Kings Mountain National Military Park
The sacrifices and significance of what happened on this mountaintop echo loudly through two centuries of American history. Five times—in 1815, 1855, 1880, 1909, and 1930—great crowds of . . . — — Map (db m138651) HM
If you follow the trail to your left, you will circle the base of Kings Mountain, as gathering patriot forces did on the afternoon of October 7, 1780. The path climbs to a rock-strewn ridge line which was defended by more than 1,000 American . . . — — Map (db m125169) HM
Kings Mountain...would have enabled us to oppose a superior force with advantage had it not been covered with wood which sheltered the Americans and enabled them to fight in their favorite manner.
Alexander Chesney, South Carolina . . . — — Map (db m17481) HM
Major Joseph Winston's command mistakenly charged a hillside that was barren of Tories. Later, arriving here, they eagerly peered through the autumn leaves to see if they were mistaken again. They were not, and so entered the triumphant fight. — — Map (db m17513) HM
Sacred to the Memory of
Major William Chronicle, Captain John Mattocks
William Rabb and John Boyd
Who Were killed at this place on the 7th.
of October 1780. Fighting in Defense of America.
Colonel Ferguson an officer of his Britannic . . . — — Map (db m231571) HM
The patriots who formed battle lines at the foot of this hillside were local boys who knew Kings Mountain well. Some had used the large clearing atop the ridge as a deerhunters' camp. Local men from the South Fork settlements had helped the Whig . . . — — Map (db m17519) HM
Fire as quick as you can, and stand your ground as long as you can. When you can do no better, get behind trees, or retreat; but I beg you not to run quite off. It we are repulsed, let us make a point of returning, and renewing the . . . — — Map (db m17522) HM
Ben Hollingsworth and myself took right up the side of the mountain, and fought our way from tree to tree, up to the summit. I recollect I stood behind one tree and fired until the bark was nearly all knocked off, and my eyes pretty well . . . — — Map (db m17523) HM
In Honor of
Lieutenant Colonel James Hawthorn
Commander of
Colonel William Hill's Regiment
York County Troops
In the Battle of Kings Mountain
7 October 1780
Colonel Hill having been disabled
By wounds Received
In a former . . . — — Map (db m17651) HM
The chaos of battle roared along this ridge top. Piercing the din of gunfire and wounded men's groans, Ferguson's silver whistle shrilled, rallying his Tories. Two horses were shot out from under him; Ferguson seemed to be everywhere at once. . . . — — Map (db m17654) HM
To the memory of Col. Patrick Ferguson Seventy-First regiment. Highland light Infantry.
Born in Aberdeenshire. Scotland in 1744. Killed October 7, 1780 in action at King's Mountain while in command of the British Troops.
A soldier of . . . — — Map (db m17655) HM
Imagine hundreds of men, dressed more or less alike, heart still pounding from the fever of battle, milling around this hillside as the sun sets. Whigs and Tories both sleep on wet, cold ground, amid the groans of wounded and dying men.
The rebel . . . — — Map (db m17657) HM
In these woods, dazed Tories hurriedly buried their fallen comrades, using only logs and rocks. Dr.Uzal Johnson of the New Jersey provincials spent the night with the several hundred men with wounds, tending friend and foe alike. At dawn, a long . . . — — Map (db m17660) HM
Gunshots and the shouts of hundreds of men battered the slope you see just ahead as one of the fiercest battles of the American Revolution broke out. Every man here that day knew that the Carolina backcountry had burned and bled since May when the . . . — — Map (db m138672) HM
This distinguished race of men are more savage than the Indians,and possess every one of their vices, but not one of their virtues. I have known...these fellows(to) travel 200 miles through the woods never keeping any road or path, guided by the . . . — — Map (db m17671) HM
A battalion of loyal Americans stood battle-ready on the spine of Kings Mountain above you. Lord Cornwallis' powerful army had ground its way north from Charleston with an unbroken string of British victories. Throughout the summer of 1780, His . . . — — Map (db m17460) HM
When we encounter the enemy, don't wait for a word of command. Let each of you be your own officer, and do the very best you can....If in the woods, shelter yourselves and give them Indian play; advance from tree to tree...and killing and . . . — — Map (db m17526) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m125170) HM
On this Site
President Hoover
Addressed an audience of 75,000
at the Celebration of the
Sesqui Centennial
of the Battle of Kings Mountain
Oct. 7, 1930 — — Map (db m125171) HM
This is a place of inspiring memories.
Here less than a thousand men, inspired by the urge of freedom, defeated a superior force....This small band of patriots turned back a dangerous invasion well-designed to separate and dismember the . . . — — Map (db m17535) HM
These things are ominous - these are the damned yelling boys! Abraham DePeyster, New York loyalist officer British war drums bellowed the alarm as 120 battle-hardened veterans in red took their places in line here they were the first to . . . — — Map (db m125172) HM
The ridge ahead was craggy and rough, and covered with flame and smoke. Campbell's Virginia regiment had drawn a tough and bloody assignment; to lead the first strike against the Tories. They were the first to close with the enemy, the first to hear . . . — — Map (db m17550) HM
Hard pressed on every side, Ferguson's men fell back to their camp, which lay in the saddle of the ridge you see just ahead. As some Tories tried to surrender, bullets continued to pour into their ranks from all directions. Too late, they saw they . . . — — Map (db m125174) HM
So soon as Charleston fell, there was a proclamation for all to come forward...peace and pardon should be granted....Vast numbers flocked in and submitted; some through fear, some through willingness, and others, perhaps, through a hope that all . . . — — Map (db m17565) HM
To honor Col. Asbury Coward President, Kings Mountain Centennial Association, 1880. Acknowledged, inspirational force in perpetuating the glory and importance of the Battle of Kings Mountain Erected by Kings Mountain Chapter Daughters of the . . . — — Map (db m241599) HM
In Memory of the patriotic American
who participated in the
Battle of
Kings Mountain
this Monument is erected
by their grateful
Descendants.
Here the tide of battle turned in favor of the American Colonies.
Here on the 7th . . . — — Map (db m125173) HM
