Joseph Greer
an American patriot nicknamed the
King
Mountain messenger because he was
the first one to deliver the message of an unknown victory to a down
hearted Congress that turned the tide of the war of
Independence against the
British. He was also one of the first to explore the region of present day
Anderson
county
TN.
Greer was
born in
Philadelphia
PA on August 8, 1754, after his family
moved from Londonberry
Ireland. In 1776 His
father moved his family to the Watauga Region around present day
Elizabethton
TN. In 1779 Greer helped his
father defend
Fort
Watauga against
Indian attacks.
On October 7,
1780, Greer participated in the battle of
Kings
Mountain where
Ferguson, the British commander
was defeated. Col. John Sevier sent Greer to deliver the news of the
battle to Congress assembled in Philadelphia Pa. Twenty year old Greer
left
Kings
Mountain armed with
only a musket and compass. Sevier chose Greer because of his knowledge of
Indians and his ability to plot his way through the woods and Tory
encampments.
During the
journey, Greer had several horses shot out from under him by Indians. One
night Greer hid in a log while hiding from a group of Indians chasing him.
One account said the Indians even sat on the same log resting their feet
while Greer remained immobile inside the log. Greer also had to cross
several streams some covered with ice and walk through deep snow along the
trip.
On November 7,
1780, after being on the road for one month, Greer finally arrived in
Philadelphia
PA. When Greer finally made
his way to where the Continental Congress was meeting, A Continental
soldier guard refused to let Greer enter the meeting. This didn’t stop
Greer. He had already been through too much to be stopped now. If Indians
or the weather couldn’t stop him no soldier was about to keep him from his
mission. One account says Greer hit the guard with his bare fist knocking
him out and then Greer picked him up over his head and slammed him to the
ground. Greer then kicked the door down where the Continental Congress was
meeting. A Stunned Congress looked in awe at Greer, a big man standing
six feet seven inches tall while he gave his account of the battle on how
Ferguson was defeated. Greer
told of Col. Shelby’s regiment taking the brunt of a ferocious fire of the
British during the first 10 minutes of the battle. Greer also told of the
three bayonet charges by
Ferguson that were repulsed
each time by the Overmountain men. Greer told of the British trying to
surrender by placing white shirts on their swords and waving them as a
white flag, but only to have them cut down by
Ferguson who refused to
surrender. The battle lasted one hour and ended only after
Ferguson was killed. One
account says a delegate stood up and shouted” With men his size and
strength, No wonder we won the battle.
Between 1790-
1792, Greer explored the Clinch River region around present day
Anderson
county
TN. Later that year
he moved to
Knoxville
TN. In 1804, Greer received
over 3000 acres in
Lincoln
County
TN a bounty land grant for his
service at
Kings
Mountain.
While living
in
Lincoln
county
Greer met Mary
Harmon. They were soon married and had 11 children. At the age of 76,
Greer fathered his eleventh child. On February 23 1831 at the age of 77,
Greer died of pneumonia while traveling through a blizzard to get back to
his cabin after being on a journey. Greer was buried in
Petersburg
TN.
Greer was a
truly an American hero of the American Revolutionary war. His message
helped revitalized a down hearted Congress who was still upset and down
hearted over the defeat at
Camden
SC in August 1780 while
Kings
Mountain would
revitalize the Southern campaign by becoming a turning point in the war.