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Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail

Thomas Jefferson called the victory of American patriots over British Major Patrick Ferguson's army at King's Mountain in October, 1780, the battle that "turned the tide of success" in the Revolutionary War.

Many of the militia men who achieved this stunning victory were known as the "Overmountain Men," citizen soldiers who came from southwest Virginia, today's eastern Tennessee, the piedmont of North and South Carolina, and as far away as Georgia, all joining to form an army that defeated Ferguson and his force at Kings Mountain, South Carolina.

The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, established by Congress in 1980, commemorates the campaign that led to the Battle of Kings Mountain.  Each year in the fall members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association lead a commemorative march with public events to honor the patriot army and their story.

Visitors can retrace the route via a partially completed non-motorized pathway, or a parallel Commemorative Motor Route.  Interpretive signs are installed at the sites listed below. A trail map outlining both pedestrian and motor routes can be obtained at most of the sites or at this link.

For more information, contact:

National Park Service
Blacksburg, SC
(864) 936-3477

Overmountain Victory Trail Association
C/O Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area
Elizabethton, TN 37643
(423) 543-5808

There are many sites along the Trail where visitors can learn more about this historic event:

Museum of North Carolina Minerals
Milepost 331 on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Spruce Pine, NC 28777
(828) 765-9483

Fort Defiance
4555 Fort Defiance Drive
Lenoir, NC 28645
(828) 754-7095

Historic Burke/Old Burke County Courthouse
Morganton, NC
(828) 437-4104

Kings Mountain National Military Park
Kings Mountain, SC
(864) 936-7921

Lake James State Park
Nebo, NC
(828) 652-5047

W. Kerr Scott Reservoir
499 Reservoir Road
Wilkesboro, NC 28967-4762
(336) 921-3390

Wilkes Heritage Museum
203 North Bridge Street
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
(336) 921-3390