Kings Mountain Blog Entry 7 - The Narrative by Wayne Lynch, Houston Texas . February 12, 2012 at 1:19pm Hopefully, historical research should always lead to some type of knowledge or understanding of events. In the prior six entries, this blog dealt with much detail as to what happened to James Williams at Kings Mountain and the weeks prior to his death. I tried to bring my conclusions together into a coherent story which is presented here. If anyone followed the blog from start to finish it may be observed that some ideas and opinions changed as the research deepened. I suppose that is a normal part of human learning. Anyway, here is a narrative of events examined. James Williams at Kings Mountain Col. James Williams was an ardent patriot and had been active in the war for independence since the very beginning. He consistently led the little River Regiment of South Carolina militia which fell under the overall command of Gen. Andrew Williamson of the 96 district. His letters home indicate a very religious man but willing to stretch the truth where necessary in order to get others behind his ideas. Williams was also known as sometimes rash and given to personal confrontations. In battle the colonel showed great personal bravery and was never thought a coward. In May of 1780 Charlestown fell to the British and Cornwallis brought the British Army into various positions around the South Carolina backcountry. Cornwallis tightened his grip in June and began requiring loyalty oaths and paroles from active patriots. They found themselves put to an immediate decision to lay down arms or continue the fight. General Andrew Williamson and Col. Andrew Pickens agreed to stop fighting and gave their parole. The majority of the regiment chose to remain and lay down their arms. However, James Williams, Samuel Hammond, and some others remained loyal to the cause and left the 96 District for North Carolina. At the same time 96 district gave parole, Whigs over in the districts between the Broad and Catawba rivers were having a better time maintaining their troops. The very popular Thomas Sumter had risen in anger over the burning of his plantation by Banastre Tarleton just before massacring Bufords Regiment at the Waxhaws. Sumter already had militia colonels Winn, Hill, Bratton, Lacey and a few others fighting with him. By putting together their own command structure which included electing Thomas Sumter as their General, the new militia army already experienced initial success against Capt. Huck of the British Legion. At that battle Colonels Bratton, Lacey, Hill, and McClure cooperated in some manner to form the rebel command. It appears that both of Col Bratton and Col Lacey claimed credit for the overall command. Col Bratton and his men fought the battle and killed Huck while Lacey and McClure struggled to get into position before things were over. Except for their delay, more of the British and Tories could have been caught. In spite of this error, several accounts indicate Lacey to have commanded at Hucks Defeat so he may have been the senior colonel at the start of the movements. Disputes over command and/or credit for battlefield exploits could be very serious during the Revolutionary War. Even generals in Washingtons army sometimes allowed their petty arguments to become so passionate as to interfere with operations. Marylands General Smallwood once resigned in protest rather than serve in a position subordinate to Baron von Steuben. Anyway, after their dispute, Col. Bratton and Col. Lacey carried a lifetime grudge reported to be so passionate they broke into physical combat every time they met. Even though he personally missed out on the success of Hucks defeat, General Sumter quickly moved his Army into position against Rocky Mount. At this time Col. Williams and a few other stragglers came back from North Carolina to join Sumter and fight the British. On his arrival at the patriot camp, Williams found himself mostly unknown and in an Army already overcrowded with colonels. They did not seem of a mind to share their command. He accepted that his force was too small to form a regiment and signed on for service as Sumters commissary in the next campaign. Sumter moved the Army into position and attacked the British position at Rocky Mount. His militia army had no artillery and were unable to penetrate the fortified walls at that location. After an attempt at burning the British out fell victim to rain, Sumter pulled back and started looking for a new target. He soon set sights on the British camp at Hanging Rock. At that battle Sumter scored a good victory but failed to fully capitalize when his men fell to plundering the British camp rather than continuing the fight. Sumter moved to a camp on Cane Creek. While there, word arrived that Elijah Clarke and Isaac Shelby had defeated some Tories at Woffords iron works. James Williams and some of the other militia leaders including Laceys rival, Col. Bratton, wanted the Army to move into a junction with them. In what became a bitter dispute, Williams led his 25 men and all others who wished to join him away from Sumters camp toward Shelby at Musgroves mill. Col. Bratton, Capt. McJunkin, and a good number of others from the South Carolina militia chose to ride with Williams. In his memoirs, Col. Hill made the accusation that Williams used deception in the split up. Whether or not that is true, Col. Lacey became so enraged that he rode out and attempted a physical confrontation with Col. Williams. Finding himself outnumbered Lacey tried to force Williams into returning by holding a gun to his chest and making threats. Williams promised to return both men and wagons. Once the gun was lowered Williams left Lacey to fume while he refused to honor the promise and led his Army away. Fishing Creek August 18, 1780 With the two armies split up, general Sumter moved into position and captured an important supply train moving from 96 toward Cornwallis at Camden. As Sumter celebrated the capture, Cornwallis released Banastre Tarleton and his Legion from their post-battle duties at Camden with orders to go after Sumter. With his usual Speed and Drive, Tarleton caught up with Sumters group at fishing Creek on August 18. Sumter knew that Tarleton was pursuing him so it made little sense when his Army stacked arms and settled in for a restful night sleep. When the Legion arrived general Sumter himself was undressed and sleeping in his tent. Several of the militia men were swimming and bathing in the Creek. Running behind and trying to catch up, Tarleton had moved forward with his fastest 140 men and driven for fishing Creek. Now at the edge of Sumters woefully unprepared camp, the British cavalry formed immediately into a single line and charged through the unprepared rebel force. The battle was a disaster for Sumter and his Army. With over 50 men killed, 100 wounded, and 310 captured Tarleton had destroyed Sumters entire force in the span of a few minutes with only 140 men. Tarleton and the British Legion had their finest moment while the South Carolina militia suffered their worst defeat. Sumter barely avoided capture by running out the back of his tent in nightclothes and taking flight along the river bank. The other militia colonels also got away but a company of continentals entrusted to Sumters care fell to Col. Tarleton. Musgroves Mill August 20, 1780 While Sumter chased supply trains and then witnessed the scattering of his army, James Williams led his force to a junction with Clarke and Shelby. The patriot force totaled between 500 or 600 men with around 200 operating under Colonel Williams. The British had two groups stationed in the backcountry near Musgroves Mill. Patrick Ferguson and his loyalist Regiment made up one force while Alexander Innes had a group mostly made up of Tory militia camped a few miles away. Traveling light on the 19th of August, the rebel commanders slipped past Fergusons camp and moved close to Innes and the Tories. In the morning colonels Shelby, Clarke, and Williams decided to lay defensive semicircle across some high ground near Musgroves Mill. They set up with Williams in the middle, Clarke on the left, Shelby on the right and also a reserve of 50 men for use where needed. Alexander Innes and the Tories took the bait and attacked the patriot formation head-on. The Tories and some Provincials advanced to about 70 yards when the rebels subjected them to very hot and continuous fire. In spite of taking heavy losses, including Innes himself, the British left almost turned Shelbys men but the reserves came up and drove them back. Patriot losses were insignificant compared to 50 loyalist dead, 80 wounded and about 70 prisoners. After the battle news arrived of Sumters defeat and also the disaster at Camden. Aware of Fergusons proximity, Shelby, Clarke, and Williams decided to make a quick retreat. Shelby returned to the mountains and Clarke moved to Wilkes County, Georgia to lay siege at Augusta. Williams and his men took the prisoners and headed for Hillsboro, North Carolina. Were it not for a small force of partisans under Francis Marion operating in the lower part of the state, South Carolina would have been completely under British control. Disputes over Command September 1780 Once the prisoners were safely transported to Hillsboro, Williams made his report to Gov. Rutledge who also happened to be there. He met personally with Col. Rutledge and Williams also filed a written report. In the report he begins by acknowledging the joint action with Shelby and Clarke but then, in describing the action, Williams failed to mention anyone giving orders other than himself. At this point in time Rutledge was in quite a bind. The state was completely overrun, Sumters army was scattered, and he desperately needed to field a new army before the civilian population lost all hope. Encouraged by the news of victory, Gov. Rutledge handed out promotions to Williams and his men. Williams received a brevet commission has Brig. Gen. Williams and his small group of original followers from the 96 district which included the newly promoted Major Hammond returned to South Carolina and found Sumter camped on the East side of the Catawba in Indian lands. He had the colonels with them and they were engaged in trying to locate their men and regroup. Brig. Gen. Williams rode into the camp and presented his commission. Not surprisingly he met stiff opposition as Sumter found the support of his colonels and refused to respect the promotion. Indeed, one can imagine Sumter and the officers from Fishing Creek totally outraged and red-faced at this occurring in the shadow of their embarrassing defeat. The arguments against Williams would be flying. The commission is only a brevet, and therefore, only valid in the absence of a general. Militia choose their own officers and Sumter was elected general by those officers. The commission cannot be valid until approved by the assembly which has been closed indefinitely. Sumters rank predates that of Williams. Williams would also have made arguments in his favor. Gov. Rutledge was granted extraordinary powers by the assembly on their last meeting in surely is the commander of all state troops and militia. These powers must include the power to designate sub-commanders, etc. At least Williams had a commission authorized by the state while Sumter has no commission at all. And so the argument would go until passions grew more heated and the argument could become more personal and vicious in nature. Sumters group attacked Williams as having stolen public stores and deserting their posts when they broke off and went to Musgroves Mill. They also accused Williams of having taken all the credit for Shelby and Clarks part of the battle. Williams could easily have countered by pointing out Sumters negligence caused the disaster at fishing Creek. At which time Sumters people could easily argue that Williams and Bratton having weakened the Army caused the defeat. In any event it became clear that Williams would not be taking command over Sumters force. Williams returned to North Carolina with his small Regiment. While there he received support from Gov. Nash of North Carolina in the form of permission to recruit men to bolster his strength. Within a week or two Williams increased his force by an additional 70 men. While he was recruiting, Sumter and his officers called a meeting for the purpose of determining a proper way around Gov. Rutledges promotion of Williams. They decided to send a committee for their own meeting with Gov. Rutledge on the subject of command of the South Carolina troops. The group consisted of seven officers of which five would go to North Carolina and meet with Gov. Rutledge. Only Lacey and Hill remained in camp to lead South Carolinas army. Since Hill had only been promoted to Col. after the battle of Rocky Mount and was also still recovering from his wounds at hanging rock, Col. Lacey held the overall command in Sumters absence. General Williams rode into Laceys camp near Beatties Ford a couple of days later. He read his commission and stated intention to take command of Sumters men. Lacey and Hill reacted defiantly and informed Sumters men they should refuse to serve with Williams because he was a rogue and Sumter would soon return from the meeting with Rutledge with orders to supersede Williams. Neither side backed down although Williams was outnumbered and unwilling to push the matter to violence. His regiment set their own camp nearby but no longer attempted to assert Williams status as general. Col. Hill worried all day about the army. Ferguson was in the area and the South Carolina army would be safer if they consolidated with General Williams. Hill took this to Lacey who approved of consolidation but only if Williams agreed to share command without his promotion. Williams refused and the two groups continued along in their separate columns. Approaching Kings Mountain Early October, 1780 As the two columns continued along in the same general direction across the backcountry, Hill noticed that Williams and Col Brannon were missing. He came around that evening and asked about their absence. Williams hesitated a bit but then admitted they met with Shelby and Sevier and agreed to bring their respective armies together for a junction at the Old Iron Works. Hill realized that junction was favorable to operations in the Ninety-Six district and immediately confronted Williams with accusations of leading the Overmountain Men away from the area with deception. The two argued about future plans. Hill questioned whether Ninety-Six could be taken without cannon but Williams argued in return they could take the fort there anyway. Again the confrontation grew heated with Hill and Lacey accusing Williams of having personal motives for an attack on Ninety-six. Williams stood his ground that the army should defend South Carolina instead of staying north along the border. Neither side backed away. After the confrontation, Lacey and Hill decided on a personal visit to visit Shelby and Sevier. Lacey had information that Ferguson camped atop Kings Mountain daring an attack from Shelby. He left the camp and took the intelligence to Shelby and Sevier. Lacey had difficulty convincing the Overmountain Men their old ally Williams was leading them away from Ferguson but, he finally got them to change marching plans for a rendezvous at the Cowpens on October 6. Early the next morning, Williams started moving early and tried to convince Laceys men to accompany him to the Old Iron Works and operations in the Ninety-Six district. An uproar resulted with Williams and Hill taking turns haranguing the men to follow their respective commands. The argument continued until Col. Lacey returned from his meeting with Shelby around 10am. He announced the change in planned junction with the Overmountain Men. Williams realized his plan for meeting at the Old Iron Works was over by default and the two columns maintained their separate places but proceeded to the new meeting at Cowpens. On the evening of the 6th the various patriot forces all came together at the Cowpens. Colonels Cleveland, Shelby, Sevier, Campbell, Williams, Winston, Lacey, Hamrite, and Hawthorne met to plan strategy. Williams did not make any efforts to assert himself beyond the rank of Colonel. Patrick Ferguson was camped atop Kings Mountain and stupidly believed his position unassailable by Shelby and the militia army. They made plans to encircle the mountain and attack all sides at once. In the morning almost 1000 fast moving men on the best horses would ride to Kings Mountain. One column would move around the right side while another column would circle around the left. Lacey, Hawthorne, and Williams would fall into position on the left side behind Col Cleveland and before Col Shelby. Battle of Kings Mountain and Death of Williams October 7, 1780 On the morning of the 7th, Williams and all the other colonels led their respective regiments along the Road to Kings Mountain. As they met various individuals along the way, Fergusons position atop the mountain was confirmed. Kings Mountain is actually better described as something of a plateau with wooded sides. One end fairly wide while the other end narrows something like the shape of a peach. The militia army approached from below the narrow end moving in a two column line that split such that each column circled around a different side of the mountain. The mixed rebel militia army had Ferguson and Kings Mountain completely surrounded. As each Regiment reached its position they would dismount, form, and begin their assault up the heavily wooded mountain slope. Shelby and Sevier began by leading their assault up the slopes at the narrow end of the mountain. As they reached the plateau Major Ferguson and the loyalists responded by forming into a bayonet charge that sent the Overmountain men running back down the mountain. Col. Williams and his men filed into position and immediately turned up the rugged hillside. Williams led the way still on his horse until close to the summit. At that point a musket ball struck his horse in the jaw sending the horse into a frenzied fit. Williams jumped to the ground and continued toward the top. Fighting was tree to tree with musket balls striking all around stripping the trunks of bark. Once at the summit, the South Carolinians found themselves standing at the treeline looking across an open area into the loyalists camp. They continued pouring continuous fire into the loyalist positions. A few of the patriots surged forward and found themselves exposed and taking fire from all around. Major Hammond was among this group who found it necessary to cut their way back to the trees. After being repulsed three times, Shelby and Sevier finally gained the upper hand and forced Ferguson to retreat from the narrow end of the mountain. As his American Volunteers (loyalist regiment) turned they found themselves moving directly into a very hot fire from the South Carolina militia and from Col. Cleveland further along the line. Realizing the hopelessness of his position major Ferguson attempted to ride across the broad base of the mountain and escape. He rode directly into the other militia units commanded by McDowell and Winston arriving at the tree line on that side of the mountain. Controversial Ending: The remaining loyalists were now commanded by Capt. DePeyster. They stacked their arms and began waving white flags of surrender. Col. Williams jumped forward ahead of his men in a passionate attempt to cross over and assist in the killing of Patrick Ferguson. At this instance Col. Lacey or one of his men saw an opportunity to vent his frustrations and shot Col. Williams in the chest. Apparently, the sight of Col. Williams heroically leading the fight at Kings Mountain as a hero was simply too much to bear and the militia colonel snapped. He already experienced Bratton overshadowing him at Hucks Defeat and did not like the taste of it. If Col. Williams or any of his men knew the fatal shot came from a patriot rifle, they did not come forward with any accusations. Instead, they took on the task of making the colonel as comfortable as possible. They stayed the night on top of Kings Mountain with the cries of wounded and dying men all around. The next day, the men of his own Little River regiment took the colonel down the mountain to the relative comfort of the local farmhouse owned by Jacob Randall. He died on Sunday, October 8, 1780. Alternate ending: With their leader running for his life, the remaining loyalists, now commanded by Capt. DePeyster, stacked their arms and began waving white flags of surrender. Col. Williams sprang forward ahead of his men in an effort to cross the mountain and participate in the killing of Patrick Ferguson. As he did so, one of the Tories fired his musket and struck Col. Williams of the chest. The South Carolinians became so enraged they continued pouring fire into the cowering Tories until nearly a hundred of them died. Only the insistence of Colonel Campbell stopped the vengeful slaughter. Colonel Williams wound proved mortal and he died the next day in a local farmhouse owned by Jacob Randall. In either ending, the battle of Kings Mountain would go down as a success with brave Colonel Williams listed first among the dead on its monuments and other reports. The folklore of the era developed songs that marveled at his gallant behavior. Some historians of the era even glorified him by telling tales that Ferguson and Williams literally died giving each other their fatal strokes. If indeed Colonel Williams was killed in a fit of jealousy by one of his own, he can sit and smile as the glory of history shined on him far more brightly than that of Col Lacey who would later drown while having a seizure trying to cross a river. A Note on Sources Over the past couple of weeks it has been extremely interesting to read the original accounts and research materials available on operations of the South Carolina militia during the summer of 1780. In that time I developed what I believe to be a certain understanding of the events involving James Williams and leading to his death at Kings Mountain. My research developed by laying out the facts as recited by Col. William Hill in his memoirs and then subjecting those individual facts to comparison with several other accounts. Those comparisons included looking at the materials available in Lyman Drapers book, Kings Mountain and its heroes, Joseph Johnsons book, Traditions and Reminiscences, chiefly of the American Revolution in the South: including biographical sketches, incidents, and anecdotes, few of which have been published particularly of residents in the upper country, Richard Winns Notes, Samuel Hammonds Notes, statements from Joseph McJunkin, The State Records of North Carolina, Vol 15, account of Robert Campbell, Account of Kings Mountain by Thomas Young, Pension statement of John Welchel, Pension Statement of John Hughes, and various documents and letters found in William T Graves book, James Williams: an American patriot in the Carolina backcountry. Of course the main story comes from Col. William Hills Memoirs of the Revolution.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:50:11 +0000
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