U.S. History: Biographies

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Further reading

Ferguson, Patrick

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

Ferguson, Patrick (1744–80) born in Scotland, British army officer sent to North America in 1777 as captain commandant of his own rifle company. Ferguson fought in New Jersey, at Philadelphia, and at Brandywine (1777) before being charged with the recruitment and training of Southern loyalists. He was killed at Kings Mountain (1780), which marked a turning point in the war, ending Britain's hope of using loyalists to suppress rebellion in the Southern countryside.

Ferguson, who had a reputation as a brilliant marksman, had a chance to shoot a senior-looking Rebel officer at Brandywine but decided against doing so. The officer was later said to be George Washington, though some accounts claim it was Casimir Pulaski.

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Patrick Ferguson

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Patrick Ferguson 1744–80, British army officer in the American Revolution. He invented an early breech-loading rifle in 1776. Ferguson fought at Brandywine and Charleston before he was assigned to organize and train Loyalist militia in South Carolina. He was defeated and killed in the battle of Kings Mt. in the Carolina campaign .

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"Patrick Ferguson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Patrick Ferguson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 29, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-E-FergusoP.html

"Patrick Ferguson." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-E-FergusoP.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	'Gallant Ferguson': Major Patrick Ferguson (1744-80). Magazine article from: The Loyalist Gazette; 3/22/2001
	I turned down United after Ferguson did the dirty on me Says PATRICK... Newspaper article from: The People (London, England); 9/13/1998
	Patrick Ferguson 'A Man Of Some Genius'. Magazine article from: The Loyalist Gazette; 9/22/2003