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Powder Horn

by | Mar 20, 2025 | Folk Art, Instruments, and Tools, Tennessee State Museum

Powder horn, 1774, East Tennessee, Tennessee State Museum

Powder Horn

Powder horn, 1774, East Tennessee,
Maker Unknown
Date of Creation 1774
Location East Tennessee
Materials Cow horn
Institution Tennessee State Museum
Credit Line Tennessee State Museum
Accession Number 80.38
Photo Credit Tennessee State Museum

This powder horn was carried by John Waddell at the Battle of Kings Mountain in western South Carolina on October 7, 1780. The powder horn is made from a cow horn and has an engraving of an eight-pointed star and the date 1774. Powder horns were used to store, carry, and load powder for a flintlock musket, rifle, or pistol. Waddell was born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1765 but emigrated with his family to the Watauga settlement in present-day East Tennessee. Waddell joined Col. John Sevier’s Washington County Regiment at the age of 15 and participated in the defeat of Maj. Patrick Ferguson’s Loyalist Militia at Kings Mountain. Sevier’s regiment fought as part of William Campbell’s troops, which consisted primarily of soldiers from the Overmountain District.