71. Draper, King’s Mountain, 74; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 36.
72. James Collins, pension, 8 Apr. 1832, M804, Roll 613. A close reading of his pension suggests Collins called up the men of his company who were not already in the field on 16 January. This implies that his company was larger than twenty-four men at Cowpens.
73. Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 50. John Barry, his brother, apparently alternated command of this company because each served as a private under the other at different times.
74. Adam J. Files, pension, 3 Feb. 1834, M804, Roll 973; Jeremiah J. Files, pension, 4 Feb. 1833, M804, Roll 973; Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 305, 311–12.
75. Carroll, “Random Recollections,” 43; Draper, King’s Mountain, 467–68; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 69; Samuel Park, pension, 14 Apr. 1834, M804, Roll 1869.
76. Draper, King’s Mountain, 468; Robert Long, pension, 7 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1581. One platoon was commanded by James Dillard of Ninety Six District.
77. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 200–201; Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 421. John Ridgeway was a platoon leader in Harris’s company.
78. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 69; O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 506.
79. John Irby, pension, 22 Jan. 1833, M804, Roll 1394; Samuel Sexton, pension, 17 Sept. 1833, M804, Roll 2154. As newly elected junior officers with new companies, Sexton and Irby had no seniority and were probably placed on the left flank of Hayes’s Battalion.
80. Draper, King’s Mountain, 74, 469; Joshua Palmer, pension, 3 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1865; see also Thomas Young’s 12 June 1833 supporting statement in Palmer’s pension file; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 2.
81. O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 38; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 33.
82. Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 20–21, 31–32, 379, 472, 690, 693, 744, 927.
83. Samuel Caldwell, pension, 30 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 449; James Carlisle, pension, 28 Oct. 1835, M804, Roll 470; Draper, King’s Mountain, 132, 285, 468; Aaron Guyton, pension, 1 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1149; Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 20–21, 94–95, 379, 692–93. Captains Samuel Caldwell and Francis Carlisle were Montgomery’s platoon leaders. Grant’s son, William Jr., was a lieutenant in his company. Lieutenant Joseph Hughes, an experienced combat veteran, commanded a company at Cowpens because Captain Benjamin Jolly volunteered for the cavalry. Hughes’s “company” may have been a platoon under Captain William Grant since Hughes was a lieutenant and they both came from Pinckneyville, S.C. In a typical company rotation, Grant may have led the duty, and the nonduty, halves of the company. In that case, Hughes led Jolly’s company, as a platoon under Grant.
84. Draper, King’s Mountain, 465; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 1. He probably commanded a “company” of Fairfield County men with James Adair as their platoon leader.
85. Draper, King’s Mountain, 285; Samuel Otterson, pension, 20 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1853.
86. James Jackson to Daniel Morgan, 20 Jan. 1795, Myers, Cowpens Papers, 45–46; M’Call, History of Georgia, 505.
87. He is not the same George Walton who signed the Declaration of Independence and served as governor of Georgia. That George Walton was in Philadelphia in December 1780 and January 1781. Charles C. Jones, Biographic Sketches, 186.
88. Davis, Georgia Citizens and Soldiers, 159, 163, 215.
89. A Georgian, Donnolly, remains unidentified but probably was a skirmisher with other Georgians. It is possible he took Hammond’s Georgia company when Hammond was promoted. M’Call notes a “captain Beale’s company of Georgia militia” on the main line, but Georgia units were all skirmishers. Jackson is particular about Georgians and makes no mention of Beale or Beatty. It is likely that Beale is William Beal of Ninety Six, S.C, who later moved to Georgia. If so, Beal belongs in the South Carolina State Troops under Joseph Pickens as a platoon leader. See Samuel Hammond’s “Account of the Battle of the Cowpens,” and Hammond, “Notes,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 526–30 (esp. p. 528); James Jackson to Daniel Morgan, 20 Jan. 1795, Myers, Cowpens Papers, 46; Logan, History of the Upper Country, 2:51–53; Robert Long, supporting statement, 10 May 1833, for Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176; and M’Call, History of Georgia, 506. Beale/Beatty as a possible North Carolinian is discussed below.
90. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 399–402.
91. Ibid., 400.
92. Griffin Fauntleroy to Nathanael Greene, 7 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:71.
93. Berg, Encyclopedia, 29–30; Thomas Gibson, pension, 25 Apr. 1822, M804, Roll 1067; Richard Porterfield, pension, 10 July 1820, M804, Roll 1956.
94. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 172, reports three Murphey brothers, former Delaware Continentals “incorporated” in the Continental dragoons.
95. Berg, Encyclopedia, 28; James Martin, pension, 8 Mar. 1832, M804, Roll 1639.
96. Nathanael Greene to Thomas Jefferson, 14 Dec. 1780, and Greene to Clement Read, 14 Dec. 1780, Showman, Greene Papers, 6:573, 576; Edmund Keeling, pension, 14 Apr. 1834, M804, Roll 1459. Keeling served under Captain Edmund Reid and was wounded at Cowpens. North Carolinian William Rodgers claimed service under Captain John Reid, pension, 20 July 1827, M804, Roll 2074.
97. William Kerr, pension, 21 Feb. 1835, M804, Roll 1476; James Riggs, pension, 5 Aug. 1834, M804, Roll 2047; Peter Roberts, pension, 31 Mar. 1835, M804, Roll 2059; John Thompson, pension, 11 Oct. 1855, M804, Roll 2376 (rejected claim). These Cowpens men stand out because they specify longer-than-usual militia service, held cavalry ranks such as “coronet,” or served under officers not assigned to William Washington, yet claimed Washington as a commander instead of being militia.
98. Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176. Hammond stated South Carolina State Troops assigned to Washington were those with swords and pistols. Those without were skirmishers. McCall’s men are different from forty-five “militia volunteers” equipped with swords the night before Cowpens.
99. Ibid.; Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 227, 586.
100. McCall joined Morgan after Kings Mountain. See John Harris, pension, 5 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 1200, supplementary statement; Manuel McConnell, pension, 18 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1670. In his pension, 20 Oct. 1837, M804, Roll 1129, Georgian George Gresham specified that his commander at Cowpens was Major McCall, indicating he and his “company” were part of the South Carolina State Troops.
101. William Venable, pension, 8 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 2456; Young, “Memoir,” 84–88, 100–105. Those equipped with swords the night before the battle affect Washington’s total strength. McCall’s South Carolina State Troops with sabers served with Washington, as cavalry, after joining in early January. “Volunteer” dragoon militiamen on the night of 16–17 January included some with sabers; those without received the forty-five sabers issued by Morgan. Morgan earlier requested one hundred swords from Greene; he issued all he had. Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176; Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 31 Dec. 1780, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:30–31. The cavalrymen, McCall with 25, at least 45 militia volunteers, and perhaps 30 state troops from North Carolina and Virginia, more than doubled Washington’s strength of 82 men noted by James Martin, pension, 8 Mar. 1832, M804, Roll 1639. At a minimum, Washington had 150 men and may have led as many as 200.
102. Bass, Green Dragoon, 11–12.
103. Ibid., 12–14; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 4.
104. Bass, Green Dragoon, 15–18.
105. Ibid., 19, 46–47.
106. Ibid., 11, 47–49; Katcher, Encyclopedia, 83–84. A company that became part of the British Legion was the Caledonian Volunteers; another was possibly the Bucks County Dragoons under Captain Christian Huck.
107. Michael Dougherty, “Soldier of Fortune,” in Ward, Delaware Continentals, 538; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 154, 164–66, 170; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,”
3, 14.
108. Garden, Anecdotes of the American Revolution, 284, 287–88; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 2, 9, 12.
109. Katcher, Encyclopedia, 31–32.
110. Army, List of All the Officers of the Army, 75; “State of the Troops,” in Reese, Cornwallis Papers, 221; Ford, British Officers, 136; Groves, Historical Records of the 7th or Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 91–92, 95; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 88, no; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 212; Wheater, Historical Record of the Seventh or Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 76.
111. Army, List of All the Officers of the Army, 146; Fetter, “Who Were the Foreign Mercenaries?,” 508–13; Katcher, Encyclopedia, 67–68.
112. Campbell, Expedition against the Rebels of Georgia; Katcher, Encyclopedia, 67–69; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, in.
113. “State of the Troops,” in Reese, Cornwallis Papers, 221; Samuel Graham, “An English Officer’s Account,” 241–49, 267–73, 241; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, in.
114. Katcher, Encyclopedia, 13–14.
115. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 1:242–43; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 117.
116. Army, List of All the Officers of the Army, 86; Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 1:242–43; “State of the Troops,” in Reese, Cornwallis Papers, 221; Katcher, Encyclopedia, 35; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 113. The officer commanding the 16th may have been Colin Graham but he does not appear in any list of prisoners.
117. Katcher, Encyclopedia, 84; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 6.
118. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 2:214–16; Hanger, Address to the Army, 92~93n; Katcher, Encyclopedia, 83; Lambert, South Carolina Loyalists, 149; Hall et al., Muster Rolls, 578, 583–84; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 6, 16–17.
119. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–8i.
120. “State of the Troops,” in Reese, Cornwallis Papers, 221; Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 2:197–250. The British Legion infantry at Cowpens is usually considered to have had about 200–250 men, but returns for the 25 December 1780 muster show only 175. Totals obtained by Cornwallis, dated 15 January, show that the whole legion had 451 men, but approximately 250 were dragoons.
121. Army, List of All the Officers of the Army, 53; Fortescue, History of the 17th Lancers, 33, 58; Mackenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 113.
122. Fortescue, History of the 17th Lancers, 50, 53–55.
123. Ibid., 56–57; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81,184, 212, 216.
124. Army, List of All the Officers of the Army, 53; Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 2:227; Fortescue, History of the 17th Lancers, 63.
125. Fortescue, History of the 17th Lancers, 63.
126. Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 6.
127. Caruana, Grasshoppers and Butterflies, 22, 25; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 210.
128. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 1:384–85; E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 20–22. These militiamen are probably the “mounted infantry” Tarleton mentioned as bringing up the rear during his approach march. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 215.
CHAPTER THREE
1. Greene instructed Morgan to “Employ [this force] against the enemy . . . either offensively or defensively as your own prudence and discretion may direct, acting with caution, and avoiding surprizes.” Nathanael Greene to Daniel Morgan, 16 Dec. 1780, Showman, Greene Papers, 6:589–90. Cornwallis ordered Tarleton that, “if Morgan is . . . anywhere within your reach, I should wish you to push him to the utmost.” Cornwallis to Tarleton, 2 Jan. 1781, Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 244–45.
2. Anderson, “Journal,” 209; James Cook, “Map of the Province of South Carolina,” n.p., London, 1773; Henry Mouzon, “An Accurate Map of North and South Carolina,” N.C. Department of Cultural Resources; Long, “Statement of Robert Long”; Mills, Atlas; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, n-13.
3. Bailey, History of Grindal Shoals, 19, 21; E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 21–22, 128–29; Benjamin Martin, pension, 25 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 1637.
4. Bailey, History of Grindal Shoals, 19; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5; Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 31 Dec. 1780 and 4 and 15 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:30–31, 50–51, 127–29.
5. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 12, 184, 210-11.
6. Lord Cornwallis to Banastre Tarleton, 2 Jan. 1781, ibid., 211, 244–45; Fortescue, History of the 17th Lancers, 56–57; O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 37.
7. Banastre Tarleton to Lord Cornwallis, 4 Jan. 1781, Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 246.
8. Ibid.
9. Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5.
10. Bailey, Commanders at Kings Mountain, 400; Draper, King’s Mountain, 76; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5; Mills, Atlas.
11. Carroll, “Random Recollections,” 40–47, 97–107 (esp. 45); O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 37; William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 2:385; E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 21; McCrady, History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1780–1783, 28; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 212. The 11 January campsite is called “Tarleton’s Tea Tables” by residents. Jonathan Hart, personal communication, 30 Mar. 1992; Newberry-Saluda Regional Library, personal communication, 7 Apr. 1992.
12. Feaster, History of Union County, 27–28; Samuel Hand, pension, 6 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1179; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5; Joseph Mcjunkin, pension, 25 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 1688; Samuel Thompson, pension, 27 Aug. 1833, M804, Roll 2378.
13. Mills, Atlas; O’Neall and Chapman, Annals of Newberry, 37; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 213.
14. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 177–79.
15. Anderson, “Journal,” 209; Landrum, Upper South Carolina, 242; Mills, Atlas; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 13; Young, “Memoir,” 84–88, 100–105.
16. Tarleton’s route approximates modern-day Route 9, which crosses northern South Carolina and connects county-seat towns.
17. James Alexander, pension, 9 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 28; Samuel Hand, pension, 6 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1179; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5; David Morton, pension, 9 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1778, supplementary statement, 23 Sept. 1834; Samuel Park, pension, 14 Apr. 1834, M804, Roll 1869, supplementary statement, 26 Aug. 1834.
18. Samuel Moore, pension, 11 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1759.
19. Aaron Guyton, pension, 1 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1149; Samuel Shaw, “Revolutionary War Letters to Captain Winthrop Sargent,” 281–324 (esp. p. 320).
20. Draper, King’s Mountain, 94; Pugh, “Cowpens Campaign and the American Revolution,” 219; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 213.
21. Landrum, Upper South Carolina, 272; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 96; Mills, Atlas; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 213.
22. Josiah Martin, pension, 1 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1641.
23. James Dillard, supporting statement, 15 May 1833, in Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176.
24. Three of Captain Kinlock’s British Legion dragoons were noted as “taken 14 Jan 1781” or “deserted 14 Jan 1781.” Kinlock commanded Tarleton’s headquarters troop. The men Gresham captured may have been a patrol screening Tarleton’s advance. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 2:213; George Gresham, pension, 20 Oct. 1837, M804, Roll 1129.
25. E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 21–22; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 213–14. Tarleton’s men may have eaten their last rations on 15 January. Their growing food crisis seems confirmed by Tarleton sending Chesney to have local mills grind for the army.
26. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214. Tarleton’s use of “Thickelle” Creek indicates he was using the Mouzon Map, the only contemporary map where this term appears. For contemporary maps, see John Collet’s
Compleat Map of North-Carolina and Henry Mouzon’s Accurate Map of North and South Carolina, both in the N. C. State Archives, Department of Cultural Resources, Raleigh.
27. Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408.
28. James Graham, Life of General Daniel Morgan, 290; M’Call History of Georgia, 505; Samuel Park, pension, 14 Apr. 1834, M804, Roll 1869; Seymour, Journal of theSouthern Expedition, 13. Seymour identifies militia accompanying the Continentals as McCall’s South Carolina State Regiment (about go men) and three Georgia companies under Major James Jackson (about 55 men). The remainder were Hayes’s Little River Battalion not on rear guard. McDowell’s North Carolinians had not yet rejoined; they left Burr’s Mill about noon. Pickens arrived some time after 9:00 P.M. and brought in about 150 men from the “north side of Broad River.”
29. James Braden, pension, 1 July 1839, M804, Roll314; William Lilly, pension, 19 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1563; Christian Peters, pension, 19 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1917; John Eager Howard, “Account of the Battle of Cowpens,” in Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 226.
30. Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408; Rockwell, “Battle of Cow-pens,” 356–59; Samuel C. Williams, “General Richard Winn’s Notes,” 9.
31. Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 32–33; Young, “Memoir,” 88. The quotes are from Young. Saye should be used with great caution as he embellished McJunkin’s pension account.
32. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 226; Daniel Morgan to William Snickers, Jan. 23, 1781, Horatio Gates Papers.
33. John Marshall, Life of George Washington, 303–4.
34. Rockwell, “Battle of Cow-pens,” 356. Rockwell stated that he had this information from “a gentleman who has often heard the facts given stated by those who had been eye-witnesses and actors in what they described.”
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