Overmountain Men
The Overmountain Men were members of the American militia during the American Revolutionary War . They were predominantly colonists from areas in the western Appalachian Mountains that now belong to West Virginia , Tennessee , North Carolina and Virginia . They played an important role in the Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Cowpens, among others .
The name "Overmountain Men" referred to American settlers, predominantly of Scottish - Irish descent, who settled west of the peaks of the Appalachian Mountains, a region also known as "Over the Appalachians" ("over the mountains of the Appalachians").
The Overmountain Men formed a partially autonomous government known as the Watauga Association in 1772, four years before the American Declaration of Independence .
Participation in the Battle of Kings Mountain
After Horatio Gates' army was defeated at the Battle of Camden , the British general Cornwallis was convinced that the provinces of Georgia and South Carolina were under British control; he made plans to invade the province of North Carolina while a violent civil war was still raging between the colonists in South Carolina.
The Whigs , led by a group of self-proclaimed " rebellion officers " called Isaac Shelby , Elijah Clarke and Charles McDowell , raided the Loyalist outposts . To protect its western flank , Cornwallis gave Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Regiment, the so-called Frasers Highlanders , command of the loyalist militias.
Cornwallis invaded North Carolina on September 9, 1780 and reached Charlotte on September 26. Ferguson followed him and set up camp at Gilbertown. He sent a request to the revolutionary troops to lay down their arms, or he would lay waste to their country with fire and sword. This challenge piqued the Appalachian frontier people and they chose to seek battle instead of waiting for Ferguson to come to them.
The men met in many different places, including Fort Watauga , in what is now Elizabethton , Carter County , and crossed the Appalachian Mountains not far from what is now Roan Mountain , Tennessee. After the march over the mountains, they met the troops loyal to the king in the Battle of Kings Mountain, with the Overmountain Men making up about half of the colonial troops. A total of about 1000 men faced each other on both sides, but the British had the strategically more favorable position on the hill. Through the use of guerrilla tactics against the synchronized British deployment and more accurate, albeit slower loading rifles instead of British muskets , the continental troops were able to achieve a clear victory. 180 British were killed in battle, while only 28 Overmountain Men lost their lives in proportion. The other British troops surrendered, the commander was killed while trying to escape. Colonel John Sevier , later governor of the Autonomous State of Franklin and Tennessee, commanded a group of the Overmountain Men from Washington County, Tennessee at Kings Mountain.
Aftermath and commemoration
After the battle, Joseph Greer of the Watauga Settlement undertook the 950-kilometer-long journey to inform the Continental Congress of the British defeat. Reaching Philadelphia on November 7, 1780, his report "Encouraged the Downcast Congress"
The Overmountain Men are the subject of both the play The Wataugans or Liberty: The Saga of Sycamore Shoals , as well as the book The Overmountain Men by Pat Alderman. In addition to the Kings Mountain National Military Park on the battlefield itself, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail in the Appalachians , which follows the route that the Overmountain Men took on their march, reminds of the Overmountain Men and their march over the mountains .
literature
- Pat Alderman: The Overmountain Men. Battle of King's Mountain, Cumberland Decade, State of Franklin, Southwest Territory. 2nd edition. Overmountain Press, Johnson City TN 1986, ISBN 0-932807-16-X .
Web links
- Roan Mountain Tennessee Citizens Club: Overmountain Men Celebration
- The National Park Service: Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
Individual evidence
- ↑ [1] ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ "re-energized a downtrodden Continental Congress." ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
