Ashe County, North Carolina, answered the nation’s calls to war from the American Revolution through the Persian Gulf War. About 40 Ashe County pioneers fought with General George Washington’s forces in the Revolutionary War, while some remained loyal to Great Britain, and county volunteers were among the Over the Mountain Men who defeated Major Patrick Ferguson at King’s Mountain on October 7, 1780, helping turn the tide of the war. Formed in 1799 and named for Revolutionary patriot and later North Carolina governor Samuel Ashe, the county next sent 88 citizens to fight the British in the War of 1812, serving in the 1st and 2nd Companies of the 5th North Carolina Militia Regiment. During the Civil War, Ashe County was divided between Confederate and Union loyalties; from April through August 1861 it contributed four full companies of Confederate volunteers totaling about 1200, at least 49 of whom did not survive, including 14 at Gettysburg, while fewer than 100 local men joined Federal forces. Ashe County had 13 men serve in the Spanish-American War. In World War I, about 900 Ashe County men served and 22 were lost. In World War II, 2,440 Ashe County servicemen fought and 88 died. In the Korean War, 367 Ashe County men served and 4 died. In the Vietnam War, 470 served and 10 died. In the Persian Gulf War, 89 Ashe County servicemen served, including 68 deployed with the 1450th Transportation Company of the North Carolina Army National Guard of Jefferson in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and the county suffered no casualties.