Saturday, October 13, 2007

Andrew and Joseph Greer

The Messenger
Joseph Greer is known as the Kings Mountain Messenger for his personal delivery of the message to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia of the victory over the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain, South Carolina, fought on October 7, 1780. His claim to fame as the Kings Mountain Messenger came at the conclusion of the Battle of Kings Mountain when he was dispatched by Col. John Sevier to carry the message of victory to George Washington and the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia. It took him some thirty days on foot and horse while enduring the wilds of the country, the threat of hostile Indians, and the snow and rain of a severe winter to arrive with musket and compass on November 7, 1780 at the session of Congress, a 600 mile trip. It is said that the Indians shot his horse from under him and on one occasion was hiding inside a hollow log while the Indians sat on it. His entry to the Congress was restrained because he was unknown, however he pushed his 6 foot 7 inch frontiersman stature through the door and delivered his message to a stunned and disbelieving Congress. Seeing his size and courage, they were heard to say “with men of his size and strength, no wonder the frontier patriots won.”

Joseph Greer was the second son of Andrew and Ruth Greer who came from Gaughwaugher, Londonderry County, Ireland in 1750. They settled in the vicinity of Philadelphia. Andrew and Ruth had 3 sons and 2 daughters. They were Alexander 1752-1810, Joseph 1754-1831, Andrew II 1756- , Jane 1758- , and Ruth 1760-1831. Andrew’s first wife, Ruth Kincaid, died about 1761.

Andrew’s second wife was Mary Vance of a renowned family of North Carolina. She bore him 3 sons and 3 daughters. They were Margery Johnson 1768- , Thomas 1770- , John 1775- , twins David and Vance (birth date unknown), and Mary Vance (Polly) 1786- . Therefore Joseph was one of eleven children including one set of twins. Interestingly, later Joseph also had 11 children, including one set of twins.

Joseph Greer was born at Philadelphia on August 8, 1754. In his early years, Joseph moved with his parents to Staunton, Virginia, and his father traded with the Indians in lower Virginia and western North Carolina, areas which later became eastern Tennessee. In about 1766, at the age of 12, the family moved to the Watauga River area. It is known that his father, Joseph, and his brothers, Alexander and Andrew II, along with John Sevier were among forty defenders of Fort Watauga in 1769 who defeated some 300 Indians. The conflict was in the vicinity of the Town of Elizabethton.

Joseph’s first marriage was to the widow Carter of Knoxville in 1792. They had no children. Living in Knoxville, they owned a store until 1804 when his wife died and he moved to Lincoln County, Tennessee. He was a big buyer and seller of land, the first of which was acquired by grant of 2,566 acres with a warrant from North Carolina for his services during the war. This land was located south of the Elk River near Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee.

After marrying his second wife, Mary Ann Harmon of Kentucky in 1810 they settled and raised their family at Hannah’s Gap in the area of Petersburg. They had 6 sons and 5 daughters. They were: Joseph H. 1811-1858; Margaret Ruth 1813-1854; Eliza Joe 1815-1887; Alexander A. 1817-1883; Katherine Sarah 1820-1854; Jane Caroline 1821-1874; twins John Jacob 1824-1912 and Thomas Vance 1824-1917; Jefferson 1826- ; Julia Eglantine 1828- ; and George Wilson 1830-1850. Joseph had 38 grandchildren.

Joseph Greer died in 1831 of pneumonia at the age of 77. He became ill after traveling through a winter storm getting home from a trading trip to see his new-born son, George. After his death some 7000 acres were distributed by will to his heirs.

Joseph Greer’s grave can be found in a pasture field of his old home place which is located about 4 miles east of the Town of Petersburg, Tennessee, about a thousand yards north of state highway 129 near the intersection of Bledsoe Road and Three Hundred Dollar Road. His wife, Mary Ann and their last son, George, are buried next to him. The inscription on his crypt reads:
Here lies the body of Joseph Greer.He was, while living, and example ofevery virtue, distinguished for hisbenevolence and humanity. Hedied on the 23rd day of February1831, in the 77th year of his age,lamented by all who knew him.

A bronze plaque was placed at his grave site about 1930. The plaque was stolen and his crypt desecrated. In 2004 the plaque reappeared and for preservation, security, and historic recognition it is now prominently located on the Lincoln Courthouse lawn in Fayetteville, Tennessee. The plaque reads:
KINGS MOUNTAINMESSENGERJOSEPH GREER CARRIEDTHE MESSAGE OF THEVICTORY AT KINGSMOUNTAIN TO THECONTINENTAL CONGRESSAT PHILADELPHIATHEREBY TURNING THETIDE OF THE REVOLUTIOND.A.R.

Joseph Greer, the Kings Mountain Messenger, was truly a hero of the Revolution for Freedom for delivering the message of an unknown victory to a down hearted Congress that turned the tide of the war for independence against the British.

The Battle

The Battle of Kings Mountain of the American Revolution was fought on October 7, 1780 in York County, South Carolina, which is near Gastonia, North Carolina. It took place on a small, narrow, isolated plateau that rose some 150 feet above the surrounding areas of forested slopes and ravines that led to the nearly treeless summit. The Kings Mountain battle was the beginning of the successful end to the Revolution for Independence that began on April 19, 1775 at Lexington and Concord. For the most part American Patriots fought American Loyalists troops to determine their destiny in this battle.

The British under General Lord Cornwallis and Major Patrick Ferguson recruited a thousand American Loyalist Tories and trained them to fight in European open-field tactics (which would prove to be a big mistake at Kings Mountain). Cornwallis, who was mounting an invasion of North Carolina, ordered Ferguson and his Loyalists to move north into western North Carolina. Ferguson sent a message to the over-mountain back-water patriots in the Watauga settlements threatening “that if they did not desist from their opposition to the British arms, and take protection under his standard, he would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword.” The threat proved to be his undoing.
Enraged, Isaac Shelby and John Sevier organized a force to go east over the mountains and strike Ferguson before he had a chance to get to them. Quick to join them were Col. Charles McDowell, leader of 160 North Carolina Whigs and Col. William Campbell commander of 400 riflemen from the east side mountains of Virginia. These 1000 riflemen met at the appointed gathering place, Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River on September 25, 1780. They took three days crossing the Blue Ridge and at Quaker Meadows were joined by an additional 350 Whigs under Col. Benjamin Cleveland and Col. Joseph Winston. At this point Campbell was given overall command. On October 6th after days of exhausting travel they were joined at Cowpens by Col. James Williams and 400 South Carolinians. Learning that Ferguson was only 30 miles away at Kings Mountain, they chose 900 of their best men and horses and made their way there overnight.

Surrounding the mountain with Campbell and Shelby on the interior and Sevier on the right flank and Cleveland on the left flank, they moved toward the summit and the battle began at about three p.m. on the afternoon of October 7, 1780. A number of bayonet charges were made by Ferguson but were repelled by the sharpshooters of Shelby and Campbell. Meanwhile Sevier and Cleveland were gaining a foothold on the summit. As the net now was closing in on Ferguson, he was shot and killed and the fight went out of his remaining soldiers. Of the British Tory troops, 157 were killed, 163 were severely wounded and 698 were captured. The Patriots lost only 28 killed and 62 wounded. The Battle of Kings Mountain lasted only about one hour.
The site of the battle is now the 3,950 acre Kings Mountain National Military Park which celebrated its 225th Anniversary of the historic battle on October 7, 2005. Congress established the National Military Park in 1931.

Research and Credits
The forgoing information was gleaned through the cooperation, advisement, and writings of many people including but not limited to: Published records of the National Society DAR; Tennessee Society DAR; Sequoyah District TSDAR; Kings Mountain Messenger Chapter records and its members of the year 2005; writings of Mark Whitaker, a descendant of Joseph Greer; findings in the Public Library of Fayetteville-Lincoln County TN; the Public Records of Lincoln County, Tennessee; the Staff and Publications of the Kings Mountain National Military Park; the Genealogical Society of Lincoln County; and people having historical and genealogical creditability of Lincoln County; and Bettye M. Silvey, Chapter Regent 2004-2006.

JOSEPH GREER

JOSEPH GREER After the battle on Kings Mountain in what is now Blackburg, S.C., Joseph Greer was picked to deliver news of the victory to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Historians say he made most of the 600-mile, one-month trip on foot with just a compass to guide him, passing through hostile territory on the way.The war for control of America had reached a stalemate in the north in early 1780, and England's military strategy was to move into the Southern colonies and increase their troop size before returning north. Historians say the October battle halted the British advance into the Carolinas, changing the course of history and pushing the Continental Army toward its eventual victory. Nobody in the congress knew about the battle or knew of Greer until he arrived, historians said. Greer, at least 6-foot-7, had to force his way in on Nov. 7, 1780, to tell the tale of the battle, earning the nickname of the "Kings Mountain Messenger." Greer moved to what is now East Tennessee with land given to him as payment from North Carolina's military officials after the war. He later bought up to 10,000 acres of land near Petersburg in Middle Tennessee. A widower, Greer met and married Mary Ann Harmon in 1808 after moving to Petersburg. They had 11 children before his death in 1831, at the age of 77.

SOURCE: Tennessee Daughters of the American Revolution research; U.S. Department of the Interior documents; writings of Mark Whitaker, a Greer descendant Kate Howard can be reached at 726-8968 or_kahoward@tennessean.com_