Having seen the following most valuable and interesting narrative quoted very often in “ King’s Mountain and its Heroes ,” written by Lyman C. Draper, L.L.D., of Wisconsin, I wrote the Doctor with a view of obtaining the original manuscript if possible, but was unable to procure it. He however very generously intrusted to me the following copy which he had himself “carefully transcribed” from the original paper in his hands, in January 1874, and which had been sent to him by Dr. J. F. E. Hardy,

To Dr. J. F. E. Hardy , Asheville, N. C.: My Dear Sir, and Kind Friend : I send you the MS. of my father, Robert Henry . He was born in Tryon (now Lincoln) county, N. C., in a rail pen , 10th February, 1765; was a lawyer and surveyor by profession; was one of the first settlers in Buncombe county; taught School on Swannanoa, the first school taught in Buncombe county. He died in Clay county, N. C., February 6th, 1863, wanting but four days of being 98 years old. Thomas Henry , his father, died s

I will proceed to point out and correct some of the errors in Wheeler’s History of North Carolina, so far as respects the transactions of Cornwallis crossing Cowan’s Ford, on Catawba river, the 1st of February, 1781; then I will give my own version of that transaction; then I will give the common report of the transaction shortly after it happened. Wheeler’s History, p. 232-33: “Here” (meaning at Cowan’s Ford) “about six hundred militia under General Davidson were posted, and a slight skirmish o

I will now give the statement of Col. D. Vance and Gen. Joseph McDowell of the manner of raising the army to oppose Col. Ferguson—its march—and the defeat of Ferguson. This part is the statement of Col. Vance; and on a sarcastic and sneering reply by M. Matthews saying that they, to wit the army under Campbell, was a fierce and formidable set of chickens, and could make great havoc among eggs, if each one was provided with a stick. This elicited a more extensive reply and statement of the whole

I will now relate a few facts relative to the battle at King’s Mountain that came within my own view, and not related by Col. Vance. In Vance’s narrative, he refers to Col. W. Graham’s and David Dickey’s leaving the army to visit his wife, and Major Billy Chronicle taking his place, and calling on his South Fork boys to follow him. At that time Enoch Gilmer called on Hugh Ewin, Adam Barry and myself to follow him close to the foot of the hill. We marched with a quick step, letting Major Chronicl

When the war between the States began, there still lived in North Carolina men and women who had come down to us from Revolutionary times. They were the repositories of many interesting anecdotes and reminiscences of that stirring period. In addition, a mass of documentary matter had been collected by Hawks, Wheeler, Swain, Graham and others ready for the pen of the historian. But the dreadful “clash of resounding arms” in 1861, and the equally momentous events which followed the close of milita