author
Robert Henry
1765–1863
A North Carolina pioneer, surveyor, teacher, and lawyer, he is remembered for preserving vivid firsthand-era accounts of Revolutionary War fighting in the South. His best-known work centers on the Battle of Cowan's Ford and helps keep local history alive.
1 Audiobook
Narrative of the Battle of Cowan's Ford, February 1st, 1781 and Narrative of the Battle of Kings Mountain
by Robert Henry, David Vance
About the author
Born on February 10, 1765, in what was then Tryon County, North Carolina, he later became known as one of the early settlers of Buncombe County. Sources connected with his published work describe him as a lawyer and surveyor, and also note that he taught the first school on Swannanoa.
He is chiefly associated with Narrative of the Battle of Cowan's Ford, February 1st, 1781, a historical account published after his death from material attributed to him. The book preserves memories of Revolutionary War events in the Carolinas, including Cowan's Ford and Kings Mountain, and gives modern readers a local, personal window into that period.
He died in Clay County, North Carolina, in February 1863, just shy of his ninety-eighth birthday. Though not a widely known literary figure, his writing remains valuable for its strong sense of place and its connection to the lived history of the early American South.