If we think about much beyond fireworks and parades on July 4, we likely remember the date as the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Few dwell on the fact that the declaration, in and of itself, did nothing to secure American independence from the British crown. Jack Kelly’s book Band of Giants offers an excellent resource for those who want to learn more about the people who helped ensure that the declaration endured as more than just a piece of parchment.
As Kelly’s subtitle reminds us, a group of “amateur soldiers” won America’s independence. From the generals to the foot soldiers, few within the American ranks had much experience with war before the battles of Lexington and Concord. They learned as they trudged along.
But as Kelly reminds us, some qualities of late 18th-century Americans suited them well for battle. In September 1780, for example, British Major Patrick Ferguson led a “body of loyalists” whose task was to “skirt the Appalachians” and protect the British army’s left flank as it moved into North Carolina.
Because of previous raids by cohorts of over-mountain men, Ferguson decided to shake his fist at the ignorant rebels who might threaten his force from the west. He sent a prisoner on parole with a message to those who thought the mountains would protect them. He ordered them to “desist from their opposition to British arms” or he would “march over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country to waste with fire and sword.” He hoped his words would cow the Whigs and encourage those still loyal to the king.
To the contrary, Ferguson’s threat woke up the backcountry. Word spread. The settlers took the menace seriously. Isaac Shelby, a tall, muscular, reserved man from the sparsely populated region beyond the Appalachians, had already led two hundred mounted riflemen into the North Carolina foothills that spring to fight bands of Tories. He gathered his men again. John Sevier brought another 250 fighters. Short and thick, Sevier was a hard-drinking Huguenot, as loud and brash as Shelby was quiet. William Campbell came down from the Virginia hills with 400 men. At six foot six, with his family broadsword strapped across his back, he made an impressive figure. A fourth contingent of 350 brawlers accompanied Benjamin Cleveland, a three-hundred-pound hunter, gambler, and fighter of Indians.
On September 25, the men at Sycamore Shoals in what is now eastern Tennessee. Many brought their families. The congregation was the largest and most exciting gathering any of them had ever attended. As campfires dotted the hills, the rough, mostly uneducated men talked about what to do.
The decision did not take long. The next day they headed out, an army without tents or uniforms, without a hierarchy or a supply system. Armed with knives, tomahawks, and their deadly accurate rifles, they waded through snow over mountain passes and descended into the foothills of North Carolina. …
… They were, like the Green Mountain Boys of Vermont, fiercely independent. Their Presbyterian religion, overseen by elected elders, predisposed them to democracy. Like their Gaelic ancestors, they followed war chiefs whom they chose for their physical prowess rather than their education or social standing. Having long sparred with natives, they had learned the tricks of wilderness fighting. A British officer called them “more savage than the Indians.”
Kelly offers us personal stories about generals as well, including their on-the-job training, but the quotation reminds us that American independence relied on more than just well-chosen words and strategy. Americans secured their independence, using the skills and talents developed as Americans.