The Staff Ride Handbook for the Battle for King's Mountain, 7 October 1780 offers army leadership an opportunity to place themselves in a one-day battle in the Appalachian Mountains that signaled the beginning of British surrender in the Revolutionary War. Earlier in 1780, Major General Charles Cornwallis felt encouraged to act in the offensive against southern militias and their supporters. He picked Major Patrick Ferguson to lead an army of Loyalists into the mountains, with the ultimate goal of protecting Cornwallis' left flank at Charlotte, North Carolina. He and his men never made it. The Overmountain Men, armed resisters who lived west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, shot and killed Ferguson which prompted the surrender of Loyalist troops. The well-researched handbook for this pivotal day in the autumn of 1780 offers opportunities to highlight intimate warfighting with an emphasis on intelligence, leadership, and decisive actions under the "fog of war." In fourteen stands, taking approximately six hours, this handbook encourages detailed analysis of mountain warfare and military professionalism. Operational and strategic lessons that played out before and after the battle provide context for the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. Participants will walk away with an enhanced understanding of close combat and see the value of integrating lessons learned in the Battle for King's Mountain into contemporary wartime situations.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.