35. Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 526–27; Benjamin Martin, pension, 25 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 1637. Johnson cites from Samuel Hammond’s “Notes” and provides an introduction to the order. “To show those concerned what would be their stations, the author drew out a rough sketch of the disposition set forth in the general order.” As Hammond recalled them, his own orders concerned only the troops who would form the skirmish line. Hammond provided little information about the Virginians, Continentals, and cavalry. Hammond’s notes reflect the situation about 9:00 P.M. on 16 January, before final plans were worked up and a decision to engage at the Cowpens was made. The quote about camping ready for battle is from Martin.
36. Draper, King’s Mountain, 270; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 6. The sign and countersign may be an error in recollection, as they were also used at Kings Mountain.
37. Henry Wells, pension, 29 Jan. 1834, M804, Roll 2529.
38. William Jewell, pension, 28 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 1415; William Shaw, pension, 12 Sept. 1818, M804, Roll 2161.
39. John Eager Howard, “Account of the Battle of Cowpens,” in Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 96; Young, “Memoir,” 88. The first quote is Howard’s; the second Young’s.
40. Bartholomees, “Fight or Flee,” 130–33.
41. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 141, 236. It may be a well-worn cliché that an army travels on its stomach, but contrasting British and American performances at Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk’s Hill, and Eutaw Springs show it is correct. In all four cases, Americans were fed before fighting and the British were not. It would not have taken many beeves to feed the men in the Flying Army. Twenty beeves, each providing 300 pounds of meat, or 60 hogs, providing 100 pounds each, would be enough to give 2, 000 men three pounds of meat each.
42. Samuel Hammond, “Notes,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 527.
43. See Von Steuben’s instructions on ammunition; Riling, Regulations, 117–21. Riling reprinted Von Stueben’s regulations drawn up during the Valley Forge encampment in 1778. This is an ideal supported by orderly books with references to maintaining forty rounds as well as three flints per man.
44. E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 21–22.
45. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214. Given the timeframe, these may have been Pickens’s men coming from north of the Broad River. It is possible they were North Carolina militia from northwest of Cowpens. Since they were from Green River, it is unlikely the report refers to David Campbell’s Virginia militiamen, who reached Morgan just as fighting began.
46. MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarletons History, 96; Charles Stedman, American War, 320; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214.
47. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214–15.
48. MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarletons History, 97; Stedman, American War, 320; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214–15.
49. Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 253; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 5–6; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarletons History, 85; Stedman, American War, 320.
50. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 215. The dragoons were probably Hovenden’s British Legion troop because their “quartermaster Wade” captured Sergeant Everheart of the Third Continental Light Dragoons in a running clash 3 to 5 miles from the battlefield.
51. The British infantry followed a route cleared of ambushes and obstructions by the advance party which left at 2:00 A.M. If they moved at a pace of 2.5 miles per hour (one mile every 24 minutes), they reached Macedonia Creek by 6:00 A.M. This is only 5 miles from Cowpens, and, given the difficulty of the march, the rate is fairly quick.
52. Rockwell, “Battle of Cow-pens,” 358.
53. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55.
54. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 215. Today, technical distinctions are made between first light and sunrise. First light occurs when the sky starts to lighten and is called Beginning Morning Nautical Twilight. Sunrise is about a half hour later when the sun actually comes up.
55. Anderson, “Journal,” 209; Collins, Autobiography, 56; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 13. Others reporting rapid deployment include militiamen William Neel, pension, 29 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1804, and Christian Peters, pension, 19 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1917.
56. James Simons to William Washington, 3 Nov. 1803, Balch, Papers, 45–47; Young, “Memoir,” 88.
57. Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 529; James Jackson to Daniel Morgan, 20 Jan. 1795, Myers, Cowpens Papers, 45–46. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 122; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 33.
58. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 215; Young, “Memoir,” 88, 102.
59. James Simons to William Washington, 3 Nov. 1803, Balch, Papers, 45–47.
60. Balch, Papers, 47–48; Lawrence Everheart, pension, 7 Apr. 1834; Simons to Washington, 3 Nov. 1803, ibid.; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 103. The distance given in Everheart’s pension shows that Tarleton was near the old American vidette location when the interview took place.
61. MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 97; Stedman, American War, 320; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 215. The two videttes were Everheart and Deshasure.
62. Lawrence Everheart, pension, 7 Apr. 1834.
63. MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 96–97; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 215.
64. Carroll, “Random Recollections,” 100.
65. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 226; McCall, History of Georgia, 507. MacKenzie implies there was more light when the British arrived than American accounts do. The difference may be because Americans marked the British arrival when the horsemen appeared rather than when MacKenzie arrived thirty minutes later with the light infantry.
66. Christian Peters, pension, 19 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1917.
67. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 1:372; Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 255; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 33.
68. Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 33.
CHAPTER FOUR
1. Uzal Johnson, “Manuscript Diary Kept by a Loyalist Military Surgeon,” Princeton University Library, Princeton, N.J. See pages 69–71 for description of halt at “Buck Creek” on 6 September 1780. A similar entry can be found in the “Diary of Lieut. Anthony Allaire of Ferguson’s Corps,” in Draper, King’s Mountain, 506–7. Earlier American camps at Cowpens occurred during the pursuit of Ferguson in early October 1780. See Draper, King’s Mountain, 222–23.
2. Spartanburg County road standards were not set until 1825, when roads were to be “at least 18 feet wide.” Commissions of the Roads Journal, Spartanburg District, 1825–1840, S.C. Department of Archives and History, Columbia, cited in Bearss, Historic Grounds and Resource Study, 107.
3. Draper, King’s Mountain, 222–23; Robert S. Hoskins, pension, 15 May 1835, M804, Roll 1331.
4. Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408. Little Buck Creek is the old name of modern-day Cudd’s Creek.
5. Bearss, Historic Grounds and Resource Study, 195; Perry, “Revolutionary Incidents, Number 7, The Cowpens,” Benjamin Franklin Perry Papers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The veteran who accompanied Perry was probably Captain Thomas Farrow.
6. Hammond, “Notes,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 526; George Wilson, pension, 19 Nov. 1832, M804, Roll 2605.
7. James McCroskey, pension, 20 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 1673; William Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 13; Samuel C. Williams, “General Richard Winn’s Notes,” 9.
8. Landrum, Upper South Carolina, 276–77.
9. E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 22.
10. Perry, “Revolutionary Incidents No. 7, The Cowpens,” Perry Papers; Young, “Memoir,” 84–88, 100–105.
11. Young, “Memoir,” 100.
12. Gaffney Ledger, 3 Mar. 1898, cite
d in Bearss, Historic Grounds and Resource Study, 146.
13. William Gordon, Independence of the United States of America, 4:34; O’Neall, “Revolutionary Incidents,” 38; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarletons History, 97; Young, “Memoir,” 100.
14. Gaffney Ledger, 3 Mar. 1898, cited in Bearss, Historic Grounds and Resource Study, 146.
15. This observation received little credibility because it dated from 1898. However, Benjamin F. Perry toured the battlefield circa 1834 with Captain Farrow and “had the pleasure of spending a night with this worthy and venerable soldier. . . . The order & position of the American Army in the battle of the Cowpens was related with a particularity which was really remarkable.” Perry “also had . . . the entire Battle Ground pointed out to him by one of the few surviving gallant officers who commanded in the Battle. . . . Gen. Morgan drew up his little army on a slight ridge, extending from the head of one of these spring branches to the other. The road . . . passes immediately between these two branches; which at that time, were pretty well lined with cane & small reeds [emphasis added].” A similar statement was published in 1843 when J. B. O’Neall wrote of “the ground between the two reedy branches the heads of Suck Creek.” The presence of cane can also be deduced from the name “Cowpens,” as well. Agricultural historians have long known the importance of cane as winter cattle forage in backcountry South Carolina. By 1802, overgrazing reduced the cane stands. Perry, Revolutionary Incidents No. 7, “The Cowpens,” and No. 10, Benjamin Franklin Perry Papers, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Anonymous, “Revolutionary Incidents—The Cowpens,” Magnolia 1 (1842), 42 (this article may have been written by Perry); O’Neall, “Revolutionary Incidents,” 38; Dunbar, “Colonial Carolina Cowpens,” 126–27.
16. As will be shown, the actual militia position was about 40 to 50 yards north and downslope from the crest.
17. This term was not used by participants. During maneuvering before infantry fighting commenced, Joseph Hayes moved his Little River battalion to this point, halfway between the militia line and the skirmishers.
18. “Pigree Map,” National Archives.
19. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, v.yjj. The southern edge of the swale is shown on the Pigree Map as a series of lines, or hatching, where the Continentals were posted. It appears on the Hammond Map as a “Valley or ravine”; Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 529. Both maps will be discussed in detail during identification of the American positions.
20. Hardwoods do not grow well in wet soil of the type in the swale. See Bishop et al., Soil Survey of Cherokee County, 1–14, 27, 64.
21. The “clump of pines” and the “slope” were first brought to my attention in 1988 by Kenneth R. Haynes of Reidsville, N.C. Both terms were used in Christopher Brandon’s “Account” in Draper, King’s Mountain, 285–86.
22. Henry Connelly, pension, 1 Aug. 1833, M804, Roll 627. Connelly’s initial position on the main-line right flank indicates horses were tied east of Morgan Hill about 175 yards northeast of Marker no. 9. In this area, the ground rises north and west, creating a slope north of Suck Creek no. 2. Soil conditions in this area tend to suggest that pines, rather than hardwoods, were the typical growth. See Bishop et al., Soil Survey of Cherokee County, 1–14, 27, 64.
23. Anderson, “Journal,” 209; Hanger, Address to the Army, 104; E. Alfred Jones, Journal of Alexander Chesney, 21; James Kelly, pension, 28 Apr. 1835, M804, Roll 1466; Josiah Martin, pension, 2 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1641; John R. Shaw, Narrative, 54; John Thomas, pension, 9 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 2370. The quote is from Hanger.
24. James I. Kochan, then a staff member at Morristown National Historical Park, located two maps in the quartermaster general’s documents in the National Archives. His recognition of the battle of Cowpens on a document otherwise associated with New York is comment enough on his knowledge of the Revolutionary War.
The Cowpens maps, their associated texts, and other accounts are often confusing in their use of right and left. Does the person, mean his left, or military left? That is, does the term left mean as the observer sees it from where he is facing, or from the perspective of a military man talking about the flank of a unit? At Cowpens, the British right and American left were east of the Green River Road; the British left and American right were west of the road. The orientation has obvious implications and will be discussed as appropriate.
25. Hammond, “Notes,” 526, in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 526–30.
26. Ibid., 528. These locations agree with Perry, “Revolutionary Incidents No. 7, The Cowpens,” Perry Papers, and George Wilson, pension, 19 Nov. 1832, M804, Roll 2605.
27. The “Clove Map” and the “Pigree Map” are in the National Archives. Both maps follow Morgan’s report closely in showing the American positions. It is possible these were drawn by Major Edward Giles, as the handwriting on both maps is quite similar to that in letters written by Giles and he went north to carry the news of the victory to Philadelphia and General Washington.
28. Morgan detailed the distinction in his 23 Jan. 1781 letter to William Snickers, Horatio Gates Papers. The same distinction was made by Nathanael Greene in orders issued before the battle of Eutaw Springs, 8 Sept. 1781. See Showman, Greene Papers, 9:302, 305.
29. John Collins, pension, 8 Apr. 1832, M804, Roll 613; James Henry, pension, 10 Dec. 1832, M804, Roll 1252; John Eager Howard to John Marshall, 1804, Bayard Papers; Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 6; John Powell, pension, 25 July 1820, M804, Roll 1962; Samuel Sexton, pension, 17 Sept. 1833, M804, Roll 2154; William Slone, pension, 9 Feb. 1835, M804, Roll 2200; Augustin Webb, pension, 15 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 2514.
30. James Jackson to Daniel Morgan, 20 Jan. 1795, Myers, Cowpens Papers, 46; Young, “Memoir,” 88. The videttes were stationed near modern-day Daniel Morgan School, where several routes from Union County converge before passing through the Cowpens crossroads as the Green River Road.
31. This is suggested by William Johnson, who reported they had been told to fight in groups of three with two reserving their fire. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 1:378.
32. Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832; Hammond, “Notes,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 528; Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55.
33. Richard Crabtree, pension, 2 Aug. 1834, M804, Roll 674.
34. Admittedly, this alignment is subjective. Casualties to the Surry/Wilkes and Burke men show they were on the right. The other three North Carolina companies were closer to the road. Specific references to alignment have not been confirmed, but comments and asides in pension documents tend to support this interpretation.
35. Hammond, “Account of the Battle of Cowpens,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 526–30 (see esp. 528); James Jackson to Daniel Morgan, 20 Jan. 1795, Myers, Cowpens Papers, 46; Robert Long, 10 May 1833, supporting statement for Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176. Beale/Beatty as a North Carolinian is discussed below.
36. Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 6. Locating McDowell to their front shows Hayes’s Battalion extended beyond both sides of the Green River Road. Locating Triplett in their rear is correct since the Virginia militia had their right flank in the road.
37. A reverse slope defense places defenders behind the military crest.
38. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55.
39. Young, “Memoir,” 100.
40. Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 6; Long, supporting statement for Samuel Hammond, pension, 31 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1176.
41. Robert Long, pension, 7 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1581.
42. Ewing served as a Continental but was commissioned as a militia captain “after the fall of Charleston.” Dillard was a captain about 1 August 1780. Harris was a captain-lieutenant during 1780. Sexton was commissioned a captain under Hayes during 1780. Irby raised a volunteer company and was commissioned
in November 1780. Both Sexton and Irby brought in their men just before the battle. Irby actually says his men were assigned to Hayes’s Battalion rather than being part of it. Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 57, 256, 300, 421, 484, 855.
Identifying company commanders is not a genealogical exercise. Men reported commanders in their pension records. If the location of the unit is known, it is possible to use that pensioner’s recollection of what he saw, or how he was wounded, to locate other observers on the field and to generate accurate details about the battle. Hayes’s companies were in the center and gave way when the British infantry charged. Wounds suffered by these men provided insights when placed in their correct location.
43. Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 20–21, 427, 508, 692–93, 927. Hughes replaced Benjamin Jolly as company commander; Joseph Hughes, pension, 20 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1360. One company was out scouting when the battle began and was not in the battle itself. This company participated in the pursuit and harassed Tarleton’s retreat. Samuel Otterson, pension, 20 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1853.
44. Moss, Roster of South Carolina Patriots, 50, 189, 305, 311–12. Files’s company is a problem. He could be placed under Captain Parson with Roebuck, under Major Noble of Hayes’s Battalion, or with the South Carolina State Troops under Hammond. Pension records suggest he was with Thomas.
45. Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 6.
46. James Kelly, pension, 28 Apr. 1835, M804, Roll 1466.
47. John Baldwin, pension, 28 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 123.
48. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55; Pigree Map, National Archives. The slope shown on the Pigree Map rises southward into the first terrace above the swale. It is the lower rear slope of militia ridge. In 1990, this position was four to six feet lower than the militia-line position.
49. Long, “Statement of Robert Long,” 6; Young, “Memoir,” 100.
50. Hammond noted Tate and Buchanan were on the right on 16 January. Hammond is correct only if Tate is Edmund Tate, not James Tate, who led a company on the left. The right-flank Tate is Edmund, often confused with James, who led an Augusta County company on the left flank under Triplett. Howard was very specific, “I am positive that Triplett and Tate were on my left? Here Howard is referring to James, not Edmund. Hammond, “Notes,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 528; John Eager Howard to John Marshall, 1804, Bayard Papers; Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55. See also John Eager Howard, “Account of the Battle of Cow-pens,” in Henry Lee Jr., Campaign of 1781 in the Carolinas.
A Devil of a Whipping Page 24