Cornwallis' attempts to raise Loyalists in large numbers in North Carolina were effectively crushed when Patriot militia defeated a larger force of Loyalists in the Battle of Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780. Many of the Patriot men had crossed the Appalachian Mountains from the Washington District of North Carolina to fight the British, and were so named the Overmountain Men. The British plan to raise large Loyalist armies failed—not enough Loyalists enlisted, and those who did were at high risk once the British army moved on. The defeat at Kings Mountain and the continuing harassment of his communications and supply lines by militia forces in South Carolina forced Cornwallis to withdraw and winter in South Carolina.