Kings Pinnacle

by Robert Gourley

  “Captain Mackenzie, I want you and your men to go along on this raid. Colonel Isaac Shelby will be in overall command, and he will give you direct orders. You will muster your men the day after tomorrow in the early morning and leave to go over the mountains at first light. We at Fort Watauga need to do our part to help in our struggle for independence.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Alex.

  Alex left the fort with his orders and soon dispatched riders to round up his men for the raid. Hugh, Robert, the Longhunter, and Jonas Dunne were the first to report. Soon all of Alex’s men turned up, packed for the journey over the mountains.

  “Where’re we headed, Alex?” asked Hugh.

  “We’re going over the Appalachian Mountains to attack a Loyalists camp near Musgrove Mill in South Carolina,” replied Alex.

  “And where’re we headed after that?” asked Hugh.

  “We’ll have to come back over the mountains so that we can get the harvest in,” answered Alex.

  “Over the mountains and then back over the mountains; before long people will be call us the Overmountain Men,” laughed Hugh.

  The trip over the mountains took almost a week, but Fort Watauga soldiers were soon assembled with Colonel Shelby’s men just beyond the ridge that led down the hill to Musgrove Mill and the Enoree River ford.

  “The Loyalists are located just over the ridge, sitting behind fortifications. Does anyone have a suggestion on how we should go about attacking their camp?” asked Colonel Shelby.”

  “I have an idea,” volunteered Alex.

  “What is it, Captain Mackenzie?”

  “Well, the Loyalists are pretty well dug in behind their fortifications, and if we attack them directly, we’ll lose a lot of men and probably not do much damage to them. I suggest that I take my men over the ridge and attack the camp in a frontal assault that they will expect. In the process of attacking them, we will act like we are confused about what we are supposed to be doing. I will have some men go one way and other men go the other way. Men will be bumping into each other and creating all kinds of confusion, with a few fights breaking out among my own men. The enemy will see our small numbers and our confusion and come out from behind their battlements to attack us, thinking that we are easy prey.

  As soon as they begin to come out after us, we will retreat back over the ridge with the Loyalists hot on our heels. We will lead them directly back here to you. Your men will set up a defensive position here so that when the enemy comes chasing after us over the ridge, your men can fire on them from behind our own fortifications.”

  “Excellent idea, Captain Mackenzie; let’s get to work setting up our defensive positions. We don’t need anything fancy; just fallen timber and brush to hide behind and to rest our rifles on so that we can aim properly,” concluded Colonel Shelby.

  The men immediately set about building their fortifications. As soon as the colonel had inspected the fortifications and deemed them ready, he notified Alex that it was time to execute the plan. Alex and his men assembled for the short march over the ridge to attack the Loyalist camp.

  What Alex and Colonel Shelby did not know was that the initial two hundred Loyalists militiamen had been reinforced with another one hundred Loyalists plus two hundred additional provincial regular British Army troops on their way to join Major Ferguson at Fort Ninety-Six. The patriots did not know that they were outnumbered by over two to one. That was probably for the best. Had they known, they might not have moved forward with the plan of attack.

  When Alex’s men advanced over the ridge and began acting like they were confused, it didn’t take long for Alex to realize that they had encountered a much larger force than he had anticipated. It didn’t take much feigned confusion for the enemy to come out of their fortifications and attack them. As the Loyalists attacked them, Alex and his men ran as fast as they could over the ridge, where they jumped over the downed timber and brush to reassemble at the rear and form a reserve force for Colonel Shelby.

  The Loyalists and British regulars saw the battlements as soon as they came over the ridge. Most of them fired their rifles too soon, causing little damage. Colonel Shelby’s men were more disciplined and held their fire until the enemy came well within range. Then they used their rifles to a devastating effect on the British and the British sympathizers. The attackers soon realized that they had superior numbers, so the British regulars formed up for a bayonet charge against Colonel Shelby’s right flank.

  “Captain Mackenzie, I need you to reinforce my right flank. It looks like the enemy’s bayonet charge may break through our lines there,” said Colonel Shelby.

  “We will take care of it,” replied Alex.

  “Men, I want you to remember your training, and especially your marksmanship training, as we attack,” said Alex to his men.

  Alex’s men maneuvered around to the right flank and then attacked the British regulars, yelling Cherokee war cries that they had learned at the siege of Fort Watauga several months earlier. Several of the British regular enemy officers were killed outright and the bayonet charge was stopped. The British regulars and the Loyalists began to flee the battlefield.

  All the patriots behind the battlements saw the devastating effect of the war cries, so they came out of their defensive positions, shrieking war cries of their own. Soon they had all the Loyalists and British regulars on the run. The rest of the battle took only a few minutes, and the patriots killed or captured most of the enemy.

  With their job done for the present, the Overmountain Men, as Hugh had named them, headed back over the mountains.

  * * * *

  Major Ferguson

  “General Cornwallis, welcome to my camp here at Gilbert Town. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” asked Major Ferguson as the newly arrived General Cornwallis walked into his tent with one of his sentries.

  “Major Ferguson, I am on an inspection tour of the southern theater of the campaign against the rebels. General Clinton has given me command of the entire southern theater, and you now report directly to me,” replied His Excellency The Most Honorable General Lord Charles Cornwallis, The Earl Cornwallis.

  “Congratulations on your promotion,” replied the major.

  “What, may I ask, are you doing this far east of Fort Ninety-Six with your army in tow?” asked the general.

  “Some of the rebels killed a number of my men last week at Musgrove Mill, which is in this vicinity, and took control of a ford near there. I am out here chasing them down to punish them.”

  “I see and I wish you luck in your hunting,” replied the general.

  “May I show you around the camp while you are here visiting us?” asked the major.

  “That will not be necessary. I see that you are currently conducting your staff meeting. My time is short here. I must retire to Charlotte immediately. I will stay only until the end of your meeting. Please continue what you were doing before my interruption.”

  “Very well, sir. The captain here was just reporting the results of his patrol looking for the rebels. Please continue, Captain DePeyster.”

  “Major Ferguson, we have captured a number of the rebels from beyond the Appalachian Mountains who took part in the earlier raid at Camden and the recent raid at Musgrove Mill. Most of the rebels have retreated to their valleys and settlements over the mountains, but we captured a few of them before they could get away. I thought you might be interested in interrogating them,” said Captain DePeyster.

  “Bring me one of the more prominent captives,” said the major.

  The captain left and soon returned with a grizzled frontiersman named Samuel Phillips to stand in front of the major. The captain whispered something to Major Ferguson and then sat beside him for the interrogation.

  “I understand from Captain DePeyster that you are related to Colonel Isaac Shelby who resides at a fort of his own making on the frontier,” said Major Ferguson to the captive.

  “That I am, Your Highness. He is my cousin.”

&
nbsp; Major Ferguson ignored the royal title, but his irritation at the smug frontiersman’s sass showed in his demeanor.

  “I am going to pardon you so that you can take a message back over the mountains to your cousin Colonel Shelby and all the rest of the rebels who operate out of the settlements there.”

  “I will be happy to deliver your message, Lieutenant,” replied Samuel Phillips just to tweak the major again by reducing his rank.

  “I am a British Army major, not a lieutenant, you ignorant frontier person,” grunted the clearly angry Major Ferguson.

  After the major gained control of himself, he continued his instructions.

  “However, my message is that if the so called Overmountain Men don’t lay down their arms, I will march my army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword. Please deliver that message as a condition of your pardon.”

  “I will be happy to deliver your message, Your Honor,” replied the grinning Samuel Phillips, trying to further tweak the major.

  “Who may I say the message is from?”

  “You may say that Major Ferguson sends the message and that they should heed it if they value their lives.”

  “That will be all,” continued the major, dismissing the prisoner and his staff officers.

  When the tent was empty, Major Ferguson turned back to speak with General Cornwallis.

  “General is there anything at all that I can do for you?”

  “As you know, I am not in favor of using the Loyalists to fight for us. I think that they are unreliable and hardheaded, ignore orders, and are not capable of being trained,” said General Cornwallis.

  “I am aware of your views, Sir, but I have begun using a silver infantry whistle to allow me more control over a larger number of men, and they seem to be taking to it very well.”

  “I wish you luck, Major Ferguson, but I doubt that the results will be what you expect. I must take my leave now. Goodbye.”

  “Thank you sir, and travel safely,” replied Major Ferguson as the general exited his tent.

  * * * *

  Alex

  “The reason that I called you men all here to the fort is that Colonel Shelby has ridden in from Shelby’s Fort with a message for us. On the way, he stopped at Fort Patrick Henry to collect Colonel Russell and other officers from that area. Colonel Shelby, the floor is yours,” said Colonel Tipton in his office at Fort Watauga.

  “I would rather have my cousin Samuel Phillips tell you the news,” replied Colonel Shelby, pointing to his cousin who stood up and removed his fur cap to address the group.

  “I was raiding with McDowell southeast of here over the mountains after we beat the British at Camden. We got into a tight spot west of Gilbert Town and were outnumbered by Major Ferguson’s forces. I was captured and taken to his camp at Gilbert Town. They roughed me up a little, but soon I was brought before the major himself. He pardoned me and sent me as a messenger to tell you gentlemen that if we don’t lay down our muskets, he is going to march over the mountains with his army and hang all of us and burn our crops and everything else down,” concluded Sam Phillips, who abruptly sat back down and put his fur cap back on his head.

  “Before we decide, I wanted to ask you gentlemen what you think,” said Colonel Tipton, glancing at Alex.

  Alex saw the glance and knew that Colonel Tipton wanted him to speak up, so he stood up. All the men in the room turned their heads to look at him.

  “My thought is that we not stay in our cabins here and wait for this major and his army to show up on our doorstep to attack us like the Cherokee did. We need to take the battle to him. I propose that we raise an army from all of the settlements west of the Appalachians. Then we should travel over the mountains to find this major and his army and attack them before they attack us,” said Alex and sat back down.

  “Here! Here!” shouted the men in the room as they all stood up and cheered.

  “That settles it if no one else has anything to say,” said Colonel Tipton.

  “We will muster here at the Sycamore Shoals two weeks from today with all the men we can find. Someone needs to take a wagon over to the lead mine at Bumpass Cove and pick up all the shot that is available. I also need men to head over to the Pattons’ powder mill to collect all the gunpowder they have on hand. The women need to start cooking trail rations for the trip. Colonel John Sevier will be leading the main body of men from Fort Watauga.”

  “Captain Mackenzie, I want you and your men to leave several days ahead of the main body to scout out the route we will take and to locate this Major Ferguson and his army. He may have moved out of Gilbert Town by now. Now everyone has a lot to do, so let’s get going,” concluded Colonel Tipton.

  The group broke up as men left to take care of the many things that they needed to do to get ready for the trip.

  Alex gathered his brothers, the Longhunter, and Jonas to help him get his men ready for the mission. They were ready to leave a few days before the main body mustered at Sycamore Shoals.

  “Martha, I am going to have to go now,” said Alex as he held her in his arms on the morning of the day when he was leaving.

  “When will you be back?” asked the teary-eyed Martha.

  “It could be a while.”

  “Then I’ll go with you.”

  “You can’t go, Martha. There will be a lot of bloodshed.”

  “You know I can fight as well as any man.”

  “I know that, but someone has to stay here in case this Major Ferguson gets past us and comes over the mountains.”

  “Well, alright. I’ll be here waiting for you when you do come home,” said Martha, and she kissed Alex goodbye.

  Alex and his men marched southeast toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. They marched all day and made their first camp at the base of Roan Mountain, at Shelving Rock. Jonas and the Longhunter marked the trail using trail signs and staked out the area where the main body should camp the first night on the trail.

  The next day they climbed over the Blue Ridge Mountains at Yellow Mountain Gap on their way to hunt down Major Ferguson and his army.

  * * * *

  Major Ferguson

  “I’m getting tired of that damn silver whistle,” grumbled one of the Loyalist troops.

  “Me, too, I like to shove it up…,” said his mate, but the rest of his words were interrupted by a shouted command from Major Ferguson.

  “One long whistle means stop, one short whistle is a signal for you to march to the right,” yelled Major Ferguson. “This is not hard; just pay attention and remember what you are supposed to do.”

  Major Ferguson cut a dashing figure, riding around on his white charger. He wore his red British uniform under the checkered duster he had switched to after his green-clad Ferguson rifle infantry unit had been disbanded. The training of his Loyalists men was interrupted by Captain DePeyster, his second in command, riding up to speak with him.

  “Sir, we have a report from our scouts that there is a large body of rebels headed toward our location.”

  “How many of them are there?”

  “The report indicates that it could be more than one thousand men.”

  “That is a significant number and nearly the size of my own force here. Let’s call it quits for the day. I think it might be wise if we move a little closer to Charlotte so that General Cornwallis can reinforce us if we need it,” said Major Ferguson.

  He then suspended training for the rest of the day and retired to his tent to prepare a report to send to General Cornwallis. Part of the report read:

  “the backwater men have crossed over the mountains, and I am in desperate need of reinforcements”

  “Captain DePeyster, please assign one of the men to carry this message to General Cornwallis in Charlotte and await a reply from him. We will be breaking camp tomorrow morning at first light in order to move our troops to Charlotte to join General Cornwallis,” commanded Major Ferguson.

  “Yes, Sir,” replied th
e captain, who took the dispatch and went looking for a courier.

  Major Ferguson walked back to his tent and a buxom young redhead named Virginia Sal who had been accompanying him on his patrol of the frontier.

  “What seems to be the problem?” asked Virginia Sal as the major walked into their tent and she saw the troubled look on his face.

  “It’s nothing that I can’t handle. We are packing up and leaving to ride to Charlotte in the morning. Now where were we, Ginny?” asked the dashing young major.

  Virginia Sal giggled and then fell into his arms.

  * * * *

  Alex

  “It looks like they are sending a courier riding toward Charlotte,” reported the Longhunter.

  “We need to stop that messenger, but we can’t risk a rifle shot this close to them. They’re bound to hear it and know that we are out here,” replied Alex.

  Alex pulled his longbow off his shoulder and attached the bowstring. He notched an arrow and pulled the arrow back, bending the bow. Controlling his breathing, he took deadly aim on the British courier riding at a trot toward the east. As the courier came into range, Alex released the arrow and let it fly toward the courier. The arc of the arrow was not too high, but the speeding arrow soon found its mark in the neck of the courier, who tumbled off his horse and lay dead on the trail.

  “I ken that wee bow of yours has come in mighty handy from time to time,” said Hugh.

  “I dinna ken I have the patience for one, but I like yer idea of using primitive weapons. The tomahawk is more my style. I think I will get hold of one of them,” continued Hugh.

  “Some of you men chase down his horse and dispose of his body,” ordered Alex and two of his men shot off to accomplish that task.

  Alex and his men had been shadowing Major Ferguson and his army for two days and sending back reports to the main body of Overmountain Men regarding the location and disposition of the Loyalists. He did not have enough men to confront Major Ferguson’s vastly superior numbers, but he hoped he could cut off the major’s communications with Charlotte and delay his retreat long enough for the main body of Overmountain Men to catch up.

  Hugh was seen the next day with a tomahawk tucked into his belt. No one knew where it had found it.