Footsteps for Freedom

Join Jonathan Bennett, David Biddix, and Rhonda Gunter, three of the contributors to the Footsteps for Freedom podcast, as they hold a roundtable discussion on the Battle of Kings Mountain and the Overmountain Men. The discussion will explore topics not featured in the regular program and also the three presenters will share their thoughts and opinions on their findings. There is a discussion of items not covered in the podcast plus trivia, and we close the discussion with a topic dangerous to most historians: a "what if" about the battle and those who fought it.

The questions discussed include:

1. What story or event sticks out in your mind the most?
2. Who was your favorite character/historical figure involved in the King’s Mountain campaign? Why?
3. Who was your least favorite character/historical figure involved in the King’s Mountain Campaign? Why?
4. Given all the research you’ve done, what new fact did you learn that interested you the most?
5. What do you think about the Tories?
6. What do you think about the brutal civil war nature of the fighting that was a hallmark of the Revolution in the Southern Backcountry?
7. Knowing these are real human beings with real human flaws is there anything in the Overmountain story that disappoints you? (Slavery and the treatment of the Native American tribes are obvious but besides that, Hanging the Tory prisoners at Biggerstaffs, Rumors that Ferguson’s corpse was desecrated, the efforts some of the officers took to discredit each other after the war, etc…)
8. What is your favorite place to visit on the Overmountain Victory Trail? Why?
9. Do you have a personal connection to the Overmountain story? Did you have an ancestors on the march? If so, who were they and what did they do?
10. Despite centuries of research there are still mysteries left to solve about the war.  What unanswered question about the American Revolution in the Carolina Mountains would you most like to see answered?  (Possible answers: the fate of Mary Burchfield, Rutherford’s raid through the Toe River Valley in 1776, where was the southern route the Overmountain Men originally planned to take from Yellow Mountain before the deserters left? Etc…)

Now let’s flex our historical imaginations a bit and discuss some alternate histories. If some key characters in the story took a different course of action, how would that have changed history?  While we can never know for sure how these what ifs would have panned, I think it’s a useful exercise to think about just what was at stake.

1. What if Dragging Canoe heeded the advice of the British and did not attack the Backcountry settlements in 1776 and instead waited until 1780 to coordinate with the British offensive that summer?
2. What if Captain Shadrack Inman had not devised the plan that saved the Overmountain Men from disaster at Musgrove’s Mill?
3. What if Ferguson had immediately marched over the mountains and attacked the Overmountain settlements in September 1780 instead of just threatening to do so?  In addition, what if he succeeded in capturing the Chiswell lead mines as Campbell feared?
4. What if the Overmountain Men responded differently to Ferguson’s threat, laid down their arms and swore allegiance to the King instead of continuing the rebellion?
5. What if Ferguson took advantage of his head start and made it safely back into the lines of the main British Army under Cornwallis at Yorktown?
6. What if Cornwallis received Ferguson’s messages in time and arrived at King’s Mountain in time to destroy the Patriot Army?

As we conclude our series on the Battle of Kings Mountain, we thought we would take some time to note a couple of veterans of the battle that ended up in the Toe River Valley, along with ones from other battles that are buried in our area.

There will be one more special episode available in the podcast feed only. A roundtable discussion featuring Jonathan Bennett, David Biddix, Rhonda Gunter, and Chris Hollifield will discuss the research behind the series, our picks for the most misunderstood character, those who weren't at all like we expected them to be, and other tidbits of history and trivia that we couldn't work into the program. Stay subscribed to our feed to receive this special episode which is coming very soon.

Sometimes the dead are the lucky ones. The weapons each side in employed during the Battle of King’s Mountain inflicted grievous and dreadfully painful wounds that the comparatively primitive state of medicine at the time could not always heal. There was no such thing as germ theory and pain-relieving anesthetics largely lay to a future generation to invent. Bleed, blister, vomit and purge were the four treatments employed by most doctors for basically all that ailed you. Today, we will learn that a famous name doesn't save you in battle and much, much more.

The thick clouds of black powder smoke that obscured Kings Mountain's battlefield began to lift revealing a scene of horror. Dead and dying men littered the ground. The groans of the wounded were heard in every direction causing one of Lieutenant Colonel William Chronicle’s men, James Potter Collins, to tear up and exclaim, “Great God! Is this the fate of mortals?” Learn more about the aftermath of the battle and the fate of Patrick Ferguson in today's episode.

Night had fallen at the Cowpens on October 6th, but the camp of the Patriot army bustled with activity. Scouts had finally confirmed the location of British Major Patrick Ferguson’s army. It lay on King’s Mountain roughly 35 miles away to the northeast with Cornwallis’ main British army camp in Charlotte just an additional 30 miles beyond. They mount up 900 of their best riflemen and they ride through the night, arriving at Kings Mountain shortly aftern 2:00 p.m. on October 7, 1780 and the battle commences.

Our podcast feed features a combined episode so listeners can hear the entire battle in one sitting.

The morning of October 5, 1780 finds the Over Mountain Men breaking camp at Gilbert Town and preparing for their date with destiny. Officers and volunteers both are beginning to feel the moment. This is IT. Ferguson and his troops could appear at any time and battle would be given.

During the time in camp, both Patriot and Tory forces had scouts looking for the enemy, but neither side had luck in locating the other. The rain had finally let up on October 3, 1780, and the combined army prepared to move from Bedford Hill southward toward Gilbert Town, some 15 miles away. *SPOILER ALERT* Ferguson is not there. So the Overmountain Men set out in pursuit.

October 1, 1780, a Sunday, the combined army of Patriot militia broke camp at Quaker Meadows. We have followed and discussed the militias of McDowell, Shelby, Sevier and Campbell extensively as they made their way across the Blue Ridge Mountains to this rendezvous at modern-day Morganton. Now we will meet troops from Northwestern North Carolina and begin moving out toward Gilbert Town, North Carolina, the last-known location of Patrick Ferguson's forces.

The Overmountain Men arose on September 29th, 1780 at Cathey’s Plantation just south of present-day Spruce Pine. They break camp and prepare for the next leg of their journey. Their leaders, William Campbell, Isaac Shelby, and John Sevier met to discuss the best route to take off the mountain that would ensure protection for the force from Ferguson. They were concerned with the narrow trails heading down the Blue Ridge Escarpment, fearing that Ferguson could set up an ambush at a narrow point and take out the army as it tried to descend, attacking from above. So, the decision was made to split the force in two, taking two paths down the Blue Ridge at Gillespie Gap.

The first crisis of the Overmountain Men’s march to Kings Mountain occurred on the morning of September 28th. As the men fell in for roll call, it was discovered that two of their party, Samuel Chambers and James Crawford, were not in camp. John Sevier immediately became suspicious that the two had deserted to warn Major Patrick Ferguson of the impending attack upon him. But, the march must go on. So, the leaders decide to take a more southerly route, through the Toe River Valley as they head to the Blue Ridge Escarpment to descend to Quaker Meadows in Burke County, the location of a meeting of many militia going to fight Patrick Ferguson.

September 27th dawned gray and cool along the Doe River. The Overmountain Men began preparations for what many consider to be the most strenuous part of their journey. On this day, they would get on the famed Yellow Mountain Road and climb the heights of Roan Mountain, crossing the spine of the Appalachians at Yellow Mountain Gap. No other army in the Revolutionary War would pass over an obstacle higher in elevation.

The first day of the march to Kings Mountain was fairly uneventful and surprisingly slow going considering the Overmountain Men only marched a little over three miles after leaving Sycamore Shoals. The group stops, slaughters a few animals for food, and picks up the pace, arriving at the Doe River where they make camp. Meanwhile lots of things are happening in the Piedmont of North Carolina.

Sycamore Shoals, also known as the Watauga Old Fields, had long been considered as a strategic location militarily. The land was relatively flat and cleared of trees and made for a perfect settlement location, plus the shoals made for an easy location to wade across the river. Fort Watauga’s stature as a major military location was established in the Cherokee wars, as it became part of a thriving settlement and a refuge for Patriots seeking safety from the Loyalists. So when the call went out for volunteers to track down and engage Patrick Ferguson’s forces, the Fort was a logical location for the men to gather.

On September 10, 1780, Ferguson issued his fateful challenge to the Patriot forces in the region, calling for them to lay down their arms, or he would march over the mountains, hang their leaders, and “lay waste to their country with fire and sword.” Obviously, his declaration didn’t set well with the Overmountain Men. When word reached them of the challenge, Colonels John Sevier and Isaac Shelby met to decide how to answer Ferguson. The decision was made to raise an army to go after him, and preparations began.

In the Summer of 1780, war raged in the backcountry of South Carolina. It was truly America’s first Civil War, as most men on both sides had never been to Great Britain which meant it was American fighting American, and the style of battle between them was particularly brutal and gruesome, a trait their descendants would emulate some 80 years later. The Battle of Musgroves Mill was a tipping point of sorts, leading Patrick Ferguson to make a declaration that angered the backcountry woodsmen and led them to form up in militia to deal with him.

We begin our look at the Battle of Kings Mountain with a review of several battles and skirmishes that took place in the summer of 1780. This is the first of a two-part episode about these battles. Today we discuss the Battles of Fort Thicketty and Wofford's Ironworks.

Today’s episode is about the one individual who would be considered the villain in our story, but it is more complicated than that. Major Patrick Ferguson was a noted officer in the British army, and even invented a rifle that was named after him, but we’ll get to all that as we tell his story.

Probably more than any other, John Sevier is synonymous with the Battle of Kings Mountain. A flamboyant politician, solider, and statesman, Sevier was a driving force in organizing and leading the charge against Patrick Ferguson and the Tories.

The beauty of the virtually untouched wilderness that the Overmountain Men saw as they marched through the Toe River Valley on their way to King’s Mountain must have been quiet stunning. One of these soldiers, Major Jonathan Tipton, returned to the valley after the war and made it his home for 27 years. The Tipton Hill community of Mitchell County was named for him and thousands of his descendants still live in the valley to this day.

William Campbell and his forces from southwestern Virginia were considered to be tough, rugged mountaineers who were perfect soldiers for a battle like Kings Mountain.

One of the more confusing aspects of American Revolutionary War History is how different individuals may have the same name and even fight in the same battle. Such is the case with “Quaker” Joseph McDowell, a major who led one of the forces at the Battle of Kings Mountain and “Pleasant Gardens” Joseph McDowell who was Quaker Joe’s second cousin, and served as a major under him at the battle.

Benjamin Cleveland was one of the more colorful characters that fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain. He led forces organized in Wilkes County as part of the Patriot army gathered to battle Patrick Ferguson.

Today, we are discussing Joseph Dobson who, while not a leader of men at the Battle of Kings Mountain, had a significant role in the campaign and exerted substantial influence in the Toe River Valley after the war.

We begin preparations for the Battle of Kings Mountain by presenting brief biographies of military leaders and significant local individuals over the next few episodes. Today, we begin with one of the main organizers of the Overmountain Men: Isaac Shelby.

The name Dragging Canoe struck fear in the hearts of early settlers in what was then Western North Carolina (now Eastern Tennessee). Considered by historians to be the greatest Cherokee military mind; he led raiding parties that attacked settlements for over a decade following the Declaration of Independence and the signing of the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals that granted lands to white settlers near modern-day Johnson City, Elizabethton, and Greeneville, Tennessee.

While there were many individuals, groups, and policies that led to the American Revolution, the figurehead that many pin the strife to for starting the war would be King George the Third, also known as George William Frederick. He ruled England from October 25, 1760 until January 1, 1801, after which he became the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death on January 29, 1820. George was a complicated figure and we share his biography on this episode.

Today, we explore the beginnings of the American Revolution by discussing King George III's Proclamation of 1763, one of the overlooked triggers that helped provoke hostilities 12 years later.

The Revolutionary War in the American Colonies was just over 5 years old in 1780 and things weren’t going well for the British. With the loss at Saratoga, New York and concerns with the French entering the Patriot side, the Redcoats turned their attention to the south, which they considered to be a Loyalist stronghold.

As Lord Cornwallis commenced his Southern Campaign, Major Patrick Ferguson attempted to quell anti-British sentiment in the western parts of North and South Carolina in a heavy-handed way. We introduce the subject of our program by setting the stage with events that would cause a backlash among the mountaineers that would lead to a battle in October, 1780, one that totally changed the complexion of the war in the south.

The Mitchell County, North Carolina Historical Society presents the story of a ragtag group of backwoodsmen from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia who, after threats made to their homes and livelihood by British Major Patrick Ferguson and his army, took up the challenge and pursued Ferguson, trapping him and his army atop Kings Mountain in South Carolina. Footsteps of Freedom celebrates these backwoodsmen and their achievement which Thomas Jefferson declared was the turning point in the American Revolution.