ROUTE OF MOUNTAIN MEN
SYCAMORE SHOALS McKINNEYS GAP GILLESPIES GAP QUAKER MEADOWS GILBERT TOWN COWPENS BROAD RIVER KINGS MOUNTAIN RANGE BATTLEGROUND
Unknown to the patriot expedition, Major Ferguson’s army in the meantime had hurriedly left Gilbert Town. Two messages that he received made this withdrawal advisable. In the first, received September 25, Lt. Col. J. H. Cruger, commander of the British post at Ninety-Six, requested Ferguson to intercept a band of Georgia patriots under Col. Elijah Clarke. This group was reported to be moving northward to join the main body of mountain men. In the second message, English agents in the Watauga settlements furnished Ferguson with the first warning of the rising of his formidable back-country enemy.
Ferguson immediately sent couriers in all directions to enlist the support of the Tories within the nearby region. Others were sent to call back all Tories who had been temporarily furloughed. On September 27 he headed south in the direction of Ninety-Six, reaching the Green River on September 30. There he received further information concerning the movements of the mountain men from Chambers and Crawford who had several days before deserted the patriot army.
From this point Ferguson sent an urgent message to Cornwallis at Charlotte calling for reinforcements. Ferguson also informed Cornwallis of his intention to hasten toward Charlotte with the hope that his pursuers would be deceived into the belief that Ninety-Six was the destination of his retreat. This communication was received by Cornwallis after the battle, too late to be of any help. A second message sent to Colonel Cruger requesting 100 men, brought no better results—only the terse reply that his garrison totaled but half that number.
The following morning Ferguson left the vicinity of the mountains and marched his corps 12 miles to Denard’s Ford of the Broad River. Moving at 4 p. m. on October 2, Ferguson crossed the river, marched 4 miles, and lay all night in an armed camp. On October 3, he hastened his march eastward toward Charlotte along a route to the north of the main Broad River. Near Buffalo Creek, he camped at the plantation of a loyalist named Tate. Here he rested his men and awaited expected reinforcements and further information concerning the movements of the patriots.
Ferguson was now becoming anxious about the safety of his army. In another message to Cornwallis on October 5 from Tate’s plantation, which was 50 miles from Charlotte, he advised his commander:
I am on my march towards you, by a road leading from Cherokee Ford, north of Kings Mountain. Three or four hundred good soldiers, part dragoons, would finish the business. ⌈Something⌉ must be done soon. This is their last push in this quarter and they are extremely desolate and ⌈c⌉owed.