Ishmael Titus: A forgotten hero of the battle at Kings Mountain

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. — The legacy of a man whose life and struggles are as diverse and complex as the United States itself is being remembered by his ancestors today.

Ishmael Titus was born into slavery in Virginia. He later fought for the country’s freedom, along with his own, in the Revolutionary War battle at Kings Mountain — just 45 minutes away from Charlotte.

Gen. Cornwallis’ planned invasion of North Carolina would be a three-pronged attack. On the left, Major Patrick Ferguson led his Loyalist force across the border into western North Carolina and unaccountably decided to make a stand on a hill grandly named Kings Mountain.

Thomas Jefferson called the battle “the turn of the tide of success” in the Revolutionary War.

Fighting that day, in place of the Rowan County man who owned him was Titus. Solomon Titus Taylor says he learned of his lineage to this legend through his grandfather.

“Ishmael Titus is our oldest known ancestor born in 1746, and he was actually a twin,” Taylor said.

Taylor says he started tracing his family history after his time in the Marine Corps.

Titus first served as a boy, alongside his master, for Gen. Edward Braddock in his famous defeat.

“He was a 10-year-old boy when Gen. Edward Braddock went off to fight against the French and the Indians,” Taylor said.

Then, at just 13 years old, Titus was sold away from his family to a man named Lawrence Ross. Meanwhile, the Revolutionary War had just broken out, and instead of Ross going to fight against the British, he sent his Titus to fight in his place.

Titus was told he was going to be set free after the war, Taylor said.

“Come to find out, he had to run away in order to survive going back into slavery to his slave holder,” he explained.

Although Titus fought in the famous Battle of Kings Mountain, you won’t see his name on the plaque at the battlefield — not enough documentation. It was a problem that plagued many enslaved Patriots throughout their lives.

“He fought for a pension and was denied that pension and then died as a poor man in the William, Massachusetts, area,” Taylor said. “We want to bring his story back to life.”

Titus’ life was recently brought into the spotlight by Ken Burns in his documentary “American Revolution.”

Then, Charlotte was just a small town with a crossroad and a courthouse. While the city has grown tremendously, its history is all around. The Liberty Walk bears 19 markers. One honors at least 5,000 free and enslaved African Americans who served in both the British and Continental armies.

Titus was about 110 years old when he died in 1855, but his fight continues to this day.

Taylor says he has an immense sense of pride for his ancestor, especially being a military man himself. He hopes others will recognize Titus for who he was — a Revolutionary War hero.

VIDEO: Rock Hill names welcome center after first Black principal of fully integrated high school