Author: James August Davidson
William Davidson bridged the gap between the Old World and the New. William was born, along with his twin brother Samuel, in Ireland. Moving to America at a very young age, he made a name for himself as a frontiersman, Indian fighter, Patriot leader, and the founder of the first white settlement in North Carolina, west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He was a large estate owner and was responsible for a large family. Most importantly for a man of those times, he was highly respected and trusted as a community leader.
William's Early Life in Virginia:
Little detail is known of the early life of William. One early record indicates that John Davidson (William's Father) came to court and made an oath that he imported himself Jane, George, Thomas, William, and Samuel Davison at his own charge from Ireland to Philadelphia and from there into this colony and that this is the first time of his proving his and their rights in order to obtain land which is ordered to be certified." Orange County Order Book, July 1740, page 209. It appears that John bought land in today's Augusta County near Christians Creek and also received "headright" land in a part of Beverly Manor. After improving the land for approximately 10 years, it appears John sold out to the newly arriving Scotch-Irish at what was likely a premium. He then moved his family along the Old Wagon Road, which ran all the way from Pennsylvania to Aston County in North Carolina, seeking new opportunities.
Unfortunately, John died in 1750, shortly after arriving in North Carolina. Most of the items listed in his Will are farming implements: cows, horses, axes, a hammer, a weeding hoe, and a plow. Others were typical of what you would expect of a frontiersman at that time: a tomahawk, a rifle, two other guns, and the wagon that undoubtedly carried his family down the Old Wagon Road from Pennsylvania to Virginia and North Carolina. Perhaps surprisingly, there were also a large number of domestic comforts: two feather beds, two sets of sheets, four pillows, two table clothes, and many knives and forks.
Jane, his wife, quickly remarried, as was typical for the times. Jane married a man named William Morrison. A son of this union named William Morrison, a half-brother to John's children, will figure into our story later. On the frontier, a man without a wife was at a distinct disadvantage in maintaining a household while also working his land, whereas a woman without a husband was left without a provider. It's likely that marriages were entered into more often for security than for love. William was approximately 14 years old at the time.
It is presumed that William continued to live and work on the main homestead or with one of his older brothers until he reached his majority.
William was approximately 21 or 22 years old when he married Margaret McConnell at his property along the Catawba River. They would eventually have nine children together.
The outbreak of the American Revolution:
Major William's life, like many at the time, was overshadowed by events much larger than himself. While in his late thirties, the war finally found its way to the frontiers of America's South. As a prominent and well-respected member of his community on the farthest edge of the frontier, Major William played an important role in the war in western North Carolina. He was center stage when, for a brief period, that sparsely populated wild landscape came into international focus and ultimately helped influence the outcome of the war.
Broadly speaking, the citizens of North Carolina endured two major periods of fighting – referred to here as Phases I and II. Phase I occurred early in the war. Initially, in the far eastern part of the state, Phase I was dominated by the conflict between local Patriot militias and transplanted highland Scottish loyalists (early-1776). The latter half of Phase I (late-1776) took place in the far west of the state, in which Indians allied with the British battled the frontiersmen. Phase II occurred later in the war (1780-81), pitting Patriots against Loyalists in western North Carolina. Major William's home and community were located in an area of some of the fiercest, brutal fighting that divided families and communities. In an area that became known to history as the "Hornet's Nest," the war was not fought between standing national armies. Rather, it resembled a cruel and bloody civil war composed of ambushes and feuds fought between neighbors, friends, and family.
Major William the Patriot:
We can piece together the best guess of the Revolutionary service of William based on a variety of sources. From oral tradition, we've been told that he was a staunch Patriot, and this has been confirmed by numerous other documented sources, along with reasonable assumptions. Specifically:
His entire family served the patriot cause. Most notably, his first cousin, General William Lee Davidson, is a well-known Revolutionary War hero. He served as a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Continental Army and as a General of the North Carolina militia.
His older brother George (the man who raised General William Lee Davidson after the death of his father) served in General Rutherford's campaign against the British-allied Native American warriors in 1776.
His twin brother, Samuel, served as a captain of the local Patriot militia. The Patriot frontier fort known as "Davidson's Fort" at present-day Old Fort, North Carolina, was built on Samuel's land for protection against Cherokee warriors from the west. This fort was regularly used by the patriot militia.
His son, John, served in the patriot militia at Davidson's Fort and against the Cherokee warriors for a total of three three-month enlistments stretching from 1781 to 1782.
His daughter, Mary, married Daniel Smith at his home, "The Glades." Smith was a well-documented patriot captain who served throughout the war in the Rowan County militia and, at times, commanded Davidson's Fort. He also served in the Burke County militia later in the war and is believed to have fought at King's Mountain, later being promoted to the rank of Colonel. William's son, John, also cites Smith as his captain during two of his enlistments.
Major William, along with Colonel George Davidson, vouched for Daniel Bryson as being a "Sincere friend to American Liberty" and having "Served two Expeditions against the Cherokees tribe." They also state that Bryson "enrolled himself in the minute service to the end of the Revolution."
A primary source in the form of a Loyalist officer's journal refers to raiding "rebel" Major William Davidson's estate known as "The Glades" near Old Fort. Several sources state that he was an officer in the patriot Rowan County militia.
Lyman Draper's King's Mountain and its Hero's mentions William serving the patriot cause on two separate occasions.
After the war, William led the first European settlement, Swannanoa, West of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina.
For his participation in the campaign, Major William was granted land west of the Blue Ridge, which was likely land extracted from the Cherokee as part of the treaty to end the campaign. In all likelihood, Major William's own service was, in some way, documented. Whether to account for the land he was granted for his service or as part of a pension application from the government, it's likely that Major William would have been sure to document his service for legal reasons, if nothing else. Unfortunately, most Revolutionary War pension documents from prior to 1800 were destroyed by a fire, so if they did indeed exist, it has been lost.
Phase I: The Early Years of the War (1776):
Prior to the outbreak of the war, a provincial congress held in Halifax, North Carolina, ordered the raising of two regiments of militia from Rowan County. At that time, Major William lived on the western edge of the county, along the Catawba River, at his estate known as "The Glades." According to Revolutionary War Soldiers of Western North Carolina: Burke County Vol. I. by Emmitt R. White, Major William was an officer in the second regiment, "William Davidson served as a captain of militia in the regiment commanded by Colonel Christopher Beekman of Rowan County, (later Burke County) North Carolina in 1776."
Some of the officers of this militia regiment would go on to serve with distinction during the Revolution, "Of the second regiment (up the Catawba River), Christopher Beekman was Colonel; Charles McDowell, Lieutenant-Colonel; Hugh Brevard and George Wilfong, Majors…This military organization was intended for active service, whenever emergencies should rise." Colonel Beekman was born in New Jersey and was of German descent; moving to Rowan County (later split into Burke and McDowell counties), he was a noted surveyor. He was said to have been one of "the highest ranking and most influential military leaders from the present Burke County." Throughout the early years of the war, approximately 1775 or 1778, Beekman commanded the 2nd Regiment of Rowan County militia (Salisbury District) which was primarily engaged in the western part of the county in putting down Tory activity and defending against Native American attacks.
Based on the above sources and our knowledge of where Major William lived at the time (in the western-most region of Rowan County), combined with the fact that he was a noted Patriot, it seems probable that Emmitt White was correct in that Major William served as an officer in the regiment. Of course, there was at least one other William Davidson living in the area at the time, in addition to William Lee Davidson (who was away serving in the Continental Army). Therefore, we can't be 100% certain that the reference to William Davidson as an officer in the regiment is Major William. However, we know that his brother, George, served in the regiment and is often listed alongside William. So, whether Major William is, in fact, the William Davidson listed as a captain is perhaps irrelevant as we can be nearly certain that he was a member of the regiment, if not an officer.
Cherokee Expedition – September 1776:
The first experience of combat in the war for the men of western North Carolina occurred not with the British or even with the Loyalists but with the Indians living on the western side of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Native American warriors, allied with the British, were induced to begin raiding the white settlements of western North Carolina. They raided down the Catawba River, killing over thirty settlers. As some of the western-most settlers along the Catawba River, Major William and his friends and family were the primary targets of these attacks. Major William's cousin, John, and his family were killed by Cherokee warriors not far from William's home, "The Glades."
General Rutherford, the Salisbury District Brigadier General in command of the two regiments of Rowan County militia, addressed the North Carolina Council of Safety on 5 June 1776, requesting troops to wage battle against Cherokee warriors, which resulted in "An emergency for calling out the soldiers of the Salisbury district (Rowan County militia regiments) soon arose. Early in July of the same year (as the regiments were raised, 1776), General Rutherford led nineteen hundred men across the mountains to scourge and hold in check the [Cherokees warriors]" (Rumple, 1881). Beekman's regiment, one of the two regiments raised by the Salisbury District, was directly involved in this campaign which removed the Cherokee people as a substantial threat for the remainder of the war. It was a brutal campaign of destruction and extermination. General Rutherford assembled his force at Davidson's Fort, only several miles from Major William's home, on land owned by his twin brother Samuel, at the head of the Catawba River. The militiamen marched through the Swannanoa Gap over the Blue Ridge Mountains and into the western territory. As an officer in Beekman's regiment, Major William no doubt made his way with this force, intent not on fighting for American liberty but on subduing the Indians in order to protect his family and those of his neighbors. We can only imagine that the killing of his cousin, so near his own home, earlier in the year lay heavily upon his mind.
As an officer in the militia regiment, William's participation would have included directing his troops in the skirmishes against Cherokee worriers at Cowee Gap, Valley Town, Ellijay, and in the area near present-day Franklin, Tennessee. Additionally, he would have commanded his troops on the march and assisted in the burning of the 36 Indian towns destroyed during the campaign. Although only 21 Cherokee warriors were killed in the fighting, the destruction of their villages and vital winter food stores forced many to move away from the area rather than face cold and starvation. Expeditions into Cherokee territory continued throughout the war; however, the Rutherford campaign largely destroyed any potential of significant support from the Indians in later British/Loyalist campaigns in western North Carolina.
Phase II: The Later Years of the War (1780):
For nearly three years, little is mentioned of the war in western North Carolina. Some militiamen from the area enlisted in the Continental Army and served in the campaigns of General Washington in the north, while the majority resumed tending to their farms, content to let the war rumble on elsewhere. But as the British shifted to a "Southern Strategy" of pacifying the south before advancing back into the northern states, the local Patriots again picked up their arms and began the fight.
The British started their campaign in the south by capturing Savannah, Georgia, followed by defeating two Continental Armies in South Carolina in 1780. As the British continued to move northward, the war came right to the doorstep of the frontiersmen of western North Carolina. The region of Upper South Carolina and western North Carolina soon became known as the "Hornet's Nest" when Cornwallis wrote that the region was a "hornet's nest of rebellion." Indeed, the fighting is described as some of the most brutal of the war. Neighbor fought neighbor in a dirty war of ambush and backwoods vendetta settling. Major Hanger, a Loyalist officer operating in the region, stated that "This distinguished race of men are more savage than the Indians, and possess every one of their vices, but not one of their virtues. I have known one of these fellows to travel two hundred miles through the woods, never keeping any road or path, guided by the sun by day, and the stars by night, to kill a particular person belonging to the opposite party. He would shoot him before his own door and ride away to boast of what he had done on his return…I speak only of that heathen race known by the name of Crackers." (Hanger's Life and Opinions, ii, 403-405)
In this type of environment, there could be no conscientious objectors; one had to pick a side and fight. General Greene neatly summed up the degree of savagery in the region when he wrote, "The animosity between the Whigs (Patriots) and Tories rendered their situation truly deplorable. There is not a day that passes, but there are more or less who fall a sacrifice to this savage disposition. The Whigs seem determined to extirpate the Tories, and the Tories the Whigs. Some thousands have fallen in this way in this quarter and the evil rages with more violence than ever. If a stop cannot be put to these massacres, the country will be depopulated in a few months more, as neither Whig nor Tory can live." (Green, Life of Greene, iii, 227)
In May 1780, Major Patrick Ferguson, a British Army officer, was ordered to raise and organize a Loyalist force from the Tory population of the Carolina Backcountry. His aim, in addition to raising troops, was to protect the western flank of Lord Cornwallis' main force as it planned to move north from South Carolina to Charlotte, North Carolina. The battles of Ramseur's Mill, Musgrove Mill, and King's Mountain were a result of Loyalist efforts to raise and organize their forces in the region. As a result, nearly all the battles were fought between Americans, pitting Loyalist and Patriot neighbors against each other.
As with the early period of the war, Major William's participation in the fighting was a result of his membership in the local militia. He had been a member of the Rowan County militia, but in 1777, Rowan County was split to form new counties. Though Major William did not relocate during this time period, his home now fell in Burke County (which has resulted in some confusion for genealogists). The result was that he was no longer a part of Beekman's regiment (which no longer existed in its previous form) but was now an officer in the Burke County militia. Sondley sources an address by the Honorable Theodore F. Davidson at the Alexander Davidson Reunion in 1911 for William's revolutionary service during this period, "This William Davidson, known in later life as Major Davidson was active and prominent in the Revolutionary War and subsequently. He was a captain in the military organization of Burke County, then in Rowan County and a member of its 'Committee of Safety and Independence'; he was Lieutenant in Captain Houston's mounted company and participated in the battles of Ramseur's Mill, Enoree (Musgrove Mill), and in the military campaigns in North Carolina in 1780/81, when Cornwallis invaded the State. It is probable he was in the battle of King's Mountain." (Sondley, 1930)
Major William, as an officer in the Burke County militia, now reported to Colonel Joseph McDowell, a neighbor who lived several miles away and was the commander of the Burke County militia. After the war, one of McDowell's sons would marry one of Major William's daughters.
Battle of Ramseur's Mill – 20 June 1780:
The first of the battles in which Major William is considered a probable participant was the Battle of Ramseur's Mill. This battle, which occurred one month after Major Ferguson was ordered to begin the collection and organization of Loyalist forces in the region, was fought between 400 Patriots and 1,300 Loyalists. A local Loyalist had begun gathering Tory forces at Ramseur's Mill, against Lord Cornwallis' orders which stated that Loyalists should not organize until more British forces had time to move into the area to protect them. On 18 June, General Griffith Rutherford (the leader of the 1776 Indian campaign) was camped near Charlotte when he heard the news of the Loyalist force assembling at Ramseur's Mill. He immediately began to march to the Loyalist camp in order to break up any efforts to raise a significant-sized force. In addition, he sent orders for local militia leaders to call up their militias. If Major William did, indeed, fight in the battle, then it was as a result of the call for local militias to gather. As a member of a mounted company, it is likely that his force was able to quickly gather and advance towards Ramseur's Mill. According to the Lincoln County Historical Association, the Patriot force was primarily composed of men from Rowan, Burke, Iredell, and Mecklenburg counties – although the men from Iredell and Mecklenburg counties arrived too late to participate in the fighting. As an officer in a Burke County militia company, it is unlikely that Major William did not join the Patriot forces gathering for the battle.
Though outnumbered, the Patriot force marched through the night and attacked the Loyalist position early on a foggy morning. The Patriot cavalry, led by the Burke County militia (in which Major William was an officer) commanded by Joseph McDowell, immediately charged the Loyalist line while the infantry moved up. The Loyalists rallied and drove the cavalry back into the Patriot infantry line. Charging in pursuit of the Patriot cavalry, the Loyalist advanced directly into the face of heavy Patriot infantry fire. The Patriot infantry attacked uphill but was repulsed by the Loyalists. The battle swayed back and forth, and, in confusion among these non-uniformed militias, the Patriots were finally able to turn the Loyalist's right flank – a quarter of whom were not yet armed. Little is known about the actual conduct of the battle (with the exception of Pension Application W3962), and there are two disputing accounts. The most often cited version given by Graham contends that the Patriot militia had driven straight towards the Loyalist position, led by the Burke County militia, and attacked with such vigor as to scatter many of the Loyalist units. The Loyalist force, which had just recently organized, was probably not yet very well structured or disciplined, whereas the Patriot militias had served alongside one another for years. One affidavit mentions the Patriot Captain Dickey shouting during the battle, "Shoot straight, my boys, and keep on fighting. I see some of them beginning to tumble." The second version given by Reep, a young man who lived nearby, contends that the Patriots split their forces with one group attacking directly into the Loyalists' flank.
In either case, the result was the same. By the time General Rutherford arrived on the scene, the Loyalists were ready to surrender. While negotiations were conducted, most of the Loyalists slipped away, resulting in only 50-100 being taken, prisoner. Casualties were difficult to determine as none of the militiamen wore uniforms, but as the morning fog began to burn away, it was estimated that roughly 50-70 were killed on each side, with another 100 wounded. The battle had been a disorganized affair, with the Patriot militia rushing into the battle before all of their forces had assembled. General Rutherford's men from Iredell and Mecklenburg counties did not arrive in time for the battle, which means that the militia of Rowan County and Major William's home county of Burke shouldered the bulk of the fighting.
Battle of King's Mountain – 7 October 1780 (campaign confirmed, possible battle participant):
Major William's involvement in the campaign leading up to the Battle of King's Mountain is well-documented thanks, in large part, to the efforts of Lyman Draper, whose book, King's Mountain & Its Heroes, I have referenced previously and was published in 1881. Draper tirelessly researched the book, collecting and documenting as many sources as possible. His research extended much further than just collecting documents; rather, he contacted every son and grandson of those that had lived in the Hornet's Nest during the war in order to collect as many near-firsthand accounts as possible.
Following the Battle of Musgrove Mill, Major Patrick Ferguson took his command of Loyalist militia and advanced deep into western North Carolina, reaching as far as Major William's home, which was situated at the far western edge of Burke County. Ferguson's aim was to subdue the Patriot militias, which had been hampering Lord Cornwallis's army and disrupting attempts to gather Loyalist forces. Meanwhile, the Patriot leaders of the area met to determine how to best cope with the advance. They decided to gather a force of both the local militias and the "Overmountain Men" (those men that lived beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains in present-day Tennessee and Virginia) for an attack on Ferguson. In addition, McDowell, the commander of Major William's Burke County militia, was to "devise the best means to preserve the beef stock of the Whigs of the Upper Catawba valleys and coves (Burke County), which would undoubtedly be an early object of Ferguson's attention." (Draper, 119). By denying Major Patrick Ferguson any means of feeding his forces, the Patriot leaders hoped to force his quick withdrawal from the area.
Draper states that "As had been anticipated by the Patriots, Ferguson, either in full force or with a strong detachment, penetrated into the very heart of Burke County – as far as Davidson's "Old Fort," in the extreme western part of Burke County, now McDowell County (Draper 151, as confirmed by correspondence with Colonel Silas McDowell). Indeed, a journal entry by Lieutenant Anthony Allaire, a Loyalist office in Ferguson's command, confirms that on "Sunday 17th (September). Got in motion and marched two miles to Buck's creek, forded it, and continued our march two miles farther to a Rebel Maj. Davidson's plantation, and halted." (Allaire Diary) This passage confirms several things for us, 1) that Major William was a known rebel by the time Ferguson's force reached his home after he had taken protection for the cattle, 2) that Major William was one of the Patriot leaders who had left home to avoid Ferguson's forces, and 3) that Major William's plantation, the Glades, was the furthest point into the frontier reached by Ferguson (confirmed by other journal entries in which Allaire states that the command went a little further, then turned around to march back to Lord Cornwallis' army).
While at Major William's home, two stories have become a part of Davidson Family legend, "A little incident, worthy of relation, occurred while the British troops were encamped at Davidson's place, since McIntyre's, two miles west of Captain Carson's. A soldier was tempted to kill a chicken and enjoy a savory meal, but he happened to be discovered by Mrs. Davidson, who promptly reported the theft to Ferguson. The British commander had the culprit immediately punished and gave the good lady a dollar in compensation for the loss. This act was certainly creditable to Ferguson's sense of justice, but it was, like an oasis in the desert, a circumstance of very infrequent occurrence." (Draper 198, confirmed by a letter of Governor D.L. Swain, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 8 February 1854 to General John G. Bynum, on the authority of D. M. Smith, of Asheville, North Carolina, a grandson of Mrs. Davidson, communicated by Rev. W. S. Bynum of Winston, North Carolina). The second incident occurred either at this time or on a previous occasion, "While the British were on the lookout for 'rebels,' they went to the home of William Davidson: and young Morrison, her husband's half-brother, attempted to frighten her into revealing the hiding place of her husband by pointing a gun at her in a threatening manner. He failed to get any information." It will be recalled that Major William's mother remarried a man named Morrison after his father's death. This marriage resulted in one son who, evidently, remained a Loyalist throughout the war. Even within our own family, it can be seen that the war in the Hornet's Nest really did divide families.
After Ferguson's troops left the area, the Patriot leaders, including Major William, came out of hiding and began to gather, "Passing through Burke County, McDowell's command (the Burke County militia), particularly, was considerably increased by relatives, friends, and neighbors" (Draper, 190). In Benjamin Sharp's published recollection of the battle, he mentions that 300-400 of McDowell's Burke County had fled over the mountains and, joined by the Overmountain men, crossed back over in pursuit of Ferguson. We know that Major William was away from home by the time Ferguson reached the Glades, so it seems likely that he returned at this time with the hidden cattle and joined with his militia company under McDowell in order to pursue the Tory force if he had not already joined them.
During the pursuit, the Patriots gathered additional forces from as far away as present-day Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Colonel McDowell, ostensibly the leader of the gathering force, was concerned about making an attack without permission from a general officer. It was decided that he would go get permission, but as soon as he left, the remaining militia commanders decided to begin a more vigorous pursuit of Ferguson. With Colonel McDowell gone, the Burke County militia was left under the command of Colonel McDowell's brother, Major McDowell. In order to increase the pace of their pursuit, it was decided that infantry and weaker horses would be left behind. By the time of the battle, McDowell is cited as having brought 160 militiamen from Burke County (Buchanan, 212) leading us to conclude that 140-240 members of the Burke County militia were left behind. Often cited as a member of a mounted company, it's possible that Major William continued in the pursuit, which, by 7 October, had finally caught up to Major Ferguson's Loyalist command who were encamped on the top of King's Mountain. Less than three weeks since camping at Major William's plantation, Ferguson's force of 1,100 Loyalists was silently surrounded on top of King's Mountain by 900 Patriots.
The battle was not fought as a typically organized affair. Rather, as one of the militia commanders stated to his men prior to the battle, "When you are engaged, you are not to wait for the word of command from me. I will show you, by my example, how to fight; I can undertake no more. Every man must consider himself an officer and act from his own judgment." (Draper, 249). Experience from Indian fighting, the Patriots made their way up the mountain, firing at the Loyalists from behind trees. Major Ferguson, commanding his red-coated provincial regulars, moved to different weak points in his line, leading bayonet charges to drive the Patriots back. After being driven back, the Patriots would again make their way, tree by tree, back up the mountain. Most of the bayonet charges were directed at Campbell and Seviers' men; however, "McDowell's corps received a bayonet charge" (Draper, 278) as well. Draper notes that "All the different corps fought well at King's Mountain. The Burke and Rutherford Battalion, under McDowell and Hampton, performed their full share in the engagement." (Draper, 265). After an hour of fighting, shortly before sunset, Ferguson was killed while leading a charge against Sevier's men. After that, the remainder of Ferguson's command quickly surrendered, leaving 290 dead compared to 29 on the Patriot side.
After the battle, a party of Tories traveled into the area to determine what had happened – unbelieving that Ferguson's entire command could have been destroyed. Draper reports, "While there, several neutrals, as they termed themselves, but really Tories in disguise, called to learn the news of the battle" (Draper, 365). When asked, "Where did the Whigs get men enough to defeat him (Ferguson)? The Patriots responded, "the South Carolina and Georgia refugees, Colonel Graham's Lincoln County men, some from Virginia, some from the head of the Yadkin, some from the head of the Catawba (Burke County), some from over the mountains, and some pretty much from everywhere." (Draper, 365). After the Battle of King's Mountain, Cornwallis, who had been in Charlotte, abandoned his plans to invade and subdue North Carolina. He retreated back to South Carolina and would not reenter the state until 1781, when he began the campaign that would lead to his ultimate defeat at Yorktown, Virginia. The war in western North Carolina was largely over. Notable Tories fled the area while the men of the Hornet's Nest returned to farming their land and grazing their cattle.
It's impossible for us to know whether Major William was actually at the battle. Numerous sources tell us that he was involved in the campaign. Emmitt R. White, who also mentions Major William's service in Beekman's regiment early in the war, stated in Revolutionary War Soldiers of Western North Carolina: Burke County Vol. I that in addition to his earlier service, he "Later, as a Major, he played a prominent role in the preparation of the Kings Mountain battle plans." (White E. R.) This is likely referring to his role in saving the Patriot cattle from appropriation by Ferguson, or perhaps he played a more prominent role in leading his men into the battle as part of McDowell's contingent. The Daughters of the American Revolution, known for a stringent verification process, also cites Major William's service in the Rowan (Burke) County militia during this period. In addition, as previously mentioned, Sondley sources the address by the Honorable Theodore F. Davidson at the Alexander-Davidson Reunion in 1911 for William's Revolutionary service during this period, "This William Davidson, known in later life as Major Davidson was active and prominent in the Revolutionary War and subsequently. He was a captain in the military organization of Iredell County, then in Rowan County and a member of its 'Committee of Safety and Independence'; he was lieutenant in Capt. Houston's mounted company participated in the battles of Ramseur's Mill, Enoree, and in the military campaigns in North Carolina 1780/81, when Cornwallis invaded the State. It is probable he was in the battle of King's Mountain." (Sondley, 1930)
After the War:
After the Revolutionary War, past agreements with the Cherokee Nation and their allies ended. Samuel and William Davidson made plans to move west of the Blue Ridge with relatives and friends to establish the first white settlement in North Carolina. They selected land near the confluence of the Swannanoa River and Bee Tree Creek. Samuel led the way with his family, but he was lured into the woods and killed by Cherokee warriors in 1784. His wife and young daughter escaped across the mountains at night. Major William Davidson led a party in pursuit and caught the perpetrators. A granite marker marks Samuel's burial place.
William subsequently led additional settlers across the mountains to establish a permanent settlement on the Swannanoa. Interestingly in late 1789, John Steele Esq, a Special Indian Commissioner, mentioned that he "stored the goods at the house of Major William Davidson on Swannonoa."
Major Davidson spent the remainder of his life there and was buried on his plantation when he died on 16 May 1814. Margaret preceded William in death, dying on 13 November 1806, and is also buried on the plantation.
Many years after his death in July 1902, the Daughters of the American Revolution erected a monument in William's memory at Piney Grove Church on Bee Tree Road, Swannanoa, North Carolina. His son, Colonel Samuel W. Davidson, a very small child when the family removed from The Glades on the Catawba River to Bee Tree Creek, was, for half of a century or more, a resident on the place settled there by his father and one of the most respected and influential men in Western North Carolina.
Sources:
- Sondley, Forster Alexander, History of Buncombe County, North Carolina, North Carolina. Asheville: Advocate Printing Company, 1930.
- White, Emmett R., Revolutionary War Soldiers of Western North Carolina, Vol. 1, (Burke County), South Carolina. Greenville: Southern Historical Press, 1984.
- Draper, Lyman C., King’s Mountain, and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King’s Mountain, October 7th, 1780 and the Events Which Led to It, Ohio. Cincinnati: Peter G. Thomson, Publisher, 1881.
- Rumple, Jethro, A History of Rowan County, North Carolina, Containing Sketches of Prominent Families and Distinguished Men, North Carolina. Salisbury: J.J. Bruner, 1881.
- Hanger, George, The Life, Adventures and Opinions of Colonel George Hanger, England, London: J. Debrett Publisher, 1801.
