Voices of the Past

Painting in the King's Mountain Battlefield Museum

The Battle for King's Mountain

In 1780, the Battle of Kings Mountain in northwestern South Carolina shook the British Empire. The British came to South Carolina to put the rebels in their place and to secure the American South for the British Crown. One win after another, they moved inward toward the Appalachian Mountains. The Overmountain men of East Tennessee and the Carolinas had heard of the brutality of the enemy and determined to stop the Loyalists and British in their tracks. And they did.

Firing from behind trees, they withstood three bayonet charges before they killed Major Ferguson, the British/Loyalist commander and the best marksman in the British Army in North America, and took the mountain.

(Cool side note: the Patriots were able to recognize Ferguson so readily because his mistress grabbed a horse and rode through the lines into no man’s land between the battling armies, and on into the ranks of the Overmountain men. She told them exactly what he was wearing and that he was on a horse. I’ve definitely got to read more to see what he did to her to deserve that.)

Their victory sent Cornwallis into a retreat and inspired American colonists everywhere to join the fight for freedom. The last major battle of the war took place a year later at Yorktown.

This group of 910 men helped turn the tide of war against the war’s most powerful army because of their determination, courage, and willingness to sacrifice. Compared to the might of the British Empire, 910 men are just a handful.

I am thankful to these men and others like them who sacrificed that we might be free.

Think of what we can do as individuals, families, and Christian communities when we take a stand for what we believe in. And who knows how many others we could inspire by our action, even if all we do is to take a small step outside of our comfort zone. It’s a step that God will honor if we’re seeking to do His will.