Glass L. 14 I 
 Book K^ 7'C3 
 
( 
 
 (ELEBRATION 
 
 OF THE <ai^O^ 
 
 BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN, 
 
 OCTOBER, 1855, 
 
 ADDRESS 
 
 Hon. JOHN S. PRESTON. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 TEE PROCEEDINGS OP THE MEETINGS AND ACCOMPANYING 
 DOCUMENTS. 
 
 YORKYILLE, S. C. 
 
 PUBLISIIP:D for the committees by miller & MELTON, 
 Proprietors of the Yorkville Enquirer. 
 1855. 
 

 JAMES & WILLIAMS, PRINTERS, 
 16 State-street, Charleston. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PRELIMINARY MEETINGS. 
 Meeting in YorkviUe, 1; of the Committee of Arrangments, 7; la Spartan- 
 burg, 9; of tlie Committee, 11; in Mecklenburg, N. C, 13; in Shelby, N. 
 C, 15; in Laurens, 15; in Union, 16; in Chester, 16; in Richland, 18; 
 of the Committee, 19; in Fairfield, 21; in Mecklenburg, N. C, 21; Reports 
 
 of the Committees, ...- 22 
 
 PROCEEDINGS AT KING'S MOUNTAIN. 
 From the Yorkville Enquirer, -------'-25 
 
 Address of the Hon. John S. Preston, ii9 
 
 Mr. Bancroft's Address, ----------75 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Letter from Hon. Edward Everett, 80; from Hon. John P. Kennedy, 82; 
 
 from Hon. W. A. Graham, 83; from Hon. George M. Dallas, 84; from 
 
 Hon. A. P. Hayne, 85; from Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey, 87; from Hon. D. R. 
 
 Atchison, 88; from Hon. A. P. Butler, 89; from Hon. Josiah J. Evans, 
 
 90; from Rev. J. H. Tbornwell, 90 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE GATHERING. 
 
 'Letter to Col. Wm. Campbell, in Washington, 92; Extract from Ramsey's 
 "Annals of Tennessee," -- 93 
 
 THE BATTLE, 
 
 A statement of the proceedings of the western army, from the 25th day 
 of September, 1780, to the reduction of Major Ferguson and the army 
 under his command, 96; Letter from Col. Wm. Campbell to Col. Arthur 
 Campbell, 98; Extract from a speech delivered by Gen. Smythe, of Vir- 
 ginia, in the House of Representatives of the United States, Feb. 7, 
 1829, 98; Extract from a communication by Col. Isaac Shelby, to the 
 National Intelligencer, May 6, 1823, 99; Gen. Davidson to Gen. Sumner, 100 
 
 THE COXSEQUEXCES. 
 
 Extract from a History of the American Revolution, by Mrs. Warren, 101; 
 Lord Rawdon to Gen. Leslie, 102; Lord Rawdon to Sir Henry Clinton, 
 103; Lord Cornwallis to Lieut. Col. Cruger, 104; Sir Henry Clinton to 
 Secretary Germain, 104; Lord Cornwallis to Gen. Leslie, 105; Gen. 
 Leslie to Sir Henry Clinton, 105; Mr. Lyman to Mr. Wanton, 106; Ex- 
 tract from " Tarleton's Southern Campaign," 106; Extract of a letter 
 from Gov. Jefferson to the President of Congress, 107; Despatch of Gen. 
 Gates, 107; Resolutions by Congress, 107; Extract from a letter of Mr. 
 Jefferson, written to a friend of the family of Col. Campbell, in 1822. lOS 
 
nmim €tkknim. 
 
 PRELIMINARY MEETINGS. 
 
 From the Yorkville Enquirer, June 7, 1855. 
 
 In another column of to-day's issue will be found the proceedings 
 of the meeting held on the 4th instant, in relation to the King's 
 Mountain Celebration. From unforseen circumstances, the day 
 was rather unfavorable to a large concourse of persons. During 
 the last two or three weeks the rains have been almost incessant, 
 and farmers were of course eager to embrace the first opportunity 
 of bestowing necessary attention to their farms. Yet it was 
 gratifying to the friends of the project to see such a goodly num- 
 ber in attendance. All portions of the district were well repre- 
 sented; and we doubt not the action of the meeting was a faithful 
 reflex of the opinion of the entire district. It was truly en- 
 couraging, too, to witness the harmony that prevailed in the 
 meeting. All pi'esent seemed to take a deep interest in the move, 
 and the feeling as far as manifested was very decidedly in favor 
 of the celebration, and that, too, on as grand a scale as possible. 
 Quite a broad platform has been erected; but, from the character 
 of the celebration in contemplation, it was important to provide 
 sufficient room for all whom we earnestly desire to participate. 
 It must be borne in mind that it should be a jubilee not of the 
 district or state alone, but of the several states whose historic con- 
 nection with the battle entitles them to full and equal participa- 
 tion with ourselves. The glory of the achievement is as much 
 their heritage as ours. 
 1 
 
2 
 
 The battle-ground is in our district, and the other districts of 
 the state, properly enough, expected that we should take the 
 initiative. But the whole plan and scope of the meeting was to 
 make it a state affair, and committees were appointed in reference 
 to that fact. Our citizens must not suppose that they will have 
 to bear the whole burden of the day. The state would not be 
 willing to accord to them such pre-eminent distinction, even if 
 they were ambitious or presumptuous enough, as our neighbors 
 would suppose, to aim at it. We have sufficient guarantees from 
 numerous districts in the state to warrant us in the conclusion 
 that they will gladly come to our assistance. We believe, too, 
 our sister states — Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Ken- 
 tucky — will cheerfully respond to the call that has been made 
 upon them, and take up the line of march on a pilgrimage to the 
 Mecca of their liberties. A general committee has been ap- 
 pointed on the part of the state, to solicit the co-operation of 
 these states in the proposed celebration. We have an abiding 
 hope that this committee, composed as it is of the most talented 
 and influential men in the state, will exert themselves in promot- 
 ing the object for which they were appointed. With our worthy 
 chief magistrate as marshal, and the Hon. John S. Preston one 
 of the orators of the day, by proper exertion on the part of the 
 state committee the celebration will be alike creditable to them- 
 selves and the state they represent, and worthy the great event 
 to be commemorated. 
 
 From recent demonsti'ations, we know the press will co-operate 
 with us in this great undertaking. A number of the editors of 
 this state, as well as North Carolina, have placed us under re- 
 newed obligations to them, for their zealous advocacy of the 
 measure. If they continue to sustain it, with might and main, 
 as we know they will, we have no fear of the result. 
 
 The re-union of the states on the ever-memorable spot, whose 
 history covers with such peerless lustre their heroes and patriots, 
 will open a well-spring of gladness deep and exhaustless. We 
 meet as children of the same family, as joint possessors of the 
 same heritage of fame. It should be a source of gratulation, 
 that here all party bickering and dissension may cease, and no 
 political commotion mar the interest and pleasure of the scene. 
 Sordid and corrupt ambition would stand rebuked and abashed 
 in the presence of the divinity of the place. We must yield to the 
 more ennobling feplings of our nature while contemplating the 
 
3 
 
 purest models of patriotism. The moral sublimity of the achieve- 
 ment is, beyond doubt, the most attractive feature in this splen- 
 did panorama of events. Occurring, as it did, so opportunely 
 for the success of the cause then pending, it is invested with the 
 semblance of divine ordination, and its claim is vindicated to be 
 considered one of the most distinguished events in the annals of 
 our revolutionary history. Defeat and disaster had weakened and 
 dispirited the American forces — gloomy forebodings were enter- 
 tained of disgraceful termination of the struggle after so many 
 well-fought conflicts. But the victory of King's Mountain changed 
 completely the tide of battle. These gloomy apprehensions were 
 dissipated, desponding patriotism was cheered, victory after 
 victory attended our arms, until at last the grand result of the 
 battle of King's Mountain reached its culmination in the surren* 
 der at Yorktown. 
 
 PUBLIC MEETING. 
 
 In obedience to the call for a public meeting, a goodly number 
 of the citizens of York district assembled in the court house, on 
 Monday, the 4th instant, to take into consideration the project 
 of a celebration of the next anniversary of the battle of King's 
 Mountain. Hon. I. D. Witherspoon was called to the chair, and 
 Samuel W. Melton appointed secretary. In a few pertinent and 
 well-timed remarks the chairman stated the object of the meet- 
 ing — that the citizens had been called together with the view of 
 taking whatever preliminary action might be requisite to enlist 
 the co-operation of the districts in this state, and the sympathy 
 of the people of those states most intimately identified with the 
 occasion, in order to the consummation of a celebration worthy 
 of the day, and in keeping with the results attendant upon it — 
 and in a truthful and forcible manner urged the adoption of mea- 
 sures best calculated to effect the purposes in contemplation. 
 On motion of Colonel W. B. Wilson, a committee was appointed 
 to report resolutions for the action of the meeting, and after a 
 consultation, submitted the following: 
 
 Resolved, That it is expedient and proper to celebrate the an- 
 niversary of the battle of King's Mountain, on Thursday, the 
 fourth day of October next. 
 
Resolved, That each district in this state be earnestly solicited 
 to co-operate with us in effecting this end, and that they be re- 
 quested to appoint committees whose duty it shall be to receive 
 and forward whatever contributions may be placed in their hands ; 
 and that the districts of Chester, Union, Spartanburg, and Lan- 
 caster, in this state, and the adjoining counties in North Carolina, 
 be also requested to appoint committees, to act in concert with 
 the committee of arrangements to be constituted by this meeting. 
 
 Resolved, That our fellow-citizens of the states of Virginia, 
 Tennessee, North Carolina, and Kentucky, and especially the 
 descendants of those who took part in the battle, are cordially 
 invited to be present; and that a committee on the part of the 
 state, consisting of fifteen, be appointed to solicit the co-opera- 
 tion of the people of these states in the proposed celebration. 
 
 Resolved, That the president of the United States and his cabi- 
 net, Lieutenant-General Scott, and the governors of Virginia, 
 North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky be specially invited to 
 attend. 
 
 Resolved, That the Hon. John S. Preston, of this state, and 
 Hon. George E. Badger, of North Carolina, be appointed orators 
 of the day. 
 
 Resolved, That his Excellency Governor Adams be requested to 
 act as marshal of the day, and Adjutant-General Dunovant as 
 assistant marshal; and that Rev. Dr. Thornwell be invited to 
 officiate as clergyman on the occasion. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of arrangements be appointed, 
 consisting of sixty members, ten of whom shall constitute a 
 quorum; that acommittee on finance, consisting of eight, shall 
 be charged with the duty of collecting funds, and receiving con- 
 tributions from abroad, to defray the expenses of the celebration ; 
 that a committee of nine be appointed, whose duty it shall be to 
 act in concert with and under the direction of the marshal of the 
 day, in making the proper military arrangements, and in extend- 
 ing all necessary assistance in reference thereto ; that a commit- 
 tee on toasts be appointed, consisting of five; and that a com- 
 mittee of invitation and correspondence be directed to invite 
 distinguished gentlemen from all parts of the Union, and to 
 conduct all correspondence pertinent to the celebration, said 
 committee to consist of three. 
 
 Resolved, That a special committee be appointed to inform his 
 Excellency Governor Adams of his appointment as marshal of 
 
tlie day, and to solicit in behalf of the celebration the aid of his 
 official and personal influence. 
 
 Resolved, That the committee of invitation and correspondence 
 inform the orators elect of their appointment, and confer with 
 them in relation thereto ; and in case either should be prevented 
 from accepting", that they have power to appoint a substitute. 
 
 The resolutions were considered separately, and unanimously 
 adopted, after which the chairman announced the following 
 committees: 
 
 C05IMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 John S. Moore, Chairman, 
 
 Samuel Rainey, sr., 
 
 W. A. Latta, 
 
 Dr, D. H. Thomasson, 
 
 Col. R. G-. McCaw, 
 
 Thomas S. Pagan, 
 
 Dr. A. I. Barron, 
 
 Capt. Wm. McGill, 
 
 Wm. Moore, sr., 
 
 Madison Hambright, 
 
 Joseph Whisenant, 
 
 John Whisenant, 
 
 Robert Whitesides, 
 
 Rev. S. L. Watson, 
 
 Joel Barnett, 
 
 Abram Hardin, 
 
 Maj. Gazaway Wilson, 
 
 Alexander Fewell, jr., 
 
 Capt. John Massey, 
 
 Capt. S. Anderson, 
 
 John Roddy, 
 
 Dr. R. H. Hope, 
 
 L. H. Massey, 
 
 John S. Bratton, 
 
 Wm. E. White, 
 
 A. B. Springs, 
 
 J. J. Watson, 
 
 Dr. Samuel Wright, 
 
 Capt. Elijah Feemster, 
 
 Maj. Myles Smith, 
 
 John G. Enloe, 
 B. T. Wheeler, 
 W. I. Clawson, 
 J. H. Walker, 
 S. L. Love, 
 H. F. Adickes, 
 W. E. Rose, , 
 A. S. Wallace, 
 W. C. Black, 
 Michael Hambright, 
 Wm. McGill, jr., 
 J. N. McElwee, sr., 
 G. W. Mason, 
 Col. Arthur McKenzie, 
 J. Durham Currence, 
 Rev. A. Whyte, 
 Allen Robertson, 
 W. P, Thomasson, 
 Capt. D. D. Moore, 
 Dr. C. P. Sandifer, 
 Chesley Gwinn, 
 S. G. Brown, 
 Simpson Hemphill, 
 A. G. Lawrence, 
 Wm. F. Gates, 
 Capt. Hugh Borders, 
 Theodore Fulton, 
 James Moore, 
 J. Leander Adams, 
 Col. J. W. Rawlinson. 
 
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE. 
 
 Gol. William Wright, 
 Rev. J. M. Anderson, 
 G. W. Williams, 
 Edward Moore, 
 
 James Jeffreys, 
 T. J. Bell, 
 J. C. Chambers, 
 Wilson Eice. 
 
 MILITARY COMMITTEE. 
 
 Gen. John A. Alston, 
 Col. W. H. McCorkle, 
 Col. L. P. Sadler, 
 Col. J. B. Jackson, 
 Col. Thomas Sturgis, 
 
 Col. J. F. Walker, 
 Capt. M. Bird, 
 Capt. A. Coward, 
 Capt. M. Jenkins. 
 
 Edward Moore, 
 Col. W. C. Beatty, 
 W. A. Latta. 
 
 COMMITTEE ON TOASTS. 
 
 Col. R. G. McCaw, 
 J. C. Chambers. 
 
 COSIMITTEE ON INVITATION AND CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 Col. W. B. Wilson, | Samuel W. Melton. 
 
 John L. Miller, I 
 
 STATE COMMITTEE, 
 
 Ex-Gov. Manning, 
 Hon. A. R Butler, 
 " J. J. Evans, 
 " R. W. Barnwell, 
 " F. W. Pickens, 
 " R. F. W. Alston, 
 " James Simons, 
 " T. J. Withers, 
 
 Hon. W. W. Boyce, 
 
 " Wm. Aiken, 
 
 " J. L. Orr, 
 
 " James Chesnut, jr., 
 
 " N. R. Eaves, 
 Col. John D. Williams, 
 Capt. James U. Adams^ 
 
 SPECIAL COMMITTEE. 
 
 Samuel W. Melton, I Dr. Wm. Moore, 
 
 W. B. Wilson, I John L. Miller. 
 
 On motion of Mr. Miller, it was unanimously resolved that the 
 name of the chairman of the meeting. Col. I. D, Witherspoon, 
 be added to the state committee. 
 
 Mr. Moore submitted the following resolution, which was 
 adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That the papers of this state, and the states of North 
 Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, favorable to the 
 
object, be requested to copy so much of the proceedings of this 
 meeting as may be deemed necessary, and otherwise extend their 
 influence towards the accomplishment of the proposed celebration. 
 
 On motion, the meeting then adjourned. 
 
 I. D. WITHERSPOON, Chairman. 
 
 Samuel W. Melton, Secretary. 
 
 MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF ARRANGEMENTS. 
 
 YoRKviLLE, July 2. 
 
 The committee of arrangements for celebrating the anniver- 
 sary of the battle of King's Mountain, on the 4th day of October 
 next, met at this place, to-day, with John S. Moore, in the chair- 
 On motion, W. I. Clawson, esq., was appointed secretary. 
 
 On motion of Col. R. G. McCaw, the following resolution was 
 adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That the committee on finance, are ■ hereby request- 
 ed to report to this committee, at its next meeting, to be held at 
 this place, on the first Monday in August next, the amount of 
 funds raised by the committee, and what sum, in their opinion, 
 can be raised for celebrating the battle of King's Mountain. 
 
 Mr. Clawson moved that the chairman of this committee, ap- 
 point additional committees, in the several beat companies in 
 the district, to co-operate with the financial committee in rais- 
 ing funds for the celebration; and that said committees, through 
 their chairmen, be requested to report to Col. Wm. Wright, the 
 chairman of the financial committee at their next meeting, to 
 be held at this place, on the first Monday in August next, the 
 amount of funds raised by them; which was adopted: whereupon 
 the following persons were appointed, to wit: 
 
 EASTERN REGIMENT. 
 North Battalion. — Beat No. 1. — John Stewart, chairman ; 
 Dr C. L. Clawson, F. H. Harris, Monroe Powell, J. M. Morrow. 
 
 No. 2. — S. L. Adams, chairman; James B. Jackson, Dr. J. B. 
 Hunter, Peter McCallum, Z. D. Smith, Dr. J. A. Barnett. 
 
 No. 3 — Peter Ganson, chairman; Thomas M. Neely, Ai'chibald 
 Barron, Wylie Reeves, Stanhope Harris. 
 
 No. 4. — Dr. J. C. Hicklin, chairman; Samuel Johnson, J. L. 
 Wright, R. W. Wilson, Wm. B. Allison. 
 
8 
 
 South Battalion. — -Beat No. 1. — William Hanna, chairman; 
 Newton A. Steele, Wm. Litle, Robert E. Miller, Stephen M. 
 Johnson. 
 
 No. 2. — David C. Crawford, chairman; John McConnell, Dr. R. 
 L. Love, Amzi Steele, A. P. Thomasson. 
 
 No. 3. — Col. T. W. Sturgis, chairman ; Henry Broach, Dr. 
 James Johnson, R. W. Workman, J. F. Workman. 
 
 No. 4. — W. P. McFadden, chairman; E. N. Crawford, J. N. 
 McElwee, jr., Daniel Williams, John R. Patton. 
 
 WESTERN REGIMENT. 
 
 North Battalion. — Beat No. 1. — J. B. Lowry, chairman; El- 
 liott Quinn, Fi:anklin Walker, Robert Allison, John 0. Craw- 
 ford. 
 
 No. 2. — Jacob Deal, Robert Caveny, Dan'l James, Ira Hardin, 
 Rufus Whisenant. 
 
 No. 3. — Jackson McGill, Thomas P. Black, Wm. Camp, John- 
 son Goforth, Wm. Moore, jr. 
 
 No. 4. — Calvin Whisenant, James Henry, John White, Andrew 
 Henry, Thomas Whitesides. 
 
 South Battalion. — Beat No. 1. — T. D. Byers, Myles Wallace, 
 Wm. Caldwell, John Whitesides, Jas. McClure. 
 
 No. 2— P. B. Darwin, Thomas G. Wylie, John Smith, Dr. J. G. 
 Smarr, Edward Leech. 
 
 No. 3. — Dennis Crosby, Samuel Blair, John G. Davidson, Tho- 
 mas Mickle, Andrew J. Roberts. 
 
 No. 4. — Davis Burris, Reuben McConnell, Joseph P. Moore, 
 John W. Moore, John Ross. 
 
 The following communications were received and read: 
 " Independent Order .of Odd Fellows, 
 
 Yorkville, June t. 
 
 Gentlemen, — At a regular meeting of Trinity Lodge, No. 22, 
 held this evening, by resolution, the following brethren were ap- 
 pointed, in behalf of the Order, a committee ©f arrangements, 
 for celebrating the approaching anniversaiy of the battle of 
 King's Mountain, viz.: Edward Moore, chairman; W. J. Bo wen, 
 Alfred Craven, T. J. Eccles, W. H. Neely. 
 
 RICHARD HARE, N. G. 
 
 A. Stillayell, Secretary. 
 
Philanthropic Lodge, No. 78, A. F. M. 
 
 Yorkville, June 21, A. L., 5855. 
 
 Gentlemen, — As an Order, and as individuals, feeling a lively 
 interest in the contemplated celebration of the anniversary of 
 the battle of King's Mountain, on the 4th day of October next, 
 and being willing to contribute towards the labor and expenses 
 of the same, the following persons have been appointed, by a 
 resolution, as a committee on the part of the lodge, to co-ope- 
 rate with your committee in making arrangements for the occa- 
 sion, to wit: Kichard, Hare chairman, L. M. Grist, James H. Bar- 
 ry, Joseph A. McLean, James L. Clark, J. B. Manning, J. H. 
 Faulkner, Wra. K. Hacket, T. S. Jefferys, Samuel Rainey,jr. 
 
 Should the services of the committee be received, you will 
 please notify the Worshipful Master of the same. By order of 
 the lodge. ALFEED CRAVEN, W. M. 
 
 L. M. Grist, Secretary. 
 
 A. S. Wallace, esq., offered the following resolutions, which 
 were adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That the proffered assistance on the part of the Order 
 of Odd Fellows, and the Lodge of Ancient Free Masons, in the 
 contemplated celebration be received, and that the thanks of the 
 committee should be^ and are hereby tendered to the respective 
 Orders for the same. 
 
 Resolved, That the secretary of this meeting notify the lodges 
 of this resolution. 
 
 On motion of Col. R. G, McCaw, it was 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in 
 the Yorkville papers. 
 
 JOHN S. MOORE, Chairman. 
 
 W. I. Clawson, Secretary. 
 
 MEETING IN SPARTANBURG. 
 
 From the Spartaaburg Express. July 5. 
 
 Pursuant to former notice a large number of the citizens of 
 Spartanburg district assembled in the court house, on Monday 
 the 2d instant, for the purpose of responding to the call made by 
 2 
 
10 
 
 York, upon the adjoining districts to co-operate in the celebra- 
 tion of the anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain, on the 
 4th day of October next. 
 
 Dr. J. Winnsmith was called to the chair, and T. Stobo Farrow, 
 appointed secretary. The chairman, in a short address explained 
 the objects of the meeting, and urged the adoption of suitable 
 measures for co-operating in the proposed celebration. 
 
 T. Stobo Farrow then addressed the meeting on the advan- 
 tages of celebrating the anniversaries of important battles, etc., 
 and the peculiar interest the citizens of Spartanburg should feel 
 in cherishing the recollections of the battle of King's Mountain, 
 and closed by offering the following resolutions: 
 
 Resolved, That the citizens of Spartanburg cordially approve of 
 the steps being taken to celebrate the anniversary of the battle 
 of King's Mountain, on Thursday the 4th day of October next. 
 
 Resolved, That the invitation extended to Spartanburg by a pub- 
 lic meeting of the citizens of York, to attend and participate in 
 its celebration, be respectfully accepted and hereby acknow- 
 ledged. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of ten be appointed whose duty it 
 shall be to receive and forward any contributions made towards 
 assisting to defray the expenses of the celebration. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of ten be appointed to co-operate 
 with the committee of arrangements appointed by the meeting 
 at Yorkville. 
 
 On the reading of the first resolution the Kev. W. Martin rose, 
 endorsed the resolution, and spoke in a happy manner of the im- 
 portance of that battle, and the duty incumbent upon all the 
 friends of freedom to unite in the celebration of its anniversary. 
 
 The resolutions were duly considered and unanimoiisly adopted. 
 
 The chairman being authorized, appointed the committee in 
 conformity to the two last resolutions. 
 
 Committee to receive contributions: Major G. W. H. Legg, 
 Major J. Earle Bomar, J. W. Carlisle, J. C. Zimmerman, Col. S. 
 N. Evins, A. Simpson, Captain James Scruggs, A. T. Cavis, M. 
 McArthur, J. E. Poole. 
 
 Committee to co-operate with the committee of arrangements: 
 T. Stobo Farrow, Col. E. C. Poole, Eev. W. Martin, Gen. J. W. 
 Miller, Dr. E. E. Cleveland, Gen. B. B. Foster, B. F. Kilgore, Hon. 
 Gabriel Cannon, Eev. J. G. Landrum, Eev. Dr. Thomas Curtis. 
 
 On motion, the chairman of the meeting, Dr. J. Winnsmith, 
 
11 
 
 was added to the committee to co-operate with the committee of 
 arrangements. 
 
 J. W. Carlisle, esq., submitted the following resolution, which 
 was unanimously adopted. 
 
 Resolved, That the papers of this district be requested to pub- 
 lish the proceedings of this meeting. 
 
 On motion the meeting then adjourned. 
 
 J. WINNSMITH, Chairman. 
 
 T. Stobo Farrow, Secretary. 
 
 MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE. 
 
 YORKVILLE, August 6. 
 
 The committee of arrangements for celebrating the battle of 
 King's Mountain, pursuant to appointment, met to-day in the 
 court house, John S. Moore, esq., in the chair, and W. I. Claw- 
 son, esq., acting as secretary. 
 
 A report was submitted by the financial committee of the 
 several sums raised by them to defray the expenses of the cele- 
 bration. 
 
 On motion of Col. E. 0. McCaw, the following resolution was 
 offered and adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That the different financial committees appointed for 
 the purpose of raising funds for the celebration of the battle of 
 King's Mountain, are earnestly requested to use every laudable 
 effort, in their power, to increase the amount of money ah'eady 
 raised by them, and that they report to the commitee of arrange- 
 ments, on the first Monday in September next, at this place, at 
 which time, a programme of arrangements will be submitted. 
 
 W. P. Thomasson, esq., submitted the following resolution, 
 which was adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That the financial committees, in the other districts 
 in this state, and the adjoining counties in North Carolina, be re- 
 quested to report to the chairman of the committee of arrange- 
 ments, on or before the first Monday in September next, the 
 amount of funds raised by them respectively. 
 
 J. B. Jackson, esq., moved that the committee of invitation 
 report any correspondence had with the orators elect, whereupon 
 Jno. L. Miller, esq., on the part of the committee, read the fol- 
 
12 
 
 lowing letters from the Hon. John S. Preston, of this state, and 
 Hon. George E. Badger, of North Carolina: 
 
 " Columbia, June 22. 
 Messrs. Wm. B. Wilson, John L. Miller, 
 
 and S. W. Melton, Committee : 
 Gentlemen: — I have received your kind and flattering note, in- 
 forming me that the people of York district have appointed me 
 one of the orators at the proposed celebration of the battle of 
 King's Mountain. I accept the appointment, but with a most 
 humble appreciation of my ability to fulfil its duties satisfactorily. 
 To the generous citizens of York, who have thus honored me, and 
 to you individually, gentlemen, who have in such kind terms 
 communicated their wishes, I beg to offer my sincere thanks, 
 and pray you to believe me, gratefully and truly, 
 
 Your friend and obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN S. PEESTON. 
 
 " Ealeigh, June 23. 
 
 Gentlemen, — I have received your letter informing me that a 
 meeting of citizens of Y^ork district, had chosen the Hon. John S. 
 Preston and myself as orators for a celebration this fall, of the 
 anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain. 
 
 I am profoundly sensible of the honor which this choice confers 
 upon me, especially when I find myself associated with so distin- 
 guished a person as Mr. Preston; but, gentlemen, I am compelled 
 to decline the distinction you offer me. After eight years spent 
 in public life, to the great neglect of my private affairs, I must 
 devote the few years which I hope are left me, to repair the con- 
 sequences of my past neglect. I cannot absent myself from 
 home at the time of your celebration, without abandoning my 
 business and leaving a paramount duty unperformed. Besides, 
 I may add, that I have always made it a rule to decline invita- 
 tions to address public meetings of whatever kind, out of my own 
 state, and have invariably and on many occasions acted on this 
 rule. 
 
 If I could in any case make an exception, it w'ould be on the 
 most interesting occasion of your intended celebration, but that 
 enquiry is precluded, because, as I have already stated, my busi- 
 ness arrangements would prevent me, however disposed, fi'om 
 accepting your invitation. 
 
13 
 
 With high respect aud cordial regard, I have the honor to be, 
 gentlemen, your friend and obedient servant, 
 
 GEORGE E. BADGER. 
 
 To Messrs. W. B. Wilson, Juo. L. Miller, S. W. Melton, Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 On motion of W. P. Thomasson, esq., the proceedings of the 
 meeting were ordered to be published in the Yorkville papers. 
 
 On motion, the committee adjourned to meet again on the first 
 Monday in September next. 
 
 JOHN S. MOORE, Chairman. 
 
 W. I. Clawson, Secretary. 
 
 MEETING IN MECKLENBURG, N. C. 
 
 Fi'oni the Charlotte Whig, August 1. 
 
 Our neighbors of York district, S. C, having proposed to cele- 
 brate the anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain, and have 
 invited the people of North Carolina to participate in the pro- 
 ceedings on the occasion. Some few days since a letter was re- 
 ceived from a committee of the people of Yorkville, by some 
 gentlemen of this place, requesting the people of Mecklenburg to 
 select an orator to represent the people of the state on the occa- 
 sion. The people of this country who were consulted on the sub- 
 ject, felt of course much delicacy in assuming to select an orator 
 for their fellow citizens at large, all of whom were as deeply in- 
 terested as themselves, and would naturally feel some concern in 
 the proceedings. It was, however, difficult to effect communica- 
 tions with the various counties of the west — especially the moun- 
 tain counties — whose brave officers and soldiery achieved on the 
 memorable battle so much glory for themselves and so much suc- 
 cess to their country. It was besides important that the state 
 should be represented, and her historical claim to a large share 
 in one of the most remarkable battles of the revolution be fully 
 recognized. Under these circumstances, and with the best mo- 
 tives, the people of Mecklenburg did not hesitate to perform the 
 duty assigned to them, and have unanimously chosen a son of 
 North Carolina, whose reputation as one of the first orators of 
 the age, is as wide as our common country, and whose thorough 
 acquaintance with the history of the state, fit him in the highest 
 
14 
 
 degree for the duty of representing' her on that occasion. Dr. 
 Hawks, it is understood, is now writing the history of North 
 Carolina, and with this revolutionary event is perhaps as well 
 informed as any other living man. His appointment will be hailed 
 with gratification by the people of the entire state, and we will 
 not permit ourselves to doubt but that he will be present, should 
 his health and other circumstances at all permit. The celebra- 
 tion of the battle of King's Mountain, with such orators as 
 Hawks and Preston, will be one of the most interesting events 
 which has occurred in the South for many years. We hope the 
 people of western North Carolina, from whose mountains and 
 rivers, a citizen soldiery, under whose well-tried officers, rushed 
 to the rescue of their invaded country, will gather on the spot 
 consecrated to patriotism and to glory, in such numbers as will 
 show their appreciation of the virtue and services of their 
 fathers. 
 
 Below we append the resolutions of the people of Mecklen- 
 burg. We hope that each of the western counties of North Caro- 
 lina will be present with a delegation, and that steps will be im- 
 mediately taken to secure such a representation as may be wor- 
 thy of the state. 
 
 Whereas the citizens of York district, South Carolina, have re- 
 quested the people of North Carolina to participate in the celebra- 
 tion of the anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain, and 
 have requested the people of Mecklenburg county to select an 
 orator to represent the state of North Carolina. 
 
 Resolved, That we, the people of Mecklenburg, feel it a patriotic 
 duty to participate with our fellow citizens of South Carolina in 
 an appropriate commemoration of this battle, so creditable to the 
 valor and patriotism of the people of Virginia, North Carolina and 
 South Carolina. 
 
 Resolved, That the people of Mecklenburg county do request 
 the Eev. Francis L. Hawks, D.D., of the city of New York, to de- 
 liver an oration for and in behalf of the people of North Carolina 
 upon that occasion. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of three persons, of whom the chair- 
 man shall be one, be appointed to confer with the Eev. F. L. 
 Hawks and request him to perform the duty assigned him. 
 
 Resolved, That the committee appointed on this occasion, be 
 requested to select another orator should the one selected on this 
 occasion for any cause fail to perform the duty. 
 
15 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of the meeting be published in 
 the papers of this town, and the Yorkville and other newspapers 
 of this and other states. 
 
 G. W. CALDWELL, Chairman. 
 
 W. K. Reid, Secretary. 
 
 MEETING IN SHELBY, NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 [A meeting' of the citizens of Cleaveland county. North Carolina, 
 was held on the first Monday in August, and resolutions adopted 
 in response to the Yorkville meeting. The committee were una- 
 ble to procure a copy of the proceedings in time for publication.] 
 
 MEETING IN LAURENS. 
 
 From the Laurensville Herald, August 10. 
 
 In accordance with a suggestion made through the columns of 
 the Herald, a few weeks ago, a meeting of the citizens of our 
 district was held in the court house on Monday last, and organ- 
 ized by calling Dr. J. W. Simpson to the chair. The chairman 
 stated, in a brief manner, the object of the meeting, where 
 upon 
 
 Colonel J. H. Irby introduced the following resolutions, which 
 were unanimously adopted: 
 
 Resolved, That we heartily concur in the proposition of the 
 citizens of York, to celebrate the battle of King's Mountain, on 
 its approaching anniversary. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee be appointed to obtain subscrip- 
 tions and forward them to the committee of arrangements ap- 
 pointed by the citizens of York. 
 
 Resolved, That the above committee be appointed to attend the 
 celebration as representatives of Laurens district. 
 
 On motion the following gentlemen were appointed by the 
 chair, as delegates : 
 
 Col. J. H. Irby, Col. J. D. Williams, John Garlington, esq., H. 
 C. Young, J. G. Williams, Gen. A. C. Jonez, Capt. Geo. Anderson, 
 
16 
 
 Dr. M. M. Hunter, Dr. S. F. Styles, J. Wistar Simpson, B. ^Y. 
 Ball, Maj. G. W. Connor, John Smith, W. D. Watts, Maj. J. A. 
 Eigleberger, Martin Shaw, Dr. F. Weir, Maj. A. P. Martin, Capt. 
 A. Dial, L. L. Young-, Capt. J. Culbertson, Col. J. P. Kern, R. M. 
 Stokes, W. B. Henderson, W. D. Simpson, S. Fleming, E. Hix, C. 
 P. Sullivan, Rev. D. Willis, Willis Wallace. 
 
 On motion, the proceedings were ordered to be published in the 
 Laurensville Herald. J. W. SIMPSON, Chairman. 
 
 MEETING IN UNION. 
 
 From the Yorkville Enquirer, August 23. 
 
 The work still goes bravely on. Our neighbors in Union dis- 
 trict have also responded to the call of our meeting, and ap- 
 pointed a committee to co-operate with other districts in the cel- 
 ebration. The committee consists of the following gentlemen: 
 
 Dr. J. H. Dogan, Col. T. M. Dawkins, Abram McJunkin, B. H. 
 Rice, Col. F. Scaife, Maj. J. S. Sims, James G. Fernandes, M. Pat- 
 rick, Col. Jas. Jeffries, Giles Sharp, Wm. G. Hughes, Dr. George 
 Douglass, Thomas Bowker, James M. Faucett, Christopher Bran- 
 don, Gen. J. F. Gist, T. B. Jeter, Col. R. Macbeth, W. H. Gregory, 
 Thomas Sartor, J. E. Meng, Thos. Giles, Dr. 0. Walker, Rev. 
 Thomas Ray, Ellis Palmer, W. C. Dunn, Col. Saml. Beaty, Robert 
 Harris, Albert Means, George Young. 
 
 MEETING IN CHESTER. 
 
 From the Chester Standard, August 30 . 
 
 It has been to us, individually, a matter of regret that our peo- 
 ple have been so laggard in attention to the proposed celebratien 
 of the battle of King's Mountain. Filled, as Chester district was 
 with whigs, and now with their descendants, it was to be ex- 
 pected that an earnest activity would have been aroused among 
 them at the bare mention of the celebration. 
 
 By reference to another column it will be seen that a meeting 
 of the citizens of the town was held on Monday last, and that ef- 
 
17 
 
 forts are to be made to contribute to the expenses of the occasion. 
 York district has, we understand, subscribed near $2000, whilst 
 liberal amounts are promised from Spartanburg, Union and Lau- 
 rens. We know not what is doing in North Carolina; nor have 
 we heard of any action in Lancaster, Fairfield or Richland. Surely 
 this burden should not rest so heavily upon York — it is due to 
 them, and to ourselves, that we act earnestly in the matter. We 
 trust the gentlemen appointed to solicit subscriptions will act 
 promptly and report at an early day. The committee at York- 
 ville, should know, as early as possible, what they are to expect, 
 that they may make their arrangements accordingly. 
 
 The occasion will be one of more than ordinary interest, and 
 may well engage the attention of every person who feels a pride 
 in the deeds of our ancestry. An invitation has been extended 
 to the president of the United States, and expectations are enter- 
 tained that he will be present. Other distinguished gentlemen 
 have signified their intention to participate. 
 
 An unwarranted apprehension is entertained that means of con- 
 veyance cannot be furnished from Yorkville. The Committee 
 charged with this matter will not fail in their efforts to accom- 
 modate all who cast themselves upon them. It is suggested, 
 however, that as many as can do so, should go in their own con- 
 veyance. This may very well be done by Chester and Fairfield, 
 and even by Richland. In 1840 an overwhelming multitude 
 were assembled at the same point, and we then heard no com- 
 plaint about their want of conveyances from Yorkville. Cannot 
 the like be done again? 
 
 Our friend, Garner White, informs us that he now has the 
 rifle used by his father, Wm. White, at the battle of King's 
 Mountain, and at Sumter's defeat, and that he expects either to 
 carry or send it up to the celebration. This relic is wan-anted 
 to be genuine. How many such guns will be there? 
 
 Chesteb, S. C, August 2Y. 
 
 A meeting of the citizens of Chester district was convened this 
 day in the court house, to adopt measures to aid in the celebra- 
 tion of the battle of King's Mountain, when James Hemphill 
 was called to the chair, and J. L. Harris was appointed secre- 
 tary. 
 
 Capt. John A. Bradley, having explained the object of the meet- 
 3 
 
18 
 
 ing', Samuel McAliley, esq., offered the following' resolutions, 
 which were unanimously adopted: 
 
 Resohed, That we approve of the proposed celebration of the 
 anniversary of the battle of King's Mountain, and that we cordi- 
 ally unite with our fellow-citizens of York in carrying the same 
 into execution. 
 
 Resolved, That a committee of twenty be appoiAted to obtain 
 subscriptions to be transmitted to the financial committee in 
 Yorkville. 
 
 The following gentlemen were appointed the committee to ob- 
 tain subscriptions: 
 
 James Pagan, chairman; A. Q. Dunovant, Jas. Graham, John 
 McKee, jr., Wm. H. Gill, D. G. Stinson, esq., T. Henry Moflfatt, 
 D. R. Stevenson, W. E. Kelsey, Dr. John Douglass, Capt. James 
 McDill, Major John Sanders, John Simpson, Col. James McDaniel, 
 J. W. Wilkes, Nicholas Colvin, esq., J. A. Lewis, E. R. Mills, 
 Amos W. Osborne, Richard H. Fudge, esq. 
 
 Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in, 
 the Chester Standard. 
 
 MEETING IN RICHLAND. 
 
 From the South Carolinian, September 4. 
 
 In pursuance of a call through the papers, a meeting of the citi- 
 zens of Richland was held in the City Hall, yesterday. The Hon. 
 E. J. Arthur was called to the chair, and Dr. A. J. Green request- 
 ed to act as secretary. 
 
 The chairman having explained the purpose of the meeting, 
 Dr. R. W. Gibbes then offered the following preamble and reso- 
 lutions, which were seconded [by Col. John Bauskett, who ad- 
 dressed the meeting on the subject of the glorious occasion of the 
 meeting: 
 
 No action in our revolutionary history should be held more sa- 
 cred, in the memory of Carolinians than that at King's Mountain. 
 It occurred at a period when the British considered themselves 
 in possession of the state because they held Charleston, and had 
 defeated Gen. Gates at Camden. No event of the war was better 
 timed, or had more influence on the whig cause than the glo- 
 rious victory obtained by Campbell and Shelby and Sevier. It 
 
19 
 
 was to the interior, what Fort Moultrie was on the sea coast, and 
 both should be equally embalmed in the affections of our people. 
 Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That the people of Richland district will cordially 
 unite with the citizens of York in paying respect to the anniver- 
 sary of that gallant fight for liberty, 
 
 JResolved, That a committee of seven be appointed to make col- 
 lections to aid in carrying out this purpose. 
 
 The preamble and resolutions were then unanimously adopted. 
 
 The chairman appointed the following committee: 
 
 Dr. R. W. Gibbes, Col. J. Bauskett, Col. C. R. Bryce, Capt. J. 
 U. Adams, Dr. A. J. Green, Dr. John Wallace, W. Hampton, jr. 
 
 On motion of J. P. Thomas, esq., the secretary was requested 
 to publish the proceedings in the papers of Columbia. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned. 
 
 E. J. ARTHUR, Chairman. 
 
 A. J. Green, Secretary. 
 
 KING'S MOUNTAIN CELEBRATION. 
 
 The major-generals and brigadier generals of the several di- 
 visions with their respective staffs; the volunteer, uniform and 
 cavalry companies of the state; the surviving soldiers of the 
 Seminole and Mexican wars; the members of the senate and 
 house of representatives; the clergy; the masonic, odd fellow and 
 temperance lodges; and the members of the press, are invited to 
 attend the celebration of the battle of King's Mountain, on Thurs- 
 day, the 4th day of October next. 
 
 WM. B. WILSON, ) Committee 
 JNO. L. MILLER, }- of 
 
 SAM'L W. MELTON, ) Invitation. 
 
 MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE. 
 
 YoEKViLLE, September 3. 
 
 The committee of arrangements for celebrating the anniversary 
 of the battle of King's Mountain, met this day at the court house 
 pursuant to adjournment, John S. Moore, esq., in the chair, and 
 W. I. Clawson, esq., acting as secretary. 
 
20 
 
 The proceedings of the last meeting were read by the secre- 
 tary. 
 
 The chairman then called on the financial committees to make 
 reports of any additional subscriptions for defraying the expenses 
 of the celebration, which was accordingly done. 
 
 W. I. Clawson, esq., offered the following resolution which was 
 adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That the chairman of this committee appoint an exe- 
 cutive committee, to consist of five persons, whose duty it shall 
 be to make out a programme of arrangements and expenditure, 
 in accordance with the amount now subscribed, and which may 
 be subscribed hereafter; make contracts for having provisions 
 and other supplies furnished, and make all necessary arrange- 
 ments for carrying out the celebration. 
 
 Whereupon the following persons were appointed, to wit: 
 
 W. I. Clawson, esq., H. P, Adickes, A. S. Wallace, Col. E. G. 
 McCaw, and Dr. A. I. Barron. 
 
 W. I. Clawson, esq., then moved that John S. Moore, esq., be 
 added as the chairman of the committee, which was agreed to. 
 
 T. J. Eccles, esq., offered the following resolution which was 
 adopted: 
 
 Besolved, That the committee invite subscriptions, in provis- 
 ions, where such may be found convenient, and that the same 
 will be thankfully received, and that if any shall be subscribed, 
 the same shall be delivered to the chairman of this committee, at 
 least two weeks before the time of the celebration. 
 
 W. I, Clawson, esq., also offered the following resolution, which 
 was agreed to : 
 
 Besolved, That the committee of arrangements call on all the 
 citizens of this district and the adjoining districts in this state, 
 also, on the citizens of the adjoining counties in North Carolina, 
 to contribute to the celebration by way of fie nic, in addition to 
 the subscriptions already obtained, and that the same be deliv- 
 ered at the battle ground, at least one day previous to the cele- 
 bration. 
 
 Thomas J. Eccles, esq., moved that the proceedings of this 
 meeting be published in the papers of Yorkville. 
 
 JOHN S. MOORE, Chairman. 
 
 W. I. Clawson, Secretary. 
 
21 
 
 MEETING IN FAIRFIELD. 
 
 From the Winnsboro' Register, Sept. 11 
 
 A meeting was held in this place on Thursday last, to take 
 into consideration the subject of raising subscriptions to the 
 King's Mountain celebration. The Hon. J. H. Means was called 
 to the chair, and F. Gaillard requested to act as secretary. The 
 Hon. W. W. Boyce then briefly explained the object of the meet- 
 ing. The celebration of this important battle would, he supposed, 
 meet with a response from every one. He begged leave to sub- 
 mit the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, That the citizens of Fairfield district have heard with 
 pleasure of the preparations being made by the people of York 
 district to celebrate the anniversary of the battle of King's 
 Mountain, and that a committee of eleven members be appointed 
 to raise subscriptions to aid in the celebration. 
 
 The resolution was unanimously adopted, and the following 
 gentlemen appointed: W. W. Boyce, W. E. Robertson, Gen. J. 
 Buchannan, Gen. H. K. Aiken, Jacob Feaster, jr., John Adger, 
 J. M. Robertson, Dr. George McCants, Dr. J. Jenkins, and J. W. 
 Rabb. 
 
 We are pleased to learn that the committee took immediate 
 action, and have already met with encouraging success. 
 
 MEETING IN MECKLENBURG, N. C. 
 From the Western Democrat. 
 
 A meeting was held in this town on Wednesday last, to select 
 an orator to represent North Carolina at the celebration to come 
 off at King's Mountain, on the 4th of October next. 
 
 On motion, Hon. G. W. Caldwell was called to the chair, and 
 R. P. Waring requested to act as secretary. 
 
 The chairman explained the object of the meeting in a few 
 patriotic remarks, whereupon J. H. Wilson, esq., of Charlotte, 
 and John F. Hoke, esq., of Lincolnton, were appointed a com- 
 mittee to draft resolutions for the action of the meeting. 
 
 The committee reported the following, which were unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 Whereas, we have heard with regret that the Rev. Dr. Francis 
 
L. Hawks has declined to deliver the address at the King's 
 Mountain celebration, and whereas, it is due to the memory of 
 the brave sons of North Carolina who freely shed their blood in 
 defence of their country's liberty, that the state should be repre- 
 sented upon that occasion by a gentleman of historic attainments 
 and oratorical powers, therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That we invite James W. Osborne, esq., to deliver 
 the address, believing in him we have one that will reflect lustre 
 upon the past and do honor to the present. 
 
 Messrs. Caldwell, Pritchard, Wilson, and Williamson were ap- 
 pointed a committee to inform Mr. Osborne of his selection, and 
 request him to accept the same. 
 
 The meeting then adjourned. 
 
 G. W. CALDWELL, President. 
 
 R. P. Waring, Secretary. 
 
 REPORTS OF THE COMMITTEES. 
 
 From the Yorkville Enquirer, Sept. 13. 
 
 In another column will be found an address by the executive 
 committee, in relation to the celebration, to which we ask the 
 attention of our readers. 
 
 The report of the military committee is also published. Seve- 
 ral gentlemen of this committee have visited the ground, and 
 made the necessary inquiries, in order to the publication of a 
 programme of exercises, which will receive the attention of the 
 military companies intending to be prasent. It is hoped, and 
 earnestly desired, that the Independent Battalion, of Columbia, 
 the several uniform companies of Winnsboro', the Calhoun 
 Guards, of Chester, the Johnson Riflemen, of Union, and the 
 Cavalry companies of Chester, Union, Spartanburg, and York, 
 will lend us their aid on the occasion. We have reason to hope 
 that several companies from Charleston will also be present; but 
 of this there is yet doubt. By application, wagons will be pro- 
 cured to convey their camp equipments from the depot to the 
 mountains. 
 
 It will be seen that, in accordance with the action at our first 
 meeting, the position as marshal of the day has been assigned 
 to his Excellency Governor Adams. The committee to whom it 
 
23 
 
 was referred to correspond with Gov. Adams have received from 
 him no reply of any kind; it is presumed from this silence, how- 
 ever, that his excellency will honor the occasion with his pre- 
 sence. 
 
 The beauty and gallantry of the district and surrounding 
 country will doubtless be pleased to learn that measures are in 
 progress for their entertainment in Yorkville, on Friday evening 
 succeeding the day of the celebration. The notice of invitation 
 is published in this issue. Every effort will be employed by the 
 managers to furnish a splendid ball, and in their exertions they 
 will have the assistance of a skilful, and, in his way, inimitable 
 caterer, Mr. Rose, of the Palmetto hotel. We hope that on this 
 occasion, also, our neighboring districts and counties will be 
 fully represented. 
 
 REPORT OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEE. 
 
 At a meeting of the military committee on the King's Mountain 
 celebration, held in Yorkville, September 8th, the following re- 
 port was adopted: 
 
 The military companies, provided with all necessary camp 
 equipments, will report for duty to the committee at the moun- 
 tain, at or before four o'clock, on the 3d of October, at which 
 time camping positions will be assigned them. 
 
 The encampment of the military will be subject to all the rules 
 and regulations of a regular military encampment. The line of 
 sentinels will be extended so as to afford protection to such 
 articles as the committee of arrangements may place under their 
 charge. 
 
 On the 4th of October, the day of the celebration, the compa- 
 nies will assemble for exercise and review. His Excellency Gov. 
 Adams will act as reviewing officer. R. G. M. Dunovant, adjt. 
 and inspector general, will take command in the field exercises. 
 
 PROGRAMME OF FIELD EXERCISES. 
 
 1. Review. 
 
 2. Break to the left to march to the right, 
 
 3. Column close in mass. 
 
 4. Countermarch. 
 
24 
 
 5. Change direction by the left flank. 
 
 6. By head of column take wheeling distance. 
 
 7. Formation into line of battle, composed of two movements, 
 column arriving behind the line of battle. 
 
 8. Firing. 
 
 9. To the rear by the right flank pass the defile. 
 
 10. Change direction to the left. 
 
 11. Left into line wheel. 
 
 12. Double column at half distance. 
 
 13. Deploy column. 
 
 14. By left of companies to the rear into column. 
 
 15. Change direction to the left. 
 
 16. Form division. 
 
 11. Foi'm square-firing. 
 
 18. Eeduce square. 
 
 19. Deploy column. 
 
 20. Break to the right and march to the left. 
 
 21. Change direction to the left. 
 
 22. Left into line wheel. 
 
 IN THE APTERNOON— DRESS PARADE. 
 
 Immediately after the military evolutions have been performed, 
 the procession will be formed under the command of Gov. Adams. 
 (An order of procession will be prepared, in which the positions 
 of the different bodies will be assigned.) The military companies 
 and the organized associations intending to be present, will 
 please give notice of the fact to the committee, by the 25th of 
 September. 
 
 Gen. JOHN A. ALSTON, Chairman. 
 
 Capt. M. Jenkins, Secretary. 
 
KIIG'S MOTJITAIN CELEBRATION. 
 
 From the Yorkville Enquirer. 
 
 The fourth of October — the day set apart by our people for the 
 in-gathering of worshippers, and for their noble act of worship, at 
 "the grand old mountain" — has come and gone; and with it has 
 passed o& a demonstration, taken for all in all, the most impos- 
 ing ever enacted in South Carolina. A debt has been paid. The 
 brave dead who have for long years tenanted the abodes of 
 silence and neglect, and their now sleeping comrades, whose 
 resting-places are here and there unmarked, have been exhumed 
 from forgotten graves ; and, with more than all the honors that 
 glorious war can give, and with all the glory that can be ascribed 
 by a free and grateful people, have been given back again to an 
 honored earth marked by an everlasting monument. The story 
 of patient suffering, unwavering fortitude, undaunted heroism, 
 and immortal victory, has been told in words prompted by the 
 heart of a Campbell, and flowing'grandly as if from the tongue of 
 Patrick Henry; and caught up by an innumerable throng, in blood 
 kindred to Williams and Chronicle and Hamright, to Cleave- 
 land, Shelby, Sevier and McDowell, has been echoed and re-echoed, 
 until the old mountain has been made to reverberate and ring 
 again and again with the loud-bursting, pealing notes 1 Right 
 nobly, truthfully, and well has the debt been paid! Hence- 
 forward, let " King's Mountain" take a place among " the deci- 
 sive battles of the world;" let the grand achievement stand out 
 upon the page of history, one of the glorious land-marks that 
 point the pathway to the goal of human progress, where the 
 genius of liberty will be crowned triumphant forever ! 
 4 
 
26 
 
 To g-ive our readers an adequate and faithful account of the 
 celebration is a task to which we feel ourself unequal ; but the 
 duty devolves upon us, and we shall endeavor to meet it — ^taking- 
 occasion, at the outset,, to extend to those who have all-along- 
 given us the aid of their sympathy and co-operation, the most 
 hearty congratulation upon a consummation so entirely in keep- 
 ing with the best hope, and so entirely auspicious of future good. 
 When our first feeble effort was made, we had many misgivings ;■ 
 as the day approached, these misgivings were but little abated; 
 but when we were permitted to welcome there an unnumbered 
 multitude, gathered from far and near — all speaking out in word 
 and action a sentiment in unison with the occasion and the object 
 to be attained — our doubts gave way to a glad realization, and, 
 with heart in hand, we mingled in the round of rejoicing, the 
 " feast of reason and flow of soul," which made up a festival long- 
 to be regarded, and to be ever held worthy of a place with the 
 cherished memories of King's Mountain. But, to our narrative. 
 
 Early on Tuesday morning-, the roll of the drum and the in- 
 spiriting strains of martial music gave us warning of the begin- 
 ning, and aroused the feeling fit to be indulged and sustained 
 throughout the days of festivity. Under the command of Capt. 
 Jenkins and Lieut. Coward, the cadets of the Preparatory Mili- 
 tary School, upon whom devolved the duty of military escort, 
 were marched to the depot, and at nine o'clock received the 
 " Calhoun Guards," Capt. Mills, a fit representative of the chivalry 
 and spirit of old Chester. The " Guards" were escorted into the 
 town, and for the time took up their quarters at Walker's Hotel, 
 At two o'clock the extra-train from Columbia brought to us seve- 
 ral of the well-trained and spirited companies of which our 
 capital city is justly proud — the "Kichland Volunteer Rifie Com- 
 pany," Capt. Eadcliffe; the "Columbia Artillery," Capt. Hampton; 
 and a delegation from the "Carolina Blues," Capt. Barkuloo. 
 After having been received, and provided with refreshments at 
 Rose's Hotel, these companies, with the " Guards" and the cadets, 
 took up the line of march for the mountain. The regular train, 
 which had been delayed by an accident below Chester, arrived 
 late in the afternoon, and with it the companies from Charleston — 
 the " Palmetto Guard," Capt. Lucas, a fine-looking, well-trained 
 corps; and detachments of the "Washington Light Infantry,'* 
 Capt. Hatch, the " Charleston Riflemen," Capt. Johnson, and the 
 
" Gorman Riflemen," Lieut. Baum. Taking up immediately the 
 line of march, these companies followed in the wake of their 
 predecessors. We were much pleased to welcome, also, a full 
 detachment of the " Edgefield Artillery, Lieut. Adams, a gallant 
 contribution from Judge Butler and old Edgefield, which was all 
 the more welcome because the kindness was unexpected. Com- 
 fortable quarters were provided for them at Walker's. 
 
 Wednesday morning, we took our place in the caravan wend- 
 ing its way to the mountain, and early in the afternoon found 
 ourself in the midst of the strange and stirring scenes of a 
 busy forest-camp. During the last hour's ride we had recited to 
 our compagnons dio voyage the concluding chapters of "Hors'C-shoe 
 Robinson," in which are described, in the attractive garb of 
 romance, the thrilling incidents of the battle, the death of Lindsay, 
 the glad meeting of Butler and his Mildred, the genuine heroism 
 of brave old " Horse-shoe," and the denouement to all the charac- 
 ters, whose hours upon the stage, told half in truth half in fancy, 
 make this unpretending volume an heir-loom in almost every 
 family, familiar as the tone of a household word. This pleasant 
 exercise gave to us a frame of mind well suited to the scenes 
 upon which we were to enter; and, with soul and body, spirit 
 and nerve wrought up to the pitch of enthusiasm which seemed 
 te direct and rule over all, we threw ourselves into the busy 
 whirl, and began to drink in the wealth of genuine pleasure 
 which such a scene and such an occasion could but give. 
 
 Soon after our arrival upon the ground, we were permitted to 
 extend a glad welcome to two veteran pilgrims who had just 
 ended their journey across the mountains, and come to kneel at 
 our shrine and join with us in our worship — the distinguished 
 historian, Mr. Bancroft, and his not less distinguished compeer, 
 Hon. Wm. C. Preston. Both seemed to have gathered by the way 
 a fresh fund of health and spirits, in full preparation for the 
 novel scenes before them. At Mr. Bancroft's request, we pre- 
 sented our friend A. S, Wallace, esq., one of the worthy repre- 
 sentatives of our district, who, from frequent intercourse with 
 the actors in the drama, had acquired a thorough and accurate 
 knowledge of every point of the battle-ground, and who kindly 
 consented to place in contribution to the pleasure of our guest 
 his ample fund of revolutionary lore. Following his lead, Mr. 
 Bancroft, accompanied bj' Rev. Dr. Wightman and Rev. Mr. 
 
28 
 
 Martin, of Spartanburg, employed the hoiir in roatning over the 
 mountain. An hotir of value it was to us — now gathering up the 
 treasures of legendary story as our guide poured them forth, and 
 then regarding with an ill-disguised admiration the fine, spark- 
 ling, speaking eye of the listener as he took in, almost at a 
 glance, all the points and features of the battle-ground, and gave 
 a willing ear to the rehearsal of the rude but truthful story as it 
 came, second-handed, from the heroes in the strife. A beautiful, 
 cheering scene was that — the great historian upon the height of 
 King's Mountain^ — a scene worthy of a better pen than ours! 
 Standing on the spot where the surrender took place, near the 
 rock which pillowed the head of the dying Ferguson, and hard-by 
 the spreading branches of the venerable tree from which the 
 baker's dozen of traitor tories were hung, he read from the dis- 
 patches of the commanding officer an official account of the 
 battle; and placing Campbell and Shelby on the north, Sevier on 
 the west, and Williams and Cleaveland on the east side of the 
 mountain, eloquently and enthusiastically fought the battle over! 
 The hope then was full. The great historian had done homage 
 to the sacred spot and its sacred memory, and history would do 
 right. 
 
 While upon the mountain we met with Lieut. Wilkie, of the 
 "Washington Light Infantry," and on our return, proceeding to 
 the encampment of the detachment, we caught a glimpse of the 
 war-worn banner presented to the company by the widow of Col. 
 Washington. This flag was borne by the men under the com- 
 mand of the brave and daring Washington, and bears upon its 
 folds the marks of the strife through which it was borne at Cow- 
 pens and Eutaw Springs. A noble old relic it is — worth all the 
 affection with which this gallant company regard it, and amply 
 repaying, in its rare value alone, the guardian care provided for 
 its keeping. The detachment were on their way, and, after the 
 celebration, designed to proceed to the battle-field of Cowpens, 
 in Spartanburg district, with a view to reconnoitre and make 
 preparations for a grand demonstration on the ground next 
 spring. Success to the praiseworthy enterprise! 
 
 Eeturning to the camp, we were surprised and, more than 
 ever, delighted with the goul-stirring scene presented to view. 
 Scattered here and there, on the surrounding hills and in the in- 
 tervening glens, as far as the eye could reach, and even far 
 
29 
 
 beyond the range of a single glance, were pitched at least one 
 thousand tents, of every shape, size, and fashion, all reflecting 
 goldenly the last rays of a bright autumnal sunset; and passing 
 to and fro, mingling gladly together, exchanging the greetings, 
 extending the congratulations, and indulging the pleasures of 
 friendly meeting, were innumerable throngs of all ages, sexes, 
 and conditions— -the gray-haired old man, who even now remem- 
 bers, as if it were on yesterday, the firing of the guns on the day 
 of the battle which, seventy-five years gone, he has come to 
 celebrate; the venerable matron bringing the widow's mite to 
 the common altar; full-grown, vigorous manhood, with the proud 
 blood of the revolution beating at the heart and pulsating more 
 and more quickly through every vein; the rude country lad, the 
 city " swell," the bouncing lass, the dashing belle, the gallant 
 soldier, decked out in all the trappings of war, the erect, inde- 
 pendent backwoodsman, and, last of all, many a careless, devil- 
 may-take-me specimen of " our peculiar institution" — all congre- 
 gated as if by one common thought, bent upon a time of rejoicing, 
 and entering eagerly upon the work! Oh, it was a splendid, 
 glorious picture! in comparison with that which, seventy-five 
 years ago, broke upon the stillness of that mountain, enough to 
 fill the patriot heart full to overflowing, and make every nerve to 
 thrill with the intensest emotions of thankfulness and joy 1 
 
 When night came down, the thousand camp fires turned it into 
 day, and sent upward and around a bright lurid glare, lighting 
 up still the splendid panorama, and giving to the scene an effect 
 yet more sublime, more touching, more soul-stirring. The hum 
 of ten thousand voices, the tramp of men and horses, the shouts 
 of gladness, peals of laughter, and the shrill whoop of the 
 mountaineer, known alone to the mountains; the roll of the drum, 
 the incessant firing of the vexed, ill-treated sentry, and, to drown 
 them all, the inspiriting strains of martial music, which, dis. 
 coursed alternately by the several bands in camp, reverberated 
 again and again through hill and dale — all woke up to life the 
 realm where silence and solitude had been wont to reign, and 
 invested the scene with a new and thrilling interest which none 
 who witnessed it can ever forget. If the multitude had seen and 
 heard no more- — if, with the early morning, they had gone to 
 their homes, the scenes of that glorious night would have repaid 
 them all! 
 
30 
 
 At a late hour we betook ourselves to rest, and despite all the 
 noise and bustle which, throughout the camp, ruled the night, 
 slept balmily as if on "downy pillows," until reveille and the 
 morning salute awoke us to an active participation in the fevents 
 of the celebration-day. 
 
 Thursday, the sun rose gloriously, and went his round from 
 morning to twilight without a cloud to dim, even for a moment, 
 his unusual splendor. Never did a lovelier, more calmly beauti- 
 ful day smile upon earth- — a breathless, cloudless, golden autumn 
 day I It was just such a day as dawned upon the little band of 
 patriots slumbering upon the banks of Broad river; just such a 
 sun as rose upon the field of Austerlitz. Nature seemed in sym- 
 pathy with us, and gave thus kindly auspices of success. 
 
 With the morning came pouring in on every side another 
 countless throng, and at nine o'clock a multitude had congregated 
 together, numbering, according to different estimates, from eight 
 to fifteen thousand persons. One of the guests, who had been 
 accustomed to such multitudes and knew how to count them, 
 estimated the number around the stand at the opening of the 
 ceremonies at eight thousand; and then scarce half the crowd 
 was told. According to this estimate, perhaps the most reliable, 
 there were at least Jifieen thousand persons present! 
 
 At ten o'clock, the several military companies in attendance, 
 habited in their gay and beautiful uniforms, were formed into 
 line in front of the encampment, and under the command of Maj. 
 Meighan, of the Columbia " Independent Battalion," assisted by 
 Capt. Johnson, acting as adjutant, and Capt. Barkuloo, were 
 reviewed by Col. W. H. McCorkle, the commander of the upper 
 regiment. The battalion then passed in review over the plot of 
 table-land east of the mountain, and executed with the utmost 
 precision, and with an admirable skill and promptness, the series 
 of movements in vogue at "general muster," keeping time to the 
 excellent music discoursed by the band of the Richland Rifle 
 Company. Such a splendid exhibition of "the pomp, and pride, 
 and circumstance of*glorioiis war" has never been seen in the 
 backwoods since the days of old seventy-six; and for the untu- 
 tored gaze, our own and the many thousand eyes looking no 
 sentiment but that of intense admiration, it formed not the least 
 attractive and interesting feature in the day's ceremonies. 
 
 The review was ended at 11 o'clock, and, after a short interval, 
 
31 
 
 a procession was formed on the parade-ground, under the super- 
 intendence of Major Meighan, and Colonel McCorkle, acting- as 
 marshals, in the following order : those only who were known to 
 be present, having positions assigned: 
 
 The various Volunteer Companies. 
 
 The members of the Masonic, Odd Fellows and 
 
 Temperance Lodges. 
 
 The members of the Press. 
 
 The reverend Clergy. 
 
 The members of the Congress of the United States. 
 
 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, and 
 
 Members of the State Legislature. 
 
 The several commmittees connected with the Celebration. 
 
 The descendents of the Heroes of King's Mountain. 
 
 The invited Guests. 
 
 The President of the Day. 
 
 The Orator and Chaplain. 
 
 Among those who joined in the procession were' Hon. George 
 Bancroft, Col. James L. Orr, Hon. W. W. Boyce, Hon. James 
 Rogers, Hon. James Simons, speaker of the house of representa- 
 tives. Col. Wade Hampton, jr.. Col. B. H. Rice, Col. John D. Wil- 
 liams and James G. Williams, esq., the grand-sons of the hero 
 who fell at the battle. A full attendance of the masonic frater- 
 nity in regalia, added a goodly measure to the effect of the de- 
 monstration. The procession marched to a point on the ac- 
 clivity, east of the mountain, in full view of the battle-ground, 
 where a stand had been erected and seats provided for the ac- 
 commodation of the multitude. The assembly was called to or- 
 der by Colonel I. D. Witherspoon, our senator, to whom, in the 
 absence of his excellency, the governor, was assigned the office 
 of president of the day. After an appropriate introduction, he 
 announced the chaplain. Rev. J. L. W. Adams, jDastor of the 
 Presbyterian church in this place. 
 
 Here permit a moment's digression, while we dwell upon the 
 part enacted in the battle by the patriots whose homes were in 
 the vicinity of King's Mountain. Of all the romantic incidents 
 which make up that day of romance, that which tells the story of 
 the heroism of our home-fathei's, is not the least to be regarded. 
 Many of them living withiu a half-day's ride were participants in 
 the conflict; yet they belonged to no company — they were called 
 
32 
 
 to the field by no roll of drum, no stirring appeal, or inspiring ex- 
 ample — they were encouraged by the brave lead of no captain. 
 The news of the coming battle had, the day before, spread like 
 wild-fire through the country ; and at early morn, the sturdy 
 farmers used only to the delightful plans of peace, saddled his 
 horse and shouldered his rifle as if going to the accustomed Sab- 
 bath meeting. Riding briskly to the mountain, dismounting and 
 tying his horse to a limb, he took his position, independent of all 
 command, where danger was fiercest, and the most work to be 
 done, and bravely bore the hero's part in the struggle. When 
 the victory was won, as calmly and silently as he had come, he 
 mounted his plow-steed, and wended his way back to his home ; 
 and next morning, having but a day, went the more briskly to 
 his work in the harvest field ! The steady, sure aim of these far- 
 mer-warriors brought many a Bi-iton to the dust; and their sin- 
 gular bravery, their firm, untaught heroism, may well give to 
 the chronicle of the war one of the most glowing pages in its 
 brightest chapter. Such a part in this memorable conflict was 
 borne by the grand-father of him who had been called upon to 
 take the place of the distinguished divine to whom had been as- 
 signed the office of chaplain; and such the exceeding appropri- 
 ateness which gave to him the grateful duty of invoking, with 
 truthful piety, and an earnest fervor, the Divine blessing upon 
 the assembled multitude. 
 
 After the religious ceremonies were concluded, the president 
 introduced the Hon. John S. Preston, the orator of the day. His 
 presence before the auditory was greeted by enthusiastic and 
 continued bursts of applause, which told plainly of the pitch 
 which the anxious and confident expectation of all had reached, 
 and of the great effort to which they were eagerly ready to lend 
 an ear. They were not disappointed. For two hours the speak- 
 er held his auditory entranced, and during the time scarce a 
 whisper was heard, save when the rapture inspired, by his fervid, 
 glowing eloquence, would force out, ever and anon, the enthusi- 
 astic expression of pleasure and delight. Each picture, as it 
 was presented, in matchless, thrilling tones, was recognised from 
 its very truthfulness, and greeted with peal after peal of out- 
 bursting applause. Although we had often listened to the words 
 of genuine eloquence, and had heard the distinguished orator in 
 his happiest efforts, our anticipations were more than realized; 
 always equal to the theme, never descending to the common- 
 
33 
 
 place or wavering in its proud career, it was a triumphant flight, 
 upward and onward, from the first to the last. We must not at- 
 tempt to give our readers an adequate conception of this master 
 piece of oratory. In a few weeks it will be published in pam- 
 phlet form, when the reader will be permitted to enjoy at least a 
 measure of the pleasure which the delivery could but afford to the 
 hearer. 
 
 At the conclusion of Mr. Preston's address, and after the pro- 
 longed cheering which it called forth had subsided, the president 
 of the day, proposed the following sentiment: 
 
 Hon. George Bancroft : The patriot, the statesman, the truthful and impar- 
 tial annalist ; his presence here, to-day, inseparably links his fame with the 
 cherished memories of King's Mountain. We bid him welcome. 
 
 The sentiment was cordially and warmly received, and as 
 Mr. Bancroft rose to respond, he was greeted in genuine southern 
 style. In clear and ringing accents, and with an intense plea- 
 sure beaming from every feature, the learned historian acknow- 
 ledged the delight which a participation in the celebration af- 
 forded him, paid a glowing compliment to the revolutionary he- 
 roism of South Carolina, dwelt upon the battle and its conse- 
 quences, and closed a chaste and exceedingly appropriate ad- 
 dress, by an earnest appeal in behalf of the old battle-ground. It 
 was such an address as might have been expected of the man — 
 ornate and eloquent, yet touching in its simplicity; modest, yet 
 bold and truthful — every sentiment beautifully adapted to the 
 occasion, coming from the heart of a patriot and clothed in the 
 chaste language of the accomplished scholar. The concluding 
 words are worthy of a place : 
 
 "Let the battle-ground before us be left no longer as private 
 property; let it be made the inheritance of the people, that is, of 
 all who are heirs to the benefits that were gained on the day 
 which we commemorate. Let a monument rise upon its peak as 
 a memorial of the heroism of your fathers ; as an evidence of the 
 piety of their sons. The deeds that were there performed bid us 
 ever to renew our love of country. Let the passion for freedom 
 flow forth perennially, like the fountains that gush in crystal pu- 
 rity from your hill-sides ; let the union stand like your own moun- 
 tains, which the geologists tells us are the oldest and firmest in 
 the world!" 
 
 At the close of the address, Edward Moore, esq., appeared upon 
 the stand, announced the following toasts, each of which was re^ 
 ceived with hearty applause : 
 
34 
 
 1. The Battle of King's Mountain : The turning point of the revolution — it 
 proved to be the Thermopylae of American liberty. 
 
 2. The Heroes of King's Mountain : With Spartan intrepidity, Eoman hardi- 
 hood and a patriotic valor peculiarly American, they grappled with the ene- 
 my here, and conquered. A monument should perpetuate the memory of their 
 heroic deeds. 
 
 3. Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina : Firmly united in the days 
 of I'ZSO, may they ever be found, side by side, battling in defence of their con- 
 stitutional rights and liberties against a common foe. 
 
 4. York : That portion of South Carolina which scorned British protection 
 in 1780. May she never shrink from that principle of magnanimous indepen- 
 dence. 
 
 5. Colonels Campbell, Sevier, Cleaveland, Lacey, Shelby and Hambright : 
 Histoi'y will yet claim their achievement at King's Mountain as the subject of 
 its brightest page. 
 
 6. Colonel James Williams, Carolina's noblest offering on the shrine of revo- 
 lutionary patriotism : Let his memory be eternally engraved upon the hearts 
 of his countrymen. 
 
 7. The memory of George Washington : Changes and revolutions can never 
 cast a shade upon it in America. 
 
 8. Baron De Kalb : A nation cherishes the memory of the philanthropic 
 stranger ; the willing martyr in the cause of human liberty. 
 
 9. Marion, Sumter, Hayne, Pickens and Moultrie : May their chivalry and 
 love of country be ever imitated by the sons of the palmetto state. 
 
 10. John C. Calhoun : His name, his character, and his services, are his 
 truest and highest eulogy. 
 
 11. The President of the United States : The faithful executor and defender 
 of the constitution ; he deserves the gratitude and support of the south. 
 
 12. The orator of the day : The gifted descendant of the gallant Campbell ; 
 his eloquence today warms our hearts with patriotic fire, as did the thundering 
 tones of his ancestor inspirit his followers seventy-five years ago on this spot. 
 
 13. Woman : The last, best and dearest gift of God to man. 
 
 The reading of the regular toasts concluded, the rifle of Wil- 
 liam White was presented to view by Samuel W. Melton, with the 
 following words : 
 
 "I hold in my hand, fellow citizens, one of the rifles which, with 
 the true aim and steady nerve of the hardy backwoodsman, dealt 
 death and destruction to the foe upon the height of King's Moun- 
 tain. It was borne by William White, a native of Chester dis- 
 trict, who served in the day of battle in Captain Lacey's compa- 
 ny, attached to Colonel Williams' command. In the care of Cap- 
 tain Mills, of the ' Calhoun Guards,' Chester district, sends this 
 most welcome contribution to the festivities of the occasion. 
 Three cheers for the old rifle!" 
 
 Following this, the sword of Colonel Campbell was handed to 
 
35 
 
 him by Colonel Preston, which ho immediately presented as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " Here, too, fellow citizens, is another noble relic — the trusty 
 blade which, at the bidding of the brave William Campbell, 
 leaped from the scabbard first on yonder height. Let us give to 
 it a hearty, cheering welcome back to the old battle ground; and 
 let us hope that, if ever the sword must be unsheathed in defence 
 of American honor, or southern right, it may be returned as pure 
 and unsullied as this, the legacy of the immortal Campbell to his 
 honored posterity." 
 
 After the presentation of these valued relics of the battle, he 
 proposed the following sentiment: 
 
 Honorable William Campbell Preston : Rekindled in the grand- sou, has been 
 transmitted to us the spirit which gleamed in the sword of the grand-sire. 
 While we have assembled to honor the patriotic deeds of the one upon the bat- 
 tle-field, let us not forget the statesmanship and eloquence which have thrown 
 a halo of imperishable glory around the other. In the fullness of age, as in 
 the pride and strength of manhood. South Carolina delights to do him rever- 
 ence. 
 
 When the loud applause with which this sentiment was re- 
 ceived had subsided, the once proud and majestic form of " the 
 inspired declaimer," now bent with age and tremblingly leaning 
 upon the crutch for support, approached to the front of the stand. 
 For a moment, the fire of genius, almost gone out, which had 
 once commanded " the applause of list'ning senates," seemed to 
 enkindle and burn as brightly as ever. He said: 
 
 " If anything could now relume the embers of a life which, at 
 times in my youth and manhood, has perhaps burned brightly, it 
 would be the sentiment which has just been uttered. It touches the 
 objects which are dearest to me. It points to a life which has been 
 animated by what I thought and hoped to be elevated objects of 
 ambition, and to an ancestry whose memory has been most fond- 
 ly cherished. Here, in these scenes of primeval grandeur, and 
 upon a spot with which it has been the fortunes of that ancestry 
 to be associated, it comes upon me with especial force; but if I 
 could ever speak, I can speak no longer, and if excuse be need- 
 ed, I would appeal to this," (raising up his crutch) " and to this," 
 (laying his hand upon locks as white as snow;) "yet, still my 
 heart," (laying his hand upon his breast) — but the utterance 
 failed, and "the old man eloquent " bowed his head and wept, 
 while the tear, trickling from every eye in that vast assembly, 
 told the story of earnest sympathy, and paid a tribute to the 
 power of true eloquence— the eloquence of feeling and of actioii 
 
36 
 
 and of silence. When he had resumed his seat, John L. Miller, esq., 
 proposed the following sentiment: 
 
 The Washington Light Infantry : The worthy representatives of a glorious 
 name. The flag of Colonel Washington, that waved in ti'iumph at Eutaw and 
 at Cowpens, has been committed as a sacred trust to their keeping, and we can 
 have no fear that in the discharge of this high duty, they will fail to feel the 
 summons of those great deeds, and should the crisis come, to emulate their ex- 
 ample. 
 
 A call for a response was made upon Thomas Y. Simons, jr., a 
 member of the company, but at the moment he was absent from 
 the stand, and we were thus deprived of the pleasure of hearing- 
 one of the most promising and clever among the young men of 
 Charleston. Mr. Taylor, a guest from North Carolina, volun- 
 teered an appropriate sentiment to the two orators and the two 
 battle-fields — Bancroft and Bunker Hill, Preston and King's 
 Mountain — which was received with the same demonstrations of 
 applause accorded to every sentiment proposed. 
 
 The president then announced the barbecue in readiness, and 
 after an entertainment of over three hours the auditory quietly 
 dispersed, the larger number betaking themselves to the valley 
 at the foot of the mountain, where the tables had been spread 
 and provided with the overflowing abundance usual on such 
 occasions. Though the attack was made with a determination 
 characteristic of other days, thanks to the efforts of the indefati- 
 gable chairman of the committee, the greatest profusion reigned, 
 and all were satisfied to the heart's content. 
 
 xifter the dinner was over, it was the expectation and desire 
 of the committees to assemble the multitude at the stand, and 
 pay respect to other distinguished guests who had favored the 
 occasion with their presence. In order to reach their homes by 
 Saturday evening, however, the military companies were compelled 
 to take up immediately the line of march, and their example was 
 followed by the larger portion of the assembly, whose feelings of 
 sympathy, touched by the melancholy accident which had well- 
 nigh proved fatal to one of the members of the artillery company, 
 disturbed to no small degree the pleasurable enjoyment of the 
 festivities, and forbid a further participation. 
 
 At the close of Mr. Preston's address, when the accustomed 
 salute was fired, one of the guns of the artillery company was 
 prematurely discharged while Mr. Sidney Clifton, a member of 
 the company, was in the act of loading, and so severely shattered 
 his right arm as to render immediate amputation necessary. His 
 
37 
 
 face was shockingly burned, and fears were entertained that his 
 eye-sight would be entirely lost. The operation was performed 
 by Dr. Powell, the surgeon of the Richland Rifle Company, as- 
 sisted by Dr. J. R. Bratton, of Yorkville, and Dr. Metts, of Lau- 
 rens. Every possible means was taken to alleviate his suffering, 
 and, on Friday, through the kind assistance of Mr. Jasper Stowe, 
 who provided, without charge, a comfortable conveyance, when 
 no other assistance could be obtained, he was removed to York- 
 ville, and thence to his home in Columbia. 
 
 Quietly, as they came, and without any demonstration that 
 would not become a decent and orderly people, the multitude 
 dispersed and went away to their homes, amply and more than 
 compensated, we are assured, for whatever of toil and expense 
 might have attended their camp life. By nightfall but few re- 
 mained to disturb the silence that again asserted its reign over 
 the mountain. Thus passed off the celebration — a day fraught 
 with the most pleasing memories, which may well insure to us, 
 ever hereafter, a feeling of gratification and proud satisfaction. 
 But for the one sad incident all would have been well, and our 
 record would indeed have been happy. 
 
 Friday morning we returned to Yorkville. During the day the 
 military companies arrived in town on their return, and took up 
 their quarters with us until Saturday morning. In the afternoon 
 they made a handsome display, and what with their gay appear- 
 ance, fine soldierly bearing, and the fine music which heralded 
 their coming, gave a ten-fold animation to the quiet monotony of 
 our town life. At three o'clock, we were pleased to meet with 
 many of our " brothers of the quill," from abroad, at the editorial 
 banquet, spread by that excellent caterer, Mr. Rose, of the 
 " Palmetto hotel." It would not become us to say more than to 
 express our thanks to those who gave us their presence on this 
 occasion, and to render to the host our obligations for the tempt- 
 ing display of fine dishes, which made it a feast of which we 
 were proud. At night the King's Mountain ball, at the "Pal- 
 metto," passed off handsomely; the ladies in attendance, how- 
 ever, were few, and the entertainment was not prolonged to a 
 late hour. Saturday morning our guests bade us adieu, carrjnng 
 with them the earnest thanks of our people, and our heartfelt 
 wish that their own may have been equal to the enjoyment which 
 their presence in our midst has afforded us. 
 
38 
 
 CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 YoRKViLLE, October 8th, 1855. 
 
 Honorable John S. Preston — 
 
 Sir: At the instance of the several committees appointed with 
 reference to the King's Mountain Celebration, and in accordance 
 with the general wish of our people, we respectfully request, for 
 publication, a copy of the oration delivered by you on that occa- 
 sion. 
 
 Believing that the all-important bearing of the event we have 
 just commemorated, upon the fortunes of the revolution, has not 
 yet been adequately appreciated, and conceiving it to be a duty 
 as well as a privilege, under present auspices, to make public, 
 in relation to it, a full and entirely reliable contribution to his- 
 tory, we have also to request access to the papers which you 
 have consulted in making up the lucid statement of the battle and 
 its consequences, contained in your oration. 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 W. B. WILSON, ) Committee 
 
 JNO. L. MILLER, V of 
 
 SAM'L W. MELTON, ) Correspondence. 
 
 Columbia, October 10, 1855. 
 
 Messrs. Wilson, Miller and Melton, Committee — 
 
 Gentlemen: Most gratefully appreciating the honor you have 
 conferred upon me, I promptly comply with your request to fur- 
 nish for publication, a copy of my address at King's Mountain. 
 By a minute and careful sifting of historical and documentary 
 statements, I have endeavored to make my narrative strictly 
 conformable to truth. Some minor incidents and the tone of col- 
 ouring, not afiecting the historical value of the battle, may be 
 derived from tradition, or from documents I am not at liberty to 
 publish; but in the address I have studied to use nothing which 
 is not true. 
 
 In compliance with your request I send, also, copies of the doc- 
 uments upon which I have mainly relied to authenticate my ac- 
 count of the battle. If, in accordance, with your views, you are 
 at liberty to publish all or any portion of them. 
 I am, gentlemen, with the highest regard. 
 
 Your friend and obedient servant, 
 
 JOHN S. PRESTON. 
 
ADDEESS 
 
 DELIVERED AT THE 
 
 CELEBRATION 
 
 BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN, 
 
 OCTOBEE, 1855. 
 BY 
 
 JOHN S. PRESTOJST. 
 
 YORKVILLE, S. C. 
 
 PUBLISHED FOR THE COMMITTEES BY MILLER & MELTON, 
 Proprietors of the Yorkville Enquirer. 
 
 1855. 
 
ADDRESS. 
 
 This forest is very lovely in the dying glow of autumn ; 
 this mountain is beautiful in its lonely grandeur ; this 
 little brook runs gently, as it murmurs its ceaseless 
 requiem by that solitary grave-stone. Why are they 
 disturbed by this vast multitude of men— the repre- 
 sentation of mighty, living power ? Why come up 
 here youth and manhood — age and woman — the 
 hope — the struggle — the triumph — the joy of life ? 
 
 My Countryme]^: 
 
 Not success, nor triumph, nor power — not the decrep- 
 itude of age, nor the vigor of youth — ^not all the ne- 
 cessities of actual life can make us forget the places 
 where liberty was born. We come up to these places 
 to worship, for they are sacred. There be those of us 
 here to-day who are standing on earth soaked with the 
 blood of martyr-kinsmen. Through that gorge, along 
 that ridge, rising that steep acclivity, our patriot sires 
 trailed in their own sacred blood, as they encircled the 
 ferocious beast who had been preying on their homes 
 and children. High up on the rugged summit, behind 
 those craggy rocks, the fierce Ferguson lay-crouched, 
 licking his red chops, and glaring on the mountain 
 hunters as they closed around him. From that valley, 
 
 6 
 
42 
 
 the calm, detei mined Cleaveland marclied — out of the 
 deep hollow — the bold and strong and daring Shelby 
 sprung ; in front, along where you are standing, came 
 the red-haired Campbell — the claymore of the Argyle 
 gleaming in his hand, and his blue eye glittering with 
 a lurid flame. They meet, as the terrible foe comes 
 crashing down like a herd of hungry lions ; they meet 
 with an earth-shock — a tremor — a pause — the rattle — 
 the war — a groan — a shriek— a wild, triumphant shout, 
 and the spirit of liberty, hovering for a moment, over 
 this wild mountain scene, unfolded her purple wings 
 and bore the glad tidings to the father of his country, 
 and to the hearts of her fainting soldiery in other re- 
 gions of her chosen land. " It is the dawn of hope 
 and better fortune," exclaims the sage Jefferson, "it 
 turns the tide of affairs in the South," says another pa- 
 triot. " It checks the conqueror who is ravaging the 
 Carolinas." " It reconquers South Carolina." "It turns 
 the lion from his rapine and chases him from the plain," 
 " Great and glorious," cries the brave but unfortunate 
 Gates. 
 
 Who and whence are the men who wrought this 
 great work, and thus consecrated this spot, even down 
 to this hour ? Whose heroic patriotism thus checked 
 the conqueror in mid career, and gave back life to the 
 expiring cause of American liberty ? Lord Rawdon, 
 writing to the commander-in-chief of the British forces, 
 says, of this battle, " the men, who fought it, came 
 from beyond mountains, whose very names are un- 
 known. 
 
 September is a delicious season in the green vallies 
 beyond those " unknown mountains," and it was on a 
 bright and sunny day in the latter part of that month, 
 
43 
 
 that men Avere seen aratliermg; in one of those vallies 
 of the beautiful Wautauga, as if for some purpose of 
 deep interest to themselves. It is, indeed, a lovely 
 spot, and well suited for the grave deliberations then 
 held there. The torrent comes bounding from the 
 mountains as if tearing its way through them, and, 
 suddenly, spreads out, into a broad, shallow, rippling 
 stream, its pattering music running with sweet accord 
 beneath the distant roar from above. On one bank is 
 a gentle slope, shaded by beach and maple, and car- 
 peted with waving grass. On the other side, are bold 
 and rocky precipices, with oj)enings scarce wide 
 enough for perilous bridle paths. Down these paths, 
 about noon, might be seen descending, at intervals, the 
 hardy denizens of that wild region, most of them on 
 horseback, but many afoot, and all dressed in the 
 fringed hunting shirt and buckskin leggings, and bear- 
 ing on their shoulders the long, small-bore rifle of that 
 day. The tread and plash of their horses, as they 
 struck the pebly bottom of the strong current, blended 
 richly with the natural music of the scene. Already 
 many were collected, and lying idly, in groups, be- 
 neath the spreading trees on the northern slope. Be- 
 fore the long shadows of the mountains reached them, 
 at least a thousand men were there ; for, this far away, 
 quiet vale, was the rendezvous of as noble soldiery as 
 ever illustrated the annals of human history. Yet, 
 there were no tents there, no wagons, no sentries, no 
 flaunting banner, none of the gorgeous paraphernalia 
 of glorious war. The top-root of the beech was the 
 pillow, the velvet sward the couch, the waving boughs 
 the canopy for these sons of the mountain nymph. 
 Their liberties had been achieved, and they rested in 
 security, their barrier-mountains kept oft' the invader, 
 
44 
 
 and their own prowess .had driven the Indian from 
 about them. But a shriek had come up from the 
 Carolinas, and, echoing around these peaceful vallies, 
 startled these men from their homes and harvest 
 fields. 
 
 The ready minions of that stern power which had 
 driven the colonies to revolt, were crushing out the 
 last hope in Carolina — lighting the torch and sharpen- 
 ing the knife in the hand of treason — making patri- 
 cide, carnage and fire, loyalty and virtue ; and this was 
 the call these men were met to answer. Moving earn- 
 estly from grouj) to group, were seen four or five men, 
 dressed like all, in that picturesque and graceful hunt- 
 ing shirt, but distinguished by their side arms, and 
 each, by something remarkable in person or bearing, 
 betokening a wider experience than these wild scenes 
 afibrded. As night closed in, these men with many 
 others, sat together talking over the events of that 
 struggle for freedom, which had been going on for 
 years, and in which, each one of those I have designa- 
 ted, had borne an active and not inglorious part. One 
 of them, evidently the master mind of the group, ap- 
 parently, to give texture and purpose to the conversa- 
 tion and discussion, was detailing the causes which, for 
 years, almost for centuries, seemed to lead to this great 
 struggle. He spoke of all that history told of the op- 
 pression of their ancestors by the profligate and tyran- 
 ical Stuarts, and how the blood of one — not a martyr 
 as he is vainly and wickedly called — but the victim of 
 his own sins, and a just sacrifice to popular right — 
 failed to be a lesson and a warning to others. He 
 spoke of the brave and gentle Huguenots, driven into 
 the sea by a pompous and bigoted monarch — in bitter 
 satire, or by contemptible adulation, called " the 
 
grand." He repeated what their sires and grandsires 
 had told them, of Scotland's sad failure, and poor 
 Erin's misery, and how all came for freedom^ to this 
 new world that had risen beyond the far Atlantic. 
 These men, far removed from actual intercourse with 
 the people they were going to serve, and ignorant of 
 the condition of the provinces, became anxious and 
 excited by this conversation, and warmly urged the 
 speaker to continue his narration. 
 
 "Well," said he, " it is not the paltry tax, these 
 cruel and short-sighted men impose upon us — it is not 
 their mean assumptions of power, or their utter aban- 
 donment of national protection, which drives us to be 
 free. The principle is in the human heart — it showed 
 itself at Runnimede five hundred years ago, and will 
 not be satisfied until this new found world comes under 
 the dominion of civil and religious liberty. This con- 
 tinent belongs to liberty. The people of America are 
 not rude and uncivilised men, emerging slowly and 
 painfully from slavery and superstition. They came to 
 a new world to regain that which had been taken from 
 them in the old, or to create that which the tyrannies 
 of the old world prohibited from life. They came here, 
 a hundred years ago, with the religion of Luther and 
 Knox, and the spirit of Sidney and Hampden ; politi- 
 cal and religious truth was the inspiration which sent 
 them here. Their first house was a christian church, 
 the next a hall of justice. There is no darkness in our 
 origin. The first sun that rose on our ancestors on this 
 continent, shone on civilized and christian men. For 
 generations they had been fighting for liberty, and 
 failed to get it ; when they touched this new land, they 
 deemed the holy heritage within their grasp ; the day 
 spring from on higlj, rose before them, and, under its 
 
46 
 
 soul-strengtlieniug power, they subdued the rugged 
 trout of nature. Driven from Britain by lier tyrannies, 
 we liave still turned fondly to the homes of our fathers, 
 and given freely our blood and treasure to our mother 
 country. There are those of us here to-night, who bear 
 the scars of her wars, side by side with that great and 
 good chief who is now leading us on to freedom. In 
 all justice we would have served her with fond affec- 
 tion, and faithful reverence. Why then have we re- 
 belled ? Why have we marred the face of this fair, 
 new land with a cruel and bloody civil war ? Here, 
 within sight of this spot, we have seen our wives and 
 children slaughtered by the merciless savage, hired by 
 our king. For five years his blood-thirsty hirelings 
 have been slaying, without mercy, from Canada to 
 Georgia, and now, within one hundred miles of us,^^ 
 among our kinsmen and brothers, we see Englishmen, 
 aye, and Americans, more barbai'^ous than the wild 
 savage, deluging the land with blood. Why have we 
 encountered all this ? Why have we sought all this ? 
 It is because the command of God is that we must be 
 free ! Already have our deeds marked us in the histo- 
 ry of mankind. Triumph now, or fail now, our names 
 and our deeds are registered in the most sacred vol- 
 ume of that history. Its pages record nothing in mo- 
 ral grandeur, surpassing the scenes we have witnessed, 
 those in which we are acting. I see among us those 
 who heard the more than mortal words pronounced in 
 the Virginia assembly : there is one, at least here, who 
 witnessed that assemblage of men at Philadelphia, 
 whose deed, in all time, will stand the crowning glory 
 among the acts of men. We are not acting a drama 
 as a spectacle to furnish poetr}^ to future ages ; that 
 which we are doinir is not for a lesson or a warnins:. It 
 
47 
 
 is a beginning, a mighty j'eality. On the high altars 
 of truth, liberty and religion, we are offering our sa- 
 crifice. For the great good of humanity we are pour- 
 ing forth our libation of blood. Its incense has already 
 gone up to the great God along with the souls of our 
 slaughtered brothers, and we are almost free !" 
 
 " But," continued the speaker, " the tyrant still holds 
 in closest bondage, one of the fairest portions of the 
 land. The city of Charleston is held by British sol- 
 diers, and all Carolina, where our kinsmen and bro- 
 thers dwell, is still under their sway. Cornwallis and 
 Rawdon, with bloody steps, are marching through its 
 very heart, and Tarleton and Ferguson are ranging 
 over its confines, like demons of vensreance, chokins: 
 the very sense of pity with their fell deeds. Above 
 the far Unaka there, we can almost see the blaze of 
 burning houses, and coming down that valley, on the 
 niofht wind, we can almost hear the wail of the ravish- 
 ed maiden, and the groan of the murdered father, and 
 see here, with what pittiless fury, the relentless but- 
 cher pursues these helpless people. Steeped in misery, 
 groaning with despair, he calls on them, to forget na- 
 ture, country and God ? He bids the son to slay the 
 father — the mother to betray her child — he calls on 
 all to forget the land of their birth and the God of 
 their salvation. Here is the proclamation of Cornwal- 
 lis, as he sends forth Ferguson and Tarleton, like blood- 
 hounds slipped from their leash. Even the gallant 
 Sumpter dare not meet them, and the great-souled 
 Marion burrows for safety in impenetrable swamps. It 
 is for us to meet these butchers ; it is for us to save 
 Carolina — it is for us to redeem from vassalage our 
 kinsmen and brothers, that we have summoned the 
 free mountaineers of Virginia and North Carolina to 
 
48 
 
 meet us here ; and here they are. Their wives and 
 mothers have filled their wallets ; their sisters and 
 daughters have moulded their bullets; their well 
 wiped rifles glitter in the moon-beams ; every man has 
 prayed before he slept, and they are ready for the 
 fight." And stillness and silence crept over the 
 scene, as these men, with high resolve, sought their 
 necessary rest. 
 
 The morning sun shone on this little army, winding 
 along the mountain ways, each man's soul roused to 
 the loftiest purpose of human charity, for which he 
 meant to give his life. Oh it was a noble and a gal- 
 lant bandof high-souled patriots, which left the banks 
 of the Wautauga that September morning, seventy 
 five years ago. I have, in my boyhood, talked with 
 many of them ; old men then, men who had met all 
 the offices of life, high and low, but the impress of that 
 purpose which led to this battle, was stamped upon 
 every one of them. It gave to them an elevation of 
 character which marked their persons and manner 
 through life, and they lived and died with the lofty 
 bearing which came of that purpose, formed that night 
 on the banks of the Wautauga, and redeemed the next 
 week on the heights of King's Mountain. 
 
 The condition of the Carolinas at that moment was 
 sad indeed. Blank despair had settled on the patriot 
 cause. It was, for these provinces, the " black year " 
 of the war, and the gloom was spreading over the 
 whole country. Wilmington, Charleston and Savan- 
 nah were in the hands of the British, and the best 
 men, many of the leadei's of the three southern states 
 were prisoners or in exile. The reinforcements from 
 Virginia had just been butchered by Tarleton, and, as 
 
49 
 
 if to close the wretched drama, within forty days, 
 Gates had suffered that terrible defeat at Camden, 
 which, indeed, " turned his northern laurels to southern 
 willows," and made Cornwallis complete master of 
 South Carolina. This power he was using with a 
 cruelty, unparalled in modern civilized conquest ; bind- 
 ing down the conquered people like malefactors, re- 
 garding each rebel as a condemned criminal, and 
 checking every murmur, answering every suspicion 
 with the sword and the fire-brand. If a suspected 
 whig fled from his house to escape the insult, the 
 scourge or the rope, the myrmidons of Ferguson and 
 Tarleton burned it down and ravished his wife and 
 daughters ; if a son refused to betray his parent, he 
 was hung like a dog ; if a wife refused to tell the hid- 
 ing place of her husband, her belly was ripped open 
 by the butcher knife of the tory, and, to add double 
 horror and infamy to the deep damnation of such 
 deeds, Americans were forced to be the instruments 
 for perpetrating them. That which Tarleton, (beast, 
 murderer, hypocrite, ravisher as he was,) was ashamed 
 to do, he had done by Americans — neighbors, kins- 
 men of his victims. I draw no fancy picture. The 
 truth is wilder far than the fabulist's imagination can 
 feign. On the morning this battle was fought, an im- 
 penetrable cloud of woe and despair hung over the 
 people of South Carolina. Gates had fled to Hills- 
 borough — Sumpter's men had scattered and hid — and, 
 it may be said, with historical accuracy, there was 
 not a whig soldier in the field. On the other hand, 
 Cornwallis had a numerous, well-discipiined and vete- 
 ran army, flushed with conquest and repeated victo- 
 ries, posted across the state from Charlotte to Augus- 
 ta, with infinite skill and judgment, and with powerful, 
 1 
 
50 
 
 well-directed, and most cruel energies, lie was holding- 
 the state in utter subjection. To maintain this con- 
 dition of things, and carry out fully his intention of 
 instituting a civil as well as a military government for 
 ulterior purposes, he relied mainly on these divisions 
 of Tarleton and Ferguson. Ferguson had a picked 
 regiment of regulars, and had added to it another 
 made up of the very best loyalists he could, by threat 
 or bribery, induce to join him. He had distinguished 
 himself on the northern line, and his government and 
 Cornwallis had the utmost confidence in his ability and 
 peculiar fitness for the purpose in hand. His orders 
 were to subdue the people ; age, sex, condition, right, 
 mercy, were not regarded in these orders. They were 
 " subdue the people." With this dread mission, Fer- 
 guron had penetrated to the mountains, marking his 
 course with terror and destruction. It is a sad, sad 
 tale of horror, this march of that sullen and blood 
 thirsty officer ; and it was the wail, like that which fol- 
 lowed Herod's slaughtermen — that followed him and 
 went up into those far mountains, and roused those 
 brave, good men, who left the valley of the Wautauga 
 on that bright autumn morning. 
 
 With forced marches this little army dashed swiftly 
 over the mountains, and at the base struck the trail of 
 the wolf, and marked his course by the blood-spots he 
 left in his path. He heard their tramp as they came 
 clattering down the mountain sides, and skulked away 
 to hide or entrench himself here. At Gilbert-town, near 
 Rutherford court house, whence Ferguson had fled, 
 they stopped a night, and selected about one thousand 
 of their swiftest and strongest men, with good horses, 
 to lead in the chase ; and without waiting for daylight, 
 off they sprung with the sjieed of the wind. The 
 
51 
 
 game was afoot, aud to the inountaia hunter the chase 
 grew warm. There was no need of leaders or captains 
 then, for each man knew his work and meant to do it. 
 They were to catch Ferguson, or, if Cornwallis came 
 in their way, they were to catch him. Swiftly, but 
 with stern determination, they kept the track, turning 
 aside for nothing, save now and then to shoot a tory, 
 as a bear hunter shoots a snake, merely to kill the 
 vermin, or to keep his rifle from rusting ; or, if they 
 found a rascal skulking around their march, they 
 stretched him up with a grape vine, practising for 
 subsequent necessities. 
 
 The night after leaving Gilbert-town, on a short 
 halt, in council, the officers selected a chief to act until 
 they could receive orders from Gates. Their little 
 army was composed, then, of men nearly in equal num- 
 bers from Virginia, ISTorth Carolina and South Caro- 
 lina. Each band was led, rather than commanded, by 
 its own officer — Sevier, Shelby, Campbell, Cleaveland, 
 and Williams and McDowell were the colonels, and 
 had all seen hard service, either in the Indian wars or 
 in this struggle. After full deliberation, they unani- 
 mously elected Campbell, of Virginia, to command in 
 the approaching fray. He was a man in the vigor of 
 life — not quite forty years of age — of pure Scotch 
 descent, thoroughly educated in the classics and all 
 the science of the day, and had been a soldier from 
 his earliest manhood. He had married the sister of 
 the famous Patrick Henry, and was an intimate friend 
 of Mr. Jefferson, and had joined in all the early move- 
 ments of resistance. Having a large family connection 
 in Western Virginia, and an extensive property^ and 
 that region being still subject to imminent perils from 
 the Indians of Tennessee and Kentucky, he declined 
 
 ^ 
 
52 
 
 commissions tendered him in the continental army 
 and the Virginia lines, and accepted the honorable, 
 laborious, and dangerous post of county lieutenant. 
 In this he succeeded Evan Shelby, the father of his 
 associate in this expedition. He immediately gave the 
 care of his family and property to a kinsman, and de- 
 voted himself to the cause of freedom. His manner 
 was grave and dignified, his person strong and graceful, 
 his courage of the most daring and reckless character, 
 his patriotism of the sternest mould — enthusiastic and 
 uncompromising — with a fierce and relentless hatred 
 of those who refused to join the patriot cause, and 
 withal a skilful, judicious, and practiced officer. He 
 brought to the expedition four hundred and fifty men 
 — many of them his kinsmen, friends and neighbors — 
 of wealth and position equal to his own ; and most of 
 them of that true Scotch-Irish breed whose fathers 
 had fought for kirk and covenant, and among whose 
 descendants are the Clays, Calhouns, Scotts and Tay- 
 lors of our day. It was, then, the merit of the officer 
 and the material of his troop, that induced his gallant 
 and patriotic associates to confer on Campbell the chief 
 command. The pioneers of our liberties were far 
 above the filth and dirt of those who seek the bauble 
 of personal glory at the risk of their country's good ; 
 and Shelby and Sevier, and Cleaveland and the vene- 
 rable McDowell, and the chivalric AVilliams, knew not 
 the base sentiment — they could not stoop to recognise 
 its existence. They could not desecrate the holy spirit 
 of patriotism, on its battlefields, by petty and con- 
 temptible personal jealousies; and may their pure 
 spirits, even from their abode in heaven, look down 
 and curse, with the scorn and contempt of mankind, 
 the mean malice of that traitor-heart that would turn 
 
53 
 
 us from our worship here. Yes, my countrymeu, our 
 origin runs not back into the dim and misty past 
 which makes demi-gods of men ; but those days of 
 which I speak, which that grey-haired man may have 
 seen, were days of the highest heroism known in the 
 history of man. These men whose names I have 
 spoken to you — whose names we bear — were heroes of 
 loftier mould, grander proportions, mind and soul, than 
 ever Homer sung, or than those who fought at Ther- 
 mopylae or Cunnse, or those who made a monarch 
 swear at Eunnymede ; they were God's heroes, fighting 
 and dying for him and his people. Such, indeed, were 
 the men who sat in council that night, each holding 
 his own horse, and squatting on the bare, cold ground. 
 Glory ! glory ! glory to the buckskin w^arriors from 
 Lexington to Yorktown, who worked out God's prob- 
 lem for humanity. 
 
 With their chosen leader in front, and each chief at 
 the head of his trooj?, firm in their saddles and fixed 
 in purpose, dark and stormy as it was, away they 
 galloped in the hot pursuit. There was a pelting rain 
 falling, which rendered every precaution necessary to 
 keep their weapons dry, and they rode with their rifles 
 under their arms. About daylight they crossed Broad 
 river at a ford about twelve miles fi'om this place. 
 Here they halted for an ill-provided meal, the rain 
 still falling in torrents. About twelve o'clock the rain 
 ceased; the sky cleared, and they found themselves 
 within three miles of Ferguson's camp on this moun- 
 tain. Here they halted again, under an order passed 
 rapidly along the line — an order, perhaps, the most 
 laconic and appropriate ever uttered under like cir- 
 cumstances. It was in these words : " Tie up overcoats, 
 pick touch-holes, prime fresh and be ready to fight." 
 
54 
 
 Here they were joined by a few of the neighboring 
 people, some of them having loosed their horses from 
 the plough in the seeding fields, and in their haste 
 riding bare-back, with dangling trace chains. These 
 people were familiar with the ground and arrangement 
 of the British camp, and on their information, and 
 using them as guides, the officers determined to divide 
 their columns and attempt to surround the mountain. 
 While arranging this, an express from Ferguson to 
 Cornwallis was arrested. His dispatch was read aloud 
 at the head of the line. He said : " I hold a position 
 on ' the King^s Moimtain^ and all the rebels out of 
 hell cannot drive me from it." 
 
 There was no shout or disorder when this was heard, 
 but a quiet, grim smile ran along the line as they 
 struck into a " double gallop." In twenty minutes 
 they were in sight of the camp. They drewup along the 
 bank of that little brook, dismounted, and tied their 
 horses to the saplings and swinging limbs, leaving 
 them in charge of a small and discontented guard — 
 discontented at being left out of the fray ; and, indeed, 
 before the battle was half over there was not one remain- 
 ing, and the horses were scampering wildly among the 
 combatants. By the division of the columns, Sevier's 
 troop formed the right, Cleaveland's and Williams' 
 together the left, Campbell the right of the centre, 
 and Shelby the left centre. Sevier, of course, was to 
 pursue the hollow up the margin of the brook, Cleave- 
 land passed along as the road now does, and turned 
 up the ridge east of us, along where the volunteer 
 tents are, and Shelby came along just where we are 
 standing, Campbell taking the face of the mountain 
 opposite to where the grave-stone is. The order of 
 attack was hurriedly made, but with a military skill 
 
55 
 
 and judgment wliich could not be excelled. There 
 was not a mistake or error, or even miscalculation of 
 marching time, from the onset to the end. Each 
 column moved steadily along the indicated line, these 
 lines tending to a common centre, which was the 
 British encampment on the crest of the ridge. The 
 British began the fight with a severe but scattering 
 fire at the centre columns as they passed along around 
 the base of the mountain. This fire was sustained for 
 six *or eight minutes, and in it Major Cronicle was 
 killed and several were wounded ; but most of the 
 balls ranged far above the heads of the Americans. 
 By this time Sevier passed out of the hollow at the 
 head of the brook, in full view of the enemy, and the 
 firing commenced in earnest on both sides, and with 
 such fatal effect from the mountain rifles as to force 
 Ferguson to a direct charge of bayonets in the very 
 beginning of the action. This charge was headed by 
 a company of English regulars, and was worthy the 
 fame of that service won on a thousand battle-fields. 
 It was boldly and gallantly done, and forced Sevier 
 to retire nearly to the bottom of the hill ; but at that 
 moment Williams and Cleaveland appeared on the left, 
 and poured in an awful fire on the right flank of the 
 enemy. The charging columns were recalled, and 
 wheeling rapidly, made a terrible dash at Cleaveland 
 and Williams, and with the same result — driving them 
 back and pursuing them down the ridge. Before they 
 could effect a rout^, Campbell and Shelby came up in 
 front, and Sevier had rallied, and from left and front 
 they poured upon the British a telling fire, which 
 compelled them to wheel again. This they did in 
 double quick time, but in perfect order ; and having 
 received reinforcements from within the lines, another 
 
56 
 
 — the third — charge was made, and this witli the 
 whole British force, directly at the centre columns. 
 Here, again, the bayonet, in British hands, told its 
 irresistible power, and Campbell and Shelby gave way 
 before it. But Cleaveland had rallied, and Sevier was 
 still moving forward, and their double fire on each 
 flank was terrific indeed. It stopped the charge in- 
 stantly, and the centre column hearing this tremendous 
 fire, and seeing the sudden pause of the enemy, and 
 their retreat up the hill, rallied, wheeled, and ruddied 
 upon them with sliouts and huzzas, supposing they 
 were defeated. By a rapid and skilful movement, 
 Ferguson threw his men into three columns, one facing 
 each of the columns of the advancing patriots, and 
 then made a fourth general charge on the entire Ame- 
 rican line. It was too late. The blood of the moun- 
 taineers was up. They sprang forward from behind 
 rocks and trees into the open ground, met and repulsed 
 the charge, and actually drove the British within their 
 lines. This enabled the three patriot columns to meet, 
 and almost, literally, to surround the enemy. Then, 
 indeed, came the rage of that fierce battle. A circle 
 of fire hemmed the wolf in his stronghold. The Eng- 
 lish soldier proved his breeding in this hour of danger ; 
 and the rascal tory then saw that escape from the rifle 
 might be but running into the rope. The regulars 
 with their bayonets, and the tories with butcher-knives 
 fastened to the muzzles of their guns, charge on this 
 closing flame with the fierce energy of despair. In 
 vain. The mountain hunter, calmly but rapidly load- 
 ing, and deliberately aiming, as he rested his gun 
 against a protecting tree, sent a death messenger in 
 every bullet. At every discharge they moved for- 
 ward, until there was one narrowing circle of flashing 
 
67 
 
 flame crackling around their victims. The British 
 cavalry was ordered to mount. It was the very thing 
 for the American rifle, as it raised the mark clear 
 above the bushes, and as each man threw his leg over 
 the horse, he fell dead on the other side. Ferguson, 
 with a gallantry which seemed to rise with his despe- 
 rate condition, rode from rank to rank and post to 
 post, cheering, driving, and encouraging his men, until 
 he found his army pressed, actually huddled together, 
 on the ridge, and falling as fast as the Americans could 
 load and shoot. He determined on one more desperate 
 charge, and taking his position at the head of his 
 cavalry, in a voice that rose loud above the din of the 
 battle, he summoned his men to " crush the damned 
 rebels into the earth." The summons was heard by 
 the Americans, and one round of their rifles was 
 stopped, and instead of their roar there was heard 
 only the click of the cock. It was the serpent's low 
 warning of coming death. The pause was but for a 
 moment, when Ferguson and DuPoistre, horse and 
 foot, burst like an avalanche down the mountain side. 
 By the time they came within sixty paces every rifle 
 was loaded, and under deadly aim. Ferguson fell at 
 the first discharge, with seven mortal wounds. The 
 patriots rushed forward to meet the shock, as Du 
 Poistres' regulars, with bayonets set and sabres in rest, 
 came crashing down upon them — not Agincourt or 
 Cressy, with all their chivalry, ever felt a shock more 
 fearful than that ; but had the heavens then rained 
 British bayonets, it could not have stopped those 
 patriots. The destinies of America — perhaps of man- 
 kind — depended on their muscle. Like martyrs they 
 went to the death — like lions they rushed to the car- 
 nage. Officer and soldier— half naked, with blood- 
 
 8 
 
58 
 
 shot eyes and parched tongues — pounced upon the 
 charging enemy, until their hot breath and fierce glare 
 was seen and felt by the craven tory and his bull-dog 
 master ; and as they crouched, gathering for the last 
 spring, a wild, terror-stricken shriek rose above the 
 roar — a yell for mercy. A white flag was run up, and 
 God's champions shouted victory ! liberty ! 
 
 That shout echoed from this mountain to the sea, 
 and far along the shore to where the majestic Wash- 
 ington was almost weeping over the accumulated hor- 
 rors of the south. His great heart leapt up with pro- 
 phetic joy as this beam of hope came, borne on the 
 triumphant voices of his trusted men of " West Au- 
 gusta." For those who sent that shout were the very 
 men to whom Washington said he would entrust the 
 liberties of America when all else had failed. He 
 knew- the mountain was the birth-place, but never the 
 grave of liberty. 
 
 One bour sufficed for this crownim? scene in the 
 drama of the revolutionary struggle in the south, acted 
 by rude men from beyond " unknown mountains." 
 
 Not one of the British force escaped. Two hundred 
 and forty were killed, and two hundred wounded — 
 showing a strange proportion, and telling the fatal 
 story of that long small bore rifle. Over seven hundred 
 were taken prisoners, with all their arms, ammunition, 
 camp equipments, etc. It was a total defeat and cap- 
 ture of one-fourth of Cornwallis' army. 
 
 After a battle so hardly, indeed so furiously fought, 
 it was a singular circumstance, that of the arms laid 
 down by the prisoners, nearly every gun was found 
 to be loaded, showing the horror and sudden terror 
 of the defeated, when they came in direct conflict with 
 those strong, wild men of the mountains. They must 
 
59 
 
 have looked like demi-devils, half naked as they were, 
 after that long, wet, dirty ride, that fierce fight, bloody 
 and terrible on that hot October day. Of the patri- 
 ots, twenty-eight were killed, and sixty wounded, ano- 
 ther proportion, showing the wide aim of the regular, 
 compared with the fearful accuracy of the volunteer. 
 There is another feature, common to all our revolution- 
 ary battles and those of our citizen soldiery in Mexico, 
 which told sadly in this battle of King's Mountain. It 
 is the large proportion of officers killed and wounded. 
 Of the Virginia regiment, thirteen were killed, twelve 
 of them officers. 
 
 With the American volunteers the officer is techni- 
 cally and literally the leader ; he goes before to show 
 the men the way, and how to fight. In this battle, the 
 officers not only went before, but every one, com- 
 mander, colonels, captains, all carried and used the 
 rifle in addition to the sword. It thus becomes known 
 that the gallant Williams seeing Ferguson cheering his 
 men with his voice and famous silver whistle, drew up 
 his rifle to shoot him, but perceiving Ferguson was armed 
 only with sword and pistols, he threw away his gun, ex- 
 claiming, " I will have a single hand tustle with him or 
 die." He dashed at the Briton, but before he reached 
 him, received two balls, and was borne from the field 
 by his two sons, lads of fourteen and sixteen. Wil- 
 liams survived until the next day, and learned that 
 the victory was complete. He raised his eyes to hea- 
 ven and said " I tljank God for my country's deliver- 
 ance," and placing a hand on the head of each of his 
 children he said, " God bless you my brave boys ; tell 
 your mother and our friends, I die content." Within 
 a few months those two noble youths were inhumanly 
 butchered by the tories at Ha3^'s Station. The pure 
 
GO 
 
 and brave Captain Edmonston fell in front of his com- 
 pany, near his colonel. The stern Campbell was seen 
 to brush away a tear as that brave, good friend, was 
 borne back. Edmonston lay nnder a tree, with one 
 hand clutching his side to keep in life until the battle 
 was over. He heard the shout of victory, as his com- 
 mander and friend grasped his other hand. He could 
 not speak then ; he kissed Cam23beirs hand, smiled, 
 loosed the hold which stanched in life, and the chris- 
 tian and patriot went to his reward. Four Edmon- 
 stons fell in this fight, and with them, Craigs and 
 Beatties, Bowens, Willoughbys, Blackburns, Craw- 
 fords, Campbells and Cummings. 
 
 Oh Caledonia ! Caledonia ! had the descendants of 
 thy Wallace and Bruce, left to thee, been to thee, as 
 those driven to this new land, were to its struggles, 
 how different might be thy place, now, in the chroni- 
 cles of glory. It is the blood of the children of Scot- 
 land's exiled sons which hallowed this spot ; it was 
 their strength, but above all, their abiding trust in 
 the God of their fathers, which " turned the tide of 
 success that terminated the revolutionary war with the 
 seal of independence." It was, indeed, a glorious, and 
 well-foughten field, and well did all these brave pa- 
 triots keep together in their chivalry. There was Se- 
 vier, who proved that Jarnae and St. Bartholomew had 
 not drawn all the blood which flowed in the veins of 
 the Huguenot — and Shelby, who ever showed his bold 
 Cambrian breeding, and lived to meet his just reward 
 in the highest honors of a nation he aided to liberate ; 
 and Cleaveland, so brave and yet so gentle ; and all 
 the others, whose deeds are recorded in the chronicles 
 of our liberties, and rewarded in the glory of God. 
 
 My countrymen, I look around me here on this scene, 
 
61 
 
 and need I, dare I ask, is tliere one here, is there one 
 living soul, who hears the mighty tones of liberty re- 
 sounding over the earth, who will refuse to kneel down 
 and worship the Great Spirit which moved these men 
 to come down and fight this battle. Oh, no, our free, 
 glad hearts, -crown them with eternal glory, and shout 
 the loudpseon — hail, hail, hail sacred fathers of human 
 liberty ! 
 
 I might detain you until the shadow of that moun- 
 tain comes over us, with many a story and legend of 
 this great event, for I have listened to them by the 
 firesides of the actors in it. But, we have other ofi'er- 
 ings to make here, and my humble narrative must has- 
 ten to an end. 
 
 The immediate result of this entire destruction of 
 one fourth of the army of occupation, (for such and no 
 less was that of Cornwallis,) has been mentioned in 
 grateful, but very general terras by our historians. 
 
 Fellow citizens of South Carolina, I am a South 
 Carolinian in heart, soul, spirit, and hope. This land 
 I have chosen, is more precious to me a thousand fold, 
 than that dear, dear land, that grand old republic, 
 which is my birth mother. You, therefore, my coun- 
 trymen, will know that it is with more than common 
 pain I utter, what I believe to be a sad truth, when I 
 say that neither the writers nor the people of South 
 Carolina have rightfully appreciated this battle. We 
 have truly and properly and with right enthusiasm, 
 gloried in Fort Moultrie, for never did the ocean 
 waves mingle their eternal voice, with a nobler scene 
 than that, and in Cowpens, too boldly and too bloodily 
 fought, even for the blood-dyed Tarleton, and in Eu- 
 taw, yes, in Eutaw, worthy of any boast, worthy to 
 have its tattered banners hung in the holiest places. 
 
62 
 
 Here is one of them. Its bloody folds were borne 
 through that terrible day by the hand of a Washing- 
 ton, and for three score years, and on later fields, have 
 been guarded by spirits as noble as his. It has liber- 
 ty's blessing, and woman's blessing. Here it is. Its 
 shreds, its patches, its blotches are holy.- But touch 
 it and virtue will come out of it. Let every one here 
 come up and gaze on this, and glory in Eutaw ! These 
 battles were as gallantly, perhaps as well and skillful- 
 ly fought as this. From the 28th of June, 1775, to 
 the day John Laurens fell, South Carolina was one 
 battle ground, and every foot of her soil is consecra- 
 ted by the toil, the constancy, the courage, the patri- 
 otism, the gallantry of her sons. It does seem to me, 
 however, even leaving out the great results, to some of 
 which I shall venture to recall your memory — that the 
 circumstances I have so feebly sketched, tend to give 
 this battle of King's Mountain a tone of romance, 
 scarcely pertaining to any other of the war, full as the 
 whole struggle was of incident, romantic beyond the 
 ordinary acts of men. The sudden and spontaneous 
 gatherings, without order or requisition from any es- 
 tablished authority, in a wild and remote region, where 
 rude " nature dwelt in awful solitude " — the strange, 
 wild men concentrated into civilization and the hio'hest 
 human purposes by the need of their fellow men, the 
 lofty bearing and knightly character of their leaders, 
 Campbell, Shelby, Sevier, Cleaveland, Williams and 
 McDowell, patriots, soldiers and gentlemen, the dash- 
 ing march through the mountains, the hot jjursuit, the 
 military genius of the battle, the capture and annihi- 
 lation of an invading army, the modest report to 
 Gates, the quiet return and dispersion, and then the. 
 tremendous results to the expiriwg cause of freedom, do 
 
 h- 
 
63 
 
 strike me as constituting a cliapter, wliich should not 
 be excluded from that story which tells of our heroic 
 days. 
 
 The immediate and direct result was this. Cornwal- 
 lis had entirely, and as he believed, permanently sub- 
 dued South Carolina ; he or his partisans defeating and 
 dispersing the patriots wherever they met them. He 
 had established strong military posts across the state 
 from Savannah to North Carolina, at Augusta, Ninety 
 Six, Granby, Winnsboro', Camden and Charlotte. Thus 
 instituting a military rule of the most disheartening 
 character to the whigs, close, binding, bloody and dis- 
 graceful. The exterior cordon was complete on the 
 Georgia side, and this detachment of Ferguson and his 
 own move to Charlotte was to complete it on the 
 North Carolina boundary — that state being in no con- 
 dition to resist. Tarleton, in the mean time, was rang- 
 ing over the state, checking every intimation of a rising 
 with the sabre and his horses' hoofs. The British army 
 at the south had thus completely fulfilled its mission, 
 and was preparing to move northward on Virginia, 
 Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and thus ef- 
 fect a junction with the northern division at New York. 
 The subdued Carolinas were to form the " point d'ap- 
 pui " of this grand and well planned scheme of re-co n- 
 quest, and Ferguson's division was to clear the way for 
 the movement. At this time both Boston and New 
 York were held by the British, and Washington was 
 struggling with super-human efforts to keep together 
 his starving and despairing armies, and, at the same 
 time, to sustain the almost exhausted hopes of the con- 
 gress. Supported himself by his abiding trust in the 
 cause and in Almighty God, this more than mortal 
 man almost yielded when Gates fled from Camden and 
 
64 
 
 left the whole south in the hands of the enemy. The 
 news of this event, the death of De Kalb, the defeat 
 of Sumpter, and the dispersion of his men and those of 
 Marion, went like a withering blast from the fated 
 south. Patriots, everywhere, with paralised hearts, 
 threw themselves on the earth, and gave their cause 
 into the hands of (irod, and a cruel shout of triumph 
 rang from the Savannah to the St. Lawrence. Thus 
 then it stood ; so dark, so dreary, so hopeless. Thus 
 it was, when, suddenly, like a wild hurricane, one 
 swoop from the far mountains, at one blow lopped off 
 the right hand of Corn wall is, drove him out of North 
 Carolina, stopped his triumphant march, and sent him 
 again to his forted fastnesses. 
 
 It was the very first victory of that year, and on its 
 announcement, the subject, but still unconquered 
 whigs, in their deep hiding places, heard it with timid 
 and uncertain hope. Marion caught the sound and 
 peered forth cautiously from his swamps to listen to its 
 tones. Sumpter, on his hill-roost, heard the echo as it 
 came down upon the morning dawn, and his clarion call 
 re-echoed it along the hills and vallies of the Santee. 
 " Up, up," he cried, " brothers of the holy cause and 
 strike again for God and liberty ;" and, as if the fiery 
 cross had flashed like a meteor round, from hut and 
 homestead, from forest and field, from mountain and 
 plain, they rose and rallied to that call, and Cowpens, 
 and Guilford, and Eutaw followed, and the march of 
 triumph was changed to a broken and terrified retreat ; 
 and the schemes of Leslie and Rawdon, and Clinton 
 and Cornwallis, were frustrated by a thousand moun- 
 taineers in fringed hunting shirts, without carriage or 
 cannon, bugle or banner, but with great souls and 
 good rifles. 
 
G5 
 
 It is fclie province of the historian to recite the clos- 
 ing acts of that mighty epic, "turning the accom- 
 plishment of years," into an hour's reading — and 
 fortunate are we in having with us to-day, one whose 
 words tell what he would have been in the days of 
 which we speak. One, who, to Grecian polish and Ro- 
 man strength, adds the fresh glow of American patri- 
 otism and whose soul is in full sympathy with his lof- 
 tiest theme/'"' We have met to rehearse a single glo- 
 rious scene, and to make one just effort to place where 
 they ought to be, the names of Campbell, Shelby, Se- 
 vier, Williams, and McDowell, beside those of Mor- 
 gan, Putnam, Warren, Sumpter, Marion and Moultrie. 
 They were equals in courage, conduct and effect — 
 their cause was the same — let their glory be alike. 
 
 Applause, gratitude and honor followed this band of 
 heroes as they went back behind their mountains, to 
 gather their corn and pile their winter fuel, and raise 
 new barriers against the Indian, whose war hoops had 
 been heard when they were away. 
 
 But they could not be quiet while that wave they 
 had turned was still uncertain in its motion. Before 
 the winter snows had melted from the mountains, we • 
 hear of Shelby with Marion and his men, and Sevier, 
 driving the savage from that territory — now an em- 
 pire — of which he is the father ; and Campbell and 
 Cleaveland, with the rifles that won Kins^'s Mountain, 
 the fa'st and the last on the great field of Guilford. It 
 was they, who, under Lee, so maddened Tarleton and 
 made Cornwallis swear if ever he cauerht their leader, 
 he would hang him to the first tree. The partisan sent 
 to the peer a like compliment, and v/as near redeeming 
 
 ' Mr. Bancroft, the historian, was present. 
 
66 
 
 his courtesy at the moment, for had all th.e troops 
 fought at Guilford, as did the King's Mountain men 
 that day, Cornwallis would never have reached York- 
 town. I hold in my hand a plain, but glowing descrip- 
 tion of the battle of Guilford, by a contemporary, per- 
 haps an eye witness of that great event. In it is truth- 
 full}^ told the eminent service of the King's Mountain 
 men under their old commander. General Greene, in 
 a special letter, tenders his warmest thanks to Camp- 
 bell, his officers and men, and Lee, with whom they 
 acted, tells them their conduct is particularly noted by 
 the commanding general. Indeed, it was only when 
 Lee rode up to them, and peremptorily ordered them 
 to quit the field, that they ceased their firing. They 
 could not be made to understand that they were de- 
 feated. By an unanimous vote of the Virginia assem- 
 bly, their leader was appointed a brigadier-general, for 
 " eminently heroic and patriotic service in the glorious 
 afiiiirs of King's Mountain and Guilford court house." 
 He was ordered to join La Fayette below Richmond. 
 His activity, intelligence, and skill, together with his 
 enthusiastic patriotism," and high personal bearing, soon 
 gained him the confidence and warm personal friend- 
 ship of that chivalric Frenchman. It was in the midst 
 of the summer heats, and a deep flesh wound received 
 from one of Tarleton's troopers at Guilford was still 
 open. Weakened by this, and much service, the crest 
 of the strong mountain eagle drooped beneath the hot 
 suns of the sea shore. Not many days before York- 
 town, nursed by a detachment of that soldiery who 
 there witnessed the baptism of liberty, this one of her 
 noblest martyrs, went calmly to his great reward. I 
 know I will be permitted to read here the funeral or- 
 
67 
 
 der of Ija Fayette in honor of him whom Shelby, Se- 
 vier, Cleaveland, Williams and McDowell, chose to 
 command them on this glorious and hallowed field. 
 
 {Order.) 
 
 Head Quarters, August 25, 1181. 
 
 The general has no doubt that the army will unite with him in 
 regretting General Campbell's death ; an officer whose services 
 must have endeared him to every citizen, and, in particular, to 
 every American soldier. 
 
 The glory which General Campbell has acquired in the affairs 
 of King's Mountain and Guilford Court House, will do his mem- 
 ory everlasting honor, and insure him a high rank among the de- 
 fenders of liberty in the American cause. The general wishes it 
 had been possible for himself and the officers of the army, to have 
 paid those honors to which his rank, but, particularly, his nierit, 
 so highly entitle him. But his great distance from the army, and 
 our present situation, render it impossible. The lieutenant of 
 the county will assemble a corps of militia and pay military hon- 
 ors to the deceased general. 
 
 General Stevens is requested to name a deputation of four 
 field officers who will immediately repair to Eocky Mills, and, in 
 the name of the army, pay General Campbell their last respects. 
 
 LA FAYETTE. 
 
 Thus they have all passed away ! Their lives belong 
 to the eternity of the past. Our liberty is their monu- 
 ment, as durable as the mountain on which they won it. 
 The world may smile at the great swelling words with 
 which we praise these men — the humble partisans of a 
 rebellion. But why should we not praise them ? They 
 gave to us all we have. Has the world more or 
 better gifts ? Did Komulus or Charlemagne, or Alfred 
 give more to their descendants ? Does the mortal thun- 
 der now reddening the waters, and shaking the cen- • 
 tres of eastern seas, give an inheritance equal to ours? 
 Then let us boast and be not ashamed. 
 
68 
 
 Fellow-citizeus, the purpose of history is to record 
 the truth, that, by its light those who read may be 
 o'uided safelv. This record is the title deed of our an- 
 cestry, to our praise and gratitude, and ours to their 
 glory and the institu'' ions they have builde'd for us. If 
 then we claim the glory of the past, and enjoy its re- 
 sults, can our duty be less than this, to see that all 
 which is good in the past has its. share in our conduct, 
 v/orks in us, guides us, and makes us emulous of it in 
 all right ways. If we claim the parentage of the past, 
 we cannot reject its instruction, or fail in obedience to 
 its behests, without bastardising ourselves, and thus, 
 by our own wrong, lose that, which should be our 
 legitimate inheritance. 
 
 We have to-day turned a leaf in this record, stamped 
 with the imprimatur of patriot and heroic blood ; and 
 the indenture was made on the spot on which we are 
 now standinir. It is a section cut from a i^olden book, 
 opened to our people after long years of direful trouble, 
 and fierce, strong struggles. The inscription of that 
 volume is "liberty" — its commentary is "equal law," 
 made by all, for the good of all, and that man by 
 man may kneel down and worship God wherever He 
 is to be found in the hearts of His worshii:)pers. And 
 it is this estate of ours, thus derived, which constitutes 
 the American epoch under which we are living ; which 
 cuts off our days from all the " old ages," and is the 
 first, distinct, unmistakeable, ineffaceable mark of the 
 almost divine fact of human liberty, on the institutions 
 of man. In them, in the purity and might of its 
 power, in its tremendous purposes, it had no recog- 
 nized being, no real place, no hallowed name, before 
 that baptism of blood we have met to celebrate. It is 
 not of the Hebrew, the Greek or the Koman ; it is not 
 
69 
 
 feudal, or papal, or Lutheran ; it is the gift of God to 
 America; it is American! Oh, do not blaspheme 
 that name with the foolish, the wicked, the petty 
 purposes of a day. The name of American denotes 
 our breeding from heroes and sages, who were inspired 
 of heaven to work out our great deliverance. Do not 
 desecrate it by a vain use or mischievous application. 
 It is wide enough for the worshippers of liberty over 
 the whole earth — it is not wide enough for hypocrisy 
 and vain deceit. It is holy — for before America, even 
 Christianity had failed to persuade man to accept that 
 boon which ensures his entrance to heaven — " the right 
 to worship God according to his own conscience." 
 This was the first, real divine offering of Americanism ; 
 and the next was almost like unto it — " the equality of 
 man," " all men are born free and equal." ' This struck 
 into the dust the thrones and powers of the earth. It 
 is, then, these Americans which constitute the hitherto 
 unrevealed facts of religious and civil liberty — the just 
 relations of man to God and his fellow man. What is 
 the lesson they teach us ? May I not here, to-day, 
 ask, with holy pride, what is the lesson already taught 
 to the American citizen by this origin of his govern- 
 ment ? Is it not that he should love a country, thus 
 blessed to him, with more than a common fervor — 
 that he should give to this devotion all his being ? 
 Why perished the Spartan at Thermopylae ? What 
 gilds iSalamis and Plataea, and the Koman name, 
 with an imperishable halo ? Why, the love of insti- 
 tutions, which have perished, of a country now cursed 
 of God. The undimmed lustre of patriotism is a living 
 fire, when Greece and Rome are no more. If, then, 
 patriotism be so glorious in its inspirations to the 
 Greek and Roman, who knew no absolute truth, what 
 
70 
 
 should it be to the American, whose very origin sprung 
 from the highest truth vouchsafed to man — who hokis 
 a country not cursed of God, but is the inheritor of a 
 land fresh from the forming hand of its Creator; a 
 land that knows no earlier usage than his, save its 
 abounding gifts, yielded with spontaneous love to 
 nature's prolific power — a land unpolluted by force- 
 ful rapine, or that fierce avarice which tears the fruit 
 from the earth before its birth-time — a land, indeed, 
 kept, through all time, dressed in the gorgeous robes 
 of its pristine wealth, beauty and purity, until the 
 soldier of the cross came and claimed it for his virgin 
 bride in the name of God and human right. But it is 
 not alone by this origin of his country that the divine 
 spirit of patriotism woos the worship of the Ame- 
 ricans ; it is not alone by the fountain which springs 
 from Horeb or Sinai that his soul seeks his oracle ; it 
 is not alone the adoring hymn which rises to-day from 
 this sacred mountain which lifts that soul to an emu- 
 lous grandeur ; it is not alone the magnitude and 
 mighty significance of a seeming divine revelation 
 which makes his patriotism his religion ; it is not alone 
 the unspeakable yearning of his heart for the sublime 
 truths of that revelation as it shows him the great 
 charter of human liberty ; it is not alone by all these 
 that the American is made worthy of his transcendent 
 heritage. Let him to-day look around him, and be- 
 hold those forms already develoj)ed under his great 
 agency, and the glowing manifestations which seem to 
 reveal the mysteries of a still grander future. With 
 a socialism in the un wasted vigor of a gigantic youth, 
 the American seems insubordinate to all that is old in 
 human institutions. Outward religion, the power of 
 old forms of rule, prerogative, privilege, fall like stub- 
 
n 
 
 ble before his manly stride, as he goes on constructing 
 the wondrous and beautiful system of civilization he 
 seems destined to fasten on the earth. I speak of to- 
 day, and may say that, with the blessing of God, our 
 progress in this grand mission has not been in the 
 rugged and tortuous lines of other nations, leaping 
 forward to-day with bloody and convulsive effort, and 
 back to-morrow with fearful collapse and heavy reac- 
 tion — for such, indeed, has been the history of man. 
 As yet we have gone forward with the eagle's flight — 
 in mid-air — without let or hindrance, and with the 
 bright, genial sun blazing warm upon us. The people 
 of America have, as yet, encountered none of the 
 vicissitudes which clog the march of other nations. 
 The invader has scarcely touched their soil — intestine 
 strife is unknown. They did not start from the low, 
 dark places of superstition and barbarism, and crawl, 
 and stumble, and groan, and sweat along the weary 
 way that leads up to where the morning light shines. 
 Their first poise was high in the scale of human civili- 
 zation. Aided by all its powers, our only struggle has 
 been with the forest and the untamed but teeming 
 earth. These we have conquered and made them our 
 own, and they are fair to look upou, and there seems 
 to be a blessing in them, for peace and great power 
 are abiding with us. Our farmer tills with merry 
 heart ; our mechanic strikes with the strong muscle of 
 a freeman ; our philosopher teaches in his own portico, 
 or beneath nature's " majestic groves ;" our poet dreams 
 beneath his own vine, in soft Lydian measure to his 
 love, or wild, exulting song in praise of " God and 
 liberty ;" our merchant unfurls his country's flag, and, 
 without fear, sails wdde over the farthest seas ; and we 
 worship in a temple fashioned by the word of God, 
 
72 
 
 and not by the rule of human master. Great we are 
 among the nations of the earth, and strong still in the 
 mystical power of that spirit which makes these battle- 
 fields sacred to us. Such is the American of to-day ; 
 with a liberty which he knows to be a mighty fact, 
 worked out by long ages of painful eifort, and which, 
 with an humble and abiding faith, he believes to be 
 an immortal truth, recognized and blessed by God 
 himself. Is there, then, within the compass of our 
 various seas, one man who holds in his heart one 
 thought against the liberties achieved on these battle- 
 fields? If there be, then is he not only a bastard to 
 the blood shed here, but he is a traitor to his God, 
 and shall perish miserably, even as he who sent his 
 Master to the cross. 
 
 Our wise and good ancestors were not content with 
 giving us the name and substance of this great boon. 
 With prophetic wisdom, they invented and established 
 such sure and excellent forms as to guarantee our per- 
 fect enjoyment of the great riches they wrought for us. 
 They gave us this system of laws and government, 
 under which we have strode forward with a pace so 
 swift, and yet so firm, as to astound those who live 
 under the old order. They created for us new politi- 
 cal organizations and social institutions — new, antago- 
 nistic, and subversive of all pre-existing forms. The 
 root, the stock, the graft, the fruit is all new. We 
 are the children of a new sea and a new earth ; and 
 no power beneath that of the God who made us can 
 crush us, as long as our filial piety impels us to come 
 up and gather new strength from these sacred spots of 
 that earth. But, my countrymen, this form, this 
 structure, which our sires gave us — and in which we 
 are still safe, strong and prospering — is but the temple 
 
n 
 
 in which we worship the living sj^irit. It is, however, 
 very sacred ; and let no heedless or daring step invade 
 its holy precincts. But, sacred as it is — mighty for 
 great good as it is — this union, glorious and blessed as 
 it has been, and is — is not the holy of holies. This 
 great confederation, this union of confederate empires, 
 these states, their constitutions, may be shattered into 
 a thousand fragments ; their ashes may be scattered 
 on the winds ; all known elements, forms, and orders 
 of our political being may become extinct and forgot- 
 ten, and mould and jungle hide them from the know- 
 ledge of men ; but that spirit which won these fields, 
 and now makes them sacred to us, is of the Eternal 
 God, and will live and dwell for ever on this American 
 soil. 
 
 "We are the sons of heroes and sages. Let us be 
 true to ourselves, be true to our country, be true to 
 the God who gave it to us, be faithful to the blood 
 ^hed here by our sires, and we will be the sires of 
 freemen as long as the earth owns man for its master. 
 
 Such, at least, is the faith and hope of the christian 
 and patriot, as he kneels on this holy place. 
 
 10 
 
MR. BAFCKOPT'S ADDRESS, 
 
 The president of the day assigns me a few minutes to 
 express to you my sincere delight in being a witness 
 of this great panorama of southern life, and beauty, 
 and patriotism ; and joining with this countless multi- 
 tude, assembled in the mountain forest under the 
 shadow of the battle-ground, and animated by the 
 spirit of the heroes whose virtues they are gathered to 
 commemorate, I come among you not to address you, 
 but to share silently in the scene ; to receive instruction 
 from the eloquent lips of your distinguished orator ; to 
 enkindle my own love of country by the fires of your 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 No state may celebrate the great events of the 
 American revolution with juster pride than South 
 Carolina. At the very beginning of the struggle in 
 1765, she was the first to adhere to a general union ; 
 and to her it is due that the colonies then met in con- 
 gress. When, in 1774, a tyrannical government en- 
 deavored by the slow torture of starvation to crush 
 Boston into submission. South Carolina opened her 
 granaries of rice and ministered abundantly to its 
 relief. While the sons of the Scottish covenanters in 
 Mecklenburg were the first to sever the connection 
 with Great Britain, and institute government for them- 
 
76 
 
 selves, the immediate liarbiuger of the great reform 
 rose witbiu the borders of this state ; the victory gained 
 at the Palmetto Fort by Moultrie was the bright and 
 the morning star, which went before the declaration of 
 American independence. Wherever the camp-fires of 
 the emigrant shall light up the forests of the west, 
 wherever the history of our country is honestly told, 
 wherever the struggles of brave men in the cause of 
 humanity are respected, high honor will be rendered 
 to the triumph at King's Mountain and at Cowpens, 
 and to that sad victory at Eutaw Springs, where the 
 voice of exultation is chastened by sorrow for the 
 brave who fell. 
 
 For the north to take an interest in your celebration, 
 is but an act of reciprocity. Everywhere in my long 
 pilgrimage to be present with you on this occasion, I 
 found evidence of the affection with which the south 
 cherishes the memory of every noble action in behalf 
 of liberty, without regard to j^lace. Beautiful Virgi- 
 nia, land of mountains and lowlands, rich in its soil, 
 abounding in healing springs, and the storehouse of 
 all kinds of mineral wealth, builds a Lexington in the 
 very heart of her most magnificent valley; North 
 Carolina repeats the name in one of the loveliest re- 
 gions in the world ; and South Carolina designates by 
 it a great central district of Jher state. 
 
 There is a still stronger reason why the north should 
 give you its sympathy on this occasion. She sent you 
 no aid in the hour of your greatest need. It is a 
 blessed thing to give even a cup of cold water in a 
 right spiiit; it was not then possible to give even that. 
 All honor must be awarded to the south, since she was 
 left to herself alone in the hour of her utmost distress. 
 
 The romance of the American revolution has its 
 
77 
 
 scenes for the most part in tlie soutli ; and the battle 
 of King's Mountain, of wliich we celebrate tlie seventy- 
 fifth anniversary to-day, was the most romaijtic of all. 
 
 The achievement was opportune. The American 
 army for the south was routed and dispersed ; Charles- 
 ton was in the power of the enemy ; the government 
 scattered ; the paper currency all but worthless ; Gads- 
 den a prisoner, doomed to the dungeons of St. Augus- 
 tine ; Sumter forced to retire beyond the state on 
 the one side, and Pickens on the other ; Cornwallis 
 hoping " to extinguish the rebellion" by a system of 
 imprisonment, confiscation and hanging ; the Bri- 
 tish minister promising himself that before winter 
 " the whole country south of the Delaware would be 
 subjected." The genius of liberty never bows his head 
 in despair ; but there was cause for anxiety — the fault- 
 less partizau, the lion-hearted Marion, stood, alone in 
 his impenetrable fastnesses as the sentinel of Carolina. 
 
 Such was the almost hopeless distress, of which the 
 tidings penetrated to the hardy dwellers on the 
 Watauga, the Nollichucky, and the three forks of 
 Holston. All the difliculties which stood in their way 
 could not make them hesitate. They had distance to 
 overcome in collecting their forces, but swift runners 
 hurried up the valley ; they had to cross the highest 
 range of the Alleghanies, where there was not so much 
 as a bridle-path ; they could drive no beeves, but must 
 depend mainly on parched corn for their sustenance ; 
 meeting from remote districts, they had to organize 
 themselves on the instant for action with unity. 
 
 The movement commends itself still more to our 
 admiration as a voluntary act of patriotism. It Avas 
 planned by no congress — it was ordered by no execu- 
 tive. All that is best springs from the heart, and the 
 
78 
 
 expedition to King's Mountain sprung from the heart 
 of the common people west of the Alleghanies. They 
 were che^'ed by no martial music, as your orator has 
 truly observed ; they had no gilded banners, no nod- 
 ding plumes ; they were southern farmers in their 
 every-day dress, come to exercise, though in a most 
 signal manner, their every-day courage and love of 
 country and virtue. 
 
 The dangers which they encountered were those from 
 which the bravest might shrink. Do you think I refer 
 to the fact that they attacked an enemy superior in 
 numbers and still more in the munitions of war, posted 
 on yonder height which you see is precipitously steep, 
 and bristling with the slaty rock which crops out all 
 along its sides and summit ? No. Those things had 
 for them no terror. But their departure, they knew, 
 w^as the signal for British emissaries to excite hordes of 
 worthless savages to burn their homes and murder 
 their wives and children. Every breeze from the west 
 might seem to bring to their ears the echo of the In- 
 dian's war-whoop, the dying groans of those they loved 
 best. This was the fear which they had to cast under 
 foot. 
 
 Let us rejoice, then, that the success of the men 
 engaged at King's Mountain was, as they expressed it, 
 " complete to a wish." The firing was as heavy as 
 could be conceived for the numbers engaged ; the dis- 
 lodging of the enemy from their advantageous situation 
 was " equal to driving men from stony breastworks ;" 
 the vigor of their resistance is proved by their holding 
 out till every third man among them was wounded or 
 slain ; and of all the British force which was to have 
 formed the central point of British power in the back 
 country, and which Ferguson had commended to Corn- 
 
79 
 
 wallis for its courage and ability, not more than 
 twenty, perhaps not even one of the survivors escaped 
 captivity. 
 
 To finish the picture of this battle, the consequences 
 of the victory must be called to mind. It struck dis- 
 may into the tories, and checked the concerted system 
 of house-burning and domestic carnage which was fill- 
 ing Carolina with the deadliest horrors of civil war ; it 
 was " the turning point" of victory which cheered on 
 Sumter, and Col. Washington and Morgan to their 
 successes, and enabled Greene to collect an army ; it 
 was the " fatal" blow which utterly disconcerted the 
 plans of Cornwallis, and forced him into that change 
 of policy which had its end at Yorktown. The men 
 of that day fought, not for Carolina, not for the south ; 
 they fought for America and for humanity, and the 
 ultimate effects of their heroism cannot yet be mea- 
 sured. The states are bound together by commerce, 
 and dove-tailed by canals, and rivers, and railroads ; 
 but the recollections of the crowded hours of the glo- 
 rious actions of our fathers speaks to the heart, and 
 makes us feel, more than all the rest, that we are one 
 people. 
 
 Let the battle-ground before us be left no longer as 
 private property ; let it be made the inheritance of the 
 people, that is, of all who are heirs to the benefits that 
 were gained on the day which we commemorate. Let 
 a monument rise upon its peak as a memorial of the 
 heroism of our fathers — as an evidence of the piety of 
 their sons. The deeds that were there performed bid 
 us ever renew our love of country. Let the passion for 
 freedom flow forth perennially, like the fountains that 
 gush in crystal purity from your hill sides ; let the 
 union stand like your own mountains, which the geolo- 
 gists tell us are the oldest and firmest in the world. 
 
COEEESPONDEICE. 
 
 From Hoaorable Edward Everett. 
 
 Boston, September 15, 1855. 
 
 Gentlemen — I received a short time since, your favor of the 11th 
 of August, requesting my attendance at the approaching celebra- 
 tion of the anniversary of the memorable battle of King's Moun- 
 tain. 
 
 I am greatly indebted to you for this invitation, and for the 
 very obliging terms in which it is conveyed. 
 
 I should much enjoy a visit to that most intei-esting region, 
 and it would afford me the greatest pleasure to unite with you 
 in the commemoration of one of the most important battles of the 
 revolution. I regret to say, that it will not be in my power to 
 be present. 
 
 Although the numbers engaged on each side at King's Moun- 
 tain were not great, there were many circumstances of deep in- 
 terest connected with the battle. The simultaneous movement 
 from the Carolinas and Virginia of the brave men by whom the 
 victory was achieved ; the forced march by night of nine hun- 
 dred of the best horsemen, determined to arrest the progress of 
 Ferguson ; the gallant resistance made by that officer, the best 
 partizan in the royal army, astonished as he was at " the nume- 
 rous, fierce, and unexpected enemy which suddenly sprung up in 
 the depths of the desert " — the courage with which, from the fatal 
 eminence where he stood at bay, he plunged with tlie bayonet, 
 first upon one party and then upon the other of the intrepid 
 mountaineers as they drew closer and closer around him a circle of 
 
81 
 
 lire ; his fall and the immediate capitulation of his force, superior 
 in numbers to their assailants — these incidents make a scene of 
 war, of which there are few equals for stirring interest in the his- 
 tory of the revolution. 
 
 The political consequences of this victory were of great mo- 
 ment. It restored the public mind from the depression caused 
 by the recent successes of Cornwallis. It put an instant stop to 
 his efforts to bring back the upper country to its allegiance ; and 
 contributed its full share to the combinations which, about a 
 twelvemonth later, led to the surrender of Cornwallis, and the 
 virtual termination of the war. 
 
 History will reserve a bright page in the annals of the revolu- 
 tion, for the names of the gallant men who fought the battle of 
 King's Mountain. You will hear the thrilling narrative from the 
 eloquent lips of a descendant of one of them, and the expressive 
 voices of unchanging nature will yield their response ; the rough 
 hill-sides — 'the deep ravines — the sparkling streams — 'the venera- 
 ble trees — 'mute but still living witnesses of the stern encounter, 
 and faithful vouchers for its traditions. 
 
 As you listen to the burning words of the orator of the occa- 
 sion, on the magnificent scene of the action, the form of his an- 
 cestor, Campbell, the chosen leader of the day, with those of the 
 patriot Shelby, the hero of two wars, of Cleaveland, of Sevier, of 
 McDowell, of Williams, (who fell in the arms of victory,) will 
 seem almost in visible presence to hover around and claim the 
 tribute of your grateful veneration. The historian of the United 
 States, (Mr. Bancroft,) will partake in your commemoration, and 
 catch new inspiration from the spot, for the page which he will 
 hereafter consecrate to the great victory which was there 
 gained. 
 
 Gentlemen, the victory of King's Mountain, at the time, re- 
 joiced the hearts of our fathers, throughout the Union. The glad 
 tidings were heard at the north, with feelings like those with 
 which, in the first year of the war, the news of Bunker Hill was 
 received at the south. 
 
 Would that its celebration, like that of the other great events 
 in the revolutionary history, by reminding us of the toils, the 
 sufferings, and the sacrifices of our fathers to establish an inde- 
 pendent and united republic, might do something to restore that 
 
 11 
 
82 
 
 fraternal feeling' wliicli the unhappy dissentions of the clay have 
 done so much to chill. 
 
 I remain, gentlemen, your friend and fellow citizen, 
 
 EDWAED EVERETT. 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, Jno. L. Miller, and Sam'l W. Melton, 
 Committee of Invitation. 
 
 From HonoralJle John P. Kennedy. 
 
 Baltimore, September 23, 1855. 
 
 Gentletnen — Your very kind letter of the 10th, inviting me to 
 the celebration of the victory of King's Mountain, which is to be 
 made on the 4th of October, reached me yesterday. 
 
 If I could indulge my own desire in reg'ard to this appointment, 
 I should very gladly accept your invitation. But I find myself 
 compelled, by the nature of my engagements at home, to forego 
 that pleasure, and must beg you to accept my thanks for the 
 friendly consideration which has brought me to your notice on 
 this occasion. Apart from the primary interest of the celebra- 
 tion, I should find a strong temptation to be with you, in the con- 
 viction that I should find many friends, old and new, whom I 
 should greatly delight to meet. But even a stronger motive 
 would be, to manifest my earnest approval of the sentiment which 
 has suggested this commemoration of the battle. I look upon it 
 as entitled to special consideration as the first attempt to tender 
 appropriate honor to a great event in the war of Independence — 
 an event which, I think, stands prominent amongst what may be 
 called the chief land-marks that serve to note the progress of that 
 struggle. It distinguishes an era that happily shaped the for- 
 tunes of the revolution, by checking a series of disasters and in- 
 augurating a new career of victory. From this turning point 
 the cause advanced steadily to a speedy and prosperous end. The 
 issue was greatly influenced by this event. If King's Mountain 
 had been any thing but the decisive victory it was, the fate of 
 the war might long have hung in a doubtful scale, and the hero- 
 ism of the south have been taxed by further trials beyond its 
 power of resistance. But the victory was a fresh fountain of 
 strength, and the parent of new triumphs. Standing midway be- 
 
83 
 
 tween Bunker Kill and Yorktown, it deserves to be elevated to 
 the eminence tliey occupy in the national calendar, and to be re- 
 membered with not less marked expressions of national grati- 
 tude. 
 
 I congratulate you, gentlemen, and those you represent, upon 
 your recognition of this sentiment, and hope that you may find 
 such a response from the country, to your commemoration of the 
 4th, as shall prove that you have awakened the remembrance 
 of the nation to an act of justice to one of the most note-worthy 
 events of our history. 
 
 With the highest respect and regard, 
 
 I am, gentlem, very truly yours, 
 
 JOHN P. KENNEDY. 
 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, Jno. L. Miller, Sam'l W. Melton, Com- 
 mittee of Invitation. 
 
 From Honorable W. A. Graham. 
 
 Hillsboro', N. C, September 28, 1855. 
 
 Gentlemen — I have had the honor to receive your kind invita- 
 tion to be present at the celebration of the battle of King's Moun- 
 tain, and regret that circumstances which I cannot control, will 
 deprive me of the pleasure of attending. 
 
 I have been gratified to learn, that for the first time since that 
 memorable victory, the citizens of those states, by whose undis- 
 ciplined valor it was won, propose to unite in dignifying it with 
 the honors of a public celebration. Near forty years ago, in my 
 childhood, I remember to have heard of an assemblage on the bat- 
 tle field, chiefly, I presume, of the people of Lincoln county, in 
 this state, to commemorate the services and sacrifices of their own 
 patriotic fellow-citizens, who were killed in the action in defence 
 of their country's cause, when an oration was pronounced by the 
 late Dr. William McLean, who had himself been a soldier in the 
 battle ; and the unpretending monument was erected to Major 
 Chronicle and others, which still marks the spot where they 
 fought and fell, and informs the passing traveller of the place 
 and time of their country's triumph. This, however, was but the 
 humble tribute of a neighborhood — perchance of a few surviving 
 heroes to their dead comrades, of the same military organi^atiQn, 
 
84 
 
 But as a great American achievement, annihilating one column 
 of the triumphant invading army of the enemy, and striking 
 terror into the other, insomuch as to compel a precipitate retreat 
 of his whole force for more than a hundred miles, thence keeping 
 him at bay until the disastrous defeat of Gates could be repaired, 
 and a new patriot army brought into the field, under the leader- 
 ship of the indomitable Greene, and thus exerting an influence on 
 all the subsequent events of the war in the South. Yours, gen- 
 tlemen, is the first attempt to celebrate it on the scene of the 
 victory. 
 
 It is an offering eminently due to the memoiy of those intrepid 
 sons of liberty of the hills and mountain country of the Carolinas 
 and Virginia, by whom that victory was gained ; whose real 
 history is invested with all the romance ; whose devotion to 
 country in the gloomiest hour of the struggle, when disafiection 
 and alarm had overcome so many others, and subjugation seemed 
 to be almost an inevitable consequence ; whose simplicity of 
 manners and habits of military equipment and arrangement, and 
 indifference to danger, and impetuous but persevering bravery 
 in rolling back the tide of invasion, can only, and hardly, find 
 their parallels in the classic examples of the heroes of the best 
 times of the republics of antiquity. 
 
 With my thanks for the kindness of your communication, and 
 my best wishes that your meeting may be both profitable and 
 agreeable, 
 
 I am, gentlemen, with high respect, your obedient servant, 
 
 WILLIAM A. GRAHAM. 
 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, John L. Miller, Sam'l W. Melton, Com- 
 mittee of Invitation. 
 
 From Honorable George M. Dallas. 
 
 Philadelphia, September 5, 1855. 
 Gentlemen — It would afford me the highest gratification to ac- 
 cept the invitation with which you have honored me, and mingle 
 with my fellow-citizens of four great states in celebrating one of 
 the most characteristic and interesting achievements of revolu- 
 tionary valor. The energy and spirit which rallied the western 
 mouptair^eers of Virginia and the two Carolinas, under Cleave- 
 
85 
 
 land, Williams, Sevier, Bi'anou, and other leaders, to inflict, with 
 celerity, tipon an important detachment of Lord Cornwallis' inva- 
 ding army, a signal defeat, entitle " the battle of King's Moun- 
 tain," to the peculiar commemoration you propose. No one can 
 be insensible, even after the lapse of seventy-five years, to the 
 heroism with which your partizan militia sprung from their 
 homes, united in the pursuit of their more numerous enemies, and, 
 having beaten and dispersed them, returned tranquilly to their 
 agricultural labors, leaving the momentous result of their ex- 
 ploit to be seen in the retreat of the British chief, and in their 
 own security. " The spot where that battle was fought " is cer- 
 tainly linked in thought inseparably with the independence of our 
 country and the patriotic gallantry of southern men. 
 
 Sincerely regretting my inability to join your celebration, and 
 with many acknowledgments for the kindness of your remem- 
 brance, I am, gentlemen, very respectfully. 
 
 Your friend and servant, 
 
 G. M. DALLAS. 
 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, John L. Miller and Sam'l W. Melton, 
 Committee of Livitation. 
 
 From Honorable A. P. Hayne. 
 
 Charleston, S. C, September 25, 1855. 
 
 Gentlemen — I have had the honor to re'ceive your letter, inviting 
 me to unite with the states of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennes- 
 see and South Carolina, in the celebration of the battle of King's 
 Mountain — on the battle field where that brilliant victory was 
 achieved by the skill and courage of Campbell, Cleaveland, Shelby, 
 Sevier, and the noble Williams, and the brave officers and men 
 who fought under their command. I regret it will not be in my 
 power to be present with you ; but although absent, I will be 
 with you in spirit. 
 
 The plan of the battle of King's Mountain was wisely con- 
 ceived and nobly carried out. It was in every respect adapted 
 to the occasion, and resulted in one of the most decisive victo- 
 ries on record — our brave men killing, wounding and capturing 
 the whole army of the enemy. Had the gallant Campbell not 
 divided his forces into three distinct columns — each column act- 
 
8G 
 
 ing independently and separately, and each column attacking 
 the enemy in regular succession, and at different periods of time, 
 the cruel Ferguson must have won the day, and remained master 
 of the field of battle ; and it would have been a bloody, bloody 
 day for our men. 
 
 No statesiman, no soldier, can over-value Hull's victory, or 
 Jackson's, in his night attack before New Orleans ; and give me 
 leave to say, no one can over-value Campbell's victory at King's 
 Mountain. The result of the battle was, that the pride of an ar- 
 rogant foe, who had dared to profane the soil of freedom by his 
 hostile tread, was humbled. It produced confidence in our ranks ; 
 throughout the whole country it established unanimity, and at 
 once crushed disaffection. It was not a mere exertion of physical 
 strength, as is often the case ; but in every stage of the battle, 
 we clearly perceive the effect produced by the admirable arrange- 
 ments of the commanders of our men. The ensemble of the general 
 movement was maintained throughout the whole order of battle, 
 I would again say, gentlemen, if Campbell had been defeated, the 
 brave Morgan might have shared the same fate, and our beloved 
 General Greene himself been made to encounter sad reverses. It 
 was a noble victory, and God bless the brave men who so faith- 
 fully performed the duty ! 
 
 I beg to offer a toast, and in so doing to pay a small tribute of 
 respect to departed worth, to brave and gallant men who bared 
 their bosoms to the foe in the hour of trial and danger, and in 
 the day of battle were every where that duty or danger called, 
 will give you, gentlemen* 
 
 The memories of Campbell, Cleaveland, Shelby, Sevier and the noble 'Wil- 
 liams? — " Come, expressive silence, make their praise." 
 
 I pray you, gentlemen, excuse this hasty letter, and permit me 
 to subscribe myself your friend and compatriot, 
 
 A. P. HAYNE. 
 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, John L. Miller, and Sam'l W. Melton, 
 Committee of Invitation. 
 
87 
 
 From Dr. J. G. M. Ramsey. 
 
 Mecklenburg, near Knoxville, (Tenn.) 
 
 October 15, 1855. 
 
 Geiitlemm — Your letter dated Yorkville, (S. C.,) August 18, but 
 post-marked Abingdon, (Va.,) Sept. 24, reached this office only 
 last week. 
 
 I am greatly obliged by the polite and cordial invitation which 
 you have given me to attend the anniversary of the battle of 
 King's Mountain, and unite in the celebration of that victory. 
 Had your letter reached me earlier, it would have given me a 
 very sincere pleasure to have met those you requested on that 
 occasion, and participated with them in the celebration of a vic- 
 tory unsurpassed by any in our revolutionary struggle. As it is, 
 I content myself with hoping that the descendants and country- 
 men of those whose patriotism conceived the expedition to King's 
 Mountain, and whose valor achieved the victory, may have 
 assembled with you on that hallowed spot, and enjoyed, with you, 
 the enthusiasm and pride the place and its associations are so 
 well calculated to inspire. 
 
 I appreciate, gentlemen, very deeply, the compliment you pay 
 me, where you remark, " By your invaluable contributions to the 
 early history of the country, you have assisted more, perhaps, 
 than any other, in giving a just prominence to the event we pro- 
 pose to celebrate." In the work to which you allude, I have done 
 the south and the south-west barely justice ; while, elsewhere, 
 " defeats have been magnified into victories." It gratifies me to 
 know, and to have shown that the patriotism and courage of the 
 volunteer militia of the south and south-west, gave the first 
 check to the career of British conquests in the south, and by the 
 defeat of Ferguson, so changed the aspect of afl'airs, as to result 
 eventually in the consummation of our independence. 
 
 I beg you, gentlemen, to present my acknowledgements to the 
 citizens of York district for the cordial welcome they have ofiered 
 me, and to accept for yourselves my thanks for the polite terms 
 in which you have communicated their intentions. 
 
 I am, gentlemen, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 J. G. M. RAMSEY. 
 
 To Messrs. W. B. Wilson, John L. Miller and Sam'l W. Mel- 
 ton, Committee of Invitation. 
 
88 
 
 From Honorable D. R. Atchison. 
 
 Platte City, Mo., September 12, 1855. 
 
 Gentkmen — Your letter of invitation, requesting my attendance 
 at the celebration of the battle of King's Mountain has been re- 
 ceived. It will be altogether inconvenient for me to be present 
 on that occasion. I have certain duties, both private and public, 
 to discharge at home. The battle of King's Mountain was fought 
 by the whigs, under the lead of Campbell, McDowell, Shelby, 
 Sevier, and Williams, against the tories under the gallant Fer- 
 guson. We have a similar foe to encounter in Kansas, on the 
 first Monday in October next. The " border ruffians," such as 
 fought with McDowell, Shelby, &c., on the one hand, and the 
 Abolitionists — such men as fought with Ferguson, on the other. 
 We, (the " border ruflSans") have the whole power of the northern 
 states to contend with, single handed and alone, without assist- 
 ance, and without sympathy from any quarter ; yet we are un- 
 dismayed. Thus far have we been victorious ; and with the 
 help of God we will still continue to conquer. 
 
 Gentlemen, I thank yoxi for the kind expression in the conclud- 
 ing paragraph of your letter — "three cheers for Atchison and 
 Kansas !" I have read this paragraph to sundry of the "border 
 ruffians," and their eyes sparkle ; their arms are nerved. We have 
 been acting on the defensive altogether ; the contest with us is 
 one of life and death, and it will be so with you and your institu- 
 tion if we fail. Atchison, Stxingfellow, and the "border ruf- 
 fians" of Missouri, fills a column of each abolition paper pub- 
 lished in the north ; abuse most foul, and falsehood unblushing, 
 is poured out upon us, and yet we have no advocate in the 
 southern press ; and yet we received no assistance from the 
 southern states. But the time will shortly come when that as- 
 sistance must and will be rendered ; the stake the " border ruf- 
 fians " are playing for is a mighty one. If Kansas is abolitionized, 
 Missouri ceases to be a slave state, and New Mexico becomes a 
 free state, California remains a free state ; but if we secure Kan- 
 sas as a slave state, Missouri is secure ; New Mexico and south- 
 ern California, if not all of it, becomes a slave state ; in a word, 
 the prosperity or the ruin of the whole south depends on the 
 Kansas struggle. Your obedient servant, 
 
 D. R. ATCHISON. 
 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, Jno. L. Miller, and Saml. W. Melton, 
 Committee of Invitation. 
 
89 
 
 From Honorable A. P. Butler. 
 
 Stoneland, near Edgefield, Sept. 29, 1855. 
 Gentlemen — I have delayed thus long to notice your note, invit- 
 ing me to be present at the celebration of the battle of King's 
 Mountain, in the hope that I might be able to accept your polite 
 invitation. The occasion is one full of historical interest, and 
 such an one as vpould have aiforded me, on many accounts, a 
 grateful satisfaction. I find that the state of my health (having 
 received by the fall of a horse some injury in my arm) will not 
 allow me the great pleasure which I had proposed to myself of 
 having with you. 
 
 It has been said, that the gallant men who fought the battle 
 of King's Mountain, had no muster roll by which they could be 
 summoned to duty, and that there never was a public record re- 
 cognizing their services. They needed no such memorial to 
 place their names on the roll of fame. They mustered themselves 
 into service ; and in a few hours, under the influence of high 
 daring and tributary patriotism, performed a gallant achieve- 
 ment, that may well be put in honorable comparison with the 
 services of years of many who were called at reveille by the 
 muster roll. The graves of those who fell on the battle-field, and 
 a burnished tradition, will afford a muster-roll for the admiration 
 of posterity. 
 
 It would be a beautiful tribute to their memory, to make the 
 mountain on which they won the victory (one so anomalous in 
 history,) their monument, by having their names inscribed 
 upon it. 
 
 I hope the stone of the mountain is granite — that would be a 
 genuine illustration of the whole affair. 
 
 Accept, gentlemen, the assurance of my high respect. 
 
 A. P. BUTLER. 
 
 To Messrs. Wilson, Miller and Melton, Committee of King's 
 Mountain Celebration. 
 
90 
 
 From Honorable Josiah J. Evans. 
 
 Society Hill, September 30, 1855. 
 
 Until within a few days, I had promised myself the pleasure of 
 attending your celebration, but various causes have combined to 
 put this out of my power. To have been present on such an oc- 
 casion would have been a source of great pleasure to me. I look 
 upon the battle of King's Mountain as the turning point of the 
 revolutionary war at the south. By Gates' disastrous defeat, the 
 country was considered conquered. There was no army in the 
 field, and no hope in the future — all was prostrate. The first 
 bright speck was the daring achievement of the mountain men in 
 the capture of Ferguson's army. But for this event, the march 
 of Lord Cornwallis through North Carolina into Virginia might 
 have completed the conquest of these states, before the second 
 southern army under Greene could have been organized and 
 marched to their relief. The battle of King's Mountain may, 
 therefore, be considered the great event of the war, and should 
 be held in grateful remembrance by all the descendants of those 
 whose independence of foreign domination was achieved by the 
 war of the revolution. I wish it were in my power to participate 
 in the celebration of this event, but I find it impossible. 
 
 Most sincerely yours, &c., 
 
 JOSIAH J. EVANS. 
 
 Messrs. W. B. Wilson, Jno. L. Miller, Sajil. W. Melton, Com- 
 mittee of Invitation. 
 
 From Rev. J. H. Thornwell. 
 
 South-Carolina College, September 29, 1855. 
 Gentlemen — Parlly from a spirit of procrastination, and partly 
 from a vague hope that something might turn up to enable me to 
 attend your approaching celebration, I have delayed to the last 
 moment, to reply to your polite and kind invitation. I am truly 
 sorry that I cannot go. Such commemorations of great events I 
 cordially approve, and have always regretted that they have not 
 been more frequent among us. It is true that they are not the 
 necessary signs of a heroic spirit, or a great generation. No- 
 thing is more characteristic of a declining people, and a dogene- 
 
91 
 
 rate age, than to relieve their sense of degradation by rearing 
 monuments to a glorious past. The Jew delighted to build the 
 sepulchres and adorn the tombs of the prophets, long after the 
 spirit of the prophets had departed ; and Greek and Roman 
 alike, soothed their bondage by a passive admiration of the deeds 
 of their ancestors. But where there is a right public spirit, no- 
 thing is better suited to expand and strengthen it, than national 
 recollections. Our fathers seem to speak to us from their 
 graves. I think, therefore, that you have done wisely in your 
 proposed celebration, and I feel it to be a severe self-denial that 
 I can take no part in the ceremonies. In the sincere hope that 
 the solemnities of the occasion may even transcend your expec- 
 tations, I have the honor to be, with the highest consideration, 
 your obliged servant, 
 
 J. H. THORNWELL. 
 Messrs. Wilson, Miller and Melton, Committee. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 THE GATHERING. 
 
 Letter to Col. William Campbell, in Washington. 
 
 July 31st, 1180. 
 
 Last Saturday eveniug I received your favor of the 20th, enclos- 
 ing the governor's instructions to you to turn your arms against 
 tht3 tories. I would beg leave to tell you, sir, that this appoint- 
 ment gave me the most sincere pleasure, being fully convinced 
 that you have a more important enemy to contend with, in them, 
 than you had in the hostile towns of the Cherokees. More impor- 
 tant, both from their numbers and their horrid and hellish combi- 
 nations, as well as their situation amongst us in every quarter 
 of the country'-, who only wait orders and a fair, or even a toler- 
 able opportunity, to begin the works of murder and rapine. 
 
 This hour I have been informed, from unquestionable authority, 
 that a general and dangerous conspiracy is meditating amongst 
 the tories, to be put into execution next month. The lead mines 
 is their first object, and then to overrun the country, not only here, 
 but in Bottetourt, with blood and plunder. This news is so 
 alarming, that Col. Hugh Crockett has called for a great part of 
 the militia of Bottetourt; and I have wrote to Col. Walter 
 Crockett to put himself at the head of all the militia he can raise, 
 from the county-line down to Capt. Draper's company, and then 
 to proceed to disarm all suspected persons, from the court-house 
 down to where he meets the Bottetoiirt militia; and also to take 
 into custody all such as have been noted for their disafiection to 
 the American cause. 
 
 As there is not a moment to be lost, and as the stroke ought 
 to be as general as their scheme was to have been, I would 
 therefore beg of you to raise, at least, three full companies of 
 militia, and with them proceed to disarm and secure all such in 
 
93 
 
 the upper part of Washington and Montgomery, as low as where 
 Col. Crockett begins, and such other places as you may judge 
 proper; and in the meantime that you will take the command of 
 the whole troops drawn out on this occasion, agreeable to the 
 governor's instructions; and that you will add, diminish or alter 
 the instructions I have given to Col. Crockett in any manner you 
 think will most forward this essential service. Had not the Bot- 
 tetourt troops been on foot before I knew, I should not have sent 
 Colonel Walter Crockett any particular instructions ; but, under 
 these circumstances, I judged it best to put his in motion, and 
 yours to do the business as far as the court-house. I would have 
 you and Col. Arthur Campbell to fall on some prudent scheme to 
 secure the body of Colonel Griffith. I have ordered a guard with 
 the ammunition, as you directed. Pray let me hear from you. 
 Let all be conducted with as much secrecy as possible. 
 I am, sir, your humble servant, 
 
 WM. PRESTON. 
 P.S. — If there should be no occasion to march now — I mean to 
 Red river — I would beg of you to send those in person from 
 Bottetourt and Montgomery. 
 
 Extract from Ramsey's " Annals of Tennessee." Pages 227-8-9. 
 
 " Sevier also undertook to bring Col. McDowell and other field 
 officers who, with their followers, were then in a state of expa- 
 triation amongst the western settlers, into the measure. In this 
 he succeeded at once. All of them had been driven from their 
 homes, which were now deserted, and exposed to the depreda- 
 tions of the disorderly and licentious loyalists who had joined 
 the foreign enemy. Most of them had friends and kindred on 
 whom Ferguson and his tories were even then wreaking their 
 vengeance. These homes and these friends they longed to res- 
 cue and protect from further violence and desecration. 
 
 To Shelby was assigned the duty of securing the co-operation 
 of the riflemen of western Vii'ginia. These had, in many a past 
 campaign with the pioneers of Tennessee, bivouaced and fought 
 and triumphed together over a savage foe, and it was now deemed 
 essential to the preservation of liberty and independence, to ob- 
 tain the aid of these gallant men in resisting the invasion of the 
 common country. Shelby accordingly hastened home, wrote a 
 letter to William Campbell, colonel commandant of Washington 
 count}^, Virginia, and sent it by his brother, Moses Shelby, to the 
 house ofCampbell, a distance of forty miles. In this letter Col- 
 nel Shelby stated what had been determined on by Sevier and 
 himself, and urged Campbell to join them with his regiment. 
 That gallant officer, true to the general cause but most loyal to 
 Virginia, replied by the same messenger, that he did not approve 
 of the measures that had been ado])ted, and that he should pur- 
 
94 
 
 sue his crt-ig-inal intention and march his men down by way of the 
 Flower Gap, and get ou the southern borders of Virginia, ready 
 to meet and oppose Lord Cornwallis when he approached that 
 state. With this answer, Shelby was much disappointed. He 
 was unwilling that the whole military force of Sullivan and 
 Washington counties should be taken upon the contemplated ex- 
 pedition, and thus leave the frontier exposed to attacks from the 
 Cherokees from whom they were threatened with and had good 
 reason to expect an immediate invasion. He, therefore, wrote a 
 second letter, and sent by the same messenger immediately back 
 to Colonel Campbell, giving additional reasons in favour of the 
 projected campaign. To this letter Campbell replied that he 
 would co-operate with his whole force. 
 
 Colonel Campbell commanded four hundred men from Virginia, 
 Colonel Sevier two hundred and forty from Washington, and 
 Colonel Shelby two hundred and forty from Sullivan county, in 
 North Carolina. The refugee whigs mustered under Col. McDow- 
 ell. All were well mounted and nearly all armed with a Deckhard 
 rifle. 
 
 " The camp on Wautauga, on the twenty-fifth of September, pre- 
 sented an animated spectacle. With the exception of the few colo- 
 nists on the distant Cumberland, the entire military force of what is 
 now Tennessee, was assembled at the Sycamore shoals. Scarce a 
 single gunman remained, that day, at his own house. The young, 
 ai'dent and energetic had generally enrolled themselves for the 
 campaign against Ferguson. The less vigorous and more aged, 
 were left, with the inferior guns, in the settlements for their pro- 
 tection against the Indians ; but all had attended the rendezvous. 
 The old men were there to counsel, encourage and stimulate the 
 youthful soldier, and to receive, from the colonels, instructions 
 for the defence of the stations during their absence. Others were 
 there to bring, in rich profusion, the products of their farms, 
 which were cheerfully furnished gratuitously and without stint, 
 to complete the outfit of the expedition. Gold and silver they 
 had not, but subsistence and clothing, and equipment and the 
 fiery charger — anything the frontierman owned, in the cabin, the 
 field or the range, was offered, unostentatiously, upon the altar 
 of his country. The wife and the sister were there, and, with a 
 suppressed sigh, witnessed the departure of the husband and bro- 
 ther. And there, too, were the heroic mother, with a mournful 
 but noble pride, to take a fond farewell of their gallant sons. 
 
 " The sparse settlements of this frontier, had never before seen 
 assembled together a concourse of people so immense and so evi- 
 dently agitated by great excitement. The large mass of the as- 
 sembly were volunteer riflemen, clad in the home-spun of their 
 wives and sisters, and wearing the hunting-shirt so characteristic 
 of the backwoods soldiery, and not a few of them the moccasins 
 
95 
 
 of their own manufacture. A few of the officers were better 
 dressed, but all in citizens' clothing. The mien of Campbell was 
 stern, authoritative and dignified. Shelby was grave, taciturn, 
 and determined, Sevier, vivacious, ardent, impulsive and ener- 
 getic. McDowell, moving about with the ease and dignity of a 
 colonial magistrate, inspiring veneration for his virtues and an 
 indignant sympathy for the wrongs of himself and his co-exiles. 
 All were completely wrapt in the absorbing subject of the revo- 
 lutionary struggle, then approaching its acme, and threatening 
 the homes and families of the mountaineers themselves. Never 
 did mountain recess cont-ain within it, a loftier or a more en- 
 larged patriotism — never a cooler or more determined courage. 
 
 " In the seclusion of their homes in the west, many of the vol- 
 unteers had only heard of war at a distance, and had been in un- 
 disputed possession of that independence for which their at) antic 
 countrj'men were now struggling. The near approach of Fer- 
 guson had awakened them from their security, and indignant at 
 the violence and depredations of his followers, they were now 
 embodied to chastise and avenge them. This they had done at 
 the suggestion and upon the motion of their own leaders, with- 
 out any requisition from the governments of America or the offi- 
 cers of the continental army. Indeed, at this moment, the Ame- 
 rican army in the south was almost annihilated, and the friends 
 of the American cause, were discouraged and despondent. The 
 British were everywhere triumphant, and the loyalists, under the 
 pretence of promoting the service of his Britanic Majesty, were, 
 in many sections, perpetrating the greatest outrage and cruelty 
 upon the whigs. The attitude of these volunteer detachments 
 was as forlorn as it was gallant. At the time of their embodi- 
 ment, and for several days after they had mai'ched against the 
 enemy, flushed with recent victories and confident of further con- 
 quest, it was not known to them that a single armed corps of 
 Americans was marshalled for their assistance or relief. The 
 crisis was, indeed, dark and gloomy. But indomitable patriots 
 were present, prepared and willing to meet it. The personnel of 
 no army could have been better. There was strength, enter- 
 prise, courage and enthusiasm. The ardour and impetuosity and 
 rashness of youth were there, to project and execute, with the 
 wisdom of mature age, to temper and direct them ; the caution 
 of the father and the irrepressible daring of the son. 
 
 Without delay, early on the morning of the next day, after its 
 rendezvous at Wautauga, the little army was on the march. Be- 
 fore the troops left the camp, the officers requested that they 
 should assemble for the purpose of commending the army to 
 Divine protection and guidance. They promptly complied Avith 
 •the request. Prayer, solemn and appropriate, was offered by a 
 clergyman present, and the riflemen mounted their horses and 
 started on the distant campaign. 
 
yo 
 
 THE BATTLE. 
 
 A statement of the proceedings of the western army, from the 25th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1780, to the reduction of Major Ferguson and the army under his 
 command. 
 
 On receiving intelligence that Maj. Ferguson had advanced up 
 as high as Gilbert town, in Rutherford county, and threatened to 
 cross the mountains to the western waters, Colonel William 
 Campbell, with four hundred men from Washington county, of 
 Virginia ; Colonel Isaac Shelbj^, with two hundred and forty men 
 from Sullivan county, of North Carolina, and Lieutenant-colonel 
 John Sevier, with two hundred and forty men from Washington 
 county, of North Carolina, assembled at Wautauga, on the 25th 
 day of September, Avhere they were joined by Colonel Charles 
 McDowell, with one hundred and sixty men from the counties of 
 Burke and Rutherford, who had fled before the enemy to the 
 western waters. " We began our march on the 26th, and on the 
 30th wo were joined by Colonel Cleaveland on the CataAvba river, 
 with three hundred and fifty men from the counties of Wilkes and 
 Surry. No one officer having properly a right to command in 
 chief. On the 1st October, we despatched an express to Major 
 General Gates, informing him of our situation, and requesting- 
 him to send a general officer to take command of the whole. In 
 the mean time, Colonel Campbell was chosen to act as command- 
 ant till such general officer should arrive. We marched to the 
 Cowpens, on Broad river, in South Carolina, where we were 
 joined by Colonel James Williams, with four hundred men on the 
 evening of the 6th October, who informed us that the enemy lay 
 encamped somewhere near the Cherokee Ford, of Broad river, 
 about thirty miles distant from us. By a council of the principal 
 officers, it was then thought advisable to pursue the enemy that 
 night with nine hundred of the best horsemen, and leave the 
 weak horse and footmen to follow as fast as possible. We be- 
 gan our march with about nine hundred of the best men, that 
 evening, about eight o'clock, and, marching all night, came up 
 with the enemy about 3 o'clock, p.m., of the 1th, who lay en- 
 camped on the top of King's Mountain, twelve miles north of the 
 Cherokee Ford, in the confidence that they could not be forced 
 from so advantageous a post. Previous to the attack, on our 
 march, the following disposition was made : Colonel Shelby's 
 regiment formed a column in the centre on the left ;, Colonel 
 Campbell's regiment another on the right; part of Colonel Cleave- 
 land's regiment, headed in front by Major Winston, and Colonel 
 Sevier's regiment, formed a large column on the right wing ; the 
 other part of Colonel Cleaveland's regiment, headed by Colonel 
 Cleaveland himself, and Colonel William's regiment, composed the 
 left wing. In this order we advanced and got within a quarter 
 of a mile of tlie onemv before we were discovered. Colonel Shel- 
 
97 
 
 by's and Colonel Campbell's regiments began the attack and kept 
 up a fire on the enemy while the right and left wings were ad- 
 vancing forward to surround them, which was done in about five 
 minutes, and the fire became general all around. The engage- 
 ment lasted an hour and five minutes, the greatest part of which 
 time a heavy and incessant fire was kept up on both sides. Our 
 men, in some places, where the regulars fought, were obliged to 
 give way a small distance, two or three times, but rallied and 
 returned with additional ardour to the attack. The troops upon 
 the right, having gained the summit of the eminence, obliged the 
 enemy to retreat along the top of the ridge to where Colonel 
 Cleavelaud commanded, and were there stopped by his brave 
 mem A flag was immediately hoisted by Captain DuPoistre, 
 then commanding officer, (Major Ferguson having been killed a 
 little before,) for a surrender. Our fire immediately ceased, and 
 the enemy laid down their arms, the greatest part of them 
 charged, and surrendered themselves to us prisoners at discre- 
 tion. It appears fi'ora their own provision returns that day 
 found in their camp, that their whole force consisted of eleven 
 hundred and twenty-five men, out of which they sustained the 
 following loss : Of the regulars, one major, one captain, two ser- 
 geants and fifteen privates killed, thirty-five privates wounded. 
 Left on the ground, not able to march, two captains, four lieuten- 
 ants, three ensigns, one surgeon, five sergeants, three corporals, 
 one drummer, and forty-nine privates taken prisoners. Loss of 
 the tories, two colonels, three captains, and two hundred and one 
 privates killed ; one major and one hundred and twenty-seven 
 privates wounded and left on the ground, not able to march ; one 
 colonel, twelve captains, eleven lieutenants, two ensigns, one 
 quarter-master, one adjutant, two commissaries, eighteen ser- 
 geants and six hundred privates, taken prisoners. Total loss of 
 the enemy eleven hundred and five men at King's Mountain. 
 Given under our hands at camp. 
 
 ^ WILLIAM CAMPBELL. 
 
 ISAAC SHELBY. 
 
 BELJAMIN CLEAVELAND. 
 
 THE LOSS ON OUR SIDE. 
 
 KILLED. 
 
 1 colonel. 
 1 major. 
 1 captain. 
 
 1 major. 
 3 captains. 
 3 lieutenants. 
 
 2 lieutenants. I 53 privates. 
 
 4 ensigns. — 
 
 19 privates. 60 total. 
 
 28 total. 
 
 13 
 
98 
 
 Letter from Colonel Win. Campbell to Colonel Arthur Campbell 
 
 Wilkes County Camp, on Brian Creek, 
 
 October 20, 1180. 
 
 Dear Sir : Ferguson and his party are no more in circum- 
 stances to injure the citizens of America. We came up with him 
 in Craven county. South Carolina, posted on a height, called 
 King's Mountain, about 12 miles north of the Cherokee Ford, of 
 Broad river, about two o'clock in the evening, of the 1th instant, 
 we having marched the whole night before. 
 
 Colonel Shelby's regiment and mine began the attack and sus- 
 tained the whole fire of the enemy for about ten minutes, while 
 the other troops were forming around the height, upon which the 
 enemy was posted. The firing then became general, and as 
 heavy as you can conceive for the number of men. The advan- 
 tageous situation of the enemy being the top of a steep ridge, 
 obliged us to expose ourselves exceedingly ; and the dislodging 
 of them was equal to driving men from strong breast-works, 
 though in the end we gained the point of the ridge, where my 
 regiment fought, and drove them along the summit of it nearly 
 to the other end where Colonel Cleaveland and his countrymen 
 wei'e. There they were driven into a huddle and the greatest 
 confusion ; the flag for a surrender was immediately hoisted, and 
 as soon as our troops could be notified of it, the firing ceased and 
 the survivors surrendered themselves prisoners at discretion. 
 The victory was complete to a wish. My regiment has suffered 
 more than any other in the action. I must proceed with the 
 prisoners until I can some way dispose of them ; probably I may 
 go on to Richmond, in Virginia. I am, &c., 
 
 WILLIAM CAMPBELL, Col. Com. 
 
 Extract from a speech delivered by General Smythe, of Va., in the House of 
 Representatives of the U. S., Feb. 7, 1829. 
 
 " Colonel Isaac Shelby, in a letter to Colonel Arthur Campbell, 
 commandant of Washington county, in Virginia, written on the 
 12th of October, 1180, speaks thus of the battle : "We were 
 soon formed in such order as to attack the enemy on all quar- 
 ters. The Washington and Sullivan regiments began the at- 
 tack on the front and left flanks ; the North Carolina regiments, 
 under Colonels Williams, Sevier and Cleaveland, attacked the 
 rear and other flank, the firing in about fifteen minutes became 
 general, and was kept up with fury on both sides for near an 
 hour. On the first onset, the Washington militia attempted rap- 
 idly to ascend the mountain but were met by the British regulars 
 with fixed bayonets, and forced to retreat. They were soon ral- 
 lied by their gallant commander and some of his active officers, 
 
99 
 
 and by a constant and well directed fire of our rifles, we drove 
 them back in our turn and reached the summit of the mountain, 
 where the enemy being closely surrounded, surrendered prison- 
 ers at discretion. Truly the situation of the ground gave them 
 greatly the advantage, as the mountain was high and exceed- 
 ingly steep in front, and interspersed along the top with craggy 
 cliffs of rocks, in short, it was almost equal to storming regular 
 works." 
 
 Extract from a communicatioQ by Colonel Isaac Shelbv, to the " Natioiuil 
 Intelligencer, May 6, 1823. 
 
 On the morning after the appointment of Colonel Campbell, we 
 proceeded towards Gilbert town, but found that Ferguson, ap- 
 prised of our approach, had left there a few days before. On the 
 next night it was determined, in the council of officers, to pur- 
 sue him, unremittingly, with as many of our troops as could be 
 well armed and well mounted, leaving the weak horses and foot- 
 men to follow on as well as they could. We accordingly started 
 about light the next morning with nine hundred and ten men 
 thus selected. Continuing diligently our pursuit all that day, 
 we were joined at the Cowpens, on the 6th, by Col. John Wil- 
 liams, of South Carolina, and several field officers, with about 
 four hundred men. Learning, from him, the situation and the 
 distance of the enemj', we traveled all that night and the next 
 day, through heavy rains, and came np with them about three 
 o'clock in the afternoon of the tth of October. They were en- 
 camped on an eminence called King's Mountain, extending from 
 east to west, which, on its summit, was about 500 or 600 yards 
 long and 60 or *I0 broad. Our men were formed for battle as 
 stated in the report of the action, made out and signed by some 
 of the ofiicers. This report, however, omits to mention that the 
 men who had belonged to Colonel McDowell's command, which 
 had been considerably augmented on the march, formed a part 
 of the right wing under Sevier. Colonel Campbell's regiment and 
 my own composed the centre, his on the right and mine on the 
 left. The right wing or column was led by Major Winston and 
 Colonel Sevier. The left by Colonels Cleaveland and Williams, 
 and each of these wings was about as strong as Campbell's regi- 
 ment and mine united. Our plan was to surround the mountain 
 and attack the enemy on all sides. In this oi'der and with this 
 view, we marched immediately to the assault. Tlie attack was 
 commenced by the two centre columns, which attempted to as- 
 cend at the eastern end of the mountain. The battle here became 
 furious and bloody, and many that belonged to Sevier's column 
 were drawn into the action at this point, to sustain their com- 
 rades. In the course of the battle, we were repeatedly repulsed 
 by the enemy, and driven down the mountain. In this succession 
 
100 
 
 of repulses and attacks, and in giving- succor to the jjoints hard- 
 est pressed, much disorder took place in our ranks, the men of 
 my column, of Campbell's column, and a great part of Sevier's 
 were mingled together in the confusion of the battle. Toward 
 the latter part of the action, the enemy made a fierce and gallant 
 charge upon us from the eastern summit of the mountain and 
 drove us near to the foot of it. The retreat was so rapid that 
 there was great danger of its becoming a rout. 
 
 General Davidson to General Sumner. 
 
 Rocky Rivek, Oct. 10, 1780. 
 
 I have the pleasure of handing to you very agreeable intelli- 
 gence from the west. Ferguson, the great partisan, has mis- 
 carried ; this we are assured of by Mr. Tate, brigade-major in 
 Gen. Sumpter's late command. The particulars from that gentle- 
 man's mouth stand thus : 
 
 That Colonels Campbell, Cleaveland, Shelby, Sevier, Williams, 
 Brandon, Lacey, &c., formed a conjunct body near Gilbert town, 
 consisting of three thousand men ; from this body were elected 
 sixteen hundred horse who immediatel}^ went in pursuit of Major 
 Ferguson, who was making his way to Charlotte. Our people 
 overtook them well posted on King's Mountain, and on the eve- 
 ning of the 1th instant, at 4 o'clock, began the attack, which con- 
 tinued forty-seven minutes. Major Fei'guson and one hundred 
 and fifty of his men fell in the action, eight hundred and ten were 
 made prisoners, including the British, and one hundred and fifty 
 of the prisoners are wounded ; fifteen hundred stand of arms fell 
 into our hands. Major Ferguson had about fourteen hundred 
 men and were all confused. Our people surrounded them and the 
 enemy surrendered. We lost about twenty men, among whom 
 is Major Chronicle of Lincoln county. Colonel Williams is mor- 
 tally wounded. The number of our wounded cannot be ascer- 
 tained. This blow must affect the British very considerably. 
 The design of our conquering friends is not clearly known ; it is 
 most probable they will secure their prisoners in or about the 
 mountains, and proceed towards Charlotte. The brigade-major 
 who gives us this, was in the action. The above is true — the 
 blow is great. I give you joy on the occasion. — Extract from the 
 Virginia Gazette, Oct. 21, 1780. 
 
101 
 
 THE CONSEQUENCES. 
 
 Extract from a History of the Americaa Revolution, by Mrs. Warren, 2 vols. 
 
 pp. 250, 1—2. 
 
 " Major Ferguson had, for several weeks, taken post in Tryon 
 county, not far distant from the western mountains. He had there 
 collected a body of royalists, who, united with his regular de- 
 tachments, spread terror and dismay through all the adjacent 
 country. This aroused to action all who were capable of bearing 
 arms, in opposition to his designs. A body of militia collected in 
 and about the highlands of North Carolina ; a party of hunters, 
 riflemen, a number of the steady yeomanry of the country, in 
 short, a numerous and resolute band, in defiance of danger and 
 fatigue, determined to drive him from his strong position on a 
 spot called King's Mountain. Under various commanders, who 
 had little knowledge of each other, they seemed all to unite in 
 the design of hunting down this useful prop of British authority, 
 in that part of the country. 
 
 " These hardy partisans effected their purpose ; and though the 
 British commander exhibited the valor of a brave and magnani- 
 mous officer, and his troops acquitted themselves with vigor and 
 spirit, the Americans, who in great numbers surrounded them, 
 won the day. Major Ferguson, with a hundred and fifty of his 
 men, fell in the action, and seven hundred were made prisoners, 
 from whom were selected a few, who, from motives of public zeal 
 or private revenge, were immediately executed. This summary 
 infliction was imposed by order of some of those fierce and un- 
 civilized chieftains, who had spent most of their lives in the 
 mountains and forests, amidst the slaughter of wild animals, 
 which was necessary to their daily subsistence. 
 
 After this victory, most of the adherents to the royal cause in 
 the interior parts of the Carolinas, either changed sides or sunk 
 into obscurity. Lord Corn wallis himself, in a letter to Sir Henry 
 Clinton, about this time, complained that ' it was in the militia of 
 the northern frontier alone, that he could place the smallest de- 
 pendence ; and that they were so totall}' dispirited by Ferguson's 
 defeat, that in the whole district he could not assemble an hun- 
 dred men, and even in them he could not now place the smallest 
 confidence."* 
 
 * Sir Henry Clinton observed, on this occasion, that •' the fatal catastrophe 
 of Ferguson's defeat, had lost Lord Cornwallis the whole militia of Ninety-Six, 
 amounting to four thou-and men, and even threw South Carolina into a state 
 of confusion and rebellion. 
 
102 
 
 Lord Rawdon to General Leslie. 
 
 Camp, tvest of Catawba River, 
 
 October 24, 1780. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis advanced to Charlotteburg. Major Ferguson, 
 with about eight hundred militia, collected from the neighborhood 
 of Ninety-Six, had previously marched into Tryon county, to pro- 
 tect our friends, who were supposed to be numerous there, and 
 it was intended that he should cross the Catawba river, and en- 
 deavor to preserve tranquillity in the rear of the army. A nume- 
 rous enemy now appears on the frontiers, drawn from Nola- 
 chucki and other settlements beyond the mountains, whose very 
 names had been unknown to us. A body of these, joined by the 
 inhabitants of the ceded lands in Georgia, made a sudden and 
 violent attack upon Augusta. The post was gallantly defended 
 by Lieutenant Colonel Brown, till he was relieved by the activity 
 of Lieutenant Colonel Cruger. But Major Ferguson, by endea- 
 voring to intercept the enemy in their retreat, unfortunately gave 
 time for fresh bodies of them to pass the mountains, and to imite 
 into a corps far superior to that which he commanded. They 
 came up with him, and after a sharp action, defeated him. Fer- 
 guson was killed, and all his party either slain or taken. By the 
 enemy's having secured all the passes on the Catawba, Lord 
 Cornwallis, (who was waiting at Charlotteburg for a convoy of 
 stores, ) received but confused accounts of the affair for some 
 time. At length the truth reached him, and the delay, equally 
 with the precautions which the enemy had taken to keep their 
 victory from his knowledge, gave his lordship great reason to 
 fear for the safety of Ninety-Six. To save that district was indis- 
 pensable for the security of the rest of the province, and Lord 
 Cornwallis saw no means of effecting it, but by passing the Ca- 
 tawba river, with his army, for it was so weakened by sickness, 
 that it would not bear detachment. After much fatigue, on the 
 march, occasioned by violent rains, we passed the river three 
 days ago. We then received the first intelligence respecting our 
 different posts in the province, which had reached us for near 
 three weeks, every express from Camden having been waylaid, 
 and some of them murdered by the inhabitants. Ninety-six is 
 safe ; the corps which defeated Ferguson having (in consequence 
 of our movement,) crossed the Catawba and joined Smallwood on 
 the Yadkin. 
 
 "In our present position we have received the first intimation 
 of the expedition under your command. At present, Ave fear that 
 we are too far asunder to render your co-operation very effectual. 
 No force has presented itself to us whose opposition would have 
 been thought serious against this army. But then we have little 
 hopes of bringing the aflair to the issue of an action. The enemy 
 are mostly mounted militia, not to be overtaken by our infantry, 
 nor to be safely pursued in this strong country by our cavalry. 
 Our fear is, that instead of meeting us, they would slip by us into 
 
103 
 
 this province, were we to proceed far from it, and might again 
 stimulate the disaffected to serious insurrection. This apprehen- 
 sion, you will judge, sir, must greatly circumscribe our efforts; in- 
 deed, Lord Cornwallis cannot hope that he shall be able to un- 
 dertake anything upon such a scale, as either to aid you, or much 
 to benefit from you in your present situation. 
 
 Lord Rawdon to Sii* Henry Cliaton. 
 
 October 29, 1780, 
 
 * * * In the meantime General Gates' army advanced. 
 We were greatly surprised, and no less grieved, that no inform- 
 ation whatever of its movements was conveyed to us by per- 
 sons so deepl}'' '^interested in the event as the North Carolina 
 loyalists. Upon the 16th of August, that army was so entirely 
 dispersed, that it was clear no number of them could, for a con- 
 siderable time, be collected. Orders were therefore dispatched 
 to our friends, stating that the hour, which they had so long 
 pressed, was arrived ; and exhorting them to stand forth imme- 
 diately, and prevent the re-union of the scattered enemy. Instant 
 support was in that case promised them. In the fullest confi- 
 dence that this event was to take place. Lord Cornwallis ven- 
 tured to press your excellency for co-operation in the Chesapeake, 
 hoping that the assistance of the North Carolinians might event- 
 ually furnish a force for yet further efforts. Not a single man, 
 however, attempted to improve the favorable moment, or obeyed 
 that summons for which they had before been so impatient. It 
 was hoped that our approach might get the better of their timid- 
 ity ; yet during a long j^eriod, whilst we were waiting at Char- 
 lotteburg, for our stores and convalescents, they did not even 
 furnish us with the least information respecting the force col- 
 lecting against us. In short, sir, we may have a powerful body 
 of friends in North Carolina — and, indeed, we have cause to be 
 convinced, that many of the inhabitants wish well to his majes- 
 ty's army ; but they have not given evidence enough either of 
 their number or their activity, to justify the stake of this pro- 
 vince, for the uncertain advantages that might attend imme- 
 diate junction with them. There is reason to believe that such 
 must have been the risk. 
 
 Whilst this army lay at Charlotteburg, Georgetown was taken 
 from the militia by the rebels ; and the whole country, to the 
 east of the Santee, gave such proofs of general defection, that even 
 the militia of the High Hills could not be prevailed upon to join 
 a party of troops who were sent to protect our boats upon the 
 river. The defeat of Major Ferguson had so dispirited this part 
 of the country, and, indeed, the loyal subjects were so wearied 
 by the long continuance of the campaign, that Lieutenant-Colo- 
 
104 
 
 nel Cniger, (commanding at Ninety-Six,) sent information to 
 Earl Cornwallis, that the whole district had determined to sub- 
 mit as soon as the rebels should enter it. From these circum- 
 stances, from the consideration that delay does not extinguisli 
 our hopes in North Carolina ; and from the long fatigue of the 
 troops, which made it seriously requisite to give some refresh- 
 ment to the army ; Earl Cornwallis has resolved to remain for the 
 present in a position which may secure the frontiers without sep- 
 arating his force. In this situation, we shall be always ready 
 for movement, whensoever opportunity shall recommend it, or 
 circumstances require it. But the first care must be to put Cam- 
 den and Ninety-six into a better state of defence and to furnish 
 them with ample stores, and salt provisions. Earl Cornwallis 
 forsees all the difficulties of a defensive war. Yet his lordship 
 thinks they cannot be weighed against the dangers which must 
 have attended our obstinate adherence to his former plan. 
 
 Lord Corawallis to Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger. 
 
 Camden, August 18, 1*180. 
 
 * * * * In short, there never was a more complete vic- 
 tory. I have written to Lieutenant-Colonel Turnbull, who is with 
 Major Ferguson on Little river, to push on to Waxhaw, after 
 General Sumpter, whose detachment is at present the only col- 
 lected force of the rebels in all this country. Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Tarleton is in pursuit of Sumpter on this side. I have given 
 orders that all the inhabitants of this province, who had submitkd, 
 and who have taken part in this revolt, should be punished with 
 the greatest rigor ; that they should be imprisoned, and their 
 whole property taken from them or destroyed. I have likewise 
 directed that compensation should be made out of their effects to 
 the persons who have been plundered and oppressed by them. _ I 
 have ordered, in the most positive manner, that every militia 
 man who had borne arms with us, and had afterwards joined the 
 enem}^ should be immediately hanged. I have now, sir, only to 
 desire that you will take the most rigorous measures to extin- 
 guish the rebellion in the district in which you command, and 
 that you will obey, in the strictest manner, the directions I have 
 given in this letter, relative to the treatment of the country. 
 
 Sir Henry Clinton to Secretary Germain. 
 
 November 12, 1780. 
 
 * * * * By ray instructions to Major-General Leslie, your 
 lordship may perceive how strenuously I urged a rapid move 
 
105 
 
 towards Petersburg', which, however, he did not think expedient 
 to do on tlie instant, but began to establish himself at Ports- 
 mouth. The Major-General's reasons for this I will not now enter 
 upon, as he has thought it necessary, upon Earl Cornwallis' re- 
 quisition to him by Lord Rawdon, to change entirely that opera- 
 tion, and your lordship will find he proposes going to Cape Fear 
 river. 
 
 I cannot but lament the ill-fated enterprise of Major Ferguson, 
 which has forced Lord Cornwallis to retire, but I hope the nearer 
 co-operation of Major-General Leslie, so much desired by Earl 
 Cornwallis, will re-establish affairs. 
 
 Lord Cornwallis to (.icneral Leslie. 
 
 November 12, 1780. 
 
 * * * * Had I attempted to penetrate into the farther 
 part of North Carolina, my small army would have been exposed 
 to the utmost hazard ; and it would have been as impossible to 
 have co-operated with you in the Chesapeake as with Sir H. Clin- 
 ton at New York. 
 
 If you come to Cape Fear, of which, at present, I have little 
 doubt, by the help of the galleys and small craft which will be 
 sent from Charles town, you will easily secure a water convey- 
 ance for your stores up to Cross Creek ; I will, on hearing of 
 your arrival in Cape Fear River, instantly march with every 
 thing that can be safely spared from this province, which I am 
 sorry to say is most exceedingly disaffected, to join you at Cross 
 Creek. We will then give our friends in North Carolina a fair 
 trial ; if they behave like men, it may be of the greatest advan- 
 tage to the affairs of Britain ; if they are as dastardly and pusil- 
 lanimous as our friends to the southward, we must leave them to 
 their fate and secure what we have got. 
 
 General Leslie to Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 November 19, 1780. 
 
 * * * * The people in general seem sorry at our leaving 
 this district, and I believe would have been happy to have re- 
 mained quiet at home. It is a plentiful country all around our 
 posts. From my first hearing of Ferguson's fate, I inwardly sus- 
 pected what came to pass ; therefore, I never issued any procla- 
 mation of my own, nor did I encourage the people to take arms ; 
 many blamed me for it, but now they think I acted right. 
 
 14 
 
106 
 
 Mr. Lyman to Mr. Wanton. 
 
 West Point, November 24, 1T80. 
 Tlie action at Camden, between General Gates and Cornwallis 
 can be considered as nothing more than a promiscuous carnage, 
 and the respite from slaughter only furnished a stimulous for 
 more vigorous exertions. Unable to improve their advantages 
 and buoyed up by a success which, in its operations, proved 
 merely ideal, they have been checked in the very commencement 
 of their rapid progress by a handful of determined freemen ; 
 their detachments destroyed, and their hopes blasted. This event, 
 though apparently small in its beginning, has been productive of 
 most happy consequences. The militia, convinced that there is 
 nothing invulnerable in the garb of a Briton, that their own 
 safety and happiness depend on their bravery and enterprise, 
 and tliat they have nothing to hope from the cruelty, perfidy and 
 insatiate avarice of their enemies, have at length determined to 
 act with spirit and free their country from an invasion. Our 
 hist authentic accounts from that quarter mention the retreat of 
 Cornwallis from Charlotte, forty miles towards Charlestown — 
 our light parties hanging on his flanks and rear, and the main 
 body, under Generals Smallwood and Gist, on their march to at- 
 tack him. By a letter, which was intercepted from General Les- 
 lie, who commands the detachment which landed up Chesapeake, 
 to Cornwallis, we learn that he had taken post near his shipping, 
 and was waiting his lordship's orders for his future destination, 
 that he had not received a line from him since his arrival, and, 
 further, that from an enterprise of ours their affairs were totally 
 deranged in that quarter. These and a variety of other events, 
 evince that the tables are turned, and that our affairs in that de- 
 partment wear a most favorable aspect. 
 
 Extract from '-Tarleton's Southern Campaign." 
 
 " The destruction of Ferguson and his corps, marked the pe- 
 riod and the extent of the first expedition into North Carolina. 
 Added to the depression and fear it communicated to the loyalists 
 upon the borders, and to the Southward, the effect of such an im- 
 portant event was sensibly felt by Earl Cornwallis at Charlotte 
 town. The weakness of his army, the extent and poverty of 
 North Carolina, the want of knowledge of his enemy's designs, 
 and the total ruin of his militia, presented a gloomy prospect at 
 the commencement of the campaign. A farther progress by the 
 route which he had undertaken, could not possibly remove, but 
 would, undoubtedly, increase his difficulties ; he, therefore, 
 formed a sudden determination to quit Charlotte-town, and pass 
 the Catawba river. The army was ordered to move, and ex- 
 presses were despatched to recall Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton." 
 
107 
 
 Extract of a k-ttur from Governor Jefl'ersou to the President of Congress. 
 
 Richmond, October 15, 1780. 
 
 Sir — -I do myself the pleasure of congratulating- your excel- 
 lency on the small dawn of good fortune which, at length, ap- 
 jjears in the south, as you will find by the despatches I have the 
 lienor of enclosing to you, and which I, at this moment, received 
 tVom General Gates. 
 
 Despatch of General Gates. 
 
 Hillsborough, October 12, 1780. 
 
 Sir — This instant I received the great and glorious news con- 
 tained in the enclosed letter from Brigadier-General Davison to 
 General Sumner, who directly despatched it to me by express. 
 We are now more than even with the enemy. The moment the 
 supplies for the troops arrive from Taylor's ferry, -I shall proceed 
 with the whole to the Yadkin. General Smallwood and Colonel 
 Morgan are on their way to that post ; the latter with the light 
 infantry, was yesterday advanced eighteen miles beyond Guil- 
 ford court house ; the former, with the cavalry, lay last night 
 thirteen miles on this side that place. I desire your excellency 
 will forthwith despatch copies of all the letters I now send you 
 to the president of congress. I am, &c., 
 
 HORATIO GATES. 
 
 Gov. Jefferson. 
 
 Resolutions by Congress. 
 
 " In Congress, Monday, November 13, 1780, a letter from Gov- 
 ernor Jeflersonwas read, enclosing a letter of the 1st from Maj. 
 Gen. Gates, with a particular account of the victory obtained by 
 the militia over the enemy at King's Mountain on the 7th of Oc- 
 tober last, whereupon, 
 
 Resolved, That congress entertain a high sense of the spirited 
 and military conduct of Colonel Campbell, and the officers and 
 privates of the militia under his command, displayed in the ac- 
 tion of October 7, in which a complete victory was obtained over 
 superior numbers of the enemy, advantageously posted on King's 
 Mountain, in the state of North Carolina, and that this resolution 
 be published bj^ the commanding officer of the southern armj^, in 
 general orders." 
 
108 
 
 Extract from a letter of Mr. Jeftersoa, written to a friend of the family of 
 Colonel Campbell, in 1822, 
 
 " I remember well the deep and grateful impression made on 
 the minds of every one by that memorable victory. It was the 
 joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success, which ter- 
 minated the revolutionary war with the seal of independence. 
 The descendants of Colonel Campbell may rest their heads quietly 
 on the pillow of his renown. History has consecrated, and will 
 forever preserve it, in the faithful annals of a grateful country." 
 
 LR&0'26