deadly fire.
Victory, which was now in the American hands,
was jeopardized and almost lost by a hitherto
(457)
unseen and unexpected foe ; .but one which has so
often conquered heroes and patriots before, and
destroyed the hopes which fortune had placed in
their hands. General Greene had distributed his
hogsheads of rum to his troops on the eve of battle ;
fatigue had whetted their appetites for another po-
tation, and as they entered the British camp they
discovered this lurking enemy among the tents.
They paused to drink and repeat the toast to their
good fortune, when the vigilance of Colonel Stewart
detected their indiscretion. His troops were ma-
chines of military discipline, and at the word of
command, fell into ranks and were soon on the
Americans that loitered among the u fleshpots" of the
camp. The Americans were driven back. Charge
after charge had been made on Majoribanks, but
that man, of the lion heart, still stood like a stone-
wall and resisted every assault. Colonel Hender-
son had fallen a wounded victim to his fire on the
flank ; Colonel Washington was a wounded captive
in his hands, and a lieutenant and an ensign of this
gallant band of cavalry were left alone to lead its
shattered columns.
Lee had been ordered to charge on the right, but
was not to be found by the messenger. Coffin was
advancing unopposed on the American right and
the tide was setting fast against the American arms.
Some one blundered again by rushing the cannon
in the field to bombard the mansion-house, but
dragging it too close, the artillerists were shot down
by the garrison and the cannons were abandoned.
(458)
Greene still held to his prisoners taken in the
early part of the action ; buc seeing that all would
be lost if his army were not re-organized, ordered
a retreat. Coffin was advancing, Lee could nowhere
be found, and Greene called on Colonel Hampton,
who had succeeded Henderson in the field, to cover
the retreat.
This was gallantly done. Coffin was driven to
the field again, but Hampton, in his impetuosity r
was exposed to the fire, from the black-jacks, which
Colonel Polk declared seemed to him " to kill every
man but himself."
The retreat of Coffin gave the Americans time to
rally west of the British camp, in the woods, where
the first conflict began.
The enemy was too much crippled "to venture
beyond the cover of the house."
General Greene halted long enough to collect his
wounded, and having made arrangements to bury
his dead, left a strong picket under Colonel Hampton
on the field; he withdrew his army to Burdells,
seven miles distant.
u Both parties," says Johnson, "claimed the vic-
tory, but there is no difficulty in deciding the question
between them upon the plainest principles. The
British army was chased from the field at the point
of the bayonet and took refuge in a fortress ; the
Americans were repulsed from that fortress."
But in my judgment, it was not the fortress that
gave the English the victory claimed. It was the
camp, with its rum and spoils, that demoralized the
pursuit of the enemy and intoxicated the pursuers.
Disorder and indiscretion, weakness and inde-
cision followed, and the victory was lost.
In reading the history of the Revolutionary war,
the student of this day is often astonished, and
sometimes amused, to read the reports of our officers
who state with much glorification that they captured
a large quantity of necessary supplies, so much
wanted in the American camp, and in the enumera-
tion of these "necessary supplies " they begin with
" rum " and follow with ".bread and hospital stores."
It was seldom that "rum" was ever destroyed to
lessen the burden of the march. We have seen
that Greene sent back his baggage before the battle
began, but was careful to retain the "hogsheads of
rum and hospital stores."
The British commander did not stay long or
consider much "the order of his going."
" McArthur was called up fronr Fairlawn to
cover Colonel Stewart's retreat; and leaving sev-
enty of his wounded to his enemy, and many of
his dead unburied; breaking the stocks of one
thousand stand of arms and casting them into the
spring; destroying his stores and then moving off
precipitately, the English commander fell back and
retreated to Fairlawn."*
General Greene pursued for one day, on the road
to Charleston, but finding that Colonel Stewart
still retired -before him, and being now left at lib-
Johnson, vol. 2. p. 2^2.
(46o)
erty to watch the movements of Cornwallis ; and his
wounded and prisoners requiring his attention, he
resolved again to retire to the High Hills of the
Santee.
The last regular army of the Crown had been
driven to its seacoast defence, bleeding and
dying. Majoribanks, the gallant deliverer of
this shattered army, was wounded, and shortly
thereafter died. He was buried on the roadside in
their flight to the sea. Webster and Majoribanks,
it may be said of them, that they offered themselves
as willing sacrifices to their king, knowing that
only with their lives could be purchased the escape
of their commands from destruction. Both sur-
vived their battles long enough to be told that the
American commander had fled from the field, but
both lived to find that commander following the
line of their flight. Both died on their way to the
sea, and were buried in the land they fought to
enslave. To the credit of that land no dishonor
has been shown to their last resting-places, and,
though foes to American liberty, their names, as
soldiers, will ever awaken in every manly breast, a
feeling of pity for their misfortune, and a chivalric
sentiment of admiration for the heroic spirits which
animated them in their discharge of duty to their
Crown and kingdom. The brave are never con-
temned.
The Americans captured and held 500 prisoners
as the result of this battle. They lost forty prisoners.
They captured one cannon, and by indiscretion lost
( 4 6 i )
four. Sixty-one American officers had been killed
and wounded. Twentv-one of these had died on the
./
field of battle, and among them Colonel Richard
Campbell, of Virginia, who had shared the honors
and the toils of the campaign from " Camp Repose,"
on the Pee Dee, to this last battle in the south. He
fell as his victorious troops were driving the enemy
before them; he was pierced by a ball through the
breast, and only survived a few hours.
The whole American casualties are given by
General Greene, as one lieutenant colonel, six cap-
tains, five subalterns, and ninety rank and file,
killed ; two lieutenant - colonels, Henderson and
Howard, seven captains, twenty lieutenants, twenty-
four sergeants and two hundred and nine rank
and file, wounded. Colonel Washington fell into
the hands of the enemy a wounded prisoner.
The British casualties are given by Colonel
Stewart, as three commissioned officers, six ser-
geants and seventy-six men, killed ; sixteen com-
missioned officers, twenty sergeants, and two hun-
dred and thirty-two men, missing. Total casualties
six hundred and ninety-three. These casualties
are, however, far below the true figures, for he lost
five hundred prisoners, double his admitted loss of
missing.
On the 1 2th day of September, four days after
the battle on the 8th, General Greene recrossed the
Santee at Nelson's Ferry, and on the i5th was in
his old camp at the "High Hills of Santee." His
army was soon reduced to less than one thousand
( 4 6 2 )
effective men, with nearly six hundred wounded,
of both armies, in his charge.
On the 9th of November, General Greene's camp
was enlivened by the news of the surrender of
Cornwallis at Yorktown.
On the 1 8th the High Hills were abandoned, and
numerous minor operations concluded the Southern
campaign; but the armies did not again meet in
the field."*
*Carrington's Battles, p. 583.
CHAPTER XI.
Sketches of Charles and Joseph McDowell Joseph Graham Major
"Hal." Dixon Brigadier General Jethro Simmer General
Rutherford General Butler The End.
[ T was not my original purpose to relate all the
-*- minor military transactions which occurred auring
the invasion of the Southern Colonies, nor to record
the conflicts between the Whigs and Tories, which
were collateral to the general operations of the
American and English armies, and, therefore, I
sha.ll not further pursue the narrative of those less
events which followed the battle of Eutaw Springs.
Here is a pleasant resting-place, for the contempla-
tion of North Carolinians,where her Regular soldiers
won such imperishable renown and her Militia were
no less gallant and steady than her Regulars. North
Carolina furnished half the soldiers who fought the
battle of Eutaw Springs and drove the British army
of invasion forever from the Southern provinces.
The tidings of this victory reached Yorktown and
inspired the besiegers with fresh spirit and enter-
prise, and brought dismay to those within, who were
only counting the days when their captivity would
begin. Independence was about to burst like a
beacon light over the American States.
It is due, however, to some of the heroes of North
Carolina, who bore such conspicuous parts in this
noble struggle for liberty, that they should be better
(464)
known to our people, in order that honor may yet
be done to their memories.
To the brothers, CHARLES and JOSEPH McDowELL,
of Quaker Meadows, and to their no less gallant
cousin, Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant Garden,
Burke County, North Carolina, are due more credit
and honor for the victory of King's Mountain than
to any other leaders who participated in that decisive
and wonderful battle. Yet, the name of McDowell
does not appear on the granite shaft, raised by patriot
hands, on those memorable heights a reproach
to the intelligence of the men who wrote its inscrip-
tions and an indignity to North Carolina which
contributed so largely to construct the monument.
It was Colonel Charles McDowell, and Major Joseph
McDowell, his brother, who originated the idea of
organizing a force to capture Ferguson, and in con-
junction with their cousin, they were the most
prominent in executing the plan which they had
conceived.
Major Joseph McDowell was subsequently a
General of militia and was known as General
McDowell. He also served as a member of Con-
gress from North Carolina during the years of 1787,
1788, 1791 and 1792. In 1788 he was a member of
the State Convention which met for the considera-
tion of the Federal Constitution. He was of Scotch-
Irish descent ; his ancestors came to North Carolina
by the way of Virginia. The McDowells of North
Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio are all of
one common stock.
(465)
On one of the foot hills of the Blue Ridge, a
beautiful round knob, selected for its lovely view,
and overhanging the "Quaker Meadows," is the
cemetery of the McDowell family. On a slab of
marble, erected as a head-stone, is this inscription :
U TO THE MEMORY OF
GENERAL CHARLES McDOWELL,
A WHIG OFFICER IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR,
WHO DIED, AS HE HAD LIVED, A PATRIOT,
THE 3IST MARCH, 1815, AGED
ABOUT 70 YEARS."
By his side is the unmarked grave of Major
Joseph McDowell, his brother. Not a stone is raised
to his memory ; not a line is carved to recount his
deeds of valor and patriotism ; no epitaph tells the
story of King's Mountain and Cowpens and Ram-
sour's Mill, where he was foremost in the fight ;
no record speaks to the stranger and says, here lies
a hero who was victorious in every field, and never
turned his back on a foe. The only mark that
indicates the grave of this gallant soldier is the
letter J rudely carved on a white oak tree that stands
at its head.
What a reproach to those who enjoy the liber-
ties that were purchased with his blood ! Will the
State he loved and served so well suffer this re-
proach to continue ?
Close by his side, the remains of his cousin,
(466)
Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant Garden, lie. On a
head-stone is this inscription :
"HERE LIES THE BODY OF
CAPTAIN JOSEPH McDOWELL,
BORN 27TH FEBRUARY, 17-5,
(the other figure obliterated)
AGED 60 YEARS."
GENERAL JOSEPH GRAHAM, who was Major of
mounted infantry, or dragoons, during the war,
has done more to vindicate the truth of North Caro-
lina's Revolutionary history than any citizen she has
produced.
The carefully-prepared articles which he wrote
in 1821, for Judge Murphey, who was, at that time,
collecting material for a history of North Carolina,
have been published in the University Magazine,
at Chapel Hill. They were designed to correct the
misstatements of cotemporary historians, who were
blindly following in the footpath of error, which
others had trodden, as is so much the custom of this
day. They were written by Major Graham, who
was an eye-witness and participant in most of the
events related, and he appeals to the hundreds of
his associates, then living, for the truth of his story.
To these sketches the author again acknowledges
his indebtedness for much that has been reproduced
in this book.
Perhaps the most brilliant officer, whose services
enriched the annals of that memorable invasion,
was MAJOR "HAL." DIXON, whose dashing- and
(467)
impetuous courage was so splendidly displayed
among the shattered legions of Gates, at Camden.
He refused to fly when his comrades had been
driven from the field and his devoted band had been
left exposed to the bayonet charge on its front and
flanks. With a fierce spirit he faced his battalion to
the charge, from either side, and fought as "long as
a cartridge was in his belt," then, resorting to the
bayonet himself, he cut his way through the attack-
ing hosts and made good his retreat. We know
from the roster that he died July lyth, 1782, after
Independence had been won, but where he closed
his eyes in death or where is his unmarked grave,
we cannot tell. His letters, in 1781, several times,
speak of returning to Caswell County, and it may
be that his remains rest there, "in hope again to
rise.' 1
Among the militia officers, whose constant labors
and services were devoted to their country's cause,
two men deserve most honorable mention : BRIGA-
DIER GENERAL GRIFFITH RUTHERFORD, of Rowan
County, and BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN BUTLER,
of Orange County. They were seldom out of the
military field, and always bore themselves proudly
and manfully in battle. General Rutherford was
severely wounded at Gates' defeat in August, 1780,
and afterwards was a great sufferer in the prison
camp of the enemy at St. Augustine. He was
exchanged in July, 1781, and in September he was
again in the field. He was honored by having a
county named for him. He subsequently removed
( 4 68)
to Tennessee, where a like honor was in store for
him.
The greatest soldier of that day, from North Caro-
lina, was BRIGADIER GENERAL JETHRO SUMNER,
of Warren County. We know that he passed,
without reproach, through the terrible campaigns
of Washington, in New Jersey and Pennsylvania,
and survived as one of the seven hundred from a
brigade of more than five thousand men, and was
promoted for gallantry and skill displayed amid those
bloody scenes. For his constancy, fidelity and
great influence in the State, he was detached to
raise the four new regiments of regulars in North
Carolina in lySo-'Si, and his letters during that
period evince such a lofty and unselfish patriotism
that they challenge the admiration of every reader.
If his patriotic offer to command the militia, assem-
bling for the battle of Guilford Court-House, had
been accepted, it is probable, nay, almost certain,
that the revolutionary struggle would have ended
at that place, instead of Yorktown, and that the
lives of thousands of good men would have been
spared. Under his eye, and with his discipline and
example to prepare and encourage them, the North
Carolina regulars and militia were among the fore-
most in the fight, exciting the wonder and admira-
tion of General Greene, at Kutaw Springs.
In the most distressing condition of public affairs ;
amidst the jealousies of the smaller men of that day ;
without arms or equipments for his soldiers when
organized; surrounded by doubting patriots and
disloyal Tories, he never lowered his crest or trailed
his flag in the dust, but with undaunted will and
unswerving faith, he struggled manfully against
every obstacle and danger, until at last he was able
to put in the field three battalions of disciplined
soldiers, who gave the final and fatal blow to British
prestige and power in the South. He made no
parade over his victory, but was as modest in
triumph as he was constant and faithful in disaster.
One of the earliest military orders preserved in
North Carolina is this:
"!N COMMITTEE OF SAFETY, November 28th, 1775.
41 HALIFAX.
"Ordered that Major Jethro Sumner raise what minute
men and volunteers he can and follow Colonel Long
with the utmost despatch. A copy by order,
u OROND r . DAVIS, Clerk."
And from that day to the end of the struggle,
more than seven years, he was in the active service
of his country. It is not recorded of him, that he
ever fled from the foe or left his soldiers in the field.
He enjoyed the full confidence of Washington,
Lafayette and Greene, and was their correspondent
while he was in the South.
His letters do not indicate that he was either
educated or -cultivated, but he possessed that native
genius and originality of thought that gave him
confidence and power in every emergency. He
knew men and things from observation and expe-
rience, and was ever ready to profit by the knowl-
edge.
(47o)
He was not irritable like Greene, and, in his
unguarded correspondence, never spoke evil of his
enemies. He was hopeful, patient, serene and
faithful in the most trying scenes of life, and never
faltered in his devotion to the cause of the Colonies.
I have no authentic record of General Stunner's
early life. Wheeler says he was born in Virginia,
but Wheeler is so often inaccurate that he can-
not; be relied upon. In the same sketch he says,
"General Sumner behaved gallantly at Cainden."
He was not there. He was appointed Colonel
of the third regiment of Regulars the i5th of April,
1776, and Brigadier General the Qth January, 1779.
After the war General Sumner married a wealthy
widow, a Mrs. Heiss, of Newbern, by whom he had
three children Thomas Edward, who died without
issue; "Jacky," who also left "no continuance ;"
Mary, his daughter, married Hon. Thomas Blount,
a member of Congress, and brother of Major Read-
ing Blount, who fought at Hutaw Springs. She
had no children, and the generation of General
Sumner ended with her death.
He was buried in Warren County, near the road
that runs from Louisburg to Warrenton, and near
the old Shocco Chapel. There is a slab over his
grave with this inscription :
U TO THE MEMORY
OF
GENERAL JETHRO SUMNER,
ONE OF THE HEROES OF
I 77 6."
(47'O
Not a county or town in the State bears his name.
The day of his death and his birth are alike un-
known. No voice has been raised in eulogy of his
heroic character ; no public recognition of his services
has ever been made ; modest and unpretentious in
life, neglected in his death, this great Carolinian
sleeps in the solitude of the forest, where the waste
of time will soon obliterate the trace and memory
of his grave.
" IvO ! here he lies, who every danger braved ;
Unwept, unhonored, in the land he saved."
Will not some young North Carolinian under-
take the honorable task of having these sacred
remains removed to the capital of the State, and
marked by a monument, worthy of the memory and
heroic deeds of this noble soldier ?
My task is done. My duty to my State is per-
formed. In reading the histories of the invasion
of the Colonies, in i78o-'8i, my heart burned with
indignation at the many misrepresentations, of the
people of North Carolina, which had so long gone
unchallenged. I was surprised at the way the
State had been robbed of her honors, and unjustly
reproached by unworthy men, and astonished that
our own authors had repeated these reproaches,
rather than take the trouble to investigate the
truth of history and repel them. I therefore deter-
mined to do what I could to correct these misrepre-
sentations, and resent the reproaches so unjustly
cast on my native State, which I so fondly love.
This book is the result of that determination.
(472)
It was prepared among the busy cares of a law-
yer's office, with a full practice on my hands; but
if it shall serve to awaken the slumbering pride of
our people, who have been more modest than wise,
or provoke them to investigate the truth of North
Carolina history, or increase their love and devotion
to the "good old North State," the object of my
book shall have been accomplished.
THE END.
APPENDIX A.
NORTH CAROLINA TROOPS IN THE
CONTINENTAL LINE.
A REGISTER OF OFFICERS, WITH DATES OF COMMIS-
SIONS, MADE UP UNDER DIRECTION OF THE
SECRETARY OF STATE* FROM RECORDS
IN HIS OFFICE, OCTOBER, 1884.
FIRST REGIMENT.
CO^ONEI^S.
Moore, James 1 Sept., 1775
Brigadier General 10 April, 1776
Nash, Francis 10 April, 1776
Brigadier General -5 Feb., 1777
Clark, Thomas 5 Feb., 1777
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
Nash, Francis 1 Sept., 1775 j Davis, William 5 Feb., 1777
Clark, Thomas 10 April, 1776 '
MAJORS.
Clark, Thomas 1 Sept., 1775 I Williams, William 6,13 June, 1776
Davis, William to April, 1776 ' Walker, John 20 April, 1777
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS.
COMMISSARY.
Williams, William--i Sept., 1775 Kennon, William_-23 Sept., 1776
DeKeyser, Lehansyus, CHAPLAIN.
16 Sept., 1775 j Tate , JameS 13 Oct., 1775
SURGEONS. J
_ . _. JUDGE ADVOCATE.
Guion, Isaac 1 Sept. 1775 _ , , , ~ ,
Helmburgh, Fred- 15 March, 1778 B y d > Adam -Oct., 1777
PAYMASTERS.
Bradley, Richard--5 March, 1777
Lord, William _ii Dec., 1776
*Hon. W. L. Saunders.
(474)
CAPTAINS.
Davis, William
Picket, William
Dickson, Henry*
Allen, Thomas
Rice, Hezekiah
Rowan, Robert
Davidson, George --
Moore, Alfred
Walker, John
Green, William
Grainger, Caleb
Hogg, Thomas.. . i
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
i Sept., 1775
March, 1776
Thompson, Lawrence,
15 Aug., 1776-
Bowman, Joshua _-i8 Sept., 1776
Dixon, Tilghman 5 Feb., 1777
Rolstou, Robert- -.8 March, 1777
Tatum, Howell 3 April, 1777
Brown, Johnf 26 April, 1777
Reed, James 8 July, 1777
Armstrong, Wm 29 Aug., 1777
Summers, John zojuly, 1778
King, James -i April, 1780
Callender, Thomas. , 1780
LIEUTENANTS.
Lillington, John 1 Sept., 1775
Berryhill, William-- 1 Sept., 1775
Rice, Hezekiah 1 Sept., 1775
Bowman, Joshua i Sept., 1/75
McNeill, Hector i Sept., 1775
Brandon, William- -i Sept., 1775
Thompson, Lawrence,
i Sept., 1775
Tatum, Absalom 1 Sept., 1775
Hill, William i Sept., 1775
Hogg, Thomas 1 Sept., 1775
Dixon, Tilghman 20 Oct., 1775
Reed, James 7 July, 1776
Callender, Thomas. -i Jan., 1777
Gambelle, Edmund .20 Jan., 1777
Walters, William --.5 Feb., 1777
Summers, John 5 Feb., 1777
ENSIGNS.
McAlister, Neil 1 Sept., 1775
Childs, James 1 Sept., 1775
Graham, George 1 Sept., 1775
Moore, Maurice, Jr.,i Sept., 1775
Neill, Henry 1 Sept,, 1775
Rolston, Robert i Sept., 1775
Taylor, John i Sept., 1775
Turner, Berry man..i Sept., 1775
Pope, Henry 1 Sept., 1775
Tatum, Howell 1 Sept., 1775
Blythe, Samuel 5 Feb., 1777
Baker, Peter 8 Feb., 1777
Hall, Thomas 8 Feb., 1777
Varner, Robert 8 March, 1777
Watters, Samuel .29 March, 1777
King, James 3 April, 1777
Rogers, Patrick 3 April, 1777
Rice, John 8 April, 1777
Marshall, Dixon 26 April, 1777
Scull, John 26 April, 1777
Hair, John L 16 Aug., 1777
Council, Robert- -.20 Aug., 1777
Milligan, James 29 Aug., 1777
Armstrong, William , 1777
Craven, James , 1777
Picket, Thomas 20 Oct.,
Brown, John 20 Oct.,
Cheese, John n June,
Craven, James n June,
Callender, Thomas, u June,
Marshall, Dixon .28 March,
Crawford, David lojune,
Erwin, John- ,
Council, Robert ,
Milligan, James ,
SECOND REGIMENT.
COLONELS.
Howe, Robert 1 Sept., 1775
Brigadier General 10 April, 1776
Martin, Alexander -io April, 1776
Patton,John 22 Nov., 1777
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
Martin, Alexander- -i Sept., 1775
Patton, John io April, 1776
Harney, Selby 22 Nov., 1777
Murfree, Hardy 1 April, 1778
*Afterwards Colonel "Hal" Dickson.
t Afterwards Colonel.
(475)
Pattern, John i Sept., 1775
White, John 10 April, 1776
MAJORS.
Murfree, Hardy i Feb., 1777
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS. .
White, John i Sept., 1775
Ingles, John 3 May, 1776
Evans, Thomas 22 Nov., 1778
SURGEONS.
Pasteur, William.- -i Sept., 1775
McClure, William- _-7 June, 1776
PAYMASTERS.
Fenner, Richard
1777
Spicer, John n Dec., 1776
Fenner, Robert I June, 1778
QUARTERMASTER.
Slade, Stephen i Jan., 1778
COMMISSARY.
Salter, Robert 23 April, 1776
Salter, James 19 Dec., 1776
CAPTAINS.
Blount, James
Armstrong, John*-
Crawford, Charles -
Murfree, Hardy
Toole. Henry Irwin
Keais, Nathan
Bright, Simon
Payne, Michael
Walker, John
Fenner, William--.
Herritage, John
Vail, Edward, Jr.
-i Sept.
-i Sept.
-i Sept.
-i Sept.
-i Sept.
- 1 Sept.
- 1 Sept.
.i Sept., 1775
-i Sept., 1775
...I May, 1776
.-3 May, 1776
21 Aug., 1776
1775
1775
1/75
1775
1775
1775
1775
Hall, Clement 19 April, 1777
Martin, James 20 April, 1777
Tarraut, Manlove---24 Oct., 1777
Ingles, John .12 Nov., 1777
Cradock, John 21 Dec., 1777
Allen, Charles , 1777
Gee, James , 1777
Williams, Benjamin , 1777
Fenner, Robert 4 Oct., 1777
Da^es, John 8 Sept., 1781
Evans, Thomas 1 June, 1781
Budd, Samuel , 1782
LIEUTENANTS.
Grainger, John 1 Sept., 1775
Smith, Robert i Sept., 1775
Herritage, John i Sept., 1775
Hall, Clement i Sept., 1775
Vail, Edward, Jr i Sept., 1775
Tate, Joseph 1 Sept., 1775
Fenner, William i Sept., 1775
Williams, John i Sept., 1775
Gee, James 1 Sept., 1775
Williams, Benjamin, i Sept., 1775
Gardner, William -.20 Oct., 1775
Fenner, Robert ---ijan., 1776
Vance, David 20 April, 1776
Lowe, Philip 3 May, 1776
Worth, Joseph 3 May, 1776
Standing, Thomas- -.3 May, 1776
Martin, James 3 May, 1776
Nash, Clement 3 May, 1776
Ingles, John 3 May, 1776
Graham, Richard 8 June, 1776
Martin, Samuel 8 June, 1776
Tarrant, Manlove 8 June, 1776
Allen, Charles 8 June, 1776
Evans, Thomas 19 July, 1776
Jacob, John .. i Nov., 1776
Williams, John 21 April, 1777
Buford, William ---15 May, 1777
Luton, James 4 Oct., 1777
Daves, John Oct., 1777
Andrews, Richard-- , 1777
Cradock, John , 1777
Cotgrave, Arthur. .. , 1777
Mcllwaine, Stringer , 1777
Parkinson, James , 1777
Rolstone. Isaac , 1777
Raiford, John -^ , 1777
Sawyer, Levy , 1777
Campen, James , 1777
Budd, Samuel-- , 1777
Slade, Stephen njan., 1781
Feuuer, Richard ---12 May, 1781
*Afterwards Colonel.
(476)
ENSIGNS.
Vipon, Henry 1 Sept., 1775
Pugh, Whitmel 1 Sept., 1775
Oliver, John i Sept., 1775
Lowe, Philip 1 Sept., 1775
Gardner, William -_i Sept., 1775
Cleveland, Benjamin,
I Sept., 1775
Cook, James 1 Sept., 1775
Caswell, William--. i Sept., 1775
Clinch, James 1 Sept., 1775
Woodhouse, John _-i Sept., 1775
McClatmny, Joseph .20 Oct., 1775
Standing, Thomas-- 20 Oct., 1775
Allen, Charles 20 Oct., 1775
Worth, Joseph 20 Oct., 1775
Cradock, John 3 May, 1776
Tarrant, Manlove 3 May, 1776
Smith, Samuel 3 May, 1776
Tochsey, William. -.3 May, 1776
Sawyer, William 15 May, 1776
Evans, Thomas 6 June, 1776
Kilbey, Wm. Tyler- .6 June, 1776
Jacobs, John 6 June, 1776
Bickerstaff, John 8 June, 1776
Rolestone, Isaac 8 June, 1776
Vance, David 8 June, 1776
Campen, James n Dec., 1776
Williams, William. n Dec., 1776
Pilley, John n Dec., 1776
Daves, John 30 Sept., 1776
Curtis, Reuben , 1777
Luton, James , 1777
Slade, Stephen-- -.5 Sept., 1778
Lacey, John 20 May, 1779
Fenner, Richard lojan., 1780
THIRD REGIMENT.
COLONEL.
Sumner, Jethro.is April, 1776. Brigadier General, 9 Jan., 1779.
LIEUTENANT-COLONELS.
Ashton, William .-15 April, 1776
Brewster, Lott 25 Oct., 1777
Dixou, Henry 12 May, 1778
MAJORS.
L,ockhart, Samuel -15 April, 1776
Dixon, Henry 8 July, 1777
(From ist Regiment.)
STAFF.
Eaton, Pinketham.22 Nov., 1777
Emmett, James 15 Feb., 1778
ADJUTANTS.
Washington, Robert
15 April, 1776
Hodgton, Alvery--- , 1777
Hart, Anthony , 1778
SURGEONS.
Hall, Robert 17 April, 1776
Usher, William 4 Dec. ,1776
Ridley, William. _-2i April, 1777
PAYMASTERS.
Bradley, Richard-.- , 1777
Ballard, Kedar 10 Oct., 1779
Blount, William n Dec., 1778
QUARTERMASTERS.
Wilson, Whitfield-24 April, 1777
Colman, Charles 14 Oct., 1777
Clandennin, John. .14 Dec., 1779
COMMISSARY.
Webb, John 23 April, 1776
Amis, William 6 May, 1776
Amis, Thomas 22 Dec., 1776
(477)
CAPTAINS.
Brinkley, William. 16
Eaton, Pinketham-i6
Emmet, James 16
Cranberry, Thomas,
16
Gray, John 16
Barrot, William ---i6
Cranberry, George, 16
Cook, James 16
Jones, Daniel
April, 1776
April, 1776
April, 1776
April, 1776
April, 1776
April, 1776
April, 1776
April, 1776
, 1776
Ballard, Kedar -
Wood, Matthew -
Madearis, John
._.- Nov.
...22 NOV.
23 Dec.
Edmund, Nicholas _
Bradley, Gee 19 Sept.
Montford, Joseph 9 Jan.
Yarborough, Edward Jan.
Fawn, William
LIEUTENANTS.
Ballard, Kedar 16 April, 1776
Lytle, Micajah 3 May, 1776
Wood, Matthew 24 July, 1776
Linton, William 24 July, 1776
Bradley, Gee , 1776
Madearis, John 15 April, 1777
Fawn, William 15 April, 1777
Montford, Joseph __i6 April, 1777
Rushworm, Wm---i6 April, 1777
ENSIGNS.
1777
1777
1777
1777
1778
1779
1779
Hart, Anthony 16 April, 1777
Yarborough, Edward,
16 April 1777
O'Neal, Charles 20 July
Clandennin, John. .23 Dec.
Hodgton, Alvery
Granberry, John
Tillery, John
Lackey, Christopher
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
Clandennin, John- 15 April, 1776
Yarborough, Edward 8 May, 1776
Morgan, Benjamin.. , 1776
O'Neal, Charles- -.18 April, 1777
FOURTH REGIMENT.
COLONEL.
Polk, Thomas 15 April, 1776.
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
Thaxton, James 15 April, 1776 | Armstrong, John 17 July, 1782
MAJORS.
Davidson, William ..15 April, 1776 | Nelson, John 3 Feb., 1778
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS. PAYMASTERS.
Williams, William.--i5 April, 1776 | Pasteur, William 12 Dec., 1776
Covington, William.28 March, 1777 ' Duncan, Robert , 1/77
Slade, William I June, 1778 I Pasteur, Thomas. ...19 Oct., 1782
Pasteur. Thomas.... 26 June, 1779 j COMMISSARY.
SURGEONS. Southerland, Ransome,
Boyd, Hugh 17 April, 1776 23 April, 1776
Usher, William 24 April, 1777 Mallett, Daniel 16 Dec., 1776
QUARTERMASTER. CHAPLAIN.
Douglas, William 10 Feb., 1777 Atkin, James .5 April, 1777
(478)
CAPTAINS.
Moore, Roger 16 April, 1776
Ashe, John 16 April, 1776
Maclaine, John 16 April, 1776
Smith, Robert 16 April, 1776
Coles, William T 16 April, 1776
Harris, Thomas .16 April, 1776
Philips, Joseph 16 April, 1776
Nelson, John 16 April, 1776
Goodman, William I Oct., 1776
Williams, James 3 April, 1777
Lewis, Micajah 25 July, 1777
Carter, Benjamin I Jan., 1779
Brevard, Alexander ..20 Oct., 1780
Williams, James 7 June
Coots, James 2O Nov.
Whitmel, blunt 20 Nov.
Carter, Benjamin 22 Nov.
Brevard, Alexander 9 Dec.
McGibbony, Patrick -.9 Dec.
Williams, William 9 Dec.
Wilkinson, Reuben 9 Dec.
Pollock, Jacob
Alexander, Charles 20 Jan.,
Moslander, Abel 25 Jan.,
LIEUTENANTS.
1776
1776
1766
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1777
1777
Roulledge, William ..25 Jan., 1777
Jones, David 3 April, 1777
Polk, Charles 25 April, 1777
Slade. William I May, 1777
Redpelh, John 20 Aug., 1777
Gillespie, Robert Aug., 1777
Knott, William , 1777
Hickman, William , 1777
Pasteur, Thomas 29 Dec., 1778
Hollingsworth, Charles ,
ENSIGNS.
Brevard, Alexander. .27 Nov., 1776
McGibbony, Patrick. 27 Nov., 1776
Pasteur, Thomas 15 July, 1777
Murray, William I April, 1777
McCarthy, Florence. ..I May, 1777
Nelson, Alexander I July, 1777
Gillespie, Robert , 1777
Curtis, Joshua ,
FIFTH REGIMENT.
COLONEL.
Buncombe, Edward 15 April, 1776.
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
Irwin, Henry 15 April, 1776
Davidson, Wm. L 4 Oct., 1777
Dawson, Levy 19 Oct., 1777
MAJORS.
Dawson, Levy 15 April, 1776
Hogg, Thomas 4 Oct., 1777
Blount, Reading
-, 1782
ADJUTANTS.
Darnall, Henry. ..*.. 15 April, 1776
Verrier, James I Oct., 1776
Armstrong, Thomas, A. D. C.,
28 March, 1782
SURGEON.
Cooley, Samuel 16 April, 1 776
COMMISSARY.
Mallett, Peter 23 April, 1776
STAFF
PAYMASTER.
Rogers, John, Jr n Dec., 1776
QUARTERMASTER.
Swann, Nimrod 18 June, 1777
CHAPLAINS.
Foard, Hezekiah 20 April, 1777
Boyd, Adam I Oct., 1777
(479)
CAPTAINS.
Blount, Reading
Enloe John
.16 April, 1776
. 16 April, 1776
Caswe'l, William
Alderi-on, Simon
Stedman. Benjamin
Simon-; Peter
.16 April, 1776
.16 Apiil, 1776
.16 April, 1776
16 Ap'ril, 1776
Williams, John P
Ward William
.16 April, 1776
.16 April, 1776
Darnall. Henrv..
..I Oct.. 1776
Coleman. Benjamin. .30 April,
Groves, William 17 Aug.,
Armstrong, Thomas. .25 Oct.,
Goodin, Christopher.. Jan.,
Porterfield, Dennis I Feb.,
Stewart, Charles 12 May,
Bailey, Brnjamin 8 Sept.,
Herd, Jesse l April,
McNees, John 2 Nov.,
LIEUTENANTS.
Eborne, Thomas 16 April, 1776
Cooper, William 16 April, 1776
Armstrong, Thomas. 16 April, 1776
Groves, William 16 April, 1776
Lockey, Christopher.. 3 May, 1776
Little, Micajah.- 6 May, 1776
Allen, John I Oct.. 1776
Bailey, Benjamin Oct., 1776
Curtis, John Oct. , 1 776
Eborne. John Oct., 1776
Hodges, John Oct., 1776
Long, Nehemiah Oct., 1776
Reed, Jesse 20 Oct., 1776
Sugg, George , 1776
McNees, John 8 March, 1777
Roberts, John 28 March,
Hewell, William... 28 March,
Ewell, William 20 April,
Blount, Thomas 28 April,
Stewart, Charles 23 July,
Diggs, Anthony 20 Aug.,
Smith, Jabez .1 Sept.,
Gerald, Charles .19 Dec.,
Allen, Walter 4 Oct.,
Ivey, Curtis loOct.,
Holland, Spier 25 Oct.,
Allen, Thomas ,
Verrier, James June,
Crutches, Anthony 18 May,
1777
1777
1777
1779
1779
1780
1781
1782
1782
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1778
1781
ENSIGNS.
Holland, Spier 24 March,
Alderson, Thomas 3 May,
Hodges, John 4 May,
McKinne, James 9 May,
Palmer. Joseph 6 June,
Bush, John ,
Woolen, Shadrach ,
Diggs, Anthony 20 March,
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1777
Allen, Walter 28 March, 1777
Ivey, Curtis 23 April, 1777
Gerald, Charles 30 April, 1777
Crutches, Henry 20 Aug., 1777
Verrier, James 20 Aug., 1777
Smith, Jabez , 1777
Crutches, Anthony 27 Feb., 1780
SIXTH REGIMENT.
COLONELS.
Lillington, Alexander. 1 5 April, 1776 | Lamb, Gideon 26 Jan., 1777
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
Taylor, William 15 April, 1776
Lytle, Archibald 26 Jan., 1777
Ashe, John B 2 Nov., 1778
MAJORS.
Lamb, Gideon 15 April, 1776
Ashe, John B 26 Jan., 1777
McRee, Griffith J...H Sept., 1781
Donoho, Thomas 13 Oct., 1781
Dougherty, George.. .17 July, 1782
(48o)
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS.
Crafton, Bennet 15 April, 1776
Coffield, Benjamin. ..17 May, 1777
SURGEONS.
McClure, William.. .17 April, 1776
Wilson, Robert 8 June, 1776
PAYMASTERS.
Moseley. William II Dec., 1776
Cheesboro, John 3 July, 1777
Dixon, Charles 19 Jan., 1778
QUARTERMASTERS.
Johnson, James 2 April, 1777
Shaw, Daniel 2 June, 1778
COMMISSARY.
Hart, Thomas 23 April, 1776
CAPTAINS.
James, John 16 April, 1776
Mitchell, George 16 April, 1776
Council, Arthur 16 April, 1776
McRee, Griffith J ..16 April, 1776
Taylor, Philip 16 April, 1776
Lytle, Archibald 16 April, 1776
Saunders, Jesse 16 April, 1776
Ashe, John Baptista.i6 April, 1776
Glover, William 7 May, 1776
Donoho, Thomas IO Sept.
Dougherty, George 28 Oct.
White, Thomas 20 Jan.
Child, Francis 26 Jan.
Williams, Daniel I April
Pike, Benjamin 28 April
Little, William 28 Jan.
Hadley, Joshua 13 June
Jones, Samuel
LIEUTENANTS.
Little, William 16 April, 1776
Armstrong, Andrew.i6 April, 1776
Goodin, Christopher. 16 April, 1776
Moore, Dempsey 16 April, 1776
Thompson, Samuel. .16 April, 1776
Glover, William 16 April, 1776
Pike, Benjamin 16 April, 1776
Henderson, Pleasant. 16 April, 1776
Williams, Daniel 16 April, 1776
Child, Francis 16 April, 1776
Love, Amos 16 April, 1776
White, Thomas 16 April, 1776
Armstrong, Thomas. 16 April, 1776
Kennon, John i6Apr.il, 1776
Donoho, Thomas 16 April, 1776
Dougherty, George..i6 April, 1776
McCann, John 16 April, 1776
Hart, John 7 May, 1776
Owens, John 7 May, 1776
Martin, Samuel 6 June,
Jones, Maurice 15 June,
Lytle, William 6 June,
Grant, Reuben 6 June,
Pasteur, John 2 July,
Parker, Kedar 19 Sept.,
Green, William 28 Oct.,
Jones, Samuel I Jan.,
Hadley, Joshua . -I April,
Hilton, William. I April,
Porterfield, Dennis 2 April,
Walker, Solomon 20 April,
Handcock, William. .28 April,
Dickinson, Richard. .10 Oct.,
Shaw, Daniel.. II Oct.,
White, Matthew ,
Dixon, Charles 8 Feb.,
Saunders, William 8 Feb.,
1776
1776
1777
1777
1777
1777
1779
1779
1781
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1779
1779
ENSIGNS.
Lytle, William 1 6 April,
Grant, Thomas 16 April,
Porterfield, Dennis. .16 April,
Hadley, Joshua 16 April,
Walker, Solomon 16 April,
Grant, Reuben. 16 April,
Singletary, Richard. .16 April,
Outlaw, Edward 16 April,
Parker, Kedar 7 May,
Jones, Samuel 6 June,
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
Green, William. 6 June, 1776
Dickinson, Richard 2 April, 1777
Dixon, Charles 2 April, 1777
Williams, Theophilus.2 April, 1777
Mixon, Charles 2 April, 1777
Saunders, William. . .2 April, 1777
Shaw, Daniel 2 April, 1777
Liscombe, John 28 April, 1777
Cheesboro, John 25 April, 1779
(481)
SEVENTH REGIMENT.
COLONELS.
Hogun, James 26 Nov., 1776 | Mebane, Robert 9 Feb., 1777
Brigadier General -. , I
LIEUTENANT COLONEL.
Mebane, Robert 27 Nov., 1776.
MAJORS.
Brewster, Lott 27 Nov., 1776
(To 3d Regiment.)
Fenuer, William 24 Oct. , 1777
(From 2<I kfjjiment.)
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS.
Dawes, Abraham 22 Dec., 1776
Beeks, William Dec., 1777
PAYMASTERS.
Harvey, James n Dec., 1776
Guion, I-aac , 1777
Baker, John June, 1778
QUARTERMASTER.
Dawes, Josiah 10 July,
COMMISSARY.
Bryan, Hardy n Dec.,
SURGEON.
Hamilton, Hanse April.
CAPTAINS.
Brickell, Thomas 28 Nov.,
McGlaughan, John ..28 Nov.,
Poynter, John 28 Nov.,
Walker, Joseph 28 Nov.,
Bell, Green .28 Nov.,
Gotten, Josiah 28 Nov.,
Macon, John II Dec.,
Ely, Lemuel 17 Dec.,
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
LIEUTENANTS.
Vaughan, James 19 Dec ,
DavvMjn. Henry .... .19 Dec.,
Baker, Jrhn 6 July,
Dayley. Joshua 12 Oct.,
Ely. Eli.. 12 Oct.,
Feirebee. William I July,
Walton, William I Aug.,
Hays, James.. 28 Nov., 1776
Baker, John 28 Nov., 1776
Lynch, John 28 Nov., 1776
Powers, James 28 Nov., 1776
Whedbee, Richard. -.28 Nov., 1776
Wmborne, John 28 Nov , 1776
Easoti, Seth 28 Nov.. 1776
Wat.ion, Thoims 28 Nov., 1776
Fcrrebec, William 28 Nov., 1776
Banow, Samuel .. .28 Nov., 1776
Vaughan, Jame, 28 Nov., 1776
Macon, John 28 Nov., 1776
Bryant, John, Jr 28 Nov., 1776
Coleman.Thcophilus. 28 Nov., 1770
Noblen, William 28 Nov.. 1776
Mercer, John 28 Nov., 1776
Dillon, Benjamin 28 Nov., 1776
Caustiiuphen, Jamcs.28 Nov., 1776
LasMUr. Jethro 28 Nov.. 1776
Myrick, John... 28 Nov., 1776
Blanton, Rowland 28 Nov., 1776
Lynch, John 28 Nov , 1770
Webb, Elisha 28 Nov., 1776
31
Snowden, William. . .28 Nov.,
Ely, Eli ii Dec.,
Myrick, John n Dec.,
Moore, John 17 Dec.,
Dayley, Joshua 19 Dec.,
Harru-on, William 19 Dec.,
Ram>ay, Allen 19 Dec ,
Barrow. Jacob 22 Dec.,
Bailey, Benjamin 22 Dec.,
Walton. William 17 April,
Joins, Thomas 15 Aug ,
Dillon, Benjamin .. 12 Oct ,
La>hitcr, Jethro 12 Oct ,
G^ e, Howell Ni v. .
KNS10\S.
Biiley, Benjtmin 28 Nov .
Uanison William II Dec.,
Sledge, Arthur 19 Dec ,
Whiiaker, Hud-on 22 Dec.,
Gee, Howell ... . 15 April,
White, \\illinm 17 April,
Jone>, Thomas 17 April,
IJryan. Benjimin 27 April,
1777
1776
1777
1776
1776
1777
1777
1777
1781
1781
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1776
1776
1776
1776
1777
1.777
1/77
1777
(482)
EIGHTH REGIMENT.
COLONEL.
Armstrong, James 26 Nov., 1776.
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
Ingram, James 27 Nov., 1776 Dawson, Levy 19 Oct., 1777
Lockhart, Samuel... Sept., 1777 Harney, Sclby 22 Nov . 1777
(From 3d Regiment.)
MAJOR.
Harney, Selby .27 Nov., 1776.
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS. QUARTERMASTER
Bush, William 12 May, 1781 Graves. Francis i Sept.. 1777
Bush, John 7 Aug., 1781 COMMISSARY.
SURGEON. Green j oseph IX Dec t I7?6
Loomis, Jonathan ...26 Nov., 1776 Blount, Jesse II Dec.. 1776
PAYMASTER.
Taylor, John 24 July, 1777
CAPTAINS .
Walsh, John 28 Nov. 1776 Waid, Edward 28 Nov., 1776
Raiford, Robert 28 Nov. 1776 Tartanson, Francis. -.16 Jan., 1777
Hargett, ' rederick ..28 Nov. 1776 Quinn, Michael I Aug., 1777
Pope, Henry. 28 Nov. 1776 Dennis, William 2oSept.,i777
Gurley, William 28 Nov. 1776 Chapman, Samuel 5 April, 1779
May, James, Jr 28 Nov. 1776 Pearl, James 17 July, 1782
Nixon, Thomas 28 Nov. 1776
LIEUTENANTS.
Williams, Nathaniel B., Godfrey, William 28 Nov. 1776
28 Nov. 1776 Mills, James 28 Nov. 1776
Quinn, Michael 28 Nov. 1776 Mills, Benjamin 28 Nov. 1776
Dennis, William 28 Nov. 1776 Carraway, Gideon 28 Nov. 1776
Chapman, Samuel 28 Nov. 1776 Resptss, Richard 28 Nov. 1776
Foreman, Caleb 28 Nov. 1776 Bush. John ...8 Feb. 1777
Greer, Robert 28 NOV. 1776 Messick, Jacob. 24 April 1777
Jones, Philip 28 Nov. 1776 Langford. Alloway 'Aug. 1777
Wood, Solomon 28 Nov. 1776 Bush, William 15 Aug. 1777
McNaughton, John. .28 Nov. 1776 Owen, Stephen 15 Aug. 1777
Rhodes, Josrph 28 Nov 1770 ; liollowell, Samuel. ..20 Sept. 1777
Singletary, William.. 28 Nov. 7776 Graves. Francis .26 Oct. 1777
Lewis, Joseph 28 Nov. 1776 Pearl, James 29 Oct. 1777
ENSIGNS.
Lanier, James, Jr 28 Nov., 1776 Respess, John 28 Nov., 1776
Pearl, James 28 Nov., 1776 Custis, Thomas 28 Nov.. 1776
Messick, Jacob 18 Nov., 1776 Bertie. Thomas . 28 Nov.. 1776
Carpenter, Peter 28 Nov., 1776 Langford, Alloway 8 Feb., 1777
Jones, Samuel 28 Nov., 1776 Bush, William 10 April 1777
(48 3 )
NINTH REGIMENT.
COLONEL.
Williams, John P..^. 26 Nov., 1776.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL.
Luttrell, John 27 Nov., 1776.
MAJOR.
Polk, William 27 Nov. , 1 776.
STAFF.
ADJUTANTS.
McSheehy, Miles 12 Feb., 1777
Nuthall, Nathaniel- ..26 May, 1777
S'URGEON.
Johnston, Lancelot ..22 Dec., 1776
COMMISSARY.
Dent, William u Dec., 1776
Guion, Isaac 1 1 Dec., 1776
CAPTAINS.
McCrory, Thomas 28 Nov,
Cook, Richard D 28 Nov.
Ramsay, Matthew 28 Nov,
Wade, Joseph J 28 Nov,
Rochell, John .28 Nov.
Brown, Morgan 28 Nov,
Bullock, Daniel 28 Nov,
Brevard, John 28 Nov.
Daniel, James 28 Nov
Johnson, Joshua 28 Nov.
Dickerson, Nathaniel, 28 Nov.
Neal, William 28 Nov.
Rochell, Lovick 28 Nov.
Sharpe, Anthony 28 Nov.
Williams, Ralph 28 Nov.
Stewart, George 28 Nov.
Spratt, Thomas 28 Nov.
Ferrall, Micajah 28 Nov.
Clark, Thomas 28 Nov.
Brice, Peter 28 Nov.
T 3 earce, George .28 Nov.
Smith, John .28 Nov.
Coleman, John 28 Nov.
Thomas, John 28 Nov.
Hicks, William... ..28 Nov.
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
Rice, Hezekiah 28 Nov., 1776
Brevard, Joel 28 Nov., 1776
Henderson, Michael-28 Nov., 1776
Hafl, James May, 1777
Sharp, Anthony 24 Aug., 1777
LIEUTENANTS.
1776
1776
1776
1770
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
Reese, George 28 Nov.
Harris, West 28 Nov.
Ross, Francis 28 Nov.
Yancey, Charles 28 Nov.
Hart, Samuel .28 Nov.
Stewart, Joseph 28 Nov.
Covington, James 28 Nov.
Dobbins, Hugh
Lewis, William March
Tatum, James I Jan.
Clark, Thomas -_i Feb.
ENSIGNS.
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
Moore, Robert 28 Nov.,
Johnston, Joseph 28 Nov.,
Little, William 6 Dec.,
Rice, Jeptha -.15 March,
Nuthall, Nathaniel 20 May,
McRory, James 2 May,
Tatum, James 12 Aug.,
Washington, William, 15 Aug.,
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1776
1777
1777
1778
1779
1776
1776
1776
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
(44)
TENTH REGIMENT.
COLONEL.
Shepard, Abraham _. 17 April, 1777.
LIEUTENANT COLONELS.
MAJORS.
STAFF.
SURGEONS.
Green, James W 7 Dec., 1779
Fergus, James 2O Aug., 1782
SURGEON'S MATES.
Moore, William .....ig Jan., 1778
Green, James W 10 June, 1778
Forgus, James 21 Feb., 1782
Bull, Thomas , 1782
Maclaine, William 1 Jan., 1783
QUARTERMASTERS.
Verrier, James. April, 1779
Campbell, James 10 Sept., 1779
Graves^ Francis 6 Nov., 1778
Steed, Jesse 13 July, 1781
CAPTAINS.
Herron, Armwell...., 19 April,
Wilson, James ---- ...19 April,
Gregory, Dempsy 19 April,
Jarvis, John ..... 19 April,
Moore, Isaac ....... 19 April.
Vanoy,, Andrew _____ 19 April,
Stevenson, Silas ..... 19 April,
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
1777
Rhodes, Joseph J i Aug.
Shepard, William 20 Jan.
Mills, James J une
Campbell, James 14 Dec.
Bacot, Peter 8 Sept.
Jones, Samuel n Sept.
Moore, Elijah . 13 Oct.
LIEUTENANTS.
Barber, William 19 April, 1777
Cook, George 19 April, 1777
Cannon, Lewis 19 April, 1777
Campbell, James 19 April, 1777
Koen, Caleb 19 April, 1777
Lowe, John 19 April, 1777
McCauley, Matthew.ig April, 1777
Nicholson, Robert.. .19 April, 1777
Rountree, Reuben 19 April, 1777
Jones, Timothy 19 April, 1777
Ferebee. Joseph 5 May, 1777
Ferrell, William 8 Sept., 1777
Jones, Samuel 4 Oct., 1777
Hays, Robert 9 Oct., 1777
Moore, Elijah 12 Oct., 1777
Graves, Francis 26 Oct., 1777
Cooper, Solomon 20 Jan., 1778
Faircloth, William.. .20 Jan., 1778
Catling, Levy. 12 Feb., 1778
Wright, David 15 Feb.,
Varcaze, James 17 March,
Southall, Stephen r April,
Lawrence, Nathaniel. . I June,
Snowden, Nathaniel ..5 June,
Wallace, James 30 Nov.,
Ferrell, Luke L. ,
Turner, Robert ,
Dillain, John Feb.,
Cowan, David 20 March,
Morehead, James ..23 March,
Campbell, John 20 April,
Dudley. Thomas 20 June,
Lord, William 1 Aug.,
Lewis, Joel I Aug.,
Hargrave, William_3O March,
Foard, John ,
Ashe, Saml 23 Jan. ,
Pye'att, Peter 30 March,
1777
1778
1779
1779
1781
1781
1781
1778
1778
1778
1778
1778
1778
1778
1778
1779
1779
1779
*77<j
1779
1779
1779
1780
1780
1781
1781
(485)
LIEUTENANTS Continued.
Brevard, Joseph I Aug., 1781
Dixon, Wynn 5 July, 1781
Hill, John... .5 July, 1781
Scurlock, James i Sepi., 1781
Bell, Robert 8 Sept., 1781
Alexander, William. . .8 Sept., 1781
Steed, Jesse 8 Sept., 1781
Holmes, Hardy , 1781
Williams, Nathaniel .. Jan., 1782
ENSIGNS.
Wright, David 19 April, 1777
Shute, Thomas 19 April, 1777
McRenolds, Robert .19 April, 1777
Hays, Robert 16 Aug., 1777
Richardson, John I Oct., 1777
Cawall, Butler ,
Singleton, Robert ,
Catling, Levy ,
Hargrave, William 2Ojan., 1778
Orrell, Thomas 14 March, 1778
Mossom, Richard 4 Sept., 1778
Foard, John 30 Nov., 1778
Charlton, William. .14 March, 1779
Gibson, Thomas 20 Feb., 1780
Dixon, Wynn I March, 1781
Hill, John 4 April, 1781
Daves, John 6 May, 1781
Brevard, Joseph 9 May, 1781
Alexander, William.. 10 May, 1781
Bell, Robert 18 May, 1781
Steed, Jesse I June, 1781
ARTILLERY.
Kingsbury, John, Captain 19 July, 1777
Jones, Philip, Captain-Lieutenant 19 July, 1777
Wall, James, 1st Lieutenant 19 July, 1777
Vance, John Curton, 2d Lieutenant. 19 July, 1777
Douglass, Robert, 3d Lieutenant 19 July, 1777
APPENDIX B.
[Inasmuch as the formation of " The Guilford Battle Ground Company " led to the
production of this book, I deem it proper to include the charter and organization
of that company. It now owns the battle-field, about 70 acres.]
AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE "GUIL-
FORD BATTLE GROUND COMPANY."
The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact :
SECTION i. That for the benevolent purpose of preserving and
adorning the grounds on and over which the battle of " Guilford
Court-House" was fought on the I5th day of March, 1781, and the
erection thereon of monuments, tombstones, or other memorials to
commemorate the heroic deeds of the American patriots who partici-
pated in this battle for liberty and independence, it is enacted that
J. W. Scott, Thomas B. Keogh, Julius A. Gray, Dr. D. W. C. Benbow
and David Schenck be and are hereby declared to be a private cor-
poration, until their successors are elected, by the name of the
"GUILFORD BATTLE GROUND COMPANY."
SEC. 2. That the capital stock of said company shall not exceed
twenty-five thousand dollars, to be divided into shares of twenty-five
(25) dollars each. That when ten shares or more of said capital stock
are subscribed, and ten per cent, thereof paid in, the stockholders
may meet and elect not less than five nor more than nine directors of
said company, by a majority vote of said stockholders, who shall suc-
ceed the persons hereinbefore named as corporators ; and this board
of directors, so elected, shall elect one of their number President.
The stockholders may also elect any other officers of the company
they may deem proper and necessary.
SEC. 3. The " Guilford Battle Ground Company " shall have power
to contract, and sue and be sued by its corporate name ; may have a
common seal, and exercise all the ordinary and general powers of a
private corporation of this kind. It shall have power to acquire, by
gift, grant, or purchase, the title to all the lands on or over which the
said battle of "Guilford Court-House" was fought, or any part
thereof or adjacent lands thereto not exceeding one hundred acres,
or rights of way or other easements of land, or water necessary or
convenient for the proper enjoyment of said land. It may erect
houses thereon for use or ornament ; erect monuments, tombstones
or other memorials ; may adorn the grounds and walks ; supply the
grounds with water ; plant trees, flowers and shrubs thereon, and do
any other like things for the improvement and beautifying of the
property. It may allow the United States, or any State or corpora-
tion or individual, to erect any monument, tombstone or other memo-
rial, or any ornament or useful improvement thereon, to carry out
(488)
the purposes of this act, on such terms as may be agreed upon by the
parties. It may receive gifts or aid from the United States,' any
State, corporation or individual, or agree with them to make any
improvement thereon. Any city, town or other municipal corpora-
tion or any other corporation may subscribe to the capital .stock of
the said company, or make donations to the same ; it may make all
necessary by-laws, rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the
constitution and laws of the State, for the proper care, protection and
regulation of the property of the company and the monuments, tomb-
stones, memorials, nouses and other property and ornaments and
adornments thereon, or for the protection of the trees, flowers, shrub-
bery, walks, lawns, springs, wells or other like property thereon.
That the principal office of the company shall be in Greensboro,
North Carolina.
SEC. 4. It shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and impris-
onment, if any person or corporation shall wilfully destroy, demolish,
deface or misuse any monument, tombstone or other memorial, or
any fence, enclosure, tree, shrub, flower, spring, well, or any orna-
ment or adornment placed upon the grounds, or any tree growing
thereon, or shall wilfully deface, destroy or demolish any house,
pavilion or like fixtures thereon, or shall wilfully trespass on the
grounds after being notified not to do so, or shall wilfully obstruct
the ways and walks of the company leading to or over the grounds.
SEC. 5. This act shall be in force from and after its ratification.
Ratified the 7th day of March, A. D. 1887.
ORGANIZANIZATION.
The first meeting of the Stockholders of the " Guilford Battle
Ground Company " was held in Greensboro, N. C., on the 6th day of
May, A. D. 1887, in the parlor of the Benbow House.
At that meeting, it appearing that upwards of ten shares of stock
had been subscribed and more than ten per cent, paid in, the stock-
holders were called to order, Hon. D. Schenck elected President, and
Thomas B. Keogh requested to act as Secretary.
The President stated the object of the meeting to be to organize a
company to raise funds to purchase, reclaim and beautify the ground
upon which the battle of Guilford Court-House was fought, March
15, 1781, as recited in the charter of the "Guilford Battle Ground
Company."
The charter was read and accepted, and ordered recorded in the
report of the proceedings.
After discussion of various details, the election of a Board of Direc-
tors was proceeded with, which resulted as follows :
Hon. D. Schenck, Julius A. Gray, Dr. D. W. C. Benbow, J. W.
Scott and Thomas B. Keogh.
The Board elected as the officers of the company :
Hon. D. SCHENCK, President, Greensboro, N. C.; THOMAS B.
KEOGH, Secretary, Greensboro, N. C.; J. W. SCOTT, Treasurer,
Greensboro, N. C.
THOMAS B. KEOGH,
Secretary.
INDEX.
PAGE.
ADAIR, JOHN :
Furnishes twelve thousand dollars for the King's Mountain
campaign . 133
ALEXANDER, ELIAS, Revolutionary Soldier :
Humorous anecdote of 151
ANDERSON, MAJOR, of Maryland :
Brings away only organized force from Gates' defeat 93
Killed at Guilford Court-House 93
APPENDIX A : 473
APPENDIX B _.... 486
ARMSTRONG, MARTIN:
Letter to Colonel William Campbell . 307
ARMSTRONG, MAJOR JOHN :
Captain in second Continental regiment 21
Letters to General Sumner 428-429, 434
Commands battalion at Eutaw Springs 451
ASHE, GENERAL JOHN :
Defeated at Briar Creek March 3d, 1779 34
Betrayed by his servant and captured ; died in October, 1781, 34
ASHE, COLONEL JOHN BAPTISTE :
Captain in Wilmington District 25
Marches to join Greene July I7th, 1781 437
Commands battalion at Eutaw Springs, Sept. 8th, 1781.- . 451
AUGUSTA :
Surrendered to American forces, 5th June, 1781 419-421
North Carolina militia storm Fort Grierson 417
BATTLES OF:
Camden, August 1 6th, 1780 88
Charlotte, defence of, September 26th, 1780 . 106
Cowan's Ford, February ist, 1780 ,. . 240
Cowpens, January 1 7th, 1781 209-210
Eutaw Springs, September 8th, 1781 448
Guilford Court- House, March I5th, 1781 293
Hanging Rock, August 5th, 1780 69
Hpbkirk's Hill, April 25th, 1781 401-402
King's Mountain, October 7th, 1780 156 to 174
Musgrove's Mill, August igth, 1780 79
Pyle's defeat, February 25th, 1781 278
Siege of Charleston, April 2, May, 1780 32
Siege of Ninety-Six, June i8th, 1781 423
Whitsill's Mill, March 6th, 1781..- 289
BLOUNT, MAJOR READING:
Captain from Newbern District 24
Command battalion at Eutaw Springs ._ 451
Letter to General Sumner 438
"BLUE HEN'S CHICKENS" 97
(490)
PAGE.
BUFORD, COLONEL :
Command massacred by Tarleton 45
BUTLER, BRIGADIER GENERAL JOHN :
At Guilford Court-House 304
Mentioned 467
BURKE, THOMAS, GOVERNOR :
Letter in regard to Colonel Alexander Martin's trial 31
Captured by Fanning .. 445
CAMPBELL, COLONEL WILLIAM :
Commands at King's Mountain 141
Joins Greene with 60 men, March, 1781 308
At Guilford Court-House 324
CAMPBELL, COLONEL RICHARD :
Joins Greene 272
Killed at Eutaw Springs .. 461
CARRINGTON, COLONEL EDWARD, Q. M. General :
Surveys the Dan -.- 191
CARUTHERS, DOCTOR OF DIVINITY :
Quoted - 338-339,350-352-353
CASWELL, GOVERNOR RICHARD :
At Gates' defeat near Camden 88
Flees with Gates to Charlotte 99
At Halifax, February 23d, 1781 - 264
Unfriendly to General Sumner 267-268
CHRONICLE, MAJOR WILLIAM :
Joins the pursuit of Ferguson 151
Commands the men of Lincoln 159
Killed at King's Mountain 167
Romance of his life . 175
CLEVELAND, COLONEL BENJAMIN :
Joins the over-mountain men at Quaker Meadows, October
ist, 1780 .- 139
His speech to his men .-. 145
At King's Mountain.. 169
Gets Ferguson's charger 175
CORNWALLIS, CHARLES, EARL OF :
Left in command by Clinton, June 5th, 1780 47
A heartless commander 48
Arrives at Camden i4th August, 1780 87
Marches to North Carolina September 7th, 1780 102
Denounces Charlotte 115
Retreats from Charlotte .. -- 180
Sick in the Waxhaws 182
At Turkey Creek January I7th, 1781 226
His fatal delay and tardiness in not following Morgan 230
Reaches Ramsour's Mill 25th January, 1781 232
Leaves Ramsour's Mill 28th January 232
Burns his heavy baggage 233
Deceived by Greene 258
At Hillsboro.- -- .-. 261
Narrow escape at Guilford Court-House 376
Retreat of 390
Horse shot under him 376
(49O
COUNCIL EXTRAORDINARY :
Members of . 269
DAVIDSON, BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM LEE :
Assembles militia after Gates' defeat 100
Killed at Cowan's Ford, February ist, 1781.- 242
Killed by Frederick Hager, a Tory 242
DA VIE, COLONEL WILLIAM R. :
At Hanging Rock 69
Defends Charlotte 106
Appointed Commissary General 192
Sketch of his character 64
DECKHARD RIFLE 81
DEKALB, BARON:
Death of 92
Gallantry of . 92
DIXON, COLONEL "HAL.":
Captain in First Regiment 21
Conspicuous bravery at Gates' defeat 89
Pet of the soldiers 94
Tribute to 466
DOAK, REV. SAMUEL :
Prayer before battle of King's Mountain 136
DUNLAP, MAJOR, in British army :
Wounded 126
Revengeful attack upon him for his infamous conduct 128
Killed -_- 129
EATON, MAJOR PINKETHAM :
Captain in Continental army 23
Reorganizes the Guilford militia 394
Joins Greene i6th May, 1781 399
Killed at Fort Grierson, Augusta 418
EATON, BRIGADIER GENERAL THOMAS :
At Guilford Court-House 305
Sketch of 306
FERGUSON, COLONEL PATRICK, of English army :
Sketch of 117
Inventor of breech-loading rifle 117
Famous pistol shot 118
Killed at King's Mountain .__ 170
FORBIS, CAPTAIN ARTHUR :
Death at Guilford Court-House 378
Anecdote of 351
His gallantry in battle .- 352
FORD, LIEUTENANT COLONEL, of Maryland :
Killed at Hobkirk's Hill.- 406
FRANCISCO, PETER, the Giant :
Kills eleven men at Guilford Court-House .-_-~ 365
FRANKLIN, JESSE, GOVERNOR :
At Guilford Court-House . 301
(492)
PAGE.
GATES, MAJOR GENERAL HORATIO :
Defeat at Camdeii 94
Flight to Charlotte 95
Rides a famous racer . 95
Superseded by General Greene 186
GILMER, ENOCH :
The humorous American spy ^... 155
Anecdote of 158
GRAHAM, MAJOR JOSEPH, of Lincoln County :
Severely wounded near Charlotte 113
Sketch of . 466
Fight at Hart's Mill 275
At Pyle's defeat 278
GREENE, MAJOR GENERAL NATHANAEL :
Assumes command of the Southern army, Dec. 4th, 1780 186
Sketch of 186-187
At Camp Repose 197
Perilous journey from Camp Repose to join Morgan, January
28th, 1781 232
His cordial relations with Morgan 232
Letter from Sherrill's Ford, February 3oth, 1781 249
Narrow escape from capture -. 251
Mrs. Steele presents him some gold, anecdote of 252
Forms a junction with Huger at Guilford Court-House 254
Crosses the Dan, I4th February, 1781 259
Recrosses the Dan to North Carolina, February 23d, 1781-.- 273
Selection of Guilford Court-House as a battle-field ' 320
Orders North Carolina militia at Guilford Court-House to fire
two rounds and retreat -- 335
Narrow escape at Guilford Court-House 378
Begins pursuit of Cornwallis 389
Rescues the artillery at Hobkirk's Hill . 408
At Eutaw Springs 450
GREGORY, BRIGADIER GENERAL :
Wounded at Camden . 93
And captured , 98
GUILFORD COURT-HOUSE :
Battle of 293
Defence of North Carolina militia at this battle 337 et seq
HAMBRIGHT, COLONEL FREDERICK, of Lincoln :
Wounded at King's Mountain 168
HESSIANS :
Desert at Ramsour's Mill , 234
Character of.-- 314
Contract for their hire 314-315
HILL, COLONEL :
Quarrel with General Williams 144
HOGUN, BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES :
Colonel of the 7th regiment . 29
Appointed Brigadier General 31
Commands at Charleston . 42
(493)
PAGE.
HOWARD, COLONEL, of Maryland :
Commands regiment at Cowpens 210
Charge at Guilford Court-House 367
HOUSTON, REV. SAMUEL:
Diary of March, 1781 347
Account of battle of Guilford Court-House 348
His character 347
HOWE, MAJOR GENERAL :
Duel with Gadsden 33
HUGER, GENERAL :
Joins Morgan and Greene at Guilford Court-House 254
Commands brigade at that battle 311
JEFFERSON, THOMAS, Governor of Virginia :
Letter of, in regard to militia at Guilford Court-House 354
KIRKWOOD, CAPTAIN, of Delaware :
Sketch of 323
KERR :
The crippled spy 154
KOSCIUSKO :
Surveys the Catawba _ 191
LACEY, COLONEL :
Goes to Campbell's camp on Greene River 153
LEE, LIEUTENANT COLONEL HARRY :
Joins Greene at Camp Repose 198
Description of his Legion 198
Character of 199
At Guilford Court-House . 368
Errors as a historian 358
LESLIE, MAJOR GENERAL, British army :
Commands the right at Guilford Court-House 330
LINCOLN, MAJOR GENERAL BENJAMIN :
Succeeds General Howe in the South 33
Commands at Charleston 40
LOCKE, COLONEL, of Rowan County :
Marches to Ramsour's Mill 55
Commands regiment of infantry under Pickens 262
LYNCH, COLONEL CHARLES :
Commands battalion at Guilford Court-House 309
Originator of lynch law 310
MACON, NATHANIEL :
In Greene's army 384
Eulogy on, by Senator Benton 384
MALMEDY, COLONEL, French Nobleman :
Commands North Carolina militia at Eutaw Springs 450
MARION, GENERAL FRANCIS :
Joins Greene September, 1781 . 446
Commands brigade at Eutaw 450
(494)
PAGE.
MAJORIBANKS, MAJOR, in British army :
Skill and gallantry at Eutaw 457
Death of 460
MARTIN, COLONEL ALEXANDER, of Guilford :
Appointed Lieutenant Colonel 21
Appointed Colonel 22
Defence of 29
Member of Council Extraordinary 269
MATTOCKS, CAPTAIN :
Killed at King's Mountain 168
McARTHUR, COLONEL, in British army :
Surrender at Cowpens 217
McCALL, CAPTAIN :
Joins General Morgan 200
MCDOWELL, COLONEL CHARLES :
Attacks detachment of Ferguson's corps at Bedford Hill 126
Campaign in 1780 to Musgrove's Mill 76
Sketch of 465
His home .. 139
McDowELL, MAJOR JOSEPH, of Quaker Meadows, Burke County :
Commands the Burke men at King's Mountain 142-170
At Ramsour's Mill 57
Sketch of 464
At Cowpens 200-210
MCDOWELL, CAPTAIN JOSEPH, of Pleasant Garden, Burke County:
At Cowpens 220
Grave of 466
MILLS, COLONEL AMBROSE, Tory :
Captured at King's Mountain 174
Hung at Gilberttown 179
MOORE, BRIGADIER GENERAL JAMES :
Appointed Colonel 20
Appointed Brigadier General .. 22
Death of - 26
MORGAN, BRIGADIER GENERAL DANIEL :
Arrives at Hillsboro, North Carolina 184
Gates gives him a separate command 184
Sketch of 196
Morgan detached to separate duty by General Greene 194
At Cowpens 224
Retreat from Cowpens . 226
Crosses Sherrill's Ford on Catawba -. 230
Disabled by rheumatism and retires from the army 257
Letter to Greene about battle at Guilford Court-House 321
NASH, BRIGADIER GENERAL FRANCIS :
Appointed Colonel of Regulars... 22
Appointed Brigadier General.- .- 27
Killed at German town -- 28
NASH, GOVERNOR ABNER :
Patriotic letter of, September loth, 1780 100
Letter February 23d, 1781 264-265
Sumner's letter to, about Caswell 267
(495)
NORTH CAROLINA MILITIA:
At Cowpens 200
Johnson's error about 200-201
Elect General Andrew Pickens to command them after Gen-
eral Davidson's death 263
Greene orders to fire two rounds, at Guilford Court-House,
and then retire 335
Reorganization of 394
Under Major Eaton 395
Assault Fort Grierson 417
Five hundred of, join Greene on the Santee 441
Fire seventeen rounds at Eutaw Springs 453
Commanded by Colonel Malmedy 454
Tribute to their courage 454
NORTH CAROLINA :
Furnishes South Carolina regiments 441-442
Colonel Williams, of South Carolina, recruits his regiment in
Rowan County --_.. - 143
O'HARA, GENERAL, of British army :
At Trading Ford 253
Wounded at Guilford Court-House 364
OLIPHANT'S MILL:
Depot established at 393
ORANGEBURG :
Captured 415
OVER-MOUNTAIN MEN :
Assemble at Sycamore Flats 134
March 26th September, 1780 136
Reach Quaker Meadows, 3Oth September, 1780 139
P AGO LET:
Skirmish at 123
PAISLEY, WILLIAM :
Anecdote of 353
PICKENS, GENERAL ANDREW :
Joins Morgan 200
At Cowpens 210
Selected to command North Carolina militia 263
Commands at Augusta 416
At Eutaw Springs 450
PRESTON, COLONEL JOHN, of Virginia :
Joins Pickens' forces February, 1781 - 307
PRISONERS :
Exchange of, May, 1780 43
PYLE, COLONEL :
Was physician, account of 282
RAMSOUR'S MILL, BATTLE OF :
Graham's narrative of 51
Grave of Captain Dodson at 62
(496)
PAGE.
RAWDON, LORD :
Leaves Camden 414
Relieves Ninety-Six _. 423
Captured at sea. 445
READ, COLONEL JAMES, of North Carolina :
Commands regiment of horse 391
Remains with Greene 391
Fine character of his troops. .... . .. 298
Sketch of, by Hon. George Davis .... 299
RIFLE :
Deckhard Si
Breech-loading, invented by Major Ferguson 82
Against bayonets 161
RUTHERFORD, BRIGADIER GENERAL GRIFFITH :
At Rees' farm, June I4th, 1780 51
Pursues Tories 68
Wounded at Camden 89
Sketch of- 467
RAMSEUR, MAJOR GENERAL STEPHEN D. :
Mentioned 430
SEVIER, COLONEL JOHN :
" Nollichucky Jack " 130
At Sycamore Flats 134
At King's Mountain 164
Awarded Ferguson's sash 175
SHELBY, COLONEL ISAAC :
Campaign 69
Cedar Springs, at 78
Musgrove's Mill, at 79
At King's Mountain 165
Gets Ferguson's large silver whistle 175
SINGLETON, CAPTAIN ANTHONY, of Artillery :
Commands artillery at Guilford Court-House 311
Says militia behaved " exceedingly well " at Guilford Court-
House 355
SMITH, CAPTAIN JOHN, of Maryland :
Kills Colonel Stuart in personal combat at Guilford Court-
House 367
Sketch of 410
SOUTHERN PROVINCES:
Condition of, in i779-'8o 37
STEELE, MRS.:
Presents General Greene a small bag of gold -- 252
STEVENS, GENERAL, of Virginia :
Surveys the Yadkin 191
Wounded at Guilford Court-House 362
STUART, HON. LIEUTENANT COLONEL, of British army :
Encounter with Captain Smith - 367
His sword exhumed in 1866 3^7
(497)
PAGE.
STUART, CAPTAIN DUGALD:
Letter in regard to Guilford Court-House and North Carolina
militia 349
STOKES, CAPTAIN JOHN :
Arm cut off at massacte of Buford's men, sketch of 45, note.
SUMNER, BRIGADIER GENERAL JETHRO :
Collects scattered militia after defeat of Gates 100
Superseded by General Smallwood _- 102
Tenders his services to Caswell, which are not accepted 266
Refuses to meet Caswell personally .... 267
Caswell' s error in regard to . 268
Mistakes of historians in regard to 426
Efforts to raise new brigade of Regulars 427 et. seq
Letters 428
Appeal to the people 430
Letter to Greene ' 431
Letter to Baron Steuben .... 433
Order to Colonel Ashe, July, 1781 437
Letter to Governor Burke, I4th July, 1781 .,-- 437
Reaches Hanging Rock August ist, 1781 438
Estimate of his brigade of Regulars 439
Courage and skill at Eutaw Springs 455
Sketch of - 468
SUMTER, GENERAL, of South Carolina :
Defeats Tarleton at Blackstocks-- 186
TARLETON, LIEUTENANT COLONEL BANISTRE :
Massacre of Buford's men by 44, 206
At Cowpens . .. 213
Encounter with Colonel William Washington at Cowpens-- 217
Character 206
Wounded in the hand at Guilford Court-House 374
THOMAS, MAJOR :
Captures Lord Nairne on Pee Dee 82
TORRANCE TAVERN :
Skirmish at .. 245
WASHINGTON, COLONEL WILLIAM :
Captures Claremount 192
At Hammond's Store 202
At Cowpens 216-217
Encounter with Tarleton . 217
At Guilford Court-House 323
At Hobkirk's Hill . 408
Wounded and captured at Eutaw Springs *__ 457
WEBSTER, LIEUTENANT COLONEL, of British army :
At Gates' defeat 88
Wonderful escape at Whitsill's Mill 290
Wounded at Guilford Court-House in the knee 364
Account of his death 371
WHITSILL'S MILL :
Fight at 289
49$)
PAGE.
WILLIAMS, COLONEL OTHO :
Commands light troops 258
At Guilford Court-House - . . _ . 327
WILLIAMS, GENERAL JAMES :
Killed at King's Mountain-. _. 169
WILFONG, JOHN :
Soldier at King's Mountain and Eutaw vSprings 430
WINSTON, MAJOR JOSEPH :
At King's Mountain ._. 164
Joins Greene February, 1781 300
At Guilford Court-House __.__ 300
Date Due
3 1970 00127 1425
UC SOUTHERN RES ONAL BRARY FAC LITY
