In the confronting ranks was a very
different class of men. Those from the Holston, under Campbell, were a peculiar
people—somewhat of the character of Cromwell's soldiery. They were, almost to a
man, Presbyterians. In their homes, in the Holston Valley, they were settled in
pretty compact congregations; quite tenacious of their religious and civil
liberties, as handed down from father to son from their Scotch-Irish ancestors.
Their preacher, Rev. Charles Cummins, was well fitted for the times; a man of
piety and sterling patriotism, who constantly exerted himself to encourage his
people to make every needed sacrifice, and put forth every possible exertion in
defense of the liberties of their country. They were a remarkable body of men,
both physically and mentally. Inured to frontier life, raised mostly in Augusta
and Rockbridge Counties, Virginia, a frontier region in the French and Indian
war, they early settled on the Holston, and were accustomed from their
childhood to border life and hardships ; ever ready at the tap of the drum to
turn out on military service; if, in the busiest crop season, their wives,
sisters, and daughters could, in their absence, plant, and sow, and harvest.
They were better educated than most of the frontier settlers, and had a more
thorough understanding of the questions at issue between the Colonies and their
mother country. These men went forth to strike their country's foes, as did the
patriarchs of old, feeling assured that the God of battles was with them, and
that He would surely crown their efforts with success. They had no doubts nor
fears. They trusted in God—and kept their powder dry. Such a thing as a coward
was not known among them. How fitting it was, that to such a band of men should
have been assigned, by Campbell's own good judgment, the attack on Ferguson's
choicest troops—his Provincial Rangers. It was a happy omen of
success—literally the forlorn hope—the right men in the right place.
Lacey's men, mostly from York and
Chester Counties, South Carolina, and some of those under Shelby, Sevier,
Cleveland, Williams, Winston, and McDowell, were of the same character—Scotch-Irish
Presbyterians; but many of them, especially those from the Nolachucky, Watauga,
and lower Holston, who had not been very long settled on the frontiers, were
more of a mixed race, somewhat rough, but brave, fearless, and full of
adventure. They were not a whit less patriotic than the Virginians; and were
ever ready to hug a bear, scalp an Indian, or beard the fiercest Tories
wherever they could find them. Such, in brief, were the salient characteristics
of the mountaineers, and the men of the up-country of the Carolinas, who were
about to engage in deadly conflict with Ferguson and his motley followers.
The decisive moment was now at hand, and
the mountaineers were eager for the fray. Campbell and his corps commanders had
arranged their forces into two divisions, as nearly equal as they could
conveniently form them, each party to attack opposite sides of the
mountain. Campbell was to lead his Virginians across the
southern end of the ridge, and south-east side, which Shelby designates as the
column of the right center; then Sevier's regiment, McDowell's and Winston's
battalions, were to form a column on the right wing, north-east of Campbell,
and in the order named, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Sevier. Of
these, Winston had, it will be remembered, made a detour some distance to the
south of Ferguson, in order the more promptly to gain the position assigned
him, and per-adventure lend a helping hand in retarding the enemy, should they
conclude that a hasty retreat was the better part of valor.
Shelby's regiment was to take position
on the left of the mountain, directly opposite to Campbell, and form the left
center—Campbell's left and Shelby's right coming together; and beyond Shelby were
respectively Williams' command, including Brandon, Hammond, and Candler ; then
the South Carolinians under Lacey, Hathorne, and Steen, with the remainder of
the Wilkes and Surry men under Cleveland, together with the Lincoln troops
under Chronicle and Ham-bright, all under the direction of Colonel Cleveland.
By this disposition was the patriot force arranged in four columns—two on
either side of the mountain, led respectively by Colonels Campbell and Sevier
on the right, and Shelby and Cleveland on the left. It is reasonable to presume
that, as Winston had been detached, when a mile away, to gain his assigned
position on the right, that Chronicle and Ham-bright were also early ordered to
gain the extreme left portion of the mountain, so that these two parties should
meet each other, and thus encompass the enemy on that end of the ridge.
Before taking up the line of march,
Campbell and the leading officers earnestly appealed to their soldiers—to the
higher instincts of their natures, by all that was patriotic and noble among
men, to fight like heroes, and give not an inch of ground, save only from the
sheerest necessity, and then only to retrace and recover their lost ground at
the earliest possible moment. Campbell personally visited all the corps; and
said to Cleveland's men, as he did to all, "that if any of them, men or
officers, were afraid, to quit the ranks and go home; that he wished no man to
engage in the action who could not fight; that, as for himself, he was
determined to fight the enemy a week, if need be, to gain the victory.'' Colonel Campbell also gave the necessary
orders to all the principal officers, and repeated them, so as to be heard by a
large portion of the line, and then placed himself at the head of his own
regiment, as the other officers did at the head of their respective
commands. Many of the men threw aside
their hats, tying handkerchiefs around their heads, so as to be less likely to
be retarded by limbs and bushes when dashing up the mountain.
At length the several corps started for
the scene of conflict, marching two men deep, led on by their gallant officers.
Both the right and left wings were somewhat longer in reaching their designated
places than had been expected. When Winston's party had marched about a mile,
they reached a steep hill, losing sight of the other columns, and evidently of
King's Mountain also. Some men riding in view directed them to dismount from
their horses, and march up the hill, which was immediately done, with the
anticipation of meeting the enemy on its summit; but, before they had advanced
two hundred paces, they were again hailed, disabused of their error, and
directed to re-mount their horses and push on, as King's Mountain was yet a
mile away. They now ran down the declivity with great precipitation to their
horses, and, mounting them, rode, like so many fox hunters, at an almost
break-neck speed, through rough woods and brambles, leaping branches and crossing
ridges, without a proper guide who had a personal knowledge of the country. But
they soon fell upon the enemy, as good luck would have it, at the very point of
their intended destination. 1
Kind of
exciting, isn’t it? Props to those
Presbyterians! No wonder the British
called the War for Independence a “Presbyterian rebellion.” I love Draper’s description of these men; mostly
all Presbyterians but some more educated, some more “rough.” No matter what their respective socio-economic
conditions, all were united in their common belief that Christ was King and
that to resist tyrants was to obey God.
How will it all turn out? Lord
willing we’ll look at the conclusion of this battle in my next post.
Christ, not man, is King!
Dale
Aha!
ReplyDeleteThe "Scotch-Irish Presbyterian Rebellion."
I always thought that John Knox had more to do with 1776 than John Locke...
Absolutely. As I understand it, Locke took the ideas that had been formulated by Christians before him and then "de-Christianized" them. Many today give far too much credence to Locke's influence on our political founders when in fact they often pulled from various streams of thought to bolster their philosophical position within the greater world community.
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