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JUL. Pass Four THE DAILY TAR USEL Sszdzy, April 6, 1930 f t l ! Sattle Of Sing's Mountain Turning Tide Of Revolution Was The Decisive Victory That Won The Seal Of Indepen dence For The Colonies; Ses quicentennial To Be Cele brated Next October. (By John A. Lang) The siginf icance of the Battle of King's Mountain in the win ning of the American indepen dence can scarcely be overesti mated. In every important sense it was a crisis in the his tory of the Revolutionary War. leaders that this essay is devot ed. Before taking up individu ally each one of the most im portant American commanders at King's. Mountain, it is neces sary to point out some charac teristics which were generally common to all of the American commanders and soldiers that took part in this battle. These men, who conceived and set on foot this effective stand against British oppression, were members of a frontier commu- Reprcduction Of Famous Battle Coming at the timewhen it did nify only a few thousand strong. the victory from this battle sent a thrill of new courage through out the whole country. Thomas Jefferson, in referring to the Battle of King's Mountain, said : "It was the joyful annunciation j of that turn in the tide of our j success that terminated the Revolutionary . War wifli the seal of independence." A hundred years after Jeffer son made this statement, Theo dore Roosevelt in his "The Win ning of the West," Vol. II, page 286, speaks of the American victory at King's Mountain in the following way : "Yte vic tory was of far-reaching im portance and ranks among the decisive battles , of the Revolu tion. It was the first great suc cess of the Americans in the South, the turning point in the Southern campaign, and it brought cheer to the patriots throughout the Union." Similar judgements from able historians could be multiplied by the score, and no competent his torian has ventured to express dissent. .. : The battle of King's Mountain affords a rich and colorful story to the person who seeks to study it from every angle. Most of us today are most' particularly in terested in studying the activi ties of the American soldiers in this battle. We are getting ready to celebrate the sesquicentennial date of this great battle. Thousands of people from all over this country particularly from the southern states, are Their own homes were in con stant danger of attack from the Cherokee Indians, a fierce and valorous nation who were in close league with the British and hung like a storm cloud upon the western skirts of the settle ments. These frontiersmen did. not wait until the enemy was at their own doors, but they took the offensive and went in search of the enemy, thus making com mon cause with all the colonies. It seemed as .though nothing could overcome their courageous nature and determined will power. They marched twelve full days over one of the rough est routes ever traveled by a mounted army, right straight a cross both the Appalachians and the Blue Ridge. For the last two days of their march, these frontiersmen " pushed onward through a pouring rain and were out of their saddles only once, and then for but an hour. Achieved Signal. Victory . At the end of this strenuous ride, they, tired almost to ex haustion, threw themselves a- gainst a foe numerically as strong as themselves, securely posted, well drilled, and com manded by one of the. bravest and most accomplished officers in the British army. The undaunted driving-power of the American frontiersmen led them to achieve at King's Mountain, witnin a little more than an hour, one of the most f 4 A.. v.-'.' v v w -V-: i 'r i if' ,.' :. s-Tt.-.-.,'.i: . ,,'J5.- iifej, . . vTV 1 :T :ixLi?s ?l . : - .- :J&ixxx? -v.'-B-t,- .X-- servinir S3 a legislator, governor and niilitary leader. Isaac Shel by's eventful career came to a close on July 18, 1826, at his Kentucky home, "Traveler's Rest," in Lincoln County, Ken- tucky.. It won't help the world's mortality statistics much to scrap battle-ships and make automobiles out of them. Brunswick (Ga.) Pilot. SUNDAY DINNEMliO Carolina Inn April 6th 12:30 P.M. to 2:30 P.M. Shown above is an excellent conception of the Battle of King's Mountain, as portrayed by an artist. In the foreground is pictured General Ferguson falling from his horse after being mor tally wounded. siornnl n'ntnripj vf fViA Whnlp Ra. : . 4.1 , . w . , prions tu iMKtui ua in whjch they kiUedf the memorial battleground of King's Mountain in October of this year to do honor and to pay respect to the American heroes who fought and bravely died there that their posterity might forever enjoy the blessings of liberty and self-government. It is therefore only natural that we ,.-:-:-:''--av:-:-:':o-.''-.N .:::-:... -;-.. SS v j s ' s I ' -' r'A;v' ; 1 t j fctliwA-UI.Mii. in 111 mm Mini i i n.n.Jy COL. ISAAC SHELBY should desire at . this time to know more about ..these Ameri can heroes of King's Mountain who commendably bore, the brunt of this fierce and bloody struggle. In , knowing ( more about these patriots, we shall be more able to ascertain and ap preciate their share in .this bat tle which greatly helped us in our struggle for independence. Study of Commanders The most effective way to study the character of the American soldiers at King's Mountain is through the study of their commanders and lead ers, and it is to the study of these American commanders and wounded or captured nearly every one 01 their JtJntisn an tagonists. , If there be any citizen of the United States whose blood does not flow a little faster at the re cital of these courageous ac complishments, he is not to be envied. These accomplishments could never have been brought about by those American fron tiersmen had it not been for their fearless, valorous, and liberty-loving characteristics and natures. The American commanders at King's Mountain possessed these characteristics to such an extent that they became the means by which the success of the Ameri can cause in this battle was in sured. These commanders left their families utterly exposed to the ferocious Cherokee Indians and traveled over the frontier regions, summoning the fron tiersmen to follow them, v Result of Much Planning It is about such heroes that we should wish to know, more. These men, who made possible this great American victory, are often times permitted to occupy no great place in our store of Knowledge. ;vve! are too prone to think of this victory at King's Mountain -as the product of a military effort that had no pre vious planning or, forethought. Many of us have not yet realized that it was through the effective planning and preparation on the part of the American command ers at King's Mountain that the American victory was won there on October 7, 1780. It is, therefore, entirely be fitting at this time upon the eve of our great celebration at King's Mountain that we should look into the story of the lives of 1 these commanders. In doing this, we shall get the proper pers pective upon their lives and be better able to ascertain the vari ous movements and forces that accentuated their actions and in fluenced their characters. We shall take up each one of these commanders individually in or der that we may be able to ac quaint ourselves better with their personalities. , Isaac Shelby Probably no one commander had any more to do with the success of the American cause at King's Mountain' than did Isaac Shelby. Shelby's persist ent courage and great influence, over men contributed largely to this American victory. Born December 11, 1750, in Fre derick County, Maryland, Isaac Shelby was employed until 21 years of age farming and herd ing for his father, Captain Evan Shelby. In 1771 Isaac removed with other members of his family to the Holston region in south-j western Virginia. It was in this region that Isaac Shelby shared the customary experien ces and adventures of a pioneer and frontiersman. He served as a lieutenant in a company of Fincastle troops, of which his father was captain, in Lord Dunmore's War . and fought valiantly in the Battle of Point Pleasant in this war. For nearly a year following this war, Shelby explored, lo- cated, and surveyed lands in Kentucky. In July, 1776, while yet in Kentucky, he was appoint ed captain of a company of min ute men by the committee of safety in Virginia. Shelby dis charged his duties so effective ly that Governor Patrick Henry, of Virginia, appointed him in 1777 as a commissary of supplies for an extensive body of militia guarding the frontier posts. , Finds Himself a Tar Heel In 1778 Shelby was engaged in the commissary department, providing supplies for the Con tinental army and for an expedi tion, by way of Pittsburgh, a gainst northwestern Indians. He rendered similar service in 1779. In the fall of the same year, Shelby was commissioned a major by Governor Thomas Jef ferson, in the escort of guards to the commissioners for estab lishing the boundary line be tween Virginia and North Caro lina. By the extension of this line Shelby's residence was found to be in North Carolina, and shortly afterwards he was appointed by Governor Caswell, of North Carolina, a colonel of the new county of Sullivan which is now in. the state Of Tennessee. Isaac Shelby was largely re sponsible for the American vic tory in the Battle of Musgrove's Mills, August 18, 1780, and dur ing this same summer captured a formidable Tory stronghold on the Pacolet River. Played Important Role Colonel Isaac Shelby's part in the Battle of King's Mountain was a most important one. In his, home on the frontier of North Carolina, Shelby had re ceived a message from Colonel Charles McDowell, of Burke County, begging him to furnish all the aid he could towards checking the British who were over-running the three south ern states. In a few days, Shel by crossed the Alleghanies with two hundred mounted riflemen. On came Shelby with his men, and. their . valor and patriotism were shown in every; encounter with the enemy on the way to King's Mountain. By their actions, Shelby arid his men re assured the struggling patriots r that the British .leaders could not ride roughshod over the American people. 5 Shelby's efforts in prosecut ing the King's Mountain expe dition, his magnanimity m se curing the appointment of Col onel Campbell to the chief com mand, and his heroic work at that critical period were- of' the greatest importance to his country. ' The Legislature of North Car olina passed a vote of thanks 'to Colonel Shelby and his good ser vices and directed that an ele gant sword should be presented to him. Afterwards, Shelby joined his forces with those of General Greene and continued to contribute valuable service to the American cause until the end of the war. In 1783 he moved to Kentucky where he had a long and distinguished career M-E-N-U Fresh Fruit Cocktail Celery Hearts &x Queen Olives Cream of Tomato or Chicken Broth au Riz Roast Prime Rib of Beef au Jus Half Broiled Chicken a la Maryland Lamb Chops Albarmarle With Bacon Mashed Potatoes, or Marshmal low Sweets Buttered New Green Beans Creamed Onions Stuffed Tomato Saltines Salad Fresh Pruit Parfait Maple Nut Layer Cake Ice Cream or Raspberry Ice Coffee Tea . Milk Assorted Bread, Hot Rolls Candied Grapefruit iLUe Ion -? r - - , - - - - - Tlie Mew Porcelain On-Display at ii iie uar oima- 1 neatre ALL NEXT WEEK This New Range can be in stalled in your home ready for use for the small down pay ment of 5. Come Monday to the Carolina and See Gary Cooper in "Only the Brave." At the Seven O'clock Show Cookies Will Be Given To - All
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 6, 1930, edition 1
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