Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-09-06

/ put itS DSlQ rOcky summit merely SerV
ed, like the sacrificial stone Of the Az
tees. for the immolation of the vic
Tins.
| He soon found that he had not 81
much the advantage in position as h
anticipated. The summit Of tn
mountain was bare Of timber, expos
Ing his men to the assaults Of tn
backwoodsmen rifemen who, as the!
pressed up the ridge, availed them
selves Of the trees on its sides whicl
afforded them protection but served t,
retard the movements Of the British
charging parties.
Why he fingered at Kings Noun
tain will always be a disputed matter
That 1t was fatal, the result has toll
all the years. Was 1t impossible TO
him to do otherwise? Was it his In
fatuation for military glory or was
that he hoped ever to effect so sweep
ing victory that all England couIt
justly rejoice? It Is said that 9Th,
noblest prospect Scotchman ever see.
is the high road that leads him t.
England" Did Ferguson think tina
road lay through Kings Mountain?
The Chapter Closed.
His dispatches all miscarried, {
thing he seemingly never anticipated
and October Z. 1880, the battle wal
lost and that high road to England
closed forever. The battle lastet
about three-quarters Of an hour. One
writer says: "The raging Of the bat.
tie all around the mountain was ter.
rife. The mountain appeared volcanic
There flashed along its summit and
around its base and up its sides one
long sulphurous blaze. The shouts OF
the mountaiieers, the peals Of hun
dreds of rifles and muskets, the loud
commands and encouraging words Of
the respective officers, with every now
and then the screech Of Ferguson's
silver whistle high above the din and
the confusion Of battle, intermingled
with the groans of wounded and dy.
ing, combined to convey the idea oi
pandemonium. The kings troops be.
gan to grow discouraged and several
flags were run up in token Of surren-
der even before Ferguson was disa-
bled. Seeing this he rode furiously up
In two instances and cut them down
with his sword. The slaughter wai
great and one Of the British officers
suggested that the contest was now
hopeless and It was useless to prolone
1t and waste valuable lives. But Fer
guson's proud heart could not think OF
surrender. To him alone came the
thought, 1.-The Old Guard dies but
never surrenders."
At length, all was irretrievably lost
and firmly resolving not to fall in
to the hands of the Backwater men
Ferguson, with two Of his chosen
friends. made a desperate attempt to
break through the Whig lines. cutting
and slashing with his sword in his
left hand until he had broken 1t. He
sold his life as dearly as he could and
went down to death for king and
country.
One Of Sewers men named Gille.
land, who had received several wounds
and was we'll nigh exhausted. seeing
the advance of Ferguson and his little
party, attempted to arrest the career
of the great leader but his gun snap
ped. He called out to Robert Young;
There's Ferguson, shoot him." III
see what Sweet-lips can do," was tht
muttered reply, as he drew a SHARP
sight, discharged his rifle and Fergu.
son fell. Several bullets took effec'
and he was unconscious when he fel
and expired while his foot yet hung ir
the stirrup. :
His sword was picked up on the
ground and he was saved forever from
delivering it to an American officer.
He is said to have received six ol
eight bullets in his body, any one oi
which would have proved mortal. One
penetrated his thigh, another reshat-
tered his right arm just above the el.
bow, yet he continued to raise tha'
sword in his left hand until a rifle bal
pierced his head and put an end to
consciousness.
Elias Powell and three Others, at the
close Of the battle bore the body Of
their chief to a spring near the noun
tain brow and there gently bolsteret
him with stones and blankets. He was
probably buried where they bore him
and where he breathed his last, on the
southeastern declivity Of the noun
tain. There his mortal remains, wrap
ped not in a military cloak-not ir
the beloved flag of Great Britain-no'
encased in a hero's coffin, but shroud'
ed in a raw beers hide, found peace
full sepulchre.
In failing from his horse, his silver
whistle fell from his pocket and was
picked up by one of his soldiers who
loved him, this same Elias Powell. and
he preserved it for many years.
Can't. Jos. Mcdowell Of Pleasant
Garden secured some Of Ferguson's
table service-six china dinner plates
and a small coffee cup and saucer. Col
Sever secured his large silver whistle
his silken sash and his lieutenant-col-
oneps commission. His magnifcen'
white horse which charged down the
mountain after his rider fell, was by
common consent, given to Col. Cleve-
land. Samuel c. Talbot picked up his
pistol and his great silver watch fel
into the hands Of one Of Lacey's men
The envenomed hate which the
mountain men cherished towards Fer
guson and his Tory followers nerveo
them to marvellous endurance during
the battle. They had eaten little OF
nothing since they left Cowpens Ii
hours before, marching much Of the
time in the rain, protecting their rifles
and ammunition by divesting them
selves Of their blankets or portions OF
their clothing and they had been fol
over forty hours without rest or re-
pose
It is proper to advert for a moment
to Ferguson's conduct in this battle
It was that of a hero. He did al
that mortal man could have done un-
khat tvrn