Location
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Coordinates: 35.2500, -82.2738.
Type: Sight
Tour: Overmountain
County: Polk
Partial
The coordinates mark a circular pullout where a Daughters of American Revolution (DAR) monument used to be. The pullout offers a clear view of the mountain top.
The mountain is owned by the Saluda Community Land Trust, and there is a route to the top. As of June 2020, about half was fully cleared and maintained, and portions are steep, so only experienced hikers should attempt it. Be prepared for backcountry conditions and hazards such as poison ivy, snakes, and insects.
Context
Amidst growing tensions between the Cherokee Nation and European-American settlers in 1776, a militant band of warriors killed two South Carolina captains sent to negotiate peace.[1]
Situation
Cherokee
The band has withdrawn to the safety of Round Mountain. The men encamp atop the mountain, celebrate, and begin planning an assault on a house/fort called the Block House in what now is Tryon (visited below). One man, however, disagrees with their actions. Today’s Cherokee are unsure why. One story says a young European-American had run into Skyuka while hunting turkeys, and threw down his gun as a sign of friendship. When Skyuka offered him several turkeys, Thomas Howard noticed a snakebite on Skyuka’s arm, and invited him home to treat and feed him.[2] Another holds that he was in love with a colonist woman and feared for her life. Of course, both could be true!
Patriot
Men of the area gather at the Block House to plan a response. Skyuka appears and tells 16-year-old Howard where the band is. Perhaps that is why they elect the young man as their captain. Skyuka leads them to a gap in the mountains previously unknown to the whites, now called Howard’s Gap, at the base of Round Mountain.
Date
June 1776 (exact date unknown).
Timeline
