North Carolina booklet : great events in North Carolina history

              soldiers or sailors destined \o%?o^e?ed"o^ve^s°eis\^ "iJlJ t^^S, no^Idres"*!^
''^ °"'"
Vol. XVni JULY, 1918 No. 1
North Carolina Booklet
GREAT EVENTS
IN
NORTH CAROLINA
fflSTORY
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY
BY
THE NORTH CAROLINA SOCIETY
DAUGHTERS OF THE REVOLUTION
RALEIGH. N. C.
CONTENTS
Isaac Shelby
PAGE
- 3
By Aechibai,d Hendebson
Negro Soldiers
By Chief Justice Walter Oi.abk
North Carolina's Dead
Other North Carolina Heroines
By Maet Hilliaed Hinton
57
63
64
Entered at the Postoffice at Raleigh N C, July 15. 1905, under the Act of Congress of March 3. 1879
\ P^ 9 1 O' (C* J. Qtj 4^.
The North Carolina Booklet
Great Events in North Carolina History
Volume XVIII of The Booklet will be issued quarterly by the
North Carolina Society, Daughters of the Revolution, beginning July,
1918. The Booklet will be published in July, October, January, and
April. Price $1.00 per year, 35 cents for single copy.
Editoe :
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Biographical Editor:
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VOLUME XVIII.
Isaac Shelby, Part II—Dr. Archibald Henderson.
Other North Carolina Heroines : Margaret McBride, Mary Morgan,
Elizabeth McCraw, Elizabeth Forbes, Margaret Caruthers, Ann Fer-gus,
Rachel Denny—Mary Hilliard Hinton.
The History of Agriculture in North Carolina—Major William A.
Graham.
North Carolina's Poetesses, Past and Present—Nina Holland Cov-ington.
Calvin Jones: Physician, Soldier and Freemason—Marshall De-
Lancey Haywood.
Reminiscences of Shocco and Jones Springs—Old-fashioned North
Carolina Summer Resorts.
History of Orange County, Part II—Frank Nash.
Woman's War Work:
(a) Woman's Contribution to the Patriot Cause.
(b) Woman's Service in the War Between the States—Martha
H. Haywood.
History of the Supreme Court of North Carolina.
General William R. Davie's Mission to France.
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o
Vol. XVra JULY, 1918 No. 1
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1918-1919
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CHAPTER REGENTS
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Foundee of the North Carolina Society and Regent 1896-1902
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Regent 1902:
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Miss MARY HILLIARD HINTON.
Died November 25, 1911.
tDied December 12. 1904.
The North Carolina Booklet
Vol. XVIII JULY, 1918 No. 1
ISAAC SHELBY
Revolutionary Patriot and Border Hero
Part 11—1780-1783
By Aechibald Henderson
III
At the appointed time, September 25, the several forces
united at the rendezvous^ already rendered famous by the
great treaty held by Colonel Eichard Henderson with the
Cherokees there in March 1775, the Sycamore Shoals of the
Watauga. Hither came Colonel William Campbell with two
hundred men, Colonel Arthur Campbell with two hundred
men, Colonel Isaac Shelby and Lieutenant-Colonel John Se-vier
with two hundred and forty men each—^uniting with the
force of one hundred and sixty men under Colonel Charles
McDowell and Major Joseph McDowell, who had been en-camped
there for some time. An "express" sent by Colonel
William Campbell from Washington County, Virginia, had
already notified Colonel Benjamin Cleveland of Wilkes
County, ISTorth Carolina, of the plan ; and Cleveland was also
urged by an "express" from Colonel McDowell to join the
"over-mountain men" on the east side of the mountains with
as large a force as he could raise.
The task of raising funds to equip the forces of Shelby and
Sevier, and to defray the expenses of the campaign was an
extremely difficult problem. The settlers generally had ex-pended
their available money for their lands ; and so the only
available funds were in the hands of the Entry-taker of Sulli-van
County, John Adair. When Sevier applied to him for
4 THE NOETH CAEOLIKA BOOKLET
the money needed to defray the expenses of the military expe-dition,
Adair replied:
Colonel Sevier, I have no authority by lav? to make that disposition
of this money. It belongs to the impoverished treasury of North
Carolina, and I dare not appropriate a cent of it to any purpose.
But, if the country is over-run by the British, liberty is gone. Let the
money go too. Take it. If the enemy, by its use, is driven from the
country, I can trust that country to justify and vindicate my conduct.
Take it.
For this indispensable sum, amounting to twelve thousand
seven hundred and thirty-five dollars, Shelby and Sevier
pledged themselves to see it refunded or its use legalized by
an act of the Legislature; and this recogTiizance was after-wards
scrupulously fulfilled. -"^
It seemed to the enemy that the over-mountain men had
been assembled as if by magic. "The wild and fierce inhabi-tants
of . . . (the) settlements westward of the Alleghany
mountains/' said Mackenzie in his Strictures, "assembled
suddenly and silently." In his letter of October 24, 1780,
Lord Kawdon significantly observed : "A numerous army now
appeared on the frontier^ drawn from N^olachucky, and other
settlements beyond the mountains, whose very names had been
unknown to us." On September 26, this force of one thou-sand
and forty frontiersmen set forth upon the march. Be-fore
leaving the camp at Watauga, a farewell sermon was
delivered by the Reverend Samuel Doak, who (according to
trustworthy tradition) urged them to do battle valiantly, clos-ing
with a stirring invocation to "the sword of the Lord and
of Gideon"—a sentiment gTeeted with a lusty shout of
acclaim from the hardy mountaineers. At Quaker Meadows
in Burke County^ the famous home of the McDowells, which
they reached on September 30, there was encamped a force
of three hundred and fifty militia—the hardy followers of
that fierce and blood-thirsty fighter. Colonel Benjamin Cleve-land,
"Old Roundabout," who called themselves "Cleveland's
Bulldogs" ; the stalwart rifiemen of Rutherford under Colonel
iRamsey : Annals of Tennessee, 226.
ISAAC SHELBY 5
Andrew Hampton, and the flower of the militant citizenship
of Surrj led by a bom leader of men, a cousin of Patrick
Henry, Colonel Joseph Winston.^
Already on September 14 preceding, General William Lee
Davidson had ordered Cleveland to unite with other forces to
resist Ferguson's advance; and under the present plan the
prospects seemed to favor successful resistance. The com-manders
of the different divisions, all of whom had acted with
executive authority, controlled their troops only through vol-untary
agreement on the part of the privates. In view of
petty disorders and insubordination, the commanding officers
on the second day (October 2) after resuming the march, held
a conference to devise plans for quieting the disturbances,
and also for the purpose of choosing a leader. "It was
resolved," says Shelby in his Pamphlet (1823), "to send to
Head-Quarters for a general officer to command us ; and that,
in the mean time, we should meet in council every day to
determine on the measures to be pursued, and appoint any of
our own body to put them in execution. I was not satisfied
with this course, as I thought it calculated to produce delay,
when expedition and dispatch were all important to us. We
were then in sixteen or eighteen miles of Gilbert Town, where
we supposed Ferguson to be. I suggested these things to the
council, and then observed to the officers, that we were all
ITorth Carolinians except Col. Campbell, who was from Vir-ginia
; that I knew him to be a man of good sense, and warmly
attached to the cause of his country ; that he conmianded the
largest regiment; and that if they concurred with me, until
a general officer should arrive from Head-Quarters, appoint
him to command us, and march immediately against the
enemy. To this proposition some one or two said 'agreed.'
No written minute or record was made of it."^ Shelby
acknowledges that that he did this to "silence the expectation
^A. C. Avery : "Quaker Meadows," in North Carolina Booklet, IV, No. 3
;
W. A. Graham : General Joseph Graham, 273-283 ; G. T. Winston : "The Life
and Times of Major Joseph Winston," 1895 ; J. Crouch : "The Life and Char-acter
of Col. Benjamin Cleveland," 1908.
^Appendix to L. C. Draper's King's Mountain and its Heroes, 564.
b THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
of Col. McDowell" to command the •expedition. This was
a legitimate expectation on the part of Col. McDowell, who
was the commanding officer of the district in which the force
was operating, and had, as Shelby further admits, "com-manded
the armies of militia in that quarter all the summer
before against the same enemy." The objections urged
against McDowell by Shelby were that he was "too far
advanced in life" and "too inactive" for the command of an
expedition which required extraordinary resources in strength
and endurance. The first objection, mentioned by Shelby at
the advanced age of seventy-three, is not founded on fact, and
was perhaps due to defective memory; for McDowell was
a vigorous young man of thirty-seven in 1Y80. In hiis
narrative,* Shelby states merely that McDowell "was too
slow an officer" for the enterprise. There was at no time any
question of the bravery or patriotism of McDowell.^
During the progress of the conference, Campbell took
Shelby aside and requested that his name be withdrawn and
that Shelby himself take the command. To this, Shelby very
correctly replied that he was the youngest Colonel present;
and that McDowell under whom he had served, would resent
his elevation to the chief command. Shelby probably realized
that the over-mountain men, at all times unaccustomed to
strict military discipline and somewhat prone to insubordina-tion,
would not readily accept the leadership in this meteoric
campaigTi of a militia commander conspicuous neither for rare
discretion nor for exceptional efficiency. The selection of
Campbell was undoubtedly a temporary expedient, a tactful
mode of bridging an awkward situation; yet it is clear that
these border leaders would never have agreed to Shelby's sug-gestion
that the chief command be given, even temporarily, to
Campbell, had they not recognized in him an efficient leader
and known him to be a true soldier. One final conclusion is
^American Review, December, 1848.
^Other graver objections to the selection of McDowell as leader of the cam-paign
have been mentioned. In this connection see Draper's King's Moun-tain
and Its Heroes, 87-9, and A. C. Avery's "Burke County," 90, in Western
North Carolina (1890).
ISAAC SHELBY 7
irresistible: that Shelby himself^ as originator and prime
mover in the expedition, more than any other was entitled to
the chief command.
Colonel McDowell, who, as Shelby frankly says, "had the
good of his country more at heart than any title of command,"
cheerfully acquiesced in the council's decision; but observed
that as he was not to have the chief command, he would volun-teer
to convey to headquarters at Hillsborough the request for
a general officer. On October 4, McDowell started on his
errand from the mouth of Cane Creek near Gilbert Town,
where the American force was encamped.® He bore with
him a significant letter, to which the chief historian of the
battle did not have access.^ He left his men under the com-mand
of his brother, Major Joseph McDowell. Colonel
Campbell now assumed temporarily the chief command, but
he was to be regulated and directed by the determinations of
the Colonels, who were to meet in council every day. It is
noticeable that the list of signatures is not headed by that of
Campbell, and does not include that of Charles McDowell,
the bearer.
Rutherford County, Camp near Gilberttowu
Oct 4, 1780.
Sib, We have now collected at this place about 1500 good men,
drawn from the Counties of Surry, Wilkes, Burke, Washington and
Sullivan Counties in this State, and Washington County in Virginia,
and expect to be joined in a few days by Col. Clarke of Georgia, and
Col. Williams of South Carolina, with about 1000 more—As we have
at this time called out our Militia without any orders from the
Executive of our different States, and with the view of Expelling the
Enemy out of this part of the Country, we think such a body of men
worthy of your attention, and would request you to send a General
Officer, immediately to take the command of such Troops as may
embody in this quarter—Our Troops being all Militia, and but little
"It is worthy of note that, on his way to Hillsborough, McDowell called at
the camp of Lacy and Hill, with their South Carolinians, and at that of \"vii-liams
with the Rowan Corps, at Flint Hill, a dozen miles or so to the eastward
of the head of Cane Creek. These forces, being thus notified of the march
against Ferguson, formed a junction with Campbell's forces on October 6.
''Draper makes no mention of this letter, the original of which is in the
Gates Papers, Archives of the New York Historical Society. For a transcript
of this letter I am indebted to Mr. Wilberforce Fames, of the New York Public
Library, and to Mr. Robert H. Kelby, Librarian of the New York Historical
Society.
8 THE NOETH CAKOLINA BOOKLET
acquainted with discipline, we could wish him to be a Gentleman of
address, and able to keep up a proper discipline, without disgusting
the Soldiery—Every assistance in our power, shall be given the Offi-cer
you may think proper to take the command of us.
It is the wish of such of us as are acquainted with General David-son
and Col. Morgan (if in service) that one of them Gentlemen may
be appointed to this command.
We are in great want of Ammunition, and hope you will endeavor
to have us properly furnished with that Article.
Col. McDowell vrill wait upon you with this, who can inform you
of the present situation of the Enemy, and such other particulars
respecting our Troops as you may think necessary.
We are Sir, Your most obdt. and very hble. Servts.
Benja. Cleveland,
Isaac Shelby,
John Sevtee,
Andw. Hampton,
Wm. Campbell,
Jo. Winston.
(Endorsed)
(Public Service)
The Honorable Major General
Horatio Gates
Commander in Chief of
the Southern Army.
By Col. Charles McDowell Major General Smallwood
Letter from
Col. Cleveland &c^
4th October SO.
A memorable incident, indicative of the indomitable de-termination
of the American forces, deserves record here.
Before resuming the march on October 3, the Colonels noti-fied
the assembled troops of the nature and hazard of the
enterprise before them ; and the oifer was made that any one
who so desired, might withdraw then and there from the cam-paign.
Shelby thus laconically addressed the men
:
You have all been informed of the offer. You who desire to
decline it, will, when the word is given, march three steps to the rear,
and stand, prior to which a few more minutes will be granted you
for consideration.
^Cf. N. C. State Records, xiv, 663-4. A photographic facsimile of the signa-tures
to this letter, made at my order from the original letter, shows that,
contrary to the testimony of Mr. Roosevelt, who spells it "Cleavland," the
correct spelling is "Cleveland."
ISAAC SHELBY 9
After a pause the order was given that "those who desired
to hacJc out would step three paces to the rear," but not a man
withdrew. Shelby then addressed the men in words which
convey a vivid impression of the spirit of the movement and
the character of the campaign
:
I am heartily glad to see you to a man resolve to meet and fight
your country's foes. When we encounter the enemy, don't wait for
the word of command. Let each one of you be your own officer, and
do the very best you can, taking every care you can of yourselves,
and availing yourselves of every advantage that chance may throw in
your way. If in the woods, shelter yourselves, and give them Indian
play ; advance from tree to tree, pressing the enemy and killing and
disabling all you can. Tour officers will shrink from no danger
—
they will be consistently with you, and the moment the enemy give
war, be on the alert and strictly obey orders.*
The taunt of Ferguson, by which he had hoped to intimi-date
the men of the back-country, evoked a retort he little
expected. Ferguson's principal object at this time was to
strike a crushing blow at the small band of partisans under
Captain Elijah Clarke, who about the middle of September
was threatening Augusta, Georgia, and was still hovering
dangerously near the Carolina line. Ferguson was hoping
for and expecting the return of furloughed loyalists in large
numbers under Gibbes, the militia under Cruger at JSTinety-
Six, or Tarleton's Legion ordered thither by Cornwallis. Two
deserters from the camp of the Americans came in on Septem-ber
30 to warn Ferguson of the approach of the frontier army.
Had Ferguson struck straight for Charlotte and a junction
there with Cornwallis^ he might have eluded Campbell's
force. But he was confronted with the danger of permitting
the union of the forces of Clarke and Campbell ; the necessity
of recalling numerous Tories^ absent on furlough belonging
to his own force ; and the danger of disaffection to the loyalist
cause on the part of the people of that region. Perhaps Lieu-tenant-
Colonel Cruger had a deeper insight into the nature of
the situation than had Ferguson ; for in his reply (October 3,
1Y80) to Ferguson's dispatch of September 30th, with its
'Testimony of John Spelts, called "Continental Jack," who was present.
10 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
alarming news of "so considerable (a) force as you understand
is coming from the mountains," Cruger makes these eminently
sane observations: "I Don't see bow you can possibly (de-fend)
the country and its neighborhood that you (are) now
in, ... I flattered myself they (the Tory militia)
would have been equal to the mountain lads, and that no
further call for the defensive would have been (made?) on
this part of the Province. I begin to think our views for
the present rather large. We have been led to this, proba-bly,
in expecting too much from the militia. "-^^
Aware of some of the dangers incident to the situation,
Ferguson despatched messengers to Cornwallis, asking for
assistance ; but these, being pursued, were delayed by reason
of the circuitous route they were forced to take^ and so did not
reach Charlotte until the day after the battle at King's Moun-tain.
Ferguson scorned to seek protection by making a
forced march in order to effect a junction with Cornwallis at
Charlotte. He preferred to make a stand, and, if possible,
to dispose once for all of this barbarian mountain horde.
From his camp FergTison issued the following inflammatory
and obscene appeal to the people, well calculated to arouse
their bitter hostility to the approaching band, which he char-acterized
as murderers of men and ravishers of women.
Denard's Ford, Broad River,
Tryon County, October 1, 1780.
Gentlemen :—Unless you wish to be eat up by an inundation of bar-barians,
who have begun by murdering an unarmed son before his
aged father and afterward lopped off his arms, and who by their
shocking cruelties and irregularities, give the best proof of their
cowardice and want of discipline; I say if you want to be pinioned,
robbed, and murdered, and see your wives and daughters, in four
days, abused by the dregs of mankind—in short, if you wish or
deserve to live, and bear the name of men grasp your arms in a mo-ment
and run to camp.
The Back Water men have crossed the mountains ; McDowell,
Hampton, Shelby, and Cleveland are at their head, so that you know
MThis letter was found on Ferguson's dead body, after the battle of King's
Mountain. See Ramsey : Annals of Tennessee, 241-2.
ISAAC SHELBY 11
what you have to depend upon. If you choose to be p—d upon by
a set of mongrels, say so at once, and let your women turn their
backs upon you and look out for real men to protect them.
Pat. Ferguson,
Major 71st Regiment.^
Loitering on his march, presumably in the hope of striking
Clarke, Ferguson did not reach King's Moimtain until Octo-ber
6. On reaching Gilbert Town (near Rutherfordton,
JN^. C.) on October 4, the Americans discovered that Fergu-son
had retired. "Having gained a knowledge of his design/'
related Shelby, "it was determined in a council of the princi-pal
officers to pursue him with all possible* dispatch. Ac-cordingly
two nights before the action the officers were
engaged all night in selecting the best men, the best horses
and the best rifles, and at the dawn of day took Ferguson's
trail and pursued him. , . . The mountain men had
turned out to catch FergTison. He was their object, and for
the last thirty-six hours they never alighted from their horses
but once to refresh at the Cowpens for an hour (where they
were joined by Col. Williams of South Carolina, on the even-ing
of the 6th with about 400 men), although the day of the
action was so extremely wet that the men could only keep their
gTins dry by wrapping their bags, blankets and hunting shirts
around the locks, which exposed their bodies to a heavy and
incessant rain."^^
In this connection, there is need of further detail in regard
to the force under Williams. The account given by Draper
is at once imperfect and distorted ; and his estimate is griev-ously
warped by the prejudiced account written by South
Carolinians who held Williams in detestation. James D.
Williams was not a South Carolinian ; he was born in Han-over
County, Virginia, in November, 1740. Since childhood
he had lived in Granville County, IST. C, whither the Williams
^Virginia Gazette, November 11, 1780. The barbarous atrocity alluded to at
the beginning of this letter is unsupported by evidence of any kind.
^'Autobiography of Isaac Shelby, an exact transcription of which I procured
from the late Colonel R. T. Durrett, of Louisville, Kentucky. The valuable
Durrett Collection of Manuscripts on Western History is now owned by the
University of Chicago.
12 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
family removed at an early date ; and here he remained until
1772, when he went to South Carolina and settled on Little
Eiver in Laurens County. At the battle of Musgrove Mill,
as related by Shelby himself, Williams^ ^ commanded the
American center, while Shelby and Clarke commanded the
right and left wings, respectively. The most reliable authori-ties
state that Williams held the chief command in this bat-tle.
^^ On his arrival at Hillsborough whither he conducted
the prisoners taken at Musgrove Mill, Williams conveyed the
news of this victory to Grovernor Rutledge of South Carolina,
then a refugee from his own State. In recognition of the
victory at Musgrove Mill, achieved by the force commanded
by Williams^ Governor Rutledge commissioned him as a
brigadier general in the South Carolina militia.-*^^ On Sep-tember
8, Governor Abner Nash of North Carolina instructed
General Williams to go to Caswell and other counties and
recruit a corps of volunteer horsemen, not to exceed one hun-dred,
for active service against the enemy.-"^^ This force,
about seventy in number, Williams enlisted chiefly while
encamped at Higgins' plantation in Rowan County. These
recruits were brave and reliable soldiers ; and they came from
a county noted for its patriotism and its hostility to England.
"It was evident and it had frequently been mentioned to the
King's Officers," says Banastre Tarleton in his Campaigns
of 1 780 and 1 781 in the Southern, Provinces, "that the coun-ties
of Mecklenburg and Rowan were more hostile to Eng-land
that any others in America. "'^
^Cf. "Isaac Shelby," I, p. 140, North Carolina Booklet, January, 1917.
"A Sketch of the Life and Career of Col. James D. Williams, by Rev. J. D.
Bailey (Cowpens, S. C, 1898).
i^The official report, which In itself constitutes proof that Williams was in
command at Musgrove Mill, was drawn up and signed by Williams ; and this is
the only contemporary report of the battle from the field. On September 5,
1780, Williams' official report was forwarded by General Gates to the Presi-dent
of Congress. The full report was published in the Pennsylvania Packet
on September 23, and doubtless earlier in North Carolina newspapers ; but the
substance of the report, doubtless communicated by Governor Rutledge, ap-peared
in the Virginia Gazette as early as September 13. Compare also North
Carolina University Magazine, March, 1855.
I'For a copy of the original order, see Schenck, North Carolina, 1780-1781,
143w.
"The slur cast upon these Rowan recruits by the venomous Colonel Hill in
his Manuscript Narrative only reflect upon their author. The Legislature of
North Carolina, in November, 1788, acting upon a report submitted by Mr.
Thomas Person, resolved : "That the estate of James Williams, deceased, late
ISAAC SHELBY 13
The number chosen from the over-mountain men to go
forward from the ford of Green River on the night of Octo-ber
5 J was about seven hundred ; and at the Cowpens, as accu-rately
stated by Shelby, they were reinforced by four hundred
men under Williams. -^^ Here a second selection of nine hun-dred
and ten horsemen was made ; and Colonel Campbell was
retained in the chief command—the urgency of the pursuit
making it inadvisable to await the coming of the general offi-cer
for whom Col. Charles McDowell had gone to Hillsbor-ough.
This force, closely followed by some eighty-odd foot-men
("foot-cavalry") pushed forward from the Cowpens on
the night of October 6, in pursuit of the elusive Ferguson.
So heavy was the fall of rain during the forenoon and so
weary and jaded were the men, that Campbell, Sevier and
Cleveland urged a halt ; but to this proposal the iron Shelby,
intent upon the capture and destruction of the men who had
threatened to hang him, gruffly replied with an oath : "I will
not stop until night, if I follow Ferguson into Cornwallis'
lines." As they approached King's Mountain, they encoun-tered
three men who reported that they were just from the
British camp, which was posted upon the plateau, and that
there was a picket guard on the road not far ahead. "These
men," says Benjamin Sharp in his account, "were detained
lest they should find means to inform the enemy of our ap-proach,
and Col. Shelby, with a select party, undertook to sur-prise
and take the picket ; this he accomplished without firing
a gun or giving the least alarm ; and it was hailed by the army
as a good omen."^^
isQn October 2, Brigadier General Williams reported to Major-General Gates
that the number then with him in Burlie County was "about four hundred and
fifty horsemen." Cf. N. C. State Records, xv. 94. He was in error as to his
location, which was actually in Lincoln County.
'^^American Pioneer, February, 1843.
of the State of S. C. be released and acquitted from the payment of $25,000
advanced to the said deceased in his lifetime (1780) by this state for the pur-pose
of raising men for the defense of this and the United States, it having
been manifested to this Assembly that he was in action at the Battle of King's
Mountain where he headed three or four hundred men and in which action he
gloriously fell, a sacrifice to liberty." See W. A. Graham : Gen. Joseph Gra-ham
and His Revolutionary Papers, 282-3. In speaking of "our march to the
Yadkin," Cornwallis calls the Rowan section "one of the most rebellious tracts
in America."
14 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
IV
The remarkable battle which ensued presents an extraordi-nary
contrast in the character of the combatants and the
nature of the strategy and tactics employed. Each party ran
true to form—the heroic and brilliant Ferguson repeating
Braddock's suicidal tactics of opposing bayonet charges to
the deadly fusillade of riflemen^ carefully posted, Indian
fashion, behind trees and every shelter afforded by the natural
inequalities of the ground. In the army of the Carolina and
Virginia frontiersmen, composed of independent commands
recruited from many sources and each solicitous for its own
credit, each command was directed in the battle by its own
leader. Campbell, like Cleveland, Shelby, McDowell, Sevier,
and Hambright, personally led his own division; but the
nature of the fighting and the peculiarity of the terrain made
it impossible for him, though the chosen commander of the
expedition, in actuality to play such a role. The tactics
agreed upon in advance by the frontier commanders were
simple enough—to surround and capture Ferguson's camp
on the high plateau. The more experienced Indian fighters,
Sevier and Shelby, unquestionably suggested the general
tactics in accordance with their experience, which in any case
would doubtless have been employed by the frontiersmen: to
give the British "Indian-play," namely, to take cover any-where
and fire from natural shelter. Cleveland, a Hercules in
strength and courage, who had fought the Indians and recog-nized
the wisdom of Indian tactics, ordered his men, as did
some of the other leaders, to give way before a bayonet charge
—but to return to the attack after the charge had spent its
force.
My brave fellows, we have beaten the Tories and we can do it again.
. . . If they had the spiilt of men, they would join with their
fellow-citizens in supporting the independence of their country. When
you are engaged, you are not to wait for the word of command from
me. I will show you, by my example, how to fight ; I can undertake
no more. Every man must consider himself an officer and act from
ISAAC SHELBY 15
his own judgment. Fire as quick as you can, and stand your ground
as long as you can. When you can do no better, get behind trees
or retreat; but I beg you not to run quite off. If we are repulsed,
let us make a point of returning and renewing the fight; perhaps we
may have better luck in the second attempt than in the first.
The plateau upon which Ferguson was encamped was the
top of an eminence about six hundred yards long and about
two hundred and fifty from one base across to the other ; and
its shape was that of an Indian paddle, varying from one
hundred and twenty yards at the blade to sixty yards at the
handle in width. Outcropping boulders upon the outer edge
of the plateau afforded some slight shelter for Ferguson's
force; but^ unsuspicious of the coming attack, Ferguson had
made no abatis to protect his camp from the attack to
which it was so vulnerable from the cover of the timber sur-rounding
it on all sides. In taking their positions, the cen-ter
to the I^orth-East was occupied b}' Cleveland with his
Bulldogs, Hambright with his South Fork Boysv, from the
Catawba (now Lincoln County, ISTorth Carolina), and Win-ston
with his Surry Riflemen; to the South were the divi-sions
under Joseph McDowell (brother of Charles) who was
in touch with Winston, Sevier and Campbell ; while the South
Carolinians under Lacey, who was in touch with Cleveland,
the Rowan levies under Williams, and the Watauga borderers
under Shelby were stationed upon the ISTorth side. FergTi-son's
force consisted of Provincial Rangers, one hundred and
fifty strong, and of well drilled loyalists, between eight and
nine hundred, seriously weakened by the absence of a forag-ing
party of between one and two hundred who had gone off
on the morning the battle occurred. Shelby's men, before
getting into position, received a hot fire, the opening shots of
the engagement—which inspired Campbell, who now threw
oif his coat, to shout encouraging orders to his men, posted on
the side of the mountain opposite to Shelby's force. When
Campbell's Virginians uttered a series of piercing shouts, De
16 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET
Peyster, second in command, remarked to his chief: "These
things are ominous—these are the damned yelling boys,"
The battle, which lasted some minutes short of an hour,
was waged with terrific ferocity. The loyalist militia, where-ever
possible, fired from the shelter of the rocks ; while the
Provincial Corps, with fixed bayonets, steadily charged the
frontiersmen, who fired at close range and rapidly withdrew
to the very base of the mountain. After each bayonet charge,
the Provincials coolly withdrew to the summit, under the ac-cumulating
fire of the returning mountaineers, who quickly
gathered in their rear. Owing to their elevation, the British,
although using the rapid-fire breech-loading rifle invented by
Ferguson himself, found their vision deflected, continually
firing high ; and thus suffered nature's handicap, refraction. ^^
The militia, using sharpened butcher knives which Ferg-uson
taught them to utilize as bayonets, charged against the moun-taineers;
but their fire, in answer to the deadly fusillade of
the expert squirrel shooters, was belated, owing to the fact
that they could not fire so long as the crudely improvised
bayonets remained in their pieces. The Americans, contin-ually
firing upward, found ready marks for their aim in the
clearly delineated outlines of their adversaries ; and felt the
exultation which animates the hunter who has tracked to his
lair and entrapped wild game at bay.
The leaders of the various divisions of the mountaineers
bore themselves with impetuous bravery, recklessly exposing
themselves between the lines of fire and with native eloquence,
interspersed with mild profanity, rallying their individual
commands, from end to end, once more to the attack. Camp-bell
scaled the rugged heights, encouraging his men to the
ascent. Cleveland resolutely facing the foe, rallied his bull-dogs
with the inspiriting words: "Come, boys, let's try 'em
again. We'll have better luck next time." The most deadly
charge, led by De Peyster himself, fell upon Hambright's
South Fork boys ; and Major Chronicle, waving his military
20F. Brevard McDowell : The Battle of King's Mountain.
ISAAC SHELBY 17
hat, fell dead, the command, "Face to the hill !" dying upon
his lips. These veteran soldiers met the shock of the charge
;
a number of their men were shot down or transfixed, and
the remainder^ reserving their fire until the charging column
was only a few feet away^ poured in a deadly volley before
retiring. William Lenoir, independently fighting in Wins-ton's
column, was in the forefront of the hottest battle, his
reckless bravery making him a veritable target for the
enemy. He received several wounds and his hair and his
clothes were riddled with bullets. The ranking American
officer. Brigadier General James - Williams, was mortally
wounded on the ''vei*y top of the mountain, in the thickest
of the fight" ; and as he revived for a moment, an eye-wit-ness
relates^ his first words were: "For Grod's sake, boys,
don't give up the hill." Hambright, sorely wounded, his
boot overflowing with blood and his hat riddled with three
bullet holes, declined to dismount, but pressed gallantly for-ward,
exclaiming in his "Pennsylvania Dutch" : "Huzza, my
prave poys, fight on a few minutes more, and te pattle will
be over!" On the British side Fergnison was supremely
brave, rapidly dashing from one side to the other, oblivious
to all danger. Wherever the shrill note of his silver whistle
sounded, there the fighting was hottest and the British resist-ance
deadliest. His officers fought with the characteristic
steadiness of the British soldier, and again and again charged
headlong against the wavering circle of the frontiersmen.^^
Ferguson's authentic boast—that "he was on King's Moun-tain,
that he was king of the mountain and that God Almighty
could not drive him from it"—was doubtless prompted, less
by belief in the impregnability of his position, than by a
desire to inspire confidence in his men. His position was
admirably chosen for defense against attack by troops employ-ing
regulation tactics ; but never dreaming of the possibility
of sudden investment, Ferguson had erected no defenses for
2iForerunners of the Republic : "Isaac Shelby," Neale's Monthly, March.
1913.
18 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET
his encampment. The disesteem in which he held the moun-taineers
found expression in the passionate declaration: "I
will never surrender to such damned banditti as the mountain
men." His frenzied efforts on the battle-field seem like a
mad rush against fate; for his position was indefensible
against the peculiar tactics of the frontiersmen. While the
mountain flamed like a volcano and resounded with the thun-der
of the guns, a steady stricture was in progTess ; the lines
were drawn tighter and tighter around the trapped and fran-tically
struggling army; and at last the fall of their com-mander,
riddled with bullets, proved the mad futility of fur-ther
resistance. The game was caught and bagged to a man.
When Winston with his fox-hunters of Surry dashed reck-lessly
through the woods, says a chronicler of the battle, and
•''the last to come into position:
then
'Flow'd in, and settling, circled all the lists,'
'From all the circle of the hills
Death sleeted in upon the doomed.' "'^
In reviewing the details of the battle, especial interest
attaches here to everything which concerns Isaac Shelby. In
a contemporary letter to his father, he gives the following
terse account of the battle
:
That Providence who always rules and governs all things for the
best, so ordered it that we were around them before we were discov-ered,
and formed in such position, so as to fire on them nearly
about (sic) the same time, though they heard us in time to form and
stood ready. The battle continued warm for an hour ; the enemy
finding themselves so embarassed on all sides, surrendered them-selves
prisoners to us at discretion.
They had taken post at that place with the confidence that no force
could rout them ; the mountain was high, and exceedingly steep, so
22J. W. de Peyster : "The Affair at King's Mountain." Reprinted from The
Magazine of American History, Dec, 1880. Cf. also the same writer's sketch :
"The Battle or Affair of King's Mountain," 1881. These give the extreme
British view.
ISAAC SHELBY 19
that their situation gave them greatly the advantage; indeed it was
almost equal to storming a battery. In most cases we could not see
them until we were within twenty yards of them. They repelled us
three times with charged bayonets ; but being determined to conquer
or die, we came up a fourth time, and fairly got possession of the top
of the mountain.^
The final general order to the mountain men, before the
engagement, was eloquent of thei general determination:
"Fresh prime your giins, and every man go into battle firmly
resolved to fight till he dies
!"
"The enemy," says Robert Campbell, "annoyed our troops
very much from their advantageous position. Col. Shelby,
being previously ordered to reconnoitre their position, observ-ing
their situation, and what a destructive fire was kept up
from those rocks, ordered Robert Campbell, one of the offi-cers
of the Virginia Line, to move to the right with a small
company to endeavor to dislodge them, and lead them on
nearly to the ground which he had ordered them, under fire
of the enemy's lines and within forty steps of the same; but
discovering that our men were repulsed on the other side of
the mountain, he gave orders to advance, and post themselves
opposite to the rocks, and near to thei enemy, and then re-turned
to assist in bringing up the men in order, who had
been charged with the bayonet. These orders were punc-tually
obeyed, and they kept up such a galling fire as to com-pel
Ferguson to order a company of regulars to face them,
with a view to cover his men that were posted behind the rocks.
At this time a considerable fire was drawn to this side of
the mountain by the repulse of those on the other, and the
Loyalists not being permitted to leave their posts. This
scene was not of long duration, for it was the brave Virginia
volunteers, and those under Col. Shelby, on their attempting
rapidly to ascend the mountain, that were charged with the
bayonet. They obstinately stood until some of them were
thrust through the body, and having nothing but their rifies
by which to defend themselves, they were forced to retreat.
'^Virginia Gazette, Nov. 4, 1780.
20 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
They were soon rallied by their gallant eomnianders, Camp-hell,
Shelby, and other brave officers, and by a constant and
well-directed fire of their rifles, drove them back in their turn,
strewing the face of the mountain with their assailants, and
kept advancing until they drove them from some of their
posts."^* Shelby's men, by his own statement, actually
reached the summit of the mountain which 'Vas covered with
flame and smoke and seemed to thunder."^^
The regiments of Shelby and Campbell began the attack;
and the enemy first fired upon Shelby's men before they were
in position. This galling fire distressed the mountaineers,
who were heard to mutter that "it would never do to be shot
down without returning the fire." To which the intrepid
Shelby cooly replied : "Pass on to your places, and then your
fire will not be lost."^® Bancroft says : "Shelby, a man of the
hardiest make, stiff as iron, among the dauntless singled out
for dauntlessness, went right onward and upward like a man
who had but one thing to do, and but one thought—to do it."
Brave as he and his men were, says Draper, they, too, had to
retreat before the charging column, but firing as they retired.
When, at the bottom of the hill, Shelby wanted to bring his
men to order, he would cry out—"Now, boys, quickly reload
your rifles, and give them another hell of a fire."^^
Throughout the entire battle, Shelby's inspiriting battle-
3ry was : "ISTever shoot until you see an enemy, and never see
an enemy without bringing him down."^^
Shelby was in the very front line of the fight from the
outset of the engagement to its very close. "When the
British were loudly calling for quarters, but uncertain
whether they would be granted," says Benjamin Sharp^ "I
saw the intrepid Shelby rush his horse within fifteen paces of
their lines, and commanded them to lay down their arms, and
they should have quarters. Some would call this an impru-
^Annals of the Army of Tennessee, Oct., 1878.
^Haywood's Tennessee.
28Foote's Sketches of North Carolina (Graham's Sketch), p. 268.
^MS. statement of Gen. Thomas Love, derived from Captain David Vance.
28Nile's National Register, iv. 403.
ISAAC SHELBY 21
dent act, but it shows the daring bravery of the man."^^ As
the demoralized Tories continued to cry "Quarters! Quar-ters!,"
Shelby fiercely shouted: "Damn you! If you want
quarters, throw down your arms!" In a letter written by
John Sevier to Isaac Shelby (Aug. 2Y, 1812), we read: "You
were in the heat of the action. I frequently saw you ani-mating
your men to victory. At the surrender, you were the
first field officer I recollect to have seen. ... I per-fectly
recollect on seeing you at the close of the action, that
I swore by they had burnt off your hair, for it was much
burnt on one side."
Owing to the volley fired upon the victors by a returning
foraging party of the British, a fire which killed the daring
General James Williams, the incensed Americans under
Campbell's orders returned the fire, though the British had
already surrendered. This created a very alarming situation,
and Shelby, who feared that the enemy might yet, perhaps,
snatch up their arms in self-defense and resume the battle^ ex-claimed:
"Good God! What can we do in the confusion?"
"We can order the prisoners from their arms," said Captain
Sawyers. "Yes," responded Shelby, "that can be done" ; and
the prisoners were accordingly marched off, and placed under
a strong guard.
Ferguson was mortally wounded near the close of the
action; and as he was being carried off, the exultant Shelby
rode up and with incredible callousness said to him, though
doubtless life was then totally extinct : "Colonel, the fatal
blow is struck—we've Burgoyned you."^^ In the division of
Ferguson's effects, the foot-long silver whistle, the piercing
note of which had been heard again and again above the
clamor and din of the battle, fell to Shelby's lot.
According to expert military opinion, the plan of attack
employed by the Americans was probably the only method
of assault by which the British could have been defeated.
Impartial examination of all the evidence available, which
^American Pioneer, Feb., 1843.
*0Related by Thos. H. Spelts and Thomas H. Shelby, a son of the Colonel.
32 THE NOETH CAKOLINA BOOKLET
includes much material not accessible to Draper, leads to the
conclusion that the chief credit for inaugurating the entire
campaign belongs to Shelby. The nominal leadership was
conferred upon Campbell ; and among the reasons, not already
mentioned, assigned for giving him the chief command, were
that he commanded the largest division of the forces and had
come from the greatest distance. In the battle the conditions
of combat enabled him to do little more than lead the men of
his own division ; and this he did with conspicuous bravery
and gallantry. It is scarcely to be doubted that the very
tactics pursued in the battle, the only tactics it would seem
which could have been successful, were outlined, not by
Campbell, but by Shelby himself. The following significant
lines, from a letter written to Shelby by Colonel John Sevier,
from Marble Springs, Tennessee, August 27, 1812, are elo-quent
on the point :
—
As to the plan of attacking the enemy, yourself was the only person
that named the mode to me, and the same was acceded to unani-mously.
No doubt you recollect we argued on the manner of attack
immediately after Ferguson's spies were taken, while we were a little
in front of our army, and as we were returning back to Campbell and
the other offlcers.^^
VI
A digression from the continuity of the narrative is neces-sary
at this point, in order to bring to light valuable docu-ments,
hitherto unpublished, which throw into truer perspec-tive
the role played by Shelby in the King's Mountain cam-paign.
They tend to correct some of the false impressions
fostered by Roosevelt and, to a lesser degree, by Draper.
On February 11, 1781, the North Carolina State Senate,
in session at Halifax, placed the following on record :
—
Resolved, That the Speaker of this House be requested, with the
Speaker of the Commons, to transmit to Colonel Campbell, of Vlr-si"
Hero of Three Wars," by C. H. Todd, in Journal of American History,
2nd number, 2nd volume, 1908. These lines from Sevier's letter have been
omitted generally by historians, even by Draper in King's Mountain and Its
Heroes (pp. 575-6). Such an omission is almost inexplicable.
ISAAC SHELBY 23
glnia, Colonel Cleveland, Colonel Shelby, and the brave Officei's and
Soldiers under their command the following address, to wit:
Gentlemen :
The General Assembly of the State of North Carolina, impressed
with a deep sense of your eminent services during the last Summer's
Campaign have unanimously resolved that the Speakers of the two
Houses should transmit to you their warmest acknowledgments for
your spirited and vigorous Exertions against the formidable body of
British Forces under Major Ferguson at King's Mountain. The alac-rity
with which you stepped forth uncalled for by Authority, your
Vigilance in Marching to, and your conduct in, the attack of the
Enemy, deserve the highest Encomiums, and strongly mark Patriot-ism
and Heroism united in the same persons. To these Virtues,
which you, Gentlemen, so happily possess, your Country is indebted
for the important Victory which frustrated the schemes of the enemy,
awed many of the disaffected into submission, and rescued the west-ern
parts of this State from devastation and ruin and the horrors
attendant on a War directed by Tyranny and pursued with vindic-tive
Resentment.
We do therefore ia obedience to the order of the two Houses and
with the highest satisfaction to ourselves transmit to you the thanks
of your country by its representatives in General Assembly.
Ordered that the foregoing Address with the following Message be
sent the Commons for concurrence.
Me. Speaker and Gentlemen :
We send for your approbation an address proposed by this House
to be presented the officers who distinguished themselves in the cap-ture
of the British, commanded by Major Ferguson, at King's Moun-tain.
Resolved, that an elegant mounted sword be presented to each of
the following officers, that is to say, Colo. Cleveland, of Wilkes
County, Colonel Campbell of Virginia, Colonel Shelby of Sullivan
County, Lieutenant Colonel Sevier of Washington County, Lieutenant
Colonel Hambright of Lincoln County, Major Winston of Surry
County and Major Shelby of Sullivan County for their voluntary and
distinguished services in the defeat of Major Ferguson at the battle
of King's Mountain.
An extraordinary series of blunders, whicli to this day liave
remained unexplained, now took place in connection with
the "resolution" above-mentioned. The original journal of
the assembly, as well as the printed copy, contains a message
from the House to the Senate, approving of the "address"
24 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET
above-mentioned; but nowhere in the original journal is rec-ord
or even mention made of any action taken by the House
upon the Senate "resolution" concerning the swords. That
no steps were taken to procure and present the swords men-tioned
in the resolution was doubtless due to the fact that the
journal contained no record of the joint concurrence of
House and Senate in this "resolution" ; and consequently no
committee was appointed to carry out the terms of the "reso-lution."
Shelby and Sevier both believed that the swords had
been voted them by the Assembly. ^^
The question which remains unanswered until the present
day is : "Did the Legislature of ISTorth Carolina in February,
1781, vote the swords to Shelby, Sevier, Winston, and the
others mentioned in the 'resolution' ?" The original manu-script
of the "resolution" itself, still preserved, and now in
the Archives of the l^orth Carolina Historical Commission,
conclusively shows that the swords were thus voted. Upon it
are inscribed the following:
—
In the H Commons 11 Feby 1781
Concurred with
By order
Jno Hunt C H C
and the endorsement:
llth Feby laid over til Tomorrow morning.
The "resolution" was "laid over" until February 12,
awaiting action upon the "address" ; and the "address," bear-ing
the approval of the House, was received by the Sen-ate
on February 13. The explanation of the blunder is
probably due to the careless reading of the secretary who
compiled the journal in failing to note, and so, to record, that
the "address" and the "resolution" were two different things
and that hoth had been concurred with by the House.
^^N. C. State Records, xvii, 696-7, 704, support the statements made above.
In his Annals of Tennessee, 248, Ramsey is in error in stating that the General
Assembly of North Carolina in 1781 "passed a resolution that a sword and
pistols should be presented to both Shelby and Sevier." As printed in the
N. C. State Records, xvii, 697, "Lewis" is a misprint for "Sevier."
ISAAC SHELBY 25
Shortly after the battle of King's Mountain^ the General
Assembly of Virginia "ordered that a good horse, with el&-
gant furniture, and a sword" be presented to William Camp-bell.
^^ Singularly enough, Virginia like ISTorth Carolina
was inexplicably dilatory in carrying out the will of the Gen-eral
Assembly. At the instance of friends of the late Wil-liam
Campbell, the General Assembly of Virginia in 1809, it
appears, caused a handsome and costly sword, purchased in
France, to be presented to William Campbell Preston, Wil-liam
Campbell's grandson.
When this information reached Shelby in 1809, It pro-duced,
as he acknowledges, "some feelings of emulation and
solicitude, and a sense that equal justice had not been done
to all who participated in that memorable achievement."
Accordingly, he engaged in private correspondence with John
Sevier on the subject ; and years afterwards frankly acknowl-edged
that the object of the letters was "to concert with him
(Sevier) the means of reminding JSTorth Carolina of her
ancient promise, and of obtaining those swords which thirty
years before had been voted to us, as the honorable memorials
of our good conduct, and our country's approbation." Shelby
confessed to his very natural sense of the injustice in the
recognition of Campbell, while Sevier and himself remained
unrecognized. ^*
VII
During the political campaign of 1812, when Shelby was
making the race for the governorship of Kentucky, false-hoods
were freely circulated against him, minimizing the part
he played in the King's Mountain campaign. To meet these
charges, an article signed "ISTarrator" appeared in the Keiv-tucky
Reporter, July 25, 1812, giving undue credit to Shelby
as leader of the King's Mountain campaign and casting un-worthy
aspersions upon the bravery of Colonel Campbell.
The article was replied to in the same paper, of June 20,
s^Summers : Southxoest Virginia, 337-9.
*^See Governor Shelby's pamphlet : "Battle of King's Mountain."
26 THE NORTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET
1813, by William C. Preston, who made a spirited vindication
of the charge of cowardice preferred against his grandfather.
I^ine years later, the controversy broke forth anew, when
Colonel George Washington Sevier caused to be published in
the Nashville Gazette four private letters written to his
father, John Sevier, by Isaac Shelby. In one of these let-ters,
(January 1, 1810), Shelby makes the damaging charge:
It is a fact well known, and for which he (Campbell) apologized
to me the day after the action, that he was not within less than one
quarter of a mile of the enemy at the time they surrendered to you
and myself.
This brought forth from William C. Preston another state-ment
in the newspapers of the day, entitled "Colonel Camp-bell
and Governor Shelby," claiming the chief honors of the
victory at King's Mountain for his grandfather, and vehe-mently
repelling the insinuation of cowardice contained in
Shelby's private letter to Sevier, lately given to the public by
G. W. Sevier.
An elaborate survey and investigation of the whole ques-tion
was then made by Shelby and published as a pamphlet
in 1823.^^ Extended replies to this pamphlet were made:
by William C. Preston in the Telescope of Columbia, S. C,
May 10, 1823, and by General John Campbell in the
Enquirer of Richmond, Va., June 24, 1823. This pro-longed
and regrettable controversy had certain important con-sequences,
and resulted in establishing certain cardinal facts
touching the conduct of Campbell, Shelby and Sevier. Camp-bell's
fame remained entirely undimmed by the charges of
Shelby, who, clearly, had misinterpreted a remark made by
Campbell on the battle-field; and furthermore Shelby was
utterly misled, through the fact that Campbell's body servant
rode his horse during the battle, into the belief that Campbell
remained in the rear during the action. The credit for initi-ating
the campaign, it was clearly established, belonged to
Shelby, who acted in concert with Sevier. There is no reason
^^Appendix to Draper's King's Mountain and Its Heroes, 560-582.
ISAAC SHELBY 27
to doubt that Shelby was entirely honest in believing the
charges, however "unworthy and untrue, which he preferred
against Campbell.
In his article in the Telescope, Wm. C. Preston published
an affidavit of Colonel Matthew Willoughby, in which he dis-credited
the testimony of Moses Shelby^ brother of Isaac, who
had testified in the Shelby pamphlet (1823) that during the
latter half of the battle of King's Mountain, Campbell re-mained
stationary near the foot of the mountain, in plain
sight of him. Colonel Willoughby deputed that "the statement
of Moses Shelby would not, perhaps, be credited, from the
character he bore about the time and after the battle, as he,
with others, was engaged in plundering in the Carolinas, both
Whigs and Tories, and running the property so plundered to
this side of the mountains."
The following letter from Isaac Shelby to John J. Critten-den,
famous Kentuckian, who had been Shelby's Aide-de^
camp on the Canadian campaign in the War of 1812, is im-portant
as giving valuable evidence, not only concerning the
character of Moses Shelby, but also in regard to the battle of
King's Mountain. It was evidently not seen by Draper, or
by Roosevelt, who accepts, apparently without question, the
charges against Moses Shelby.
Danville, June IGth, 1823.
My Deae Sie,—You have no doubt before this seen the replies of
both General Preston and his son to my publication. Colonel Preston
proposes to establish for his own father the merit of planning the
exi)edition which led to Ferguson's defeat.
I have examined the subject in my own mind in every point of
view, and cannot in the remotest manner discover wherein General
Preston could have had any agency in this exploit. I lived nearly
one hundred and twenty miles from him, in a different State, and had
no kind of communication with him on the subject, and from every
recollection, I am convinced that the statement I gave you is indis-putably
true. I recollect, however, that Major Oloyd, with three hun-dred
men from the county of Montgomery, commanded by Colonel
Preston, fought an action with the Tories at the shallow ford of the
Yadkin River, nearly one hundred miles north of King's Mountain,
about two weeks after the defeat of Ferguson. It has always been
a mystery to me as to Cloyd's destination, or that of the enemy whom
28 THE NOETH CAKOLINA BOOKLET
he encountered. I have only understood that they met accidentally
in the road, and that the enemy was composed of the enemies in
the neighborhood, and of the Bryants, of Kentucky, some of whom
were killed in the fight.
If Ferguson was Cloyd's object, he was too weak to effect anything,
and besides. Lord Cornwallis, with the British army, lay directly in
the route between them. My convictions are so clear on this point
I have no fear that General Preston can render my statement doubt-ful.
He proposes, too, to invalidate the testimony of Moses Shelby.
I will, for your own satisfaction, give you a short sketch of his his-tory.
Moses was in his nineteenth year when he left his father's
house to join the expedition against Ferguson and had never before,
to my knowledge, been more than forty miles from home. It is well
known that our march was too rapid for a youth of that age to tres-pass
in any manner, the army having marched two or three hundred
miles, and fought the battle in twelve days, three of which we were
detained on the road from different causes. Moses was severely
wounded at the Mountain, and the bone of one thigh being fractured,
he could be carried but a short distance from the battle-ground, where
he lay on his back nearly three months, and was only able to ride
out a few days before General Morgan came up into the district of
Ninety-Six. He joined Morgan but a day or two before the battle
of the Cowpens, on the 17th of January, 1781. Here he was wounded
more severely than at the Mountain, and lay, until March or April,
under the hands of a surgeon. When Colonel Clarke, of Georgia,
came on with his followers to commence the siege of Augusta, his
wounds were still sore and open, but at the warm solicitations of
Clarke, Moses joined the expedition, and was appointed Captain of
horse. It is well known that the siege lasted until May or June fol-lowing,
in which Moses was actively engaged, and Clarke asserted
to many that he made several charges on the enemy, who sallied dur-ing
the siege, which would have done honor to Count Pulaski.
Moses returned home shortly after the siege, and never crossed the
mountains again during the war. The next year, 1782, he, with other
adventurers, went to the new settlements, then forming where Nash-ville
now stands, where he continued off and on until he married,
two or three years afterwards. As the settlements progressed down
the Cumberland, he was always among the foremost of the pioneers.
He finally settled in what is now called Livingston County, Kentucky,
where at the unanimous solicitation of the inhabitants, he was
appointed colonel of the new county, about the year 1793. He had the
command for a number of years. And after the acquisition of Louisi-ana,
he removed to that territory, and now resides on the west side
of the Mississippi, two miles below New Madrid, covered VTith the
scars of thirteen deep wounds, received in defence of his country, for
which he is too proud to receive a pension, always disdaining to
apply for one. In his youth he was of a warm and ardent disposition,
ISAAC SHELBY 29
always ready to risk his life for a friend, and profuse of his property
(of which he had a considerable inheritance), even to a fault. It
would exceed the bounds of a letter to give you a statement of the
many hair-breadth escapes and imminent dangers through which
he passed. Soon after his marriage, he became impressed with
religious sentiments, joined the Methodist Church, liberated his slaves,
and, so far as I know and believe, has always supported a good
character in that county.
It is possible, while at the South, in 1780-81, from his ardent dis-position
and the prevailing excitement of the times, that he may in
some cases have acted imprudently. The war between the Whigs and
Tories was carried on with the utmost rancor and malice, each
endeavoring to do the greatest injury to the other.
Colonel Willoughby, whose affidavit has been published, swears to
no point. He lived three hundred miles from the scene of action, and
his information may have been very erroneous.
If, however. General Preston proves apparently anything more, he
shall be answered.
I have made this hasty sketch for your own satisfaction.
I remain, dear Sir, very respectfully, your friend,
Isaac Shelby.
John J. Crittenden.^*
VIII
After their exchanges of letters in 1810, Shelby and Sevier,
throwing conventional modesty to the winds, prepared a joint
memorial to the General Assembly of IsTorth Carolina. This
was presented by the Senator from Surry, Joseph Winston, on
December 15, 1812, of which the following record is found
:
Mr. Winston presented the memorial of Issac (sic) Shelby and
John Sevier, setting forth that in consideration of public services
rendered during our revolutionary war, and particularly for their
conduct at the battle of King's Mountain, the Legislature of the State
of North Carolina, in the year 1781, did vote each of the memorialists
an elegant sword and pair of pistols, which they have not heretofore
applied for or received ; and they pray that this testimonial of the
approbation of the state for their conduct be now complied with.
This memorial being read, was referred to the committee of Proposi-tions
and Grievances, and sent to the House of Commons.'^
The matter was later referred to a special committee con-sisting
of Messrs. Porter and W. W. Jones on the part of the
3«Mrs. C. Coleman : The Life of John J. Crittenden, v, 56-8 (1871).
arsenate Journal, 1812.
30 THE NORTH CAKOLHSTA BOOKLET
House, and Messrs. Atkinson and Graston on the part of the
Senate. On December 22, 1812, Mr. Gaston submitted an
extended report after investigation, in wbicli it is stated:
Your committee find, upon an examination of the journal of the
House of Commons, that the proposed address obtained the approba-tion
and concurrence of the house ; but they do not find any determi-nation
relative to the second resolution of the Senate, nor any minute
that such resolution had been received by them. Your committee,
however, have been informed, and so believe, that the House of Com-mons
did concur with the Senate in this latter resolution, as well as
in that for presenting to their patriots and heroes the thanks of the
Legislature.^^
In order to pay what Gaston describes as "the long pro-crastinated
debt of gTatitude and honor," the House and Sen-ate
unanimously passed the following :
—
Resolved, That his Excellency the Governor be requested to procure
three elegant swords, such as in his estimation is (sic) not unworthy
of North Carolina to bestow, on those who have distinguished claims
on the gratitude of her citizens ; and that he cause them severally to
be presented, in the name of this State, to General Isaac Shelby, of
Kentucky, General John Sevier of Tennessee, and Colonel Joseph
Winston of this State, the three surviving chiefs of the gallant band
who fought and conquered at King's Mountain, on the memorable 7th
of October, 1780.=»
In carrying out the resolution, Governor William Haw-kins
enlisted the services of the Hon. James Turner, at that
time representing l!^orth Carolina in the United States Sen-ate.
At the instance of Mr. Turner, the swords were pur-chased
in jSTew York by Mr. Robert Walker of Petersburg,
assisted by Colonel Swift. The swords thus procured, accord-ing
to instruction, were "in point of elegance inferior to none
that can be procured." The sword presented to Shelby, with
which the others were identical save for name, bore upon
s^Senate Journal. It seems extraordinary that a man of Gaston's legislative
experience should have omitted to examine the original manuscript of the Sen-ate
resolution of February 11, 1781, which would have resolved all his doubts.
^Ht is a source of lasting regret that another regrettable oversight was made
at this time. A fourth leader in the King's Mountain campaign whose name
was included in the original resolution, was Lieutenant Colonel Hambright, of
Lincoln County, who survived until March, 1817. Grave injustice was done,
in that no sword was presented to Lieutenant Colonel Hambright in 1813.
ISAAC SHELBY 31
one side of the hilt the inscription: "King's Mountain—Oc-tober
7, 1Y80/' upon the other: "State of ITorth Carolina to
Colonel Isaac Shelby." Writing to Governor Hawkins from
Warren County on September 19, 1813, the Hon. James Tur-ner
says concerning these swords : "The one for Col. Shelby
was forwarded through the politeness if Mr. Clay, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives. The one for Col.
Savier (sic) was delivered to him by myself (he being in
Washington). The one for Col. Winston was forwarded to
him by Mr. Yancey, one of the members of Congress from
this State. The letters of the Grentlemen was (sic) delivered
and forwarded by the same Gentlemen who took charge of
the swords."*^
The following letter, just referred to, was sent to Isaac
Shelby, then Governor of Kentucky, by Governor William
Hawkins of l^orth Carolina.*^
Executive Office, N. C.
Raleigh 17th, July 1813.
SiK, In compliance with a resolution of the General Assembly of
this State passed at their last Session I have the honor of tendering
you the sword which this letter accompanies as a testimony of the
distinguished claim you have on the gratitude of the State for your
gallantry in achieving with your brothers in arms the glorious victory
over the British forces commanded by Colo. Ferguson at the battle of
King's Mountain on the memorable 7th of October 1780. This tribute
of respect though bestowed at a protracted period, will not be con-sidered
the less honorable on that account when you are informed
that it is in unison with a resolution of the General Assembly passed
in the year 1781, which from some cause not well ascertained, it is to
be regretted was not complied with.
Permit me Sir, to make you an expression of the high gratification
felt by me at being the favored instrument to present to you in the
name of the State of North Carolina, this testimonial of gratitude
—
this meed of valour, and to remark, that contending as we are at the
present time with the same foe for our just rights the pleasing hope
may be entertained that the valorous deeds of the heroes of our
^Governor Hawkins' Letter Book, 1812-3, 429. For assistance in making
these researches, I am indebted to Mr. R. D. W. Connor, Secretary of the N. C.
Historical Commission.
*iAn exact transcript of the same letter was likewise transmitted to General
John Sevier, of Tennessee, and Colonel Joseph Winston, of North Carolina.
Cf. Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, pp. 248-254, and "The Life and Times of
Major Joseph Winston," by G. T. Winston (Guilford Battleground Company,
1895).
32 THE NOKTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
Revolution will animate the Soldier of the existing War and nerve
his arm in laudable emulation to like achievements.
I beg you to accept an assurance of the great consideration and
respect with which,
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your obedient Servent
William Hawkins.*^
This recognition on tlie part of l^ortli Carolina, iitly
enougli, came with dramatic emphasis at a moment of crisis
in the career of Grovemor Shelby and of the State of Ken-tucky.
In his memorable oration^ delivered at Lexington,
Kentucky, on August 15, 1826, the Hon. William Taylor
Barry thus described the event
:
Colonel Shelby was at his residence in Lincoln County, enjoying in
affluence, the sweets of domestic life, when he was again called upon
to assume the helm of State. At the advanced age of 63, had he
wanted an apology, this was an ample one ; but his mind was char-acterized
by constancy and invincible firmness. He saw his beloved
country, for whose independence he had fought in his youth, again
in imminent danger, assailed by the same inveterate foe. The fire
of patriotism rekindled in his bosom, he did not hesitate, but aban-doning
the allurements of ease, and listening only to the voice of
honor, we see him again with youthful ardour, entering upon the
executive duties, boldly hazarding his reputation in the contingencies
of a war, the glorious results of which were yet in the womb of time.
The volunteers from Kentucky who had gone forth to battle, notwith-standing
the bravery and good conduct of their officers, had met with
sad reverses. The di-eadful defeats at the River Raisin, and the
Rapids of the Miami, had deprived our State of many gallant and
patriotic citizens, and filled the country with mourning ; the cruelties
practised by the savage allies of England, and countenanced by the
British officers, was the cause of deep and powerful excitement ; the
public indignation was aroused and our militia, anxious to revenge
their slaughtered countrymen, were impatient to be led to battle.
Shelby thought the time had arrived to put an end to the contest in
that quarter, and resolved to take the field in person. As he was
preparing for the campaign, a happy incident occurred. The deliv-ery
of the sword voted him by the Legislature of North Carolina in
1781, had, from some cause, been delayed, and was handed to him
*2From the Letter Book of Governor William Hawkins, 1812-1813, pp. 291-2.
Collections of the North Carolina Historical Commission. For a copy of this
letter I am indebted to Mr. R. D. W. Connor, Secretary of the N. C. Historical
Commission. The letter to General Sevier, the duplicate of the present letter,
is printed in Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, 249.
ISAAC SHELBY 33
just in time to be used in acquiring fresh laurels. Proud emblem of
victory—glorious remembrancer of tbe gallantry and heroism of two
wars.^
In the marcli to Lake Erie and Canada^ tlie famous hero of
tlie Revolution not without deep emotions of pride and reli-gious
fervor, "wore upon his thigh a sword just presented to
him by Henry Clay, in the name of the State of ]S[orth Caro-lina,
in testimony of appreciation of his services in the old
war for independence."**
With the sword was tendered the following letter to Shelby
from Henry Clay:
Lexington, 22d August, 1813.
My dear Sir,—I have seen by the public prints that you intend lead-ing
a detachment from this state. As you will want a sword, I have
the pleasure to inform you that I am charged by Governor Turner
and Mr. Macon with delivering to you that which the State of North
Carolina voted you in testimony of the sense it entertained of your
conduct at King's Mountain. I would take it with me to Frankfort,
in order that I might personally execute the commission and at the
same time have the gratification of seeing you, if I were not excess-ively
oppressed with fatigue. I shall not fail, however, to avail
myself of the first safe conveyance, and if any should offer to you,
I will thank you to inform me. May it acquire additional lustre in
the patriotic and hazardous enterprise in which you are embarking
!
Your friend,
H. Clay.
The bearer of the letter and the sword was a common friend,
William T. Barry, quoted above, who delivered them to Gov-ernor
Shelby at Frankfort.
The venerable soldier, with his characteristic energy once
again taking the field in defense of the liberties of his country,
in acknowledgment of the gift of !N^orth Carolina wrote the
following interesting letter, hitherto unpublished, to the Gov-ernor
of N^orth Carolina.
^"On the Death of Adams, Jefferson and Sheloy," in Year Book, 1913, of
Kentucky Society Sons of the Revolution. Barry had been Secretary and Aide-de-
Camp to General Shelby on the expedition to Canada in 1813 ; and after-wards
became very distinguished in the public life of Kentucky. At one time
he was Postmaster General in President Jackson's cabinet.
**B. J. Lossing : Field Book of the War of 1812, 544-5.
3
34 THE NORTH CAEOLHSTA BOOKLET
Government House Frankfort Kentucky.
August 26th, 1813.
Sib, On the 23d inst. I had the honor of receiving your letter of
the 17th ulto. tendering to me, a Sword vphich accompanied it,
bestowed by North Carolina as a testimony of the flattering senti-ments
which she entertained in relation to my conduct in the affair of
the 7th of October 1780 on King's Mountain.
Engaged as my beloved country then was in a struggle for every
thing dear to man, she had a right to expect the zealous exertions
of her citizens in her behalf. Devoted to the cause of my country,
impelled by a high sense of the obligations, I owed her, and by an
utter aversion to the tyranny wliich was endeavouring to oppress
her, I freely participated in those exertions which lead to, & that
conflict which terminated so favorable to our arms, & evidently gave
a favorable turn to the Revolutionary War, and in relation to wliich
the Legislature of North Carolina have been pleased to express them-selves
in a manner the most flattering to my feelings.
If the freeborn sons of America wanted any stimulus to draw them
forth in defence of her rights, other than a conviction that upon
their exertions depended the continuance of those rights—it might be
found in the heartfelt satisfaction derived from the consolation of
having meritted and received the applause of a grateful [country] for
the toils and dangers encountered in her behalf.
Having lived ten years of the happiest part of my life in North
Carolina and having received repeated marks of the partiality of my
fellow citizens in that Government during my residence amongst them,
I have ever entertained the warmest feelings of fraternal affection,
and good will for them. And I now accept with veneration & respect
this honorable pledge of a continuance of their affection.
With considerations of high respect and Esteem
I have the honor to be
Most respectfully
Your Ob Servant
Isaac Shelby.
His Excellency
William Hawkins
Governor of North Carolina.*^
isprom the Letter Book of Governor William Hawkins, 1812-3, pp. 414-5.
Collections of the North Carolina Historical Commission. For this copy I am
indebted to Mr. R. D. W. Connor, Secretary of the N. C. Historical Commission.
ISAAC SHELBY 35
IX
The battle of King's Mountain was decisive in its effect
—
shattering the plans of Comwallis which till then appeared
certain of success^ and putting a full stop to the invasion of
IsTorth Carolina^ then well under way. Cornwallis abandoned
his prepared campaign and left the State. The initiative of
the borderers, the loyalty of the militia^, the energy of the
pursuit, the perfection of the surprise, all reinforced by
ideal tactics to meet the given situation, were the controlling
factors in this overwhelming victory, and pivotal contest of
the Revolution. The pioneers of the Old Southwest'—the
independent and aggressive yeomanry of ITorth Carolina,
Virginia, and South Carolina—had risen in their might;
and without the authority of blundering State governments,
had created an army of frontiersmen, Indian fighters, and
big game hunters which found no parallel or equal on the
continent since the battle of the Great Kanawha.*
The survey of the situation as given by Shelby is interest-ing
as coming from a participant in the events
:
This battle happened at the most gloomy and critical period of
the Revolutionary War, and was the first link in the great chain of
events in the South that established the independence of the United
States. It was achieved by raw and undisciplined riflemen without
any authority from the Government under which they lived. It com-pletely
dispirited the Tories and so much alarmed Lord Cornwallis,
who then lay at Charlottstown with the British grand army that on
being informed of Ferguson's total defeat and overthrow by the
riflemen from the west, and that they were bearing down upon him,
three thousand strong, he ordered an immediate retreat, marched all
night in the utmost confusion and retrograded as far back as Winns-borough
seventy or eighty miles, from whence he did not attempt to
advance until reinforced by General Leslie from the Chesapeake with
2,000 men, three months afterward. In the meantime the militia of
North Carolina assembled in considerable force at New Providence
on the borders of South Carolina under General Davidson. (General
Smallwood with General Morgan's light corps, and the Maryland line
Narratives of the King's Mountain campaign, which have proved of value in
this research, are the accounts of General .Joseph Graham (Southern Literary
Messenger. September 1845), Geneal William Lenoir (Wheeler's Sketches of
North Carolina, ii, 105-108) and Captain David Vance (Greensboro, N. C
edited by D. L. Schenck, 1891).
36 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
advanced to the same point. General Gates with the shattered
remains of his army collected at Hillsborough also came up and the
new levies ( ? ) from Virginia under General Stephens of 1,000 men
came forward. At the same time, (to wit) the second or third of
December, General Green came up and took the command, and thus
was dispelled the dismal gloom which had pervaded the Southern
States.
Following the battle of King's Mountain, the patriot force
hanged nine Tory prisoners. This act has been severely con-demned
; but it is scarcely to be doubted that nothing short
of such drastic action would have had a decisively deterrent
effect upon future Tory murderings and depredations. Shel-by's
own account of this seemingly inexcusable and ruthless
act is quoted here^ both as a picture of the times and as a
recital of Shelby's own part in the matter
:
The prisoners were marched back on the trail that the army had
advanced upon, as well to join the men who were left behind with
weak horses and on foot, as to avoid Lord Comwallis who they be-lieved
to be only thirty or forty miles to the North (incoherent) after
meeting the footmen and took a circuitous route towards the Moun-tains
by Gilbert town, where we met an American officer paroled
from Ninety six only the day before, who informed, that he had seen
eleven American citizens hung at that place within a few days past,
merely for their attachment to the cause of their country. This very
much exasperated the American officers, at the same time a Repre-sentative
from Assembly which just set at Hillsborough came into
camp and had with him the manuscript of a law, authorizing two jus-tices
within the State of North Carolina, to cause to be apprehended
any citizen or loyalist who might be found in arms against his
country, and if found guilty of treason to order him to immediate
execution without any pleading in the case. The army with the
prisoners were by this time in Rutherford County in North Carolina,
a Sheriff of which, as well as several Justices of the Peace of the
said County, were also in camp. Our Commander called a Council
of officers to deliberate on the subject, who determined unanimously to
try several of the prisoners under the aforesaid act of Assembly.
The 8th day after the action they commenced trying them early in
the morning beginning with the most atrocious offender first who had
committed murder deliberately in cold blood, and who had otherwise
murdered and destroyed the families of the Whigs, burned down
houses, etc., and committed the most atrocious crimes. They con-tinued
to try them until they had condemned 36 to be hung, and at
two o'clock in the night following commenced hanging them, after they
ISAAC SHELBY 3T
had hung nine of them, three at a time, and the fourth parcel of
them was just about to be turned ofC the scaffold it was agreed on
by Sevier, Cleveland and Shelby upon a motion of the latter, that they
would put a stop to any further execution, and addressed Campbell on
the subject, who readily came into their views, and released the
three men that were then under the gallows to be executed, one of
whom informed that Tarlton would be upon us next morning, that a
woman had come into camp in the evening, and gave the information
to the British officers, who communicated it to the Tories. The
Americans immediately all mounted their horses, and were ready to
march as soon as it was light enough to see for the night was
excessively dark ; as soon as they could see the way they started
directly toward the mountains, got into level valley that lead imme-diately
toward the North. We had not marched a mile before
DePeyster rode up to Col. Shelby and enquired "which way was that
they were going," to which the Col. replied, that they were going up
into their native element, the mountains. When DePeyster cried out,
"you smell a rat," Shelby replied that they knew all about it. It
commenced raining just after daylight, and was I believe, the wettest
day I have even seen since ; so heavy was the rain that many parts
of the valley became waist deep. The Americans continued their
march until two o'clock that night, although it was dark as pitch, and
the road could be seen by the continued flashes of lightning, when
they came to the Catawba River which they supposed to be rising
very fast from the quantity of rain that had fallen. The prisoners
were forced into the water in a column of six: deep as they usually
marched, and ordered to hold fast to each other as the current was
very strong. Our march that day and night was 36 miles and the
river next morning had risen 10 feet. This escape excited feelings of
the deepest gratitude in the breasts of the Americans, after they had
reached a place of safety. It was a well known fact to all men who
lived in that day, that the execution of these nine prisoners, put a
stop to the hanging of any more American citizens at Camden and
Ninety-six, where several hundred persons had been previously
executed at those two places, purely for their attachment to the
Ajnerican cause. The prisoners taken at King's Mountain were given
up by the Mountaineers to the militia assembled at Moravian Town
to receive them, and afterwards marched to Salisbury where they
were crowded into the jail and other houses prepared to receive
them.
]S[o account with any pretensions, either to accuracy or
consecutiveness, has ever been given of the relation of Shelby,
Sevier and the western leaders, to the cause of the Revolu-tion
subsequent to the Battle of King's Mountain, The his-tories
teem with inaccuracies and inexplicable confusions of
38 THE NORTH CAROLINA BOOKLET
names and dates. The recent discovery of letters and docu-ments,
bearing on this period, make it possible for me to give
for the first time, I believe, a reliable and consistent account
of the role played by Shelby and some of the other frontier
leaders in the closing years of the Revolution.
There is an interesting revelation of vanity in Shelby's
Autobiography,, in which he claims the credit, usually
ascribed to General Nathaniel Greene, for the plan of cam-paign
which eventuated in Morgan's defeat of Tarleton.
This passage gives us an account also of Shelby's movements,
following the delivery of the prisoners taken at King's Moun-tain
to the authorities at Salem:
When the British had gotten possession of the posts of Ninety Six
and Augusta, they had an open communication with the Southern
Indians, and furnished them with arms and ammunition by which
means the Cherokees were enabled to wage a constant war against
the new settlements forming on the western waters of North Caro-lina.
Col. Shelby had long viewed this evil without being able to
devise any means to prevent it. But after the prisoners taken at
King's Mountain were disposed of at Moravian town, he set out from
there to go to Headquarters, to solicit the Commander-in-Chief to
send Gen. Morgan with his light troops into the upper country, to
subdue those two posts. He knew from his own knowledge that
Morgan would be strongly reinforced by the mountain men, and
many others who had left their homes in the upper parts of Georgia
and South Carolina rather than submit to the enemy. He found
headquarters at a place called New Providence on the border of
South Carolina, and under the command of Maj. Gen. Smallwood.
He first communicated the object of his visit to camp to Gen. Morgan
who seemed highly pleased and gratified at the suggestions made to
him, readily entered into his views, saw at once the probable chance
of success and said it was just what he had wanted, a separate
command. He also made these suggestions to Gen. Smallwood, think-ing
he might possibly order Morgan on but although he highly ap-proved
the measure, he would not take upon himself the responsi-bility,
as Gen. Gates would be in himself in a few days, and advised
him to wait his arrival. He waited in camp upwards of a fortnight,
when it was announced that Gen. Gates was near at hand. He set
out next morning with six or eight officers to go to him and meet him
about seven miles from camp vpith the remains of his army col-lected
at Hillsborough. On Gates' arrival at camp he invited Shelby
to dine with him the next day. He was proud to have an oppor-tunity
to make his communications, and went before the usual hour.
ISAAC SHELBY 39
Gen. Gates gave him a cordial reception and invited him in. Col.
Shelby replied that he had some important communications to make
to him, that he had come early for that purpose, and would be glad
if he would afford him an opportunity to do so. Gates pointing to a
log a few rods from his door proposed to sit down on it. Before he
heard all that Shelby had to say, he saw the practicability and
importance of the measure proposed and observed, that if the board
of war of North Carolina then sitting at Charlottstown would aid
him with five hundred militia, he would send Morgan up with his
light corps immediately. Gen. Gates was accordingly on horseback
next morning before sunrise, and as he passed with his guards by
Davidson's marked where Shelby lodged ; he joined him, and they
arrived early at Charlotte. Gates opened the subject to the board
of war—which consisted of Alexander Martin alone (who was then
or shortly after Governor of the State) who very soon saw the
propriety of the measure and requested Shelby to stay until next
morning, and take some communications to the Northern counties of
the State, which was on his way home where the men must be raised,
which he did ; for the counties around Charlotte had been drained to
form the camp at New Providence which then opposed the enemy.
Col. Shelby set out the next morning, from Charlotte, which was
about the 2d or 3d of December, 1780, and met Gen. Green about
three miles from town, going forward to take command of the
Southern army. Shelby had no idea that Tarlton, or any force would
be sent up to oppose Morgan in that distant upper county, he only
contemplated the reduction of the two posts. Ninety Six and Augusta.
And if Gen. Green is entitled to any credit for the defeat of Tarlton
by Morgan, it is merely that he permitted the enterprise to go on
which led to that event, and which had been planned and ordered by
Gen. Gates (on the suggestion of Shelby before he was superseded,
and before Green took the command) Col. Shelby was at a loss to
determine why so much time had elapsed from Green's taking the
command on the 17th of January unless it was owing to the tardi-ness
of the militia orders by the board of war as before stated, to
John Morgan, or to the scarcity of provisions. For he can say of his
own knowledge that there was never more than two days provisions
at any one time while he stayed in the camp near three weeks ; the
country at that time being drained of supplies.
X
The value which was universally set upon the services of
the over-mountain men and their leaders, Shelby and Sevier,
following the overwhelming victory of King's Mountain is
fully attested in documents of the period. The following
40 THE NOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET
letter, taken in conjunction witli the above-quoted passage
from Shelby's Autobiography, is significant
:
Camp New Providence, 23d November, 1780.
Sir : Colo. Shelby have been in camp for some time, waiting to lend
his Aid, should anything go on offensive, but apprehending not much
will be done this winter. And his domestick business call for him,
and he having no command, is now on his way home. I have been
speaking to him to raise about three hundred good rifle men this
winter for the campaign, & join me early in the spring. He says
he would willingly undertake it, provided he had a sanction for it.
How far the Assembly of North Carolina would be disposed to
countenance such a thing I don't know, but I assure you that a
Number of such men would be a valuable Corps when annex'd to the
Light Infantry, which must be made equal if not superior to Tarlton's
Legion before this country can be defended. If you think proper to
countenance a matter of this kind, you'll be kind enough to signify
your approbation to Colo. Shelby and point out the mode.
I have the Honor to be, with much
Esteem, your obedt. servt.
Danl, Morgan.
The Honble. M. Genl. Gates.
The greatest contemporary tribute to the leaders of the
King's Mountain campaign, showing the high estimation in
which their services were held and the need generally felt for
the assistance to the American cause they could render, is
found in the following action taken by the I^Torth Carolina
Assembly at Halifax on February 13, 1781
:
Resolved, That Colonel Isaac Shelby of Sullivan County and John
Sevier, Esqr., of Washington County, be informed by this Resolve
being communicated to them that the General Assembly of this State
are feelingly impressed with the very generous and patriotic ser-vices
rendered by the Inhabitants of the said Counties, to which their
influence had in great degree contributed and earnestly urge that
they would press a continuance of the same active exertion ; that the
State of the Country is such as to call forth the utmost powers im-mediately
in order to preserve its freedom and Independence, and
that we may by the assistance of our friends in Virginia, as they
have occasionally by us, as emergencies induced them, availed of it,
we suggest our wishes that Colonel Arthur Campbell and Colonel
William Preston of Virginia, thro' the Gentlemen mentioned, may be
informed that their spirited conduct heretofore in favor of the
ISAAC SHELBY 41
Southern States affords us the most perfect assurance that they will
make every active and effectual exertion at the present critical
moment in favor of this State.
At this same time, Ex-Governor Richard Caswell, an inti-mate
acquaintance of Isaac Shelby, "defpicted to him the
melancholy circumstances of his own State. The Tories
were in motion all over North Carolina, and their footsteps
were marked with bloody and their path was indicated by the
most desolating devastations. Governor Caswell conjured
him to turn to the relief of his distressed country."^® The
Continental Congress, through their laudatory resolution of
l^ovember 15, 1Y80, and the general officers of the American
army, including Gates, Greene and Morgan, having ascer-tained
the military value of the fighting frontiersmen, the
inevitable result was that General Greene, on January 30,
1781, wrote to "the famous Colonel William Campbell," re-minding
him of the glory he had already acquired, and urging
him '^to bring, without loss of time, a thousand good volun-teers
from over the mountains."^''^ The difficulties which the
frontiersmen were experiencing with the Indians at this
period, in a succession of campaigns, put out of the question
the sending of any large force to assist Greene in his ISTorth
Carolina campaign. 'No sooner had Sevier returned from
the King's Mountain campaign than he was called upon to
lead three hundred horsemen from Watauga, in conjunction
with three hundred from Sullivan County, and one hundred
from Washington County, Virginia—the whole under the
command of Colonel Arthur Campbell, County-Lieutenant of
Washington County, against the Cherokees. Upon the return
of Colonel Campbell from this expedition, which was en-tirely
successful, the first of January, 1781, he immediately
communicated with General ^Nathaniel Greene, the Com-mander
of the Southern Department, who accordingly, on
February 6, 1781, appointed Arthur Campbell, William
''^Haywood : Civil and Political History of Tennessee. In slavishly following
Haywood, Ramsey (p. 251) falls into the error of stating that Caswell, instead
of Abner Nash, was Governor of North Carolina in 1781.
^"Draper : King's Mountain and its Heroes, 391 ; Summers : South West Vir-ginia,
327-360 passim.
42 THE NORTH CAEOLIJSTA BOOKLET
Preston, William Christian and Joseph Martin, of Virginia,
and Robert Lanier, Evan Shelby, Joseph Williams and John
Sevier, of JSTorth Carolina, commissioners to meet commis-sioners
from the Cherokees to treat on the subject of bound-aries,
to arrange for an exchange of prisoners and terms
of peace, and to invite the Indians to appoint a commission
to visit Congress.*^
The treaty was set for March 24, 1781, at the Long Island
of Holston River. On that day Colonels Campbell, Martin,
Shelby and Sevier assembled there, and sent off one of the
Indians captured in the recent campaign to the Indian nation
proposing peace and fixing June 10th following as the date
for the conference. The date was again postponed until July
20, 1T81.^^ Continued depredations by the hostile Indians
earlier in the year seriously hampered the Tennessee and Vir-ginia
borderers at this time; and Col. John Sevier, suspect-ing
that "the perpetrators of this mischief came from some
hostile towns in the mountain gorges," had resolved to lead
an expedition against them.
In March of this year Colonels John Sevier and Isaac Shelby un-dertook
an expedition against the Chickamauga Indians, and to assist
in this undertaking 200 of the militia of Washington county joined
Colonel Isaac Shelby and marched to the Big Island in the French
Broad River, vi^here the troops were rendezvoused, from which point
they marched for the sources of the Mobile River, and after the third
day they crossed the Tennessee river at Scitico, at which point they
held a council with the friendly Indians. On the 6th day they en-camped
on the Hiawassee river, and on the 7th day they crossed the
river and passed into the territory of the hostile Indians, Colonel
Sevier with his forces, marched immediately against Vann's Towns,
which he reduced to ashes, and thence to Bull Town, at the head of
Chickamogga Creek. After the destruction of this town they marched
to the Coosa river, where they killed a white man by the name of
Clements from whom it was ascertained that he was a sergeant in
the British army, and it was believed that he instigated the Indians
in their depredations against the frontiers. The army then pro-ceeded
to Spring Frog Town, thence up the Coosa river to Estanola
and Indian Town which they destroyed. After thus destroying the
^Weeks : General Joseph Martin and the War of the Revolution in the West,
429-433; Haywood: Civil and Political History of Tennessee (1823) ; Summers:
Southwest Virginia, 348.
^^Calendar Virginia State Papers, ii, 199.
ISAAC SHELBY 43
Indian towns and killing all the Indian Warriors they could find, the
troops returned to Ghote, where a council was held with the friendly
Indians, at the conclusion of which the troops were disbanded and
returned to their homes.^
Although neither Shelby nor Sevier could lead a force of
mountain men to the relief of Grreene, Captain Charles Rob-ertson
raised a company of about one hundred and fifty volun-teers
and took a creditable part in the battle of Guilford
Courthouse on March 15, 1781.^^ With equal patriotism,
Colonel William Campbell raised a company of one hundred
men of the militia of Washington County, and on February
25, 1781, set out to join the militia of Botetourt and Mont-gomery
counties, on their march to join General Greene's
army. "A large number would have gone," says Arthur Camp-bell
in a letter to Governor Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, of
date February 28, 1781, "were it not for the daily apprehen-sion
of attacks from the northward and southern Indians."
About March 3, Colonel Campbell with sixty followers in his
immediate command, effected a junction with Greene's army
;
but the total number of the combined forces of William Camp-bell
and William Preston, who reached Greene about the
same time, was upwards of four hundred. ^^ These forces
fought with staunchness and bravery at Guilford Courthouse,
fully justifying Greene's description of the "back country
people" as "bold and daring in their make."^^
XI
Following the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Greene de^
voted his attention to reducing the British posts in South
^This account is taken from Summer : Southwest Virginia, 360-1. Cf. also
Ramsey : Tennessee, 268-9 ; Weeks : Joseph Martin, 432. In his Autobiography,
Shelby makes no mention of having taken part in this expedition.
^iRamsey : Annals of Tennessee, 251 ; cf. monograph. Major Charles Robert-son,
and Some of His Descendants, by Mrs. Charles Fairfax Henley. Cf. also
Schenck's North Carolina, 1780-1, 302.
^^Calendar of Virginia State Papers, 542 ; Johnson's Greene, i. 455. Draper is
in error in giving the citation to Johnson, i, 438, in support of the statement
that there were "four hundred mountaineers" under Campbell ; the allusion is
to the "400 regulars, under Colonel Richard Campbell," who had been organ-ized
and despatched to Greene's relief by the Baron Steuben. (Schenck's North
Carolina: 1780-81, 272.)
^Cf. Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee, 251-2, for comments upon the probable
results of that battle, had Shelby and Sevier led the over-mountain men to
Greene's assistance.
44 THE NOETH CAEOLIJSTA BOOKLET
Carolina and Georgia. After the fall of Augusta, on June
25, only Ninety-six remained in British hands ; but Greene
was foiled in his attack upon that post on June 18 and 19.
From the "Camp at Bush River, in the District of !N"inety-six,
June 22, 1781," Greene once more appealed for aid to the
Watauga riflemen in a letter to Isaac Shelby, hitherto unpub-lished.
In this important letter he says
:
We have been upon the eve of reducing all the enemies interior
posts in South Carolina and Georgia. Ninety-Six vs^as the last and
four days more would have completed its reduction, when, unfor-tunately,
we were compelled to raise the siege, the enemy having
been reinforced at Charlestovpn. Lord Rawdon marched out in
force and is now in our neighborhood. To secure the advantages of
our past success it is necessary we should drive the enemy into the
lower country. To enable us to effect this I beg you to march to our
assistance a thousand good riflemen, well armed and equipped fit for
action. If you can join us in a few days with such a force you will
render an important service to the public in general, to the State of
South Carolina in particular, and lay me under very particular obli-gations.
I feel myself deeply interested in this application.
At the time when this letter reached Shelby, the military
leaders of Virginia and Tennessee were busily concerned in
the negotiations for peace with the Cherokees. Isaac Shelby
attended the treaty at the Long Island of Holston from July
20 to July 29, 1781. The despatches from the Commissioners
to General Greene^, reporting the results of this treaty, were
entrusted to Shelby for delivery, as it was known that he had
promised General Greene to raise a force and march to his
aid. The following letter, hitherto unpublished in any his-tory,
exhibits in detail the efforts made by Shelby and Sevier
to raise and to march a force to cooperate with Greene.
Camp on Wattauga Washington Covmty
North Carolina 3d August 1781.
HoND. Sir : In answer to your request of the 22d June last I rote
you by the Express, that I should March by the 15th July with what
force cou'd be rais'd in this quarter, but the Cherokee Treaty not
being over found it impracticable to draw any force from here untUl
that important Business (to this frontier) was finally ratified, which
was done the 29th July, and immediately every step taken to rein-
ISAAC SHELBY 45
force you ; about 700 good riflemen well mounted were now in motion
toward you & should Mve been down in as short a time as possible
but an Express arrived in camp last night from General Pickens that
informed us of the Enemys retreat to Orangeburg and perhaps to
Charles Town, that distance being so very great for us, the warm
season of the year & the men not prepared for so long a Tower, had
induced Col. Severe of this county and myself from proceeding on
our march, until one hear farther accounts from that quarter tho the
men are ordered to hold themselves in readiness to march on the
shortest notice, and as our country is now in a state of peace and
tranquility, have no doubt but we can furnish you with a large pro-portion
of good men from here whenever you may find necessary to
require us.
I have the honour to be with, respect
Your Mo. Obt. Hvunble Servt.
Endorsed
:
Isaac Shelby.^
From Colo. Shelby
Augt. .3d., 1781.
After Shelby and Sevier concluded not to march, Shelby
returned the despatches for Greene, mentioned above, to the
Commissioners who had negotiated the treaty with the Cliero-kees.^^
Greene had been greatly depressed by the failure of
Shelby and Sevier to march their seven hundred riflemen to
his assistance; and throughout July he was frequently heard
to exclaim: ''What can detain Shelby and Sevier ?"^*^ Writ-ing
to Colonel Lee from Camden on August 25, Greene de-spondently
says : "We are thus far on our way to join Colonel
Henderson, but the tardiness with which everybody moves
who was expected to join us, almost makes me repent that I
have put the troops in motion. ISTear two hundred of the
JSTorth Carolina Regulars, who ought to have been here four
days past, are not likely to be here for four or five to come.
Colonel Shelby, I believe, had gone back, if he ever set out,
which I much doubt. General Pickens had not been heard of,
and I fear will not have it in his power to bring any con-
"Original MS. letter owned by Arthur M. Rutledge, of Louisville, Kentucky.
Draper is in error in stating that Greene's letter to Shelby miscarried. {King's
Mountain and its Heroes, 413) Johnson erroneously cites Sevier as the author of
Shelby's letter above (Greene, ii, 210).
^Shelby's Autohiograpliy . The details of the treaty, it seems, have never been
published. G. W. Greene clearly is in error in giving the date of Shelby's letter
to Greene as August 6 (Life of Nathaniel Oreene, iii, 374n). Of. also Johnson:
Greene, ii, 184-5.
^•Johnson's Greene, ii, 210.
46 THE SrOKTH CAEOLINA BOOKLET
siderable reinforcements ; nor do I expect Lieutenant-Colonel
Henderson will be able to do much more. Tbe State troops
I am told (are) all getting sickly, as is the ISTorth Carolina
Regulars. Not more than one-half the militia from North
Carolina are arrived, and the whole that are here don't exceed
four hundred. You know I never despair, nor shrink at diffi-culties,
but our prospects are not flattering.
"^'^
Greene continued to rely upon receiving reinforcements
from Watauga; and after his victory at Eutaw Springs, he
despatched to Shelby the following letter, which was to have
momentous consequences. This letter was not received by
Shelby before the last of September or first of October, as it
"came through Virginia, was found in Henry County by a
neighbor, and brought out at his leisure."
Head Quarters,
High Hills of Santee
Sept. 16, 1781.
Dear Sib :
I have the pleasure to inform you that we had an action with the
British Army on the 8th in which we were victorious. We took
500 prisoners and killed and wounded a much greater number. We
also took near 1000 stand of arms, and have driven the enemy near
to the gates of Charleston. I have also the pleasure to inform you
that, a large French fleet of nearly thirty sail of the line, has
arrived in the Chessepeak bay, vnth a considerable number of land
forces ; all of which are to be employed against Lord Cornwallis, who
it is suspected will endeavor to make good his retreat through North
Carolina to Charleston. To prevent which I beg you to bring out as
many riflemen as you can, and as soon as possible. You will march
them to Charlotte, and inform me the moment you set out, and of
your arrival.
If we can intercept his lordship it will put a finishing stroke to
the war in the Southern states.
Should I get any intelligence which may change the face of mat-ters
I will advise you. I am with esteem and regard, your most
obedient & humble Servant, Nath. Geeen.
Col. Shelby, back parts of North Carolina.^
B7H. Lee: Campaign of 1781 in the Carolinas (1824), 455-6.
^SLetter of Isaac Shelby to C. S. Todd, June 28, 1822. This letter was first
given publicity by Shelby in his Memoir because of the unwarranted charge
brought by Judge Johnson in his biography of Greene (ii, 258) against Sevier
and Shelby for having "deserted" Greene.
ISAAC SHELBY 4T
Upon the receipt of this letter^ Shelby immediately com-municated
its contents by express to Sevier, who lived fifty
miles away, and proposed a rendezvous of their men early in
October. In making the enlistments, Shelby assured the
volunteers that they should not be absent from their families
for more than sixty days.
I made great exertions, and collected the men in a few days there-after,
many of them had not received more than 24 hours notice and
lived more than 100 miles from the place of rendezvous—but were
willing to go as the call was made for a special purpose—to wit,
to intercept Lord Comwallis who it was suspected would endeavor to
make good his retreat through N. Carolina to Charleston and Gen.
Green thought and so did I that if we could intercept him, it would
put an end to the war in the S. states. To effect this important
object, the people on the western waters were induced to volunteer
their services—it was for this purpose that they were prevailed upon
to leave their homes 500 miles from the scene of operations to defend
a Maritime district of country surrounded with a dense population
and in comparative quiet, while their own firesides were daily
menaced by the Chicamauga Indians, who as you know had declared
perpetual war against the whites and could never be induced to
make peace. I was far advanced on my road when I received vague
information of the surrender of Cornwallis in Virginia and hesitated
whether to proceed. But as the men appeared to be willing to serve
out a tour of duty which at the time of their entering the service I
repeatedly assured them should not exceed 60 days absence from
their homes, I proceeded on more leisurely to Green, who observed to
me that such a body of horse could not remain in the vicinity of his
camp on account of the scarcity of forage and requested me to serve
out the tour with Marion, to which I consented, however, with some
reluctance as the men would be drawn 70 or 80 miles further from
their homes.^®
Shelby quickly raised upwards of five hundred mounted
riflemen; and Sevier with equal despatch raised two hun-dred
mounted riflemen in Washington County. These two
bodies, totalling some seven hundred, joined Marion at his
camp on the Santee. The hint was given to Marion that ''if
he would keep them he must keep them busy."^^
It was with considerable reluctance that Shelby and Sevier
^^Shelby's Autobiography.
^'Greene Mss., cited in Greene's Greene, iii, 419.
48 THE NORTH CAKOLHSTA BOOKLET
consented to being attached to Marion's command. "Their
men were called out upon a pressing emergency which no
longer existed. They had been, moreover, enrolled only
sixty days. Much of that time had already expired, and the
contemplated service under Marion would take them still
further from their distant homes. Besides Shelby was a
member of the General Assembly of ISTorth Carolina, from
Sullivan County, and its session at Salem took place early in
December."®-*^
Almost at once they were engaged in very active service.
The account of the ensuing events is contained in Shelby's
Autobiography, here reproduced as written
:
The enemies main Southern army, it was said, lay at that time
near a place called Fergusson's Swamp on the great road bearing di-rectly
to Charleston. Gen'l Marion received information several
weaks after our arrival at his camp that several hundred Hessians
at a British Post near Monk's Corner, eight or ten miles below the
enemies main army were in a state of mutiny, and would surrender
the post to any considerable American force that might appear before
it; and consulted his principal officers on the propriety of surprising
it, which was soon determined on, and Shelby and Sevier solicited a
command in it. Marion accordingly moved down eight or ten miles,
and crossed over to the South side of the Santee River, from whence
he made a detachment of five or six hundred men to surprise the
post, the command of which was given to Colonel Mayhem. The
detachment consisted of Shelby's mounted riflemen with Mayhem's
Dragoons, about one hundred and eighty, and about twenty or thirty
lowland mounted militia, the command of the whole was given to
Colonel Mayhem. They took up their march early in the morning,
and traveled fast through the woods until late in the evening of the
second day, when they struck the great road leading to Charleston,
about two miles below the enemy's post, which they intended to sur-prise.
They lay upon their arms all night across the road with a
design to intercept the Hessians in case the enemy had got notice of
our approach and had ordered them down to Charleston before morn-ing.
In the course of the night which was as dark as pitch an
orderly Sergeant rode into the line amongst us, and was taken
prisoner. No material papers were found upon him before he made
his escape except a pocket book which contained the strength of the
enemy's main army and their number then on the sick list, which was
very great.
•iRamsey : Annals of Tennessee^ 254.
ISAAC SHELBY 49
As soon as daylight appeared, we advanced to the British Post, and
arrived there before sunrise. Col. Mayhem sent in one of his confi-dential
officers with peremptory demand for a surrender of the gar-rison,
who in a few minutes returned and reported that the officer
commanding was determined to defend the post to the last extremity.
Col. Shelby then proposed that he would go in himself and make
another effort to obtain a surrender, which Mayhem readily con-sented
to. Upon his approach he discovered a gap in the Abbaties,^
through which he rode up close to the building, when an officer opened
one leaf of a long folding door. Col. Shelby addressed him in these
words, "Will you be so mad as to suffer us to storm your works, if
you do rest assured that every soul of you will be put to the sword,
for there was several hundred men at hand that would soon be in
with their tomahawks upon them" ; he then inquired if they had any
artillery. Shelby replied, "that they had guns that would blow them
to pieces in a minute." Upon which the officer replied, "I suppose I
must give up." Mayhem seeing the door thrown wide open, and
Shelby ascend the high steps to the door, immediately advanced with
his dragoons, and formed on the right. It was not until this moment
we discovered another strong British Fort that stood five or six hun-dred
yards to the East, and this is the first knowledge we had of
that post, the garrison of which immediately marched out, about one
hundred infantry and forty or fifty cavali*y came around the North
Angle of the fort all apparently with a design to attack us ; they
however soon halted as we stood firm and prepared to meet them.
We took a hundred and fifty prisoners, all of them able to have fought
from the windows of the house, or from behind Abbaties. Ninety
of them were able to stand a march to Marion's camp that day which
was near sixty miles ; and we paroled the remainder most of whom
appeared to have been sick, and unable to stand so hard a march.
Information soon reached Marion's camp that the post had been
burnt down immediately on our leaving it; but it was always the
opinion of Col. Shelby that the enemy had abandoned it, and burnt
it themselves, for Mayhem and Shelby were the two last men that
left the place, and at that time there was not the least sign of fire or
smoke about it. This it is most probable they would do, as they had
previously destroyed, and burned down almost every building in that
part of the country. This post was an immense brick building, calcu-lated
to hold a thousand men, and said to have been built by Sir
John GoUitin a century before that period as well for defense as
comfort ; and was well enclosed by a strong abbaties. In it were
found, besides the prisoners three or four hundred stand of arms,
and as many new blankets. The American detachment left this post
between nine and ten o'clock of the same day, and arrived at Marion's
camp the night following at three o'clock. Gen. Stewart who com-manded
the Enemy's main army, eight or ten miles above made great
4
50 THE NORTH CAKOLHSTA BOOKLET
efforts to intercept us on our return. And it was announced to
Marion before sunrise next morning tliat the whole British army was
in the old field about three miles off at the outer end of the cause-way
that led into his camp. Shelby was immediately ordered out
with the mountain men to meet him at the edge of the swamp, 'to
attack the enemy if he attempted to advance and retreat at his own
discretion, to where Marion would have his whole force drawn up to
sustain him at an old field. Shortly after his arrival at the edge
of the open plain, he observed two British officers ride up to a house
equidistant between the lines, after they retired he rode to the
house to know what inquiries they had made ; a man told him that
they had asked him when the Americans detaclmaent had got in, what
was their force, and of what troops it was composed ; he replied that
the detachment had come in just before day, that he had supposed
as they went out they were six or eight hundred strong ; and were
composed chiefly of Shelby's and Sevier's mounted men, with May-hem's
Dragoons. The enemy then being in the edge of the woods,
silently withdrew out of sight, and retreated back in the utmost
disorder and confusion. A small party sent out to reconnoiter the
enemy, reported that many of them had thrown away their knai)-
sacks, guns and canteens. A few days afterwards Gen'l. Marion re-ceived
intelligence that the British commander had retreated with
his whole force to Charleston. Marion's sole design in moving from
the camp when the mountain men first joined him, and crossing the
Santee River below, was to get within striking distance of the be-fore
mentioned post, to make the said detachment, and be able to
protect and support them on their retreat if hard pushed by the
enemy. After this the enemy kept so within their lines that little or
no blood was spilt, and all active movements appearing to be at an
end, Shelby made application to Gen'l Marion for leave of absence to
go to the Assembly of North Carolina, of which he was a member,
and which was to meet about that time at Salem, and where he had
private business of his own of the first importance. The mountain
men had then but a day or two to stay, to complete their tour of
duty, of sixty days, and he verily believes that they did serve it out,
as he never heard to the contrary.*^
"^In a conversation with C. S. Todd, May 16, 1826, Shelby said concerning the
affair at Monk's Corner :
"When we arrived on parade with the detachment against the British post
near Monk's Corner, I did not know who was to command but I expected I was
—
as I had been informed that Marion was only a Lt.-Col. When I understood the
command had been assigned to Marion I made objections and refused to march,
as I was the superior officer. The detachment stood still until Marion himself
came from a distance of one-half mile who entreated me in the most friendly
language to yield to the arrangement he had made. That Marion was well
acquainted with the country through which we were to pass and with the
immediate neighborhood of the post we were to attack. I submitted to his
request because I was to stay but a short time in camp and I thought Marion to
be much of a gentleman and so he treated me. Indeed, throughout the expedi-tion
he gave me no orders but consulted me on all occasions. These mountain-eers
were poor men who lived by keeping stock in the range beyond the moun-tains,
they were volunteers and neither expected nor received any compensation
ISAAC SHELBY 51
XII
On I^ovember 25, having virtually filled out their term of
enlistment, the mountaineers set off homeward in a deep
snow. About ISTovember 28th, Shelby applied to Marion for
leave of absence to attend the session of the Assembly of
IsTorth Carolina, which was to meet at the Moravian Town
(Salem). Shelby had been elected a member of the legis-lature
from Sullivan County and was charged with a "Memo-rial
to be laid before that body in relation to a subject of
deep importance." According to Shelby's own statement,
General Marion "readily gTanted my request and addressed
a letter by me to General Green which I was permitted to see
directed to him at the High Hills of Santee where he ex-pected
General Green was still encamped. In this letter I
have a distinct recollection that he spoke in the highest terms
of the conduct of the mountaineers and gave me my full share
of the credit for the capture of the British Post."^^
Shelby attended the JSTorth Carolina Assembly at Salem in
December, 1781, which adjourned without action. On re-turning
to Holston, as stated by Draper, Shelby "was engaged
during the spring in preparing for an expedition against the
Chickamauga band of Cherokees, and the hostile Creeks at
the sources of the Mobile^ in which enterprise he was to have
been joined by two hundred men from Washington County,
Virginia; but on account of the poverty of that State, the
authorities discouraged the scheme, and reaching Big Creek,
thirty miles below Long Island of Holston, the expedition was
relinquished."^^ Having again been elected a member of the
North Carolina Assembly, Shelby attended the session at
"^Shelby's statements effectually dispose of Judge Johnson's malicious charges
(Greene, ii, 258j5f), repeated by G. W. Greene (Greene, iii, 419). The whole
matter has been thoroughly traversed by Ramsey in his Aniials of Tennessee
(1853 edn.) 253-261if.
"^In this connection, cf. N. C. State Records, xvi, 696-7-8, for plans for the
expedition.
except liquidated certificates worth 2S. in the pound. Gen. Greene had no right
nor ought to have expected to command their services. For myself for the whole
services of 1780 and 1781 both in camp and in the assembly I received a liquida-tion
certificate which my agent in that county after my removal to Kentucky
sold for six yards of Middling Broadcloth and I gave one coat of it to the person
who brought it out to me—indeed I was proud of receiving that."
52 THE ISrOETH CAROLINA BOOKLET
Hillsborougli in April^ 1Y82.^^ At tMs session he took an
active part in the proceedings, and was engaged busily on
important committees. At this session was passed the liberal
"Act for the relief of the Officers and Soldiers in the Conti-nental
line, etc./' rewarding the revolutionary soldiers for
their patriotic services—to every soldier who should continue
in the ranks until the end of the war 640 acres of land; to
every officer a larger quantity according to his rank, a colonel
receiving Y,200 and a brigadier 12,000 acres ; and to G^eneral
Greene 25,000 acres. Section VIII of this act reads as fol-lows:
And he it further enacted, That Absalom Tatom, Isaac Shelby, and
Anthony Bledsoe, Esquires, or any two of them, are appointed com-missioners
in behalf of the State, to examine and superintend the
laying off the land in one or more tracts allotted to the officers and
soldiers, and they shall be accompanied by one or more agents, whom
the officers may appoint, to assist in the business ; and in case any
commissioner so appointed shall die, or refuse to act his Excellency
the Governor shall fill up the vacancy."
Full instructions were given the commissioners by Governor
Alexander Martin, ^''^ and, accompanied by a guard of one
hundred men, they arrived at I^ashborough and the Cumber-land
in January, 1783. Under the provisions of the act
above, the commissioners were instructed to settle the pre-emption
claims of those who had settled on the Cumberland
River prior to June 1, 1780. Under conditions of grave
danger from the Indians, who killed various members of the
Cumberland settlements, including one of their own party,
the commissioners satisfactorily concluded their task in the
early spring of 1783.^^ Their visit marks the beginning of
prosperity and moderate security from the Indians, for the
exposed settlements along the Cumberland.
6SCf. N. C. State Records, xvi, 68, 101, 109, 128, passim. For a long and
laborious, yet Imperfect sketch of Isaac Shelby, compare National Portrait Gal-lery,
i (1834). This sketch, by his son-in-law, Charles Stewart Todd, once
Minister to Russia, is reproduced, with a number of alterations, in G. W. Grif-fin's
Memoir of Col. Chas. S. Todd (1873), 157-174.
^State Records of N. C, xxiv, 421.
^N. C. State Records, xvi, 713 ; Martin to the Commissioners.
"sputnam : History of Middle Tennessee, 162-3, 172, 177, contains a descrip-tion
of the work of the commissioners.
ISAAC SHELBY 53
On January 13, 1783, Isaac Shelby, Joseph Martin, and
John Donelson were appointed commissioners on behalf of
the State of Virginia to treat with the Cherokees, Creeks and
Chickasaws fo