10. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 219.
11. John Jones, Treatment of Wounds and Fractures, 17.
12. Ibid., 14.
13. Ibid.
14. Jeremiah Files, pension, 4 Feb. 1833, M804, Roll 973; William Meade, pension, 26 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 1703.
15. Lawrence Everheart, pension, 7 Apr. 1834, M804, Roll 944; Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408.
16. William Warren, pension, 19 Nov. 1832, M804, Roll 2499.
17. Joseph James, pension, 17 Nov. 1836, M804, Roll 1405.
18. John Pindell to Frisby Tilghman et al., 8 Dec. 1816, in Pindell, “Militant Surgeon of the Revolution,” 317–18.
19. William Bivins, pension, 22 Sept. 1834, M804, Roll 249; John Brownlee, pension, 29 May 1818, M804, Roll 383; Nathaniel Dickenson, pension, 23 June 1835, M804, Roll 814; Henry Hayman, pension, 6 July 1835, M804, Roll 1234; William Venable, pension, 8 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 2456. The critically wounded Whelchel was on duty in “about forty days.” See John Whelchel, pension, 9 Oct. 1823, M804, Roll 2547, supplementary statement, 29 Aug. 1833.
20. Joseph Croes, pension, 14 Mar. 1832, M804, Roll 694; A. Smith, supporting statement, 2 June 1835, in James Busby, pension, 2 Mar. 1835, M804, Roll 431; Benjamin Trusloe, pension, 11 Oct. 1841, M804, Roll 2417.
21. William Bivins, pension, 22 September 1834, M804, Roll 249; John Brownlee, pension, 29 May 1818, M804, Roll 383; Henry Hayman, pension, 6 July 1835, M804, Roll 1234.
22. Nathaniel Dickison, pension, 23 June 1835, M804, Roll 814; William McCoy, pension, 7 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1672; William Isaac Simmons, pension, 12 Jan. 1846, M804, Roll 2187; Jacob Taylor, pension, 18 May 1849, supplementary statement, 21 May 1833, M804, Roll 2347.
23. Duffy, Military Experience, 247; John Gunnell, pension, 3 Aug. 1818, M804, Roll 1146.
24. Andre Corvisier, cited in Duffy, Military Experience, 245–47. These observations might shift dramatically if British wounds were documented.
25. Donald Henderson, “Smallpox,” in Wyngaardem and Smith, Textbook of Medicine, 1791.
26. Robert Long, pension, 7 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1581; James Neill, pension, 17 Dec. 1832, M804, Roll 1805; John Verner, pension, 11 Mar. 1853, M804, Roll 2457.
27. Joseph Brown, pension, 16 June 1834, M804, Roll 372; Donald Henderson, “Smallpox,” in Wyngaardem and Smith, Textbook of Medicine, 1791–92.
28. James Dawson, pension, 28 Apr. 1818, M804, Roll 771; Henderson, “Smallpox,” 1791; Robert Long, pension, 7 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1581; Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens, 594; James Neill, pension, 17 Dec. 1832, M804, Roll 1805; John Verner, pension, 11 Mar. 1853, M804, Roll 2457; Save, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 37.
29. Dawson, pension, 1818; Henderson, “Smallpox,” 1791.
30. Collins, Autobiography, 57–58; Dennis Tramell, pension, 10 Dec. 1833, M804, Roll 2408. The first quote is from Tramell, the second from Collins.
31. George Gresham, pension, 20 Oct. 1837, M804, Roll 1129; Aaron Guyton, pension, 1 Oct. 1833, M804, Roll 1149. The first quote is from Gresham, the second, Guyton.
32. Manuel McConnell, pension, 18 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1670; Adam Rainboult, pension, 3 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1994.
33. Phillip Evans, pension, 20 Mar. 1833, M804, Roll 941; Richard Swearingen, pension, 13 Nov. 1832, M804, Roll 2329.
34. Prisoner counts are found in the pension applications of Benjamin Arnold, pension, 31 Jan. 1833, M804, Roll 77; John Baldwin, pension, 28 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 123; Joseph Brown, pension, 16 June 1834, M804, Roll 372; Henry Connelly, pension, 1 Aug. 1833, M804, Roll 627; Benjamin Copeland, pension, 2 Sept. 1834, M804, Roll 650; Richard Jones, pension, 24 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1444; Christopher McVany, pension, 3 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 1701; Jeremiah Preston, pension, 20 Dec. 1843, M804, Roll 1972; and Henry Wells, pension, 29 Jan. 1834, M804, Roll 2529.
35. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:152–55; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 14. Edward Stevens, a Virginia general, reported totals similar to Seymour’s in Stevens to Thomas Jefferson, 24 Jan. 1781, Boyd, Jefferson Papers, 4:440–41.
36. Morgan to Greene, 19 Jan. 1781; Stevens to Jefferson, 24 Jan. 1781. Musket totals do not seem to include carbines captured from dragoons. Any carbines and swords were probably kept by mounted men who had an immediate need for them.
37. Morgan to Greene, 23 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:178.
38. John Pindell to Frisby Tilghman et al., 8 Dec. 1816, Pindell, “Militant Surgeon of the Revolution,” 317–18.
39. The POWs started north about noon. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 1:385.
40. O’Neall, “Revolutionary Incidents,” 39.
41. Adam J. Files, pension, 3 Feb. 1834, M804, Roll 973; Jeremiah Files, pension, 4 Feb. 1833, M804, Roll 973; George Hillen, pension, 15 Mar. 1834, M804, Roll 1280; William Neel, pension, 29 Oct. 1832, and 1836 supplementary statement, M804, Roll 1804. Adam Files stayed with his wounded brother and uncle at McDowell’s. The quote is by Jeremiah Files.
42. Josiah Martin, pension, 1 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1641.
43. James McCleskey, pension, 3 Sept. 1832 (see also 1833 supplementary statement), M804, Roll 1668; Reuben Nail, pension, 6 May 1834, M804, Roll 1800.
44. Virginia militia accounts detailing post-battle movement include John Gilmore, pension, 3 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1077; Abner Hamilton, pension, 21 Sept. 1832, M804, Roll 1170; John Thomas, pension, 9 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 2370; and James Wright, pension, 16 July 1834, M804, Roll 2649.
45. Typical accounts can be found in pension applications of Benjamin Arnold, pension, 31 Jan. 1833, M804, Roll 77; James Carlisle, pension, 28 Oct. 1835, M804, Roll 470; Joseph McPeters, pension, 15 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1699; and James Neill, pension, 17 Dec. 1832, M804, Roll 1805.
46. Thomas Jefferson to Nathanael Greene, 10 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:273–74.
47. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 3:254.
48. Simcoe, Military Journal, 127.
49. Nathanael Greene to William L. Davidson, 19 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:144; Daniel Morgan to Greene, 23 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:178.
50. Richard Crabtree, pension, 2 Aug. 1834, M804, Roll 674.
51. James Carlisle, pension, 28 Oct. 1835, M804, Roll 470.
52. William Neel, pension, 29 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1804; Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 15. The first quote is Neel’s; the second is Seymour’s.
53. Davidson, Piedmont Partisan, 118.
54. Nathanael Greene to Militia Officers, 31 Jan. 1781 and 1 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:227–28, 231.
55. John Gunby to Greene, 28 Jan. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:210–11; Lewis Morris to Gunby, 2 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:234.
56. John Moore, pension, 13 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 1756.
57. Nathanael Greene to John Lop, 3 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:240–41.
58. Greene to Daniel Morgan, 10 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:271.
59. Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 247.
60. Ibid.
61. Nathanael Greene to Daniel Morgan, 10 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:271.
62. Lord Cornwallis to Greene, 2 Feb. 1781, Showman, Greene Papers, 7:250–51.
63. Baker, Another Such Victory, 75–76.
64. Frederick J. Turner, “Western State-Making.”
65. Hartz, Liberal Tradition in America, 95.
66. Moss, Patriots at the Cowpens.
67. Ibid.
68. Catron, “Go West, Young Veteran,” 3, 12.
69. Ibid., 4, 8.
70. Ibid., 4, 5, 13.
71. Ibid., 6; Papenfuse and Stiverson, “General Smallwood’s Recruits,” 131.
72. Catron, “Go West, Young Veteran,” 10.
73. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 2:239; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 36.
74. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 2:239; Raddall, “
Tarleton’s Legion,” 36.
75. Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 37.
76. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign; Raddall, “Tarleton’s Legion,” 36–38.
77. Clark, Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, 3:242–44, 248; Samuel Moore, pension, 11 Oct. 1832, M804, Roll 1759.
EPILOGUE
1. Higginbotham, George Washington, 12, 14–15, 22, 32–33, 69–70, 104.
2. Seymour, Journal of the Southern Expedition, 14.
3. “Return of the Men Killed and Wounded in Capt. Kirkwood’s Company at the Cowpens, 17th Jan’ry 1781,” Delaware, Delaware Archives, 1:254, lists fourteen casualties but omits Ensign William Bivins and Private Henry Wells. Bivins was crippled for life, but Wells was not badly wounded. William Bivins, pension, 22 Sept. 1834, M804, Roll 24; Henry Wells, pension, 29 Jan. 1834, M804, Roll 2529. The omission of Bivins may be an oversight, but Wells was still with the company and thus not reported as wounded.
4. Jethro Sumner, “Americans Killed and Wounded at Cowpens,” in Walter Clark, State Records of North Carolina, 419–20.
5. See, for example, Henry Lee, Memoirs of the War, 254.
6. Samuel Hammond, “Notes,” in Joseph Johnson, Traditions and Reminiscences, 526–30; John Eager Howard to John Marshall, 1804, Bayard Papers.
7. Most British accounts reflect a traditional three-line formation by referring to militia and Continentals as two lines with American dragoons as reserve. While they recognized Morgan’s deployment, they did not recognize its subtleties. The error was fatal.
8. John Eager Howard, “Account of the Battle of Cowpens,” in Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 98; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214.
9. William Johnson, Sketches of Nathanael Greene, 1:376.
10. In the drum manual, “right wheel” is beaten as two rolls, a single stroke, and a flam. “Forward march” is the start of the drum beat following the command (“Forward” or “To the Front. March!”) and is beaten as a strong double flam. See Hauley, Bub, and Frueh, Standardized Fife Tunes and Drum Accompanyment; Riling, Regulations, 13, 91. These two drum commands cannot be mistaken.
11. Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 217, 221.
12. Ibid., 245.
13. In discussing these conditions, veterans of the 1st Battalion, 75th Infantry (Ranger), used the term “droning,” referring to “driving on” while semi-conscious due to sleep deprivation. I am indebted to Kevin Quarles, Michael Matt, and Frank Walker for their help. In a recent study, Richard A. Fox pointed out other impacts of fatigue. See Fox, Archaeology, History, and Caster’s Last Battle, 267–69.
14. Curtis, Organization of the British Army, 90.
15. Babits, “Military Documents and Archaeological Sites,” 59–62, applies to Americans. Similar behavior by the British during their maneuvering in the Carolinas seems almost universal in foot armies. See, for example, Engles, Alexander the Great, 14–22 (carriage of rations), 123–30 (rations), 153–56 (march rates).
16. Unlike the Cowpens advance, Tarleton plundered farms of cattle and provisions during the 1780 Blackstock’s campaign. See Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph McJunkin, 29, and Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 213–14.
17. S. L. A. Marshall, Soldier’s Load, 46. Something similar can be documented for American soldiers at Guilford Courthouse on 15 March 1781. See Babits, “ ‘Fifth’ Maryland at Guilford Courthouse,” 370–78.
18. Dinter, Hero or Coward, 13, 15.
19. Feaster, History of Union County, 79; Saye, Memoirs of Major Joseph Mcjunkin, 33.
20. Gordon, Independence of the United States of America, 4:34; Stewart, Highlanders of Scotland, 2:70–73; Richard Swearingen, pension, 13 Nov. 1832, M804, Roll 2329; John Thomas, pension, 9 Aug. 1832, M804, Roll 2370.
21. MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 99.
22. Ibid., 95; Stedman, American War, 320; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 214–15.
23. Gabriel, No More Heroes, 84.
24. Stedman, American War, 322; Tarleton, Campaigns of 1780–81, 217, 221. Tarleton used the word “terror” to describe his “most disciplined soldiers” and their rout.
25. John Eager Howard, “Account of the Battle of Cowpens,” in Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 98.
26. Du Picq, Battle Studies, 149; Fox, Custer, 46–49; S. L. A. Marshall, Men Against Fire, 144–45.
27. Vox, Archaeology, History, and Custer’s Last Battle, 49.
28. Dollard and Horton, Fear in Battle, 28; MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 99. The 71st light infantry companies apparently moved across the field and were with their regiment at the surrender. No militia reported encountering Highlanders on the American left, and the Pigree Map shows light infantry outside the 71st, so these Scots rejoined their comrades and may be those mentioned as being in compact order.
29. John Eager Howard, “Account of the Battle of Cowpens,” in Robert E. Lee, American Revolution in the South, 98.
30. Gabriel, No More Heroes, 52.
31. Stewart, Highlanders of Scotland, 2:72.
32. MacKenzie, Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s History, 99.
33. Gabriel, No More Heroes, 84.
34. Dinter, Hero or Coward, 30.
35. Ibid., 42–43; Dollard and Horton, Fear in Battle, 46.
Bibliography
A NOTE ON THE SOURCES
Documentary sources used in preparing this Cowpens study range from official reports composed within a day or two of the battle to recollections of elderly veterans applying for pensions fifty years later. The two extremes are not unbiased. Commanders had equally valid reasons for both providing what information they did and excluding other material. In a similar vein, veterans wanted a pension and used their best recollection to validate claims when written proof of their service was missing. As with all written material by and about Cowpens participants, there is truth and distortion in these extremes. Considering, in addition, other written materials produced while the veterans were alive, we can discover numerous alternative explanations for what happened.
A case in point is MacKenzie’s attack on Tarleton. After the war, Tarleton published his memoirs of the southern campaign. MacKenzie, who was wounded at Cowpens, then attacked Tarleton whom he, and other Scots, loathed. Hanger defended Tarleton and pointed out errors in MacKenzie’s attack. The bitter exchange contains much incidental information explaining many minor details of the Cowpens fighting. This information is useful and valid not because it was part of the postwar controversy, but because it presents more general knowledge or explanation of the Cowpens battle.
I evaluated authors for accuracy by cross-checking with all other sources and resolving apparent conflicts in the accounts. What eventually emerged was a clearer picture because the battle was based on a sequence of base-line episodes. Patterns that crosscut rank, position, and loyalty to a cause provided a framework and means of evaluating testimony about when and where something occurred.
Once episodes were identified spatially and chronologically, various document classes provided additional details. Pension documents were especially revealing. Battle information in a pension file was often minimal and disjointed, but when placed within the context of a specific episode, details recalled long after the event expand what little is known two hundred years later. These details are particularly important because they were never intended for explicating the Cowpens fighting.
As an example, understanding what North Carolina skirmishers did on the right flank came from pension records that mentioned saber wounds. In the absence of any known encounter between dragoons and North Carolina militia, a search was made for an event in which militiamen were assaulted by the dragoons. A Tory provided the key when he noted that provincials were broken by a charge of Ogilvie and the 71st. Once an encounter was confirmed, it was possible to attribute other accounts to the flank fighting based on recollections by men in the same units.
For a Cowpens campaign over
view, the best primary sources are Tarleton’s Campaigns, Stedman’s American War, and Williams’s “Narrative of the Campaign of 1780.” Secondary overviews are Ward’s Delaware Continentals, Dederer’s Making Bricks without Straw, Johnson’s Sketches of the Life and Correspondence of Nathanael Greene, Lambert’s South Carolina Loyalists, Myers’s Cowpens Papers, Pancake’s Destructive War, Schenk’s North Carolina, and Weigley’s Partisan War. Several dissertations were used, including Bartholomees’s analysis of militia combat, Conrad’s work on Nathanael Greene and the Southern Campaign, Ferguson’s dissertation on Andrew Pickens, Pugh’s study of the Cowpens Campaign, and Treacy’s published version of her dissertation, Prelude to Yorktown.
For the armies, an overview is available in Duffy’s Military Experience in the Age of Reason. The American military is outlined in Berg’s Encyclopedia of Continental Army Units, but more details are found in Peterson’s Book of the Continental Soldier. Detailed presentations on specific American units are in Diehl’s “Rockbridge Men at War,” Papenfuse and Stiverson’s “General Smallwood’s Recruits,” Sanchez-Saavedra’s Guide to Virginia Militia, Steuart’s Maryland Line, and Ward’s Delaware Continentals. Katcher’s Encyclopedia of British, Provincial and German Army Units and Kemp’s British Army were useful short overviews of the British army. Specific units were covered by Clark’s Loyalists in the Southern Campaign, Fortescue’s History of the 17th Lancers, Groves’s Historical Records of the 7th, Keltie’s History of the Scottish Highlands, Raddall’s “Tarleton’s Legion,” Stewart’s Sketches of. . . the Highlanders, and Wheater’s Historical Record of the Seventh or Royal Regiment.
Tactics and weaponry are discussed in a variety of sources. Minutiae are well covered, though scattered, in The Military Collector and Historian and Calver and Bolton’s History Written with Pick and Shovel. Artillery is presented in Caruana’s study of three-pounders and Gooding’s Introduction to British Artillery. Individual weapons are well covered by Darling’s Red Coat and Brown Bess, Neumann’s Swords and Blades and Weapons, and Peterson’s Arms and Armor and The Book of the Continental Soldier.
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