Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a decisive battle between the Patriot and Loyalist militias in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War . The actual battle took place on October 7 , 1780 , nine miles south of the present - day town of Kings Mountain , North Carolina in rural York County , South Carolina , where the Patriot militia defeated the Loyalist militia commanded by British Major Patrick Ferguson of the 71st Foot . Ferguson had arrived in North Carolina in early September 1780 with the purpose of recruiting for the Loyalist militia and protecting the flank of Lord Cornwallis ' main force . Ferguson issued a challenge to the rebel militias to lay down their arms or suffer the consequences . In response , the Patriot militias led by James Johnston , William Campbell , John Sevier , Joseph McDowell and Isaac Shelby rallied for an attack on Ferguson . Receiving intelligence on the oncoming attack , Ferguson decided to retreat to the safety of Lord Cornwallis ' army . However , the Patriots caught up with the Loyalists at Kings Mountain on the border with South Carolina . Achieving a complete surprise , the Patriot militiamen attacked and surrounded the Loyalists , inflicting heavy casualties . After an hour of battle , Ferguson was fatally shot while trying to break the rebel line , after which his men surrendered . Eager to avenge the Banastre Tarleton ' s massacre of the militiamen at the Battle of Waxhaws , the Patriots gave no quarter until the rebel officers re - established control over their men . Although victorious , the Patriots had to retreat quickly from the area for fear of Cornwallis ' advance . The battle was a pivotal moment in the Southern campaign . The surprising victory over the American Loyalist militia came after a string of rebel defeats at the hands of Lord Cornwallis , and greatly raised the Patriots ' morale . With Ferguson dead and his Loyalist militia destroyed , Cornwallis was forced to abandon his plan to invade North Carolina and retreated into South Carolina . Prelude to battle . Major Ferguson was appointed Inspector of Militia on May 22 , 1780 . His task was to march to the old Tryon County area , raise and organize Loyalist units from the Tory population of the Carolina Backcountry , and protect the left flank of Lord Cornwallis ' main body at Charlotte , North Carolina . On September 2 , Ferguson and the militia he had already recruited marched west towards the Appalachian Mountain hill country on what is now the Tennessee / North Carolina border . By September 10 , he had established a base camp at Gilbert Town , North Carolina and issued a challenge to the Patriot leaders to lay down their arms or he would " lay waste to their country with fire and sword . " North Carolina Patriot militia leaders Isaac Shelby and John Sevier , from the Washington District ( now present day northeast Tennessee ) , met and agreed to lead their militiamen against him . Patriot leaders also sent word to a Virginia militia leader , William Campbell , asking him to join them . Campbell called on Benjamin Cleveland to bring his Wilkes County North Carolina militia to the rendezvous . The detachments of Shelby , Sevier and Campbell were met by 160 North Carolina militiamen led by Charles McDowell and his brother Joseph . Campbell ' s cousin , Arthur Campbell , brought 200 more Virginians . About 1 , 100 volunteers from southwest Virginia and today ' s northeast Tennessee , known as the " Overmountain Men " because they had settled into the wilderness west of the Appalachian Mountains ridgeline , mustered at the rendezvous on September 25 , 1780 , at Sycamore Shoals near the modern city of Elizabethton , Tennessee . Their movement had been made possible by easing tensions with the Cherokee , thanks to diplomacy by Benjamin Cleveland ' s brother - in - law , Indian agent Joseph Martin . The Overmountain Men crossed Roan Mountain the next day , and proceeded in a southerly direction for about thirteen days in anticipation of fighting the British Loyalist forces . By September 30 , they had reached Quaker Meadows , the Burke County , North Carolina home of the McDowell brothers , where they united with Benjamin Cleveland and 350 men . Now 1400 strong , the Patriots marched to South Mountain , North Carolina , The five colonels leading the Patriot force ( Shelby , Sevier , William Campbell , Joseph McDowell and Cleveland ) chose William Campbell as the nominal commander , but they agreed that all five would act in council to command their combined army . Meanwhile , two deserters from the Patriot militia reached Patrick Ferguson and informed him of the large body of militia advancing towards him . Waiting three days for reasons that still unclear , Ferguson ordered a retreat to Lord Cornwallis and the British main forces in Charlotte , sending a message to Cornwallis requesting reinforcements . The request did not reach Cornwallis until one day after the battle . On October 1 , Ferguson reached North Carolina ' s Broad River , where he issued another pugnacious public letter , calling the local militia to join him lest they be " pissed upon by a set of mongrels " ( the Overmountain Men ) . On October 4 , the Patriot militia reached Ferguson ' s former camp at Gilbert Town , where thirty Georgian militiamen joined them , anxious for action . On October 6 , they reached Cowpens , South Carolina , site of the future Battle of Cowpens ) , where they received word that Ferguson was east of them , heading towards Charlotte and Cornwallis . They hurried to catch him . Rebel spies reported Ferguson was making camp on Kings Mountain with some 1200 men . Ferguson , rather than pushing on until he reached Charlotte and safety ( just a day ' s march away ) , camped at Kings Mountain and sent Cornwallis another letter asking for reinforcements . Kings Mountain is one of many rocky forested hills in the upper Piedmont , near the border between North and South Carolina . It is shaped like a footprint with the highest point at the heel , a narrow instep , and a broad rounded toe . The Loyalists camped on a ridge west of Kings Pinnacle , the highest point on Kings Mountain . Needing to hurry , the Patriot militia put 900 men on horseback and rode for Kings Mountain . They left immediately , marching through the night of the 6th and morning of the 7th , even though the rain never stopped . By sunrise of the 7th , they forded the Broad River , fifteen miles from Kings Mountain . By early afternoon they arrived and immediately surrounded the ridge and attacked . Battle . The battle opened about 3 p . m . , when the 900 Patriots ( including John Crockett , father of Davy Crockett ) , approached the steep base of the western ridge . They formed eight detachments of 100 to 200 men each . Ferguson was unaware that the rebels had caught up to him and his 1 , 100 men . He was the only British soldier in his command , composed entirely of Loyalist Carolina militia except the 100 or so red - uniformed Loyalist soldiers from New York . He had not thought it necessary to fortify his camp . As the screaming Patriots charged up the hill , Captain DePeyster turned to Ferguson and said , " These things are ominous — these are the damned yelling boys ! " . Two parties , led by Colonels John Sevier and William Campbell , assaulted the mountains " high heel " , the smallest area but highest point . The other detachments , led by Colonels Shelby , Williams , Lacey , Cleveland , Hambright , Winston and McDowell attacked the main Loyalist position , surrounding the " ball " base beside the " heel " crest of the mountain . The Patriots caught the Loyalists by surprise . Loyalist officer Alexander Chesney later admitted he didn ' t know the Patriots were anywhere near them until the shooting started . No one amongst the Patriot army was in command once the fighting started . Each detachment fought independently under the plan to surround and destroy the Loyalists . The Patriots crept up the hill and fired from behind rocks and trees . Ferguson rallied his troops and launched a desperate bayonet charge against Campbell and Sevier . Lacking bayonets , the rebels ran down the hill and into the woods . Campbell soon rallied his troops , returned to the hill , and resumed firing . Ferguson ordered two more bayonet charges during the battle . This became the pattern of the battle ; the Patriots would charge up the hill , then the Tories would charge down the hill with fixed bayonets , driving the Patriots off the slopes and into the woods , and once the charge was spent and the Tories would return to their positions , the Patriots would reform in the woods , return to the base of the hill , and charge up the hill again . During one of the charges , Colonel Williams was killed and Colonel McDowell was wounded . Firing was difficult for the Loyalists , since the Patriots constantly moved and used cover and concealment . Furthermore , the downhill angle of the hill caused the Loyalists to overshoot . After an hour of combat , Loyalist casualties were heavy . Ferguson rode back and forth across the hill , blowing a silver whistle he used to signal charges . Shelby , Sevier and Campbell reached the top of the hill behind the Loyalist position and attacked Ferguson ' s rear . The Loyalists were driven back into their camp at the toe of the hill , where they began to surrender . Ferguson drew his sword and hacked down any small white flags that he saw popping up , but he apparently knew that the end was near . In an attempt to rally his faltering men , Ferguson shouted out " Hurrah , brave boys , the day is ours ! " , gathered a few officers together and attempted to cut through the Patriot ring , but Sevier ' s men fired a volley and Ferguson was shot dead from his horse . When the rebels found his corpse they counted seven bullet wounds . Seeing their leader fall , all of the Loyalists began to surrender . Loyalist Captain Abraham DePeyster , in command after Ferguson was killed , sent out an emissary with a white flag , asking for quarter . Eager to avenge the ' Waxhaw Massacre ' aka the Battle Of Wexhaws where Banastre Tarleton ' s men had killed a sizable number of Abraham Buford ' s Continental soldiers after the latter had surrendered then shot Tarleton ' s horse pinning him to the ground and leaving his men to believe their commanding officer had been killed under a white flag of surrender . Some rebels did not initially want to take prisoners while others were seemingly unaware that the Loyalists had surrendered . The Patriots rejected DePeyster ' s white flag and continued firing , many of them shouting , " Give ' em Tarleton ' s Quarter ! " and " Give them Buford ' s play ! " . After a few more minutes of bloodletting in which a significant number of the surrendering Loyalists were killed , DePeyster sent out a second white flag and a few rebel officers , including Campbell and Sevier , ran forward and took control by ordering their men to cease fire , giving quarter to around 700 Loyalists . Aftermath . The Battle of Kings Mountain lasted 65 minutes . The Loyalists suffered 290 killed , 163 wounded , and 668 taken prisoner . The Patriot militia suffered 29 killed and 58 wounded . The Patriots had to move out quickly for fear that Cornwallis would advance to meet them . Loyalist prisoners well enough to walk were herded to camps several miles from the battlefield . The dead were buried in shallow graves and wounded were left on the field . Ferguson ' s corpse was later reported to have been mangled and wrapped in oxhide before burial . Both victors and vanquished came near to starvation on the march due to a lack of supplies in the hastily organized Patriot army . On October 14 , the retreating Patriot force held drumhead courtmartial s of various Loyalists on various charges ( treason , desertion from Patriot militias , incitement of Indian rebellion ) . Passing through the Sunshine community in what is now Rutherford County , N . C . , the retreat halted , perhaps not coincidentally on the property of the Biggerstaff family . Aaron Biggerstaff , a Loyalist , had fought in the battle and been mortally wounded . His brother Benjamin was a Patriot and was being held as a prisoner of war on a British ship docked at Charleston , S . C . Their cousin John Moore was the Loyalist commander at the earlier Battle of Ramsour ' s Mill ( modern Lincolnton , N . C . ) , in which many of the same troops had participated on both sides . While stopped on the Biggerstaff land , 36 Loyalist prisoners were convicted . Some were testified against by Patriots who had previously fought alongside them and later changed sides . Nine of the prisoners were hanged before Isaac Shelby brought an end to the proceedings . His decision to halt the executions came after an impassioned plea for mercy from one of the Biggerstaff women , although accounts vary as to whether it was Martha Biggerstaff , Aaron ' s wife , or Mary Van Zant Biggerstaff , Benjamin ' s wife . As the Patriot army dispersed , all but 130 Loyalist prisoners escaped over the next few days before the column finally reached camp at Salem , North Carolina ; they were able to escape having been moved through wooded areas in a single line . Kings Mountain was a pivotal moment in the history of the American Revolution . Coming after a series of disasters and humiliations in the Carolinas — the fall of Charleston and capture of the American army there , the destruction of another American army at the Battle of Camden , the Waxhaws Massacre — the surprising , decisive victory at Kings Mountain was a great boost to Patriot morale . The Tories of the Carolina Back Country were broken as a military force . Additionally , the destruction of Ferguson ' s command and the looming threat of Patriot militia in the mountains caused Lord Cornwallis to cancel his plans to invade North Carolina ; he instead evacuated Charlotte and retreated to South Carolina . He would not return to North Carolina until early 1781 , when he was chasing Nathanael Greene after the Americans had dealt British arms another devastating defeat at the Battle of Cowpens . In " The Winning of the West , " Theodore Roosevelt wrote of Kings Mountain , " This brilliant victory marked the turning point of the American Revolution . " Thomas Jefferson called it , " The turn of the tide of success . " Herbert Hoover ' s address at Kings Mountain said , " This is a place of inspiring memories . Here less than a thousand men , inspired by the urge of freedom , defeated a superior force intrenched in this strategic position . This small band of Patriots turned back a dangerous invasion well designed to separate and dismember the united Colonies . It was a little army and a little battle , but it was of mighty portent . History has done scant justice to its significance , which rightly should place it beside Lexington , Bunker Hill , Trenton and Yorktown . " In 1931 , the Congress of the United States created the Kings Mountain National Military Park on the site of the battle . The park headquarters is in Blacksburg , South Carolina , and hosts hundreds of thousands of people each year .