Blacksburg in York County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Charging Cold Steel - Three Times

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009

1. Charging Cold Steel - Three Times Marker

Inscription. Everyone knew Colonel Sevier's rugged frontiersmen for their long-rifle marksmanship-and their touchy eagerness for a brawl. But no experienced military man of that day expected men armed only with hunting weapons to be able to face and defeat real soldiers, trained to use the bayonet.

It had never happened-until Kings Mountain. Three times longhunters from eastern Tennessee charged up this mountainside. Once, then twice they were chased back down by Tories wielding 17-inch-long bayonets. Somehow Sevier's patriots found the courage to stop running, turn around, and go back up against that fearsome cold steel one last time.

Patriot militias face Crown-trained troops
Every man at Kings Mountain, Whig or Tory, knew that only six weeks ago, patriot militias had been overwhelmed in battle at Camden, South Carolina. There well-drilled Crown troops had used standard European tactics and cold steel to send the Whigs running for their lives.

Erected by Kings Mountain National Military Park - National Park Service - U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 35° 8.486′ N, 81° 23.088′ W. Marker is in Blacksburg

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, South Carolina, in York County. Marker is on Kings Mountain Park Road, on the right when traveling east. Located along a 1.5 mile walking trail around the Kings Mountain Battlefield. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Blacksburg SC 29702, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Drive the Enemy (within shouting distance of this marker); Presidential Recognition (within shouting distance of this marker); President Hoover (within shouting distance of this marker); The Battle of Kings Mountain Monument (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); In Honor of the Three Known African American Patriots (about 500 feet away); Americans in Redcoats (about 600 feet away); Col. Asbury Coward (about 600 feet away); Be Your Own Officer (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blacksburg.

More about this marker. On the left is a depiction of a standing Tory soldier, taking aim. Below the sidebar is a drawing depicting the battle of Camden, August 16, 1780.

Also see . . .
1. Kings Mountain Battlefield. National Park Service site. (Submitted on April 2, 2009, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

2. Kings Mountain National Military Park, Historic Resource Study, National Park Service. (Submitted on September 10, 2019.)

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009

2. Sidebar

Photographed By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 29, 2009

3. Charging Cold Steel - Three Times Marker

Charging Cold Steel - Three Times Marker on the Battlefield Trail image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Bill Coughlin, August 6, 2010

4. Charging Cold Steel - Three Times Marker on the Battlefield Trail

Credits. This page was last revised on September 10, 2019. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 972 times since then and 19 times this year. Last updated on October 20, 2018, by Bruce Guthrie of Silver Spring, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 1, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 4. submitted on August 22, 2010, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.