Such victories gave the British confidence they would soon control the entire South and that Loyalists would flock to their cause. He had 600 men, some 400 of whom were Continentals, mostly the Marylanders. PDF The Battle of Cowpens - Army University Press By 8:00 am the battle is over. American victory. From his headquarters at Charlotte, North Carolina, the new American commander in the . Desperate to save something, Tarleton found about forty cavalrymen and with them tried to retrieve his two cannons, but they had been captured, and he too retreated from the field. Seeking to save the fort and defeat Morgan's command, Cornwallis on January 1, 1781 with a followup message on January 2 ordered cavalry (dragoons) Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to the west. Skirmishes occurred at the Catawba River (February 1, 1781) and other fords. All now seemed lost to the Americans. The arrangement works. Battle of Cowpens: A Documented Narrative and Troop Movement Maps Morgan, however, is well aware of the strength and location of his enemy. Others believe it is an English corruption of the original and described not only the Native Americans of the region but also the waxy-looking haw and "hawfields", (shrubs, either Black Haw (vibernum prunifolium) or hawthorns (crataegus linnaeus) prominent in the region. Gilbert Town was a small settlement in 1781 a few miles north of Rutherfordton's present site. The colonial population there was split between patriots and loyalists. British casualties were estimated at about 600, whereas the Americans lost only 72. [66][67] Washington was in close pursuit of the retreating Tarleton and found himself somewhat isolated. These were usually cleared areas, 100 to 400 acres in extent. Just behind the crown of the second ridge is a deeper gully in which cavalry can be concealed. The prisoners were taken via Salisbury32 on to Winchester, Virginia. [11] Later he participated in the 1775 invasion of Canada and its climactic battle, the Battle of Quebec. The British suffer heavy casualties in the initial attacks. The first USS Cowpens, an aircraft carrier, served in World War II. Depleted of officers, Tarletons men continue to try and press their advantage. Thus, by alienating the population, the British had difficulty rallying sympathetic allies to their cause, while exacerbating the civil war within a civil war. The British then occupied the city, the largest in the South and the capital of South Carolina. A cornet of the 17th, Thomas Patterson, rode up to strike Washington, but was shot by Washington's orderly trumpeter. [60], Tarleton's plan was simple and direct. The Battle of Cowpens - U.S. National Park Service How it ended American victory. After the British scored victories in South Carolina at Charleston (May 1780) and Camden (August 1780), Major General Nathanael Greene (1742-86), commander of the Continental armys Southern campaign, decided to divide Patriot troops in the Carolinas in order to force the larger British contingent under General Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) to fight them on multiple frontsand because smaller groups of men were easier for the beleaguered Patriots to feed. The battle was key to the surrender of British Commander Charles Cornwallis that ultimately led to the end of the war in 1783. Purchase the book from the University of North Carolina Press. Tarleton ordered his dragoons to attack the first line of skirmishers, who opened fire and shot fifteen dragoons. Tarleton, realizing how desperate his situation was, rode back to his sole remaining intact unit, the British Legion cavalry. The Patriots at the Cowpens. Tarleton's army, after an exhausting march, reached the field malnourished and heavily fatigued. [17] By Christmas Day, Morgan had reached the Pacolet River. Furthermore, its strategic resultthe destruction of an important part of the British army in the Southwas crucial toward ending the war. Department of the Army, Lineage and Honors, 175th Infantry. A famous painting by Ranney dipicts him so. Most unit muster rolls did not specify the race of soldiers. They consist of two rolls of microfilm, an index roll that includes all the colonies/ states and their military organizations during the Revolution, and a second roll of actual records, which only includes the information for South Carolina units. On October 18, 1781, the British army surrendered at Yorktown. 200-201. Additionally, Cornwallis received incorrect intelligence claiming that Morgan was going to attack the important British fort of American Loyalists at Ninety Six, in western South Carolina. [73], Tarleton's apparent recklessness in pushing his command so hard in pursuit of Morgan may be explained by the fact that, up until Cowpens, every battle that he and his British Legion had fought in the South had been a relatively easy victory. By late 1778, the British high command proceeded with their "Southern Strategy." . John Eager Howard shouted, "Charge bayonets!"[62]. By the time they reach the third American line, they have fallen apart. 5 Southern Loyalists - Those of the southern colonial population remaining loyal to the Crown. Morgan used the militia well, asking them to get off two volleys and promised their retreat to the third line made up of John Eager Howard's25 Continentals, again close to 150 yards back. Washington and his French ally, Rochambeau, seized this opportunity to trap and defeat him in the Battle of Yorktown, which caused the British to give up their efforts to defeat the Americans. [48], Morgan turned to his advantage the terrain of Cowpens, the varying reliability of his troops, his expectations of his opponent, and the time available before Tarleton's arrival. Revolutionary War Rolls The Revolutionary War Rolls were filmed by the National Archives in 1957. The battle was over in less than an hour. The British had 110 men killed and 712 captured, which devastated the British army. Babits concludes that they reached the battlefield exhausted and malnourished. [72], Historian Lawrence E. Babits has demonstrated that Morgan's official report of 73 casualties appears to have only included his Continental troops. (Known also today as Buford's massacre) There is some contention over the origin of the name Waxhaws. This engagement further weakened British attempts to wrest the southern colonies from American control. List of Maryland Military Units in the Revolutionary War He was subsequently elected governor of Maryland (1788-91), and at one time owned much of the land that was to become Baltimore. Loyalist Institute: British Legion, Infantry Officers - Brandwares Cornwallis was subsequently delayed by Patriot units stationed at Catawba River35 crossings. Roster of the Loyalists in . On January 12, 1781, Tarleton's scouts located Morgan's army at Grindal Shoals on the Pacolet River12 in South Carolina's backcountry and thus began an aggressive pursuit. [49] He knew that untrained militiamen, which comprised a large portion of his force, were generally unreliable in a pitched battle, and in the past had routed at the first hint of defeat and abandoned the regulars. In reality, though, Morgan had no choice - to cross the flood-swollen Broad risked having his army cut down by the feared and fast-traveling Tarleton. Pickens's militia seemed to "flee" as usual, around the American left to the rear as planned after getting off their second volley. January 20, 2015. 6 rebellion - The British term for the American Revolution. [15] Greene gave Morgan command of this wing and instructed him to join with the militia west of the Catawba and take command of them. Those of both sides organized militia, often engaging each other. 18 militia - Part-time soldiers, subject to colonial (state) authority, they sometimes fought with the Continental or standing army in battles such as Camden, Cowpens, and Guilford Courthouse. "[71] An American prisoner later recounted that when Tarleton reached Cornwallis and reported the disaster, Cornwallis placed his sword tip on the ground and leaned on it until the blade snapped. The Britishwith 40% of their casualties being officerswere astonished and confused. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! American rifles, scorned by Britains professional soldiers, proved devastatingly effective in this engagement. The Battle of King's Mountain on 7 October 1780 . The Battle of Cowpens was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781 near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina, between American Patriot forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces, nearly half American Loyalists, under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, as part of the campaign in the Carolinas (North and South). Cowpens National Battlefield 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Betting that Tarleton will employ typical British field battle tactics by lining up his men in a linear assault, Morgan deliberately leaves his flanks open, inviting Tarletons troops to take the bait. The shock of the sudden charge, coupled with the reappearance of the American militiamen on the left flank where Tarleton's exhausted men expected to see their own cavalry, proved too much for the British. In response, Cornwallis dispatched Banastre Tarleton with 1,100 Redcoats and Loyalists to catch Morgan, whom he feared might instigate a broad-based backcountry Patriot uprising. However, in the noise of battle, Howard's order was misunderstood and the militiamen began to withdraw. They reorganized and continued to advance. Washington seizes the opportunity to trap and defeat Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown, which is the last major conflict of the Revolutionary War. [citation needed], In developing his tactics at Cowpens, as historian John Buchanan wrote, Morgan may have been "the only general in the American Revolution, on either side, to produce a significant original tactical thought". The affluent and brash young man attended Oxford University and studied law before purchasing a commission in the British Army and sailing for America. Did you know? [6] Popular Media Morgan's Riflemen were a key model for the fictional unit portrayed in the movie The Patriot, by Mel Gibson. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. 9 Southern Continental Army - Those regular, trained, and uniformed soldiers of the American army stationed in the South, as distinguished from local militia in each colony. The Patriots at the Cowpens - Bobby Gilmer Moss - Google Books The rest were Virginia militia who had experience as Continentals. It was now 8:00 a.m., and the battle had lasted approximately one hour. Tarleton pressed the attack head-on, his line extending across the meadow, his artillery in the middle, and fifty Dragoons on each side. 19 Battle of Kings Mountain - The Overmountain men and other militia defeated British loyalists at Kings Mountain in upstate South Carolina on October 7, 1780. Tarleton and his remaining forces galloped away to Cornwallis' camp. 71st Regiment of Foot (Fraser's Highlanders), There are only thirty Army National Guard and active Regular Army units with lineages that go back to the colonial era, American Revolutionary War War in the South, "British Plans Tarleton Sent After Morgan", Historical record of the 17th Light dragoons, "The Battle of the Cowpens South Carolina January 27, 1781 The Battle of the Cowpens Part I", "Historical Perspective: The Cowpens Staff Ride: A Study in Leadership", "The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour", "Historical Record of the Seventeenth Regiment of Light Dragoons, Lancers: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1759 and of Its Subsequent Services to 1841", "Animated History of the Battle of Cowpens", South Carolina in the American Revolution, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, Washington's crossing of the Delaware River, African Americans in the Revolutionary War, Intelligence in the American Revolutionary War, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Cowpens&oldid=1158370787, Battles of the American Revolutionary War in South Carolina, Battles in the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War 17801783, American Revolutionary War orders of battle, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0, A battalion of Continental infantry under Lieutenant Colonel, A company of Virginia state militia troops under Captain John Lawson, A company of South Carolina state troops under Captain Joseph Pickens (60), A small company of North Carolina state troops under Captain Henry Connelly (number not given), A Virginia militia battalion under Frank Triplett, Three companies of Virginia militia under Major David Campbell (50), A battalion of North Carolina militia under Colonel Joseph McDowell (260285), A brigade of four battalions of South Carolina militia under Colonel Andrew Pickens, comprising a three-company battalion of the, Three small companies of Georgia militia commanded by Major Cunningham, Detachments of state dragoons from North Carolina and Virginia (30), A detachment of South Carolina state dragoons, with a few mounted Georgians, commanded by Major James McCall (25), A company of newly raised volunteers from the local South Carolina militia commanded by Major Benjamin Jolly (45), A battery of the Royal Artillery (24) with two 3-pounder cannons, Two ships of the U.S. Navy have been named. When Morgan's army went on the offensive, it wholly overwhelmed Tarleton's force. January 17. In fact, no muster roll is known to exist for any of the camps! He later retires from duty due to ill health. Many knew the geography; some were Overmountain men who had camped at the Cowpens on their journey to the Battle of Kings Mountain.19 They made camp in a swale between two small hills, and through the night Andrew Pickens' militia drifted into camp. March 15 . Tarleton's force was almost completely eliminated with almost 30% casualties and 55% of his force captured or missing, with Tarleton himself and only about 200 British troops escaping. 31 Gilbert Town - Presently, Rutherfordton, North Carolina. After suffering a series of southern losses, the Americans finally achieved victory at the . The Waxhaw settlement, just off the Great Wagon Road, today covers parts of both Carolinas in an area southeast of Charlotte. Babits, 46, "British Legion Infantry strength at Cowpens was between 200 and 271 enlisted men". 227229. Their will to fight was gone. Morgan spends the evening moving from campfire to campfire, talking with his soldiers before combat and building their resolve. 17th Light Dragoon: Battle of Cowpens on 17th January 1781 in the American Revolutionary War. While it doesn't have the name recognition of Bunker Hill or Lexington the battle of Cowpens is one of the important battles of the American Revolution. . Morgan's unorthodox but tactical masterpiece had indeed "spirited up the people", not just those of the backcountry Carolinas, but those in all the colonies. The Southern Campaign, especially in the backcountry, was essentially a civil war as the colonial population split between Patriot and Loyalist. [60], A few minutes before sunrise, Tarleton's vanguard emerged from the woods in front of the American position. His loss directly contributed to Cornwalliss defeat in the southern colonies, the British surrender at Yorktown, and American independence. In reserve was the 250-man battalion of Scottish Highlanders (71st Regiment of Foot), commanded by Major Arthur MacArthur, a professional soldier of long experience who had served in the Dutch Scotch Brigade. No muster roll, for instance, is available from the camp at the Green River, where the army was pared down to 710. Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. A victory of colonial militia over their Loyalist counterparts at the Battle of Kings Mountain on the northwest frontier in October had bought time, but most of South Carolina was still occupied by the British. Just when the British assault is blunted, the Americans fix bayonets and plunge into the enemy.