They were divided into three bodies, one on the right of the British, one on the left, and another in front. Sevier commanded the division on the left. At just the right moment he led his men in a resistless rush up the mountainside and made victory certain for the Americans. The British raised the white flag of surrender. All of Ferguson’s soldiers who had not been killed or wounded were made prisoners.
By this victory the backwoods hunters greatly weakened the British cause in the south and made easier General Greene’s victory over Cornwallis, of which we have already learned. Thus they took their part in winning the nation’s liberty.
Battle of King’s Mountain.
On returning from King’s Mountain to their homes, these pioneer warriors had to meet the Cherokees again in stubborn warfare. In his usual way Sevier struck a swift, crushing blow by marching to the mountain homes of his savage foes, where he burned a thousand of their cabins and destroyed fifty thousand bushels of their corn.
In spite of this defeat, however, the Indians kept on fighting. So Sevier determined to strike another blow. At the head of one hundred and fifty picked horsemen, he rode for one hundred and fifty miles through the mountain wilds and completely surprised the Indians, who did not think it possible for an enemy to reach them. After taking the main town, burning two other towns and three villages, capturing two hundred horses, destroying a large quantity of provisions, and doing other damage, he withdrew and returned home in safety. He had made the Indians afraid, and they were quiet for a time.
These glimpses into the life of John Sevier must help you to understand why he became a hero among all the people of the frontier. They admired him for his brilliant leadership; they were grateful for his protection; and they loved him as a friend. They fondly called him “Nolichucky Jack”; and when, later, the settlements became the State of Tennessee, again and again they elected him governor, and sent him to Congress.
Without doubt few men of his day were his equal as a fighter against the Indians. It is said that in all his warfare with them he won thirty-five victories and never lost a battle. As we have seen, he moved with great swiftness in attacking his foes. Through his able scouts he learned the strength and weakness of his enemies and, before they realized what was going on, with a wild shout he and his bold followers swept down upon them like a hurricane, striking terror to the hearts of even the bravest.
Sevier was active in public interests even to the last years of his long life. When eighty years old, he was at the head of a body of men who were marking the border line between Georgia and the lands of the Indians. The labor proved too great for his bodily strength, and the aged man died (1815), in his tent, with only a few soldiers and Indians around him.
He was buried where he died, and a simple slab, with the two words, “John Sevier,” inscribed upon it, indicates the spot where his body rests.