Andrew Davis> What's up with the massive pile of rocks behind Major Patrick Ferguson's grave marker at Kings Mountain National Military Park?

Robert Holmes> He was also a proud supporter of the Crown and strongly believed in the British cause of maintaining control of the American colonies.

He really represented these loyalists who were now fighting against them, their neighbors.

So it wasn't really anything that he did, it was what he represented.

That's why South Carolina's Patriots didn't like him.

Davis> In many respects, the American Revolution was also a civil conflict.

Not every North American colonist desired to sever ties with the British Crown.

Those who remained loyal to Great Britain were known as "Loyalists" or "Tories".

Neighbors took up arms against neighbors.

When the British strategy shifted southward in 1780, England hoped to take advantage of the perceived loyalist majority population.

For the loyalist militia in the south, their commanding officer was Major Patrick Ferguson.

Major Ferguson fell during the decisive Battle of Kings Mountain and his final resting place can be seen here at Kings Mountain National Military Park.

But why is there a massive pile of stones on top of it?

I'm your host, Andrew Davis.

Today's edition of "Curiosity Trek!"

takes us to Kings Mountain National Military Park.

The park is located between Cherokee and York Counties, about 2 hours from Columbia.

Ranger Robert Holmes will leave no stone unturned with the history surrounding this grave marker.

Holmes> My name is Robert Holmes.

I work for the National Park Service, as a park ranger right here at Kings Mountain National Military Park in South Carolina.

Davis> Now, could you give our audiences a brief overview of the Battle of Kings Mountain?

What was it all about?

Holmes> Of course.

So the Battle of Kings Mountain is fought on October 7th, 1780.

This battle is fought largely by militia groups of Patriots and Loyalists.

These militiamen came from all over the place.

The British have overrun South Carolina, and basically returned it to the fold as a colony and are preparing to invade North Carolina.

They've sent a force out along the North Carolina frontier, which has been forced to fall back here to Kings Mountain.

This force is commanded by Major Patrick Ferguson.

The Patriots are trying to catch up to him and defeat him before he reaches Charlotte, because that's where Lord Cornwallis, the commander of British forces in the Southern Theater is headquartered with the main British Army, and the Patriots know that if Ferguson were to reach Charlotte, there's not going to be any chance for them to catch him or defeat him.

The morning of October 7th, Ferguson is encamped at the top of King's Mountain.

The Patriots have ridden hard through the night.

They dismount from their horses and divide themselves into two columns.

They're going to make use of a classic Native American tactic known as the "Half Moon".

The first column is going to march up and initiate the battle.

They're going to form that sort of "C" shape for that half moon and start the battle off.

Once they've captured the attention of Ferguson's Loyalists, the second column will come up from their rear to complete the encirclement around the Loyalist position on King's Mountain cut them off so that they've got no way to escape.

The Patriots will then fight their way slowly to the top of King's Mountain over the course of an hour.

Once they've gained the peak of King's Mountain, the Loyalists are now taking fire from all sides as well as from above them.

There's no possibility for them to escape at this point.

Ferguson realized the danger so he made one final last ditch, to break out and save his men or to escape, potentially, depending on what you think of Ferguson the man.

He gathered his few mounted officers, about ten of them.

They drew their swords, got together on the back of their horses, and led a cavalry charge into the Patriot lines.

Patriot militiamen had traditionally not fared very well when they were faced down with cavalry forces.

In this instance, however, his charge was met by a hail of gunfire from the Patriots.

Nine men claimed to have taken shots at Patrick Ferguson.

He was knocked from his saddle, dragged a short distance by his horse before his body finally came to a rest.

When his body was inspected by the Patriots at the end of the battle, they found he had been hit seven times.

He was most likely dead before he hit the ground.

Davis> Despite Britain's grip on South Carolina, The Patriot victory at King's Mountain made people think: Perhaps the fight for independence is not lost after all!

For the Patriot rebels, Ferguson was the personification of British control.

Holmes> The Battle of Kings Mountain is the first real, large scale decisive Patriot victory since the fall of Charleston.

It's not so much in the defeat of the Loyalists here that this battle is so important in that it is a change of people's perceptions.

Prior to this point, most observers would think that the war in South Carolina was over, that the Patriots have lost, that South Carolina is now going to be a British colony.

After the Battle of Kings Mountain that perception begins to change.

The war in South Carolina was a partisan war.

It was very brutal.

And there were a number of figures who committed all sorts of atrocities during the war.

That wasn't Patrick Ferguson himself.

He didn't commit anything that could be considered a atrocity here in South Carolina.

However, as the inspector of militia, all of those Loyalist militiamen, they reported to him directly.

He was also a proud supporter of the Crown and strongly believed in the British cause of maintaining control of the American colonies.

So he was responsible for ensuring that the British policies were enforced here in South Carolina by his militiamen.

The reason why the Patriots didn't like him is because he really represented these Loyalists who were now fighting against them, their neighbors, the ones who were committing these atrocities.

So it wasn't really anything that he DID it was what he represented.

Davis> So Major Ferguson was originally buried in an unmarked grave...

If he was so unliked in South Carolina, why would someone decide to erect a grave marker in his honor?

Holmes> Well, the grave marker that we have here in the park today dates from about 1930.

This is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Kings Mountain.

Things had changed very dramatically in terms of the relationship between the United States and Great Britain at that point.

If you look at the inscription on the gravestone itself, it tells us that this gravestone was a token of the appreciation of the bonds of friendship between the citizens of the United States and the people of the British Empire.

Just 15 years earlier, give or take the Americans and the British had fought together in France during World War I and about ten years after this they're going to do so again during World War II..

I also think it's important to note that Patrick Ferguson is probably the most important British officer killed in South Carolina during the course of the American Revolution.

As far as we can tell, he's also the only leader of an army who was killed in battle from the side of the British, who is still buried on the battlefield where he fell.

So I think it's sort of a recognition of those facts, as well as the fact that he's also the only British officer to fight in the Battle of Kings Mountain.

On his gravestone and in other places you'll see him referred to as Colonel Patrick Ferguson.

His promotion had to come over from Great Britain.

So he didn't have that in hand at the time of the Battle of Kings Mountain.

So at the time of the battle, he was still a Major.

When they put his gravestone in place, they decided to put Colonel on there instead of Major in recognition that his commission to the rank of Colonel had actually been approved, even though he didn't have it in hand.

Davis> Now, this massive pile of rocks behind this grave marker...

When did this practice first start?

Holmes> So we're not entirely sure about that.

This massive pile of rocks is what's known as a "Cairn" there's a number of different pronunciations depending on which part of Scotland you're coming from.

But this is a Scottish practice and it's to commemorate the death of a loved one or a person of high status.

And according to some of those Scottish traditions, passers by will add rocks to the pile to bring a little bit of luck from that individual to themselves.

Now, here in South Carolina, local tradition also has it, that this pile of rocks is to make sure that he stays in the ground.

Davis> Ranger Holmes hopes that when visitors come to the King's Mountain battlefield and stop at Major Ferguson's grave, that they will view it not with feelings of contempt, but as a symbol of healing, which comes with the passage of time.

Holmes> I'd also like people to keep in mind the importance of being "gracious victors".

This gravesite was erected to the person who lost the battle and the people who fought under his command, those Loyalists?

They were Americans.

They were from South Carolina.

They were from North Carolina as well.

They knew people who were fighting on the side of the Patriots.

Once the war was over, they had to figure out how to live together again.

And I think it's very important that we remember those lessons about being gracious in victory.

Davis> Now that we know more about Patrick Ferguson and what his grave marker represents, we hope it maybe shifted your perspective to humanize Major Ferguson and his loyalist militia.

If you visit the park for yourself and wish to add a stone to the pile, perhaps this expose will encourage you to consider the marker's message beforehand.

I'm Andrew Davis.

Take care, and we hope you will join us on the next Adventure of "Curiosity Trek!

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