| Battle of Round Mountain (1776) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the American Revolutionary War | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Cherokee |  Patriot militia Catawba | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Big Warrior † | Thomas Howard Skyuka | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Reportedly almost entire force | Unknown | ||||||
The Battle of Round Mountain took place on June 1, 1776, near present day Columbus, North Carolina between Patriot militia with some assistance from the Catawba and Cherokee. [1]
In late Spring of 1776, a deputation had been sent from the Patriots to the Cherokee to promote peace. Brothers and Patriot Captains Edward and Preston Hampton had been sent as representatives. The meeting did not go as planned and both men were held captive by the Cherokee. The two brothers managed to escape and returned to their homesteads. Shortly after, Cherokee representatives came upon the homestead of Preston. Preston told his children to go warn his neighbors of the Cherokee’s presence. Preston’s father, Anthony, came out to speak to the Cherokee. As Anthony was speaking with their leader, Big Warrior, another Cherokee mortally wounded Preston and Big Warrior killed Anthony. Preston’s wife and infant son were later killed. [2]
After the attack, the men of the nearby settlement met at Block House to discuss on retaliation. With assistance from some Catawba under the guidance of Skyuka, a counterattack was launched on the Cherokee after nighttime fell. The Cherokee were taken by surprise and reportedly almost all of them were killed. [3] Today, there is a monument in Columbus, North Carolina dedicated to battle. [4]