Near Gaffney in Cherokee County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Road to Kings Mountain and Cowpens

Fort Thicketty

— The Liberty Trail S.C. —

Road to Kings Mountain and Cowpens Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, October 5, 2025

1. Road to Kings Mountain and Cowpens Marker

Inscription.

Road to Kings Mountain and Cowpens. Fort Thicketty. , (Preface) , Overmountain Men , After Fort Thicketty, the Overmountain Men continued to rally against Major Patrick Ferguson. On September 25, 1780, hundreds of buckskin-clad woodsmen assembled at Sycamore Shoals in present-day Tennessee to begin their march to Kings Mountain. They proved their worst there in a surprising victory of the British and helped reinvigorate the Patriot cause.. , Tennessee State Museum, The British Command Severely censured Captain Patrick Moore for losing Fort Thicketty. Why didn't Moore "hold the fort" as commanded? Moore later pleaded cowardice, but he may have wanted to protect his nearby wife and children from retaliation by Patriot neighbors. Perhaps Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis was to blame for underestimating the Backcountry threat. Major Patrick Ferguson's recruits were unable to prevent the fiercely patriotic frontiersmen from moving east. Cornwallis's Southern strategy had begun to crack when the last Loyalist stronghold in the region , Fort Thicketty , fell into Patriot hands. Colonel Shelby's forces seized about 250 muskets and large stores of ammunition., The capture of Fort Thicketty allowed the Patriots to celebrate their brief dominance in the Backcountry. The victory convinced Patriot General Charles McDowell, Colonel Isaac Shelby, Brigadier General Thomas Sumter, and other Patriot leaders to launch a campaign targeting vulnerable Loyalist training camps and isolated outposts throughout the region. Following their defeats at the October 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781, the British began to lose their grip on the Backcountry while fighting continued in the Lowcountry., The Liberty Trail , Fort Thicketty is a part of The South Carolina Liberty Trail, an innovative driving route designed to connect key Revolutionary War battlefield sites in the Palmetto State. This unique heritage tourism destination combines preservation with engaging interpretative experiences., The Liberty Trail South Carolina app is available for free through the Apple Store and Google Play, offering a guided digital tour of Fort Thicketty and dozens of other sites across South Carolina., Visit these nearby sites on The Liberty Trail: , . Cherokee County Museum (8.5 miles) , . Cowpens Battlefield (16 miles) , . Kings Mountain Battlefield (28 miles), The South Carolina Liberty Trail is a joint project of the American Battlefield Trust and the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust. , Learn more at www.TheLibertyTrail.org/sc

(Preface)
Overmountain Men
After Fort Thicketty, the Overmountain Men continued to rally against Major Patrick Ferguson. On September 25, 1780, hundreds of buckskin-clad woodsmen assembled at Sycamore Shoals in present-day Tennessee to begin their march to Kings Mountain. They proved their worst there in a surprising victory of the British and helped reinvigorate the Patriot cause..
Tennessee State Museum

The British Command Severely censured Captain Patrick Moore for losing Fort Thicketty. Why didn't Moore "hold the fort" as commanded? Moore later pleaded cowardice, but he may have wanted to protect his nearby wife and children from retaliation by Patriot neighbors. Perhaps Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis was to blame for underestimating the Backcountry threat. Major Patrick Ferguson's recruits were unable to prevent the fiercely patriotic frontiersmen from moving east. Cornwallis's Southern strategy had begun to crack when the last Loyalist stronghold in the region — Fort Thicketty — fell into Patriot hands. Colonel Shelby's forces seized about 250 muskets and large stores of ammunition.

The capture

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

of Fort Thicketty allowed the Patriots to celebrate their brief dominance in the Backcountry. The victory convinced Patriot General Charles McDowell, Colonel Isaac Shelby, Brigadier General Thomas Sumter, and other Patriot leaders to launch a campaign targeting vulnerable Loyalist training camps and isolated outposts throughout the region. Following their defeats at the October 1780 Battle of Kings Mountain and the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781, the British began to lose their grip on the Backcountry while fighting continued in the Lowcountry.

The Liberty Trail
Fort Thicketty is a part of The South Carolina Liberty Trail, an innovative driving route designed to connect key Revolutionary War battlefield sites in the Palmetto State. This unique heritage tourism destination combines preservation with engaging interpretative experiences.

The Liberty Trail South Carolina app is available for free through the Apple Store and Google Play, offering a guided digital tour of Fort Thicketty and dozens of other sites across South Carolina.

Visit these nearby sites on The Liberty Trail:
• Cherokee County Museum (8.5 miles)
• Cowpens Battlefield (16 miles)
• Kings Mountain Battlefield (28 miles)

The South Carolina Liberty Trail is a joint project of the American Battlefield Trust and the South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust.

Learn more at www.TheLibertyTrail.org/sc

Erected 2025

Road to Kings Mountain and Cowpens Marker and Fort Thicketty image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, October 5, 2025

2. Road to Kings Mountain and Cowpens Marker and Fort Thicketty

by American Battlefield Trust, South Carolina Battleground Preservation Trust, 250th Anniversary South Carolina American Revolution, CHAPS.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Forts and Castles • War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical date for this entry is July 26, 1780.

Location. 34° 59.072′ N, 81° 42.724′ W. Marker is near Gaffney, South Carolina, in Cherokee County. It can be reached from State Road S-11-584 0.2 miles south of Goucher School Road, on the right when traveling south. Look for a gravel parking lot on your right. From there, take the paved walk down the trail to the fort remnants. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 184 State Rd S-11-584, Gaffney SC 29340, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Upstate

and in the Foothills. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in

Gravel parking lot off State Road S-11-584. Follow the paved trail to the marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Parker, October 5, 2025

3. Gravel parking lot off State Road S-11-584. Follow the paved trail to the marker

what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Thicketty Fort Project (a few steps from this marker); A Colonial Fortification (a few steps from this marker); A Bloodless Victory (within shouting distance of this marker); A Loyalist Base (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Welcome to Fort Thicketty (about 300 feet away); Goucher Baptist Church (approx. 0.9 miles away); Whig Hill (approx. 3.6 miles away); Nuckolls-Jefferies House (approx. 4.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gaffney.

Also see . . . Thicketty Fort.

On July 26th, a Patriot force arrived at Fort Anderson, located southeast of Cowpens. Fort Anderson was also known as Thicketty Fort. The fort contained a Loyalist garrison inside commanded by Capt. Patrick Moore, who had been captured at Lawson's Fork, but managed to escape soon thereafter.

The Patriots persuaded
Photographed by Mark Parker, October 5, 2025

4. Start of the trail at the parking lot. Follow it to reach the marker
the garrison to surrender, including one British Sergeant Major who was assigned to train the Loyalists, without firing a shot. They also captured 250 loaded muskets.

(Submitted on October 5, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 5, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 103 times since then and 56 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 5, 2025, by Mark Parker of Hickory, North Carolina. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.