"Oh Heaven! they said, our bleeding country save!
Is there no hand on high to shield the brave?
What though destruction sweep these lovely plains!—
Rise, fellow-men! our country yet remains;
By that dread name, we wave the sword on high,
And swear for her to live! for her to die!"
If the sky was then gloomy, a storm was gathering in these mountain retreats which was soon to descend in all its fury on the heads of the enemies of our country. In a short time afterward the battle of King's Mountain was fought and won by the patriots, which spread a thrill of joy throughout the land.
Colonel Charles McDowell was elected the first Senator to the State Legislature from Burke county in 1778, and successively from 1782 to 1790. From 1791 to 1795, he was succeeded in the same position by his brother, Major Joseph McDowell. About this period, at three or four different times, all three of the members of the Assembly to which the county was entitled were of this family, which proved their great popularity and worth. Major Joseph McDowell also served as a member of Congress from 1793 to 1795, and from 1797 to 1799. He lived on John's river, and died there. His family returned to Virginia, where some of his descendants may still be found. One of his sons, Hugh Harvey, settled in Missouri, and Joseph J. McDowell, in Ohio, who was a member of Congress from that State from 1843 to 1847.
General Charles McDowell married Grace Greenlee, the widow of Captain
John Bowman, who fell at the battle of Ramsour's Mill. By this union
he had several children, one of whom was the late Captain Charles
McDowell, who resided on the Catawba river, near Morganton.
General Charles McDowell died on the 31st of March, 1815, aged about seventy-two years.
CHAPTER IX.
WILKES COUNTY.
Wilkes county was formed in 1777, from Surry, and named in honor of John Wilkes, a distinguished statesman and member of Parliament. He was a fearless political writer, and violently opposed to the oppressive measures of Great Britain against her American Colonies. In 1763 he published in the "North Briton" newspaper a severe attack on the government, for which he was sent to the Tower. Acquitted of the charge for which he was imprisoned, he sued for and recovered five thousand dollars damages and then went to Paris. In 1768 he returned to England and was soon after elected a member of Parliament. In his private character he was licentious, but his eminent talents, energy, and fascinating manners made him a great favorite with the people. He died at his seat in the Isle of Wight in 1797, aged seventy years.
COLONEL BENJAMIN CLEAVELAND.
Colonel Benjamin Cleaveland, one of the distinguished heroes of King's Mountain, and in honor of whom Cleaveland county is named, lived and died in Wilkes county at a good old age.