It was led by Captain William Moore of the 2nd Rowan County Regiment, acting directly under the command of Brigadier General Griffith Rutherford.

[2] Shortly after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War (April 1775), the members of the Watauga Association organized themselves into the extra-legal "Washington District", a region... "loyal to the united colonies..."[3] They promptly formed a Committee of Safety to oversee it.

[7][8] At the end of the late summer engagements, Rutherford's force consisted of 1971 "privates of foot" (down from an initial 2500), and about 80 "light horse" cavalry under Captain Moore.

[7] On the 29th, he met up (near Cathey's fort) with Captain Joseph Hardin, who had been active since August in raising a cavalry troop from Tryon County, then part of the Salisbury Military District in North Carolina.

[10] The next day the combined forces crossed into an area situated between the Swannanoa and French Broad Rivers, where they discovered fresh evidence of recent Indian activity.

Wm Moore[10] The cavalry quickly headed to the Cherokee town of Too Cowee, but having just a small army of 97 men at that point, found they could not surround the large, spread-out settlement, and opted for a direct raid instead.