Robert Henry in the Revolutionary war

"...in July, 1802, on motion of Joseph Spencer and the production of his county court license, Robert Henry, Esq., became an attorney of the court. This singular, versatile and able man has left his impress upon Buncombe County and Western North Carolina. Born in Tryon (afterward Lincoln) County, North Carolina on Feb. 10, 1765 in a rail pen, he was the son of Thomas Henry, an emigrant from the north of Ireland. When Robert was a school boy he fought on the American side at King's Mountain, and was badly wounded in the hand by a bayonet thrust. Later [Henry] was in the heat of the fight at Cowan's Ford, and was very near Gen. William Davidson when [Davidson] was killed. After the war he removed to Buncombe County and on the Swannanoa taught the first school ever held in that county. He then became a surveyor, and after a long and extensive experience, in which he surveyed many of the large grants in all the counties of Western North Carolina, and even in Middle Tennessee, and participated in 1799...in locating and marking the line between the State of North Carolina and the State of Tennessee, he turned his attention to the study of law. In 1806, he was made solicitor of Buncombe County. He it was who opened up and for years conducted as a public resort the Sulphur Springs, near Asheville, later known as Deaver's Spring and still more recently as Carriers' Springs. On Jan. 6, 1863 he died in Clay County, North Carolina as the age of 98 years, and was "undoubtedly the last of the heroes of Kings Mountain." To him we are indebted for the preservation, and in part, authorship of the most graphic and detailed accounts of the fights at Kings Mountain and Cowan's Ford which now exist. He was the first resident lawyer of Buncombe County. (1922. Sondley, F. A. Asheville and Buncombe County, pp. 124, 125.)

"The late John P. Arthur, author of the History of Western North Carolina and the History of Watauga County, was a grandson of Robert Henry. (1922. Sondley, F. A. Asheville and Buncombe County, pp. 124, 125.)

The South Fork boys marched to their position with quick step, Major Chronicle ten paces in advance, and heading the column were Enock Gilmer, Hugh Ewin, Adam Barry, and Robert Henry. Arriving at the end of the mountain, Major Chronicle cried, "Face to the Hill!" The words were scarcely uttered when they were fired upon by the enemy's sharp-shooters, and Major Chronicle and William Rabb fell dead. But they pressed up the hill under the leadership of Lieutenant-Colonel Hambright, Maj. Jos. Dixon, Capts. James Johnson, Samuel Espy, Samuel Martin, and James White. Before they reached the crest, the enemy charged bayonets, first , however, discharging their guns, killing Captain Mattocks and John Boyd and wounding Gilmer and John Chittim. As Robert Henry, a lad of sixteen, raised his gun to fire, a bayonet glanced along the barrel, through his hand and into his thigh. Henry discharged his gun, killing the Briton and both fell to the ground.

Henry observed that many of his comrades were not more than a gun's length in front of the bayonets and the farthest not more than twenty feet. Reaching the foot of the hill, they reloaded, and fired with deadly effect upon their pursuers, in turn chasing their enemies up the mountain. William Caldwell, seeing Henry's condition, pulled the bayonet out of his thigh, kicked his hand from the bloody instrument and passed on. Thus the battle raged on all sides. No regiment, no man failed to do his duty. The unerring aim of the mountain men from behind every tree and every rock was rapidly diminishing the brave fighters under Ferguson, who began to despair. At the end of an hour Ferguson was killed and a white flag was hoisted in token of surrender. Three hundred of his men were dead and wounded, and six hundred prisoners. The Americans suffered a loss of twenty-eight killed and seventy-four wounded.

The Lincoln County men, considering their small number, suffered considerably in the engagement: Maj. William Chronicle, Capt. John Mattocks, William Rabb, John Boyd and Arthur Patterson were killed; Moses Henry died soon thereafter in the hospital at Charlotte of the wound he received in the battle; Capt. Samuel Espey, Robert Henry, William Gilmer, John Chittim, and William Bradley were wounded. The Tories, shooting down the steep mountain side, much of their aim was too high. Lieutenant-Colonel Hambright's hat was perforated with three bullet holes, and he received a shot through the thigh, his boot filled and ran over with blood, but he remained in the fight till the end, gallantly encouraging his men.

Lincoln County Pension Roll

On the pension roll as late as 1834, more than fifty years after the Revolution, the following is the Lincoln County list of soldiers yet living and drawing pension: Robert Abernathy, Vincent Allen, Christian Arny, Matthew Armstrong, Robert Berry, Jonas Bradshaw, Caspar Bolick, Alexander Brevard, Samuel Caldwell, William Carroll, John Chittim, Michael Cline, Samuel Collins, Martin Coulter, Thomas Costner, George Dameron, Joseph Dixon, Peter Eddlemon, William Elmore, Samuel Espey, James Farewell, Abraham Forney, Robinson Goodwin, Joseph Graham, William Gregory, Nathan Gwaltney, Nicholas Hafner, Simon Hager, John Harman, John Helm, James Henry, James Hill, John Kidd, John Kincaid, Robert Knox, Shadrack Lefcy, Tapley Mahannas, Marmaduke Maples, Samuel Martin, Thomas Mason, William Mayes, William McCarthy, William McLean, Nathan Mendenhall, Alexander Moore, John Moore, William Moore, Jeremiah Mundy, Humphrey Parker, Hiram Pendleton, Jacob Plonk, William Potter, William Rankin, Charlie Regan, Adam Reep, Joshua Roberts, James Robinson, Henry Rumfeldt, Peter Schrum, John Stamey, Bartholomew Thompson, Charles Thompson, Phillip Tillman, Conrad Tippong, Robert Tucker, John Turbyfill, Charles Whit, John Wilfong, Joseph Willis, James Wilkinson, and Elisha Withers.

FROM: ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/lincoln/history/nixon.txt

P. 380 - Robert Henry

In July, 1802, on motion of Joseph Spencer, and the production of his county court license, Robert Henry, Esq. became an attorney of the court. This singular, versitile and able man has left his impress upon Buncombe county and Western North Carolina. Born in Tryon (afterward Lincoln) county, North Carolina, on Februay 10, 1765, in a rail pen, he was the sn of Thomas Henry, an emigrant from the north of Ireland. When Robert was a schoolboy, he fought on the American side of Kings Mountain and was badly wounded in the hand by a bayonet thrust. Later he was in the heat of the fight at Cowan's Ford and was very near Gen. William Davidson when the latter was killed. After the war he removed to Buncombe county and on the Swannanoa taught the first school ever held in that county. He then became a surveyor, and after a long and extensive experience,, in which he surveyed many of the large grants in all the counties of western North Carolina and even in middle Tennessee, and participated in 1799, as such, in locating and marking the line between the State of North Carolina and the State of Tennessee, he turned his attention to the study of law. In January, 1806, he was made solicitor of Buncombe county. He it was who opened up and for years conducted as a public resort the Sulphur Springs near Asheville, later known as Deaver's Springs and still more recently as Carrier's Springs. On January 6, 1863, he died in Clay County, N.C. at the age of 98 years, and undoubtedly the last of the heroes of Kings Mountain.  "To him we are indebted for the preservation and, in part, authorsihp of the most graphic and detailed accounts of the fights at Kings Mountain and Cowan's ford which now exist. He was the first resident lawher of Buncombe county."

Colonel Davidson's Recollections of Robert Henry.

"I must not omit ... to mention Robert Henry, who lived, owned and settled the Sulphur Springs. He was an old man when I first knew him, say fifty years ago (that as 1891); he had then retired from the profession of the law wihch he had practiced many years. This was before I knew him well. He was tedious and slow in conversation, but always interesting to the student. He had been a fine lawyer, and remarkable in criminal cases. He could recite his experiences of cases in most minute detail. He insisted that, underlying all, there was invariably a principle which settled every rule of evidence and point of law. I chanced to get some of his old criminal law books, such as Foster's Crown Law, Hale's Pleas of the Crown, etc. and I found them well annotated with accurate marginal notes, showing great industry and thought in their perusal. He had a grand history in our struggle for independence' was at Charlotte when the Declaration of Independence was made, but, being a boy at this time, he did not understand the character of the resolutions; but said he heard the crowd shout and declared themselves freed from the British government. He afterwards fought at the battle of Kings Mountain and was severely wounded in the hand and thigh, by a bayonet in the charge of Ferguson's men.

"...it being again found 'impracticable to take horses from this place [Nolichucky River] to the Bald mountain, Mr. Henry, the chain-bearers and markers, took provisions on their backs and proceeded on the line and the horses went round by the Greasy Cove and met the rest of the company on Sunday on the top of the Bald mountain where we tarried till Tuesday morning." (1914. Arthur, John Preston. Western North Carolina, A History...pp.44, 45.)

"The white occupation of North Carolina had extended only to the Blue Ridge when the Revolution began; but at its close Gen. Charles McDowell, Col. David Vance and Private Robert Henry were among the first to cross the Blue Ridge and settle in the new county of Buncombe. As a reward for their services...they were appointed to run and mark the line between North Carolina and Tennessee in 1799. While on this work they wrote and left in the care of Robert Henry their narratives of the battle of Kings Mountain and the fight at Cowan's ford. After his death Robert Henry's son, William...,furnished the manuscript to...Dr. Lyman C. Draper of Wisconsin. On it is largely based his 'King's Mountain and its Heroes' (1880) (1914. Arthur, John P. Western North Carolina, A History... p. 98.)

"From Robert Henry's diary we learn that 'in the summer of 1815 no rain fell from the 8th of July till the 8th of September. Trees died.' Also that, 'on the 28th day of Aug. 1830, Caney branch (which runs by Sulphur spring five miles west of Asheville) ceased to run. Tom Moore's creek and Ragsdale's creek had ceased to run some days before; the corn died from the drough {sic}. This has been the driest summer in sixty years to my knowledge. Our spring ceased to run for some weeks previous to the above date.' Again: 'The summer of 1836 was the wettest summer in seventy years in my remembrance.' This is the climax: 'Thursday, Friday and Saturday next before Christmas 1794, were the coldest days in seventy years,' though as he had been born in 1765 he could not then have been quite thirty years of age himself. (1914. Arthur, John Preston. Western North Carolina, A History...p.296.)

"Col. [Allen T.] Davidson's Recollections of Robert Henry. 'I must not omit...to mention Robert Henry, who lived, owned and settled the Sulphur springs. He was an old man when I first knew him, say fifty years ago [1891]; he had then retired from the profession of the law which he had practiced many years. This was before I knew him well. He was tedious and slow in conversation, but always interesting to the student. He had been a fine lawyer ,and remarkable in criminal cases. He could recite his experiences of cases in most minute detail. He insisted that, underlying all, there was invariably a principle which settled every rule of evidence and point of law. I chanced to get some of his old criminal law books, such as Foster's Crown Law, Hale's Pleas of the Crown, etc, and I found them well annotated with accurate marginal notes, showing great industry and thought in their perusal. He had a grand history in our struggle for independence; was at Charlotte when the declaration of Independence was made; but, being a boy at this time, he did not understand the character of the resolutions; but said he heard the corwd shout and declared themselves freed from the british government. He afterwards fought at the battle of Kings Mountain and was severely wounded in the nad and thigh, by a bayonet in the charge of Ferguson's men. (1914. Arthur, John P. Western North Carolina, A History..,. p.381.)

"Soon after the Swannanoa settlement was established in 1782, a school was started in accordance with the principles of the Presbyterians. 1Robert Henry taught the first school in North Carolina west of the Blue Ridge.'" (1914. Arthur, John P. Western North Carolina, A History..., p. 421.)