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A History | Revolutionary War Battles | The Battle of King's Mountain - October 7, 1780
The Battle of King's Mountain - October 7, 1780
In North Carolina, Major Ferguson was patrolling with a force of over 1,000 Tory supporters attempting to pacify
the countryside. With violence and atrocities rising on both sides, 1,200 militia men, most from North Carolina
but with some Virginians and South Carolinians, gathered to stop Ferguson and his troops. When Ferguson became
aware of the large contingent of militia gathering, he decided it would be prudent to move back toward Cornwalis'
larger forces. The militia followed rapidly and, when Ferguson realized that they were overtaking him, he organized
his defenses atop King's Mountain, a wooded hill with a clear top. On October 7, 1780 the militia arrived at the
base of the mountain and surrounded it. Soon they began scaling it on all sides. The patriots had the advantage
that the slopes of the mountain were very wooded, while the summit was not, exposing the Tory troops to attack by
the concealed Americans. The defenders' losses quickly mounted and, when Ferguson was killed, the fight went out
of the remaining soldiers. Of the Tory troops, 157 were killed, 163 were severely wounded and 698 were captured.
The patriot militia lost only 28 killed and 62 wounded.
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