KNOXVILLE — The Battle of King’s Mountain — which historians consider a turning point in the Revolutionary War — will come to life July 29 at the University of Tennessee Arboretum.
Local storyteller Mike Dahl will present an historical drama at 8 p.m. at the Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Ave. (Highway 62), in Oak Ridge. The event is sponsored by UT’s Arboretum Society, in conjunction with UT, and proceeds from this event will be used to help sustain and enhance public outreach activities of the UT Arboretum.
Dressed in authentic Revolutionary War garb of the Overmountain Men, a group that was comprised of East Tennesseans and Southwestern Virginians, Dahl will recount the Battle of King’s Mountain. The campaign began at the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga River in current day Elizabethton, and involved over 1,000 frontier volunteer militiamen, including such future leaders as John Sevier, Isaac Shelby, Charles McDowell, Joseph Winston and Benjamin Cleveland.
Dahl has been following the footsteps of the Overmountain Men for nearly 30 years, telling their story across America and as far away as the British Isles.
Admission to the drama is $5 for adults and children ages 12 and older.
Those attending are invited to bring lawn chairs and picnic fixings, or purchase grilled hot dogs -– with side trimmings -– from the UT Arboretum Society, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
For more about this event and the Arboretum, see http://www.discoveret.org/utarboretum/events.htm and http://forestry.tennessee.edu/arbpage.htm
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Contacts:
Amy Blakely, (865) 974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu
Richard M. Evans, (865) 483-3571, revans6@utk.edu
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