AMERICAN HISTORY: THE BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN (PT 1) 1780 WHEN COUNTRY BOYS KICKED REDCOAT TAILS

<a href= "1001%20Heroes,%20Legends,%20Histories%20&%20Mysteries%20Show%20Notes%20%E2%80%93%20THE%20BATTLE%20OF%20KINGS%20MOUNTAIN%20Episode%20Summary%20In%20this%20episode,%20we%20revisit%20one%20of%20the%20most%20decisive%20%E2%80%94%20and%20often%20overlooked%20%E2%80%94%20turning%20points%20of%20the%20American%20Revolution:%20The%20Battle%20of%20Kings%20Mountain,%20fought%20on%20October%207th,%201780.%20This%20was%20the%20battle%20where%20frontier%20farmers,%20hunters,%20and%20backwoodsmen%20%E2%80%94%20men%20with%20no%20uniforms,%20no%20formal%20training,%20and%20no%20central%20command%20%E2%80%94%20rose%20up%20to%20defeat%20a%20British-led%20force%20in%20a%20stunning,%20overwhelming%20victory.%20It%20was%20a%20battle%20fought%20not%20by%20professional%20soldiers,%20but%20by%20ordinary%20Americans%20who%20refused%20to%20bow%20to%20tyranny.%20Thomas%20Jefferson%20later%20called%20it%20%E2%80%9Cthe%20turning%20of%20the%20tide%20of%20success.%E2%80%9D%20And%20historians%20today%20still%20point%20to%20Kings%20Mountain%20as%20the%20moment%20when%20the%20British%20southern%20campaign%20began%20to%20unravel.%20This%20is%20the%20story%20of%20how%20a%20group%20of%20rugged%20frontiersmen%20%E2%80%94%20the%20%E2%80%9COvermountain%20Men%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20marched%20across%20the%20Appalachians%20to%20confront%20a%20threat%20to%20their%20homes,%20their%20families,%20and%20their%20freedom%E2%80%A6%20and%20in%20doing%20so,%20changed%20the%20course%20of%20the%20war.%20Background:%20A%20Nation%20on%20the%20Brink%20By%20late%201780,%20the%20American%20Revolution%20was%20in%20deep%20trouble.%20Charleston%20had%20fallen.%20Camden%20had%20been%20lost.%20The%20Continental%20Army%20in%20the%20South%20was%20shattered.%20British%20General%20Charles%20Cornwallis%20believed%20the%20southern%20colonies%20were%20ripe%20for%20the%20taking.%20To%20secure%20the%20frontier,%20he%20dispatched%20Major%20Patrick%20Ferguson%20%E2%80%94%20a%20skilled%20officer%20and%20inventor%20of%20the%20Ferguson%20rifle%20%E2%80%94%20to%20recruit%20Loyalists%20and%20crush%20Patriot%20resistance.%20Ferguson%20issued%20a%20warning%20to%20the%20mountain%20settlers:%20If%20they%20did%20not%20lay%20down%20their%20arms,%20he%20would%20%E2%80%9Cmarch%20over%20the%20mountains,%20hang%20their%20leaders,%20and%20lay%20waste%20to%20their%20country%20with%20fire%20and%20sword.%E2%80%9D%20It%20was%20a%20threat%20that%20would%20cost%20him%20everything.%20The%20Overmountain%20Men%20Rise%20The%20settlers%20of%20the%20Appalachian%20frontier%20%E2%80%94%20men%20from%20Virginia,%20North%20Carolina,%20South%20Carolina,%20and%20what%20is%20now%20Tennessee%20%E2%80%94%20were%20not%20professional%20soldiers.%20They%20were%20hunters,%20farmers,%20and%20riflemen%20who%20lived%20far%20from%20the%20centers%20of%20colonial%20power.%20But%20they%20were%20fiercely%20independent.%20And%20Ferguson%E2%80%99s%20threat%20lit%20a%20fire%20under%20them.%20Within%20days,%20hundreds%20gathered%20at%20Sycamore%20Shoals.%20They%20elected%20their%20own%20officers,%20prayed%20together,%20and%20set%20off%20on%20a%20grueling%20march%20over%20the%20mountains%20in%20cold%20autumn%20rain.%20Their%20goal%20was%20simple:%20Find%20Ferguson.%20Stop%20him.%20End%20the%20threat.%20The%20Battle:%20A%20Fight%20on%20a%20Ridge%20Ferguson%20chose%20to%20make%20his%20stand%20on%20a%20rocky%20ridge%20called%20Kings%20Mountain,%20believing%20its%20steep%20slopes%20made%20it%20unassailable.%20He%20was%20wrong.%20On%20October%207th,%20the%20Overmountain%20Men%20surrounded%20the%20ridge%20and%20attacked%20from%20all%20sides.%20Their%20long%20rifles%20%E2%80%94%20accurate%20far%20beyond%20the%20muskets%20of%20the%20Loyalists%20%E2%80%94%20tore%20into%20Ferguson%E2%80%99s%20lines.%20Every%20time%20the%20Loyalists%20charged%20downhill%20with%20bayonets,%20the%20Patriots%20melted%20back%20into%20the%20trees%E2%80%A6%20then%20surged%20forward%20again.%20The%20battle%20lasted%20barely%20an%20hour.%20Ferguson%20was%20shot%20from%20his%20saddle%20and%20killed.%20His%20force%20collapsed.%20It%20was%20a%20complete%20Patriot%20victory%20%E2%80%94%20swift,%20overwhelming,%20and%20devastating%20to%20British%20plans%20in%20the%20South.%20Why%20Kings%20Mountain%20Mattered%20The%20victory%20electrified%20the%20colonies.%20It%20shattered%20Loyalist%20morale.%20It%20forced%20Cornwallis%20to%20retreat%20from%20North%20Carolina.%20And%20it%20inspired%20new%20waves%20of%20enlistment%20across%20the%20South.%20Many%20historians%20consider%20Kings%20Mountain%20the%20turning%20point%20that%20made%20Yorktown%20%E2%80%94%20and%20American%20independence%20%E2%80%94%20possible.%20This%20was%20not%20a%20battle%20won%20by%20generals%20or%20professional%20armies.%20It%20was%20won%20by%20ordinary%20Americans%20who%20refused%20to%20be%20intimidated.%20Heroes%20of%20Kings%20Mountain%20This%20episode%20highlights%20the%20courage%20and%20leadership%20of:%20Colonel%20William%20Campbell%20%E2%80%93%20whose%20rallying%20cry,%20%E2%80%9CShout%20like%20hell%20and%20fight%20like%20devils!%E2%80%9D%20became%20legend%20Isaac%20Shelby%20%E2%80%93%20future%20governor%20of%20Kentucky%20John%20Sevier%20%E2%80%93%20future%20governor%20of%20Tennessee%20The%20Overmountain%20Men%20%E2%80%93%20frontier%20riflemen%20whose%20skill%20and%20determination%20turned%20the%20tide%20Their%20victory%20stands%20as%20one%20of%20the%20greatest%20examples%20of%20citizen%E2%80%91soldiers%20rising%20to%20defend%20their%20homes%20and%20their%20liberty.%20Legacy%20Today,%20Kings%20Mountain%20National%20Military%20Park%20preserves%20the%20battlefield%20and%20honors%20the%20men%20who%20fought%20there.%20Thomas%20Jefferson%20called%20the%20battle%20%E2%80%9Cthe%20joyful%20annunciation%20of%20that%20turn%20of%20the%20tide%20of%20success%20which%20terminated%20the%20Revolutionary%20War%20with%20the%20seal%20of%20our%20independence.%E2%80%9D%20It%20remains%20a%20powerful%20reminder%20that%20freedom%20often%20depends%20not%20on%20a