Major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
Patrick Ferguson (1744 – 7 October 1780) was a
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer who designed the
Ferguson rifle
The Ferguson rifle was one of the first breech-loading rifles to be put into service by the British military. It was designed by Major Patrick Ferguson (1744–1780). It fired a standard British carbine ball of .615" calibre and was used by the B ...
. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of
Charles Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best known as one of the leading Britis ...
during the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
in the Carolinas, in which he played a great effort in recruiting American Loyalists to serve in his militia against the Patriots.
Ultimately, his activities and military actions led to a Patriot
militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
force mustered to put an end to his force of Loyalists, and he was killed in the
Battle of Kings Mountain, at the border between the colonies of
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
and
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. Leading a group of Loyalists whom he had recruited, he was the only regular army officer participating on either side of the conflict. The victorious Patriot forces desecrated his body in the aftermath of the battle.
Early life
Patrick Ferguson was born at
Pitfour in
Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the historic county of Aberdeenshire, which had substantially different boundaries. The Aberdeenshire Council area includes all of the areas of the historic ...
, on 25 May (
Old Style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries betwe ...
)/4 June (
New Style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, they refer to the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various Europe, European countrie ...
) 1744, the second son and fourth child of advocate
James Ferguson James Ferguson may refer to:
Entertainment
* Jim Ferguson (born 1948), American jazz and classical guitarist
* Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, past member of Lotion (band), Lotion
* Jim Ferguson, American movie critic, Board of Directors member ...
of Pitfour (who was raised to the judges' bench as a
Senator of the College of Justice, so known as Lord Pitfour after 1764) and his wife Anne Murray, a sister of the literary patron
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank.
Through his parents, he knew a number of major figures in the
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment (, ) was the period in 18th- and early-19th-century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By the eighteenth century, Scotland had a network of parish schools in the Sco ...
, including philosopher and historian
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...
, on whose recommendation he read
Samuel Richardson
Samuel Richardson (baptised 19 August 1689 – 4 July 1761) was an English writer and printer known for three epistolary novels: '' Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'' (1740), '' Clarissa: Or the History of a Young Lady'' (1748) and '' The Histo ...
's novel ''Clarissa'' when he was fifteen, and the
dramatist
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just
reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...
John Home. He had numerous first cousins through his mother's family: these included
Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet, Commodore
George Johnstone, and
Sir James Murray (later Murray-Pulteney).
Seven Years' War
Ferguson began his military career in his teens, encouraged by his maternal uncle
James Murray. He served briefly in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
with the
Scots Greys during the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, until a leg ailment – probably
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
in the knee – forced him to return home. After recovering, now in peace-time, he served with his regiment on garrison duty. In 1768, he purchased a command of a company in
70th Regiment of Foot, under the Colonelcy of his cousin Alexander Johnstone, and served with them in the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
until his lame leg again began to trouble him. In 1770, Ferguson purchased the Castara
slave plantation
A slave plantation is an agricultural farm that uses enslaved people for labour. The practice was abolished in most places during the 19th century.
Slavery
Planters embraced the use of slaves mainly because indentured labor became expensive ...
in
Tobago
Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...
.
[ Gilchrist (2003): p. 10] After Ferguson's death, the plantation was inherited by his younger brother
George, who had managed it since the early 1770s and developed it into a successful enterprise. Exports of rum, sugar, and molasses were sent back to Europe from it.
[ Buchan (2008): p. 33] After returning home in 1772, he took part in
light infantry
Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
training, coming to the attention of
General Howe. During this time, he developed the
Ferguson rifle
The Ferguson rifle was one of the first breech-loading rifles to be put into service by the British military. It was designed by Major Patrick Ferguson (1744–1780). It fired a standard British carbine ball of .615" calibre and was used by the B ...
, a breech-loading
flintlock
Flintlock is a general term for any firearm that uses a flint-striking lock (firearm), ignition mechanism, the first of which appeared in Western Europe in the early 16th century. The term may also apply to a particular form of the mechanism its ...
weapon based on Chaumette's earlier system.
American War of Independence
1777
In 1777, Ferguson went to the colonies to serve in the
American War of Independence
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
; commanding an experimental rifle corps equipped with his new rifle. However, after initial success, he was shot through the right elbow joint at the
Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 in Pennsylvania. Shortly before, he had had the chance to shoot a prominent American officer, accompanied by another in distinctive
hussar
A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...
dress, but decided not to do so, as the man had his back to him and was unaware of Ferguson's presence. A surgeon told Ferguson in the hospital that some American casualties had said that General
Washington had been in the area at the time. Ferguson wrote that, even if the officer were the general, he did not regret his decision.
The officer's identity remains uncertain; historians suggest that the aide in hussar dress might indicate the senior officer was Count
Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski (; March 4 or 6, 1745 October 11, 1779), anglicised as Casimir Pulaski ( ), was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The So ...
.
For some months after being wounded, Ferguson was at risk of having his arm amputated. During this time, he received news of his father's death. Ferguson eventually recovered, although his right arm was permanently crippled.
1778
Ferguson resumed his military duties in May 1778, under the command of
Sir Henry Clinton.
In October 1778, Ferguson was assigned to lead a raid in southern New Jersey to suppress
privateer
A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
s who had been seizing British ships. They were based around the
Little Egg Harbor River, which empties into the Great Bay. Ferguson attacked their base in what is known as the
Battle of Chestnut Neck.
About a week later, Ferguson was notified by a Hessian defector, Lieutenant Carl Wilhelm Juliat, who had returned to the British side after a furious argument with the American Lieutenant Colonel Carl Von Bose, that a detachment of Count Pułaski's troops, under Von Bose's command, was located nearby. Ferguson marched his troops to the site of Bose's infantry outpost, which comprised fifty men and was a short distance from Pulaski's main encampment. At first light on 15 October 1778, Ferguson ordered his men to use bayonets to attack the sleeping men of the American force. Pulaski reported that Ferguson's Tories killed, wounded or took prisoner about 30 of his men in what the Americans called the
Little Egg Harbor massacre.
Ferguson's own account (under the pen-name ''Egg-Shell'') expresses his dismay at Pułaski's lack of preparations and failure to post look-outs. He said in his official report that little quarter could be given, and his men took only five prisoners. Ferguson reported that he did not destroy the three houses which sheltered the Americans because they were the dwellings of inoffensive
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...
, who were innocent civilians. Pułaski eventually led his mounted troops (
Pułaski's Legion) forward, causing Ferguson to retreat to his boats, minus a few men who had been captured. Ferguson reported his losses as two killed, three wounded, and one missing.
1779
Ferguson was commissioned as a
Major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
in the
71st Foot on 25 October 1779.
1780
In 1780, the British Army sent General
Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805) was a British Army officer, Whigs (British political party), Whig politician and colonial administrator. In the United States and United Kingdom, he is best kn ...
to invade
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
and
North Carolina
North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. His mission was to defeat all American forces in the Carolinas and keep the two colonies within the British Empire. A key part of Cornwallis's plan was to recruit soldiers from local
Loyalists. To achieve this goal, General Clinton appointed Major Ferguson as Inspector of
Militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
in
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. Ferguson's mission was to recruit Loyalist militia in the Carolinas and Georgia and to intimidate any colonists who favoured American independence.
Major Patrick Ferguson was appointed Inspector of Militia Corps on 22 May 1780. His task was to march to the
old Tryon County area, raise and organize Loyalist units from the Tory population of the Carolina
Backcountry, and protect the left flank of Cornwallis' main body at
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
. By this time, Ferguson had acquired the nickname of "Bulldog" among his militiamen.
After winning several victories over American forces, Cornwallis occupied Charlotte, in the summer of 1780. He divided his army and gave command of one section to Ferguson. Ferguson's wing consisted of Loyalists he had recruited to fight for the British cause.
Battle of Musgrove's Mill
On the evening of 18 August 1780 two hundred mounted
Patriot partisans under joint command of Colonels
Isaac Shelby
Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...
,
James Williams, and
Elijah Clarke prepared to raid a
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...
camp at Musgrove's Mill, which controlled the local grain supply and guarded a ford of the
Enoree River. The
Battle of Musgrove Mill, 19 August 1780 occurred near a ford of the
Enoree River, near the present-day border between
Spartanburg,
Laurens and
Union Counties in
South Carolina
South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. The Patriots anticipated surprising a garrison of about an equal number of Loyalists, but a local farmer informed them that the Loyalists had recently been reinforced by about a hundred militia and two hundred provincial regulars on their way to join Ferguson. The whole battle took perhaps an hour and within that period, sixty-three Tories were killed, an unknown number wounded, and seventy were taken prisoner. The Patriots lost only about four dead and twelve wounded.
Some Whig leaders briefly considered attacking the Tory stronghold at
Ninety Six, South Carolina; but they hurriedly dispersed after learning that a large Patriot army had been
defeated at Camden three days previous.
Pursuit of Shelby
Shelby's forces covered sixty miles with Ferguson in hot pursuit before making good their escape. In the wake of General
Horatio Gates
Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He took credit for the Ameri ...
’ blundering defeat at Camden, the victory at Musgrove Mill heartened the Patriots and served as further evidence that the South Carolina backcountry could not be held by the Tories.
Shelby and his Overmountain Men crossed back over the Appalachian Mountains and fled back into the territory of the
Watauga Association at
Sycamore Shoals in present day
Elizabethton, Tennessee, and by the next month on 25 September 1780, Colonels Shelby,
John Sevier
John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...
, and Charles McDowell and their 600 Overmountain Men had combined forces with Col. William Campbell and his 400 Virginia men at the Sycamore Shoals muster in advance of the 7 October 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain near present day
Blacksburg, South Carolina.
On 2 September, Ferguson and the militia he had already recruited marched west in pursuit of Shelby toward the
Appalachian Mountain hill country on what is now the
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
/North Carolina border. By 10 September, Ferguson had established a base camp at Gilbert Town, North Carolina and issued a challenge to the Patriot leaders to lay down their arms or he would "lay waste to their country with fire and sword."
North Carolina Patriot militia leaders
Isaac Shelby
Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...
and
John Sevier
John Sevier (September 23, 1745 September 24, 1815) was an American soldier, frontiersman, and politician, and one of the founding fathers of the State of Tennessee. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, he played a leading role in Tennes ...
, from the
Washington District (now northeast Tennessee), met and agreed to lead their militiamen against him.
[Buchanan, 210–211]
Battle of Kings Mountain
When Major Ferguson reportedly threatened to invade the mountains beyond the legal limit on westward settlement unless the colonists there abandoned the cause of American independence (Ferguson was actually in pursuit of Issac Shelby following the Battle of Musgrove's Mill), the Overmountain Men first mustered at
Sycamore Shoals organised a militia to eventually fight Ferguson and his Loyalist troops at
King's Pinnacle, an isolated ridge on the border between the Carolinas.
On 7 October 1780, the two armies clashed during the
Battle of Kings Mountain. The battle went badly for the Loyalists positioned high on the mountain ridge, and during the fighting, Ferguson was shot from his horse. With his foot still in the stirrup, he was dragged to the Patriot side. According to Patriot accounts, when a Patriot approached the major for his surrender, Ferguson drew his pistol and shot him as a last act of defiance. Other soldiers retaliated, and Ferguson's body was found with eight musket holes in it. Patriot accounts said their militia stripped his body of clothing and urinated on him before burial. They buried him in an oxhide near the site of his fall. Col. Benjamin Cleveland of North Carolina claimed Ferguson's white stallion as a "war prize” and rode it home to his estate of Roundabout.
One of Ferguson's mistresses, "Virginia Sal", was also killed in the battle and was buried with the officer. In the 1920s, the U.S. government erected a marker at Ferguson's gravesite, which today is a part of the
Kings Mountain National Military Park, administered by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
.
Ferguson's personal correspondence reveals a man of intelligence, humour and charm. He also wrote several articles, satirical in tone, for publication in
Rivington's ''Royal Gazette'', under the pseudonyms ''Egg-Shell'', ''Memento Mori'' and ''John Bull''.
He was survived by his mother, his brothers
James and
George, and sisters Annie, Elizabeth (Betty) (Mrs Scrymgeour-Wedderburn of Birkhill), and Jean.
Popular culture
In the novel ''
Horse-Shoe Robinson'' (1835) by
John Pendleton Kennedy, an historical romance set against the background of the Southern campaigns in the American War of Independence, fictional characters interact with Ferguson as he is en route to the climactic scene in which he is killed in the Battle of Kings Mountain.
In
Louis L'Amour's book ''
The Ferguson Rifle'' (1973), Ferguson stops by a poor family home on his way to the Battle of King's Mountain and kindly gives his personal copy of the Ferguson rifle to a boy who later carries it West. Ferguson is shown to be a gentleman who displays all the appropriate social graces to a lady (the boy's ill mother) and compassion to a family in need by giving up his personal firearm, asking only that the boy ''keep it always, and never use it against the king.'' (p7)
In NCIS episode 18 Season 10 “ Scoped” referenced by Ducky during autopsy as he explained to his assistant Jimmy about early snipers.
In
Steve Ressel's novel ''State of One'' (2010), Ferguson is the main antagonist featured against James Pariah, a soldier formerly under Ferguson's command during the
Battle of the Brandywine in 1777. Ferguson had been resurrected as a
golem
A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...
by the Leeds Witch with hopes of raising a golem army of similar soldiers, all armed with
Ferguson rifle
The Ferguson rifle was one of the first breech-loading rifles to be put into service by the British military. It was designed by Major Patrick Ferguson (1744–1780). It fired a standard British carbine ball of .615" calibre and was used by the B ...
s, to destroy the ratification of the
US Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitut ...
in September 1787. James Pariah cleaves to his old Ferguson rifle, sometimes referring to it as his wife, having modified it with special actions such as a spring-loaded knife in the stock.
In
Sharyn McCrumb's novel ''Kings Mountain: A Ballad Novel'' (2014), Ferguson is the central antagonist. Events leading to and the battle itself are covered from multiple viewpoints on both sides.
In the 2014 episode "Patriots Rising" of the television program
''The American Revolution'', Ferguson is portrayed as having George Washington in his gunsight, but choosing not to shoot.
In the outdoor drama ''
Horn in the West'', Ferguson is portrayed harassing Daniel Boone's Patriot friends ultimately leading to the Battle of Kings Mountain whereby his final defiant moments are carried out by shooting a Patriot with his pistol.
In
Stephen Hunter's 2022 novel "Targeted", Ferguson is given a short biographical treatment focusing on his prowess with firearms and is linked, genetically to
Bob Lee Swagger
Bob Lee "the Nailer" Swagger is a fictional character created by Stephen Hunter. He is the protagonist of a series of 12 novels (as of 2022) that relate his life during and after the Vietnam War, starting with '' Point of Impact'' (1993) up to th ...
, the fictional protagonist of Hunter's long running series of novels.
Ferguson is mentioned in ''
The Domination'', a
dystopian
A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmenta ...
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
alternate history
Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...
series by
S.M. Stirling, where he is presented as the first governor of the fictional
Crown Colony of Drakia.
Ferguson's death is mentioned in the song "Old World Rules And Empire Takes" by Scottish folk singer Malcolm MacWatt.
Notes
References
*
* Draper, Lyman C., Anthony Allaire, Isaac Shelby. ''King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King's Mountain''. Cincinnati: Peter G. Thompson, Publisher, 1881.
* Dykeman, Wilma. ''With Fire and Sword: The Battle of Kings Mountain 1780''. Washington, D.C., National Park Service, U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1978. .
* Gilchrist, M M. ''Patrick Ferguson: "A Man of Some Genius"'', 2003, .
* Irving, Washington. ''Life of Washington.'' Volume 3. New York : G.P. Putnam, 1860. .
* Kajencki, AnnMarie Francis. ''Count Casimir Pulaski: From Poland to America, a Hero's Fight for Liberty.'' New York : PowerPlus Books, 2005. .
*
* Sears, Robert. ''The shot heard round the world: from Lexington to Yorktown: a pictorial history of the American Revolution''. Boston: John Adams Lee Pub., 1889. .
External links
*
*
on-line article by his biographer M M Gilchrist*
ttp://www.everyinsultandindignity.com/ Every Insult and Indignity: The Life, Genius and Legacy of Major Patrick Ferguson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Patrick
1744 births
1780 deaths
Military personnel from Edinburgh
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British Army personnel of the Seven Years' War
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Gunsmiths
People of the Scottish Enlightenment
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