The Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780 was fought entirely by Americans — on both sides. No British regular soldiers participated. On one side, approximately 900 Patriot "Overmountain Men" from the Watauga settlements of present-day Tennessee, and from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. On the other, approximately 1,100 Loyalist militia under the command of Major Patrick Ferguson, the only British officer on the field. Ferguson died on the mountain. His command was annihilated. The battle changed the trajectory of the Southern Campaign.
PEOPLE
Major Patrick Ferguson
British Army Officer, Loyalist Militia Commander, Firearms Inventor
Colonel Isaac Shelby
Overmountain Leader, Watauga Settlement Militia Commander, First Governor of Kentucky
Colonel John Sevier
Overmountain Leader, Watauga Settlement Militia Commander, First Governor of Tennessee
Colonel William Campbell
Virginia Militia Commander, Overmountain Co-Commander
KEY EVENTS
STORIES
HISTORICAL VOICE
No British Soldiers
The thing people miss about Kings Mountain is who wasn't there. No British regulars. No Continental Army. Just Americans — some fighting for independence, some for the Crown, some because their neighb...
MODERN VOICE
They Came Over the Mountains
Every year in September and October, people walk the Overmountain Victory Trail — over Yellow Mountain Gap, down through the Toe River valley, across the Piedmont to Kings Mountain. It takes about two...