frontiersmen had halted at the Cowpens. There they feasted
royally off roasted cattle and corn belonging to the loyalist who owned
the Cowpens. It is said that they mowed his fifty acres of corn in
an hour. And here one of their spies, in the assumed role of a Tory,
learned Ferguson's plans, his approximate force, his route, and his
system of communication with Cornwallis. The officers now held council
and determined to take a detachment of the hardiest and fleetest
horsemen and sweep down on the enemy before aid could reach him. About
nine o'clock that evening, according to Shelby's report, 910 mounted men
set off at full speed, leaving the main body of horse and foot to follow
after at their best pace.

Rain poured down on them all that night as they rode. At daybreak they
crossed the Broad at Cherokee Ford and dashed on in the drenching rain
all the forenoon. They kept their firearms and powder dry by wrapping
them in their knapsacks, blankets, and hunting shirts. The downpour
had so churned up the soil that many of the horses mired, but they were
pulled out and whipped forward again. The wild horsemen made no halt
for food or rest. Within two miles of King's Mountain they captured
Ferguson's messenger with the letter that told of his desperate
situation. They asked this man how they should know Ferguson. He told
them that Ferguson was in full uniform but wore a checkered shirt or
dust cloak over it. This was not the only messenger of Ferguson's who
failed to carry through. The men he had sent out previously had been
followed and, to escape capture or death, they had been obliged to lie
in hiding, so that they did not reach Cornwallis until the day of the
battle.

At three o'clock on the afternoon of the 7th of October, the
overmountain men were in the forest at the base of the hill. The rain
had ceased and the sun was shining. They dismounted and tethered their
steaming horses. Orders were given that every man was to "throw the
priming out of his pan, pick his touchhole, prime anew, examine bullets
and see that everything was in readiness for battle." The plan of battle
agreed on was to surround the hill, hold the enemy on the top and,
themselves screened by the trees, keep pouring in their fire. There was
a good chance that most of the answering fire would go over their heads.

As Shelby's men crossed a gap in the woods, the outposts on the hill
discovered their presence and sounded the alarm. Ferguson sprang
to