In her book Heart Pine, McDowell County historian Anne Swann writes of the Cherokee people’s ancestors, ”…it was they who were the first to climb the peaks and drink from the streams that still exist here. It was their feet that found their way into this magical little place, their eyes which first looked upon [...]
Archive for the ‘Revolutionary War’ Category
The Cherokee in McDowell
Posted in Cherokee, Lydia Birchfield Story, Revolutionary War, _Interviewee: Anne Swann, tagged Cherokee, mcdowell county, oral history on February 25, 2011 |
“They lived happily ever after…for three weeks”: A Tale of the Overmountain Men
Posted in Orchard at Altapass, Revolutionary War, _Interviewee: Bill Carson, tagged Battle of King's Mountain, mcdowell county, oral history, Overmountain Men, Revolutionary War on September 8, 2009 |
Former rocket scientist (no kidding) and master storyteller Bill Carson of the Orchard at Altapass spins a yarn about romance, destiny, and the Overmountain Men- culminating in McDowell County’s pivotal role in the Battle of King’s Mountain and the Revolutionary War.
Davidson’s Fort: Revolutionary-Era America’s Farthest Outpost
Posted in Cherokee, Davidson's Fort, Old Fort, Revolutionary War, _Interviewee: Joe Williams, _Interviewee: Mark Hall, tagged Cherokee, Davidson's Fort, mcdowell county, oral history, Revolutionary War on August 11, 2009 |
In October of 1781, the Revolutionary War ended when the British surrendered at Yorktown. But, much of the groundwork for that final American victory had been laid at Davidson’s Fort, located near the present town of Old Fort. The largest volunteer militia of the war gathered there and many historians say that the grit and determination of that force [...]
















