_Page_ THE WAR IN THE SOUTH BEGINS 2 THE SOUTHERN CAMPAIGN 2 CONQUEST OF GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA 3 WHIGS AND TORIES IN 1780 6 THE BRITISH THREATEN THE CAROLINA FRONTIER 8 THE GATHERING OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN 11 THE MARCH FROM SYCAMORE SHOALS 12 THE PURSUIT TO KINGS MOUNTAIN 15 THE BATTLE OF KINGS MOUNTAIN 19 THE MEANING OF THE VICTORY 26 PATRIOT COMMANDERS AT KINGS MOUNTAIN 27 MAJ. PATRICK FERGUSON 34 THE FERGUSON RIFLE 36 YOUR GUIDE TO THE AREA 39 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARK 42 HOW TO REACH THE PARK 44 ABOUT YOUR VISIT 44 RELATED AREAS 45 ADMINISTRATION 45 SUGGESTED READINGS 46 [Illustration: _The United States Monument, erected 1909._] [Illustration: Rifle, powderhorn, and bullets.] The Battle of Kings Mountain _on October 7, 1780, was an overwhelming blow struck by American patriots against British forces engaged in the relentless Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. The military importance of this sharp engagement was described in strong and realistic terms by Sir Henry Clinton, then commander in chief of the British forces in North America. He spoke of the battle as “an Event which was immediately productive of the worst Consequences to the King’s affairs in South Carolina, and unhappily proved the first Link of a Chain of Evils that followed each other in regular Succession until they at last ended in the total loss of America.”_