I am constrained to report, once again, that little has happened in the Northern colonies. One Disappointment, which has been easily overcome, was the taking of Newport by a French army of 5,000 under General Jean Baptiste de Vimeur. In fact, my information is that General Clinton had previously decided not to defend Newport, in order to utilize New York to the utmost. This also released additional troops to be placed under the Command of Lord Cornwallis. His Lordship was quite gratified to rout the Forces of General Horatio Gates at Camden in August, who had earlier taken Saratoga in the rebels’ only Northern victory. I have had one Report that General Benedict Arnold has decided to abandon the hopeless Cause of the revolutionaries and to honor his lifelong commitments to Britain. If true, this will bring one of the most Successful military leaders to the service of the King.

I am sure that His Excellency shares my Pride in our glorious achievements in Georgia, both Carolinas, and now in Virginia. If we can retain Control of the sea, there is no way that the rebels and their French allies can avoid total Defeat.

Respectfully submitted by the Governor’s agent

CHAPTER 48

Ethan at King’s Mountain

OCTOBER 1780

The rebels knew Ferguson to be one of the finest marksmen in the British forces, and he had publicized the fact that he was the inventor of a remarkable breech-loading “rifle gun” that was rugged, impervious to moisture, and could be loaded quickly even from the prone position. The Americans hoped that they would not face it on King’s Mountain. What they did confront was a determined leader, small in stature, but proud and overconfident to such a degree that he exposed himself unnecessarily in combat. He was a famous and charismatic Scotsman and, as the major commandant of loyalist militia in the southern provinces, had little trouble in recruiting Tory volunteers to join his ranks. He had been determined to confront Elijah Clarke and what he considered to be other scattered remnants of despicable traitors, but he went into a defensive mode when he received an inaccurate and exaggerated report that he now faced three thousand Georgia militiamen, Over Mountain men of the Watauga Valley, and other troops from Virginia and the Carolinas. He decided to turn back toward Charlotte and General Cornwallis, from whom he had requested reinforcements.

When Ferguson’s troops reached the base of King’s Mountain, he ordered them to stand at ease while he and his aide, Captain Abraham DePeyster, rode to the top. There they found a narrow rocky area shaped something like a footprint, relatively bald, extending about a quarter of a mile east and west, and almost surrounded by steep wooded slopes.

Without waiting to be asked, DePeyster said, “According to the map, we’re just inside North Carolina and about thirty-five miles from Charlotte. We can make it there in a long day.”