Battle of Cowpens

A detailed Summary of Battle of Cowpens

"In South Carolina, where the grass is springing through every month of winter, cattle in those days grazed all year round; never housed, nor fed by hand of man, but driven from time to time into "cowpens", where the owners gave salt to the heard and each one marked those which were his own." Two miles from such an enclosure, upon a wide plain, on 17 January 1781, Patriot Brigadier General Daniel Morgan met head on with British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens.

After the disaster at Charleston and the succeeding defeats, the British spread out across South Carolina and Georgia, setting up a chain of forts. By July, the Continental Congress had placed General Horatio Gates, in command of the Southern Theater, despite General George Washington's objections, and ordered him to regain the lost territory. The result, in the following month was another huge disaster at Camden where only 700 out of 4,000 American troops escaped. The destruction of Ferguson's Scots at King's Mountain in October saved North Carolina, but American fortunes did not truly improve until Washington selected General Nathaniel Greene, who had recently resigned as Quartermaster General, to take command from Gates. General Greene

Having fulfilled Morgan's expectations, the militia began to run to the left to get behind the Continentals. This presented an opportunity for the 17th dragoons, who charged to catch the trailing militiamen, but were caught by a surprise counter-charge of Washington's cavalry. While both cavalries were dueling, the British infantry was continuing to advance.

"At dawn on January 17, 1781, Brigadier General Daniel Morgan looked south from top of a gently sloping hill toward his pursuer, the young Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his British Legion." For the last three days, Tarleton had pursued Morgan and his brigade of Maryland and Delaware Continentals across the overflowing rivers of western South Carolina. Now, faced with the prospect of being attacked while trying to cross on of those swollen rivers, Morgan instead turned to fight.

Panic swept the ranks of the Legion Dragoons in reserve, and they left their commander in the dust of their departure. Abandoned by the army, the artillerymen fought to the last man in a futile attempt to save the guns. This left the Highlanders, who despite the obvious catastrophe, continued to fight. Unfortunately for Major MacArthur, the commander of the Scots, he found himself surrounded by the Continentals on one side and the militia on the other. MacArthur bowed to the inevitable and surrendered his battalion. It was now ten minutes to eight, and the Battle of Cowpens was, for all practical purposes, over.

Between Morgan and the British forces lay three separate lines of American troops. Just in front of the crest of the hill on which Morgan stood was the core of his force; 290 hardened light infantryman supported by approximately 200 Virginia State soldiers who were veterans of the Continental Army. To the rear were eighty cavalrymen of the 3d Dragoons commanded by George Washington's second cousin, William Washington, and reinforced by forty mounted militiamen from Georgia and North Carolina. They were solid men who could be counted on in the coming bat

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Approximate Word count = 1373
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History