Battle of Rai
I I
sour’s №11
It was a bloody affair, with raw troops par¬
ticipating. and it taught a valuable lc»sson
to the Whigs in tlicdr fight to gain national
independence.
MUCH lias boon written con¬
cerning tbo Revolutionary bat¬
tles fought at Moore's Creek,
and at Guilford Courthouse, but little
consideration lias been given to that
fought between the Whigs and the
Tories at Ramson r’s Mill near Lin-
colnton on June 1780. That the
action was indecisive renders it none
the loss important, as it* results teach
lessons that should be valuable even
at the present hour.
In 1780 the British army was ad¬
vancing in force upon North Caro¬
lina, and the numerous Tories were
everywhere becoming active. In June
1780, a force of these assembled at
Kamsour’s Mill amounting to nearly
thirteen hundred men; and the Whig*,
who wore commanded by General
Griffith Rutherford, resolved to at¬
tack them. With this end in view,
General Rutherford marched his little
army from his camp South of Char¬
lotte to the Tuckaseigee ford over the
Catawba, twelve miles nearer to
Kamsour’s, That same evening he sent
a message to Colonel Locke, of Rowan,
advising him of this movement and
directing Locke to join him im¬
mediately. The bearer of this mes¬
sage was captured, and it therefore
failed to reach Colonel Locke, a fact
which accounts for the erratic move¬
ments which followed — General
Rutherford delaying hie advance, ex¬
pecting Locke's force to join him any
hour.
Locke’s Advance
Meanwhile, Colonel Locke, not hav¬
ing received the message above
referred to, and obeying the order*
which had previously been given to
him, was collecting together all the
troops lie could with the intention of
himself advancing against the Tory
position. Small reinforcements
reached him under Major Wilson and
Major MncDowell. Locke's force now
passed up the Catawba at right angles
to the position held by the Tories,
so as to unite with small detachments
of Whigs who were gathering at the
upper fords. At McKwan’s ford they
were joined by a company under Cap¬
tain Kails, and continued their ad¬
vance up the Last hank of Mountain
Creek until all the Whig forces were
By THOMAS K. IP.AVIS
united in one body. The whole Whig
force now amounted to four hundred
men. That night they camped on
Mountain Creek sixteen miles from
the Tories at Kamsour's Mill. Hero
the officers held a council of war and
were unanimously of opinion that it
would not be safe to remain in their
present position, as they were exposed
to attack by the Tories who, far
superior in numbers, they thought
would advance upon them as soon as
their presence was discovered.
On to Ramsour’s Mill
Notwithstanding the great dis¬
parity in their force, it was
determined to advance to the attack
at Kamsour’s Mill the following morn¬
ing. and Colonel Johnston was sent to
acquaint General Rutherford with
this intention. Late that day the little
force began its march from its posi¬
tion on Mountain Creek, but soon
halted for an hour, so that the officers
could discuss the dispositions to be
made for the impending attack. It
was agreed that the mounted com¬
panies commanded by Captain* Falls,
MaeDowell and Brandon should
march in front and act as cavalry and
that the infantry should follow. No
further plan was agreed upon, as it
was thought best to await develop¬
ments after the troops reached the
scene of action.
The Tories were camped upon the
summit of a long ridge three hundred
yards east of Kamsour’s Mill and
some half a mile north of the present
town of I.iucolntou. The Whigs now
formed for action: the mounted com¬
panies under Captains Falls, Mnc¬
Dowell and Brandon in advance; the
other troops under Colonel Locke be¬
ing arranged along a road, two deep.
Without any other organization this
force now advanced to the attack.
When the advance of the Whig
cavalry came within sight of the Tory
pickets, they saw their approach had
not become known for the pickets
tired once and then lied. The Whig
cavalry pursued, and turning to the
right, out of the road, they came
within thirty steps of the Tory lino
and fired upon them. The Tories were
so confused bv the discovery of the
approach of their enemy they had not
bad the time to form in line of
battle. But when the Tories saw they
were confronted by only a few men,
they quickly recovered from their
alarm and poured in such a destruc¬
tive fire that the Whig cavalry was
forced to boat a hasty retreat. In
doing so they fell into confusion, pass¬
ing through the ranks of Locke's in¬
fantry and disorganizing his line.
Once in the rear, however, most of
the cavalry rallied and returned to
the attack. The infantry now became
anxious to keep near the cavalry for
the benefit of its protection, so that
they became separated into small
bands.
The Battle Rages
Seeing the effect of their fire, the
Tories advanced down the hill and
the action was renewed, with heavy
firing upon both sides. In a short
time the Tories began to retire to their
former position at the top of the hill,
and their lire became so destructive
that the Whigs fell back. At this
critical moment, Captain Harden
came upon the field with a small com¬
pany of Whigs, whom he |>osted be¬
hind a fence, from which position
he kept up a galling fire upon the
right flank of the Tories. They con¬
tinued an oblique advance until they
turned the left flank of the Tories’;
and the Whigs maintaining a heavy
fire in the center, the Tories now be¬
gan to retreat. They found that a
small party of Whigs had gained their
rear. In that quarter the action be¬
came close, and as the musket» had no
bayonets attached to them, fighting
became hand to hand, the men using
their muskets ns clubs.
The Tories now finding the left of
their position ill possession of the
Whigs and their center closely
pressed, retreated down the ridge to¬
ward the road, exposed to the lire
of Captain Harden's company from
behind tho fence. The Whigs pursued
until they gained possession of tho
ridge, when they discovered to their
( Continued on
роде
twcnly-lwo)
9