oct 7, 1780 - Battle of Kings Mountain
Description:
Ferguson was a competent British officer, familiar with the frontier style of warfare, who used a silver whistle to direct his Loyalists in battle. At first Ferguson was successful in dispersing the numerous but uncoordinated rebel militia bands east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. However, when he threatened to cross west of the mountains and lay waste to the countryside of the "over-mountain men" living there who did not swear allegiance to the king, he reignited their resistance. A large number of American militia groups gathered under Colonel William Campbell and began searching for Ferguson and his 1,000 Loyalists. Concerned, Ferguson requested reinforcements from Cornwallis and set up camp on "Kings Mountain," a long, narrow ridge with wooded, boulder-strewn slopes. He did not prepare defensive positions, but concentrated his men at either end. Campbell divided his 900 men into eight smaller groups to surround and attack the ridge. Campbell’s militiamen advanced up the ridge, firing their rifles. When the Loyalists made bayonet counterattacks, the Americans withdrew in the rugged terrain, then returned to the attack. Gradually the ring closed around Ferguson’s Loyalists until they were squeezed into a small area at the northern end of the ridge. Ferguson was shot dead off his horse as he tried to break out and a senior Loyalist officer raised a surrender flag. The American victory devastated Loyalist support in the south and stalled Cornwallis. It was the first of a series of setbacks that ended in the eventual collapse of the British effort to hold North America. Losses: American, 29 dead, 58 wounded; Loyalists, 250 dead, 163 wounded, 668 captured.
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American Revolution
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