RAMSOUR
Johannes Dietrich Ramsauer came to America in 1727 on the ship “Adventure Galley.” He established himself in Trappe, Philadelphia County, PA for over two decades and had his children baptized at the St. Augustus Reformed Lutheran Church there.
In the early 1750s, he migrated with a strong contingent of Germans into the Catawba River Valley in central North Carolina. He purchased land, in 1753, in what is now Tryon County (present day Lincoln County), North Carolina. The seasonally stable watercourse, Clark’s Creek, flows through the western side of Dietrich’s land, which made his property ideal for building a water mill. That mill became a source of income for three generations of Ramsour family.
In 1772, having become too old to continue maintaining his farm, he deeded his land and the mill over to his two sons Jacob and David, with the provision that they would build him a cabin and continue to support him until his death. In June of 1780, when he was perhaps eighty years of age, Ramsour’s Mill became the site of a famous Revolutionary War battle. It is likely that the whole family would have watched the battle from a discrete distance, including Dietrich’s daughter Margaret who was about 27 years of age at the time.
SUMMEROUR
Heinrich Summerour came to America when he was twenty nine years of age. He sailed on the ship "Patience" on 16 September, 1748 with his brother Hans and sister Susannah. They settled in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania along with a large population of germanic people who had come to Pennsylvania to find a peaceful place to raise their families. Within a few years of their arrival, they relocated with a couple dozen of their neighbors to what was then Tryon County, North Carolina. The area was nothing but wilderness when these pioneers arrived. They set to work building homes, a church and a schoolhouse, cleared land for farming, and created a community.
Michael Summerour and his brother Henry were the first generation of Sumerours to be born in America. Michael was born 23 August 1756, in what would later become Lincoln County, North Carolina in the family home on Clark’s Creek just downstream from the Ramsauer family property. Michael was twenty years of age when the Revolutionary War began. He proudly signed up for militia duty, to be on call should the war ever approach his home county. Four years later, the battle came nearly to his doorstep.
BRANDON
John Brandon was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in a leap year, and on 29 February 1748. His family had been in America since the 1680s, and he was the third generation born in America. His family moved to Rowan County, North Carolina a few years after his birth. They settled near the Yadkin River, near what would become the quiet town of Salisbury. John's family were well established by the time the Revolutionary War began, and so at 28 years of age, he took a leadership role in the North Carolina militia. He was given a Captain's commission to lead a troop of Cavalry, under the command of his mother’s brother, his uncle Colonel Francis Locke.
Early in the war, North Carolina had successfully shielded the state from invasion during the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. For the first four years of the war, North Carolina was fairly quiet. John would have led his men on regular patrols to watch for enemy troops, or Indian activity in the area. The English offered bounty to any Indian who brought the scalp of any rebel combatants. Living as they did so close to the wilderness, Rowan County faced a constant threat from that quarter throughout the war. But the war finally came to the state after General Cornwallis defeated the Americans after a long siege at Charleston, South Carolina. Flushed with his success, he decided to lead his troops into North Carolina.
THE BATTLE OF RAMSOUR’S MILL
Loyalist John Moore, who had participated in the siege at Charleston, returned to his home in Tryon County and spread the word that the English would soon be marching into North Carolina. Loyalists in the area began to get stirred up, excited about fighting on their home ground. As more and more men were anxious to begin, word was spread that the Loyalists would assemble themselves on the field adjacent to Clark’s Creek, at the site of Ramsour’s Mill.
On June 13th, they had begun to assemble. With few provisions at hand, they fed themselves on whatever they could steal from local farms. Confrontations were inevitable as their predations became more glaring. Patriots in the area fought back to protect their property, but the Tories outnumbered them. The Patriots sent a messenger to alert their leaders about the Loyalist location.
On June 18th, Patriot General Griffith Rutherford learned that the Loyalists were gathered near Ramsour’s Mill, he began moving his troops and order Colonel Francis Locke to assemble the local militia to assist in the battle. Colonel Locke, along with his nephew Captain John Brandon rode across several counties alerting local leaders to have the militia meet on the road toward Ramsour’s Mill. Among the militiamen who assembled was Michael Summerour, one of Dietrick Ramsour’s neighbors.
On June 19th, the Loyalist camp had grown to about a thousand and three hundred men. With so many men on their side, the depravations became more severe and more bold. Several armed men patrolled the area and picked up any food that they could lay their hands upon. These raiding parties had picked up several Patriots who had resisted their confiscation of property. The Loyalists made plans to hang the prisoners in the morning.
Colonel Locke had gathered about four hundred militia men, but General Rutherford had not yet arrived. With the threat that General Cornwallis might soon join the Loyalist gathered near the mill, the Patriots felt that a timely assault might be better than to wait. It was a risky venture, since intelligence had reached them that they would be outnumbered over three to one, but they felt that the alternative would be worse.
The next morning, June 20th, there was a dense fog across the field where the Loyalists had camped. The troops had barely stoked their campfires to prepare breakfast when Patriot forces were spotted on the road just a mile from camp. The Patriot militia men were headed down the road toward Ramsour’s Mill, where they anticipated engaging the enemy, when lookouts first fired upon them. The sound of gunshots alerted the Loyalist camp, and they assembled in ranks to prepare for the onslaught.
Colonel Locke ordered a cavalry charge against the camp, and Captain Brandon led the way into the fray. After an initial volley of shots, the cavalry retreated and regrouped. Having ascertained the enemy’s position, Colonel Locke ordered a two pronged attack. The majority of his men were to proceed straight down the road to engage the enemy at the front, while he led a smaller group to outflank the enemy.
While Captain Brandon and the larger contingent slowly moved down the road until they were within gunshot, Colonel Locke led his men to the left flank. A simultaneous assault then ensued. The Loyalists quickly understood the threat from the hill to their left. They reformed into a horseshoe to face the enemy fire, with Clark’s Creek covering their left flank. The fighting was brutal, not a single man went unwounded. When a man ran out of ammunition he used the butt of his musket to club the enemy combatants. Brother fought against brother and neighbor against neighbor in bitter, fatal skirmishes.
Colonel Locke ordered his men to fall back so that he could regroup them. However, Patriot Captain John Dickey refused the order to retreat. Though he was a Presbyterian elder and not given to cursing, he soundly cursed Colonel Locke and ordered his men to hold the ridge they were on. Captain John Hardin and his men joined him. Several sharp shooters among them were ordered to aim for those Loyalists who appeared to be well armed with ammunition. The loyalists were soon scattered.
By the time General Rutherford arrived, the battle was over. The remaining Loyalists were taken as prisoners, and the dead were buried. The Loyalists who participated in the battle had their property confiscated, and the more hostile among them were hanged. The less hostile were paroled and sent home with their word that they would no longer cause any trouble. Those men were good for their word, and Tryon County remained peaceful for the duration of the war.
THREE FAMILY LINES MEET AGAIN
Dietrick Ramsour’s daughter Margaret married Johann Sebastian Klein Jr., and had a daughter named Katherine. Katherine Klein married Michael Summerour, one of the patriot militiamen who fought on his neighbor’s property at Ramsour’s Mill.
Michael Summerour and Katherine Klein had a son John Henry Summerour who married Minerva T. Day. John Henry and Minerva had a son Benjamin Franklin Summerow who married Nancy Elizabeth Brandon. Nancy was the granddaughter of Captain John Brandon, through his son John S. Brandon.
So, Ramsour, Brandon and Summerour families all shed blood together at the battle of Ramsour’s Mill, and were joined once again when their blood intermingled into one family.
