Talk:Patrick Ferguson

Ill-used?
"It was claimed – also by the Rebels themselves – that his corpse was ill-used before burial in an oxhide." How so? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.62.15.74 (talk) 01:40, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

it says he was pissed on!Godspeed John Glenn! Will 00:19, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

Stuff
This was removed from the 71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser's Highlanders article as trivia. It should be reviewed and used in this article, if cites can be found. The Ferguson gun reference is interesting, but no source was given:


 * inventor of the Ferguson gun, an officer in the 71st Foot. Major Ferguson entered the British Army at 15, was an excellent marksman, and a three year veteran of the American Revolutionary War.  He was appointed commander of all Loyalist militia in the Carolinas after the surrender of Charleston139.48.25.61 (talk) 14:43, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Tag & Assess 2008
Article reassessed and graded as start class. --dashiellx (talk) 20:18, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Tone
Issues include use of the term "Rebel," which is not ever used in reference to Patriot forces of the Revolution. It has a colloquial meaning in relation to the Civil War some 90 years later, but even then it is not the academically preferred term. Further, the article is written in a style and with such a tone as to degrade the subject of the article and also the Patriot revolutionaries against whom the subject fought. I have tagged for lacking sources the areas of principle concern. 98.218.208.8 (talk) 22:37, 19 March 2009 (UTC)

I have lived close to the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain for the last 21 years so am very familiar with the story of the action and what lead up to it. In all the accounts I have read, with the exception of the one posted here, there has been no mention of Ferguson shooting a patriot who was trying to take his surrender and it simply does not ring true. The accounts I have read indicate that Ferguson was shot from his horse, almost none mention him being dragged, and died shortly afterward. I would like the author to cite a reference for this statement.

It may be difficult for the modern reader to realize how much animosity the combatants at Kings Mountain had for one another. Most of Ferguson’s troops were American loyalists, and his presence in the area was for the purpose of recruiting more loyalists to serve the king. He had sent messages to the over-the-mountain folks threatening to lay waste to their region with fire and sword if they did not cease their resistance to the Crown. In those messages he used some pretty harsh language, some of which involved urination. So, the actions of the victors after his death are understandable in view of the Major’s threats. It should also be noted that there were some hangings of captured loyalists after the battlefield was cleared. The war in the South had become something of a civil war by that time and neither side was in any mood to show mercy.

There are many families in the area today who have been here since the days prior to the Revolution. The animosity is gone, of course, but there are still some tales told that have not made the history books. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.20.49.108 (talk) 20:28, 1 October 2009 (UTC)

Actually, the term Rebel is used frequently to describe the American forces in the Revolutionary War. The article on Patrick Ferguson at ushistory.org, uses the term several times. The term is widely used in other articles on the war and in books. The book "King's Mountain and Its Heroes" by Lynn Copeland Draper published in 1881 uses "Rebel" throughout as well.