The Battle of Kings Mountian was the beginning of the end for the British Army in the American Colonies. American Patriots first fired on British soldiers in 1775 at Lexington Green, in Massachusetts and that event set in motion a war that would not conclude until the surrender of the British army at Yorktown, Virginia in September of 1781.
Since all of the action was located in the Northern Colonies early on, the early British strategy was to split New York in two, therefore cutting off New England from the rest of the colonies, thereby forcing them into subjugation and bringing the war to an early end. After several battles including the unexpected Patriot victory at Monmouth Courthouse, and also at Saratoga, the British realized that the young Continental Army was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
At that point, the war ground to a halt in the region, so the British Army changed it's strategy and moved the war to the southern colonies as they believed that the largely rural and agricultural population would support the Crown, especially in light of their significant agricultural exports back to England and the West Indies. The plan was for Sir Henry Clinton to take Charlestown by force so that a base of operations and supply could be established for the army.
Initially, it was a great success for the British as they took the city and along with it, hundreds of Continental soldiers. In the meantime, George Washington sent reinforcements down to the Continental Army in the south but it was too late.
Once established, the British plans were to move north through South Carolina, and into North Carolina hopefully gaining support amongst the population all along the way. To advance on an enemy took time so it was common to have fast moving light infantry that would scout ahead of the army to secure supplies and warn of possible danger. The British army in South Carolina had two such advance groups, one commanded by Colonel Banastre Tarleton, known for his brutal tactics and murder of prisoners, and the other commanded by Colonel Patrick Ferguson. After Charleston, the battles at Camden, Monks Corner, and The Waxhaws were victories for the British, then they started their move north toward North Carolina.
Patrick Ferguson and his light infantry was to move to the west of the main army to protect the left flank from the patriot militias located in the mountains of the South Carolina backcountry. The settlers, soon to be known as the Overmountain Men, led by Colonel Charles McDowelll, wasted no time as they crossed the mountains to look for Ferguson and his men. Pioneers such as John Sevier, William Campbell and John Crockett, the father of Davy Crockett, were some of the Overmountain Men that joined the fight.
In the meantime, British Colonel Ferguson moved north and west closer to the mountains and chose what he thought was the best place for battle by positioning his men on top of a hill called Kings Mountain. A place that was easily defensible from all sides due to its steep slopes. His assumption was that reinforcements from Lord Cornwallis' army would soon follow along with loyalist militias from the region, therefore giving him an even stronger defense. On October 7, 1780, the Overmountain Men along with other patriot militias arrived in the vicinity of Kings Mountain and planned to surround it and attack from all sides by pushing up the slopes until the defenders were either killed or captured. Within a few hours the battle was over, Ferguson had been killed, and over 650 of his original 900 soldiers were either killed or captured.
It was a significant victory for the patriot cause as the British Army in South Carolina had lost their light infantry protection on the left flank and now they were vulnerable to attack. General Cornwallis main army was now totally unprotected on all sides as both of his advanced legions had now been destroyed.
At this point General Cornwallis made a serious tactical error. With both of his light infantries gone, he attempted to turn his main army into the same light infantry by unloading all of their weight and supplies, and he set out to chase Colonel McDowell and the Overmountain Men down and destroy them. The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens set into motion a chain of events that would eventually lead to the surrender of General Cornwallis and the British Army that same year in October, in effect ending the American Revolution.
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