Kings Pinnacle

by Robert Gourley

  * * * *

  Major Ferguson

  The Loyalists, under the command of Major Ferguson, were on the march toward Charlotte early the next morning. They had been rousted out by their officers, had hurriedly packed their gear and baggage and were already on the trail. They had gone only a few miles when one of their scouts appeared on the horizon and rode back to meet them.

  “Sir, the trail narrows into the trees ahead of us, and someone has felled a number of trees into an interlocking grid that covers the road. The men would have to climb over the downed trees, and I don’t know how the baggage train will get over it,” reported the scout.

  “How difficult will it be to clear the trail?” asked Major Ferguson.

  “We could do it with axes, but it will take a while,” replied the scout after which Major Ferguson turned to Captain DePeyster.

  “I want you to take a detachment of men with axes and go ahead of us to clear the trail,” ordered the major.

  “Yes, Sir, I’ll get to it immediately,” said the captain.

  “We will rest the men here until the trail is clear. Send back a messenger as soon as you have the trail clear so that we can proceed.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Captain DePeyster, who pulled his reins around to begin the task of rounding up some men and axes.

  * * * *

  Alex

  “That’ll slow ‘em down a wee bit,” said Hugh as he watched the Loyalists scouts arrive at his hastily constructed abatis made of interlocked tree trunks lying across the trail.

  Hugh and all of Alex’s men had worked during the night, felling trees that grew close beside the trail so that they formed an interlocking grid that could not easily be crossed by men, horses, or wagons. The technique that they used was to hack down trees so that the tops fell toward the approaching enemy diagonally across the trail. First one tree on the right side of the road was taken down and then the second tree on the opposite side of the trail was hacked down. The men alternated cutting down trees from both sides of the trail that fell diagonally on one side and then the other until they had created a large interlocked grid, forming a giant obstacle on the trail.

  They knew that it would take the Loyalists a lot of time and effort to clear the trail. Because of the interlocking pattern, it couldn’t be cleared by attaching a rope to a tree and pulling it off the trail. The Loyalists couldn’t navigate around it because the trees were too dense on both sides of the trail. If the Loyalists decided to turn around and find another trail, it would set them back even more. The only thing that the Loyalists could do was to chop the trees away with axes.

  “We need to send someone to tell the main body that the British are making a run for Charlotte or Fort Ninety-Six. They need to hurry if they want to catch up to them,” said Alex, as he left to find a messenger to send back to inform the main body of Overmountain Men about the new development.

  The abatis did its job and slowed the British, but they eventually cut their way through to continue their march toward Charlotte.

  * * * *

  Major Ferguson

  “How close to Charlotte are we?” asked Major Ferguson.

  “I would estimate that we are about thirty-five miles west of Charlotte right now. We could be there in about ten to twelve hours from now if we push ahead, which I strongly suggest that we do,” replied Captain DePeyster.

  “What do the local people call this area?”

  “I’m not sure what they call the area, but that mountain straight ahead of us is called Kings Mountain.”

  “That mountain looks like a very defensible position. Let’s ride up to the summit and take a look,” said the major.

  Kings Mountain was a sixty-foot-tall mountain located in a heavily forested area on the border between North Carolina and South Carolina. Its steep sides made it difficult to approach directly in a straight line riding from the base to the summit. The easiest trail to the top wound back and forth across the face of the slope.

  The entire summit was shaped like an inverted footprint with a narrow heel print to the southwest and a broader ball of the foot area to the northeast. The southwest portion of the summit was slightly higher than the larger northeast portion of the summit. There was a slight saddle between the heel and the toe of the summit near the arch of the footprint. The highest point on the summit was located near the heel and was called Kings Pinnacle.

  When Major Ferguson and his officers had reached the summit, they dismounted to survey the site.

  “This looks excellent. We can fire down on the rebels from all directions since we will hold the higher ground. On this mountain, we can hold out as long as it takes for reinforcements to arrive. Our progress toward Charlotte has not been without delays and I do not want to get caught by the rebels on the level ground between here and Charlotte. Gentlemen, move our army to this mountain top and deploy the men in strong defensive positions. Here we can hold off the rebels and have clear fields of fire against them if they attack us up here. We will make our stand against them here,” ordered Major Ferguson.

  “Sir, with due respect, I suggest that we continue on to Charlotte, where we will have a much more defensible position in the town. We can combine our troops with General Cornwallis’s troops to create a force vastly superior to the one the rebels have,” said Captain DePeyster.

  “I think that you overestimate the number and fighting ability of the rebels, Captain.”

  “Those Overmountain Men from the west are not like the other rebels here in the east, air.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They are better fighters, and they are hardened to battlefield conditions. They learned fighting techniques from our Cherokee allies. And they have already defeated them.”

  “I don’t think that they are much different from your ordinary backcountry man, and I will not be pissed on by a set of mongrels,” countered Major Ferguson.

  “Sir, I ask you again to proceed on to Charlotte with utmost haste.”

  “You are bordering on insubordination, Captain DePeyster. I suggest that you drop that line of thought and begin thinking about making arrangements for my army to camp here on this mountain. Have my tent pitched near the troop’s tents on the northeast section of the summit, and stock it with wine. Be sure that Sal finds her way there. Also, Captain DePeyster, bring me another courier that I can send to General Cornwallis,” concluded Major Ferguson, who turned to look away from his captain, clearly disgusted by the conversation and Captain DePeyster’s comments.

  “Yes, sir,” replied the duly cowed Captain DePeyster. “Sir, by the by, reports indicate that the Overmountain Men are on our trail, though still a few days behind us, and now their force has grown to be approximately the same size as our force.”

  “Evenly matched in number, eh? Well, we should have no problem with them in an even fight. We are better trained, better supplied, and better commanded. We probably have reinforcements on the way right now also. I want the troops to set up camp as soon as they arrive and then to start work on defensive positions immediately,” said Major Ferguson.

  * * * *

  * * * *

  Alex

  “The British have camped on top of Kings Mountain, to the northeast of the pinnacle, and from the looks of it they are digging in to stay there,” said the Longhunter.

  “We need to make sure that they stay where they are,” said Alex.

  “Round up Robert and Hugh, and then let’s deploy our men so that we have the mountain surrounded. I don’t want any couriers or messengers to break through. I want to hold them here, if we can, until the main body arrives.”

  “Okay, I’ll find Robert and Hugh.”

  Alex deployed his men in a ring around the base of Kings Mountain, with two men placed every hundred yards or so. The men were instructed to make sure that no one passed through the blockade. One man was to be awake at all times. It was unlikely that the Loyalists would send a messenger after dark, but Alex wanted to make sure that they
didn’t. Alex, Robert, and Hugh took turns all day and all night riding a circuit around the base of the mountain, checking on the sentry posts to make sure that the men were awake and supplied with anything they needed.

  The Longhunter and Jonas were true frontiersmen and knew how to move soundlessly through the forest. The Longhunter had lived with the Iroquois for a while and had learned their hunting techniques. The messenger that Major Ferguson finally sent toward Charlotte the next day could be heard coming down the mountain a mile away as he crashed through the brush, riding east. Alex had anticipated more messengers dispatched in that direction. He had placed the Longhunter and Jonas on the northeast side of the mountain for that very reason. The courier didn’t stand a chance against the Longhunter and Jonas. His throat was cut before he reached the first creek.

  “It looks like the British are going to have to fight us without any help,” said the Longhunter, winking at Jonas.

  “I suspect so,” replied Jonas, grinning and wiping the blood off his knife.

  Early that afternoon, an advance party of nine hundred Overmountain Men rode in and dismounted at the base of Kings Mountain. They had ridden flat out all night on horseback and were spoiling for a fight. Their leaders located Alex and consulted with him on the status of the deployment of the Loyalists.

  “Captain Mackenzie, let’s get this over with and rid the country of these vermin,” said Colonel Sevier. “We have the mountain surrounded. All that remains is the cleaning up. The plan is simple. Let’s surround the mountain with patriots and destroy the Loyalists.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Alex. “Let’s have at it.”

  * * * *

  Major Ferguson

  “What the devil is that screaming all about?” asked Major Ferguson.

  He had just emerged from his tent, tucking his shirt into his trousers, after his earlier exertions with Sal and an afternoon nap. Virginia Sal stuck her head out of the tent flap and peered at the major.

  “Sir, it’s the damned yelling boys charging up the mountain at us; this is ominous,” replied Captain Abraham DePeyster, who came running up to the major’s tent.

  “Nonsense,” replied the major. “Deploy the men in our defensive positions around the camp and repel the backwoodsmen.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied the captain, leaving to rally the Loyalists and direct them into their defensive positions.

  The Loyalists were literally taken by surprise, but they did hold the high ground. It was going to be an uphill battle, so to speak, for the Overmountain Men.

  Alex and his men joined the battle with the other Overmountain Men charging up Kings Mountain. The patriots used cover and concealment, firing from behind rocks and trees. When the Overmountain Men got close enough to the summit, Major Ferguson, sitting on his charger in his British uniform with his checkered duster draped over it, would blow his silver whistle and order a bayonet charge to drive the patriots back down the mountain. The patriots did not have bayonets for their rifles and could not resist the charge. The Overmountain Men would then regroup at the base of the mountain and charge back up again.

  “Captain DePeyster, tell the men that they are shooting too high at the rebels because of the downhill angle of the shots. Tell them to lower their aim,” shouted Captain Ferguson.

  “Yes, sir,” the harried captain yelled back. “Sir, we are taking a lot of casualties and the number of wounded men is beginning to overwhelm the medics.”

  “Take a few men off the line to help the medics and round up any other non-combatants including Sal to help them also.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied the captain, who left to accomplish the task.

  The wounded Loyalists were soon lying everywhere. Virginia Sal took charge of a number of them.

  “Move some of the most wounded into Major Ferguson’s tent,” said Virginia Sal to an orderly.

  “Yes ma’am; will do,” replied the orderly.

  The work inside the tent was grisly, and soon Virginia Sal stuck her head out of the tent flap to see if there were any more wounded men to move into the tent.

  The musket ball struck her in the side of her head. Her bright red hair made her an easy target, and she was dead before she hit the ground. Major Ferguson saw her fall but could do nothing about it. Well, so much for Virginia Sal, thought the major.

  * * * *

  Alex

  After an hour of fighting and being constantly driven back, Alex was becoming concerned that the Overmountain Men would lose heart for the fight. They had been making almost no progress in taking the summit and were suffering high casualties. It looked as if the Loyalists’ position on the summit was impregnable.

  Alex asked the Longhunter and Jonas to scout out the Loyalists’ positions on the mountain and give him the layout of their defenses. When the Longhunter and Jonas returned, Alex called a war council of his own men, much like he had seen General Washington do. His council consisted of Alex, Robert, Hugh, the Longhunter, and Jonas.

  “What do the Loyalists’ positions look like up top?” asked Alex.

  “Most of them are formed up into a circular defense around the northeast part of the summit where their tents and camp are located,” said the Longhunter. “But there are several of them stretched out in a long line from their camp all the way across the saddle to the southwest summit across Kings Pinnacle.”

  “They have over one thousand men total on the summit. How many of them are stretched out in that line from the camp to the southwest summit?” asked Alex.

  “I would say no more than maybe two hundred or maybe a few more,” answered the Longhunter and Jonas nodded.

  “How many men do they have at the end of the line at the southwest most point of their line?”

  “No more than twenty or thirty.”

  “Do they have any reinforcements positioned up there anywhere near the Kings Pinnacle?”

  “Not that I saw,” replied the Longhunter. “Jonas, did you see any?”

  Jonas shook his head, indicating that he had not.

  “Do you think we can climb the southwestern most point of the mountain?”

  “It’s pretty steep over there, but it can be done. We might have to fix some ropes in a few places, but it can be done.”

  “Okay, here’s what I want us to do. First, Robert, I want you and Hugh to gather thirty men including you two, the Longhunter, and Jonas. Choose men that are young, spry and our best shots. Meet me, the Longhunter, and Jonas at the base of the mountain at its southwest most point,” said Alex. “We will gather there in ten minutes. Let’s get moving.”

  The Longhunter, Jonas, and Alex trotted out to the southwest base of the mountain to scout the best trail up the mountain. When Robert, Hugh, and the additional men arrived, Alex, the Longhunter and Jonas were waiting for them. They formed up so that Alex could address them.

  “Men, we are going to divide up into five groups with six men in each group. I will head up one group, Robert, Hugh, Alexander Glendenning, and Jonas will head up the other four. First, we are going to climb this side of the mountain. Alexander and Jonas will show us the easiest way up that they have scouted for us. When we get near the top, I want each man to stomp out a level reloading spot just below the top rim. When I give the command, I want one man from each of the five groups to step up to the top rim and lean forward into a firing position. As soon as you assume a firing position, you will pick out a target, zero in, and fire as soon as you can accurately sight a target.”

  “Take your shot, aim low, and remember they don’t have any fortifications on this side of the mountain. If you hit a man in the leg, it will take him out of action. That’s as good as a kill. Don’t worry about firing too low. They will be hunkered down. Remember that a shot that is too low may skip off the ground and may still score a hit. As soon as you fire, scurry back down to reload at your reloading spot. Then the next man in your group will step up to the top and take a shot. Then the number three man and so on. By the time the number six man has ta
ken his shot, the number one man should be reloaded, and then it will be his turn again. We will maintain a steady rate of fire using this rotation system and keep it up as long as it takes to drive them off of their positions on this side of the summit.”

  “I want to kill or disable as many as we can and get them moving back toward their camp on the northeast side. As soon as they start moving in that direction, we will all climb up and herd them in that direction, taking turns firing into their ranks. As soon as we take Kings Pinnacle, we will have the high ground on them and can fire down on them for a change.”

  “I want everyone to load up and close their flintlocks, but do not cock them. We don’t want to let the enemy know in advance that we are coming up this side of the mountain,” concluded Alex.

  The climb was not easy but went off without a hitch. As soon as the men were ready and in position near the top, Alex gave the command and began the musket fire using the rotation system. They kept it up at a steady pace, just as Alex had planned it. The Loyalists fired back, but Alex and his men were firing at them from a position where only their heads were exposed to enemy fire and the patriots suffered no casualties. After several minutes, the steady musket fire by Alex and his men began to take its toll. The Loyalists began retreating toward their camp and possible reinforcements.

  Alex gave the command for all his men to climb up and herd the Loyalists toward their camp. The men followed orders, yelling like the Cherokees as they climbed up and attacked.

  “Let’s keep them moving back toward their camp,” shouted Alex as his men moved forwarded, firing as they went.

  Alex was fighting alongside Robert and Hugh as the three of them led the attack into the Loyalists troops. The men advanced by alternating firing and moving forward, and soon they had taken Kings Pinnacle. They formed a firing line on Kings Pinnacle and, as a result, they had the Loyalists bottled up on the northeast side of the top of Kings Mountain.

  The other patriot troops, who were acting independently, saw what Alex had done and decided to attack in mass also. As the attack of the Overmountain Men gained momentum, the Loyalists soon began to raise white flags in surrender. The patriots were not ready to accept their surrender, and Major Ferguson was not ready to surrender either. Riding on his charger, he drew his sword, hacked off several of the white surrender flags, and attempted to rally his men.