Hunting for Loyalists: The Overmountain Men and the Journey to Kings Mountain

Reposted from battlefields.org by William Caldwell

With a common enemy, backwoods hunters and fighters united to chase down Redcoat Major Patrick Ferguson and his Loyalist army. Trekking more than 300 miles over mountains and rugged terrain, this ragtag bunch of Patriots ultimately found their target at Kings Mountain.
 

Between October 10-13, 1780, a report arrived for General Lord Charles Cornwallis that changed the course of the American Revolution. Cornwallis, who had spent sickness-riddled weeks at his headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, was anxiously awaiting word of the left wing of his army, last known to be somewhere in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A returning patrol confirmed the rumors: Major Patrick Ferguson’s force had been destroyed at Kings Mountain on October 7.

But just who had defeated Ferguson? These backcountry Patriots were unusual, their homes were spread across what are now five states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Most were frontiersmen whose wartime experiences were limited to clashing with Indigenous warriors and Loyalist neighbors rather than British regulars. These men followed the same familiar faces who led their communities in peacetime and carried their meager food in bags hanging over their saddles.

Immediately after their victory, they faded back toward the western mountains and away from possible British pursuit, unaware of the impact they had made. The British “Southern Strategy” that had successfully pushed troops north through Georgia and the Carolinas for the past year had been thwarted by backwoodsmen and sent the British retreating into South Carolina. Never again in the American Revolution would so many Patriot militias cooperate to accomplish a singular task: stop Patrick Ferguson and destroy his Loyalist army.

They were after Ferguson specifically. In summer 1780, as British “Inspector of Militia,” he had led a force of Loyalist militia through western South Carolina. These men had fought bloodily against their Patriot neighbors since 1775 but needed leadership to be truly effective, and Ferguson, who had experience with unconventional missions, organized them to protect the left side of the British advance northward. By September, a combination of crushing British victories and Ferguson’s persuasive leadership had recruited almost 4,000 men into Loyalist regiments and driven most remaining Patriots into hiding in the mountains. Ferguson realized he could not force these people into obedience and understood the importance of winning their hearts and minds if he was to establish a foothold in the mountains. He marched northwest into North Carolina and continued recruiting his army, establishing a network of spies and distributing proclamations to Loyalists and Patriots alike. One of these proclamations was given to a Patriot prisoner named Samuel Phillips, who was freed with orders to carry it to his Patriot leaders. Philips traveled deep into the mountains of east Tennessee and brought news of the approaching Loyalist army to one of the most influential Patriot partisan officers, his distant cousin Colonel Isaac Shelby.

Most Patriots in the Blue Ridge Mountains were occupied with their own concerns when Isaac Shelby began organizing a force to oppose Patrick Ferguson. The backcountry settlements in what is now east Tennessee and southwest Virginia had fraught relationships with the neighboring Cherokee and Shawnee Nations that required constant vigilance, lest Loyalist neighbors agitate them into war. Shelby’s request highlighted the necessity of cooperation: Ferguson needed to be stopped before he reached their settlements, but no Patriot leader was strong enough on his own. The plan was to combine men from across the backcountry and strike Ferguson before he could reach deeper into the mountains. Isaac Shelby and John “Nolichucky Jack” Sevier contributed more than 400 men from the mountainous northeast corner of Tennessee. Nearly 400 more men from the southwest corner of Virginia were led by William Campbell. The McDowell brothers, Charles and Joseph, brought 200 refugees Ferguson had chased from back east. Calls for aid were sent to Patriots on the Yadkin River in North Carolina under Joseph Winston and Benjamin Cleveland, men who had reputations for aggressive pursuit of Loyalists. These groups of frontier hunters and fighters recognized that Ferguson was different from the enemy they had pursued before: a smart, veteran British officer who would soon either be too strong to attack or safely out of their reach. Speed and surprise were critical for their plan to work.

On September 25, 1780, 1,000 “Overmountain” Patriots left Sycamore Shoals (today a state park in Elizabethton, Tennessee) and began climbing the rain-soaked western slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ferguson’s spies brought him the Patriots’ names and numbers, and news of their cooperation within days of their gathering. Ferguson, however, misjudged their route, assuming that this Patriot force would swing north through southern Virginia before descending along the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Instead, the frontiersmen climbed through Yellow Mountain Gap on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, the highest altitude seen by soldiers during the American Revolution. At 4,649 feet, the rain became snow four inches deep, and the Patriots crossed the future path of the Appalachian Trail before descending the eastern slope into what is now Spruce Pine, North Carolina. While risky and challenging, this mountain trail shaved days off their journey and spoiled Ferguson’s expectations.

While the Overmountain men descended, Yadkin Valley Patriots moved southwest toward the appointed meeting spot at Quaker Meadows (present-day Morganton, North Carolina). Their small but fierce band grew steadily as they traveled, reaching 400 fighters by the time they arrived on September 30. Ferguson welcomed his spies’ reports of these movements. Throughout the summer, his biggest challenge had been chasing the small bands of mounted Patriot militia that were now willingly massing into a single target. Ferguson requested cavalry reinforcements to ensure victory and began to consolidate his forces for the anticipated fight.