This year’s Overmountain Muster will feature candlelight tours
Published 12:18 pm Wednesday, September 23, 2020
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This year's Overmountain Muster at Sycamore Shoals State Park will feature a candlelight tour featuring some legendary figures of the time, who will tell the age-old story of the muster of the Overmountain Men and some of the local men and women who were part of the story.
Do you like fireside stories, then you will want to be a part of Friday evening's Lanterns & Legends Candlelight Tour at Sycamore Shoals State Park in celebration of the annual muster of the Overmountain Men at Sycamore Shoals State Park.
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This year’s Overmountain Muster will feature something new — candlelight tours featuring lanterns and legends of 1780.
Registration is required for the event, which will be held Friday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The story of Lanterns & Legends goes something like this. The year was 1780. The tide of the Revolutionary War was turning against the patriot cause. The British focused their attention to the divided southern colonies and won victory after victory in a bloody civil war. Charleston had fallen, and American forces had crumbled at the battle of Camden. But then the impossible occurred…The frontiersmen of the western mountains began a long march, gathering an army along the way, from the highlands of Virginia to the hills of South Carolina. At a place called King’s Mountain, they destroyed British forces and opened the way for the final American victory at Yorktown.
The route they took from Virginia to South Carolina, we now know as the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail. This year’s re-enactment of the muster of the Overmountain Men will feature a unique after-hours, twilight program entitled “Lanterns & Legends of 1780.” Visitors will experience the sights, sounds, and emotions of the 18th century as they are guided through the historic encampment of the Overmountain Men by lantern light. Meet legendary figures such as Maj. Patrick Ferguson, Mary Patton, Rev. Samuel Doak, John Sevier and others as they tell the dramatic story of this historic gathering which led to one of the most decisive victories of the Revolution!
The program begins at the park visitor center, and each tour lasts approximately 1 hour. Tour times are as follows: 7 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 7:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m., 8 p.m., 8:15 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required and the number per group will be lower to promote social distancing. You can make your reservations by visiting www.tnstateparks.com/parks/events/sycamore-shoals. Fees for the lantern tours are Adults – $10; ages 7 to 17 years – $5; 6 and under Free.
The park is located at 1651 W. Elk Avenue in Elizabethton. Contact the park at 423-543-5808 or visit https://tnstateparks.com/parks/sycamore-shoals or https://www.sycamoreshoalstn.wordpress.com
Park offices ask the public to help stop the spread of COVID-19 by wearing face masks, which are required at all indoor state park facilities. Masks are recommended outdoors if social distancing cannot be maintained.
