John Crockett: Frontier Ranger

John Crockett: Frontier Ranger. . "My father's name was John Crockett, and he was of Irish descent. I have learned that he was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and took part in that bloody struggle. He fought, according to my information, in the battle at Kings Mountain against the British and Tories, and in some other engagements. , -David Crockett , From his Narrative, 1834, John Crockett: Frontier Ranger , The story of John Crockett and his Scots-Irish family is not unlike other pioneers who took enormous risks to carve out an existence on the American frontier during the eighteenth century. Like many others, the Crocketts strived to live independent of indentured servitude or from the shackles of tyrannical laws and heavy taxation from countries like Great Britain. The price they paid for their freedom was exceptional. In 1777, during the third year of the Revolutionary War, David Crockett's grandparents (David and Elizabeth) met head on with the disaster that enveloped so much of the Appalachian frontier. "He [John Crockett) settled there under dangerous circumstances both to himself and his family, as the country was full of Indians, who were at that time very troublesome. By the Creeks, my grandfather and grandmother Crockett were both murdered, in their own house and on the very spot of ground where Rogersville, in Hawkins county, now stands. At the same time, the Indians wounded Joseph Crockett, a brother to my father by a ball, which broke his arm..." , -David Crockett , from his Narrative, 1834, With Fire and Sword: War Comes to the Wataugans , "If you do not desist your opposition to the British Army, I shall march this army over the mountains, hang your leaders, and lay waste your country with fire and sword." , -British Major Patrick Ferguson , Message to the Patriot Settlers, By 1780, and nearly three years since the Crockett massacre at Rogerwille, the War for Independence was not going well for the Americans. And now, because of a new British emphasis on the southem colonies for Tory support and supplies, the East Tennessee valleys were targets for the left wing of the new British, advance across the Carolinas. Leading the Tories was a courageous and determined Major Patrick Ferguson, who threatened the American settlers on the other side of the mountains with total annihilation. John Crockett and his brothers joined hundreds of other frontiersmen to serve under Colonel Isaac Shelby to meet Ferguson's threat., "When we encounter the enemy, don't wait for a word of command. Let each of you be your own officer, and do the very best you can... If in the woods, shelter yourselves and give them Indian play; dance from tree to tree...and killing and disabling all you can..." , -Colonel Isaac Shelly , Tennessee Patriot Leader, On October 7, 1780, these tenacious irregulars used Indian guerrilla tactics and their longrifles to swarm around and up Kings Mountain, colliding with Ferguson's Tories at the summit. It took a little more than an hour for this fearless band of homespun fighters to totally dominate the battlefield, killing and wounding large numbers of their enemy. Major Ferguson was shot out of his saddle as he made a last desperate attempt to break through the tightening circle of death. With that decisive victory, the American cause had found its turning point to win the balance of the war. Within months, the frontier would slowly begin to find a new sense of normalcy, and men like John Crockett would return to their valleys to resume their lives on the Appalachian frontier. Credits: Mounted Rangers riding from Sycamore Shoals towards Kings Mountain. ©2015 Native Sun Productions. Designer: William Hamilton.