Battle of Kings Mountain

Many believe the Battle of King's Mountain was a pivotal turning point in the American Revolution. It was a huge win needed by the colonists against the loyalists and the British Army. The death of British Major Patrick Ferguson and the following surrender of his men brought a battle cry that made the colonists want to push even harder against their foes.

There were a lot of coincidences that helped the rebel forces succeed in this battle. Several of the other key military leaders were burning with high fevers not being used to the climate they were fighting in. Ferguson did not have the backup he needed when he needed it. If we had not made this victory when we did, we might not have won the war.

I thought my GGGGGrandfather Fought in this Battle.

The first Gasperson I have been able to find came to America with the British Army under General Howe. After serving for a while in the British Army, he was treated badly by some of his officers and defected, eventually to join the American Army.

I found evidence that made me believe he fought for the Army at Kings Mountain. I believe he arrived and defected a while after the battle of Kings Mountain by several months.

He is on the Roster at Kings Mountain and that was enough to peek my interest in the battle. I wanted to see what I could learn about the battle and try to find information about him and where he was during that battle.

Political Parties Representing England and the Colonists

As it is today with the Republicans and the Democrats, the Whigs and Tories are different groups of people who believe different things about got the government in the Colonies should be handled.

The Whigs are a group who believe in equal rights for the colonists as compared to the people back in the Homeland in England. The colonists were feeling like England was taking advantage of them, by taxing them for things that the people in England are not being taxed for.

The Tories have the opinion that the Colonies were developed to build and grow England. They believe the Colonists should not have the same rights as those whole lived in the homeland.

The Revolutionary War began because of many of these differences of opinion. They were the reason that America eventually became it's own country.

Patrick Ferguson had a pretty eventful life. Most of his life was dedicated to the military. He was the Inventor of the Breech Loading Rifle called the Ferguson Rifle.

He was the only Briton who fought in the Battle of King's Mountain. All of his men were Loyalists who were born on American soil.

He was shot through his right elbow before he fought at King's Mountain. He had to learn to write with his left hand and to signal his men with a whistle.

He was looking for Loyalists to Recruit

Cornwallis had won a number of key battles and had made his way towards Virginia. It was looking like the American Colonists were about to lose this war and the Colonies would continue to be governed by England.

Cornwallis sent Ferguson along the southern foothills of the North Carolina Mountains to recruit men to fight for the British. There were many who were still loyal to England and Cornwallis was counting on this to help win the war.

There were about 1,000 untrained Militia Men

Ferguson didn't realize he was in the midst of the enemy. Even if he did, there was the fact that he was a British Military Leader. The British had been winning. He didn't know that he was about to get pummeled.

How Many Were Killed and how Many Were Captured?

The British Army and the Loyalists Numbered around 1,075. 244 of these men were Killed in the battle, 163 were wounded and 668 of them were captured when the Colonists won the battle

The Colonists fought hard and won a great victory over an army that were a bit larger than they were. The colonist were only 910 soldiers in size. Only 29 of these men were killed and 58 of them were wounded. That means we had less than 10% casualties in this battle.