Dart Folk

Revolutionary War buffs will certainly want to make the effort to take your dog
to Kings Mountain, site of some of the most vicious American vs. American fighting
of the war. Here some 600 “backcountry” men who had marched over 200 miles
attacked Carolinians loyal to the crown. The Loyalists were under the command of
“Bloody” Patrick Ferguson, the only British soldier in the battle.

Ferguson chose to defend his position on traditional high ground, a rocky
outcropping surrounded by a hardwood forest. The mountain men, however,
worked their way up the slopes, fighting from tree to tree on their way to the
summit. The high ground in this case worked against the defenders as they were
unable to get clear shots at their attackers. Sir Henry Clinton called the defeat at
Kings Mountain, “the first link in a chain of evils that at last ended in the total loss
of America.”

You can hike with your dog on an interpretive walking trail around Battlefield
Ridge. Hiking on the thickly wooded mountainside provides an excellent feel for
what fighting must have been like on that critical day in the American Revolution.
Your canine hike will include an exploration of the spot where Ferguson was killed,
marked by a monument and covered with a traditional Scottish stone cairn.

Kings Mountain National Military Park and be found on Route 161, 12 miles
northwest of York, South Carolina.

I am the author of over 20 books, including 8 on hiking with your dog and the
widely praised The Canine Hiker’s Bible. As publisher of Cruden Bay Books, we
produce the innovative A Bark In The Park series of canine hiking books found at
http://www.hikewithyourdog.com.

Articles in the Doggin’ America series of dog-
friendly parks can be found at http://www.DogginAmerica.com. During the warm
months I lead canine hikes for hikewithyourdog.com tours, guiding packs of dogs
and humans on hiking adventures. Tours, ranging from one-day trips to multi-day
explorations, visit parks, historical sites and beaches. My lead dog is Katie, a
German Shepherd- Border Collie mix, who has hiked in all of the Lower 48 states
and is on a quest to swim in all the great waters of North America - http://
web.mac.com/crudbay/iWeb/KatiesBlog/KatiesQuest.html.