America’s Civil Wars

(Source) “Engraving of the American Revolutionary War, depicting the death of British Major Patrick Ferguson, being shot from his horse on October 7, 1780, as he commanded Loyalist regulars and militia at the Battle of Kings Mountain, a Patriot military victory.” / From the Anne S. K. Brown Collection at Brown University,” Wikimedia Commons

The first American Civil War was not between the Northern and Southern states in the 1860’s.

That was America’s second and most bloody Civil War, to date.

The first one was fought between 1775 and 1783.

That war spanned 1765-1791. It took ten years for the shooting to start. And then several years after 1783 for the war to officially end.

During the American Revolution, about 50,000 Loyalists fought on behalf of the British Crown. About 19,000 of those were recruited as regular British army soldiers. Others served as irregular militia. Many came from New York.

The final combat at Yorktown on 19 October 1881 came when the British, along with a contingent of German troops, surrendered, thanks to the timely impact of the French military, on land and sea.

The “Civil” element of the Revolutionary War is uniquely highlighted in a battle between American Loyalists, led by a single British officer, and a makeshift army of tough, angry men from the Carolina backcountry, the Appalachian Mountain range, and land to the far West that would someday be named Tennessee and Kentucky.

Light Horse Harry Lee called the Patriots from the west, “A race of hardy men who were familiar with the use of the horse and the rifle, stout, active, patient under privation, and brave.”

A British major made fatal mistake of stirring the hornets’ nest and he paid the price.

British Major Patrick Ferguson was nicknamed “Bull Dog” by his Loyalist army of 900-1,000. He threatened the “Over the Mountain” men.

Ferguson ordered the westerners to “desist from their opposition to British arms” or he would “march over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country to waste with fire and sword.” Not smart.

It was a threat that led to his death, and many of his recruited American soldiers, on a rocky hilltop in Western South Carolina.

The Mountain Men were roughly equivalent in numbers. Many traveled a long distance to the battle, bringing their own weapons, ammo, clothes, some food, and horses. They attacked Ferguson’s force on the top of the mountain from all four directions as they charged up the mountain in no special order. Hiding behind trees and shooting uphill. Their weapons were key to their survival in hunting food and fighting hostile Indians.

It was a rout. Thomas Jefferson later said it “turned the side of success” for the Colonies. Ferguson ended up buried on the mountain full of lead, along with many of his men.

It was – except for the “Bull Dog” – a unique Civil War battle. The first of its kind. It happened on 7 October 1780. When it was over, the “Mountain Men” rode home. It was the classic model for a Civil War battle. Meanwhile…

Two years ago, an article entitled “Will America awake from Comfortably Numb?” posted on the Canada Free Press site. It asked: “Have many, perhaps most, Americans become comfortably numb? Will they awaken from the spreading infection of the Woke Virus that’s changing E pluribus, unum into E pluribus, chao?”

Since then, some have awakened. Many have not. If they don’t, what will happen then?

Does the 1776 Spirit of Freedom that sustained the America Revolutionary War Patriots for eight years still live among We the People?

Many American citizens are pondering this question. Will no clear answer.

A possible Third American Civil War, would likely not replicate the territorial conflagration of the 1860’s. If it comes, it may only sporadically resemble the Battle of King’s Mountain.

Back then, there were Loyalists – committed to the British Crown – and Patriots – committed to the quest for freedom – and, in the middle, those just trying to survive.

Not fundamentally unlike today.

If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us Help keep us ad-free by donating here.

Truth Social: @AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA