Near Blacksburg in York County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Sacred to the Memory Monument

Original and New Monuments image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009

1. Original and New Monuments

Inscription. Sacred to the Memory of
Major William Chronicle, Captain John Mattocks
William Rabb and John Boyd
Who Were killed at this place on the 7th.
of October 1780. Fighting in Defense of America.

Colonel Ferguson an officer of his Britannic
Majesty, was defeated and killed at
this place on the 7th of October 1780.

Note: This inscription is a copy of that on
the old monument erected by Dr. William MacLean in 1815.

This stone has been placed by the King's
Mountain Association of Yorkshire, South Carolina

Erected by King's Mountain Association of Yorkshire, South Carolina.

Topics. This historical marker and monument is listed in these topic lists: Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1780.

Location. 35° 8.638′ N, 81° 22.711′ W. Marker is near Blacksburg, South Carolina, in York County. Marker can be reached from Park Road, on the right when traveling east. The memorial is located along a 1.5 mile walking trail around the Kings Mountain Battlefield. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2625 Park Road, Blacksburg SC 29702, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Local Boys & Spies (a few steps from this marker); Major William Chronicle

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(a few steps from this marker); Col. Frederick Hambright (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Major Winston's (about 400 feet away); Major Ferguson Falls (about 400 feet away); Col. Ferguson Fell (about 400 feet away); Colonel Patrick Ferguson Memorial (about 500 feet away); Fighting in a Forest Primeval (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blacksburg.

Also see . . .
1. Kings Mountain National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service). Thomas Jefferson called it "The turn of the tide of success." (Submitted on April 2, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

2. The Patriot Resource: British Colonel Patrick Ferguson. Patrick Ferguson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1744. (Submitted on September 11, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

3. Patrick Ferguson. Major Patrick Ferguson (1744 – October 7, 1780) was a Scottish officer in the British Army, early advocate of light infantry and designer of the Ferguson rifle. (Submitted on September 11, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.)

4. Kings Mountain National Military Park, Historic Resource Study (pdf file)

New Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009

2. New Monument

From which the inscription text appears above.

. National Park Service (Submitted on September 10, 2019.)

Additional commentary.
1. Major William Chronicle
Major William Chronicle, the soldier and martyr to the cause of liberty at Kings Mountain, was born in the south eastern part of Lincoln county (now Gaston) about 1755. His mother was first married to a Mr. McKee in Pennsylvania, who afterwards removed to North Carolina and settled in Mecklenburg county. By this marriage she had one son, James McKee, a soldier of the revolution, and ancestor of the several families of that name in the neighborhood of Armstrong's Ford, on the South Fork of the Catawba. After McKee's death, his widow married Mr. Chronicle, by whom she had an only son, William, who afterward performed a magnanimous part in defence of his country's rights. The site of the old family mansion is still pointed out by the oldest inhabitants with feelings of lingering veneration. "There," they will tell you, "is the spot where old Mr. Chronicle lived and his brave son, William, was brought up." The universal testimony of all who knew Major Chronicle represented him as the constant,never-tiring advocate of liberty, and as exerting a powerful influence in spreading the principles of freedom throughout the whole lower portion of

The Original Monument image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009

3. The Original Monument

old Lincoln county. His jovial turn of mind and winning manners, by gaining the good will of all, greatly assisted is making successful his appeals to their patriotism, and promoting the cause of liberty in which he had so zealously embarked.

Major Chronicle's first service was performed as Captain of a company at Purysburg in South Carolina. Early in the fall of 1780, a regiment was raised in Lincoln county, over which Col. William Graham was appointed Colonel; Frederick Hambrite, Lieut. Colonel, and William Chronicle, Major. It is well known that Col. Graham, on account of severe sickness in his family, was not present at the battle of King's Mountain. The immediate command of the regiment, assisted by Col. Dickson of the county, was then gallantly assumed by these officers, and nobly did they sustain themselves by word and example, in that ever-memorable conflict. Major Chronicle was brave, perhaps to a fault, energetic in his movements, self possessed in danger, and deeply imbued with the spirit of liberty. His last words of encouragement in-leading a spirited charge against the enemy, were "Come on my boys, never let it be said a Fork boy run," alluding to South Fork, near which stream most of them resided.

This patriotic appeal was not given in vain. It nerved evey man for the contest. Onward his brave boys steadily moved forward, Major Chronicle in the

Monument on the Battlefield Trail image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 6, 2010

4. Monument on the Battlefield Trail

advance, and approached within gun-shot of the British forces. Just at this time, a few sharp shooters of the enemy discharged their pieces, and retreated. The brave Chronicle fell mortally wounded, receiving a fatal ball in the breast. Almost at the same time, Capt. John Mattocks and Lieutenants William Rabb and John Boyd, also fell. Major Chronicle was only about twenty-five years old at the time of his death. The late Capt. Samuel Caldwell and his brother William, were both in this battle. William Caldwell brought home Major Chronicle's horse; his sword and spurs passed into the hands of his half brother, James McKee, and the venerated memorials are still in possession of one of his sons, who moved many years ago to Tennessee. (Source: Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical by C.L. Hunter (1877), pgs 289-291.)

— Submitted September 11, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

Major Patrick Ferguson<br>(1744–1780) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Wikipedia, circa 1775

5. Major Patrick Ferguson
(1744–1780)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 977 times since then and 17 times this year. Last updated on August 27, 2023, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 1, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 4. submitted on August 22, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 5. submitted on September 4, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.