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It was September 1780.  After their defeat at the battles of Saratoga in New York State and Monmouth Court House in New Jersey, the British decided to try their luck in the Southern States.  And there they met with one success after another, to the point that the entire Patriot Cause appeared to be in great jeopardy.  The Patriots suffered crushing defeats at Savannah in October 1779, Charleston in May 1780, and Camden, South Carolina, in August 1780.  Additionally, in a smaller engagement at Waxhaws, South Carolina, in May 1780, British forces massacred hundreds of Patriots commanded by Abraham Buford after they had already surrendered.

These victories inspired thousands of Loyalists living in the Carolinas to flock to the British banner.  There were, however, some notorious holdouts: the Overmountain Men, who lived in frontier settlements across the Appalachian Mountains in what is now eastern Tennessee. 

Virtually to a man, they were all solid Patriots.  In more than one sense, they were the British Crown’s worst nightmare.  First, their move across the Appalachians was in direct violation of British law, which unequivocally prohibited such settlements and confined all new settlements to land east of the Appalachians.  Second, the Overmountain Men, despising British rule, were self-governed and established what was essentially a republic — although they called it a “compact.”  Third, the Overmountain Men were incredibly self-reliant frontiersmen and highly skilled fighters, having fought the Indians tooth and nail for many years over the lands they occupied.  In his book “The Undiscovered Country,” author Paul Hutton notes that “[t]hese hardy folk could be clannish, suspicious and wary, but also warm, generous and hospitable . . . They were not to be frightened away and were prepared to meet any enemy on his own terms.  They did not view mercy as a virtue.”

The British commanders recognized that the Overmountain Men represented a clear and present danger to their western flank.  Accordingly, they ordered one of their best officers, Major Patrick Ferguson, to subdue them and, for that purpose, gave him a force of about 1,000 Loyalists.

Ferguson’s first move was to try to cow the Overmountain Men into submission.  He freed a captured Patriot soldier and gave him a message to bring to the settlements west of the Appalachians.  If they did not immediately surrender and submit to British rule, Ferguson warned, he would “march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders and lay the country waste with fire and sword.”

With the benefit of hindsight, we can say that Ferguson had no idea who he was dealing with.  In one of history’s greatest blunders, he had managed to pick a fight with the wrong group of people.  Isaac Shelby and Jack Sevier, the leaders of the Overmountain Men, used Ferguson’s message as a recruiting tool.  Jack Sevier, it was said, could outride, outfight, and outswear any man in the settlements. 

In what appears to have been a military muster, religious revival, and giant party all rolled into one, about 700 Overmountain Men answered the call and gathered at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River (near modern-day Elizabethton, Tennessee) on September 25, 1780.  Many of them brought their wives and children to the rendezvous.  If there was ever a case of free men rising to the defense of their families and homes against tyranny, this was it.

They were addressed by the Reverend Samuel Doak, a Presbyterian minister and graduate of what is now Princeton University.  Doak’s words to the Overmountain Men are so stirring and classic that they must be quoted in full:

My countrymen, you are about to set out on an expedition which is full of hardships and dangers, but one in which the Almighty will attend you. The Mother Country has her hand upon you, these American colonies, and takes that for which our fathers planted their homes in the wilderness – OUR LIBERTY. Taxation without representation and the quartering of soldiers in the homes of our people without their consent are evidence that the crown of England would take from its American Subjects the last vestige of Freedom. Your brethren across the mountains are crying like Macedonia unto your help. God forbid that you should refuse to hear and answer their call – but the call of your brethren is not all. The enemy is marching hither to destroy your homes. Brave men, you are not unacquainted with battle. Your hands have already been taught to war and your fingers to fight. You have wrested these beautiful valleys of the Holston and Watauga from the savage hand. Will you tarry now until the other enemy carries fire and sword to your very doors? No, it shall not be. Go forth then in the strength of your manhood to the aid of your brethren, the defense of your liberty and the protection of your homes. And may the God of Justice be with you and give you victory.

Let us pray. Almighty and gracious God! Thou hast been the refuge and strength of Thy people in all ages. In time of sorest need we have learned to come to Thee – our Rock and our Fortress. Thou knowest the dangers and snares that surround us on march and in battle. Thou knowest the dangers that constantly threaten the humble, but well beloved homes, which Thy servants have left behind them. Oh, in Thine infinite mercy, save us from the cruel hand of the savage, and of tyrant. Save the unprotected homes while fathers and husbands and sons are far away fighting for freedom and helping the oppressed. Thou, who promised to protect the sparrow in its flight, keep ceaseless watch, by day and by night, over our loved ones. The helpless women and little children, we commit to Thy care. Thou wilt not leave them or forsake them in times of loneliness and anxiety and terror. Oh, God of Battle, arise in Thy might. Avenge the slaughter of Thy people. Confound those who plot for our destruction. Crown this mighty effort with victory, and smite those who exalt themselves against liberty and justice and truth. Help us as good soldiers to wield the SWORD OF THE LORD AND GIDEON. AMEN.

And so it was that the Overmountain Men decided not to surrender or to mount a defense but instead to attack.  They were armed with the Dickert rifle, which was lethal at 300 yards (as compared to the British smoothbore musket, with a range of only around 100 yards).  Author Paul Hutton describes them “as dangerous and wild a body of men as ever congregated to give battle.  They were indeed the new Americans.”

 The little army rode along the flank of Roan Mountain, crossed the Appalachians at Yellow Mountain Gap, and trapped Ferguson and his entire force at King’s Mountain in western South Carolina on October 7, 1780. 

Ferguson had declared to his men that he was on King’s Mountain, he was king of the mountain and that God Himself could not dislodge him from his position.  Although holding the high ground is usually an advantage in warfare, Ferguson was soon to learn otherwise.

,…Fighting Indian-style, the Overmountain Men took cover behind trees and boulders and sprayed the top of King’s Mountain with round after round of deadly rifle fire.  Given that these were the type of marksmen who probably could shoot the eye out of a squirrel at 50 or 100 yards, the rifle fire must have been devastating.  Gradually, the Overmountain men worked their way up the slopes and reached the top, at which point they had Ferguson and all of his men in a deadly crossfire.  Ferguson was shot down and killed, and his entire remaining force surrendered shortly thereafter.  310 Loyalists had been killed, and about 700 were taken prisoner.  90 Patriots were killed.  The victory of the Overmountain Men was complete and total.

As stated earlier, the Overmountain Men did not regard mercy as a virtue.  Shouting “give them Buford’s play,” they kept shooting at the Loyalists even after white flags were raised.  One of the Patriot leaders had to give orders in which he asked his officers “to restrain the disorderly manner of slaughtering the prisoners.”  (“Almost a Miracle,”  John Ferling, p. 461).  

After King’s Mountain, it was all downhill for the British.  Patriot forces led by General Daniel Morgan won a crushing victory at Cowpens in January 1781.  At Guilford Courthouse in March 1781, the British technically won the battle, but at a cost of about one-quarter of their army.  When the Administration boasted of the victory in Parliament, an opposition leader rose and stated that another such victory would ruin the British Army.  Seven months later, Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown.

With this background, it’s hardly surprising that in his memoirs, Sir Henry Clinton, supreme commander of British forces in North America, wrote that the Battle of King’s Mountain was “the first link of a chain of evils that followed in regular succession until they at last ended in the loss of America.”

Thus, it can truly be said that King’s Mountain was the pivotal point of the American Revolution.  If there was ever an example in history of liberty-loving people overcoming and crushing a tyrannical opponent, the Overmountain Men and their victory at King’s Mountain is that example.

*****

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