To call the fight there a battle would lend it a formality it did not possess. It was a clash of two armed mobs. Toward the end the fighting resembled an old-fashioned Pier 6 brawl between longshoremen and strikebreakers.
Historian/Author John Buchanan
The Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, also spelt Ramseur, and Ramsaur, for Derick Ramsaur, owner of the mill, was fought in North Carolina on June 20, 1780. Patriot militiamen encountered neighboring loyalist militias who outnumbered the rebels more than three to one. What has been termed a battle could only be described as a savage, slugfest free-for-all between two enraged gangs fielding muskets, clubs, and axes. That it was an American victory could be deemed a stroke of luck for the rebels. After two hours of combat, diminished to barely over a hundred men, they still faced overwhelming odds from an enemy seemingly forming for a new attack. But for a ploy rarely seen on an 18th century battlefield, the patriot’s ultimate victory was denied a large cache of prisoners.
The battle has been largely forgotten, fallen within the folds of major encounters in the south; the likes of King’s Mountain or Cowpens. But we cannot overlook the sacrifice these fathers, husbands, and sons made that eventful morning; many were tilling their soil just the day before. Nor the impact of this victory on major events to follow. Of the patriots who fought, nearly 60% fell during relentless fighting; many facing painful deaths from their wounds. This was among the highest percentage of any battle in the war. Even in the Confederate annals of a later Civil War, rarely would the casualty rate be so high. Farmers were pitted against farmers. Neighbors hacked at neighbors. And so too, brother fought brother in a hail of lead and bone crushing one-on-one struggles fueled by pure hatred.
The dagger Ramsour’s Mill thrust into British hopes to ignite North Carolina’s loyalist passions to the crown would later receive its fatal twist by King’s Mountain’s overwhelming defeat of Tory militia.
Historian/Author Harry Schenawolf
The Battle of Ramsour’s Mill was fought in the same county as the more popular Battle of King’s Mountain, occurring four months later on Oct. 7, 1780. In fact, the pair were only twenty miles distant. Of the two battles, Ramsour’s Mill’s ferocious jab staggered British hopes to ignite backcountry loyalist passions; whereas King’s Mountain was the knock-out punch. As such, Ramsour rang the death bell for England’s expectation of a tidal wave of Loyalist recruits. Even though Cornwallis enjoyed a thorough defeat of an American Army at Cambridge later in August, British exuberance was short lived. For without Loyalist support in both men, material, and supplies, as Lord Cornwallis marched his army into North Carolina, the Grim Reaper could be heard rattling his scythe blade – foreshadowing the British army’s eventual demise.
Civil War in the South and British Invasion
Even before the first true shots of what became the American Revolution was fired on that faithful day of April 19, 1775, in Lexington, Massachusetts, there were many outbreaks of violence by southern colonial neighbors committing horrendous acts of violence in both the name of the crown and liberty. Tories or Loyalists cursed the politics of those calling themselves Whigs and Patriots. Neighbors and even bloodlines took sides in a brew of stewed hatred that continued to broil as the conflict between England and her colonists in North America worsened. It would boil over as both King’s Men and Rebels gathered in strength to form their own militias in what erupted in a brutal, no holds barred, Civil War.
With a growing stalemate in the north, by late 1778, England turned her attention to the south. On December 29, 1778, Savannah, Georgia fell to British regulars; beginning a British surge into the southern colonies. In March, 1780, Commander of British Forces in America, General Sir Henry Clinton, sailed a major invading force from New York City to Charleston, South Carolina. After a siege and the surrender of Charleston and the American Southern Army on May, 12th, 1780, Clinton regarded the British Royal authority as restored in Georgia and South Carolina. Clinton sailed back to New York with his main army, leaving a confident and able commander, Lt. General Charles Cornwallis, in charge of implementing England’s southern strategy. The regular force Cornwallis had under his command was deemed sufficient to maintain Georgia as a renewed colony under Crown rule, while subduing both South and North Carolina. For the later, Clinton and Cornwallis anticipated a surge of Loyalist recruits to fatten their ranks; mainly Scottish Immigrants and Palatine Germans, called Dutch.
After the fall of Charleston and the Bloodbath at the Battle of Waxhaws, a week later on May 29th, what was left of the American Southern Army escaped into North Carolina to regroup. When news filtered into the backcountry, emboldened Loyalists throughout the Carolinas became bolstered by England’s successes. They gathered in large numbers, setting the stage for a major partisan clash of forces in the Carolinas.
British Promise to Invade the Interior Stirs up Loyalist Passions
After General Clinton sailed for New York on June 5th, General Cornwallis was content to spend the hot summer months in Charlestown (Charleston) resupplying and resting his troops for the expected campaign in the Carolinas. Cornwallis knew that success depended on recruiting additional Tory militia and acquiring local food and supplies during the march. He was aware that loyalists Lt. Colonel John Moore and Major Nicholas Welch of Hamilton’s Tory Militia were eager to pave the way for Cornwallis’ troops in their home state of North Carolina. The Lincoln and Tryon County region of North Carolina, approximately 230 miles northwest of Charleston, South Carolina, was home to both Moore and Welch. Moore’s plantation was just nine miles from Ramsour’s Mill whereas Welsh resided just above Moore on Indian Creek.
This entire area of North Carolina was important to Cornwallis for it had a large population of Palatine German immigrants from Pennsylvania as well as numerous Scottish immigrants; both friendly to the crown. It was also fertile in wheat production. Cornwallis hoped to benefit from both; ready and willing recruits and local foodstuff. In early June, 1780, he ordered the two loyalist officers to return home and inform the people of the county that British troops were preparing to march their way. That they were to recruit more militia and secure all wheat crop and ready themselves for the British arrival. Cornwallis was clear in his orders, telling Moore and Welch not to contest patriot forces in the meantime, but to wait for him and his regulars. In the partisan cauldron brewing in the backcountry, hatred and revenge got the better part of reason and the two sides were not to remain long from clashing.
Tory Militias Gather
Throughout the agricultural south, mills often proved to be used as gathering points for militias and other such assemblages. All main roads led to and from these important grain processing centers so it was a matter of logistics. Derick Ramsour, who was among the first ‘Dutch’ emigrants to Tryon County, erected his mill prior to 1770 on the west bank of Clark’s Creek, where the Morganton road bridge at Lincolnton now spans the stream.
Lt. Colonel Moore appointed a meeting for June 10th at his father’s residence on Indian Creek, seven miles from Ramsour’s Mill. Forty local militia leaders met Moore that day to listen to General Cornwallis’ message and plan accordingly. Prior to dispersing, word reached Moore that the despised North Carolina Patriot leader, Major Joseph McDowell, along with twenty cavalry, were in the area. It was reported they were seeking Moore’s capture. Since Moore had twice that many men on hand, they tracked the rebel militiamen to South Mountains, the highest and most rugged chain of the isolated mountain ranges which dot western North Carolina’s Piedmont region, but were unable to overtake them.
Before Moore dismissed the men, he arranged they regroup at Ramsour’s Mill on the 13th of the month, near present day Lincolnton, North Carolina. So too, Major Walsh spread the news of Charleston’s fall and the proposed gathering at Ramsour’s Mill. By the 13th, over 200 loyalists had assembled with more arriving each day. By the 18th, 1,100 men were at the mill when Captains James Murray and Thomas Whitson of Lower Creek and Burke (Caldwell) County added 200 more. Lt. Colonel Moore assumed command of what now was a considerable force of 1,300 men. However, a quarter had showed up without muskets and were singularly armed with clubs and whatever blades available.
Patriot Militias Assemble
After the fall of Charleston and disaster at Waxhaw, North Carolina State Militia Brigadier General Griffith Rutherford of the Salisbury District called his regiments to prepare to serve a three-month tour. Regiments of militiamen began to assemble at Charlotte, N. Carolina, leaving some detached companies behind to guard their homes. On June 18th, he was informed that a large number of Loyalists had assembled at Ramsour’s Mill, 35 miles northwest of Charlotte. He sent orders to Lt. Colonel Francis Locke and other local leaders in the area to immediately call up these detached companies. So too, Rutherford began to march his force northwest in that direction. On the 19th , he crossed the Catawba River at the Tuckasegee Ford, located on the western border of Mecklenburg County at the Catawba River. By the 19th, Colonel Locke had gathered 400 men, primarily farmers from Burke, Iredell, Mecklenburg, and Rowan counties, with a small detached company from Lincoln County. He encamped his militia the evening of the 19th at Mountain Creek in an area called ‘the Glades’, 16 miles to the northeast of Ramsour’s Mill. A force of mainly infantry, there was approximately one hundred cavalry under the command of Major Joseph McDowell of Lincoln County and seconded by Colonel Thomas Brandon of the South Carolina Spartan Regiment.
Patriot Plan of Attack
That evening, a council of war was convened. Locke and his officers were at a dilemma. Scouts had reported that the loyalists were three times their number. The proximity of Colonel Moore’s Tories demanded quick action for as soon as they learned of the patriot’s smaller numbers, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Moore would attack directly. General Rutherford had ordered the two forces to rendezvous prior to taking action. However, to join Rutherford would require a march down river 35 miles. Men were fearful for their families as this would leave them unprotected and exposed to violence and pillaging. It was suggested that they should retreat to Sherrill’s Ford, six miles to the rear, and to hold it against a Tory attack. This was rejected as any movement to the rear would embolden the Tories whose numbers would only increase in an overwhelming assault.
The final consensus, what many thought to be their only hope for victory, was to march throughout that night and stage an early morning surprise attack on the camp. It was thought such an attack could rout the Loyalists who they believed were still ignorant of the patriot’s far smaller force. With all in agreement, the men were organized and by late that evening, around 10 PM, they began the 16 mile march to attack. Colonel Johnson, one of Locke’s subordinates, rode to inform General Rutherford of the new situation and requesting he bring up his force. There were no uniforms among both patriot and Tory farmers that day. To identify themselves, the rebels pinned white paper on their hats while the Tories stuck green twigs in theirs. It was noted after the battle that the Loyalists probably claimed the better choice with greenery than rebel white paper. Seemed the white paper provided an excellent target, with several patriot dead found shot through the head.
Locke’s force followed what was called the State Road to present day Buffalo Shoal Road, then onto Sherrill’s Ford road that ran to Ramsour’s Mill. There was another road, Tuckasegee Road, that also approached the mill. A mile from the mill, they were met by a local farmer Adam Reep and 20 fellow Whigs. Reep gave Locke a full account of the Tory’s numbers, their stand of arms, and camp position. In 1820, General Joseph Graham described the Tory camp and field of battle from his memoirs:
“The Tories were encamped on a hill 300 yards east of Ramsour’s Mill, and half a mile north of the present… Lincolnton. The ridge stretched west to east on the south side of the mill pond. North of the ridge, the road leading to the Tuckasege[e] Ford crossed…the ridge in a north-western direction. The Tories occupied an excellent position on a summit of the ridge; their right on the road fronting the south. The ridge has a very gentle slope, and was then interspersed with only a few trees, and the fire of the Tories had full rake in front for more that 200 yards. The foot of the hill was bounded by a glade, the side of which was covered by bushes. The road [Tuckasegee] passed the western end of the glade at right angles; opposite the center of the [Tory] line. A fence extended from the glade…to a point opposite the right of the [Tory] line. The picket guard, twelve in number, were stationed on the road, two hundred and fifty yards from the glade and six hundred yards from the encampment.”
Locke met with his subordinates to plan their attack: The cavalry, under the command of Major McDowell, was positioned at the center and out front on Sherrill’s Ford Road. Behind them, on the calvary right, infantry in two ranks under Colonel Locke would attack up the Tuckasegee Road. On the left, Captain Hardin marched his infantry in two ranks over a hill where present day Lincolnton now stands. Then down through a ravine to gain a position on the Loyalist’s right flank. Many of Hardin’s men carried grove-bored rifles, whose accuracy and range would play a critical role in the fight. The patriot force advanced through a thick, early morning fog that restricted visibility to about 50 feet.
The Battle
Howling and whipping their horses, the Whig cavalrymen, numbering a hundred horse, attacked first, bursting through the fog and forcing in the pickets. They chased the enemy skirmishers to the Tory camp with both arriving at the same time. McDowell’s men left the road and drove their mounts up the hill to within thirty paces of the enemy. There they opened fire upon men who moments earlier had been preparing breakfast, demoralizing the Tory farmers. But, after seeing so few rebels, they rallied and poured an overwhelming volley into the horsemen. The cavalry retreated back down the hill and cut through Locke’s infantry who were still coming up. Many of the footmen lost heart and turned and ran, never returning to the battle. What was left of the cavalry pulled up and regrouped, discovering two of their leaders had been killed in the initial assault; Captain Bowman and Captain Falls, the later whose horse carried him some two hundred yards before he fell dead from the saddle onto the Sherrill’s Ford Road. Some of the horsemen kept on riding; however, most would return to the fight.
With their numbers somewhat diminished by those running off, the patriot militiamen under Locke carried on the fight and pushed forward, driving in the rest of the Tory pickets. They tore through the glade some six hundred yards which disorganized their line considerably. When they came to the end of the glade and base of the hill upon which the Tories had encamped, orders cried out to reform. Men began to open fire as they came into line for the Loyalists, outnumbering the Patriots, had begun to advance down the hill to break up the patriot formation before the rebels could finish reforming.
Locke’s men continued to come up from their initial charge and fill the gaps in the line, extending it to their right. The fire power of these additional men made it so hot for the advancing Tories, that they pulled back to the top of the hill and a little beyond. There they found better protection from the hail of lead chasing them from which they could return fire. In what became an up and down motion, the patriot line now advanced up the hill in pursuit of the loyalists. In doing so, they opened themselves to a galling fire poured down from the top of the sparsely wooded ridge. It became so deadly, men began falling on all sides. The patriots faltered until one by one, they spun about and retreated back down the hill to the bushes at the edge of the glade to where they too found better protection.
Emboldened by the patriot retreat, the loyalists, still outnumbering the hundred or so infantry at the base of the hill, advanced again back down the ridge. At this stage, when it seemed certain that Locke’s men would be overwhelmed and driven back, events marked the turning point in the battle. Captain Hardin’s troops had arrived at their position behind a fence amidst timber on the right flank of the Tories. They immediately opened a withering fire with both musket and deadly accurate rifle. So too, Captain Sharpe had extended the line on the patriot far right flank and his company began to pour fire into the Tory left. Sharpe’s line went beyond the crest of the ridge and though exposed to deadly fire from Loyalist rifles, they advanced from tree to tree until they obtained a position where they could enfilade the enemy. Here it is told they picked off some of the boldest Tory officers. With lethal fire now coming from the front and both flanks, the Tories on the hill continued the fight, but slowly, as more and more loyalist fell to accurate rebel fire, they began to withdraw.
At this point, the battle saw some of its bloodiest fighting. No one led. From captain to private, each was their own command, forging forward when the opportunity allowed. Pulling back when forced. As men advanced along the front and flanks, through bushes and from tree to tree, a deadly close combat erupted. Desperate men drove forward while those just as obstinate refused to yield. When ammunition ran out, muskets caved in skulls. Knives were thrust into flesh. Axes hewed limbs while hatchets carved gruesome cavities into what was once human. In places, brothers and former close friends were found clutched in death’s last embrace. Historian Buchanan wrote, “It was hand to hand. Rebels and Tories, Americans all, began bashing in skulls with clubbed muskets. Screams, shouts, and curses rent the air. The Rebels slowly began to get the better of it.”
Joseph Graham’s 1820 account of the battle offers a brief encounter between former friends:
“In the thickest of the fight a Dutch Tory, seeing an acquaintance, said: ‘How do you do, Pilly? I have knowed you since you was a little poy, and never knew no harm of you except you was a rebel.’ Billy, who was out for business and not to renew acquaintance, as his gun was empty, clubbed it and made a pass at his friend’s head, who dodged and said: ‘Stop! Stop! I am not going to stand still and be killed like a damn fool, needer,’ and immediately made a lick at Billy’s head, which he dodged. A friend of Billy whose gun was loaded put it to the Dutchman’s head and shot him dead.”
The Tories, hard pressed from both front and sides, fell back to the top of the ridge. Finding that they were still exposed to Hardin’s fire on their right, as well as to that of Sharpe on their left, their position became hopeless. Most finally broke and fled down the backside of the hill and across the creek. Here several fell; shot as they ran. Locke’s remaining men gained the hill. They stood among the dead and dying and gazed across the creek nearer the mill. There, a large Tory force was assembling. Assuming the attack would be renewed, Major William Wilson and Captain William Alexander, both of Rowan County Militia, were dispatched to ride hard to reach General Rutherford and hurry his men forward. The patriot line was formed, but only 86 remained. Some minutes later, others joined, having been called back from looking after the wounded, but they could only muster 110 men total. The patriots stood firm, with weapons ready, staring out through the thick smoke, out over the ridge, expecting an attack that would be well over four times their number.
Meanwhile, at around 10 AM, the two horsemen met General Rutherford near present day Salem Baptist Church, six and a half miles from the battle. Rutherford immediately started Colonel William Davie’s 300 light cavalry at a gallop while the infantry doubled at quick step. Within two miles of the mill, Rutherford met men from the field who told him the battle’s end result.
Colonel Moore had established his headquarters behind a locust-tree nearer the road to the mill. While under Captain Hardin’s galling fire, and his men pulling back, he met with Major Welch. At this point the battle had been raging for nearly two hours. In the ‘fog of war’, whereas black powder smoke encases all, Moore may not have been cognizant of the size of the patriot force he faced. He decided to call off the fight and ordered a full retreat.
But fearful of pursuit, especially by cavalry, he staged a ploy to gain more time for his men to flee. He sent a flag of truth to suspend hostilities with the pretext to attend to the wounded. Colonel Locke sent Major James Rutherford (the general’s son who would later be killed at Eutaw) to meet the flag. Rutherford agreed to the temporary suspension, but also sent along Locke’s demand that Moore surrender, giving the Loyalist officer ten minutes to answer. While Rutherford was meeting with the flag, Moore and fifty of his men at headquarters took to their horses and fled, racing among their men flying to their homes, leaving their dead and dying behind.
Casualties and Pursuit
For the total number of participants who actually fought, accounting for those who turned and fled prior to or at the start of the action, this battle had among the highest percentage of casualties throughout the war, estimated at 60% among the patriots. There is no official report of the battle. No Continental Army officers answering to his superiors. Therefore, we can only piece together basic estimates from first hand accounts. Since the distinction between Tory and Patriot was but a twig of pine or paper pinned to a cap, many of which had either fallen during the struggle or thrown away in an attempt to escape, one farmer lying in the field looked like any other, with no indication which side they belonged.
On the face of the ridge alone, where the forces of both sides advanced and retreated multiple times, 56 lay dead. More bodies were found scattered both along the top of the hill and beyond to the creek and road leading to the mill. At least 70 total dead were spaced along the ridge, over 40 of these patriots; though some state the total number was far more. Over 200 were wounded, the Whig and Tory sharing equally with many perishing later from their wounds. A large percentage of the dead were officers on both sides; few others escaped unhurt. Of Tory prisoners, only fifty were captured. The rest took advantage of the flag of truth and scattered to their homes.
For many of the men, the battle was fought within proximity of their homes. Throughout the afternoon and into the next day, families of both sides arrived to inquire of their loved ones. There occurred countless heart-rendering scenes upon discovery they were among the dead or dying. Most were buried on the field in a mass grave, both Tory and Patriot laid side by side. Mrs. Falls, wife of Cavalryman Captain William Falls of the Rowan County Militia, traveled 25 miles on horseback to enquire of her husband. Finding him among the dead, she obtained a quilt from a local farm to wrap his body and had it carried across Sherrill’s Ford to be buried with his family.
Aftermath
When General Rutherford arrived shortly after the Loyalist retreat, he ordered the Tories to be rounded up. Many had returned to their homes, hoping to escape the rebel dragnet. Since many of the combatants were local, those supporting the crown were known to patriot forces. With the threat of imprisonment and loss of their farms, loyalists in droves agreed to a pardon; not to take up future arms in the name of England. It was a vow that most of these former Tories would keep for the duration of the war. Others would switch sides and fight for the rebellion.
Historians are in pretty much agreement, Ramsour’s Mill was the first and most important act in the leadup to the Battle of King’s Mountain, Oct. 7, 1780. If Moore had obeyed Lord Cornwallis, and delayed organization of loyalist militias, he could have supplied at least 2,000 men to reinforce the Tory forces British Major Patrick Ferguson led at the Battle of King’s Mountain four months later. This addition would have secured a British victory, rather than suffering a defeat that destroyed all hopes of a ‘tidal wave’ of loyalist support in the Carolinas. As Graham wrote, “The Dutch [German loyalists], as they had kept their oath to King George, kept their “parole” to the American cause. Cornwallis marched through this country the following January and camped at Ramsour’s Mill. He lost more by desertion than he gained in recruits.”
Of Lt. Colonel John Moore, he ended up back at Cornwallis’ camp with 30 followers. Cornwallis was furious. He had the loyalist colonel detained for not following orders. A court-martial was considered, but since it might alienate future Tory support, Moore was released. One could say 1780 was a bad year for Moore. He had escaped capture at Kettle Creek, fought on March 3rd. Then the near miss at Ramsour’s Mill. And lastly, barely falling a third time into patriot hands at King’s Mountain, Oct. 7th. Appears his luck eventually ran out. He was eventually captured by Colonel Wade Hampton near the Wateree and to assure the hated loyalist could no longer slip away, he was hanged.
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RESOURCE
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