King Western
Cowpens and Kings Mountain, South Carolina: Mountainmen Get Revenge
South Carolina is host to two significant battles during the Revolutionary War: Cowpens and Kings Mountain. Former residents said that there wasn’t much to see in SC, but we beg to differ.
A little background: The war was a stalemate up North. General Clinton decided to move the conflict South into the Carolinas, because he felt more Tories would side with the King and there was abundant agricultural crops and potential cannon fodder, a.k.a., slaves. He put General Lord Cornwallis in charge. Cornwallis won numerous victories in SC and decided to split his army in a three pronged attack into NC. He appointed Maj. Patrick Ferguson, who invented the breechloader rifle, to cover the left flank and muster help from the Tories in Western SC. He made the mistake of angering the ‘mountainmen’ by giving them an ultimatum of either joining the King’s forces or die. The word spread and mountainmen came from as far as VA.
Ferguson, loved by his men but didn’t play well with his superiors, heard of this rebellion asked for reinforcements from Cornwallis. No one came. Ferguson decided to hold his ground on top of Kings Mountain a short distance from Charlotte NC. With over 1,000 men, both militia and regular army, he had the great advantage of the high ground. He misunderstood the intense anger of the mountainmen, great sharpshooters, who played guerilla warfare from behind trees as they ascended the steep slopes. On October 7, 1780 they attacked. They overwhelmed the British forces, killed Ferguson and captured over 800 prisoners. This battle turned the tide in the South, because the Tories, who were neighbors of the patriots, now sided with the patriots.
The next battle to seal the fate of the British in the South came at Cowpens, SC, an open pasture for grazing cattle. Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan, leader of the light cavalry, was given the task to protect the Western flank of the Patriot army. He heard that Maj. Gen. Banastre ‘bloody’ Tarleton, with twice the army, was looking for him. He mustered the mountainmen again. With a great battle plan of shoot and retreat, and with some luck, Morgan’s men surprised and overcame the British on Jan 16, 1781. With over a thousand more of Cornwallis’s troops killed, wounded, or captured, the final coup d’grace came in October at Yorktown, VA.
These two battles showed that fighting to protect one’s home turf against a perceived-hated enemy will overcome better-trained and superior forces. Today we have forgotten these lessons learned at Kings Mountain and Cowpens.
About the Author
John Pelley is a Geriatric Gypsy. He is retired from the rat race of working. He is a full-time RVer, who ran away from home. He began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons He has discovered volunteering with the National Park System. Hae has a CD he has recorded of Native American flute music., A Day with Kokopelli. For pictures, links, and more information visit http://www.jmpelley.org.
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