2025
50th anniversary of the Overmountain Victory Trail
first commemorative march —Sept. 25 - Oct 7, 1975
From 1975 to 1980, a group of dedicated reenactors and soon the incorporated Overmountain Victory Trail Association (OVTA) followed the 200-mile route of the Overmountain Men from Sycamore Shoals in Elizabethton, TN, to Kings Mountain National Military Park near Blacksburg, SC, day by day from September 25 to October 7 being in the historic spot on the historic day. In 1980, Congress designated the OVT as a national historic trail, the first NHT east of the Mississippi River. OVTA has continued to reenact the march with educational programming to over 10,000 students each year in communities along the route.
Overmountain Victory Celebration, Gillespie Gap, Blue Ridge Parkway, 2015
This image was created during the 40th anniversary, 2020,
of becoming a national historic trail.
2025 is the 45th anniversary of the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail, designated by Congress in fall 1980 to help commemorate the heroic acts of courage and determination of the backcountry militiamen who faced down an advancing British army and turned the tide of the American Revolution. And this year, we can now add to that story of relentless pursuit, expanding the story onto new landscapes and revealing new heroes in this most celebrated Revolutionary War battle in the Carolinas. Our “New Kings Mountain Story” is shared through our video trilogy, available for free viewing at BecomingAmerica250.com. Go to “History Highlights” and scroll down to “1780.” Learn. Enjoy.
Click on this image to watch video trailer (5:47)
Watch this short video trailer giving you a taste of what you will enjoy and learn.
Our 40th Anniversary OVNHT Video Trilogy includes:
“The American Spirit, 1780” (40 minutes),
“A Broader, Bolder Kings Mountain Story” (39 minutes), and
“Tired, Cold, and Hungry—the death march of the prisoners after Kings Mountain” (38 minutes).
Watch all three videos to learn a new story about our patriot heroes from the Southern backcountry during the American Revolution.
Visit “Books and DVDs” in the main menu of this website to find the award-winning books “Before They Were Heroes at Kings Mountain” and “A Guide to the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail.”
