The Overmountain Victory Trail Association will present a special drama about the events that took place at the Cow Pens the night before the Revolutionary War battle of Kings Mountain on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. The free 45-minute performance will explain why the Over Mountain Men came from Tennessee and Virginia to meet the loyalists at Kings Mountain, how the patriots chose those who would continue on the march to Kings Mountain and what other events occurred that night before the pivotal patriot militia victory over the loyalist militia on the following day.

The public is invited to bring a picnic and enjoy an outdoor dinner theater experience. The Visitor Center will remain open until the program

On Oct. 6, 1780, patriot militiamen from across the mountains in Virginia and Tennessee met at the Cow Pens, a well-known South Carolina backcountry pasturing area, to plan their attack on British Major Patrick Ferguson’s loyalist militia at nearby Kings Mountain. Ferguson infuriated the “Over Mountain Men” by threatening to “march over the mountains, hang their leaders and lay waste their country with fire and sword” if they did not stop their opposition to the king. Though 1,800 men gathered at the Cow Pens only 900 continued on horseback to Kings Mountain to fight on Oct. 7, 1780. Three months later, on Jan. 17, 1781, the American army would defeat the British army at the same Cow Pens location where the Kings Mountain attack was planned. These two battles helped turn the tide for America in the war for independence.

The Overmountain Victory Trail Association annually retraces the 330- mile march that patriot militia took to Kings Mountain in October 1780.

Kings Mountain National Military Park will celebrate the 228th anniversary of the battle with a ceremony on October 7 and a weekend encampment October 10-11.

For more information on the Battle of Kings Mountain celebration, call Kings Mountain National Military Park at (864) 936-7921 or visit the park’s webpage at www.nps.gov/ kimo.

To learn more about the march and the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, visit www.nps.gov/ovvi.

For more information at Cowpens National Battlefield, call (864) 461-2828 or visit the park’s webpage at www.nps.gov/cowp.