General Cornwallis had as his strategy to conduct war in South Carolina, taking and holding the important port city of Charleston, and then move north through North Carolina, meeting up with General Howe to end the campaign. It was a bold plan, and he had dealt a blow to the continental forces on the field of battle on a number of occasions.
But the size of the continent and the temperament of the people made it impossible to prosecute a war of this kind with the forces and lines of logistics he had at his disposal. The linchpin of his plan called for the utilization of loyalist forces to do battle with patriots.
Enter Major Patrick Ferguson, who was tasked by Cornwallis with leading loyalist forces, whom he had no difficulty recruiting in his sweep through South Carolina. He sent a message to the patriots: “If you do not desist your opposition to the British Arms, I shall march this army over the mountains, hang your leaders, and lay waste your country with fire and sword.”
Not dissuaded from battle, the patriot forces, enhanced mainly by the “Overmountain men,” decided to give chase to Major Patrick Ferguson and the loyalists. The loyalist forces heard of the plan because of a couple of deserters from the patriot forces, and decided to retreat to the protection of Cornwallis and his forces.
The Overmountain Men had ridden horseback for a protracted period to convene with other forces, much of it sleeping in the day and riding at night. But now they had to move quickly. After convening, they had to ride horseback through the night, and much of the day, and prosecuted battle in the afternoon hours with no sleep. Yet they dealt a decisive blow to the loyalist forces.
Many of the Overmountain Men were under the age of 18, raised hard and experienced in the American bush and hills. In the small townships in the Appalachian mountains, the men had to stay and tend crops, tend livestock, and protect the family. Sons had to be dispatched to fight the campaign. Women and men, mothers and fathers, lined the roads and sang hymns as their sons rode by and they dispatched their sons to war. They saw it as a religious quest.
The patriot victory at King’s Mountain had great significance. Cornwallis, who had planned to use a victory over the patriots there, held his plans in abatement. His plans to use loyalists completely shattered and abandoned, he got bogged down in a guerrilla campaign in South Carolina in the bush and swamps. He finally set out through North Carolina, but his forces were so depleted, sick and without logistics that all he could manage was a retreat to the coast to ensconce until surrender. His lines of logistics had effectively been cut by the patriots.
This marked the turning point of the campaign. Cornwallis won conventional victories, but was never able to manage the insurgency in South Carolina. The British lost, and General Howe wasn’t far behind the surrender of Cornwallis.
This fourth of July, celebrate the lives of the great men who brought you what liberty you enjoy.
