Battle of Cowpens

American Revolution [1781] Written by: Kevin Gould

Battle of Cowpens, (January 17, 1781), in the American Revolution, brilliant American

victory over a British force on the northern border of South Carolinathat slowed

Lord Cornwallis’s campaign to invade North Carolina. British casualties were estimated

at about 600, whereas the Americans lost only 72.

From his headquarters at Charlotte, North Carolina, the new American commander in

the South, Gen. Nathanael Greene, had divided his army and sent a force of 1,000 men

under Gen. Daniel Morgan to the southwest to intercept Cornwallis’s advance. The two

forces converged at Cowpens, an area so named because it was a well-known

enclosed pasturing field for cows. There Morgan confronted about 1,150 troops under

Col. Banastre Tarleton, who had intended to seize the strategic crossroads at Ninety

Six, South Carolina. Morgan employed three progressively stronger defensive lines: a

front line of skirmishers deployed behind trees, followed by Southern militia troops, and,

finally, the regular Continental Army troops supported by Col. William Washington’s

cavalry reserve, positioned out of sight of Tarleton’s forces.

Morgan’s strategy was particularly ingenious in its use of militia forces. Tension existed

between militias and Continental troops throughout the Revolutionary War, because

militia units tended to be less reliable in the face of British attacks than their Continental

counterparts. Continental soldiers typically had longer service, regular training, and

significantly more combat experience. By contrast, militias mustered for short durations,

and their members performed best when campaigning close to home. Recognizing the

militia troops’ limited tolerance for battle, Morgan directed them to fire two volleys and

then withdraw behind the Continental lines. By providing a planned withdrawal, Morgan

ensured that the militia would not break and flee. Morgan’s employment of

Washington’s cavalry also surprised Tarleton’s mounted troops and disrupted the British

charge against the Continentals. As the Continentals held the centre, the re-formed

militia troops descended on the British left while Washington’s cavalry hit the British

right flank. Morgan’s successful double envelopment routed the British, and the militia

soldiers’ actions at Cowpens are generally credited with having ensured a rare

American victory.

Not discouraged by what he described as a “very unexpected and severe blow,”

Cornwallis pushed on into North Carolina. Morgan and his troops retreated deeper into

North Carolina to rejoin Greene’s army.

Kevin Gould

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