In 1780, the Revolutionary War moved to the Southern states. British authorities believed that many citizens in this region remained loyal to King George III and would rally to fight alongside an invading British force against the Patriot rebels. After Charles Town fell to the British invaders on May 12, General Sir Henry Clinton, commander of the British forces in the American Colonies, ordered his second-in-command, General Lord Charles Cornwallis, to march his army inland through the Carolinas and into Virginia.
Cornwallis’ army began moving northward across South Carolina toward the small community of Charlotte. Major Patrick Ferguson protected Cornwallis’ left flank during the advance. Ferguson was a soldier’s soldier, determined and disciplined
From Gilbert Town, an aggravated Patrick Ferguson sent a message to the elusive Overmountain Men: “If you do not desist your opposition to the British Arms, I shall march this army over the mountains, hang your leaders, and lay waste your country with fire and sword.”
Leaders called for a mustering of militia units from throughout the overmountain region and beyond. They sent express riders north and east calling upon Arthur Campbell and William Campbell to muster Virginians from the Holston Valley. They called for a muster on September 25 at Sycamore Shoals, adjacent to Fort Watauga in today’s Elizabethton, Tennessee.
Colonel William Campbell arrived with 400 Virginians, half from his cousin’s command. These Virginians came on a two-day ride from their muster along Wolf Creek in today’s Abingdon, Virginia.
Growing day by day to some one thousand strong in number, the militiamen prepared to cross the mountains, committed in their pursuit of the man who had threatened to invade their homeland: Major Patrick Ferguson.
This video will tell the rest of the story
For More Information About The Overmountian Men
http://www.historynet.com/the-overmountain-men-battle-for-the-carolinas.htm
http://www.hswcv.org/history.html
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