12th Alabama Infantry Regiment Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Boonsboro, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancorsville, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Petersburg, Appomattox The Commanders

The 12th Alabama Regiment was organized at Richmond in July 1861, with members from Montgomery and Mobile, and Coffee, Coosa, De Kalb, Jackson, Macon, Morgan, and Pike counties. It was at once moved to the "Potomac front" and first brigaded under General Richard Ewell of Virginia, who was soon after succeeded by General Robert Rodes, of Tuscaloosa. The regiment was near Manassas during the fall and winter, and it moved to Yorktown in the spring, 1862. It was under fire there and suffered lightly at Williamsburg. At Seven Pines, the regiment was in the advance that opened the battle, and it stormed the redoubt held by General Silas Casey's division, carrying three lines of works by successive charges, and losing 70 killed and 141 wounded. It participated to some extent in the other battles before Richmond (1862), and mustered 120 men for duty after the battle of Malvern Hill. Still under Rodes, and in General Daniel H. Hill's Division, and brigaded with the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 26th Alabama regiments (Rode's Brigade), the 12th was in the advance into Maryland (fall, 1862). It bore a conspicuous part at Boonsboro, and also at Sharpsburg (Antietam), losing in these battles 27 killed, 69 wounded, and 33 missing. Retiring into Virginia with the army, the regiment wintered (1862-1863) on the Rappahannock. It was under fire but not actively engaged at Fredericksburg, II Corps (LTG Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson), D. H. Hill's Division, 1st Brigade (BG Robert Rodes), 12th Alabama (COL Samuel Pickens); but it was in the resistless column of Rodes at Chancellorsville (spring, 1863), where Col. Edward O'Neal led the brigade, and where the 12th charged 3 lines of breastworks and was badly mutilated. It skirmished at Brandy Station, and again led the way over the Potomac. At Gettysburg, it was on the extreme left and pressed the enemy in confusion through the town, then supported General George Pickett's assault, and afterwards covered the rear II Army Corps (LTG Richard Ewell), Rode's Division (MG Robert Rodes), O'Neal's Brigade (COL Edward A. O'Neal), 12th Alabama (COL Samuel Pickens). After the army retired into Virginia, the 12th was engaged in several skirmishes — at Warrenton Springs, Turkey Run, etc. The winter (1864) was passed near Orange Court House, and the regiment, Gen. Cullen Battle now commanding the brigade, II Army Corps (LTG Richard S. Ewell), Rode's Division, Battle's Brigade (BG Cullen Battle), was hotly engaged at The Wilderness and Spotsylvania, and in the continuous skirmishing of Grant's advance movement to Cold Harbor. The 12th then again marched into Maryland when General Jubal Early threatened Washington. It participated at Winchester with very severe loss, and in the further operations of the corps in the Valley. On its return to Petersburg, it took part (now in General John Gordon's corps) in the struggles around that city, and surrendered at Appomattox in April, 1865. Of the original 1196, about 50 surrendered at Appomattox. And of the 321 recruits received, about 70 were there. Nearly 250 men died of wounds from battle; about 200 died of disease; and 202 were discharged. The battle-flag of the regiment was taken to Mobile after the war and is probably still there.

Field and staff officers: Cols. Robert T. Jones (Perry; KIA, Seven Pines); Bristor B. Gayle (Morgan; KIA, Boonsboro); Samuel B. Pickens (SC; wounded, Spotsylvania, Winchester); Lt. Cols. Theodore O'Hara (KY; transferred); B. B. Gayle (promoted); Samuel B. Pickens (wounded, Boonsboro; promoted); John C. Goodgame (Coosa); Majors E. D. Tracy (Madison; transferred); John C. Brown (Coffee; resigned); B. B. Gayle (promoted); Samuel B. Pickens (promoted); John C. Goodgame (promoted); Adolph Proskauer (Mobile; wounded, Chancellorsville, Spotsylvania); and Adjutants Samuel B. Pickens (promoted); Junius L. Walthall (Mobile; transferred); and L. Gayle (VA)

Captains, and counties from which the companies came:

• Mobile: George Heuilly (until reorganization); Jule L'Etondal (died in service); T. H. Rogers (wounded, Winchester)
• Coosa: Joseph H. Bradford (until reorganization); John C. Goodgame (promoted); Henry W. Cox (KIA, Chancellorsville); Patrick Thomas (KIA, Appomattox)
• Mobile: Augustus Stykes (resigned); A. Proskauer (promoted); F. C. Fischer; E. Karcher
• Coffee: John C. Brown (promoted); T. C. Horn (resigned); E. Tucker (KIA, Sharpsburg); Davis (KIA, Gettysburg); J. McCassells (KIA, The Wilderness)
• DeKalb: W. Higgins (resigned); R. F. Patterson (resigned); W. L. Maroney (resigned); John Rogers (KIA, Spotsylvania); A. Majors (KIA, Snicker's Gap)
• Macon: R. F. Ligon (until reorganization); Robert H. Keeling (KIA, Seven Pines); J. W. McNeeley (wounded, Chancellorsville; transferred); Robert E. Park (wounded, Gettysburg, Winchester, and captured)
• Jackson: A. S. Bibb (until reorganization); P. D. Ross (wounded, Gettysburg)
• Morgan: B. B. Gayle (promoted); C. A. Darwin (KIA, Seven Pines); A. E. Hewlett (wounded, Winchester, and captured)
• Mobile: W. T. Walthall (transferred); John J. Nicholson (wounded, Seven Pines, The Wilderness)
• Macon: W. H. C. Price (until reorganization); D. H. Garrison (KIA, Sharpsburg); Thomas Fitzgerald (KIA, Chancellorsville); E. H. Rowell

History: "Diary of Robert E. Park," in Southern Historical Society Papers, I (1876), pp.370-86, 430-437; II (1876), pp. 25-31, 78-85, 173-180, 232-239, 306-315; III (1877), pp. 43-46, 55-61, 127-127, 183-189, and 244-254. Robert Emory Park , "Rodes' Brigade at Seven Pines," in Land We Love (Charlotte, NC), vol. IV (1867/68), pp.389-391. Robert Emory Park / Sketch of the Twelfth Alabama Infantry of Battle's Brigade, Rodes' Division, Early's Corps, of the Army of Northern Virginia (Richmond: William Ellis Jones, printer, 1906). "War diary of Robert Emory Park, January 28th, 1863-January 27th, 1864," in Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. XXVI (1898), pp. 1-31.

The Commanders:

Rodes Alabama Brigade

Robert Emmett Rodes, born in Lynchburg, VA, on 29 March 1829. He graduated from Virginia Military Institute in 1848 and then served as an instructor until 1851 when he went to Alabama to begin a career as a civil engineer. He married and worked for the Northeast & Southwest Alabama Railroad as chief engineer, but just before the Civil War began, he accepted a professorship at VMI. Rodes was appointed Colonel in the 5th Alabama and fought at 1st Manassas after which he was commissioned Brigadier General, 21 October 1861. He, with his brigade, was part of Major General Daniel H. Hill's Division. During the Peninsular Campaign, Rodes' Brigade fought at Seven Pines (where Rodes was wounded), Gaines' Mill, and Malvern Hill and suffered 50% casualties. After Rodes' recovery, he led his brigade in rear guard action at South Mountain, MD; at Sharpsburg, his brigade helped hold the Confederate center at the "Bloody Lane" where Rodes was again wounded. Again, the brigade suffered severe losses, and it was not engaged at Fredericksburg. Fall and winter enlistments brought the ranks up once more, and Rodes was made division commander when Hill was sent to North Carolina. Rodes led Lieutenant General Stonewall Jackson's flank attack at Chancellorsville and won him a promotion to Major General. At Spotsylvania, Rodes led the brilliant counterattack at the "Mule Shoe", but four months later, 19 September 1864, at the third battle of Winchester, he was killed directing a counterattack that allowed Jubal Early's army to retreat safely.

Edward Asbury O'Neal, born 20 September 1818, in Madison County, Alabama Territory, he attended LaGrange College (graduated 1836) and began the practice of law in Florence, AL, in 1840. He was active in local politics and the secession movement. At the outbreak of war in 1861, he joined the 9th Alabama Infantry and elected major, then lieutenant colonel. In 1862, he received a commission as colonel of the 26th Alabama Regiment and fought in Virginia through 1863 (Peninsular, Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg campaigns). O'Neal took command of Rodes' Brigade when Rodes was promoted to division command. However, his performance did not qualify him for promotion. At Gettysburg, for example, he kept to his 26th Regiment and allowed the other brigade regiments to flounder. His brigadier's commission was delayed and General Robert E. Lee appointed Brigadier General Cullen A. Battle brigade commander, angering O'Neal enough that he requested a transfer. President Jefferson Davis canceled the promotion and sent O'Neal and his regiment to the Atlanta front. After the fall of that city, O'Neal was relieved, sent to duty with the Conscription Bureau in Alabama, and served out the war there. O'Neal resumed his legal and political activity during the Reconstruction period and was elected governor of Alabama in 1882 and 1884. After he retired to Florence, he died there, 7 November 1890.

Cullen Andrews Battle, born 1 June 1829, in Powelton, Georgia. Without formal military training, Battle was a capable combat officer who learned the art of war with his troops. He distinguished himself as first a regimental, then a brigade commander. Battle moved with his family to Eufaula and entered the state university to study law. He became an attorney in 1852 and was an ardent secessionist. He joined a local militia company and offered his services to Alabama immediately after the state seceded. He was commissioned lieutenant colonel in the 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment and saw his first action at Seven Pines. He was then promoted to colonel and the regiment joined Rodes' Brigade where Battle continued to serve until war's end. At South Mountain, 14 September 1862, Battle faced 3 veteran Federal brigades while defending a barren hill north of the gap. In the onslaught, the 3rd Alabama broke, but Battle reacted with cool efficiency; likewise, at Antietam defending the "Bloody Lane," Battle and his men fought courageously. Rodes' Alabama Brigade, held in reserve, saw limited action at Fredericksburg, but at Chancellorsville, Battle participated in the division's surprise attack against the Union right flank. His performance at Gettysburg earned him promotion to brigadier general (on 25 August, dating from 20 August, 1863) and command of (now) Battle's Alabama Brigade. During the battles of 1864, the Alabamians suffered heavy casualties at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and in the Shenandoah Valley. In this last campaign, Battle led his brigade in a brilliant counterattack at 3rd Winchester before he was severely wounded at Cedar Creek (19 October 1864). The wound was incapacitating throughout the rest of the war. After the surrender, Battle resumed his law practice in Alabama. He was elected to Congress in 1868 but refused to take the "ironclad oath." He eventually moved to New Berne, North Carolina, where he edited a newspaper. He died in Greensborough, 8 April 1905.

Sixth North Carolina Cavalry 65th North Carolina State Troops

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How to Order a Copy of the Printed History

Organizational Structure

The 6th North Carolina Cavalry regiment was officially organized by the consolidation of the 5th and 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalions on August 3, 1863 under terms of special order 183, paragraph 16, from the Confederate Adjutant and Inspector General's Office. An error in this order designated the unit the 66th North Carolina State Troops, and it was referred to as such until the error was noticed and corrected in late 1863 by Confederate officials, though it was properly numbered by the North Carolina Adjutant General. Another matter of confusion was that companies were not redesignated until early 1864, and for several months there were two company As, two company Bs, etc. The discussion of the individual units shows the previous designations of each company. Most companies have four clothing receipt rolls which fill in some details omitted in the muster rolls.

Field and Staff

No muster rolls for the field and staff of this regiment survive today. Regimental officers were:

• George Nathaniel Folk – Colonel
• Alfred Hunter Baird – Lieutenant Colonel
• Thaddeus P. Siler – Major
• J. J. Spann – Major
• Martin B. Moore, Quartermaster

Company A

Company A, was formerly Company F, 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion, and has the distinction of being the only regular Confederate Army unit from Johnson County, Tennessee. Captain Barton Roby Brown recruited this company. Extant muster rolls cover the periods:

• June 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 58 men, located at Loudon, Tennessee.
• August 31 to December 31, 1863, lists 51 men, located at Camp Erwin, near Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to May 1, 1864, lists 62 men, posted near Kinston, North Carolina.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 81 men, stationed at Williamston, North Carolina.
• An undated roster, apparently for September 1 to October 28, 1864, lists 74, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.

Company B

This company, from Ashe County, North Carolina, was formerly Company D, 5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company while serving in the 6th cover the periods from:

• April 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 96 men, stationed in "east Tennessee."
• August 31 to December 31, 1863, lists 62 men, stationed at Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 87 men, located in "eastern North Carolina."
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 96 men, stationed at Kinston.
• August 31 to October 31, 1864, lists 104 men, stationed near Kinston.

Company C

Company C, formerly Company D, 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion, was consolidated with the Artillery Company attached to the 7th Battalion. Extant musters for this company cover these periods:

• November 1, 1862 to February 28, 1863, lists 90 men, located at Zollicoffer, Tennessee.
• June 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 92 men, station not noted.
• August 31 to December 31, 1863, lists 62 men, located at Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 82 men, stationed at Kinston, North Carolina.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 73 men, stationed at Kinston.
• August 31 to October 31, 1864, lists 69 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.

Company D

Company D was formerly Company E, 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company cover these periods:

• November 1, 1862 to March 1, 1863, lists 96 men, located at Zollicoffer, Tennessee.
• July 1 to August 31, 1863, lists 85 men, stationed at Loudon, Tennessee.
• September 1 to December 31, 1863, lists 75 men, stationed at Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 74 men, stationed at Kinston, North Carolina.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 64 men, posted near Kinston.
• September 30 to October 31, 1864, lists 43 men, posted near Kinston, North Carolina.

Company E

Company E was formerly Company A, 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company cover the following periods:

April 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 111 men, but the unit's station not recorded on the roll. September 1 to December 31, 1863, lists 90 men, but the location of the company was unrecorded. January 1 to April 30, 1864, lists 71 men, stationed near Kinston. April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 71 men, stationed at Kinston. September 30 to October 31, 1864, lists 76 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.

Company F

Company F was formerly Company B, 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. This company was from Clay County on the Georgia border. Extant musters for this company while serving in the 6th cover the period.

• January 1 to February 28, 1863, lists 100 men, located near Zollicoffer, Tennessee.
• June 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 104 men, but the station was not recorded.
• September 1 to December 31, 1863, lists 108 men, located at Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 54 men, stationed at Kinston, North Carolina.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 62 men, located at Kinston.
• September 30 to October 31, 1864, lists 59 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.

Company G (1st Organization)

Company G was the artillery company attached to the 7th Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company while serving in the 6th is for the period June 30, 1863 to December 31, 1863 and lists 43 men.

Company G (2nd Organization)

Company G, formerly Company C, 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion has extant musters roll which conver:

• June 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 90 men stationed near Blountville, Tennessee.
• August 31 to December 31, 1863, lists 56 men, stationed at Rutherfordton, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 55 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.
• May 1 to August 31, 1864 and lists 31 men located near Kinston.
• September 1, to October 31, 1864 and lists 35 men.

Company H

Company H was formerly Company C, 5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company cover these periods:

• April 30 to August 31, 1863, lists 57 men stationed near Cumberland, Tennessee.
• August 31 to December 31, 1863, lists 26 men, stationed at Erwin's Camp Ground, North Carolina.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 29 men, posted at Shiloh Church North Carolina.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 76 men, camped near Kinston.

Company I

Company I was formerly Company A, 5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company cover these periods:

• April 30 to December 31, 1863, lists 88 men, but the location was not stated.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864, lists 9 men, near Kinston.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864, lists 17 men, stationed near Kinston.
• June 31 to September 1, 1864, lists 30 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.
• August 31 to October 31, 1864, lists 16 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.

Company K

Company K was formerly Company B, 5th North Carolina Cavalry Battalion. Extant musters for this company while serving in the 6th cover the period.

• August 31 to December 31, 1863 and lists 11 men, but the location of the company was not stated on the roll.
• December 31, 1863 to April 30, 1864 and lists 32 men, when stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.
• April 30 to August 31, 1864 and lists 30 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.
• June 31 to September 1, 1864 and lists 69 men, stationed near Kinston, North Carolina.

Captain Martin V. Moore reported in his recollections of the 6th that the companies had the following strength's following the consolidations of the 5th and 7th North Carolina Cavalry Battalions.

Unit	Men	Officers	Total
Co. A	89	4	93
Co. B	89	4	93
Co. C	27	2	29
Co. D	56	3	59
Co. E	68	3	71
Co. F	46	4	50
Co. G	50	3	53
Co. H	55	3	58
Co. I	13	1	14
Co. K	N/A	N/A	N/A
Total	493	27	520

How to order a copy of a printed full history of this organization:

Contact the publisher: H. E. Howard, Inc., PO Box 4161, Lynchburg, VA 24502-0161. The price is $19.95 plus $2.50 postage and handling and 4 1/2 percent Virginia tax if you live in the Old Dominion.

The formal version of this book by Jeffrey C. Weaver, contains a narrative history of the 5th and 7th Battalions North Carolina Cavalry as well as the 6th Regiment North Carolina Cavalry. The book contains a narrative history of the operations of these units, photos of some of the men, maps, and a detailed roster of all the soldiers who served in the units. This book is the first of a proposed Confederate Regimental History Series.

There is no other legend quite like the Confederate fighting man. He reached the end of his haunted road long ago. He fought for a star-crossed cause and in the end he was beaten, but as he carried his slashed red battle flag into the dusky twilight of the Lost Cause he marched straight into a legend that will live as long as the American people care to remember anything about the American past.
         –Bruce Canton

Researcher Note:
Janet and I had 14 ancestors who fought in the Civil War, all for the Confederacy. They were from Alabama, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. These pages contain the results of my research of these ancestors and include unit histories, exerpts from the Official Records, and other information I have been able to collect. Enjoy…

The Tenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment was organized at Springfield in Conway County in July 1861. This is where many volunteers from Van Buren County (southern Van Buren County later became Cleburne) were mustered into the Confederate Army. Company “A,” known as “Quitman Rifles,” was headed by Captain A. R. Witt. Other officers were First Lt. W. W. Martin, Second Lt. C. M. Cargile, Third Lt. Israel Davis, and First Sergeant W. R. Corbin. The company had eight non-commissioned officers and 94 men in all.

Company “G” was called “Red River Riflemen.” Officers were Captain John B. Miller, First Lt. James E. Lockard, Second Lt. Henry J. Gatton, Third Lt. Edwin Ellis, and First Sergeant Daniel Johnson. This company with ten non-commissioned officers had 91 men.

Other companies in the regiment were the “Randy Rifles,” the “Choctaw Riflemen” from Conway County, “Pemberton’s Company,” “Muddy Bayou Heroes,” “Perry County Mountaineers…… Conway Tigers,” and “Springfield Sharpshooters.” Field and staff officers for the Tenth were Colonel T. D. Merrick, Lt. Col. S. S. Ford, Major Obed Patty, and Adjutant Robert C. Bertrand.’

Tenth Arkansas Infantry

The Tenth Arkansas Regiment was assigned to General Bowen’s Brigade, consisting of the Ninth and Tenth Arkansas, Fifth Missouri and Tenth Mississippi regiments before they were moved to Kentucky. They remained at Bowling Green until the evacuation of that place when they were placed to guard the rear on the retreat. They were then placed in Hardee’s Corps and marched to Corinth. Here the Ninth Arkansas was put in Breckenridge’s Reserve Corps and marched to Shiloh. In this battle they lost about 160 men.

After the Battle of Shiloh the regiment, as part of Beauregard’s CSA Army, withdrew back to Corinth, where they reorganized. Formal charges related to the disorganized condition of his regiment were brought against Col. Merrick. He resigned and on May 27, 1862 Captain A. R. Witt of Company “A,” “The Quitman Rifles,” was promoted to colonel and became commander of the regiment. Here their brigade was broken up.

They were moved first back of Vicksburg, where they stayed some time on the Yazoo River, at Camp Price. Then they were moved to Vicksburg, where they stayed a short while. They were placed in a brigade commanded by General Jeff Thompson and moved to Louisiana, 30 or 40 miles above New Orleans, where they spent the winter of 1862-63 guarding the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern Railway.

By the early spring of 1863, Beauregard’s Army, with the Tenth Arkansas was sent again to Baton Rouge where they were to prepare defenses against the approaching General N. P. Banks. This they did by felling large numbers of trees to block the roadways leading to Baton Rouge, digging trenches and mounting siege guns around the city.

By the first of March, 1863, the Tenth Arkansas Infantry was at Port Hudson, Louisiana above New Orleans and during March 7-27 as part of a CSA force under General Franklin Gardner, they were in operations against Federal forces at Port Hudson. After a series of engagements lasting into July, 1863, the Tenth Arkansas Infantry, was part of a Conderate force surrendered by Gen Gardner to Union General N. P. Banks, a surrender that was apparently helped along by internal dissension within the regiment. Certain officers of the Tenth Arkansas seemingly were able to influence some enlisted men to desert and refuse to alternate duties with their fellow companies. By July 7, just two days before the regiment capitulated, there was practically open mutiny.

On July 9, 1863 the entire regiment surrendered and became prisoners of war. The men were paroled until exchanged, with the officers imprisoned at Johnson’s Island, Ohio, in Lake Erie. The unit was eventually exchanged and returned to Arkansas. Col. A. R. Witt reorganized the unit, including some newly recruited members to form Witt’s Cavalry.

John F. Walter in his Capsule History of Arkansas Military Units gives additional information on the Tenth Arkansas Infantry and Witt’s Arkansas Cavalry.

This unit [the Tenth Arkansas Infantry] served east of the Mississippi River throughout its career. Listed below are the higher command

• Oct. 31, 1861, Sixth Brigade, First Division, Western Department.
• Nov. 30, 1861, Second Brigade, Fourth Division, Western Department.
• Jan. 31, 1862, Bowen’s Brigade, Floyd’s Division, Central Army of Kentucky.
• Feb. 22, 1862, Second Brigade, Third Division, Central Army of Kentucky, Western Department.
• April 6, 1862, Second Brigade, Reserve Corps, Army of the Mississippi.
• March 31, 1863, Buford’s Brigade, Third Military District, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana.
• April 30, 1863, Maxey’s Brigade, Third Military District, Department of Mississippi and East Louisiana.

Like almost all Civil War units, the regiment was frequently known by an alternate designation derived from the name of the unit’s commanding officer. Names of this type identified as having been used by or for the Tenth Arkansas Infantry are listed below.

• A. R. Witt’s Infantry
• C. M. Cargile’s Infantry
• E. L. Vaughan’s Infantry
• Thomas D. Merrick’s Infantry
• S. S. Ford’s Infantry
• Obed Patty’s Infantry
• George A. Merrick’s Infantry
• Zebulon Venable’s Infantry
• Robert C. Bertrand’s Infantry

The regiment participated in the following engagements during its career:

• Battle, Pittsburg Landing, Shiloh, Tenn. – April 6-7, 1862
• Engagement, Baton Rouge, La. – Aug. 5, 1862
• Operations against expedition from Pass Manchac and Ponchatuoula, La. – Sept. 13-15, 1862
• Skirmish, Bayou Bonfonca, La. – Nov. 21, 1862
• Operations against Port Hudson, La. – Mar. 7-27, 1863
• Action, Plain’s Store, La. May 21, 1863
• Siege, Port Hudson, La. May 24-July 9, 1863
• Assault, Port Hudson, La. – May 27, 1863
• Assault, Port Hudson, La. – June 14, 1863
• Surrender, Port Hudson, La. – July 9, 1863

At its organization the Tenth Arkansas Infantry numbered 1000 men; yet at the close of the war there were not more than 200 men surviving.

Witt’s 10th Arkansas Cavalry

Witt’s Arkansas Cavalry, commanded by Colonel A. R. Witt, was composed primarily of men who had served with the Tenth Arkansas Infantry, been captured at Port Hudson, Louisiana, and after being exchanged, returned to Arkansas.

On numerous occasions, the unit served behind Federal lines. A Federal report indicated that it often employed female sympathizers to spy on Federal installations and troop movements, reporting the information obtained back to the command. One of these spies was reported to be operating in Little Rock in mid-November, 1864.

The unit served unattached throughout its career, with the exception of Price’s Missouri Expedition in late 1864. During this time it appears to have been attached to Fagan’s forces.

Below are the engagements in which the unit took part.

• Skirmishes, Clear Creek and Tomahawk, Ark. – Jan. 22, 1864
• Skirmish, Rolling Prairie, Ark. – Jan. 23, 1864
• Skirmish, Sylamore Creek, Ark. – Jan. 23, 1864
• Skirmishes near Burrowsville, Ark. – Jan. 23, 1864
• Skirmish, Crooked Creek, Ark. – Feb. 5, 1864
• Skirmish, Bayou Des Arc, Ark. – July 13-16, 1864
• Skirmish, Gum Swamp, Ark. – July 17, 1864
• Skirmish, Austin, Ark. – July 17, 1864
• Operations against Expedition from Little Rock to the Little Red River, Ark. – Aug. 6-16, 1864
• Price’s Missouri Expedition – Aug. 29-Dec. 2, 1864
• Skirmish near Quitman, Ark. (detachment) – Sept. 2, 1864
• Skirmish, Ironton, Mo. – Sept. 26, 1864
• Skirmishes, Arcadia and Ironton, Mo. – Sept. 27, 1864
• Battle, Marmiton (Charlot), Mo. – Oct. 25, 1864
• Engagement, Mine Creek, Little Osage River, Marias des Cygnes, Kan. – Oct. 25, 1864
• Skirmish near Lewisburg, Ark. – Feb. 12, 1865

Unlike most of the units which accompanied Price after the Missouri expedition, Witt’s Cavalry did not retreat all the way to northeastern Texas. The command remained, instead, in Arkansas, probably in order to continue its spying operations. The Third Arkansas (United States) Cavalry met and destroyed Witt’s command at the Lewisburg engagement.

The Tenth Arkansas Infantry Regiment was not the only unit which recruited men of Cleburne County. At least seven companies were raised in White County during 1861 and 1862 and others in Independence County.

January 3, 1777 – A second victory for Washington as his troops defeat the British at Princeton and drive them back toward New Brunswick. Washington then establishes winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey. During the harsh winter, Washington's army shrinks to about a thousand men as enlistments expire and deserters flee the hardships. By spring, with the arrival of recruits, Washington will have 9,000 men.

March 12, 1777 – The Continental Congress returns to Philadelphia from Baltimore after Washington's successes against the British in New Jersey.

April 27, 1777 – American troops under Benedict Arnold defeat the British at Ridgefield, Connecticut.

June 14, 1777 – The flag of the United States consisting of 13 stars and 13 white and red stripes is mandated by Congress; John Paul Jones is chosen by Congress to captain the 18 gun vessel Ranger with his mission to raid coastal towns of England.

June 17, 1777 – A British force of 7700 men under Gen. John Burgoyne invades from Canada, sailing down Lake Champlain toward Albany, planning to link up with Gen. Howe who will come north from New York City, thus cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies.

July 6, 1777 – Gen. Burgoyne's troops stun the Americans with the capture of Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. Its military supplies are greatly needed by Washington's forces. The loss of the fort is a tremendous blow to American morale.

July 23, 1777 – British Gen. Howe, with 15,000 men, sets sail from New York for Chesapeake Bay to capture Philadelphia, instead of sailing north to meet up with Gen. Burgoyne.

July 27, 1777 – Marquis de Lafayette, a 19 year old French aristocrat, arrives in Philadelphia and volunteers to serve without pay. Congress appoints him as a major general in the Continental Army. Lafayette will become one of Gen. Washington's most trusted aides.

August 1, 1777 – Gen. Burgoyne reaches the Hudson after a grueling month spent crossing 23 miles of wilderness separating the southern tip of Lake Champlain from the northern tip of the Hudson River.

August 16, 1777 – In the Battle of Bennington, militiamen from Vermont, aided by Massachusetts troops, wipe out a detachment of 800 German Hessians sent by Gen. Burgoyne to seize horses.

August 25, 1777 – British Gen. Howe disembarks at Chesapeake Bay with his troops.

September 9-11, 1777 – In the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Gen. Washington and the main American Army of 10,500 men are driven back toward Philadelphia by Gen. Howe's British troops. Both sides suffer heavy losses. Congress then leaves Philadelphia and resettles in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

September 26, 1777 – British forces under Gen. Howe occupy Philadelphia. Congress then relocates to York, Pennsylvania.

October 7, 1777 – The Battle of Saratoga results in the first major American victory of the Revolutionary War as Gen. Horatio Gates and Gen. Benedict Arnold defeat Gen. Burgoyne, inflicting 600 British casualties. American losses are only 150.

October 17, 1777 – Gen. Burgoyne and his entire army of 5700 men surrender to the Americans led by Gen. Gates. The British are then marched to Boston, placed on ships and sent back to England after swearing not serve again in the war against America. News of the American victory at Saratoga soon travels to Europe and boosts support of the American cause. In Paris the victory is celebrated as if it had been a French victory. Ben Franklin is received by the French Royal Court. France then recognizes the independence of America.

November 15, 1777 – Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation as the government of the new United States of America, pending ratification by the individual states. Under the Articles, Congress is the sole authority of the new national government.

December 17, 1777 – At Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, the Continental Army led by Washington sets up winter quarters.

 

February 6, 1778 – American and French representatives sign two treaties in Paris: a Treaty of Amity and Commerce and a Treaty of Alliance. France now officially recognizes the United States and will soon become the major supplier of military supplies to Washington's army. Both countries pledge to fight until American independence is won, with neither country concluding any truce with Britain without the other's consent, and guarantee each other's possessions in America against all other powers.

The American struggle for independence is thus enlarged and will soon become a world war. After British vessels fire on French ships, the two nations declare war. Spain will enter in 1779 as an ally of France. The following year, Britain will declare war on the Dutch who have been engaging in profitable trade with the French and Americans. In addition to the war in America, the British will have to fight in the Mediterranean, Africa, India, the West Indies, and on the high seas. All the while facing possible invasion of England itself by the French.

February 23, 1778 – Baron von Steuben of Prussia arrives at Valley Forge to join the Continental Army. He then begins much needed training and drilling of Washington's troops, now suffering from poor morale resulting from cold, hunger, disease, low supplies and desertions over the long, harsh winter.

March 16, 1778 – A Peace Commission is created by the British Parliament to negotiate with the Americans. The commission then travels to Philadelphia where its offers granting all of the American demands, except independence, are rejected by Congress.

May 8, 1778 – British General Henry Clinton replaces Gen. Howe as commander of all British forces in the American colonies.

May 30, 1778 – A campaign of terror against American frontier settlements, instigated by the British, begins as 300 Iroquois Indians burn Cobleskill, New York.

June 18, 1778 – Fearing a blockade by French ships, British Gen. Clinton withdraws his troops from Philadelphia and marches across New Jersey toward New York City. Americans then re-occupy Philadelphia.

June 19, 1778 – Washington sends troops from Valley Forge to intercept Gen. Clinton.

June 27/28, 1778 – The Battle of Monmouth occurs in New Jersey as Washington's troops and Gen. Clinton's troops fight to a standoff. On hearing that American Gen. Charles Lee had ordered a retreat, Gen. Washington becomes furious. Gen. Clinton then continues on toward New York.

July 2, 1778 – Congress returns once again to Philadelphia.

July 3, 1778 – British Loyalists and Indians massacre American settlers in the Wyoming Valley of northern Pennsylvania.

July 8, 1778 – Gen. Washington sets up headquarters at West Point, New York.

July 10, 1778 – France declares war against Britain.

August 8, 1778 – American land forces and French ships attempt to conduct a combined siege against Newport, Rhode Island. But bad weather and delays of the land troops result in failure. The weather-damaged French fleet then sails to Boston for repairs.

September 14, 1778 – Ben Franklin is appointed to be the American diplomatic representative in France.

November 11, 1778 – At Cherry Valley, New York, Loyalists and Indians massacre over 40 American settlers.

December 29, 1778 – The British begin a major southern campaign with the capture of Savannah, Georgia, followed a month later with the capture of Augusta.

April 1-30, 1779 – In retaliation for Indian raids on colonial settlements, American troops from North Carolina and Virginia attack Chickamauga Indian villages in Tennessee.

May 10, 1779 – British troops burn Portsmouth and Norfolk, Virginia.

June 1, 1779 – British Gen. Clinton takes 6000 men up the Hudson toward West Point.

June 16, 1779 – Spain declares war on England, but does not make an alliance with the American revolutionary forces.

July 5-11, 1779 – Loyalists raid coastal towns in Connecticut, burning Fairfield, Norwalk and ships in New Haven harbor.

July 10, 1779 – Naval ships from Massachusetts are destroyed by the British while attempting to take the Loyalist stronghold of Castine, Maine.

August 14, 1779 – A peace plan is approved by Congress which stipulates independence, complete British evacuation of America and free navigation on the Mississippi River.

August 29, 1779 – American forces defeat the combined Indian and Loyalist forces at Elmira, New York. Following the victory, American troops head northwest and destroy nearly 40 Cayuga and Seneca Indian villages in retaliation for the campaign of terror against American settlers.

Sept. 3 – Oct. 28 – Americans suffer a major defeat while attacking the British at Savannah, Georgia. Among the 800 American and Allied casualties is Count Casimir Pulaski of Poland. British losses are only 140.

September 23, 1779 – Off the coast of England, John Paul Jones fights a desperate battle with a British frigate. When the British demand his surrender, Jones responds, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Jones then captures the frigate before his own ship sinks.

September 27, 1779 – John Adams is appointed by Congress to negotiate peace with England.

October 17, 1779 – Washington sets up winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, where his troops will suffer another harsh winter without desperately supplies, resulting in low morale, desertions and attempts at mutiny.

December 26, 1779 – British Gen. Clinton sets sail from New York with 8000 men and heads for Charleston, South Carolina, arriving there on Feb. 1.

April 8, 1780 – The British attack begins against Charleston as warships sail past the cannons of Fort Moultrie and enter Charleston harbor. Washington sends reinforcements.

May 6, 1780 – The British capture Fort Moultrie at Charleston, South Carolina.

May 12, 1780 – The worst American defeat of the Revolutionary War occurs as the British capture Charleston and its 5400-man garrison (the entire southern American Army) along with four ships and a military arsenal. British losses are only 225.

May 25, 1780 – After a severe winter, Gen. Washington faces a serious threat of mutiny at his winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey. Two Continental regiments conduct an armed march through the camp and demand immediate payment of salary (overdue by 5 months) and full rations. Troops from Pennsylvania put down the rebellion. Two leaders of the protest are then hanged.

June 11, 1780 – A new Massachusetts constitution is endorsed asserting "all men are born free and equal," which includes black slaves.

June 13, 1780 – Gen. Horatio Gates is commissioned by Congress to command the Southern Army.

June 23, 1780 – American forces defeat the British in the Battle of Springfield, New Jersey.

July 11, 1780 – 6000 French soldiers under Count de Rochambeau arrive at Newport, Rhode Island. They will remain there for nearly a year, blockaded by the British fleet.

August 3, 1780 – Benedict Arnold is appointed commander of West Point. Unknown to the Americans, he has been secretly collaborating with British Gen. Clinton since May of 1779 by supplying information on Gen. Washington's tactics.

August 16, 1780 – A big defeat for the Americans in South Carolina as forces under Gen. Gates are defeated by troops of Gen. Charles Cornwallis, resulting in 900 Americans killed and 1000 captured.

August 18, 1780 – An American defeat at Fishing Creek, South Carolina, opens a route for Gen Cornwallis to invade North Carolina.

September 23, 1780 – A British major in civilian clothing is captured near Tarrytown, New York. He is found to be carrying plans indicating Benedict Arnold intends to turn traitor and surrender West Point. Two days later, Arnold hears of the spy's capture and flees West Point to the British ship Vulture on the Hudson. He is later named a brigadier general in the British Army and will fight the Americans.

October 7, 1780 – Gen. Cornwallis abandons his invasion of North Carolina after Americans capture his reinforcements, a Loyalist force of 1000 men.

October 14, 1780 – Gen. Nathanael Greene, Washington's most able and trusted General, is named as the new commander of the Southern Army, replacing Gen. Gates. Greene then begins a strategy of rallying popular support and wearing down the British by leading Gen. Cornwallis on a six month chase through the back woods of South Carolina into North Carolina into Virginia then back into North Carolina. The British, low on supplies, are forced to steal from any Americans they encounter, thus enraging them.

January 3, 1781 – Mutiny among Americans in New Jersey as troops from Pennsylvania set up camp near Princeton and choose their own representatives to negotiate with state officials back in Pennsylvania. The crisis is eventually resolved through negotiations, but over half of the mutineers abandon the army.

January 17, 1781 – An American victory at Cowpens, South Carolina, as Gen. Daniel Morgan defeats British Gen. Tarleton.

January 20, 1781 – Mutiny among American troops at Pompton, New Jersey. The rebellion is put down seven days later by a 600-man force sent by Gen. Washington. Two of the leaders are then hanged.

March 15, 1781 – Forces under Gen. Cornwallis suffer heavy losses in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. As a result, Cornwallis abandons plans to conquer the Carolinas and retreats to Wilmington, then begins a campaign to conquer Virginia with an army of 7500 men.

May 21, 1781 – Gen. Washington and French Gen. Rochambeau meet in Connecticut for a war council. Gen Rochambeau reluctantly agrees to Washington's plan for a joint French naval and American ground attack on New York.

June 4, 1781 – Thomas Jefferson narrowly escapes capture by the British at Charlottesville, Virginia.

June 10, 1781 – Americans troops under Marquis de Lafayette, Gen. Anthony Wayne and Baron von Steuben begin to form a combined force in Virginia to oppose British forces under Benedict Arnold and Gen. Cornwallis.

June 11, 1781 – Congress appoints a Peace Commission comprised of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay and Henry Laurens. The commission supplements John Adams as the sole negotiator with the British.

July 20, 1781 – Slaves in Williamsburg, Virginia, rebel and burn several buildings.

August 1, 1781 – After several months of chasing Gen. Greene's army without much success, Gen. Cornwallis and his 10,000 tired soldiers arrive to seek rest at the small port of Yorktown, Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay. He then establishes a base to communicate by sea with Gen. Clinton's forces in New York.

August 14, 1781 – Gen. Washington abruptly changes plans and abandons the attack on New York in favor of Yorktown after receiving a letter from French Admiral Count de Grasse indicating his entire 29-ship French fleet with 3000 soldiers is now heading for the Chesapeake Bay near Cornwallis. Gen. Washington then coordinates with Gen. Rochambeau to rush their best troops south to Virginia to destroy the British position in Yorktown.

August 30, 1781 – Count de Grasse's French fleet arrives off Yorktown, Virginia. De Grasse then lands troops near Yorktown, linking with Lafayette's American troops to cut Cornwallis off from any retreat by land.

September 1, 1781 – The troops of Washington and Rochambeau arrive at Philadelphia.

September 5-8, 1781 – Off Yorktown, a major naval battle between the French fleet of de Grasse and the outnumbered British fleet of Adm. Thomas Graves results in a victory for de Grasse. The British fleet retreats to New York for reinforcements, leaving the French fleet in control of the Chesapeake. The French fleet establishes a blockade, cutting Cornwallis off from any retreat by sea. French naval reinforcements then arrive from Newport.

September 6, 1781 – Benedict Arnold's troops loot and burn the port of New London, Connecticut.

September 14-24, 1781 – De Grasse sends his ships up the Chesapeake Bay to transport the armies of Washington and Rochambeau to Yorktown.

September 28, 1781 – Gen. Washington, with a combined Allied army of 17,000 men, begins the siege of Yorktown. French cannons bombard Gen. Cornwallis and his 9000 men day and night while the Allied lines slowly advance and encircle them. British supplies run dangerously low.

October 17, 1781 – As Yorktown is about to be taken, the British send out a flag of truce. Gen. Washington and Gen. Cornwallis then work out terms of surrender.

October 19, 1781 – As their band plays the tune, "The world turned upside down," the British army marches out in formation and surrenders at Yorktown. Hopes for a British victory in the war against America are dashed. In the English Parliament, there will soon be calls to bring this long costly war to an end.

October 24, 1781 – 7000 British reinforcements under Gen. Clinton arrive at Chesapeake Bay but turn back on hearing of the surrender at Yorktown.

January 1, 1782 – Loyalists begin leaving America, heading north to Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

January 5, 1782 – The British withdraw from North Carolina.

February 27, 1782 – In England, the House of Commons votes against further war in America.

March 5, 1782 – The British Parliament empowers the King to negotiate peace with the United States.

March 7, 1782 – American militiamen massacre 96 Delaware Indians in Ohio in retaliation for Indian raids conducted by other tribes.

March 20, 1782 – British Prime Minister, Lord North, resigns, succeeded two days later by Lord Rockingham who seeks immediate negotiations with the American peace commissioners.

April 4, 1782 – Sir Guy Carleton becomes the new commander of British forces in America, replacing Gen. Clinton. Carleton will implement the new British policy of ending hostilities and withdraw British troops from America.

April 12, 1782 – Peace talks begin in Paris between Ben Franklin and Richard Oswald of Britain.

April 16, 1782 – Gen. Washington establishes American army headquarters at Newburgh, New York.

April 19, 1782 – The Dutch recognize the United States of America as a result of negotiations conducted in the Netherlands by John Adams.

June 11, 1782 – The British evacuate Savannah, Georgia.

June 20, 1782 – Congress adopts the Great Seal of the United States of America.

August 19, 1782 – Loyalist and Indian forces attack and defeat American settlers near Lexington, Kentucky.

August 25, 1782 – Mohawk Indian Chief Joseph Brant conducts raids on settlements in Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

August 27, 1782 – The last fighting of the Revolutionary War between Americans and British occurs with a skirmish in South Carolina along the Combahee River.

November 10, 1782 – The final battle of the Revolutionary War occurs as Americans retaliate against Loyalist and Indian forces by attacking a Shawnee Indian village in the Ohio territory.

November 30, 1782 – A preliminary peace treaty is signed in Paris. Terms include recognition of American independence and the boundaries of the United States, along with British withdrawal from America.

December 14, 1782 – The British evacuate Charleston, South Carolina.

December 15, 1782 – In France, strong objections are expressed by the French over the signing of the peace treaty in Paris without America first consulting them. Ben Franklin then soothes their anger with a diplomatic response and prevents a falling out between France and America.

January 20, 1783 – England signs a preliminary peace treaty with France and Spain.

February 3, 1783 – Spain recognizes the United States of America, followed later by Sweden, Denmark and Russia.

February 4, 1783 – England officially declares an end to hostilities in America.

March 10, 1783 – An anonymous letter circulates among Washington's senior officers camped at Newburgh, New York. The letter calls for an unauthorized meeting and urges the officers to defy the authority of the new U.S. national government (Congress) for its failure to honor past promises to the Continental Army. The next day, Gen. Washington forbids the unauthorized meeting and instead suggests a regular meeting to be held on March 15. A second anonymous letter then appears and is circulated. This letter falsely claims Washington himself sympathizes with the rebellious officers.

March 15, 1783 – General Washington gathers his officers and talks them out of a rebellion against the authority of Congress, and in effect preserves the American democracy.

April 11, 1783 – Congress officially declares an end to the Revolutionary War.

April 26, 1783 – 7000 Loyalists set sail from New York for Canada, bringing a total of 100,000 Loyalists who have now fled America.

June 13, 1783 – The main part of the Continental Army disbands.

June 24, 1783 – To avoid protests from angry and unpaid war veterans, Congress leaves Philadelphia and relocates to Princeton, New Jersey.

July 8, 1783 – The Supreme Court of Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state.

September 3, 1783 – The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain. Congress will ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784.

October 7, 1783 – In Virginia, the House of Burgesses grants freedom to slaves who served in the Continental Army.

November 2, 1783 – George Washington delivers his farewell address to his army. The next day, remaining troops are discharged.

November 25, 1783 – Washington enters Manhattan as the last British troops leave.

November 26, 1783 – Congress meets in Annapolis, Maryland.

December 23, 1783 – Following a triumphant journey from New York to Annapolis, George Washington, victorious commander in chief of the American Revolutionary Army, appears before Congress and voluntarily resigns his commission, an event unprecedented in history.

Battle of Yorktown — The War's End

September 1781 – October 19, 1781

MIRACULOUS CONVERGENCE

"The first necessity [of the Yorktown campaign] was to arrange the meeting of French naval and American land forces on the Virginia coast at a specified time and place. The junction in Virginia had to be coordinated by two different national commands separated across an ocean without benefit of telephone, telegraph or wireless. That this was carried out without a fault seems accountable only by a series of miracles."

Scholar Barbara Tuchman in The First Salute

Moving an army in 18th century America was no easy task. Bridges were nearly non-existent; roads were trails; forage was always inadequate to the needs of thousands of men and animals.

On August 14, 1781, Washington and the French general Rochambeau received word from Comte de Grasse, the admiral of the French fleet, that he would be arriving off the coast of Virginia in mid-September. De Grasse would remain in the Chesapeake area for a month, until the expected seasonal heavy weather forced him south again.

Here was an opportunity to trap Cornwallis in Virginia, but to do so meant that not one, but two armies—one speaking English, one French—would have to travel 500 miles over local roads in a coordinated assault with a navy that was, at the time de Grasse's letter arrived, sailing somewhere in the Atlantic.

To further complicate matters, the American and French armies would have to leave their encampments in New York in the face of the large British army stationed there. If a whiff of their intentions wafted toward British lines, the British would certainly engage the allied armies.

They broke camp on August 19.

A guard of American militia and Continental regulars was left in New York to cover the Hudson River crossing of the 7,000 French and American troops who were heading south. The crossing was made without incident and the joined armies headed south at a rate of 15 miles a day.

On September 1, they'd reach Philadelphia, 130 miles down the road.

On September 2, British General Henry Clinton in New York learned that Washington and Rochambeau had slipped away and had just passed through Philadelphia, heading toward Cornwallis. He sent word to Virginia that the allies were coming.

On September 5, Washington discovered that de Grasse had arrived early in the Chesapeake with 28 ships and 3,000 troops. A British fleet was also cruising toward the bay.

An advanced force of the Continental Army reached Baltimore on September 12.

On September 16, Washington learned that, after an initial skirmish, the powerful French fleet had intimidated the British fleet away from the Chesapeake. The bay was in French hands.

"On September 28," Barbara Tuchman writes, "the clink of bridles and the rhythmic clomp of horses' hooves and tramp of marching men were heard in the British camp in Yorktown, announcing the approach of the enemy army from Williamsburg."

Yorktown was surrounded. In 3 weeks time, Cornwallis would surrender and the Revolutionary War would be all but over.

The battle of Yorktown began late in September 1781. The British General sent pleas for troop reinforcements and even considered ferrying his men across the river to safety. The French and Americans began a long bombardment, with the French artillery proving highly accurate.

No reinforcements, the continuous bombardment by French and Americans, and a loss of two key redoubts or hilltop fortifications to a night attack led by Washington's aide de-Camp, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, led Cornwallis to see there was little hope left for his army. He surrenderd to Washington on October 19, 1781. Although is was not yet clear, the war was as good as over.

 

Surrender at Yorktown
Letters of Gen. Cornwallis and Gen. Washington

Gen. Cornwallis to Gen. Washington, October 17, 1781

I propose a cessation of hostilities for twenty-four hours, and that two officers may be appointed by each side, to meet at Mr. Moore's house, to settle terms for the surrender of the posts of York and Gloucester.

Gen. Washington to Gen. Cornwallis, October 17, 1781

I have had the Honor of receiving Your Lordship's Letter of this Date.

An Ardent Desire to spare the further Effusion of Blood, will readily incline me to listen to such Terms for the Surrender of your Posts and Garrisons at York and Gloucester, as are admissible.

I wish previous to the Meeting of Commissioners, that your Lordship's proposals in writing, may be sent to the American Lines: for which Purpose, a Suspension of Hostilities during two Hours from the Delivery of this Letter will be granted.

Gen. Cornwallis to Gen. Washington, October 17, 1781

I have this moment been honoured with your Excellency's letter, dated this day.

The time limited for sending my answer will not admit of entering into the detail of articles; but the basis of my proposals will be, that the garrisons of York and Gloucester shall be prisoners of war, with the customary honours. And, for the conveniency of the individuals which I have the honour to command, that the British shall be sent to Britain, and the Germans to Germany, under engagement not to serve against France, America, or their allies, until released or regularly exchanged. That all arms and public stores shall be delivered up to you; but that the usual indulgence of side-arms to officers, and of retaining private property, shall be granted to officers and soldiers, and that the interest of several individuals, in civil capacities and connected with us, shall be attended to.

If your Excellency thinks that a continuance of the suspensions of hostilities will be necessary, to transmit your answer, I shall have no objection to the hour that you may propose.

Gen. Washington to Gen. Cornwallis, October 18, 1781

To avoid unnecessary Discussions and Delays, I shall at Once, in Answer to your Lordship's Letter of Yesterday, declare the general Basis upon which a Definitive Treaty and Capitulation must take place.

The Garrisons of York and Gloucester, including the Seamen, as you propose, will be received Prisoners of War. The Condition annexed, of sending the British and German Troops to the parts of Europe to which they respectively belong, is inadmissible. Instead of this, they will be marched to such parts of the Country as can most conveniently provide for their Subsistence; and the Benevolent Treatment of Prisoners, which is invariably observed by the Americans, will be extended to them. The same honors will be granted to the Surrendering Army as were granted to the Garrison of Charles town.

The Shipping and Boats in the two Harbours, with all their Guns, Stores, Tackling, Furniture and Apparel, shall be delivered in their present State to an Officer of the Navy, appointed to take possession of them.

The Artillery, Arms, Accoutrements, Military Chest and Public Stores of every Denomination, shall be delivered unimpaired to the Heads of Departments, to which they respectively belong.

The Officers shall be indulged in retaining their Side Arms, and the Officers and Soldiers may preserve their Baggage and Effects, with this Reserve, that Property taken in the Country, will be reclaimed.

With Regard to the Individuals in civil Capacities, whose Interests Your Lordship wishes may be attended to, until they are more particularly described, nothing definitive can be settled.

I have to add, that I expect the Sick and Wounded will be supplied with their own Hospital Stores, and be attended by British Surgeons, particularly charged with the Care of them.

Your Lordship will be pleased to signify your Determination either to accept or reject the Proposals now offered, in the Course of Two Hours from the Delivery of this Letter, that Commissioners may be appointed to digest the Articles of Capitulation, or a Renewal of Hostilities may take place.

Gen. Cornwallis to Gen. Washington, October 18, 1781

I agree to open a treaty of capitulation upon the basis of the garrisons of York and Gloucester, including seamen, being prisoners of war, without annexing the condition of their being sent to Europe; but I expect to receive a compensation in the articles of capitulation for the surrender of Gloucester in its present state of defence.

I shall, in particular, desire, that the Bonetta sloop of war may be left entirely at my disposal, from the hour that the capitulation is signed, to receive an aid-de-camp to carry my dispatches to Sir Henry Clinton. Such soldiers as I may think proper to send as passengers in her, to be manned with fifty men of her own crew, and to be permitted to sail without examination, when my dispatches are ready: engaging, on my part, that the ship shall be brought back and delivered to you, if she escapes the dangers of the sea, that the crew and soldiers shall be accounted for in future exchanges, that she shall carry off no officer without your consent, nor public property of any kind; and I shall likewise desire, that the traders and inhabitants may preserve their property, and that no person may be punished or molested for having joined the British troops.

If you choose to proceed to negociation on these grounds, I shall appoint two field officers of my army to meet two officers from you, at any time and place that you think proper, to digest the articles of capitulation.

LINEAGE

[Wright, Continental Army, pp. 283-285]

Authorized 21 August 1775 in the Virginia State Troops as the 2d Virginia Regiment

Organized 21 October 1775 at Williamsburg to consist of seven companies

Adopted 1 November 1775 into the Continental Army

Reorganized 11 January 1776 to consist of ten companies

Assigned 27 February 1776 to the Southern Department

Relieved 27 December 1776 from the Southern Department and assigned to the Main Army

Assigned 22 May 1777 to the 2d Virginia Brigade, an element of the Main Army

Reorganized 1 November 1777 to consist of eight companies

Consolidated 12 May 1779 with the 6th Virginia Regiment [see 6th Virginia Regiment] and consolidated unit designated as the 2d Virginia Regiment, to consist of nine companies

Relieved 4 December 1779 from assignment to the 1st Virginia Brigade and assigned to the Southern Department

Captured 12 May 1780 by the British Army at Charleston, South Carolina

Disbanded 15 November 1783

ENGAGEMENTS

[Wright, Continental Army, p. 285]

Chesapeake Bay

Northern New Jersey

Defense of Philadelphia

Philadelphia-Monmouth

Charleston 1780

The British Strategy

By 1778, British and American combatants in the north were stalemated, and a quick end to the Revolutionary War was doubtful. The British now rekindled a plan for putting down the rebellion by first controlling the southern colonies and then sweeping north to total victory. The strategy began well. Savannah was captured in late 1778, and Charleston fell in 1780. Lord Cornwallis, the British commander in the south, then planned to move his troops through the Carolina backcountry providing encouragement to loyalists there. Cornwallis' intent was to enlist a strong loyalist militia which, supported by British regulars, would control the backcountry. This proved successful as loyalist militia units formed and maneuvered throughout the area. By the summer of 1780, British control of South Carolina seemed assured, especially after Cornwallis' crushing defeat of American forces at Camden in August, 1780. Cornwallis was ready to begin his march northward.

The British had secured Ninety Six as a base of operations in the backcountry in June, 1780, and Cornwallis believed Ninety Six would be crucial to control of the backcountry once the British army moved northward out of South Carolina. Cornwallis left Lieutenant-Colonel John Harris Cruger, a loyalist from New York, in charge of Ninety Six. Cruger's instructions were to be "vigorous" in punishing rebels and maintaining order in the area.

The Tide Turns

A series of events beginning in autumn, 1780, put the success of the British Southern Campaign in doubt. In October, 1780, a patriot militia force defeated Patrick Ferguson and his corps of loyalists at Kings Mountain (see map above). Francis Marion was campaigning against British loyalists in the low country of South Carolina, and Thomas Sumter maneuvered his patriot forces against loyalists targets in the South Carolina upcountry. In addition, Nathanael Greene, the new commander of American forces in the south, had split his army to move more widely through the Carolinas.

Cornwallls, fearing for Ninety Six and overall British control of South Carolina, sent units to remove the patriot threat. The British lost many of the ensuing encounters including a significant defeat at The {ln:Cowpens} in January, 1781. Cornwallis and Greene met each other in March, 1781, at Guilford Courthouse; the British won this encounter but lost nearly a third of its force including some of the best officers. Cornwallis then moved his army to Wilmington, and Greene turned his attention back to South Carolina and Ninety Six. Greene hoped to loosen the British hold on the backcountry by taking Ninety Six and forcing the enemy to Charleston.

Greene set siege to Ninety Six in May, 1781, but never took the fort. He was forced to lift the siege a month later as British reinforcements advanced toward Ninety Six. The British abandoned Ninety Six in July and moved to the coast. This signaled the end of British control of the interior. The Southern Campaign was over. British forces surrendered at Yorktown four months later, effectively ending the war.

 

The War in the South

1778-1781

The British decided to focus their attention to the South as loyalists support was strong in many areas there.

December 29, 1778

Clinton's troops captured Savannah, Georgia.

May 1780

Clinton's troops took Charlestown, South Carolina.

August 1780

British were vitorious at Camden, South Carolina.

October 1780

Patiots captured 1000 loyalist troops at border of North and South Carolina.

January 1781

Patriots won at {ln:Cowpens}, North Carolina.

March 1781

Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina – British forced to reteat to Yorktown as casualities got so great.

History

In the summer of 1780, the Southern American colonies – and hopes of independence – seemed at the mercy of an invading British army. Believing the Southern colonies mostly loyal, the Royal army planned to conquer the South and recruit Loyalist militia (local volunteer soldiers) to help British regulars and British Provincial troops defeat the Continental Army and the local Patriot militia.

When Charleston, South Carolina, surrendered May 12th, 1780, the British captured most of the Continental troops in the South. Additional large losses occurred later in the summer with Patriot defeats at Waxhaws, South Carolina, May 29th, and Camden, South Carolina, August 16th. Only Patriot militia remained to oppose a British move through North Carolina into Virginia, America’s largest colony. Victory for Royal troops and an end to talk of independence seemed near.

Lord Charles Cornwallis, the British commander, appointed Major Patrick Ferguson as Inspector of Militia for South Carolina to defeat the local militia and to recruit Loyalists. Ferguson’s opposition included men from South Carolina’s backwoods under Thomas Sumter, North Carolinians commanded by Charles McDowell, and Over mountain men from today’s Tennessee under Isaac Shelby.

Moving into North Carolina, Ferguson attempted to intimidate the western settlers, threatening to march into the mountains and "lay waste the country with fire and sword" if they did not lay down their arms and pledge allegiance to the King. The response was a furious army formed on the western frontier. Growing in numbers as they marched east, some 900 men gave chase to Ferguson, surrounding his army at Kings Mountain, South Carolina, and killing or capturing Ferguson’s entire command.

" . . . That Turn of the Tide of Success" –Thomas Jefferson

 

Ferguson’s defeat was a stunning blow to British fortunes. The strength of the Patriot militia was affirmed. The hoped for Loyalist support didn’t materialize. Cornwallis was forced to pull back from North Carolina, giving the Continental Army time to bring fresh regulars and new commanders south. On January 17,1781, Daniel Morgan, using Continentals and militia, defeated Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s British army at Cowpens, South Carolina. That winter saw a running campaign between Cornwallis and the armies of Morgan and Nathanael Greene. Try as Cornwallis might, the Americans always seemed to cross the river to safety before Cornwallis could cut them off.

At Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina, on March 15th, Greene finally turned to face Cornwallis. Greene’s army was driven from the battlefield, but Cornwallis suffered severe losses which he could not replace. Cornwallis pulled back to recuperate, finally moving his army north into Virginia without subduing North Carolina. In the fall of 1781, George Washington rushed his army south to join French reinforcements. When French warships fortuitously gained control of the Chesapeake Bay, Cornwallis was besieged and forced to surrender on October 19,1781, just over a year after Kings Mountain.

Kings Mountain was the beginning of the successful end to the Revolution, assuring independence for the United States of America. On an unimposing and obscure mountain, Americans fought Americans to determine their destiny. The citizen militia of the community, the predecessors of today’s National Guard and Reserves – like volunteer fire departments – organized to protect their community.

 

Men without formal training or recognized social standing – Ferguson called them mongrels – took hold of their destinies, just like the men who began the American War for Independence on April 19,1775, at Lexington and Concord. They relied upon their individual initiative, skills with the rifle, and courage to ensure the success of their cause.

September 12, 1780, Charles McDowell ambushed part of Ferguson’s army at Cane Creek but was driven off and fled to Sycamore Shoals to await reinforcement by the Overmountain men.

September 25, 1780 Shelby, Sevier, Campbell mustered the militia of the Watauga and Holston Valleys at Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River (Elizabethton) to join Burke County militia under Charles McDowell. Fort Watauga is today reconstructed at the Tennessee historic area. In 1780, this was North Carolina, later Franklin (or Frankland), later Southwest Territory.

September 26, 1780, the army spent its first night at Shelving Rock, storing their powder out of the rain.

September 27, 1780, snow fell on Roan Mountain as the army crossed. Yellow Mountain Gap, at 4682 feet, is the highest point on the trail. Here two men deserted to warn Ferguson of the Patriot army.

September 30,1780, North Carolinians under Benjamin Cleveland, Joseph Winston, and William Lenoir joined the Overmountain men at the McDowell home at Quaker Meadows.

October 1 and 2, 1780, the army stopped to dry out and prepare for battle expected soon. Unpopular Charles McDowell was persuaded to step aside as commander. William Campbell, not from North Carolina, was chosen as a compromise replacement. McDowell rode to ask for a Continental officer to command.

October 3, 1780, the army camped beneath Marlin’s Knob beside Cane Creek. South Carolina Patriots under William Hill and Edward Lacey were camped nearby at Flint Hill (Cherry Mountain).

October 4, 1780, entering Gilbert Town, they found Ferguson had left, possibly headed towards Ninety Six in South Carolina.

October 5, 1780, reassured they, were following Ferguson, the army proceeded to the Green River, away from Kings Mountain. Small parties of Georgians under William Candler and North Carolinians under William Chronicle joined the Overmountain men. Early the next morning, Edward Lacey rode in with news they were headed away from Ferguson.

October 6, 1780, finally convinced Ferguson headed east toward Charlotte, the men with the best horses raced off to meet with Lacey and Hill’s South Carolinians.

 

The two groups united the evening of October 6th at Cowpens. Eating a hasty meal, the parties pushed on through a rainy night.

October 7, 1780, about 3:00 p.m. they found Ferguson’s Loyalist army on Kings Mountain. The two sides fiercely contested the wooded slopes until Ferguson was shot from his horse, killed with some 120 of his men. Only 40 Patriots fell.

October 7, 1780, at dawn the Patriot army successfully crossed the flooding Broad River at Cherokee Ford.

During the return, October 14, 1780, at Biggerstaff’s Old Fields (Bickerstaff’s or Red Chimneys) 30 Tories were tried. Nine were hanged, the others spared.

Many of the Patriot militia who fought at Kings Mountain returned to Cowpens, January 17, 1781, to help Daniel Morgan defeat another brash, young British commander, Banastre Tarleton.

At least five African-Americans are known to have served in the Patriot army at Kings Mountain.

  

People Involved

William Campbell

Leading the largest contingent, Virginian Campbell was chosen by his fellow colonels to command in Charles McDowell’s place. Campbell died in 1781, just before Yorktown.

Charles McDowell

A tireless campaigner in 1780, he stepped down from command rather than split the Patriot army.

Isaac Shelby

Later first governor of Kentucky, Shelby was a strong, forceful influence the summer of 1780. The morning of October 7th, he refused to stop and rest when the men tired after spending 36 hours on the march, vowing to follow Ferguson into Cornwallis’ lines, if necessary.

John Sevier

Later Tennessee’s first governor, John Sevier was the best known man west of the mountains and gave his personal guarantee to fund supplies for the militia army.

Mary Patton

This little-known Tennessee woman manufactured 500 pounds of powder purchased by William Cobb for the Overmountain men. Benjamin Cleveland The voice for independence in Wilkes and Surry Counties, Tories attempted to ambush Cleveland on his way to Quaker Meadows, wounding his brother instead.

Edward Lacey

Commanding South Carolina troops, Lacey rode through the stormy night of October 5th to intercept the Overmountain men at Green River and head them towards Kings Mountain.

Major Patrick Ferguson

Intelligent, brave, charming, inventive, headstrong, he fruitlessly advocated use of Patriot "Indian-style" warfare, yet he relied on the bayonet charge at Kings Mountain, allowing his army to be surrounded.

Abraham de Peyster

From New York, he served as Ferguson’s second in command. He lived in New Brunswick, Canada, after the Revolution.

Veazey Husband

A Loyalist from the Yadkin country near Cleveland, he was killed at Kings Mountain.

  

Patriot Troops at Kings Mountain

The Patriot commanders did not keep or report official rosters of their men engaged against Ferguson at Kings Mountain.

Dr. Lyman Draper’s "King’s Mountain and Its Heroes", combined with pension applications filed by veterans and their survivors well after the battle, are the main sources of information about the army.

Dr. Bobby Moss in his "The Patriots at Kings Mountain" combines accounts from these two and other published sources to come up with brief biographies of the participants. (Dr. Moss compiled similar biographies on Ferguson’s men in his "The Loyalists at Kings Mountain".)

Georgia:

Draper on page 214 says that Captain Edward Hampton met with Colonel Elijah Clarke as the Georgians retreated toward the Nolichucky after the aborted seige of Augusta. Major William Candler took a party of 30 Georgians to join with the Overmountain army against Ferguson. They joined up near Gilbert Town. Draper on page 227 indicates Candler joined Williams and entered the army at Cowpens with Lacey (Sumter’s men) and Williams.

North Carolina:

Draper on page 227 indicates about 90 men under McDowell (Burke), 110 men under Cleveland (Wilkes), and about 60 men under Winston (Surry) at Green River and Cowpens before the battle. In addition, he counts 50 men under Graham, Hambright, and Chronicle from Lincoln County joining up at Cowpens. Not counting the Watauga troops under Sevier and Shelby, North Carolina supplied 310 men out of the total Patriot force of 910 that Draper identifies. Adding the Tennesseans brings the North Carolina total to 550.

South Carolina:

Draper on page 227 indicates about 100 men under Lacey (Sumter’s men) and 30 under Williams joined the Patriot army at Cowpens before the battle. (This number subtracts the 30 Georgians under Candler who joined with Williams.) Draper estimates from this a total force of 910.

Tennessee:

Draper on page 227 indicates about 120 men under Sevier and another 120 men under Shelby at Green River and Cowpens before the battle. Draper estimates from this a total force of 910 in the Patriot army.

Virginia:

Draper on page 227 indicates about 200 under Campbell at Green River and Cowpens before the battle. Draper estimates from this a total force of 910 in the Patriot army.

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Map of the Route of the Over Mountain Men

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RESEARCHER’S NOTES:

Participation of Captain Samuel Martin in the Battle of King’s Mountain.

During the latter part of August and the whole of September, Captain Martin was rarely at home, and then not remaining for more than two days at a time. About the last week of September be marched with his company by a circuitous route, under Colonel Graham, to the Cowpens. There, he united with Colonels. Campbell, Shelby, Sevier, Cleaveland and other officers and marched with them to King’s Mountain. In this battle Captain Martin acted a conspicuous part, was in the thickest of the fight, and lost six of his company. After this battle he continued on active scouting duties wherever his services were needed.

Excerpt from Sketches of Western North Carolina, Cyrus L. Hunter, 1877

Samuel Martin was born in Ireland in 1732, where he married Margaret McCurdy, and migrated to Pennsylvania. While there, he served in the old French and Indian war, removing to North Carolina, he served on the Snow campaign in 1775; on the frontiers in 1776; and went to the relief of Charleston in 1779-80. In June, 1780, he was made Captain, serving under Rutherford; and was at the capture of Rugeley ‘s Tories, and at King’s Mountain. In 1781, he opposed Cornwallis at Cowan’s Ford, and afterwards served awhile under General Pickens; and then commanded a company under Colonel William Polk at Eutaw Springs. Surviving his companion, he died in Gaston County, November twenty-sixth, 1836, at the great age of one hundred and four years.

Except from King’s Mountain and It’s Heroes, Lyman C Draper, LL.D, 1881

Then marched to Fishing Creek in pursuit of the tory officer Cunningham, out about 10 days in pursuit, the middle of August. During the latter part of August and to Ocotber, at the time of the battle of Camden (Gates defeat) and the march of Cornwallis towards Charlotte was out constantly, not being at home two days at a time. Late in September marching a circuitious route to Gilberttown, under Col Graham, where fell in with Col Campbell and Shelby, and marched to Battle of King’s Mountain where I commanded 20 men, 4 of whom were killed on the ground and 2 died shortly after.

Marched in pursuit of Cornwallis, to harrass his trains in crossing the Catawba River. Was under the command of Col Wm Graham of Tryon County. Col Campbell commanded at King’s Mountain, Col Graham having left before the action, the command of the regiment devolving on Joseph Dixon. Graham’s commission was taken away on account of his conduct on that occasion.

Declaration of Samuel Martin dated May 13, 1833, aged listed as 99 years.

I volunteered as private in declarant’s company just before the Battle of Ramseurs Mill in Tryon County (now Lincoln) and continued subject to his command until after the Battle of King’s Mountain in which I was under his command. He commanded about 20 men, 6 of whom fell. He was recognized as Capt until the end of the war. I have known him from boyhood, and have all the time lived in his neighborhood.

Statement by Andy Barry, 13 May 1833

Was with Capt Martin at Battle of King’s Mountain and many other places in Lincoln County. He was recognized as Capt from that time to the close of war. Have lived as neighbor to him ever since I was a small boy.

Statement by Samuel Caldwell, 13 May 1833

Was informed and believes Samuel Martin acted as Capt of militia at siege of Charleston. Deponent marched to Gilberttown (now Rutherford) where he found Colonels Shelby and Campbell. Capt Martin was there and marched to King’s Mountain and there commanded a company. In consequence of “Lord Wallace” army being in the neighborhood the militia was constantly out. Deponent was frequently with Capt Martin frequently on other tours and believes he served his country as he stated. Deponent has known him ever since.

Capt Samuel Caldwell – October 24^th, 1833

END OF RESEARCHER’S NOTE

Historians consider the Battle of Kings Mountain to be the “turning point in the South” in America’s War for Independence. The victory of Patriots over Loyalist troops destroyed the left wing of Cornwallis’ army. The battle also effectively ended, at least temporarily, the British advance into North Carolina. Lord Cornwallis was forced to retreat from Charlotte into South Carolina to wait for reinforcements. The victory of the Overmountain Men allowed General Nathaniel Greene the opportunity to reorganize the American Army.

When British General Henry Clinton learned of his men’s defeat at Kings Mountain, he is reported to have called it “the first link of a chain of evils” that he feared might lead to the collapse of the British plans to quash the Patriot rebellion. He was right. American forces went on to defeat the British at Cowpens. A little more than a year after Kings Mountain, Washington accepted Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown, Virginia.

The battle, fought October 7th, 1780, proved to be the turning point in the British Southern campaign. The American Continental army suffered successive defeats at Charleston, Waxhaws, and Camden, South Carolina, in the summer of 1780. By the fall, only the voluntary militia units remained in the field to oppose the armies of Cornwallis.

To recruit and equip militia loyal to the British cause, Cornwallis sent Major Patrick Ferguson into the western Carolinas. He was to raise a loyal militia army and suppress the remaining Patriot militia. Intending to cow the Patriots, in September he sent a proclamation to the mountain settlements, telling them to lay down their arms, or he would march his army west, and “lay waste the countryside with fire and sword.”

The result was the march of the famous Overmountain men from the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River across the mountains in search of Ferguson. Overcoming hunger, weather, wrangling, and intrigue, the Patriots attacked and destroyed Ferguson’s Loyalists at Kings Mountain.

The Patriot army, nominally under the command of William Campbell from Virginia, contained strong leaders who managed to combine their efforts. John Sevier would go on to serve as Tennessee’s first governor. Isaac Shelby would be Kentucky’s first governor. Benjamin Cleveland would serve as a civic leader and judge in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Joseph Winston, Joseph McDowell, Andrew Hampton, William Chronicle, and Joseph Hambright all led troops from North Carolina. William Hill, Edward Lacey, and James Williams led contingents from South Carolina. William Candler led a small group from Georgia.

Charles McDowell from North Carolina helped organize the army. But he stepped aside before the battle to preserve a united Patriot army.

PATRICK FERGUSON — KEEN RIFLEMAN

The leader of the Loyalist troops was Major Patrick Ferguson. Ferguson would be the only British regular to serve at Kings Mountain. All other soldiers were Americans — Patriot and Loyalist.

Joining the British army at age 15, Ferguson was a well known marksman and the inventor of a breechloading rifle. The son of a Scottish judge, Ferguson had an affable disposition, a gentle face and was slight of build. Nevertheless, his soldiers named him “Bulldog.”

Ferguson distinguished himself early on in his military career. Serving as a cornet in the Royal North British Dragoons, Ferguson was considered by his superiors as a courageous fighter during the wars of Flanders and Germany in the 1760’s. In 1768, he joined the Seventieth Regiment of Foot in the West Indies, where British troops engaged in guerilla warfare with the native Carib tribes. Ferguson went for garrison duty at Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1773 but soon became bored.

Ferguson’s ability with a rifle was well known. While visiting his family’s estate in Scotland before the American Revolution, he began to develop a rifle of his own. After completing the invention, Ferguson displayed the rifle for military leaders and even King George III witnessed one of Ferguson’s demonstrations.

During one demonstration, Ferguson fired at a rate of 4-6 shots per minute during pouring rain and high wind. Apparently, Ferguson only missed the target three times while firing from a distance of 200 yards — this was not possible with the British Brown Bess musket. A patent was issued and a limited number of the breechloading rifles were produced. Ferguson established an elite rifle corps which joined Sir Henry Clinton in America. Their mission: to help stop the rebellion in the colonies.

FERGUSON HAS WASHINGTON IN HIS SIGHTS

At the Battle of Brandywine (September 11, 1777), Ferguson was wounded in the arm and his rifle corps was later disbanded. The Ferguson rifles were removed and very few have been seen since. There is no evidence that the Ferguson rifle was used at the Battle of Kings Mountain.

It was at the Battle of Brandywine that Ferguson distinguished himself further though many did not know about it until the 20th century. Scholars believe that  Ferguson was the British soldier who had George Washington in his gun sight. Ferguson did not pull the trigger, saying that “it is ungentlemanly to shoot a man in the back of the head.” 

Ferguson himself mentioned the incident in a letter he dictated a few months later. During the battle, he did not realize the identity of the American officer. While recuperating in the hospital from his arm injury, he discovered that the American officer in question was George Washington. Ferguson wrote that even if he had known, he would not have pulled the trigger. Ferguson’s letters are available in the library at Edinburgh University.

Ferguson later fought in the battles of Monmouth and Little Egg Harbor. He was also active in many other battles in the New York and Hudson area. Impressing his superiors with his valor, Ferguson was promoted to Major in 1779.

Late that year, he was selected to command a corps of 300 men, called the American Volunteers. The men were Loyalists, handpicked from units in the New York and New Jersey area. The corps, along with Ferguson, arrived in the South in early February 1780. Ferguson, a persuasive individual, immediately gathered support in Savannah and Augusta before Clinton ordered him to Charleston.

During the invasion of that city, Ferguson worked with the legendary Banastre Tarleton, who had angered many Patriots after his massacre of soldiers trying to surrender to him at Waxhaw. Author Washington Irving later wrote that Ferguson and Tarleton were “equally intrepid and determined but Ferguson is cooler, and more open to the impulses of humanity.” In fact, some researchers believe that Ferguson despised Tarleton’s methods.

After Charleston fell, Ferguson was appointed to the position of Inspector General of the Militia. Clinton and Cornwallis gave him the mission to organize a volunteer corps of Loyalists troops. Ferguson’s men thought highly of him — he had a natural ability to gain their affection and respect. The Scot was known for spending hours in conversations with the ordinary people around the villages and towns in South Carolina. South Carolina remained a Loyalist stronghold until the end of the war, largely due to his influence.

PRELUDE TO BATTLE

During the summer of 1780, Ferguson and his provincial corps of 150 traveled through South Carolina and into North Carolina gathering support for His Majesty’s cause. While marching through the upcountry of South Carolina, the Loyalists engaged in minor skirmishes with militia regiments. Some of those small battles happened at places like Wofford’s Iron Works, Musgrove’s Mill, Thicketty Fort, and Cedar Spring. However in August, after the Americans lost at the Battle of Camden, the Over Mountain Men retired to their homes in western North Carolina to rest before going after Ferguson again.

THE MARCH TO KINGS MOUNTAIN

Meanwhile in September, Cornwallis invaded North Carolina. His final objective was to march into Virginia. To protect his troops from guerilla attack, Cornwallis ordered Ferguson to move northward into western North Carolina before joining the main British Army in Charlotte.

In late September, Ferguson camped at Gilbert Town (near present day Rutherfordton). He sent a message to Colonel Isaac Shelby, whom he considered to be the leader of the “backwater men.” The message said that if Shelby and his men did not stop their opposition to the British, Ferguson would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders and “lay the country waste with fire and sword.” The Patriots would have none of it.

On September 25, Patriot leaders and Colonels Charles McDowell, John Sevier, Isaac Shelby and William Campbell gathered at Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River (near present day Tennessee). They marched five days over the snow covered mountains to the Quaker Meadows Plantation owned by McDowell’s family (in present day Morganton). There, they were joined by  more frontiersmen including those serving under Benjamin Cleveland and Joseph Winston. The troops marched toward Gilbert Town and Ferguson.

Spies told Ferguson the Patriots were on their way. Ferguson had stayed at Gilbert Town hoping to intercept another Patriot force, heading northward. Calling in reinforcements, the Scot began to march toward Charlotte to receive the protection of Cornwallis’ main army. He sent an appeal to loyal North Carolinians  — for them to save themselves from the “backwater men…a set of mongrels.” Late on October 6, Ferguson received word from his spies that the Americans were close behind him. Camping at Kings Mountain, near the North Carolina border, he sent a message to Cornwallis requesting reinforcements. “Three or four hundred good soldiers,” he wrote, “would finish the business. Something must be done soon.” Desperately short of provisions, Ferguson sent out a foraging party of 150 men. He then organized a defense and prepared to meet the enemy.

When the Patriots realized that Ferguson was not at Gilbert Town, they became determined to pursue and fight him. The soldiers followed Ferguson, leaving their weak comrades and horses at Gilbert Town. On October 6 at Cowpens in South Carolina, the Over Mountain Men were joined by 400 South Carolinians under Colonel James Williams and others. The soldiers learned from spy Joseph Kerr that Ferguson was definitely camped about 30 miles ahead in the vicinity of Kings Mountain. Shelby was especially pleased to learn that Ferguson was quoted as saying,   that he “was on Kings Mountain, that he was king of that mountain and that God Almighty and all the Rebels of hell could not drive him from it.”

The seven colonels chose Campbell as their officer of the day to carry out the plans they adopted collectively. Fearing Ferguson would escape, the colonels selected 900 of their best men to pursue the Loyalists.

The Patriots marched through the night and the next day, through pouring rain and intermittent showers. They reached Kings Mountain the next day, Saturday October 7 just after noon.

Kings Mountain is an outlying portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A heavily rocky and wooded area, the mountain rises 60 feet above the plain surrounding it. The campsite was supposedly an ideal place for Ferguson to camp because the mountain has a plateau at its summit. The plateau is 600 yards long and 70 feet wide at one end and 120 feet wide at the other. The Scot considered the summit too steep to be scaled.

THE BATTLE BEGINS

Upon arriving at Kings Mountain, the Patriot soldiers dismounted. After tying up the horses, the soldiers formed in a horseshoe around the base of the mountain behind their leaders, who remained on horseback.

Ferguson was right in believing that his would be attackers would expose themselves to musket fire if they attempted to scale the summit. But Ferguson did not realize his men could only fire if they went out into the open, exposing themselves to musket fire. Most of the Patriot troops were skilled hunters who routinely killed fast moving animals. On this day, Ferguson’s men would not find escape an easy task.

The fighting began around 3 p.m. when some of Ferguson’s men noticed the Patriot soldiers surrounding the mountain. After a brief skirmish, the shooting began in earnest when two of the Patriot regiments opened fire on the Loyalists simultaneously. The Loyalists fired back but the Patriots were protected by the heavily wooded area.

The regiments commanded by Colonels Isaac Shelby and William Campbell marched toward Ferguson’s men but were driven back twice by Loyalist fire. But as one regiment was driven back, another would advance. Ferguson had to shift his reserves from one place to another while continuing to take heavy losses from the concealed American sharpshooters in the trees. Eventually, other Patriot troops provided enough support that Shelby and Campbell’s regiments reached the summit.

During the battle, Patrick Ferguson commanded his men with the use of a silver whistle. Many Patriot fighters later recalled hearing the sound of Ferguson’s whistle over the sound of the rifle fire. The whistle and the checkered hunting shirt he wore over his uniform made the Scottish commander quite noticeable on the battlefield.

After nearly an hour of fighting, Ferguson suddenly fell from his horse. One foot was hanging in his stirrup — several, perhaps as many as eight bullets were in his body. Some accounts say he died before he hit the ground. Other accounts say that his men propped him against a tree, where he died. Ferguson was the only British soldier killed in the battle — all others were Americans, either Loyalist or Patriot.

Ferguson’s second in command then ordered that a white flag of surrender be hoisted.

Despite the call for surrender by the Loyalists, the Patriots could not immediately stop their men from shooting. Many Patriots remembered that the infamous Colonel Tarleton had mowed down Patriot troops at Waxhaw despite the fact that the troops were trying to surrender. Eventually, the fighting at Kings Mountain stopped.

In all, 225 Loyalists were killed, 163 were wounded, 716 were taken prisoner. 28 Patriots were killed and 68 were wounded. Among the Patriot dead: Colonel James Williams of South Carolina.

BATTLE ENDS: PATRIOTS MARCH PRISONERS TO HILLSBOROUGH

After the battle, the victorious Patriots and the captured Loyalists had to camp together. Soon it became dark and the cries of the wounded were heard and often unheeded.

The next morning, the sun came out for the first time in days. Fearing that Cornwallis would soon be upon them, many of the Patriot militia left for their homes. A contingent of Patriots took the prisoners northward to the Continental Army jurisdiction in Hillsborough.

During the journey, a number of prisoners were brutally beaten and some prisoners were hacked with swords. A number of unjust murders took place — not the Patriots finest hour. The injustices continued a week later when a committee of Patriots appointed a jury to try some of the so-called “obnoxious” Loyalists. 36 Loyalists were found guilty of breaking open houses, burning houses and killing citizens. Nine were hanged.

CORNWALLIS IS SHAKEN BY THE NEWS; WITHDRAWS INTO SOUTH CAROLINA

Cornwallis was shaken when the news of Ferguson’s defeat reached his headquarters. He remained in Charlotte a few days before withdrawing back into South Carolina to the British post at Winnsboro.

The British could not count on reinforcements from other South Carolina posts to help them — the news of victory at Kings Mountain had revived Patriot hopes. The victory triggered bonfires and street dancing in cities held by the Patriots. Soon, Patriot leaders such as Thomas Sumter, Elijah Clarke and Francis “The Swamp Fox” Marion stepped up their harassment of British troops. Patriot sympathizers increased their assaults on Tory neighbors.

COUNTDOWN TO YORKTOWN

Cornwallis was not inactive however. He sent Tarleton and a Major Wemyss in hot pursuit of Marion and Sumter. On November 9, Sumter was fully prepared when Wemyss attempted a surprise attack on his forces at Fish Dam Ford. Wemyss and 25 of his men were captured. Sumter then moved with 240 toward the British fort at Ninety Six. Tarleton stopped his pursuit of Marion and went to Fort Ninety Six. Deciding not to face Tarleton at that time, Sumter fled northward to Blackstock’s Plantation. On November 20, Tarleton attacked Sumter’s forces but to no avail. Tarleton lost 100 men while the Americans only lost three. Tarleton then rejoined Cornwallis.

Meanwhile, Clinton sent General Alexander Leslie to Virginia to prepare for battle there. Leslie was to be under the direct orders of Cornwallis. Cornwallis  ordered Leslie to come to South Carolina — he planned to resume his invasion of North Carolina as soon as Leslie arrived. Believing that Patriot leader Daniel Morgan planned to attack Fort Ninety Six, Cornwallis sent Tarleton to deal with the backwoodsman. Expecting Leslie to arrive in mid-January, Cornwallis planned to advance rapidly northward and cut off the two American armies (Nathaniel Greene’s men in the South from George Washington’s men in the North). He also hoped to stop the advance of Morgan’s forces should they survive the expected encounter with Tarleton.

Cornwallis’s hopes were dashed. Morgan’s men soundly defeated Tarleton’s Legion at the Battle of Cowpens on January 17. Morgan, who was ill with rheumatism and other ailments,  joined Greene’s army before returning to his home in Virginia. Greene saw that Cornwallis, who had left South Carolina, was getting further away from his train of supplies and provisions. Eventually, the two forces met in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Technically, the British won that battle but it was a Pyrrhic victory because British losses were high. One man in four was killed, wounded or captured.

Throughout the summer, skirmishes were fought across the Carolinas and Virginia. In September, the army of Cornwallis and the army of Washington met at Yorktown. After a 20-day battle, Cornwallis surrendered. The war officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris two years later.

Historians agree that the battle of Kings Mountain was the beginning of the end of British rule in its former colonies. In less than one hour of battle, the Overmountain Men not only captured the day but also punctured holes in the British strategy for keeping America under its control.

Portions written by Peggy Beach, Cleveland County Public Information Officer

SUMMARY

The Battle of King’s Mountain, was a crushing defeat to the British and loyalist troops, but more importantly, brought a glimmer of hope to the Patriot forces in the South.

The war had not been going well for the American forces in the south. Banastre Tarlton with 290 of his famed dragoon legion had unmerciously butchered 400 of Bufords’ troops at the Battle of Waxhaws Creek in 1780. Burfords’ troops had tried to surrendered, but Tarlton anxious to make a name for himself, personally cut the surrender banner down, then lead the final and fatal saber charge. This lead to his nickname “Bloody Tarlton”, and his terms of surrender were known as “Tarlton’s quarter”.

In addition to the capture of Savannah, and with the surrender of Charleston, S.C., things looked bleak for the Americans in the south.

Only through the “partisans” was any resistance kept alive. Partisans were bands of guerilla fighters, whose hit and run tactics, disrupted the British communication and supply lines in the south. The famous partisans were Andrew Pickens (the Wizard Owl), Thomas Sumter (the Carolina Gamecock), and Francis Marion (the Swamp Fox).

Americans troops were all too eager to repay the British for the massacre which occurred at Waxhaws.

On October the 7th, Maj. Patrick Ferguson brings his Loyalist troops to high ground which is heavily wooded, and he mistakenly believes that this area is invulnerable to attack.

Ferguson is also noted worthy as he has also developed the first breech loading rifle, but it is not adopted as it is condsidered too unreliable. Also Ferguson is in control of the second largest group of Loyalist troops (Tarlton being first).

Ferguson with his believe that he has secued an impregnable position, as Cornwallis to send reinforcements. With his additional troops, Ferguson will strike out and crush the frontier militia which as been harrasing the British. Ferguson however makes the mistake of not securing the slopes of the hill, figuring that the heavily wooded terrain will make any type of an attack, not feasible.

Feguson has miscalculated the resolve and the practicality of the backwoodsmen. Men from modern day South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, hearing about Ferguson and his Loyalists, start to make a treck to this area, and destroy him before he is allowed to destroy them.

The frontiersmen slowly creep up the backside of the mountain to within yards of the British and Loyalists. Americans attack the hill for oppisite sides, and Ferguson orders a bayonet charge. The loyalists are easy targets for the woodsmen and their rifles who use the thickly  wooded cover to their advantage. The remaining men are pushed back to their camp where they are surrounded by intense fire.

Ferguson wearing a red checked shirt is easily identified, and shot no less then 6 times. Many of the others ask for surrender, but hear the response “Talton’s quarter”, and the shooting continues until most are cut down. Total causulties for the day are 157 Loyals killed 163 wounded, and 700 captured. American figures are 28 killed and 64 wounded.

This a major blow to the British in the south, and will lead Cornwallis to his next defeat, Cowpens.

ADDITIONAL READING –

PERSONAL ACCOUNTS

OVER MOUNTAIN MEN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dann, John C. ed. The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness Accounts of the War for Independence. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1980.

Draper, Lyman C. Kings Mountain and its Heroes: History of the Battle of Kings Mountain, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967.

Dupuy, R. Ernest and Trevor N. Dupuy, eds. The Compact History of the Revolutionary War, New York: Hawthorn Books, Inc., 1963

Ferguson Rifle Campaign. Page on Web Site of South Doc Productions. www.southdoc.net/tnchron/ferguson1.htm.

Florette, Henri. Kings Mountain. Garden City: Doubleday, 1950.

Garrison, Webb. Great Stories of the American Revolution. Nashville, Tennessee: Rutledge Hill Press, 1990.

Gilmer, Bobby Moss. The Patriots of Kings Mountain. Blacksburg, S.C.: Scotia-Hubernia, 1990.

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Page on the N.C. State Library Web Site, www.statelibrary.dcr.state.nc.us

The Heritage of Cleveland County. Volume 1. The Cleveland County Historical Association. Winston-Salem, N.C.: Hunter Publishing Company, 1982.

Kelly, James C. and William C. Baker. The Sword of the Lord and Gideon: A Catalogue of Historical Objects Related to the Battle of Kings Mountain. Boone: Appalachian Consortium Press, 1980.

Kings Mountain National Military Park, Internet Web Site, www.nps.gov/kimo.

Kings Mountain National Military Park. Sights Magazine Web Site, www.sightsmag.com

Messick, Hank. Kings Mountain: The Epic of the Blue Ridge Mountain Men in the American Revolution. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1976.

Our Heritage: A History of Cleveland County. Shelby, N.C.: Shelby Star, 1976.

Pancake, John S. This Destructive War: The British Campaign in the Carolinas, 1780-1782. University of Alabama Press, 1985.

Resource and Activity Guide for Teachers. Published by the Kings Mountain National Military Park, 1995.

Scheer, George F. The Overmountain Men. Pamphlet. Available at Kings Mountain National Military Park.

Weathers, Lee B. The Living Past of Cleveland County: A History. Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Company, 1956.

White, Katherine Keogh. The Kings Mountain Men: The Story of the Battle with Sketches of the American Soldiers Who Took Part. Baltimore: General Publishing Company, 1966.

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