Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-10-12
~, OCTOBER 10, 1882.


every nerve for the rescue. Shelby and hi!
men returned to their homes over the noun
tains to tell their friends of the advance of TIN
enemy. and to gather their bands. Mcdowell
with two hundred men of Rutherford ant
Burke counties, remained TO watch and in
form his friends, over the mountains, Of the
movements of the enemy, and send word tt
Cleveland and Herndon, Of Wilkes county
and Winston, of Surry, to raise troops and b'
ready. After an indecisiye engagement, OF
the 18th of September, between Mcdowell ant
Ferguson, in the southeastern part OF St,. NC
Dowell county, Ferguson retired to Gilber
Town, about three miles from Rutherfordton
and Mcdowell retreated to the Watauga, be
yond the mountains
To the Wataugal Grandly bounding will
torrents leaping down the mountain ravines, it
sparkling waters gayly dancing to their OWL
weird music under the bold, frowping crags
those mountains that felt not the tread of thu
civil officer nor echoed with the pomp ant
circumstance of war a; whose free air had not
yet been sullied with the smokes of advancing
civilization where dwelta race of men, stran
gers to the iron hand Of power, who knew
naupht else than fsSeanin. Their sres before
them. on Caledonia's hills, had dreamed tt
be free; had awaked and fought and bled fol
their dream and then had seen that it wa!
but dream. Their sires before them, or
Erin's fair fields, had recorded with theil
life-blood that her sad tale of woe was still
unended. The noble mountains and grassy
plains of their homes they could not redeem
10 new world they came, and driving the
Indian before them, found and bequeathed
to their children these wilds Of young Ameri
ca. These descendants, the same hardy, de-
termined, vigilant Scotch-Irish stock that in
Mecklenburg more than a year before the
Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia
declared their unaterable determination to
be free and gave bold defiance to all England's
power. These were men worthy OF their Slres
these were natures noblemen.
Shelby had returned from the South and
had told them of Ferguson, and awaken
ed them to a sense Of the danger of the British
advance. Already were they stirring, but now
message came from Ferguson that ''if they
did not desist from their opposition to the
British arms, he would march his army over
the mountains, hang their leaders and lay
their country waste with fire and sword, and
they sprung to action. Shelby consulted with
Sewer, the commander of the neghboring
Washington county men, and they determined
to carry into effect the plan formed during
the retreat of the previous mOnth-to raise
all the men they could and fall from their
mountains upon Ferguson at Gilbert Town.
McDowell's one hundred and sixty men, on
the Watauga, enlisted in the design. Shelby
engaged to secure the aid Of Col. VIM. Camp
BELLS force in the adjoining county of Washing
ton, Virginia Campbell reluctantly relinquish-
ing his design of checking Corvallis advance
from Charlotte to Salisbury, joined the expedi-
tion, and at the same time sent to COL CleVe-
land, of Wilkes county, calling upon him to
assist them.
On the morning of the 25th of September,
to the appointed place Of meeting, the Syca-
more Falls, the beautiful retreat sleeping on
the bank of the Watauga and at the foot OF
Yellow Mountain, came the spirited "hlgll-
souled patriots" from their Businesses, filing
down the mountain lodges, in the rude dress
of the wilderness on their shoulders the long
death-dealing Deckard rifle; on their backs a
blanket, a cup and satchel of corn meal and
maple sugar Assembled there were four hun
dred Virginians, and at their head the stern,
red-haired Campbell and at his side the tried
and blood-stained sword of his ancestry the
Claymore of Argyle There, too, were Shelby
and Sewer, each with his two hundred and
fifty, and McDowell's camp of one hundred
and sixty, whose commander had again gone
south of the mountains to arouse the people
and to learn of Fergus0n'S movements. The
next morning, having devoutly bowed their
heads and invoked divine protection, they
took up their march over hills and rocks and
valleys, through beautiful and inspiring scene
ry, and crossed the mountains. On the 2!tl
they were rejoned by Col. Charles Mcdowell,
I bearing the animating news that their num-
bers would soor swell and that Ferguson was
still at Gilbert Town. The next day came
Cleveland and Winston with three hundred
and fifty men, Mcdowell how set out for
headquarters for general officer, leaving his
command to his brother Major Joseph Nc
DOwell. The mounted warriors were now but
a few miles from Gilbert Town. Soon they
would be upon the enemy, and they made
ready for the encounter. On the 4th of Octo-
ber they resumed their march and reached
the camping ground of the enemy only to
learn that they had gone.
Ferguson had delayed joining CornwalliS at
Charlotte and had remained at Gilbert Town
for the purpose Of cutting OFT the retreat OF
Col. Clarke, who had Intellectually laid siege to
Augusta about the middle of September and
was being pursued by Cruger, the British com
mander of Ninety-SiX and while thus wait
ing and not dreaming that the men of the
mountains were moving, he had furloughed
many of his Tories, who were scattered
throughout the country. Not until the last
day of September did he hear the unmlstak;l-
bic sounds of the storm from the mountains
whose mutterings he should have heard little
more than month before at Wofford's Iron
Works and Musgrove's Mill. Ilelearned from
two deserterS that an army OF patriots was
marching down upon him. He yet had time
to reach Charlotte but no, lie must linger yet
awhile and catch Clarke. Couriers were sent
to Cornwalis for aid, but did not reach him
till the 7th of October. He called for the mi
litia at Ninety-Six, and summoned all the To-
ries of the country to his standard. NOW.
pretending to make for Nnety-SlX, he moved
enthusiastically in a clrcultouS march foi
Charlotte. On the End of October he crossed
Broad River, and the next day advanced to
Tate's farm, near Buffalo Creek, where he de-
layed till the morning of the 9th, when he re-
sumed his march for Charlotte, going between
Buffalo and Kings Greeks, up the old Chero-
kee road and turning to the right at what is
now Whitaker's Station, crossed Kings Greek,
and in the evening took his position on the
little spur of Kings Mountain range, the bat
tle-lield of the morrow. Here he stopped his
humilating retreat before the undrilled hun
ters of the wilderness. On this invincible
! fortress of nature, secure on its crest, he
would wait for help and then turn and crush
his despised pursuers. They were fast upon
his trail.
At Gilbert Town they had been joined by
thirty men. of Clarkes retreating party, and
by Major Chronicle with twenty men from the
Catawba They how hurried in hot pursuit
and crossed the Broad three days after tergu-
son. They were not moving fast enough the
pursuit must be made on horseback, and
seven hundred of their best men were picked.
They knew not what course to take, When,
about midnight, Colonel Lacey arrived from
the camp of the South Carolinians and told
them that Ferguson was between Tates farm
1n{t ba Of the