I second that. It would be great to see the pics and hear about your trip!
We have become NHT followers. Finding and following a NHT from beginning to end is a fairly cheap and enormously interesting endeavor. Visiting the various smaller towns and tons of local museums is the real America. We always write up our adventures and I will be sure to post what we see.
******* Area events commemorate Overmountain Victory
By Staff Reports | Thursday, September 6, 2012 | Categories: History, Region
Sept. 25, 1780, several hundred frontiersmen mustered at Sycamore Shoals in current day Elizabethton. From there, they crossed over the Blue Ridge and dropped into the Piedmont of North Carolina in pursuit of British Major Patrick Ferguson, who had warned these Overmountain Men that if they didn't lay down their arms, he would "march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste the country with fire and sword." The patriots finally caught up with Ferguson and his troops on the afternoon of Oct. 7 atop Kings Mountain in South Carolina. When the smoke cleared, every Tory soldier had been killed or captured, and the battle became known as the turning point of the Revolutionary War. In 1980, Congress appropriated funds for the establishment of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, which follows the original marching route of the Overmountain Men from Abingdon, Va., fording the Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals, crossing the Doe River twice near both Hampton and Roan Mountain, and ascending over the Great Smoky Mountains to the site of the Battle of Kings Mountain, now within Kings Mountain National Military Park. This month, a number of area events will be held along the Overmountain Trail to commemorate the Overmountain Men's march to victory. ELIZABETHTON On Saturday, Sept. 15, the Tennessee Society Sons of the American Revolution will celebrate the 232nd Gathering at Sycamore Shoals with a memorial and wreath laying service beginning at 10 a.m. at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton. The following week, on Sept. 22 and 23, the Elizabethton park will host an encampment of the Overmountain militia as part of its annual Overmountain Victory Trail Celebration. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22 and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 23. Re-enactors in period clothing will be on hand throughout the weekend to share stories of this exciting and tumultuous time in America's history. At approximately 2 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 25, members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association will recreate the Overmountain Men's historic march to Kings Mountain -- just as they have done each year since 1975 -- by crossing the Watauga River at Sycamore Shoals, following in the footsteps of the Overmountain militia 232 years earlier. Call the park at (423) 543-5808. ABINGDON Prominent scholars, historians and authors will shed light on Virginia's participation in the campaign and battle of Kings Mountain during the Overmountain Victory Trail History Symposium 2012, to be held from 4 to 9 p.m., Sept. 21 at the Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. Author and storyteller Randell Jones will focus on Col. William Campbell and his involvement in the Revolution and the Kings Mountain campaign. Author Joe Epley will talk about the role of the Virginians during the campaign and Battle of Kings Mountain, and archaeologist Ken Robinson will give a presentation about archaeology and the Abingdon Muster Grounds. Their lectures will be followed by a panel discussion. A light dinner will be served. Following the dinner break, the authors will be available for book signings. The OVT History Symposium 2012 is sponsored by the Overmountain Victory Trail Association and the Town of Abingdon. Registration is $20 and may be completed online at ovt-history-symposium2012.brownpapertickets.com. The following day, on Sept. 22, the Town of Abingdon and the National Park Service will unveil new exhibits at the Abingdon Muster Grounds during an Overmountain Celebration and Exhibit Dedication. The exhibits, two years in the making, focus on life in backcountry Virginia in 1780, the Overmountain Men and the Battle of Kings Mountain. In 2007, the Town of Abingdon purchased the Muster Grounds property, the northern trailhead of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, before it could be sold for development, forever preserving this piece of America's history. In partnership with the Overmountain Victory Trail Association and the National Park Service, the town constructed the W. Blair Keller Jr. Interpretive Center to tell the story of 1780. The celebration will begin at 12:30 p.m. Colonial interpreters in period dress will be on site for demonstrations. The new exhibits will be dedicated and unveiled at 3 p.m. Artifacts from the era will be displayed in cases provided by Patricia Hatfield's Virginia Society Daughters of the American Revolution State Regent's project. Fife and Drum Corps from Marshall University, Guilford Courthouse and Watauga Valley will perform throughout the day and during the evening retreat program, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Call (276) 525-1050 or email lhunter@abingdon-va.gov. PINEY FLATS Rocky Mount Living History Museum will host its own Overmountain Victory celebration on Sept. 24. The Overmountain Men camped on William Cobb's property the night of Sept. 24, 1780, and he helped supply the patriots with gunpowder, horses, blankets and food on their way to the Battle of Kings Mountain. Members of the Overmountain Victory Trail Association will make a stop at Rocky Mount during their annual march in the footsteps of those Overmountain Men, and visitors can join them around the campfire beginning at 7 p.m. to hear stories about some of the region's famed patriots, including Cobb and his sons. Admission is free. Call (423) 538-7396 or visit www.rockymountmuseum.com.