Patrick Ferguson
Patrick Ferguson | |
|---|---|
 c. 1774–1777 portrait | |
| Born | 4 June 1744 Pitfour, Aberdeenshire, Scotland |
| Died | 7 October 1780 (aged 36) South Carolina, United States |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Great Britain |
Branch | British Army |
Service years | 1759–1780 |
Rank | Major |
| Unit | Royal Scots Greys (1759–1768) 70th Regiment of Foot (1768–1772) |
| Commands | Ferguson's Rifle Corps (1776–1777) Fraser's Highlanders (1777–1780) |
Conflicts | Seven Years' War American Revolutionary War † |
Major Patrick Ferguson (1744 – 7 October 1780) was a British Army officer who designed the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles Cornwallis during the American Revolutionary War 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 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 and South Carolina. 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.