Once-a-week since November 25, 2025, I have blogged about a different story in my new book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories. Today’s post is about the seventh story in the book in which my great-great-great-great-grandfather, John Calvin McElwee, tells his granddaughter (my great-great-grandmother) about his experience the day that the Revolutionary War came to his family’s doorstep.
The Battle of Kings Mountain took place near the border of North and South Carolina on October 7, 1780. Hearing the first shots of the battle fired, John, his father, and one of his brothers ran from their house to join the battle. John was just 15 years old.
John, his brother, and their father are not listed in all accounts of the Battle of Kings Mountain, since they were not members of an organized military company that took part in the battle; however, they are mentioned in various publications.
It was fun to imagine my great-great-grandmother as a little girl sitting on her grandfather’s lap as he told her about his work as a weaver and what happened the day of the battle.
The McElwee’s house was on land that became part of Kings Mountain National Military Park and, therefore, the U.S. Department of the Interior had a draftsman measure and draw the house in detail. Having that information made the house come alive for me and made it easy for me to visualize how the family lived. Unfortunately, the house was demolished around 1934 when the land was acquired by the U.S. Government for the park.
How fortunate I am to have access to drawings and floor plans for my McElwee ancestors’ house from the mid-1700s!
This story is more creative nonfiction than short story. I could have created conflict within the family to make it more of a historical short story, but I chose not to embellish the facts of the family in that way. I hope you will enjoy it anyway.
In case you missed them here are the links to my blog posts about the first five stories in my book: “The Tailor’s Shears” – Historical Short Story; “You Couldn’t Help But Like Bob” — historical short story; “To Run or Not to Run” – historical short story; “Making the Best of a Tragedy” – historical short story; “From Scotland to America” – historical short story; and “Whom Can We Trust?” – historical short story.
Where to purchase Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories
You can find my new short story collection on Amazon in paperback (https://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Through-History-Collection-Historical/dp/B0FZSR6FPX/) and e-book (https://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Through-History-Collection-Historical-ebook/dp/B0FZQBMC2Q/.)
You can find the paperback at Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC, or ask for it at your local independent bookstore. Bookstores can order it from IngramSpark.
If you purchase my book and enjoy it, please give it a rating on Amazon and write a brief review of it for that site or Goodreads.com. Also, recommend it to your friends!
Word of mouth publicity is the best! Thank you!
Hurricane Helene Recovery Update
As of January 2, 2026, the North Carolina Department of Transportation has reopened 90% of the roads damaged by Hurricane Helene in September 2024. Some 270 bridges and 870 culverts have been repairs or replaced. Twenty-four roads in the state remain closed due to the hurricane and, of course, I-40 in the Pigeon River Gorge near the Tennessee line is still just one lane in each direction and a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit for months, if not years, to come.
The total monetary cost of damages is estimated by the NC Department of Transportation to be $4.9 billion. The State of North Carolina has spent $2.7 billion so far and has been reimbursed $411.46 million by the federal government.
Other states, take note.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
Minor editorial correction. The Battle of King’s Mountain was October 7 not 17. I thought that might be the case so I looked it up to confirm my guess. No argument about anything else.
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I am sure, given your professionalism and dedication to history, that this is a valuable and beautiful book. All the best Jan. And reference the Venezuela affair, I have done a total 180 on my previous opinion. I just wanted you to know. Greetings from a very cold, but finally sunny Mediterranean coast of Spain.
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Thank you, Pat! Holey Moley! I got it wrong in my short story’s author’s notes, too! Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I hate I made such a mistake.
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Not a problem except for the hassle of getting it corrected.
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Thank you, Francis. It was just brought to my attention that I have the wrong date for the Battle of Kings Mountain by ten days. I went back and checked and found that I have the wrong date in my book, too! October 17 should be October 7, 1780. Thank you for letting me know of you complete change in opinion regarding Venezuela. Without having any say so in the matter, the people of Venezuela have traded one tyrant for another. It appears the actions taken in Venezuela on Saturday have emboldened Trump to take over the entire Western Hemisphere. NATO be damned, as far as he is concerned. What we have on our hands is a madman. To him, laws are there to be broken. 80 years of international cooperation and mutual respect is all thrown on the trash heap. In his demented mind, might is right.
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