Our farm is located in Cleveland County, North Carolina, about three miles from the Kings Mountain National Military Park, which is in York County, South Carolina. The Battle of Kings Mountain was the turning point of the American Revolutionary War in the South. In May 1780, the British captured a large American (Whig) army at Charleston, South Carolina. Lord Cornwallis had captured Charlotte, NC, and was preparing to invade Virginia. Cornwallis dispatched Major Patrick Ferguson with about 1,100 Loyalists (Tories) to hunt down and punish the "rebels" in the upstate of the Carolinas.

"Backwater men" (Whigs) from North Carolina, South Carolina, and what is now Tennessee began to follow Ferguson. Ferguson chose to fight his pursuers on a small hill now known as Kings Mountain. On October 7, 1780, The Whigs surrounded the mountain and attacked. Ferguson was killed and his entire command was captured. Cornwallis was forced to retreat from Charlotte. North Carolina was saved for the moment. Loses: "British" -225 killed, 163 wounded, and 716 prisoners. Major Ferguson was the only British soldier in the battle. The rest of his troops were Americans loyal to the King. Whig losses -28 killed and 62 wounded.