A Devil of a Whipping

by Lawrence E Babits

  31. Duffy, Military Experience, 200.

  32. Hanger, Sportsmen, 199–200.

  33. Hanger, Address to the Army, 82.

  34. Neumann, History of Weapons, 37, 118, 120–23.

  35. Ibid., 150, 156–65, 180–85.

  36. Joshua Graham, “Narrative of the Revolutionary War,” 255–56.

  37. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 9in.

  38. One saber used in the South is marked “3 RD LD NO 35 3-t,” probably indicating Third Regiment Light Dragoons, Number 35, Third Troop. It was carried by Captain Peter Jaquett of the Delaware Line, and other infantry officers were similarly equipped. Neumann, Swords and Blades, 177; “Minutes of the North Carolina Board of War, 30 Oct. 1780,” North Carolina State Records 14, 438.

  39. Collins, Autobiography, 34–35.

  40. William Washington, “Comment on the Sword,” and Major Richard Call to Governor Thomas Jefferson, 29 Mar. 1781, both in Palmer et al., Virginia State Papers, 1:605. American dragoons, reflecting Washington’s preference, had specific orders not to fire pistols, but to rely on sabers at Cowpens. See John Eager Howard to John Marshall, 1804, Bayard Papers.

  41. James Collins, a militiaman who fought with the infantry at Cowpens, described the manufacture of these caps. The militia would go to “a turner or wheelwright, and get headblocks turned, of various sizes, according to the heads that had to wear them . . . ; we would then get some strong upper, or light sole leather, cut it out in shape, close it on the block, then grease it well with tallow, and set it before a warm fire, still on the block, and keep turning it round before the fire, still rubbing on the tallow, until it became almost as hard as a sheet of iron; we then got two small straps or plates of steel, made by our own smiths, of a good spring temper, and crossing in the centre above, one reaching from ear to ear, the other, in the contrary direction; the lining was made of strong cloth, padded with wool, and fixed so as to prevent the cap from pressing too hard on the ears; there was a small brim attached to the front, resembling the caps now worn, a piece of bearskin lined with strong cloth, padded with wool, passed over from the front to the back of the head; then a large bunch of hair taken from the tail of a horse, generally white, was attached to the back part and hung down the back; then, a bunch of white feathers, or deer’s tail, was attached to the sides, which completed the cap. The cap was heavy, custom soon made it so that it could be worn without inconvenience” (Autobiography, 35).

  42. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 1:379–79.

  43. Caruana, Grasshoppers and Butterflies, 4, 16–20; Muller, Treatise of Artillery, 115. McConnell, British Smooth-Bore Artillery, 48–49, raises questions about Caruana’s interpretive drawings.

  44. Gooding, British Artillery, 40–42, 46; McConnell, British Smooth-Bore Artillery, 281–90, 315–23; Muller, Treatise of Artillery, 161. McConnell abstracts much detail about projectiles and powder, drawing, in part, from Muller’s technical descriptions in eighteenth-century prose.

  45. Caruana, Grasshoppers and Butterflies, 31–32.

  46. Ibid., 6, 31–32; Muller, Treatise of Artillery, 152, 161–62; Keegan, Face of Battle, 160. Muller’s work derived from experience and experiments conducted by the Royal Artillery and had a major impact on gunnery. At Cowpens, the effect of shot initially aimed at the militia line caused William Washington to shift his cavalry farther to the right. This was probably bouncing shot, although the distance was well within the range of the three-pounder.

  47. Muller, Treatise of Artillery, 163; Caruana, Light 6-Pdr. Battalion Gun, 8.

  48. Caruana, Grasshoppers and Butterflies, 25–30; Muller, Treatise of Artillery, 161; George Smith, Universal Military Dictionary, 213. Although several participants mention artillery at Cowpens, only a secondary account gives the rate of fire. This oral tradition is somewhat suspect, but it does have a ring of truth because it reports that they fired in pairs eight times. Haggis, “Firesides Revisiting.”

  49. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 15–16, 20, 30, 114, 159; Samuel C. Williams, “General Richard Winn’s Notes,” 9.

  CHAPTER TWO

  1. The entire quotation begun by the chapter epigraph is: “I give this the name of a flying Army; and while its numbers are so small, and the enemy so much superior, it must be literally so; for they can make no opposition of consequence.” Nathanael Greene to Marquis de Lafayette, 29 Dec. 1780, Showman, Greene Papers, 18–19.

  2. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 1:393–94; Thomas Lovelady, pension, 8 Jan. 1833, M804, Roll 1591; Manuel McConnell, pension, 18 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1670.

  3. Higginbotham, Daniel Morgan, 7; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 386, 393–94; William Neel, pension, 29 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1804. See also supplementary statement to 1836 pension.

  4. “Recollection by a British Officer,” 6:204–11. See also Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 580, where Morgan says it was 500 and 499 lashes.

  5. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 386–87.

  6. Berg, Encyclopedia, 77, 130, 132; Higginbotham, Daniel Morgan, 365; Lancaster, American Revolution, 292; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 388–91. Lee, who knew Morgan well, stated that he took leave for health reasons.

  7. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 392; Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 6 and 7 Feb. 1781, Greene to Morgan, 10 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:256, 271, 354–55.

  8. James Graham, Life of General Daniel Morgan, 448; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 392–93.

  9. George Smith, Universal Military Dictionary, 112–13.

  10. William Neel, pension, 29 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1804; see also supplementary statement, 19 Mar. 1836; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 393; Otho Williams to Daniel Morgan, 31 Oct. 1780, James Graham, Life of General Daniel Morgan, 245.

  11. Nathanael Greene to Morgan, 16 Dec. 1780, Morgan to Greene, 15 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 6:589–90, 7:127–28; Riling, Regulations, 136. Captain C. K. Chitty was Morgan’s commissary of purchases. Captain Benjamin Brookes was Morgan’s brigade major.

  12. John Eager Howard to John Marshall, 1804, Bayard Papers; Morgan to Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55; Richard Pindell to Otho Holland Williams, 16 Dec. 1816, Pindell, “Militant Surgeon of the Revolution,” 316.

  13. Berg, Encyclopedia, 136; Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 10, 18, 84, 103, 240, 1012; Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408. Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book, 17 Sept. 1780, shows Brigadier Generals William Small-wood and Mordecai Gist with personal guard details. A number of men from Frederick County, Virginia, Morgan’s home area, may have served him in this fashion. Two other likely candidates are John Moore, personally recruited by Morgan in North Carolina, and a Massachusetts man who served with Morgan at Saratoga. See Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 58, and John Moore, pension, 15 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 1756.

  14. Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 8, 9, 11; Otho Holland Williams, “Notebook Extract,” 23 Jan. 1781, Merritt, Calendar, 36, Otho H. Williams, “Narrative of the Campaign of 1780,” 390.

  15. Nathanael Greene to ?, 14 Nov. 1782, Showman, Greene Papers, forthcoming; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 409; Cary Howard, “John Eager Howard”; Read, “John Eager Howard,” 277–79; Ward, Delaware Continentals, 416–17.

  16. Samuel Shaw, “Revolutionary War Letters of Captain Winthrop Sargent,” 321; Steuart, History of the Maryland Line, 61, 134. These interpretations are based on the two men’s known presence at Cowpens, along with their seniority and lack of command. It is possible that either Brookes or Somerville, or both, actually served on Morgan’s staff and not on Howard’s.

  17. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 185.

  18. Anderson, “Journal,” 208; William Bivins, pension, 22 Sept. 1834, M804, Roll 249; “Pay Roll of Cap’t Robert Kirkwood’s Comp’y of Foot in the Delaware Reg’t. . . Mar. 1st 1780,” Delaware, Delaware Archives, 1:117–18, 242; Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book, 1780–81. In Delaware, Delaware Archives
, 1:117–18, there is a transcription error in which “Infantry” should be “Light Infantry.” This interpretation is based on names in the “Return of the Men Killed and Wounded in Capt. Kirkwood’s Company at the Cowpens, 17th Jan’ry 1781” (1:254).

  19. Robert Downs, pension, 13 July 1818, M804, Roll 847, Draper, King’s Mountain, 366; John Hackney, pension, 7 Sept. 1819, M804, Roll 1150; Schenk, North Carolina, 97; Ward, Delaware Continentals, 8, 551. Possibly related to “Blue Hen’s Chickens,” but it is difficult to know if either nickname was actually used during the war.

  20. Delaware, Delaware Archives, 1:115–18, 254–56; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens; Riling, Regulations, 6–7; Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book, 13, 23, 25, and 29 Sept. 1780.

  21. Delaware, Delaware Archives, 1:115, 117–18, 254–56; Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book, 16 and 20 Sept. 1780.

  22. Steuart, History of the Maryland Line, 49–50, 76; Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book.

  23. Benjamin Martin, pension, 25 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 1637; Steuart, History of the Maryland Line, 20, 73–74, 79, 130–34; Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book, 16 Dec. 1780.

  24. Hall et al., Muster Rolls, 388–93; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 41, 86; Steuart, History of the Maryland Line, no, 116, 145; Otho Holland Williams Orderly Book, 16 Dec. 1780.

  25. Berg, Encyclopedia, 131; Abraham Hamman, pension, 13 Nov. 1832, M804, Roll 1174; Heitman, Historical Register of Officers, 418–19, 566; John Eager Howard to John Marshall, 1804, Bayard Papers; Sanchez-Saavedra, Guide to Virginia Militia Organizations, 180–81; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 8; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 29, 83; Joseph B. Turner, Journal of Captain Robert Kirk-wood, 11; Otho H. Williams, “Narrative of the Campaign of 1780,” 506. The best-known composite Virginia unit was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Buford when it was attacked by Tarleton’s British Legion at Waxhaws, S.C., on 29 May 1780.

  26. Berg, Encyclopedia, 119–20, 128; Posey, General Thomas Posey, 78; Richard Gentry, pension, 12 Sept. 1834, M804, Roll 1061; George Keller, pension, 28 Jan. 1833, M804, Roll 1462; William Knight, pension, 30 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 1503. Links between Posey and the pensioners are difficult to establish, but agreement between movements, arrival times, and company officers supports the conclusions made.

  27. Henry Connelly, pension, 15 Aug. 1833, M804, Roll 628; Rankin, North Carolina Continentals, 248, 255–62. After the battle of Camden, S.C., fourteen N.C. Continentals were placed in the advance force that became the Flying Army. A few recruits came in and their commander, Captain Yarborough, was in Salisbury in January 1781, but they were not sent to join Morgan because they had no shoes.

  28. Long, “Statement of Robert Long”; Andrew Pickens et al. to Nathanael Greene, 8 Dec. 1780, Showman, Greene Papers, 6:557–58; Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176.

  29. Logan, History of the Upper Country, 2:104.

  30. Otho H. Williams, “Narrative of the Campaign of 1780,” 483.

  31. Jacob Taylor, pension, 18 May 1840, M804, Roll 2347. The quote appears in his 1819 interrogatory statement. For an overview, see Shy, A People Numerous and Armed.

  32. William L. Shea presents a good overview of southern militia antecedents in his Virginia Militia in the Seventeenth Century. For an overview of militia at the start of the war, see Shy, A People Numerous and Armed. Call-ups for militia service late in the war tried to distribute duty by classifying men into various groups, each of which was required to provide a certain number of men.

  33. Josiah Martin, pension, 3 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1640; O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 38.

  34. Draper, King’s Mountain, 224; E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 22; Josiah Martin, pension, 3 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1640; O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 37.

  35. Salley, Hill’s Memoirs of the Revolution, 6. Salley’s two “colonels” were actually a lieutenant colonel and a colonel. The distinction settled any question of seniority or superior rank.

  36. James Martin, pension, 8 Mar. 1832, M804, Roll 1639; William Young, pension, 16 Aug. 1833, M804, Roll 2666. Barber’s “Company” was placed under Captain Thomas White at Cowpens.

  37. See Papenfuse and Stiverson, “General Smallwood’s Recruits,” 117–32; Arthur J. Alexander, “How Maryland Tried”; and Diehl, “Rockbridge Men at War,” 261— 65, 360.

  38. James Stewart, pension, 6 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 2290; Jesse Morris, pension, 27 May 1834, M804, Roll 1771. Stewart’s service “was rendered in behalf of John Work who was then a Drafted man for the term of three months.”

  39. A last class of soldier is difficult to classify. They were neither Continentals nor state troops but could be militia. These men served as “Volunteers.” This “volunteer” is different from those Morgan called “Volunteers from Georgia and South Carolina” and might mean they came as individual soldiers. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:153; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 106.

  40. Aaron Guyton, pension, 1 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1149.

  41. John Collins, pension, 29 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 613; Diehl, “Rockbridge Men at War”; John Irby, pension, 22 Jan. 1833, M804, Roll 1394; Samuel Sexton, pension, 17 Sept. 1833, M804, Roll 2154.

  42. William Capps, pension, 27 Mar. 1845, M804, Roll 466; Adam Rainboult, pension, 3 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1994.

  43. Draper, King’s Mountain, 227, 244; Benjamin Martin, pension, 25 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 1637; Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408.

  44. Martin, pension, 1833; Russell and Gott, Fauquier County in the Revolution, 69; Sanchez-Saavedra, Guide to Virginia Militia Organizations, 145; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 9.

  45. Jeremiah Preston, pension, 20 Dec. 1843, M804, Roll 1972; John Thomas, pension, 9 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 2370. Lieutenants in this company were Keith Alexander and William Dearing.

  46. Jacob Lemmon, pension, 8 July 1833, M804, Roll 1547. If Lemmon’s recollection is correct, this company may have been partially armed with muskets. The Continental Army usually required riflemen to bring their own weapons into service when they were called to duty.

  47. Diehl, “Rockbridge Men at War,” 262.

  48. John McPheeters, pension, 6 Apr. 1833, M804, Roll 1700.

  49. Jacob Taylor, pension, 18 May 1849, M804, Roll 2347.

  50. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 227; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens.

  51. Ewell’s Company of Campbell’s Militia “joined General D. Morgan on the field just at the time he had secured his victory at the Cowpens.” John Powell, pension, 25 July 1820, M804, Roll 1962. Powell, a member of the First Virginia State Regiment, was sick in the Hillsborough, N.C., hospital. He was sent to Morgan with Campbell’s Militia.

  52. William L. Davidson to Nathanael Greene, 16 Jan. 1781, and Greene to Daniel Morgan, 8 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:73, 134.

  53. One company was under a captain variously called Robinson, Robertson, or Richardson. This unit can be identified from an arrival time just before the battle began and by the names of other officers. The other company was commanded by a man named Hanley, Handley, Hunley, or Hanson. Men in this second company reported joining Morgan the afternoon of 16 January, before the Flying Army moved to Cowpens. David M. Ellington, pension, 17 Mar. 1834, M804, Roll 911; Drury Ham, pension, 8 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1168; William Lilly, pension, 19 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1563.

  54. See, for example, Schenk, North Carolina, 200, 210–11.

  55. Bailey, Commanders at Kings Mountain, 343–51, 367–68; Hugh McNary, pension, 5 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1698; Phifer, Burke, 309.

  56. Bailey, Commanders at Kings Mountain, 358; Phifer, Burke, 308–9.

  57. Phifer, Burke, 308.

  58. Richard Crabtree, pension, 2 Aug. 1834, M804, Roll 674; Joseph McPeters, pension, 15 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1699; John Wallace, pension, 14 Aug. 1833, M804, Roll 2479. See also Wallace’s supplementary statement, 1833. Platoons in this company were und
er Captain James Alexander and Captain Alexander Erwin.

  59. William Capps, pension, 27 Mar. 1845, M804, Roll 466; Adam Rainboult, pension, 3 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1994.

  60. Jeremiah Files, pension, 4 Feb. 1833, M804, Roll 973; William Lorance, pension, 3 Dec. 1832, M804, Roll 1584. One platoon was probably commanded by Captain William Alexander.

  61. Nathaniel Dickison, pension, 23 June 1835, M804, Roll 814; Draper, King’s Mountain, 173, 175, 184, 332; Thomas Morris, pension, 2 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 1772; Abraham Potter, pension, 26 Nov. 1833, M804, Roll 1958; Henry Smith, pension, 21 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 2214. Consolidating these men, platoons were under Captain William Lewis and Captain Joseph Cloud. Captain Henry Smith was under Cloud. Surry County’s Captain Bell was wounded at Cowpens; he was likely a “squad” leader, as was Oliver Charles.

  62. Draper, King’s Mountain, 265; Powell, North Carolina Gazetteer, 430.

  63. Bailey, Commanders at Kings Mountain, 195; Josiah Martin, pension, 1 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1641; Alexander McLaen, pension, 18 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 1693; Christopher Waggoner, pension, 27 Oct. 1834, M804, Roll 2468. Platoons were probably under Thomas White and Samuel Martin.

  64. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 23 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:178.

  65. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 594–95; Pickens, Skyagunsta, the Border Wizard Owl; Ferguson, “General Andrew Pickens.”

  66. Ferguson, “General Andrew Pickens,” 109–11; Lambert, South Carolina Loyalists, 161–62; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5; McCrady, South Carolina in the Revolution, 1780-1783, 18–23.

  67. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 122–23; Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 353–60; George White, Historical Collections of Georgia, 219–21.

  68. Draper, King’s Mountain, 193, 269, 470; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 26.

  69. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 185, 234.

  70. Solomon Abbott, pension, 1 Oct. 1835, M804, Roll 4; James Harden, pension, 21 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 1186; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 246 (entry for Benjamin West); Henry Pettit, pension, 24 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1920; Hugh Warren, pension, 16 June 1834, M804, Roll 2497. Tramell led his company with platoons under Lawson and Coulter. Some name Dickson and Coulter as lieutenants, Lawson and Dickson as captains.