Kings Mountain Chapter member Alexander "Alex" Long was the guest speaker at the September 12, 2026 meeting of the Lovelady Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, held at Dryden United Methodist Church in Dryden, Virginia.
Long presented his program, "Fight for Freedom: Kings Mountain & Revolutionary Southwest Virginia," examining the important role played by the people of the Appalachian frontier during the American Revolution. His presentation focused on the events of 1780, when British Major Patrick Ferguson warned the inhabitants of the western settlements to submit to the Crown or face destruction by "fire and sword." In response, nearly 1,000 frontier militiamen gathered at Sycamore Shoals and crossed the Appalachian Mountains in pursuit of Ferguson.
Their campaign culminated in the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780, where the Patriot militia, including the famed Overmountain Men, defeated Ferguson's Loyalist force. The decisive Patriot victory became an important turning point in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson later described the news of the victory as "the joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success."
Alex Long has been a member of the Kings Mountain Chapter, Tennessee Society Sons of the American Revolution, since 2025 and is also a member of the Chapter Color Guard.
A Virginia native and educator with more than 10 years of experience, Long teaches social studies, world history, U.S. history, and literature at the J. Frank White Academy of Lincoln Memorial University. He holds a B.A. in Mass Communication and an M.A. in English Literature from East Tennessee State University, where he also served as an adjunct professor. He has lectured on 18th-century British history and folklore at Oxford University and the University of Edinburgh and has worked with Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Virginia Humanities.
Source: "Revolutionary War History Shared At Lovelady DAR September Meeting," Powell Valley News, Pennington Gap, Virginia, September 23, 2026.
Long presented his program, "Fight for Freedom: Kings Mountain & Revolutionary Southwest Virginia," examining the important role played by the people of the Appalachian frontier during the American Revolution. His presentation focused on the events of 1780, when British Major Patrick Ferguson warned the inhabitants of the western settlements to submit to the Crown or face destruction by "fire and sword." In response, nearly 1,000 frontier militiamen gathered at Sycamore Shoals and crossed the Appalachian Mountains in pursuit of Ferguson.
Their campaign culminated in the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780, where the Patriot militia, including the famed Overmountain Men, defeated Ferguson's Loyalist force. The decisive Patriot victory became an important turning point in the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution. Thomas Jefferson later described the news of the victory as "the joyful annunciation of that turn of the tide of success."
Alex Long has been a member of the Kings Mountain Chapter, Tennessee Society Sons of the American Revolution, since 2025 and is also a member of the Chapter Color Guard.
A Virginia native and educator with more than 10 years of experience, Long teaches social studies, world history, U.S. history, and literature at the J. Frank White Academy of Lincoln Memorial University. He holds a B.A. in Mass Communication and an M.A. in English Literature from East Tennessee State University, where he also served as an adjunct professor. He has lectured on 18th-century British history and folklore at Oxford University and the University of Edinburgh and has worked with Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Virginia Humanities.
Source: "Revolutionary War History Shared At Lovelady DAR September Meeting," Powell Valley News, Pennington Gap, Virginia, September 23, 2026.