Note: The following memorial was first created by LeRoy Miller. Unfortunately, someone did not realize that John Preston Goforth and Preston Goforth were two different people and merged the memorial created by Mr. Miller with Find A Grave Memorial# 11741280, Pvt. Preston Goforth, thus necessitating a new memorial for John Preston Goforth.

Created by: LeRoy Miller, 48305417

Record added: Jun 23, 2016

Find A Grave Memorial# 165942133

Birth: 1750

Lenoir

Caldwell County

North Carolina, USA

Death: Oct. 7, 1780

Kings Mountain

Cleveland County

North Carolina, USA

John Preston Goforth, Sr. died in the Battle on Kings Mountain, reportedly shot by his brother Preston. John was fighting on the side of the "Tories" and so all his land was confiscated from his widow Sarah (Clements). Sarah left her only son John Preston Goforth, Jr. (memorial 37823794) in the care of her brother Cornelius Clements, and he raised John Jr. This information from the book "A History of the Descendants of George Goforth of Knedlington, England", fifth edition, August 2003 published by George Tuttle Goforth (memorial 69415653). John Preston Goforth Sr. is George third great grandfather.

Family links:

Spouse:

Sarah Clements Goforth (1759 - 1842)

Addition by VLC:

Goforth's was one of those bodies hastily buried by the Patriot force. They had scant time. The battle began at 3pm and lasted an hour. It begins to get dark by 5 - 530pm in South Carolina in October and certainly full dark by 7. (I am from Spartanburg, SC.) The victors had to leave as soon as they could the next morning: Cornwallis had his full force in Charlotte, NC, less than 50 miles away. Campbell, Sevier, Shelby, and Cleveland knew they could not take on Cornwallis, so had to get their troops to safety. (In this case, to the plantation of Colonel John Walker.)

In his book, "King's Mountain and Its Heroes", Draper included a chapter by Benjamin Sharp who wrote that the Patriots buried their dead and those of the enemy. Many Patriots supported this in their testimony in their Application for Revolutionary War Pension. (revwarapps.org.)

Note: Cornelius Clements, the brother of Sarah Clements, was one of the Heroes who fought at the Battle of King's Mountain. Reference Find A Grave Memorial# 25243879. It was he who raised John Preston Goforth, Jr., the son of John and Sarah.

From the Virginia, Biographical Encyclopedia:

"The British had 1,103 men under Ferguson, and the Americans 923, mostly Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The ground of the battle is 600 yards long, 250 wide at base, 60 to 120 wide on top, and 60 feet above the country level. The English held the eminence. The Americans were in two columns, two men deep on the right of the mountain, under Campbell and Servier, and two on the left under Cleveland and Shelby. Cleveland made a ringing appeal, and the attack was begun with yells. The battle raged all around the mountain; Cleveland's horse was disabled, but he fought on foot until remounted. Several times the Americans were forced down the ascent, only to rally and gamely retrace their steps. Ferguson tried to break through but fell with eight wounds. The British finally surrendered, having lost 157 killed, 153 wounded and 706 prisoners, and over 1,200 arms. The Americans had 28 killed and 62 wounded. It was a complete victory and crushed the English cause in the South. It withdrew the Carolinas from Tory domination, and was the forerunner of Cowpens, Guilford, Eutaw, Yorktown and Independence."