Blacksburg in York County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Be Your Own Officer
Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009
1. Be Your Own Officer Marker
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; advance from tree to tree...and killing and disabling all you can....
Isaac Shelby, Tennessee patriot leader
One by one, rough woodsmen from beyond the Blue Ridge plunged through the forest and up the slope you see before you as the shooting started. Life on the frontier and long experience in Indian warfare had hardened them into fierce individual fighters, not much prone to take directions from others. And like Indians, they hollered out loud as they aimed and fired, dashed and ducked.
Although their tiny farms were far away, seemingly deep in mountain strongholds, these Whigs took seriously Major Ferguson's threat to cross the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword-enough to tramp over the Blue Ridge twice to stop him.
Colonel Shelby's militia - Watauga River Valley, eastern Tennessee
The Crown forces atop Kings Mountain knew this regiment of frontiersmen. Six weeks earlier, Shelby's men had ambushed and bloodied Ferguson's troops at Musgroves Mill.
Erected by National Park Service.
Topics. This historical
this page online
Location. 35° 8.577′ N, 81° 23.034′ W. Marker is in Blacksburg, South Carolina, in York County. Marker can be reached from Kings Mountain Park Road, on the right when traveling east. Located along a 1.5 mile walking trail around the Kings Mountain Battlefield. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Blacksburg SC 29702, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Shoot Tree to Tree (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Charging Cold Steel - Three Times (about 600 feet away); Loyal Carolina Men (about 700 feet away); Drive the Enemy (about 800 feet away); Presidential Recognition (about 800 feet away); President Hoover (approx. 0.2 miles away); Col. Asbury Coward (approx. 0.2 miles away); Caught in a Crossfire (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Battle of Kings Mountain Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tighten the Noose (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blacksburg.
More about this marker. On the right side of the marker is figure depicting on of Shelby's men.
Also see . . .
1. Kings Mountain National Military Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Photographed By Brian Scott, May 14, 2010
2. Be Your Own Officer Marker
2. Kings Mountain National Military Park, Historic Resource Study, National Park Service. (Submitted on September 10, 2019.)
Photographed By Brian Scott, May 14, 2010
3. Be Your Own Officer Marker
Photographed By Brian Scott, May 14, 2010
4. Be Your Own Officer Marker
Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 6, 2010
5. Marker on the Battlefield Trail
Photographed By Brandon Fletcher, April 4, 2014
6. Be Your Own Officer Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 10, 2019. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 1,142 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on April 1, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 2, 3, 4. submitted on September 14, 2010, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. 5. submitted on August 22, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. 6. submitted on September 13, 2015, by Brandon Fletcher of Chattanooga, Tennessee. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
