The Battle of King's Mountain
In September 1780, Lord Cornwallis sent British Major Patrick Ferguson to the Carolina backcountry to recruit troops for the Loyalist militia.
There, he challenged local Patriot militias to lay down their arms or he would march his army, “…over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay their country waste with fire and sword.”
His threats backfired and instead inspired several Patriot militias to attack.
Ferguson attempted to retreat to the safety of Lord Cornwallis’s army near Charlotte.
However, the Patriots caught up with the Loyalists at Kings Mountain, just south of the North Carolina/South Carolina border on October 7, 1780.
Nine hundred Patriot militiamen surrounded and attacked a slightly larger Loyalist militia. After an hour of battle, the Loyalists suffered heavy casualties.
Ferguson was captured and when a Patriot approached him for his surrender, Ferguson drew his pistol and shot him. He was then shot and killed, and the remaining Loyalists surrendered.
The battle is described as the war’s largest all-American fight. It improved Patriot morale and forced Cornwallis to abandon his plan to invade North Carolina.
Next: The Siege at Yorktown