Student Activities

The Battle of Kings Mountain

Grade Level:
Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
Subject:
Literacy and Language Arts,Social Studies
State Standards:
SC 3-1, 3-3, 4-3, 8-2
NC 3.H.1, 4.H.1, 4.H.2, 5.H.1, 8.H.2, 8.G.1.2

The Battle of Kings Mountain (October 7, 1780) was one of the most dramatic and hotly contested battles of the Revolutionary War. On an isolated ridge top in the Carolina backcountry, nearly 1000 American Patriots surrounded and overwhelmed an approximately equal number of American Loyalists.

Objective(s)

1) describe the mission of Major Patrick Ferguson in the Carolinas during the 1780 campaign;
2) discuss the treatment of the Loyalists after the battle and why they were treated in such a manner;
3) list three reasons why the Battle of Kings Mountain was significant to the Southern Campaign;
4) recognize critical errors in judgment made by Major Patrick Ferguson.

Background

Major Patrick Ferguson, commander of the Loyalist force was the only Briton on the field. The Loyalists fought in close-order ranks with volley fire and bayonet charges, while the Patriots fought frontier-style from behind trees and rocks. The rout of the Loyalists at Kings Mountain was the first major setback for Britain's southern strategy and started a chain of events that culminated in Cornwallis's surrender at Yorktown.

Vocabulary

backcountry
looting
loyalists
mortally
partisan
piedmont
provisions
quarter
rendezvous
volley

Last updated: March 8, 2019