Existing comment:
Drive the Enemy
The ridge ahead was craggy and rough, and covered with flame and smoke. Campbell's Virginia regiment had drawn a tough and bloody assignment; to lead the first strike against the Tories. They were the first to close with the enemy, the first to hear the thunder of the drums, and the first to face the terror of the bayonets coming downhill. Some patriots stood their ground and were run through. Most broke and ran.
The loyalists stopped their charge at the foot of this hill. William Campbell stood half-way between his foe and his own men, now on the run. As he saw his neighbors make tracks for the next ridge, he shouted, "Halt! Return, my brave fellows, and you will drive the enemy immediately!" One by one, the Virginians slowed, turned about, and rallied to attack again.
Colonel Campbell's militia -- Holston River Valley, southwest Virginia
Personal leadership proved crucial here. Colonel Campbell made time to visit every corps while marching to Kings Mountain. Face to face, he had urged each man to do his duty. And his own Virginians suffered the most casualties of any patriot corps.
These men marched the most miles to get into this fight. Although their homes in the Virginia mountains were far removed from the great plantation of the Tidewater, this regiment did include African-Americans-three free men of color and colonel servant, John Broddy. |