[Illustration: “_Gathering of the Mountain Men at Sycamore Shoals._” From a painting by Lloyd Branson. Courtesy Tennessee State Museum, Nashville.] Remaining at Gilbert Town during most of September, Ferguson was a constant menace to the bordering region. From his headquarters, early in the month, he tried to frighten the mountain leaders into submission. To carry out this plan, Ferguson paroled Samuel Phillips, a prisoner, and sent him into the mountains with a message to Col. Isaac Shelby, who commanded the patriot militia of Sullivan County, N. C. According to a well-known account, Ferguson, in this message, solemnly warned Shelby and the other mountain people “that if they did not desist from their opposition to the British arms, he would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword.” He followed this threat with action and pursued a patriot party to the slopes of the Blue Ridge before returning on September 23 to his temporary base at Gilbert Town. _The Gathering of the Mountain Men_ At the headwaters of the Watauga, the Holston, and the Nolichucky Rivers, in present-day eastern Tennessee, news of Ferguson’s actions was received with growing alarm by the back-country settlers. Their freedom-loving leaders were spurred in their determination to gather a volunteer force with all possible speed for a surprise attack that would destroy the British invader. Meeting at Jonesboro, Shelby and Col. John Sevier, head of the militia in Washington County, N. C., hurriedly adopted a plan for immediate action. They sent forth a final appeal for volunteers, some of whom would remain behind to protect the settlements from the Indians while the main force marched quickly after Ferguson. Additional support was sought urgently from Col. Charles McDowell and Col. Benjamin Cleveland, who commanded other fighting men from the North Carolina border. Pleas for help were also sent to the local militia leaders of adjoining Washington County, Va. After consultation, it was agreed that Col. William Campbell would bring a strong body of Virginia militia. All volunteers were urged to gather by September 25 at Sycamore Shoals, on the banks of the Watauga, near the present site of Elizabethton, Tenn.