Kings Mountain National Military Park is a

National Military Park National Military Park, National Battlefield, National Battlefield Park, and National Battlefield Site are four designations for 25 battle sites preserved by the United States federal government because of their national importance. The designat ...

near Blacksburg,

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, along the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

border. The park commemorates the

Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took p ...

, a pivotal and significant victory by

American Patriots Patriots, also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or American Whigs, were the colonists of the Thirteen Colonies who rejected British rule during the American Revolution, and declared the United States of America an independent n ...

over American

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

during the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1996. Thomas Jefferson considered the battle "The turn of the tide of success."

Historical background

The Battle of Kings Mountain was fought on October 7, 1780, and destroyed the left wing of

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

' army, effectively ending Loyalist ascendance in the Carolinas. The victory halted the British advance into North Carolina, forced Lord Cornwallis to retreat from

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

into South Carolina, and gave General

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...

the opportunity to reorganize the

American Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Battle of Kings Mountain

Prior to 1780, much of the Revolutionary War was fought in the Northern states. After an unsuccessful Northern campaign, British General Clinton decided to turn his attention to the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

, where he believed that he and his troops would join up with loyalist militias and easily take the area. The campaign began with a swift move to capture Charleston, which was taken over after two months of fighting. After the capture of Charleston, Clinton wanted to capitalize on his victory, and sent British detachments in all directions, to subdue as much resistance as possible. After placing

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

in charge of the Southern Campaign, Clinton returned to New York, where much of the British high command was. Clinton's instructions were to first finish off South Carolina, and then move north, to

, followed by

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

. After the defeat at Charleston, Colonel Abraham Buford, whose force of 400 Virginians had been too late to help defend Charleston, decided to take his troops and head back to Virginia. In late May, his troops were intercepted by

Colonel Tarleton Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolution. He later served in Portu ...

's troops. When the two forces met, the

Battle of Waxhaws The Waxhaw massacre, (also known as the Waxhaws, Battle of Waxhaw, and Buford's massacre) took place during the American Revolutionary War on May 29, 1780, near Lancaster, South Carolina, between a Continental Army force led by Abraham Buford and ...

ensued. Realizing his force could not win, Buford sent forward a messenger to surrender, however, Buford's requests were ignored. Tarleton wanted to make an example of Buford's troops, and killed 113 of his men, and wounded around 50 so badly that they could not be moved. Another 50 were taken prisoner, and the remaining 200 managed to escape. The Battle of Waxhaws helped inspire armed resistance in much of the south, especially in the Carolinas. The situation in the southern states was getting desperate. Many people considered giving up Georgia and the Carolinas without a fight. There were few organized forces left in the south.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

's quote, from his book ''Winning of the West'', sums up the situation quite well: "Except for occasional small guerrilla parties, there was not a single organized body of American troops left south of Gates....". Despite the derelict feelings of many southerners, enough patriotism was stirred to gather a small contingent of men to defend the Kings Mountain area. Despite reported ankle-deep snow during their march, the men continued to train and march on. After stopping for a lunch break at the

Roan Highlands Roan Mountain is a mountain straddling the North Carolina/Tennessee border in the Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains in the Southeastern United States. The range's highpoint, Roan is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian s ...

, it was discovered that two men with

tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

leanings were missing. Deciding that the British may be closer than originally thought, the commanding officers decided to change their route. The men traveled on a couple more days, until stopping at Gillespie's Gap to divide their troops in case of a British ambush. After dividing their troops, the now-separated forces marched on, until they met again on September 30. Later, men from Wilkes County and Surry County, North Carolina joined the so-called

Overmountain Men The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are the leading edge of the Appalachian Mountains, who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in th ...

on their march towards the British, bringing their total force to about 1,400. The army resumed marching on October 1, however, they stopped due to heavy rains, which continued on in to the next day. After roughly an hour of combat the Patriot forces defeated the British, and took nearly 700 prisoners.

Establishment

Kings Mountain National Military Park was established on March 3, 1931 by an act of Congress: "in order to commemorate the Battle of Kings Mountain." The park is the terminus of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail commemorating the route of the Patriot army from over the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...

to the battle. The park adjoins

Kings Mountain State Park Kings Mountain State Park is a South Carolina state park located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina. It is situated in York County near the city of Blacksburg, about southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina near Interstate 85. This larg ...

, which offers camping, picnicking and a "

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

" farm. It is approximately 30 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina and approximately 60 miles North of Greenville, South Carolina. Kings Mountain can be seen from I-85 North for many miles.

Historic trail

A one and a half mile paved trail leads from the visitor center around the base of the mountain along the Patriot lines and ascends to the crest where the Loyalists were positioned. The trail passes several monuments, large and small, the earliest dating from 1815, as well as

Patrick Ferguson Patrick Ferguson (1744 – 7 October 1780) was a Scottish officer in the British Army, an early advocate of light infantry and the designer of the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles C ...

's grave, giving a good sense of the battleground. The trail is moderately steep in places. As part of the NPS's Centennial Initiative, the trail will be rehabilitated to eliminate the steeper sections of the trail, making it accessible to everyone. On the

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

of the battle, then-

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

gave a speech commemorating the battle and the monument as "a place of inspiring memories." In the speech, he chronicled the basic history of America, detailing many great things about America, such as the rise of the American man and women. The whole speech can be rea
here
A year after Hoover gave his speech, a monument was erected by the

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

, which simply states "ON THIS SITE / PRESIDENT HOOVER / ADDRESSED AN AUDIENCE OF 75,000 / AT THE CELEBRATION OF THE / SESQUI CENTENNIAL / OF THE BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN," finishing with the date of the address. The monument, placed roughly where Hoover was standing, is a stop along the historic loop trail.

Mountain peaks

* Brown's Mountain - Cherokee County * Joes Mountain - York County

References

External links

Kings Mountain National Military ParkKings Mountain Monument and Battlefield - York County, S.C.
{{authority control Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina American Revolutionary War sites Protected areas of Cherokee County, South Carolina National Battlefields and Military Parks of the United States Protected areas of York County, South Carolina Federal architecture in South Carolina Museums in Cherokee County, South Carolina Military and war museums in South Carolina Protected areas established in 1931 American Revolutionary War museums in South Carolina National Park Service areas in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in York County, South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Cherokee County, South Carolina Parks in South Carolina 1931 establishments in South Carolina Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places Conflict sites on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina National Park Service Rustic architecture