<P> Patriot leaders also sent word to a Virginia militia leader , William Campbell , asking him to join them at Sycamore Shores. Campbell called on Benjamin Cleveland to bring his Wilkes County , North Carolina militia to the rendezvous . The detachments of Shelby , Sevier and Campbell were met by 160 North Carolina militiamen led by Charles McDowell and his brother Joseph . Campbell 's cousin , Arthur Campbell , brought 200 more Virginians . About 1,100 volunteers from southwest Virginia and today 's northeast Tennessee , known as the `` Overmountain Men '' because they had settled into the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains ridgeline , mustered at the rendezvous on September 25 , 1780 , at Sycamore Shoals near the modern city of Elizabethton , Tennessee . Their movement had been made possible by easing tensions with the Cherokee , thanks to diplomacy by Benjamin Cleveland 's brother - in - law , Indian agent Joseph Martin . The Overmountain Men crossed Roan Mountain the next day , and proceeded in a southerly direction for about thirteen days in anticipation of fighting the British Loyalist forces . By September 30 , they had reached Quaker Meadows , the Burke County , North Carolina home of the McDowell brothers , where they united with Benjamin Cleveland and 350 men . Now 1400 strong , the Patriots marched to South Mountain , North Carolina , The five colonels leading the Patriot force ( Shelby , Sevier , William Campbell , Joseph McDowell and Cleveland ) chose William Campbell as the nominal commander , but they agreed that all five would act in council to command their combined army . </P>
<P> Patriot leaders also sent word to a Virginia militia leader , William Campbell , asking him to join them at Sycamore Shores. Campbell called on Benjamin Cleveland to bring his Wilkes County , North Carolina militia to the rendezvous . The detachments of Shelby , Sevier and Campbell were met by 160 North Carolina militiamen led by Charles McDowell and his brother Joseph . Campbell 's cousin , Arthur Campbell , brought 200 more Virginians . About 1,100 volunteers from southwest Virginia and today 's northeast Tennessee , known as the `` Overmountain Men '' because they had settled into the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains ridgeline , mustered at the rendezvous on September 25 , 1780 , at Sycamore Shoals near the modern city of Elizabethton , Tennessee . Their movement had been made possible by easing tensions with the Cherokee , thanks to diplomacy by Benjamin Cleveland 's brother - in - law , Indian agent Joseph Martin . The Overmountain Men crossed Roan Mountain the next day , and proceeded in a southerly direction for about thirteen days in anticipation of fighting the British Loyalist forces . By September 30 , they had reached Quaker Meadows , the Burke County , North Carolina home of the McDowell brothers , where they united with Benjamin Cleveland and 350 men . Now 1400 strong , the Patriots marched to South Mountain , North Carolina , The five colonels leading the Patriot force ( Shelby , Sevier , William Campbell , Joseph McDowell and Cleveland ) chose William Campbell as the nominal commander , but they agreed that all five would act in council to command their combined army . </P>
who was the american commander at the battle of king 's mountain
who was the american commander at the battle of king 's mountain
William Campbell
William Campbell