I confess that I didn't realize that it took seven years of war AFTER our Declaration Of Independence to become a free Nation of United States. Things were not going well in 1780. Cornwallis was winning in the South and Washington was exhausted. It looked like we might be brought back into line under British Rule. Not everyone wanted to be rid of the King, those were the Loyalists. However, in Western North Carolinas (including what became Eastern TN), Western Virginia (Plus what became KY and W.Va.) and some from SC and GA were independent men from the Mountains who didn't need a King.They had come mainly from Scotland, Ireland,and Germany . They weren't a regular army, they were Militia. They furnished their own rifle, horse, and food.They wore no uniforms. They were all volunteers. Mainly they had been fighting Indians to protect their families, but when Col. Patrick Ferguson sent word that they had better surrender or he would come and kill them (my paraphrase), they organized. Campbell got 400 men out of VA, Selby 350 , Sevier another 350 from the Watauga settlement. They came Over The Mountain to find Ferguson. They followed Bright's Trace and met up at Quaker Meadows (west of Morganton) with Col. Ben Cleveland and others from Burke, They continued to look for Ferguson and they caught him at a point on the boundary between North and South Carolina called Kings Mountain. Thomas Jefferson would call this "The turning point" for the Patriots. These militia men decisively won that battle and gave morale back to Washington and Gates. Kings Mountain was followed in a couple of months with another Militia victory at Cowpens under Col. Daniel Morgan and Cornwallis left the Carolinas and went to Yorktown VA. where Washington would defeat him. In 1796 when Tennessee became a state, the motto was and continues to be "The Volunteer State" Col. John Sevier was the first Governor. A lot is special about Kings Mountain and I never heard about it in school. It is so typical of all thaat is good in America. Men came together fighting for freedom and told their families "we won't come back until we win". That is still our attitude when our liberty is threatened. There are many books but the most definitive is Lyman Drapers "Kings Mountain and It's Heros". He researched it for almost 50 years, mainly by writing letters to descendants of the battle and collecting newspaper articles from that time plus an extensive correspondence with the curator of the Battlefield as they prepared to celebrate the centenniel in 1880. "The Overmountain Men" by Pat Alderman. With that said, we still can't PROVE all the men who were there. It was 1832 ( 52 years later)when men could apply for pensions and many, if not most were dead. Also Militia records did not survive like Cont. Army records did. There is a Capt. TOWNSEND serving with Ferguson. I don't see a HAMLET.or James MAYNARD in either book above. I hope this helps. If you are lucky enough to have an ancestor who did fight there you can be very proud of his contribution . Elaine From: "Carla " <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2005 8:04 AM Subject: RE: [NCWATAUG] List for OVERMOUNTAIN MEN? > Likewise, I'd love to know if there are any Townsends on that list. Can > someone give us a quick recap of what the Overmountain Men did? > > Thanks! > > Carla Stancil Townsend > > From: Doug Maynard > Sent: Friday, August 05, 2005 8:41 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [NCWATAUG] List for OVERMOUNTAIN MEN? > > Is there a list of those involved in the Overmountain men? > > Would love to know if there are any HAMLET names on list. > Pretty sure JAMES MAYNARD was involved. > > Doug Maynard >

I answered two requests for Look Ups and one should be shared with all so I am also sending it on line Elaine From: "Sheryl Brown" <[email protected]> To: "Elaine Steere" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, August 06, 2005 10:20 AM Subject: Re: [NCWATAUG] List for OVERMOUNTAIN MEN? I would be very interested to know if my ancestor Robert Young was listed in the book--and also any mention of Caruthers or Mallonee. I appreciate your time and all your wonderful information. Sheryl Sheryl, There is a Lt. Andrew CARUTHERS and a James CARUTHERS. No MALLONEE. Several YOUNGs Robert,Samuel, Thomas, William,James and possibly an Isham.All from Alderman's book. From Draper: page 275 "One of Seviers men, named GILLELAND, who had received several wounds and was well-nigh exhausted, seeing the advance of Ferguson and his party, attempted to arrest the career of the great leader (Ferguson) but his gun snapped; when he called out to ROBERT YOUNG of the same regiment "There's Ferguson -Shoot him !" "I'll try and see what Sweet Lips can do," muttered YOUNG, as he drew a sharp sight, discharging his rifle, when Ferguson fell from his horse and his associated were either killed or driven back. Several rifle bullets had taken effect on Ferguson apparantly about the same time, and a number claimed the honor of having shot the fallen chief-among them one KUSICK,another of Sevier's sharp shooters. Certain it is that Ferguson received six or eight wounds, one of them through the head. He was unconscious when he fell and did not long survive." I know that "Sweet Lips" was immortalized by LuLu Belle and Scotty Wiseman in the 40's It starts "Sweet Lips was a rifle, named for a girl in Tennessee...." Lt. CARUTHERS page 424 Talking of Sevier's regiment at King's Mtn, he names the Capts and then says " George RUSSELL, Joel CALLAHAN, Isaac LANE, Andrew CARUTHERS and William ROBINSON were probably all Lieutenants. CARUTHERS, a native of Ireland, died in Lincoln County, Tenn in 1818." Only thing close to MALLONEE, was a Michael MAHONEY was killed. Elaine >