Ferguson: The Rise And Fall Of King's Mountain

The British General Cornwallis had just recently taken Charlotte and General Ferguson had earlier established his headquarters some fifty-five miles west of the city.1 Due to the increase of British presence in the area, Loyalists from Georgia and North Carolina began to arrive at Fergusons headquarters and increased his numbers to around 1200 men.2 Ferguson was so confident in his forces ability to defeat any back country rebels he felt emboldened enough to provide a warning to the rebels stating, “desist from their opposition to British arms” and if they did not comply he would “march over the mountains, hang their leader, and lay their country waste with fire and sword.”.3 Ferguson’s warning did not have the desired effect of rebels laying down their arms, but the complete opposite. The rebels would begin to amass a …show more content…
The American pursuers led by Colonel Campbell arrived on October 7th and were unable to press the attack on the British until October 8th due to rain.8 General Ferguson now had ample time to establish proper defenses such as trenches or fighting positions, but he did not order his men to do so and this would prove to be a costly decision in the battle to come.9 It is suspected that Ferguson took King’s Mountain’s terrain and tree lines as natural defenses and that they would be more than sufficient in holding back a bunch of backcountry rebels.10 Compared to Fergusons 1200 men the rebels mustered nearly 1800 men, which staged at the base of King’s Mountain preparing for the