Scores of visitors to Sycamore Shoals State Park over the weekend were treated to a look at what life would have been like on the colonial era frontier.
The two-day event culminated with a re-creation of the historic crossing of the Watauga River by the Overmountain Men and other settlers coming to muster at the fort before marching on to Kings Mountain. Re-enactors of all ages took part in the crossing, pausing midway for the militia to fire a volley from their muskets. The crossing was witnessed, and cheered on, by a large crowd of park visitors who gathered along the shoreline to welcome the patriots to the fort.
Following the crossing, park visitors were treated to a recounting of the tale of the Overmountain Men from their gathering at Sycamore Shoals to their victory at Kings Mountain.
Over the course of the weekend, visitors got an inside look at what life was like on the frontier during the American Revolution either through demonstrations on skills or through the stories told by re-enactors.

Some of the topics covered included open hearth cooking, musket and rifle demonstrations, colonial music, militia camplife, and colonial games.
Re-enactors also talked to visitors about what life was like on the homefront for those left behind — primarily women, children and the elderly — when the men marched off to war. Visitors were also told of the oral tradition of “every seventh man.” According to the oral recounting of the historic event, the Overmountain Men left behind one out of every seven men to guard the settlements and protect the families while the major part of the force went in search of the Tory Army. The event has been referred to as the only time in history a military or militia made use of a “reverse draft.”
Each year Sycamore Shoals State Park hosts the Overmountain Victory Celebration to preserve the region’s history and to honor the patriots who marched from Sycamore Shoals to change the tide of the American Revolution. This year marked the 236th anniversary of the muster of the Overmountain Men.