The sun., 1897-08-15

foro the decisive step was taken By the Con-
tinental Congress at Philadelphia. NO one
OF the colonies was more stirred by the great
events OF 177b than was North Carolina. Her
citizens, though not greatly oppressed, wero'
perhaps, the ripost for revolution OF any peo-
pie In America Within tho limits OF the colony
wero large numbers Of Covonanters, who knew
from experience or tradition the intolorabie
evils Of tyrannical government. Mecklenburg
county was occupied entirely by such men.
When, therefore. they learned In May. 177o,
that tho British Parliament had declared the
colonies In a state Of revolt they know that
great crisis had come. They did not wait for the
action of the Continental Congress, nor for that
OF their own provincial legislature. They met In
Charlotte to take council together. While they
we're in session the news came that patriot blood
had been shed at Lexington and Concord. The
meeting was addressed by Covenan ter ministers,
and. among tho resolutions adopted, were the
following: Resolved, That we, tho citizens OF
Mecklenburg county, do hereby dissolve the
political bonds which have connected us with
the mother country, and absolve ourselves from
all allegiance TO the British Crown. abjuring all
political connection with the nation that has
wnntonly tramplcd on our rights and liber-
ties, and nhumanly shed the innocent blood OF
Americans at Lexington and Concord. Resolved.
That we do hereby declare ourselves free and
independent people, that we are, and of right
ought to be, a sovereign and selfgoverned peo-
pie, under the power Of God and the General
Congress, for the maintenance Of which indc-
pendenco we soemly Pledge to each other our
mutual cooperation. our lives, our fortunes. and
our most sacred honor" Whether or no the
pledge was made at tho date alleged, there is no
doubt that it was kept The Covenanters OF
the western counties of North Carolina, Of
eastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia
rendered incstimabe services to the colonial
cause. II we except the fighting which ended
in Burgoyne's surrender and except also
the victories Of Gen. George Robert Clarke
in the Northwest, no battle Of the Revolu-
tion had such momentous consequences
that OF Kings Mountain. The great
majority OF the force which gained this impor-
tant victory was composed of Covcnanters, al
though tho two noted leaders, John Sewer and
Isaac Shelby, were not Of Scotch-lrsh stock.
The former was Of Huguenot and the latter Of
Welsh origin. 1t will be remembered that, on
Oct. z, 1880, 80 Wing patriots who had been
twenty-six hours in the saddle overlook the
Tory commander, Ferguson. posted on Kings
Mountain, with 100 men. part of them British
regulars. Four sides of the mountain were
simultaneously scaled. Three times tho assail
ants were driven back by bay onet charges; three
times they rallied and returned to the fight The
battle lasted one hour and five minutes, at the
end Of which 220 Of tho enemy were dead, $50
were wounded and either 600 or 700 were taken
prisoners. The consequences OF the victory
were striking. At the time Cornwallis was on
triumphant march through North Carolina to
Virginia. Charleston and Savannah had fallen,
and Gates had been defeated at Camden. There
was no organized force in the Southern States
capable of withstanding for an hour the victori-
GUS army OF CORVALLIS. There was universal
gloom throughout the colonies. And so 1t was
that the news of Kings Mountain came like the
flash of great light in darkness. The very
night CORVALLIS heard of II. he began a retreat
into South Carolina. The tide had turned and
Yorktown was in sight.
The part taken by the Covenanters In fighting
the battles of the Revolution in North and
South Carolina only constituted n part of their
patriotic work. 1t was they mainly who de.
Tended the western frontier from Georgia to
Canada. and particularly in Tennessee and Ken
lucky, against the Indian allies Of the British
Crown. Official records prove that it was as
much the policy Of the British Ministry to
terminate the settlers west OF tho Alleghanies
as It was to destroy the army under Washing
ton. 1t is duo largely to the Covenanters that,
at the close of the Revolution. not an inch Of
territory west of the Alleghanies had been lost,
but, on the contrary, settlements had been
pushed further and further west. While the
Continental armies, with the assistance Of
French land forces and fleets, barely held the At
lantic States. few hundred hunters and pio-
neers mostly Covenanters, unaided by Congress.
and acting at their own expense and Of their
own volition, won and held by their valor what
has proved to be the heart of our great empire
against the combined power Of all the
savage nations between Canada and Flor
ida, backed by British agents, stimulated
by British god and aided. at times,
by British troops The territory occupied
and defended by the frontier leaders now COM
prehends the great States Of Alabama, Missis
sippi, Tennessee. Kentucky. Ohio. Indiana ILL
nois. and parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Thus it came to pass that when the treaties
| which closed the war for independence were
negotiated. we were able to plead the doctrine Of
uti poSsidctis to uphold our title to the whole of
the region between the Alleghanics and the
Mississippi. The service thereby rendered to
the country at large has not been adequately
recognized, probably because the Southern
colonies made comparatively small contrbl-
| tions to the regular Continental army. Judge
Temple points out that although only small
percentage Of the entire population Of these
! colonies was entered on the records of the Con-
tinental forces, yet, in view OF the fact that
ficts with Tories. British, and Indians were in.
Cessant. it may be questioned whether there
was single Covenanter or patriot who not
| under arms a part of the time. 1t Is open to
| doubt, for instance, whether the name of a sin
| Rlo private member of the body which won the
battle of Kings Mountain be found in
scrbed on the army registers which were kept
| during the war.
".
| 1t is interesting to follow Judge Temple
| through his computation Of the number of per-
sons of Covenantor stock in the colonies at the
date of the Declaration of Independence. 1t
seems certain that majority of tho population
of the colonies was In the South The five
Southern colonies contained at least half of tho
| Engllsh-speaking race in America. Virginia