Part 2

Our interest here will turn to those intriguing reminders of how our Colonial ancestors lived--their houses, their tools and implements, their furniture, their books, and their guns. Because of the significance of the American rifle in the battle of Kings Mountain, it must be a feature of any Kings Mountain exhibit. In the Carolinas it was as much a part of each patriot as was his good right arm.

Light in weight, graceful in line, economical in consumption of powder and lead, fatally precise, and distinctly American, it was for 100 years the great arbitrator that settled all differences throughout the American wilderness. George Washington, while a surveyor in the back country, as scout and diplomat on his march into the Ohio country, and while with his Virginians on Braddock's fatal expedition, had formed the acquaintance of the hunters, Indian fighters, and pioneers of the Alleghanies--riflemen all. These men were drawn upon in 1775 to form the first units of the United States Army, 10 companies of "expert riflemen." The British, in an attempt to compete with American accuracy of fire, cried for Jäger, German huntsmen armed with rifles, and begged that they might be included in the contingents of German troops.

From the numerous written comments on the American rifle and riflemen made by British leaders, it would be possible to quote at length regarding the effect of American rifle fire upon British morale and casualty lists. We may call attention again to the statistics on the Kings Mountain dead: British, 225; American, 28. Draper records that 20 dead Tories were found behind certain protruding rocks on the crest of the hill, and that each victim was marked by a bullet hole in his forehead. Col. George Hanger, British officer with Tarleton in South Carolina, provides the following observation on the precision of American rifle fire:

I never in my life saw better rifles (or men who shot better) than those made in America; they are chiefly made in Lancaster, and two or three neighboring towns in that vicinity, in Pennsylvania. The barrels weigh about six pounds two or three ounces, and carry a ball no larger than thirty-six to the pound; at least I never saw one of the larger caliber, and I have seen many hundreds and hundreds. I am not going to relate any thing respecting the American war; but to mention one instance, as a proof of most excellent skill of an American rifleman. If any man shew me an instance of better shooting, I will stand corrected.

Colonel, now General Tartleton, and myself, were standing a few yards out of a wood, observing the situation of a part of the enemy which we intended to attack. There was a rivulet in the enemy's front, and a mill on it, to which we stood directly with our horses' heads fronting, observing their motions. It was an absolute plain field between us and the mill; not so much as a single bush on it. Our orderly-bugle stood behind us, about 3 yards, but with his horse's side to our horses' tails. A rifleman passed over the mill-dam, evidently observing two officers, and laid himself down on his belly; for, in such positions, they always lie, to take a good shot at a long distance. He took a deliberate and cool shot at my friend, at me, and the bugle-horn man. (I have passed several times over this ground, and ever observed it with the greatest attention; and I can positively assert that the distance he fired from, at us, was full four hundred yards.)

Now, observe how well this fellow shot. It was in the month of August, and not a breath of wind was stirring. Colonel Tartleton's horse and mine, I am certain, were not anything like two feet apart; for we were in close consultation, how we should attack with our troops, which laid 300 yards in the wood, and could not be perceived by the enemy. A rifle-ball passed between him and me; looking directly to the mill, I observed the flash of the powder. I said to my friend, "I think we had better move, or we shall have two or three of these gentlemen, shortly, amusing themselves at our expence." The words were hardly out of my mouth, when the bugle horn man, behind us, and directly central, jumped off his horse, and said, "Sir, my horse is shot." The horse staggered, fell down, and died. He was shot directly behind the foreleg, near to the heart, at least where the great blood-vessels lie, which lead to the heart. He took the saddle and bridle off, went into the woods, and got another horse. We had a number of spare horses, led by negro lads.

The rifle had been introduced into America about 1700 when there was considerable immigration into Pennsylvania from Switzerland and Austria, the only part of the world at that time where it was in use. It was then short, heavy, clumsy, and little more accurate than the musket. From this arm the American gunsmiths evolved the long, slender, small-bore gun (about 36 balls to the pound) which by 1750 had reached the same state of development that characterized it at the time of the Revolution. The German Jäger rifle brought to America during the Revolution was by no means the equal of the American piece. It was short-barreled and took a ball of 19 to the pound. With its large ball and small powder charge its recoil was heavy and its accurate range but little greater than that of the smoothbore musket. It was the same gun that had been introduced into America in 1700.

The standard military firearm of the Revolutionary period was the flintrock musket weighing about 11 pounds. Its caliber was 11 gauge, that is, it would take a lead ball of 11 to the pound. At 100 yards a good marksman might make 40 percent of hits on a target the size of a man standing. The musket ball, fitting loosely in the barrel, could be loaded quickly. The fact that the military musket always was equipped with a bayonet made it the dependable weapon for all close fighting. As was so convincingly shown on the occasions of the futile bayonet charges of Ferguson's regulars on Kings Mountain, however, the bayonet was not effective if enemy lines did not stand to take the punishment of hand-to-hand fighting.

Each Whig on Kings Mountain had been told to act as his own captain, to yield as he found it necessary, and to take every advantage that was presented. In short, the patriots followed the Indian mode of attack, using the splendid cover that the timber about the mountain afforded, and selecting a definite human target for every ball fired. Splendid leadership and command were exercised by the Whig officers to make for concerted action every time a crisis arose. This coordination, plus the Kentucky rifle and the "individual power of woodcraft, marksmanship, and sportsmanship" of each participant in the American forces, overcame all the military training and discipline which had been injected into his Tory troops by Ferguson.

Testing the Ferguson Rifle

Modern Marksman Attains High Precision With Arm of 1776[3]

_By Dr. Alfred F. Hopkins, formerly Field Curator, Museum Division, Washington._

History records that on June 1, 1776, at Woolwich, England, Maj. Patrick Ferguson, of the British Army, demonstrated his newly devised breechloading flintrock rifle to the astonishment of all beholders. Quite recently at the Washington laboratory of the Museum Division of the National Park Service beholders likewise were astonished at the shooting qualities of the Ferguson gun.

While it is understood that tests of this historic arm have been made in England within late years, it is believed that in this country the sinister crack of a Ferguson had not been heard since 1780 at the Battle of Kings Mountain, South Carolina.

Ferguson developed his rifle from two earlier types of breechloaders, the Hardley and the Foster, upon which it was an actual improvement, and his gun has the distinction of being the first breechloading arm used by organized troops of any nation. The piece is equipped with a breechplug which passes perpendicularly through the breech of the barrel and this, having a quick-traveling screw thread, is lowered or raised by a single revolution of the trigger guard acting as a lever. When the breech plug is lowered, a circular opening is left in the top of the barrel just large enough to take a spherical bullet. In loading, the muzzle is held downward and the ball, fitting snugly, is dropped into the opening and permitted to roll forward to the front of the breech chamber where it is stopped by the lands of the rifling. No wadding or patch is used. Powder and ball rolled to form a cartridge would prove only a hindrance and disadvantage in loading. A charge of powder is poured directly from a flask or horn into the opening behind the bullet, filling the chamber. One complete turn of the trigger guard causes the breech plug to rise, closing the opening and ejecting the superfluous grains of powder. When the flashpan is primed, the piece is ready for firing. In the third illustration of this booklet the breech mechanism and method of loading are shown. Major Ferguson is accredited with loading and firing six shots in one minute.

No recent check is known to have been made upon the number of Ferguson rifles now in existence. They undoubtedly do exist, but their number is probably small. Apparently only some 200 were made originally and their military use ended, owing to lack of foresight, with the American Revolution. Six specimens were listed in 1928 as being in collections in this country and in England, of which one, probably two, were made by Newton, of Grantham, two by Egg, of London, and one each by Turner and Wilson, of London. These six guns varied somewhat in minor details.

A seventh specimen, the one now possessed by the Service at Kings Mountain National Military Park, South Carolina, bears the name of F. Innis, Edinburgh. It is in exceptionally fine condition, showing much of the original metal finish, and is without replacements. The piece measures 4 feet 4¾ inches over all and weighs 7½ pounds. The barrel, slightly belled at the muzzle and not designed to carry a bayonet, is 37 inches long, rifled with 8 grooves, and takes a ball of .655 caliber. The full length combed walnut stock is checkered at the grip and has three brass thimbles and an engraved butt plate. On the lock plate forward the hammer, within a scroll, is the name, F. INNIS, and this, with the addition of EDINBURGH, together with the proof mark and the view mark of the Gunmakers' Company of London, appears upon the barrel. The wooden ramrod is horn-tipped and at the other end has a bullet worm enclosed within a screw cap. The arm was intended for an officer.

The recent tests conducted indoors at the Ford's Theater Laboratory were made to determine the exact method of loading the arm, about which there had been some question, and to learn something of its shooting qualities. Loading was found to be extremely easy, suggesting that with practice the record set by Major Ferguson might be attained readily. The ball, weighing approximately 500 grains, was dropped, without patch or wad, into the breech chamber. A charge of approximately 1½ drams of Dupont "Fg" black powder was poured in behind it. Closure of the breech automatically gauged the charge, superfluous grains being ejected. The same powder, more finely ground, was used as priming. Several preliminary shots indicated that the rifle had precision and accuracy. Then, at a distance of 90 feet, three shots were fired in succession from a table rest by an expert marksman. Number one came within a half-inch, number two came within 4 inches, and number three came within 1¾ inches of a 1-5/8-inch bull's-eye.

U. S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1947

Footnotes

[1]From _The Regional Review_, National Park Service, Region One, Richmond, Va., Vol. III, No. 6, December 1939, pp. 25-29.

[2]From _Idem._, vol. V, No. 1, July 1940, pp. 15-21.

[3]_Idem._, vol. VI, Nos. 1 and 2.

National Park Service _Popular Study Series_

No. 1.--Winter Encampments of the Revolution. No. 2.--Weapons and Equipment of Early American Soldiers. No. 3.--Wall Paper News of the Sixties. No. 4.--Prehistoric Cultures in the Southeast. No. 5.--Mountain Speech in the Great Smokies. No. 6.--New Echota, Birthplace of the American Indian Press. No. 7.--Hot Shot Furnaces. No. 8.--Perry at Put in Bay: Echoes of the War of 1812. No. 9.--Wharf Building of a Century and More Ago. No. 10.--Gardens of the Colonists. No. 11.--Robert E. Lee and Fort Pulaski. No. 12.--Rifles and Riflemen at the Battle of Kings Mountain. No. 13.--Rifle Making in the Great Smoky Mountains. No. 14.--American Charcoal Making in the Era of the Cold Blast Furnace.

Transcriber's Notes

--Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.

--Silently corrected a few palpable typos.

--In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.