Joseph Martin, Jr. (1740–1808) was a brigadier general in the Virginia militia during the American Revolutionary War, in which Martin's frontier diplomacy with the Cherokee people is credited with not only averting Indian attacks on the Scotch-Irish American and English American settlers who helped win the battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens, but with also helping to keep the Indians' position neutral and from siding with the British troops during those crucial battles. Historians agree that the settlers' success at these two battles signaled the turning of the tide of the Revolutionary War—in favor of the Americans.
Modern imagining of Brigadier General, Joseph Martin Jr. (1740–1808), born Caroline County, Virginia, died Henry County, Virginia.
Historic marker for Martinsville, Virginia, named for Joseph Martin
General Joseph Martin, Jr. (1740–1808), born Caroline County, Virginia, died Henry County, Virginia. Memorial to General Joseph Martin and settlers at Martin's Station, Virginia. Photograph courtesy of dmott9.
Letter from James Robertson, founder of Nashville, Tennessee, to Joseph Martin, Jr., 1788
The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took place on October 7, 1780, 9 miles (14 km) south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina. In what is now rural Cherokee County, South Carolina, the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot. The battle has been described as "the war's largest all-American fight".
Engraving depicting the death of Patrick Ferguson, from a painting by Alonzo Chappel
Gathering of Overmountain Men at Sycamore Shoals, a black and white reproduction of Lloyd Branson's 1915 depiction of the Patriot militias joining up