King’s Mountain. A range of mountains in North and South Carolina, about 16 miles from north to south, with several spurs spreading laterally. About a mile and a half south of the North Carolina line, in this range, on October 7, 1780, the British forces about 1100 strong, under Lieut.-Col. Ferguson, were surprised and attacked by the American militia under Cols. Cleaveland, Shelby, and Campbell, and, after an obstinate and bloody contest, their leader being among the slain, the British were made prisoners.
Kingsland. A parish of England, in Herefordshire, 4 miles west from Leominster. The battle of Mortimer’s Cross, which fixed Edward IV. on the throne, was fought here in 1461.
Kingston. A city in Ulster Co., N. Y., 90 miles north of New York City. It was burnt by a British force under Sir Henry Clinton, October 7, 1777; it was afterwards rebuilt and incorporated as a village in 1805.
Kingston. A village and township of Luzerne Co., Pa. In this township the massacre of Wyoming took place, on July 3, 1778. See [Wyoming Valley].
Kingston-upon-Thames. A town in Surrey, England, on the Thames, 10 miles southwest of London. The first armed force of the Parliamentary army assembled in this town, and here the last attempt in favor of Charles I. was made.
Kinsale. A town of Ireland, in the county of Cork. This place was taken by the Spaniards in 1601, and in 1608 King James II. landed here.
Kioge. A seaport of Denmark, near Copenhagen, where the Danes in 1807 were signally defeated by the British.
Kiowas. A warlike and powerful tribe of Indians, who formerly roamed over Kansas, Colorado, and Northern Texas, robbing and murdering settlers. They are now located, to the number of about 2000, with the Comanches, on a reservation in Indian Territory. In 1870, in violation of the terms of their treaty, they made a raid into Texas, where they killed several people. For this two of their principal chiefs, Satantá and Big Tree, were sentenced to be hung; but their sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life, and they were subsequently pardoned. Of late years they have been peaceable.
Kiptchak, or Kipchak. A term which, in the Middle Ages, designated that vast territory stretching north of the Caspian Sea, from the Don to Turkestan, and occupied by the Kumans and Polovises. This tract formed one of the four empires into which the huge dominion of Genghis Khan was divided, and was the portion of his eldest son Jûjy, under whose son and successor, Batû Khan, it became the terror of Western Europe, and held Russia in iron subjection from 1236 till 1362. Batû also conquered Bulgaria, and invaded Hungary, Austria, and Eastern Germany, but made no permanent conquests in this direction. This extensive empire was dismembered towards the end of the 15th century, and gave rise to the khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Crim-Tartary. The Mongols of Kiptchak were also known as the Golden Horde.
Kirkee. A village of Hindostan, near Poona, in the Deccan, memorable for a battle fought there in 1817 between the Anglo-Indian forces and the Mahrattas, who, although greatly superior in number, were compelled to retreat with severe loss.