Ward, Christopher, 1952, The War of the Revolution, MacMillan Company, W5644 CHAPTER 67 King's Mountain Patrick Ferguson was a remarkable man. The son of a Scottish judge, he entered the British army as a cornet of horse at the age of fifteen and served in the wars on the continent of Europe until, as a captain, he came to America. He was ingenious enough to invent a breech-loading ride which could be fired five or six times a minute, at least twenty-five times as fast as a muzzle-loading rifle when its barrel became fouled. It also used a pointed, instead of a spherical, bullet. A few such rifles were manufactured and were used with effect by the men in the British rifle corps he commanded at the Battle of the Brandywine; but for the most part his men were equipped with the muzzle-loader. When Clinton sent the expedition south in 1779, Ferguson was allowed to raise his own corps of rifleman, American Tories, called the American Volunteers, of which he made effective use in independent operations until his death. He was a soldier of great merit, "a fit associate for Tarleton in hardy, scrambling, partisan enterprise; equally intrepid and determined, but cooler and more open to impulses of humanity."' Less bloodthirsty than the more famous Tarleton, he was yet a bitter foe of the rebels, whose homes he mercilessly plundered and destroyed. Ferguson was at this time in the prime of life, thirty-six years of age, of "middle stature, slender make and possessing a serious countenance, yet it was his peculiar characteristic to gain the affections of the men under his command." Though of slight build, he was strong and athletic. He was a dead shot with rifle and pistol, and, though his right arm had been disabled in battle, he was a formidable antagonist with the sword, wielded in his left hand. Beyond the mountains on the west, in what is now Tennessee, were the Watauga settlements inhabited by a hardy breed of frontiersmen, mostly Scotch-Irish, hunters, Indian fighters, expert shots with their long-barreled Deckhard rifles, weapons of precision. Their only other equipment was a horse, a blanket, a hunting knife, and a bag of ground, parched corn sweetened with maple syrup. When this gave out, they lived on the game that the country afforded. They were not only rebels, but bitter enemies of Ferguson himself, whose merciless plundering in the Carolinas had made his name infamous. To them he audaciously sent word that if they did not desist from opposition to the king he would march over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword. This message was not well received. The Watauga men had an idea that, if any fighting was to be done, it ought to be in the enemy's country rather than among their farms and homes and women and children. Colonel Isaac Shelby of Virginia and Colonel John Sevier accepted the challenge. They called on Colonel William Campbell of Virginia to join them. Campbell summoned Colonel Benjamin Cleveland of North Carolina. To Sycamore Flats on the Watauga River, by September 25, Colonel Charles McDowell of North Carolina brought 160 men, Sevier brought 240 "over-mountain men," Shelby brought 240 of the same, Campbell brought 400 Virginians. They were mostly mounted but, with their long rifles, would fight on foot. Ferguson called on Cornwallis for reenforcements; the over-mountain men called on Heaven, the Rev. Samuel Doak being their mouthpiece. In a service of prayer before they set out, he asked for the aid of "the sword of the Lord and of Gideon." Ferguson started south towards Ninety-six. The "backwatermen," as Ferguson called them, followed. At the Catawba- River Colonel Cleveland joined them with 350 North Carolinians. Ferguson eluded his pursuers, who thought he was for Ninety-six, by turning east towards King's Mountain. They came to the Cowpens, west and somewhat south of the mountain, on October 6. There Colonel James Williams with 100 North Carolinians and Colonel William Graham with 60 joined them, making their total force over 1,400. Having news of Ferguson's real route, they decided that 900 of the best mounted men should push after him as rapidly as possible, the rest to follow. End part 3. Debra Clark