African American Monument

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The monument was dedicated on October 7, 2016, by the Frederick Hambright Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the National Park Service. This DAR chapter led the charge to honor these men with their own monument when the historian discovered African American soldiers fought in the battle.

Images

Pictures from the dedication ceremony with relatives of Brody in attendance.

Picture from the dedication ceremony

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

There are only three names on this monument, but it has been reported that up to 12 African American Patriot soldiers fought during the battle. The 3 names listed here applied and received a pension for their efforts during the Revolutionary War and were included by the Daughters of the American Revolution. There were two other men, Primus Record and Ishmael Titus who both claimed they fought during the battle on their pension forms. However, their pensions were denied as their claims could not be validated by a credible source.

Of the three men who fought here, Andrew Ferguson and Bowman were free men. Andrew Ferguson fought in multiple campaigns across the South and Bowman was reportedly one of the men who shot and killed Major Ferguson. Brody was a slave for Major Campbell, the leader of the Patriot forces. He earned his freedom after the death of Campbell in 1781, a few weeks before the Battle of Yorktown.

Sources

Lorretta Cozart, “Pieces of Kings Mountain History,” Kings Mountain Herald, Kings Mountain, NC, May 18, 2016.

Lyman Draper, Kings Mountain and Its Heroes: History of The Battle of Kings Mountain and the Events which Led to It, 267.

Bobby G. Moss, and Michael Scoggins, African-American Patriots in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, (Blacksburg, SC, Scotia Hibernia Press, 2004) 31, 34, 84-85, 194.

Virginia Dispatches. Dedication of DAR Marker to African American Patriots at Kings Mountain. http://www.virginiasar.org/latest-news/dedication-of-dar-marker-to-african-american-patriots-at-kings-mountain.