Drive the Enemy

The ridge ahead was craggy, rough, and covered with flame and smoke as Campbell's Virginia regiment received the tough and bloody assignment of leading the first strike against the Tories at Kings Mountain. They were the first to close with the enemy, the first to hear the thunder of the drums, and the first to face bayonets coming downhill. Some patriots stood their ground and were run through, but most broke and ran until the loyalists stopped their charge at the foot of the hill. William Campbell stood halfway between his foe and his own fleeing men and, as he saw his neighbors making for the next ridge, 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. Personal leadership proved crucial here: Colonel Campbell had taken time while marching to Kings Mountain to visit every corps and urge each man face to face to do his duty. His own Holston River Valley militia from southwest Virginia suffered the most casualties of any patriot corps, marched the most miles to reach the fight, and included African-Americans from the Virginia mountains, among them three free men of color and the colonel's servant, John Broddy.

South Carolina · United States