e in South Carolina and Georgia were
loyalists, and their relations with their Whig neighbours were
exceedingly bitter. Except for small bands of patriots under daring
leaders like Marion and Sumter, "The Carolina Gamecock," as his
followers proudly called him, the British and their Tory allies held
possession of Georgia and South Carolina and were planning to sweep
northward into North Carolina and on into Virginia. Cornwallis' fame
was in the ascendant.

Such were the conditions on that October day when Rodney Allison
joined the army of Gates. Two days later came the cheering news that a
force of Tories under the command of Colonel Ferguson had been almost
annihilated at King's Mountain by a body of pioneer Whigs, most of
whom came from the border settlements over the mountains. A number of
those captured, known to be guilty of murder, were hanged and the
impression made on other Tories in those states was very depressing.

The Americans now expected great assistance from the militia of those
states, but the British emissaries among the Indians incited them to
attack the frontier settlements, thus making it necessary for those
brave fellows who had won the battle of King's Mountain to return home
to protect their families from the savages.

When finally General Nathaniel Greene, at Washington's request, was
sent to supersede Gates, he found an army of only about two thousand
men, poorly equipped, the enemy strongly entrenched, the country swept
bare of subsistence and winter approaching.

Through the influence of General Morgan, Rodney was assigned to duty
with Colonel Washington's dragoons. It was a proud moment for the lad
when he found himself associated with the finest body of cavalry in
the army. Those daring horsemen were the terror of the Tories and
young Allison rode with them on many a daring exploit, a full account
of which would fill a volume. The lad had now grown to man's stature
and sat his horse like a veteran. How often on those wild rides he
longed to be on the back of Nat once more! Poor fellow, what had
become of him? The sight of the spur-scarred, hard-ridden horses of
the British cavalry filled him with fury as he thought it probable the
fate of his beloved colt had been like theirs.

Finally came the day when General Morgan was to add another to the
long list of his successes. Cornwallis and Colonel Tarleton, "the
bloodhound," had planned to trap Morgan and annihilate his force. The
latter