Roughly 1,100 British troops led by Major Patrick Ferguson camped atop the mountain, and the commander declared that "even the almighty cannot drive me from it.”

So it was on Oct. 7, 1780, when Isaac Shelby helped lead buckskin-clad American sharpshooters to victory, driving the British from King's Mountain, nine miles south of the present-day town of Kings Mountain, North Carolina. This battle paved the way for the defeat of the British troops under Lord Cornwallis. This battle was Shelby’s most noteworthy wartime accomplishment.

Born on Dec. 11, 1750, Isaac Shelby seemed destined to become a soldier. His father served with distinction in the French and Indian War. In 1774, Shelby served as a lieutenant in his father's company at the Battle of Point Pleasant near modern Point Pleasant, West Virginia.

After the Revolutionary War, Shelby moved to his Lincoln County, Kentucky farm known as Traveler's Rest. There, Shelby completed his stone house in 1786. In 1783, he was appointed a trustee of the Transylvania Seminary. He also worked as a surveyor and was High Sheriff of Lincoln County. He belonged to the war board appointed by Congress to defend the frontier and participated actively in the 10 conventions that led to Kentucky's statehood in 1792.

After his return to Kentucky, Shelby married his childhood sweetheart Susannah Hart on April 19, 1783. On his wedding day, a historian described Shelby as “a heavy, rugged fellow, with a ruddy face, firm lips, and a resolute eye."

Shelby was equally at home on the fields of battle or in the halls of government. Shelby was known for his common sense, diplomacy, and self-control, making him a likely choice to lead Kentucky's transformation from a primitive wilderness into American statehood.

A member of the 1792 convention that drew up Kentucky's first constitution, Shelby was elected governor and took office on June 4. He pushed for improvement of the Wilderness Road during this term, making it safer and more navigable. After serving four years, he declined re-election and retired to Traveler's Rest to farm and raise cattle.

For 16 years, Shelby prospered from the sale of horses and mules to southern cotton planters. When the war of 1812 broke out, Kentucky called on its 61-year-old hero to serve a second term as governor. Shelby responded by organizing and leading an army of Kentuckians that defeated the British at the Battle of the Thames in 1813 near modern day Chatham, Ontario.

His efforts earned him a resolution of thanks and a gold medal from the United States Congress. He refused an offer from President James Monroe in 1817 to serve as Secretary of War because of his age.

Shelby’s last public service came in 1818 when he joined Andrew Jackson to draw up a treaty with the Chickasaw Nation for 4,600 square miles of land in western Kentucky and Tennessee known as the Jackson Purchase.

After his second term as governor, Shelby returned to his beloved Traveler's Rest to farm. His home was open to any soldier who passed by it. On July 18, 1826, he died of apoplexy while sitting with his wife on his front porch. Shelby lies at Traveler's Rest on a spot he marked for his grave.

It is unknown who or when Shelby Township received its name from Shelby, but there are no fewer than nine counties in the country named after Shelby.

Thanks to Shelby's actions in 1813 at the Battle of Thames, he became a rallying point of patriotism. His unauthorized, judicious step, which he assumed responsibility for, of calling out mounted volunteers helped produce victory on the Thames.

Historians assume settlers in the Michigan territory knew Isaac Shelby and his accomplishments in 1818. Among those settlers were the persons surveying the land now known as "Shelby Township."