"More Hostile Than Any Other"

"More Hostile Than Any Other". "Battle of Charlotte, September 26, 1780" - by Dan Nance. During the American Revolution, Charlotte was of vital importance as it lay directly on the invasion route (Tryon street) from the southern colonies into North Carolina. A number of major engagements were fought within 100 miles of Charlotte, including Camden, Kings Mountain, Cowpens and Guilford Court House., In late 1778, the American Revolution had reached a stalemate in the north and the British began a Southern Campaign. They had initial successes, taking Savannah (December 1778) and Charleston (May 1780). Following the fall of Charleston, British Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton destroyed a force of 380 continental soldiers in the Waxhaws, 35 miles from here, earning him the nickname "Bloody Ban". Then in August 1780 the British Army defeated the American southern army at Camden., In September 1780 the tide turned. Cornwallis' army was delayed in Charlotte by the Mecklenburg militia at the Battle of Charlotte and in October his western army under Major Patrick Ferguson was destroyed at Kings Mountain, 40 miles west of this spot. In January 1781, Tarleton's British Legion was soundly defeated at Cowpens, and in March the armies fought to a draw at Guilford Court House near present-day Greensboro. The British army then marched to Virginia where it was trapped and defeated at Yorktown. The war continued in the south with many important and bloody battles before finally ending in 1783., Many Mecklenburg citizens fought in this campaign and the sentiment in Mecklenburg was fiercely rebellious. In his memoirs, Tarleton wrote, "It was evident, and had been frequently mentioned to the King's officers, that the counties of Mecklenburg and Rohan were more hostile to England than any other in America."