"[6] The Battle of Kings Mountain was fought on October 7, 1780, and destroyed the left wing of Lord Cornwallis' army, effectively ending Loyalist ascendance in the Carolinas.

After an unsuccessful Northern campaign, British General Clinton decided to turn his attention to the south, where he believed that he and his troops would join up with loyalist militias and easily take the area.

After the capture of Charleston, Clinton wanted to capitalize on his victory, and sent British detachments in all directions, to subdue as much resistance as possible.

Theodore Roosevelt's quote, from his book Winning of the West, sums up the situation quite well: "Except for occasional small guerrilla parties, there was not a single organized body of American troops left south of Gates....".

[8]: 18  Despite the derelict feelings of many southerners, enough patriotism was stirred to gather a small contingent of men to defend the Kings Mountain area.

The men traveled on a couple more days, until stopping at Gillespie's Gap to divide their troops in case of a British ambush.

The park is the terminus of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail commemorating the route of the Patriot army from over the Appalachian Mountains to the battle.

A one and a half mile paved trail leads from the visitor center around the base of the mountain along the Patriot lines and ascends to the crest where the Loyalists were positioned.

The trail passes several monuments, large and small, the earliest dating from 1815, as well as Patrick Ferguson's grave, giving a good sense of the battleground.