We take our name from the area beyond the Royal Proclamation Line of 1763 that forbid British settlement west of the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. The area and people were often referred to as the "Overmountain". During the Revolutionary War, Gen. Cornwallis sent Major Patrick Ferguson to raise a loyalist militia to protect his northern flank while he was quartered near Charlotte, NC. Fergus
on warned the backcountry colonists that if they rose against the crown he would "...lay waste to the land with fire and sword." Numerous musterings took place throughout what is now eastern Tennesee, western North Carolina, and southwest Virginia. The farthest north mustering took place in what is now Abingdon, VA which is our county seat. The Virginians headed to meet up with colonists of the Watauga Settlement at Sycamore Shoals to find Ferguson further south. They found and surrounded him at Kings Mountain, NC. The Battle of Kings Mountain took place on October 7th, 1780 (hence the "80th" in our name) and resulted in the destruction of the loyalist militia, and the death of Ferguson. Cornwallis lost his entire northern flank at the Battle of the Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17th, 1781. With his army exposed to the north he abandoned Charlotte to move east. Heavy losses at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse led him decide to abandon the south and head for the coast. He was to meet up with elements of the Royal Navy at Yorktown. His naval transport had been destroyed by the French Navy, and he was now surrounded by Washington's forces as well as the French. Corwallis surrended on October 19th, 1781, effectively ending the Revolutionary War. So our local lore is that the beginning of the end of the Revolutionary War started with the mustering of the local militia in our area. Our necker was designed by the other founding Rover of the 80th, Krista Clark, and current parent Kelly Bremner. Red is for spirit and forms the left tail of the necker. Green is for nature and the scouting movement and forms the right tail. Light blue is for the Blue Ridge Mountains where we live and forms the nape of the necker. Two stripes of pink show our commitment to inclusiveness, and a single stripe of white down the center denotes the central importance of peace. Dark blue trim surrounds the necker representing the state of Virginia.
