A historic battle described (by one who was there)

I mentioned in an earlier post -- Kings of King Mountain, posted April 9, 2021, -- that pursuing one of Sharon's ancestors had led me to learn about the Battle of King's Mountain, a Revolutionary War battle considered to have been a key victory near the end of the war. 

Of course, I knew nothing about it. But one of Sharon's forebears had apparently been part of it. 

Subsequently I found that yet another branch of the family tree had contributed to the battle, the French branch I've talked about in the last two posts. One of Rene Jacques Husson's great grandchildren, Conrad Hussong, was present at the end of battle. By this point in the family history, a "g" had been added to the name owing to the English not hearing the nasal, French pronunciation of the name correctly. Why the family went along with this change is not explained, but my guess would be that it was written down in some official record and going along with the change proved easier than correcting it.

The Hussong Manuscripts, which I've mentioned in the previous two posts, contains an account of the battle Conrad related to one of his sons, at least according to the manuscript. I present it here, even though it's a bit long. I would point out that Conrad mentions his age in the account, which does not line up with the date of the battle, but he's only off on his age by a year. 

The Battle of King's Mountain was fought in South Carolina on Oct. 7, 1780, not far from the actual mountain, which is across the border in North Carolina. The notes that follow the account are not citations but provide more information not contained in the manuscripts.

"Captain Henry Lyle came riding up while we were at dinner and said, 'All the militia men are to to to Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River by order of Col. Sevier. [1] That brute Ferguson is coming over the mountains to hand the rebels.' [2]

"We fed his black horse, and he had dinner and sat awhile, then went on to tell the story down the river.

"Our captain was Robert Lucas. After he was notified he came up the rive, late in the evening. ...

"Well, we soon got ready to go. Father rode our big sorrel horse, Baldy. [3] I rode our bay horse, Charley. Both horses were fat [sic] and good travelers. I was nearly 15 years old at the time and thought maybe they would not let me go. We started early the next morning, Sept. 22, I think.

"Capt. Robert Lucas and Capt. Godfrey Isbell joined up and there were about 40 when we reached the shoal. Most of them had a half bushel of parched corn and some dried beef, and some soon fed their horses. We were five days. Father went home once to see how they were getting along. If the Cherokees did not come upon them while we were away!!

"From Sycamore Shoals we went to Elizabeth Town, where Shelby and Campbell were with their men. They elected Campbell, General Commander. The mountaineers kept coming to us. Ferguson had hung too many of their friends and burned so many of the homes of the settlers they all wanted a shot at him and his army of cut throats.  

{Conrad then describes their travels into South Carolina, which I have tried to trace on Google Maps, but a couple of his references don't line up with information available on the maps. I'd guess he used local names that may not line up with the maps search info.}

"At a place called Cowpens on the Broad River, we rested for nearly a day, killed some cattle for beef, and fed the horses from a cornfield. The next day, Sept. 25, we met scouts who told us about where Ferguson's army was camped. ... The leaders held a council and decided to shoot his army all to pieces before he knew we were near. [4]

"I (Conrad) was one of twenty detailed to stay behind and take care of the horses. That was bad luck for us, and there was much swearing about it. We tied the horses and followed in about twenty minutes, except a few old and very tired men. Some of the women pointed out the hill on which Ferguson camped. The mountaineers surrounded it and charged up the sides before Ferguson's army knew it. We got there for the last half hour's fighting. Ferguson was killed with seven bullets in him. De Peyster then surrendered the English army. It was awful. There were dead and wounded everywhere. [5]

"... The over mountain men came home as soon as they could with Colonel Sevier, as they were afraid the Cherokees could attack the settlement, kill their families, and burn their homes.

"About 50 of us started back with Capt. Lacy the day after the battle and rode hard ahead of the others. Col. Sevier and the other Watauga men followed us two days later. We heard all about it, but did not see the men hung as that was done after we left." [6]

[1] This is near Elizabethton, then called Elizabeth Town, TN. Col. John Sevier later commanded forces defending settlers from Cherokee attacks and would become the first governor of Tennesee.

[2] Patrick Ferguson was the British commander of American troops loyal to the crown.

[3] This would be Jean Henri Hussong, usually referred to in the Manuscripts as "John Henry."

[4] The given dates would indicate that the militia traveled in the neighborhood of  40 miles a day, depending on the route they took, but I have a hard time reconciling the date with his previous mention of Sept. 22 and the date of the battle. Modern-day Cowpens lies west of the Broad River about 15 miles. His reference to Cowpens may not be to the modern-day town.

[5] De Peyster is Abraham de Peyster, an American loyalist and captain in Ferguson's army. The loyalists suffered more than 1,000 casualties, and almost 700 of the loyalist troops were imprisoned.

[6] Several days after the battle patriot forces held field court martials of the prisoners at the farm of one of the wounded loyalists, convicting 36. Nine men were hanged before the proceeding were halted by one of the patriot officers after women on the farm pleaded for mercy.

From: Hussong, Edward Marston. 1976 (1993 Printing). The Hussong Manuscripts. Compiled by Mary Marie Glascock Brewer. Genealogical Forum of Portland Oregon, Milwaukie, Oregon

Image: Gathering of Overmountain Men at Sycamore Shoals, a black and white reproduction of Lloyd Branson's 1915 depiction of the Patriot militias joining up, from Wikipedia, listed as public domain.