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THE PARK
Thomas Jefferson called it, "The
turn of the tide of success." For the British, Sir Henry
Clinton called the defeat at Kings Mountain, "the first
link in a chain of evils that at last ended in the total loss
of America."The battle of Kings Mountain, fought October
7th, 1780, was an important American victory during the Revolutionary
War. The battle was the first major patriot victory to occur
after the British invasion of Charleston, SC in May 1780. The
park preserves the site of this important battle.
Revolutionary War buffs will certainly want to make the effort
to take your dog to Kings Mountain, site of some of the most
vicious American vs. American fighting of the war. Here some
600 "backcountry" men who had marched over 200 miles
attacked Carolinians loyal to the crown. The Loyalists were under
the command of "Bloody" Patrick Ferguson, the only
British soldier in the battle.
Ferguson chose to defend his position
on traditional high ground, a rocky outcropping surrounded by
a hardwood forest. The mountain men, however, worked their way
up the slopes, fighting from tree to tree on their way to the
summit. The high ground in this case worked against the defenders
as they were unable to get clear shots at their attackers.
WALKS
You can hike with your dog on an
interpretive walking trail around Battlefield Ridge. Hiking on
the thickly wooded mountainside provides an excellent feel for
what fighting must have been like on that critical day in the
American Revolution. Your canine hike will include an exploration
of the spot where Ferguson was killed, marked by a monument and
covered with a traditional Scottish stone cairn.
BONUS
Kings Mountain NMP has the second
oldest Revolutionary War Monument in the nation. It is the 1815
Chronicle Marker located on the battlefield. Several veterans
of the battle dedicated it.
DIRECTIONS
Kings Mountain National Military
Park and be found on Route 161, 12 miles northwest of York, South
Carolina.
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