Page a-MIRROR-HERALD-Tuesday, October 11. 1»77 GDITORIW opinon ,/■"'/////// '////' ’ //////■■-''■' Freedom in our hands Dick Leonard Editor, The Milwaukee Journal National President, The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi You would become furious if a policeman put his hand over your mouth while you were trying to tell people what you thought about^ Jimmy Carter or Gerald Ford. ' “Hey,” you might say, “I’ve got a right to speak freely — the Constitution says so.” You would be right to demand your freedom of speech. But would you stand up and protest when a public official gags a newspaper? Probably not. Few Americans do. They don’t realize that freedom of the press is every bit as important to them as their right to speak out. When the press is gagged or otherwise restricted, there is little or no chance for peo ple to learn what is happening in the world around them; no adequate way to let govern ment know how citizens feel about important issues, and no hope that we can continue to live in the free society we enjoy today. Free press. Free speech. Free society. They go together. You can’t have one without the other. Most Americans don’t appreciate freedom of the press because they have never been without it. They really can’t comprehend that most people in the world don’t have a free press — and don’t have any means of know ing the truth about what is happening in their own country or the world beyond. In China, the editor of the People’s Daily states flatly that his job is to print propaganda for the Communist Pafty. In the Soviet Unipn, editprs.and commen tators with high staiWing in (he Communist Party decide what their comrades should know and think. A little more imagination..,. To the editor, So the coach doean’t know what'a wrong with the Klnga Mountain High foodtall team? Maybe playing two gamea In one week had aomethlng to do with the problem. KM played a rained out Friday game on Monday when all other teama played on Saturday, then turned around four days later and played another game. And maybe the problem Ilea In the fact the playera know they can’t beat an outatandlng football team by averaging three paaaea with one completion. Uaually every paaa thrown by the KM team la on the aame paaa pattern and on third down. Thla certainly doean’t make It too hard for the oppoalng team to defend agalnat It. Check the teama that have beaten KM and see how many paaaea they have thrown. Baat Rutherford contlnuoualy and very aucceaafully uaed the halfback paaa. KM never attempt auch a paaa even though they have had former quarterbacka In the backfleld. A little more Imagination by the coaching atatf would make the game much more enjoyable even If KM did loae. DAVID CLIPPARD Klnga Mountain Thank you... MIBHMHIEillD TUBSOAV ANOTNUfttOAV •AKLANPATKINt TOM MCINTVOI •LIlAttTNtTOWAflT WMiieii'ilMtar •ARY tTIWART CLVOOMILL AAvffOku OlTMtv MIMOOROO NORTH CAROLINA RRRII AIIOCIATION Th* Mirror HorolO It owkllWoO ky Oonorol kiMllthlKk Comptny, P. O Oro«kr ;b, KIi«i Mountoln, N C., MM* kutlnoot OM MDorlol offIcot oro locotok t) IM lowni kiokiiMM Ay# kkono ;it »ed to send an army north to trap General Washington In a plncer movement. In May, 1780, Comwallla ordered Major Patrick Ferguson to make newly avowed Loyalists Into a strong royal mlhtla. Ferguson, a Scotch three-year veteran cf thla war, commanded all the Loyalist mUltla raised In the CaroUnas. Invading South Carolina, Ferguson began to hunt down and punish "rebels” who resisted Royal authority. ’This remlted In guerrilla warfare between (Mrollnlan Patriot and Tory sym pathisers. ’Ihero were more skirmishes here (187) than In any other of the thirteen orlglnsd colonies. Here the mountaineers made themselves known and became aware of Feiguson, who called them "backwater men ... a set of mcngrels.” ’True, they were dressed In homespun or buckskin, and were of Scotch-Irlsh, English, ^ Flinch md I|oimtoln. one and ‘ tors. Almost flws years-pawd .before _ border., and, camped .await. .&e they were directly affected by British Patriots. forces In the South. Stories of British atrocities fired their determination to defeat Ferguson and give the British a taste of their own medicine. Summer, 1780, found Ferguson marching through the Carollnas, met by mountaineer militia regiments who engaged him In fierce actions. August, 1780, Cornwallis defeated Gates’ American forces at Camden, a great British victory. ’Ihe only real American Army In the South had been shattered. The mountaineers returned home to rest and strengthen their for ces, resolving to meet Ferguson agsdn. Meanwhile, Cornwallis marched toward Charlotte, Intending to Invade North (Carolina. To protect his left flank, he ordered Ferguson northward Into western North Carolina. In September, 1780, FergusOT camped at GUbert Town (Rutherford todsiy). He commanded eleven hundred four trained soldiers and loyalists. A British prisoner, Samuel Phillips, went to Col. Isaac Shelby, the Patriot militia commsuider In Sullivan County, North Carolina, and recognized leader of the mountaineers. Ferguson warned Shelby that he would "march his army over the mountains hang their leaders and lay their country waste with fire and sword. If they did not destat” from opposing the British. ’The challenge couldn’t be Ignored. On Sept. 26, 1780, over one thousand mountaineers gathered at Sycamore Shoals near EUzabethton, ’Tennessee. Shelby led 240 North Carolinians, Cliarles McDoweU, 160, John Sevier, 240; William Campbell brought 400 VlrglnUns, and James Williams led a South Carolina force. Shelby and Sevier would later become the first governors of Kentucky and Tennessee, respecUvely, whUe Camp bell’s relative by marriage was Patrick Henry. Each mountaineer carried a knap sack, com bag, and Kentucky rifle. ’These rifles were extremely accurate at more than two hundred yards. Only at Lexington and Kings Mountain did the outcome hinge on the accuracy and range oi these rifles. A five-day march began Sept. 26,1780. Benjamin Cleveland and three hundred fifty Virginians joined It. Campbell was chosen as commander of the Patriot forces. Ferguson’s spies Informed him of the mountaineers’ approach. On October 2, Feiguaon sent word to Comwallla that he would stand and fight If he weren’t outnumbered. Oct. 6, 1780, Farguaon Kings Mountain is a rocky, wooded. Blue Ridge spur, rising sixty feet above the surrounding plain. A barren plateau, six hundred yards long and seventh feet wide on one end and one hundred twenty feet at the other, lies at Its crest. Learning of Ferguson’s position, some nine hundred of the best frontiersmen moved through the rainy night October 6th, stopitog at noon, Oct. .6,1780, about one mile from the mountain, ’Ihey formed a horseshoe suound Its base, surrounding the British. Loyalist Alexander Cheaney was about to tell Ferguson all was quiet when the surprising attack came. Sevier and McDowell formed the right flank, with Campbell and Shelby at center, and the Cleveland-WUllams forces to the left. Campbell’s men opened fire and the battle was on. ’Ihe British rained down a volley fire but the woods protected the Patriots. The Patriots’ center force charged uphlU, but British bayonets caused retreat. The barren crest made the British easy targets for the moun- talneere to kill; the British overshot the enemy. When British soldiers chased the Patriots downhill, ttiey were killed attempting to get back to the crest Twice the Patriots were forced retreat. Ferguson, bedecked In hunting skirt and sliver whistle, charged on hor seback downhill, urging the British forward. ’The Patriots shot him down with seven balls penetrating his body. His second In command, Capt De Peyster, surrendered, but many Patriots continued firing, remembering British atrocities. Col. Campbell managed to stop his men after the second truce flag was sent down. ’The Battle of Kings Mountain was ended. The Patriots killed two hundred twenty-five Loyalists, wounded one hundred stxty-three, and took seven hundred sixteen prisoners. Only twenty- eight Patriots were killed and slxty-two wounded - all this In UtUs mors than one hour’s time. Conclusion. The Battle of Kings Mountain Is significant because It caused disen chantment with the Loyalist cause and resulted In many Southsmers’ joining the American forces. AQ of the fighters had been Americans except Ferguson. OomwalUs lost Ms foothold In North Carolina. In Clinton’s own words, the Battle of Kings Mountain was the "first link In a chain of events .,. ending tai the total loss of America." to ’\ , I