Boys of the South Fork
by Fred Brown
Place yourself in their shoes. It is a cool October night. No one is quite sure what the morrow brings. It will be violent. That is known. Death will claim some. That, too, is known. You hope it isn't you, or any of your friends from home. That's the unknown. But this is war.
Campfires, like distant stars, ring the bottom of Kings Mountain, not too far from home, but far enough to make you miss loved ones. Thoughts turn to farms, family, the coming harvests, maybe work on that new cabin or church. Home. It seems so far away now.
There is comfort, though, on this night. Some of the boys have gathered around your campfire. They talk of loved ones. There is some good-natured joshing the younger men about girl friends. There is little talk of what is coming with the dawn. It's a subject they'd just as soon put off as long as possible.
Major William Chronicle scuffles a stick through his campfire. Dark, on the edge of the fire, closes like a curtain around them. The cold begins to draw down around his shoulders in an even coolness. October in high country was quite different from his beloved lowlands of the Catawba River where the nights are glossy warm and smooth.
At Kings Mountain, the militia from the South Fork had caught up with British general Patrick Ferguson and joined other South Carolinians and East Tennesseans under Colonel John Sevier. The East Tennesseans called themselves the Overmountain Men. They looked to be rough, lean and sharp-edged.
Many of the Tennesseans were longhunters. They could shoot and were fierce. Most of them were Scots-Irish, men who feared few things.
There was also Colonel Isaac Shelby from North Carolina and Colonel William Campbell from Virginia. Colonel Campbell was a Scotsman of immense size and courage. He weighed 350 pounds, and was as brave as he was large.
General Ferguson, likewise a fearless Scotsman, had enraged the people of the mountains when he boasted he would come across the peaks and burn the towns and villages.
"You'll pay allegiance to the king of England or I'll march over the mountains, hang your leaders and burn your towns by fire and sword!" William Chronicle, William Rabb, John Mattocks and John Boyd were known as the "Boys of the South Fork."
They grew up along the South Fork of the Catawba River located in South Carolina in the years prior to America's war of independence. They were the sons of farmers and became shining sons of the Revolutionary War. And like many of the early settlers of the region, they were hardy Scots-Irish.
And on a crisp October day in 1780, the four arrived with other patriots from East Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky at the foot of Kings Mountain, South Carolina.
They faced well-trained Redcoat loyalist soldiers under the command of General Patrick Ferguson, the redheaded Scotsman of fierce courage.
The story of the Boys of the South Fork has had little mention in the history of the battle. But in that struggle 226 years ago this year, the Boys of the South Fork showed extraordinary courage in stopping one of the early charges by the British that could have routed the patriots.
When quiet returned to the battlefield, the Boys of the South Fork were counted among the dead who littered the hillside.
Part of their story is told in a panel on the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail describing the battle where they died together, just as they had fought together.
Visitors to the historic trail at Kings Mountain can walk the battleground where so many of the patriots fought to be free of the British Crown and to bring independence to America.
East Tennessee was represented at the battle with its legendary leader, John Sevier, and a sturdy band of backwoodsmen who rode by horseback from Elizabethton, Tennessee, over the mountains to South Carolina.
The Overmountain Men, as they came to be known, fought Indian-style, hiding behind trees and rocks. In a little over one hour of combat, Ferguson lay dead, shot from his horse, and most of his men had been wounded or captured.
The brave Scottish highlander commander was buried in a ravine below the ridge where his remains lie today. His grave was covered in the customary Scottish burial habit of piling rocks upon the site.
The rock cairn covers his grave behind a monument erected in 1930 by citizens of the United States "in token of their appreciation of the bonds of friendship and peace between them and the citizens of the British Empire."
Walking along the mountain's broad base, you can practically hear the volleys from Redcoat musket and mountain man hog rifle.
A skinny creek ambles along a path leading to the summit where Ferguson had so boldly stationed his men. A tree that was a sapling at the time of the war is now a giant poplar near the creek where the Boys of the South Fork fell.
A large stone marks the spot where Chronicle was killed. In his moment of decision, Chronicle saw Redcoats charging down the hill after having just fired a blast that dropped many soldiers. Redcoats were streaming toward them, bayonets fixed.
Chronicle's last words to his three mates were, "Face to the hill." He lofted his hat and started for the men in red. As the wind whips through the trees, you can imagine the four friends together, charging in front of their glory.
The battle was fought October 7, 1780, and was actually the first campaign in the chain of engagements that turned the tide against Lord Charles Cornwallis, commander of British forces in the colonies and his fighting infantry, one of the best trained armies of its time.
The best way to experience the National Military Park is to walk around the base of the mountain, stopping at the history panels that describe various aspects of the battle scene. Then head to the top of the mountain, which is sprinkled with large monuments to the men who fought and died there.
And, as in years past, men and women of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association, which was established in 1975, will stage their annual re-enactment of the march to Kings Mountain by the original Overmountain Men.
The re-enactors begin their trek September 25, forming up at Sycamore Shoals State Park in Elizabethton, Tennessee. From here, the intrepid re-enactors walk to Kings Mountain, arriving on precisely the day the Overmountain men arrived.
On October 7, 2006, a wreath-laying ceremony is set for 11 a.m. to commemorate the 226th anniversary of the battle. The Overmountain Victory Marchers are scheduled to arrive at 3 p.m.
For more information, write Kings Mountain National Military Park, 2625 Park Road, Blacksburg, South Carolina 29702. Phone: Headquarters, 864-936-7921; fax: 864-936-9897.
To get to the park by car: Kings Mountain National Military Park is located on South Carolina Highway 216. From Greenville, S.C., travel on I-85 North to N.C. Exit 2. From Charlotte, N.C., travel on I- 85 South to N.C., Exit 2.
Or, better still, follow the marchers in your automobile. Or walk with them in some sections. And when you arrive at Kings Mountain, stop by the plaque for the Boys of the South Fork. Major William Chronicle was but 25 years old when he died, fighting for his country.
* Fred Brown is a senior news and features reporter with the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tennessee.