Patrick Ferguson Battle of Kings Moutnain :: essays papers

Patrick Ferguson Battle of Kings Moutnain ï » ¿Patrick Ferguson was a cavalry leader of the British army. He joined the army at the age of 14 and by the time the Scotsman came to America to fight patriots he had become a respected, yet controversial leader. He taught his men guerrilla warfare and used camouflage during battles. This made traditional military leaders feel spite towards him because he had broken from the conventional formations. Ferguson was also a great marksman, reputed to be the best shot in the British military. Because of this he had little respect for the smooth bored â€Å"Brown Bess† musket that was used by Red Coats in America. He invented a breech loading rifle with a grooved barrel. This provided a firearm that was very accurate and could be reloaded without standing. Ferguson came to America with a small army. Before challenging General Washington’s men in a battle, Ferguson had the opportunity to kill the General, but wouldn’t take the shot because he felt a man of his stature did not deserve to die from a shot in the back. During the ensuing battle, Ferguson took a bullet in the right elbow and after the battle, argued with surgeons who wanted to amputate the arm. Ferguson kept the crippled arm and took nine months to recover. He taught himself to fence with his left hand and now carried a silver whistle that he used to signal his men. Ferguson traveled though the souther colonies recruiting sympathizers of the crown for his army and he traveled with two women, both of which were named Virginia. Ferguson met his demise on October 7, 1780 at the battle of Kings Mountain. After fighting a losing battle against separatist forces Ferguson was shot by several patriots. It is said that the force from seven musket balls lifted him out of his saddle where he died after being pulled by his horse. My opinion of Patrick Ferguson is that he was a great military genius. He tried to abandon old methods of warfare my adopting guerrilla tactics. He was a leader that his men respected and would follow willingly into battle. The instance were he had George