Overmountain Men The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Appalachian Mountains who took part in the American Revolutionary War . While they were present at multiple engagements in the war ' s southern campaign , they are best known for their role in the American victory at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780 . The term " overmountain " refers to the fact that their settlements were west of , or " over " , the Appalachians — the range being the primary geographical boundary dividing the 13 American colonies from the western frontier . The Overmountain Men hailed from parts of Virginia , North Carolina , and what is now Tennessee . The efforts of the Overmountain Men helped to solidify the existence of the fragile settlements in the Watauga , Nolichucky , and Holston river valleys , the legitimacy of which had been questioned by the British Crown for several years . Many Overmountain Men , including John Sevier and Isaac Shelby , went on to play prominent roles in the establishment of the states of Tennessee and Kentucky . The foothold they gained on the frontier helped open the door to mass westward migration in ensuing decades . The Overmountain settlements . In the late 1760s and early 1770s , Euro - American settlers began pouring into what is now northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia , causing considerable agitation among the Cherokees and other tribes who controlled the area . The Treaty of Lochaber , signed in 1770 between the British and the Cherokee , moved the boundary of British territory south to Long Island of the Holston ( modern Kingsport , Tennessee ) . While this brought settlements north of the Holston under British protection , the settlers south of the river were ordered to leave . Rather than comply with the Crown ' s order , the illegal settlers — mostly concentrated at the Watauga settlement at Sycamore Shoals ( in present day Elizabethton ) , the Nolichucky settlement ( near modern Greeneville ) , and Carter ' s Valley ( near modern Kingsport ) — decided to lease their land from the Cherokee , and in 1772 established the Watauga Association , which was the first independent American constitutional government west of the Appalachians . In 1775 , the Watauga and Nolichucky settlers purchased their leased lands outright and formed the independent Washington District . They almost immediately petitioned Virginia for annexation , which was denied . The Crown and the colonial governments ( especially Virginia ) considered the land purchases illegal , and ordered the settlers to leave what they considered to be Cherokee lands . Also , some factions of the Cherokee became agitated when these settlements began expanding rapidly , and tribal chiefs amiable to the settlers fell out of favor . A young Cherokee chief , Dragging Canoe , who had been opposed to the sale of tribal lands , called for the violent removal of all European settlers west of the mountains . He led an estimated one thousand followers ( eventually referred to as the Chickamauga ) away from the American settlements and carried on an armed struggle against the new country for almost twenty more years ( see the Chickamauga Wars ) after the failed Cherokee attacks against the Overmountain settlements in the summer of 1776 . Revolutionary War . Early conflicts . At the outbreak of the American Revolution in 1776 , the Overmountain settlers ( most of whom were Whig s opposed to the monarchy ) began preparing for invasion . The signing of the Watauga Petition and its acceptance by $ 3 — annexing the Washington District to that colony — added further impetus to the Cherokee , who were also being encouraged by the British , to push the American frontiersmen out of the Overmountain settlements . The invasion came in July of that year . While settlers were chased out of Carter ' s Valley and the Nolichucky settlements , the Cherokee were defeated at Eaton ' s Station on July 20 and at Fort Watauga on July 21 , and eventually retreated from the area . The settlers ' struggles gained them the sympathies of North Carolina ' s revolutionary leaders , who in 1777 , allowed the settlements of the Washington District to join equally with the colony , designating the Overmountain area as ( the original ) Washington County , North Carolina . The Overmountain Men took part ( to varying degrees ) in numerous operations against British Loyalists and the British - aligned Cherokee and Shawnee all along the Appalachian frontier . Twenty Wataugans helped defend the Boonesborough and Harrodsburg settlements ( in modern Kentucky ) from Shawnee attacks in 1778 . During the summer of 1780 , a group of Overmountain Men led by Isaac Shelby joined up with Colonel Charles McDowell to raid Loyalist outposts in the Piedmont mountain region of northwestern South Carolina . The Overmountain Men captured Fort Thickety on the Pacolet River and aided in the Patriot victory at the Battle of Musgrove Mill . With the approach of 1780 harvesting season , however , most of the Overmountain Men returned to their farms on the frontier . McDowell stayed behind with a small contingent to continue harassing loyalists . Call to arms . After winning a decisive victory at the Battle of Camden in August 1780 , British General Charles Cornwallis invaded North Carolina , and sent Major Patrick Ferguson into the mountains to root out the Patriot irregulars and protect the region ' s loyalists . Ferguson quickly routed McDowell ' s badly - outnumbered force , and McDowell retreated across the mountains to the Washington District . Ferguson pardoned a captured frontiersmen named Samuel Phillips ( a cousin to Isaac Shelby ) so that Phillips could carry a message to the Overmountain settlements . In the message , Ferguson warned the Overmountain Men that if they didn ' t lay down their arms , he would " march his army over the mountains , hang their leaders , and lay waste the country with fire and sword . " Upon receiving the message , Shelby rode to Watauga to consult with John Sevier , and the two agreed to raise armies and cross the mountains to engage Ferguson . On September 25 , 1780 , several hundred frontiersmen gathered at Sycamore Shoals . Lead had been mined at nearby Bumpass Cove for ammunition , Sullivan County merchant John Adair volunteered funds for the expedition , and women prepared clothing and food for the long march . Black powder for the expedition was manufactured by Mary Patton at the Patton mill along nearby Powder Branch . The assembled force consisted of 240 men led by Sevier from Washington County , North Carolina ( now Washington County , Tennessee ) and the other counties of the Washington District ; 240 from Sullivan County led by Shelby ; and 400 from southwestern Virginia led by Colonel William Campbell . This main body planned to meet up with the remnants of McDowell ' s army in the mountains , bringing the total number to just over 1 , 000 . Homeguards were left at Holston and Watauga under Anthony Bledsoe and Charles Robertson , respectively . March over the mountains . Campbell and his company of 400 Virginians gathered in Abingdon on lands owned by Capt . Andrew Colvill , now known as the Abingdon Muster Grounds , on the banks of Wolf Creek on September 23 , 1780 and began the first leg of the march to meet up with a group of " Tennesseans " at Rocky Mount on September 24 . They arrived at Sycamore Shoals on the 25th . On September 26 , after a fiery sermon by Reverend Samuel Doak , the Overmountain Men began their long trek over the Blue Ridge , marching from Sycamore Shoals to the base of Roan Mountain , where they camped for the night . After crossing the mountain at Yellow Mountain Gap , they followed a well - worn path up the North Toe River Valley to Bright ' s settlement ( modern Spruce Pine , North Carolina ) . On September 29 , the force split up at Gillespie Gap ( atop the eastern Blue Ridge ) , with Campbell ' s contingent descending to Wofford ' s Fort in Turkey Cove , and Sevier and Shelby ' s forces descending to North Cove to link up with McDowell . The force reunited the following day and spent the night at the McDowell family plantation at Quaker Meadows ( modern Morganton , North Carolina ) , where they were joined by a 300 - man contingent under Benjamin Cleveland and Joseph Winston . While camped atop Bedford ' s Hill on October 1 , the force ' s leaders bickered over who had full command , and Charles McDowell was dispatched to the headquarters of General Horatio Gates to request he name a permanent commander . McDowell left his unit under the command of his brother , Joseph McDowell . On October 4 , the Overmountain Men reached Ferguson ' s base at Gilbert Town ( near modern Rutherfordton ) , although Ferguson had evacuated eastward toward Charlotte to be closer to the main British army . The following day , while camped at Alexander ' s Ford along the Green River , a spy told the frontiersmen that Ferguson was headed for Ninety - Six , and the force thus headed southeastward into South Carolina . On October 6 , the frontiersmen reached Cowpens , where they were joined by a force of 400 South Carolinians under James Williams and a smaller force of North Carolina militiamen under Lt . Colonel Frederick Hambright , including Lt . Colonel Joseph Hardin and Major John Hardin . A spy notified the force that Ferguson was camped to the east , and a large number of frontiersmen marched through the night in hopes of forcing a confrontation . Battle of Kings Mountain . With the Overmountain Men and Patriot forces fast approaching , Ferguson decided to entrench his 1000 - strong loyalist force atop Kings Mountain , a flat - top hill about west of Charlotte , near the North Carolina – South Carolina line . Patriot forces reached Kings Mountain on the afternoon of October 7 , and formed a U - shape around the mountain , effectively flanking the loyalists . Around 3 P . M . , after several minutes of minor skirmishing , William Campbell told his men to " " shout like hell and fight like devils " , " and two companies simultaneously opened fire on the loyalist positions . Shelby , Sevier , Williams , and Cleveland pushed from the north side of the mountain , while Campbell , Winston , and Joseph McDowell pushed from the south side . While Kings Mountain was difficult to scale , the mountain ' s slopes were heavily wooded , providing Patriot riflemen ample cover . Both Campbell and Shelby twice attempted to charge up the mountain , but were driven back by loyalist rifle fire . After about an hour , however , the frontier sharpshooters had taken a devastating toll on the loyalists ' ranks , and Campbell and Shelby managed to reach the summit . Ferguson was killed by sharpshooters , and the remaining loyalists surrendered . Loyalist casualties included 157 killed , 163 so severely wounded they were left on the field , and 698 captured . Patriot casualties were 28 killed and 62 wounded . Among the Patriot dead was South Carolina militia leader James Williams . John Sevier ' s brother , Robert , was also mortally wounded . The loyalist prisoners were marched to Hillsborough , North Carolina , where several were put on trial for atrocities allegedly committed on the frontier , and nine were hanged , including Colonel Ambrose Mills . Aftermath and legacy . His western flank now exposed , Cornwallis abandoned his invasion of North Carolina and fell back to Winnsboro , South Carolina . After the victory , Sevier dispatched Joseph Greer to Philadelphia to deliver news of the victory to the Continental Congress . Most of the Overmountain Men returned to the Washington District , where in subsequent months John Sevier , Joseph Hardin and Arthur Campbell ( brother of William ) led an expedition against the Cherokee to further secure the frontier . William Campbell returned to South Carolina in 1781 to aid Daniel Morgan ' s Continental s against another British incursion into the region , but arrived the day after Morgan ' s decisive victory at Cowpens . In later years , Sevier and Shelby played important roles in the establishment of Tennessee and Kentucky , respectively . Other influential Overmountain Men included John Crockett ( father of Davy Crockett ) , William Lenoir , Joseph Dickson , Daniel Smith , William Russell , and John Rhea , all of whom were at Kings Mountain , and Anthony Bledsoe , who commanded the homeguard for the Holston settlement while the main force was away . In 1980 , Congress appropriated funds for the establishment of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail , which follows the original marching route of the Overmountain Men between the mustering grounds at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park and battle site at Kings Mountain National Military Park , and includes several branch trails in Virginia and North Carolina . The Overmountain Men are the subject of numerous books , including a historical novel by Cameron Judd , and a play entitled " The Wataugans " .