GAFFNEYSOUTH CAROLINA |
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GAFFNEYSOUTH CAROLINA |
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When
the Overmountain Men reached camp at Cowpens, they were joined by 400 South
Carolinians under the command of Colonel James Williams and Colonel Lacey. The
Carolinians increased the Patriot Army to about 1,400 men.
At Kings Mountain, Colonel Williams and his men took up positions to the north of Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick Ferguson’s Loyalist forces. They crept up the hill Indian fashion and opened fire from the cover of the trees. Ferguson ordered bayonet attacks against the Patriots, but after each charge the Patriots returned to their positions to harass the British from cover.
Unfortunately, Williams was killed by a stray
bullet shot after the Loyalist’s surrendered. His is buried here at the First
Baptist Church in Gaffney.
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A Stroke of Irony Colonel James Williams of South Carolina, poorly esteemed by his fellow commanders, redeemed himself in their eyes by his heroic action at Kings Mountain. Ironically he lost his life after the surrender, struck by a ball from an unidentified gun. (Kings Mountain Marker) |
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Today, the church stands prominently in the distance just south of Route 29 and the railroad tracks.
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Col. James Williams Hero of the Battle of King’s Mountain, 1780. Erected by Daniel Morgan Chapter D. A. R. 1917. (Gaffney Marker) |
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