Battle of Kings Mountain
Battle of Kings Mountain refers to a military conflict that ensued between the Great Britain Kingdom and its 13 North America colonies at the time of the American Revolutionary War. This battle is considered by many historians as the turning point of the War for Independence of the Americans. This is because the leftwing of the army led by Cornwallis was destroyed completely by the victory of the American Patriots that were rebelling over the troops of the British Loyalists. This battle was decisive in ending North Carolina’s invasion by the British. It also led to the retreat of Lord Cornwallis to South Carolina from Charlotte.
Background of the Battle of Kings Mountain
After General Benjamin Lincoln was defeated during the May’s Siege of Charleston and General Horatio Gates’ defeat at Camden, Charles Cornwallis, the British Commander, seemed to have a clear way that would take him to Virginia. It also seemed like the American resistance was coming to an end. General Cornwallis decided to invade North Carolina in September giving the leadership of the expedition to Major Patrick Ferguson to the settlements on Alleghany Mountains’ lower slopes where there were numerous Loyalists.
This act provoked Mountain Men who lived in that area because Ferguson used threats instead of persuasion. Suddenly, armed frontiersmen including North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia militia joined the Mountain men in the Settlements and mountains in Tennessee. The British soldiers were found encamped in Kings Mountain. Every British soldier had either been captured or killed within a period of about one hour of the ensuing battle. This led to a retreat of General Cornwallis from Charlotte in North Carolina.
When and where this battle was fought
This battle was fought on Saturday October 1780. The battle field was Near Blackburn, Kings Mountain, North Carolina and South Carolina. The American colonists emerged victorious in this battle. The significance of this battle was that the American colonists in South made it clear that they were not ready to support the British.
How the battle was ended
Capt. Abraham DePevster, who was the second in command after Ferguson, continued to fight bravely for a while. This was after Ferguson had been killed. However, there was great confusion and followers were in a vulnerable position. This made him realize that resisting further would be suicidal. Therefore, he raised a white flag to indicate that he had surrendered. He also surrendered his weapon to Major Evan Shelby.
Although the Loyalists indicated that they had surrendered, Patriot Colonels did not stop the shooting by their men immediately. This is because most of them recalled that notorious “Tarleton” mowed down the Patriot troops at the Waxhaws while they were attempting to surrender. The rebels did not show compassion towards the surrendering loyalists. Instead, they killed as many Loyalists as possible. However, they eventually stopped shooting and the battle came to an end after about an hour. No Ferguson’s man escaped. This battle became a major victory for the Americans and Cornwallis was compelled to abandon his intension to take over North Carolina.
Casualties of the battle of Kings Mountain
157 men from the Ferguson side were killed, 163 wounded while 698 were captured. The American colonists had 60 wounded and only 28 killed. It is due to this battle that it was considered that the British Parliament’s legitimacy had been rejected by the American colonists as the governing body for the 13 colonies in America. This is because the colonists were governed without representation in that parliament.
Get online help with research paper
Are you looking for a place where you can read good research paper samples like the above paper on Battle of Kings Mountain? Then look no more. Our custom writing services center is the ideal place where you can read professionally written research paper samples. You can also request us to write customized research papers for you any time at highly affordable rates so that you can use them as your reference while writing your own papers. You can also continue reading more sample papers and academic paper writing guidelines here.
Sources
http://www.landofthebrave.info/battle-of-kings-mountain.htm
http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/kingsmtfall05.html
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-kings-mountain
http://www.historycentral.com/Revolt/King.html