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Posted on 05/13/2003 5:33:14 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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The Battle of Cowpens, January 17, 1781, took place in the latter part of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution and of the Revolution itself. It became known as the turning point of the war in the South, part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown. The Cowpens victory was one over a crack British regular army and brought together strong armies and leaders who made their mark on history.  From the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge on, the British had made early and mostly futile efforts in the South, including a failed naval expedition to take Charleston in 1776. Such victories boosted Patriot morale and blunted British efforts, but, by 1779-80, with stalemate in the North, British strategists again looked south. They came south for a number of reasons, primarily to assist Southern Loyalists and help them regain control of colonial governments, and then push north, to crush the rebellion. They estimated that many of the population would rally to the Crown. In 1779-80, British redcoats indeed came South en masse, capturing first, Savannah and then Charleston and Camden in South Carolina, in the process, defeating and capturing much of the Southern Continental Army. Such victories gave the British confidence they would soon control the entire South, that Loyalists would flock to their cause. Conquering these population centers, however, gave the British a false sense of victory they didn’t count on so much opposition in the backcountry. Conflict in the backcountry, to their rear, turned out to be their Achilles’ heel. The Southern Campaign, especially in the backcountry, was essentially a civil war as the colonial population split between Patriot and Loyalist. Conflict came, often pitting neighbor against neighbor and re-igniting old feuds and animosities. Those of both sides organized militia, often engaging each other. The countryside was devastated, and raids and reprisals were the order of the day.  General Nathaniel Greene Into this conflict, General George Washington sent the very capable Nathanael Greene to take command of the Southern army. Against military custom, Greene, just two weeks into his command, split his army, sending General Daniel Morgan southwest of the Catawba River to cut supply lines and hamper British operations in the backcountry, and, in doing so "spirit up the people". General Cornwallis, British commander in the South, countered Greene’s move by sending Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to block Morgan’s actions. Tarleton was only twenty-six, but he was an able commander, both feared and hated – hated especially for his victory at the Waxhaws. There, Tarleton was said to have continued the fight against remnants of the Continental Army trying to surrender. His refusal, tradition says, of offering no quarter, led to the derisive term "Tarleton’s Quarter". These events set the stage for the Battle of Cowpens. On January 12, 1781, Tarleton's scouts located Morgan’s army at Grindal’s Shoals on the Pacolet River in South Carolina’s backcountry and thus began an aggressive pursuit. Tarleton, fretting about heavy rains and flooded rivers, gained ground as his army proceeded toward the flood-swollen Pacolet. As Tarleton grew closer, Morgan retreated north to Burr’s Mill on Thicketty Creek. On January 16, with Tarleton reported to have crossed the Pacolet and much closer than expected, Morgan and his army made a hasty retreat, so quickly as to leave their breakfast behind. Soon, he intersected with and traveled west on the Green River Road. Here, with the flood-swollen Broad River six miles to his back, Morgan decided to make a stand at the Cowpens, a well-known crossroads and frontier pasturing ground. The term "cowpens", endemic to such South Carolina pastureland and associated early cattle industry, would be etched in history. The field itself was some 500 yards long and just as wide, a park-like setting dotted with trees, but devoid of undergrowth, having been kept clear by cattle grazing in the spring on native grasses and peavine.  There was forage at the Cowpens for horses, and evidence of free-ranging cattle for food. Morgan, too, since he had learned of Tarleton’s pursuit, had spread the word for militia units to rendezvous at the Cowpens. Many knew the geography some were Overmountain men who had camped at the Cowpens on their journey to the Battle of Kings Mountain. Camp was made in a swale between two small hills, and through the night Andrew Pickens’ militia drifted into camp. Morgan moved among the campfires and offered encouragement; his speeches to militia and Continentals alike were command performances. He spoke emotionally of past battles, talked of the battle plan, and lashed out against the British. His words were especially effective with the militia the "Old Waggoner" of French and Indian War days and the hero of Saratoga, spoke their language. He knew how to motivate them even proposing a competition of bravery between Georgia and Carolina units. By the time he was through, one soldier observed that the army was "in good spirits and very willing to fight". But, as one observed, Morgan hardly slept a wink that night. Dawn at the Cowpens on January 17, 1781, was clear and bitterly cold. Morgan, his scouts bearing news of Tarleton’s approach, moved among his men, shouting, "Boys, get up! Benny’s coming! Tarleton, playing catch up, and having marched his army since two in the morning, ordered formation on the Green River Road for the attack. His aggressive style was made even now more urgent, since there were rumors of Overmountain men on the way, reminiscent of events at Kings Mountain. Yet he was confident of victory: he reasoned he had Morgan hemmed in by the Broad, and the undulating park-like terrain was ideal for his dragoons. He thought Morgan must be desperate, indeed, to have stopped at such a place. Perhaps Morgan saw it differently: in some past battles, Patriot militia had fled in face of fearsome bayonet charges – but now the Broad at Morgan’s back could prevent such a retreat. In reality, though, Morgan had no choice – to cross the flood-swollen Broad risked having his army cut down by the feared and fast-traveling Tarleton.  Tarleton pressed the attack head on, his line extending across the meadow, his artillery in the middle, and fifty Dragoons on each side. It was as if Morgan knew he would make a frontal assault – it was his style of fighting. To face Tarleton, he organized his troops into three lines. First, out front and hiding behind trees were selected sharpshooters. At the onset of battle they picked off numbers of Tarleton’s Dragoons, traditionally listed as fifteen, shooting especially at officers, and warding off an attempt to gain initial supremacy. With the Dragoons in retreat, and their initial part completed, the sharpshooters retreated 150 yards or more back to join the second line, the militia commanded by Andrew Pickens. Morgan used the militia well, asking them to get off two volleys and promised their retreat to the third line made up of John Eager Howard's Continentals, again close to 150 yards back. Some of the militia indeed got off two volleys as the British neared, but, as they retreated and reached supposed safety behind the Continental line, Tarleton sent his feared Dragoons after them. As the militia dodged behind trees and parried saber slashes with their rifles, William Washington’s Patriot cavalry thundered onto the field of battle, seemingly, out of nowhere. The surprised British Dragoons, already scattered and sensing a rout, were overwhelmed, and according to historian Babits, lost eighteen men in the clash. As they fled the field, infantry on both sides fired volley after volley. The British advanced in a trot, with beating drums, the shrill sounds of fifes, and shouts of halloo. Morgan, in response, cheering his men on, said to give them the Indian halloo back. Riding to the front, he rallied the militia, crying out, "form, form, my brave fellows! Old Morgan was never beaten!" Now Tarleton’s 71st Highlanders, held in reserve, entered the charge toward the Continental line, the wild wail of bagpipes adding to the noise and confusion. A John Eager Howard order for the right flank to face slightly right to counter a charge from that direction, was, in the noise of battle, misunderstood as a call to retreat. As other companies along the line followed suite, Morgan rode up to ask Howard if he were beaten. As Howard pointed to the unbroken ranks and the orderly retreat and assured him they were not, Morgan spurred his horse on and ordered the retreating units to face about, and then, on order, fire in unison. The firing took a heavy toll on the British, who, by that time had sensed victory and had broken ranks in a wild charge. This event and a fierce Patriot bayonet charge in return broke the British charge and turned the tide of battle. The re-formed militia and cavalry re-entered the battle, leading to double envelopment of the British, perfectly timed. British infantry began surrendering en masse.  Tarleton and some of his army fought valiantly on; others refused his orders and fled the field. Finally, Tarleton, himself, saw the futility of continued battle, and with a handful of his men, fled from whence he came, down the Green River Road. In one of the most dramatic moments of the battle, William Washington, racing ahead of his cavalry, dueled hand-to-hand with Tarleton and two of his officers. Washington’s life was saved only when his young bugler fired his pistol at an Englishman with raised saber. Tarleton and his remaining forces galloped away to Cornwallis’ camp. Stragglers from the battle were overtaken, but Tarleton escaped to tell the awful news to Cornwallis. The battle was over in an hour. It was a complete victory for the Patriot force. British losses were staggering: 110 dead, over 200 wounded and 500 captured. Morgan lost only 12 killed and 60 wounded, a count he received from those reporting directly to him. Knowing Cornwallis would come after him, Morgan saw to it that the dead were buried – the legend says in wolf pits -- and headed north with his army. Crossing the Broad at Island Ford, he proceeded to Gilbert Town, and, yet burdened as he was by the prisoners, pressed swiftly northeastward toward the Catawba River, and some amount of safety. The prisoners were taken via Salisbury on to Winchester, Virginia. Soon Morgan and Greene reunited and conferred, Morgan wanting to seek protection in the mountains and Greene wanting to march north to Virginia for supplies. Greene won the point, gently reminding Morgan that he was in command. Soon after Morgan retired from his duty because of ill health— rheumatism, and recurring bouts of malarial fever.  The Cowpens Flag was named due to its presence at the Battle of the Cowpens in South Carolina, January 17, 1781. This was during the last months of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, where the Continental Army under General Daniel Morgan defeated the British soundly. The flag above was first carried by the Third Maryland Regiment which was part of the Continental Line of Maryland, Virginia and Georgia Regiments. The original flag is now at Annapolis, Maryland. Now it was Greene and his army on the move north. Cornwallis, distressed by the news from Cowpens, and wondering aloud how such an interior force could defeat Tarleton's crack troops, indeed came after him. Now it was a race for the Dan River on the Virginia line, Cornwallis having burned his baggage and swiftly pursuing Greene. Cornwallis was subsequently delayed by Patriot units stationed at Catawba River crossings. Greene won the race, and, in doing so, believed he had Cornwallis where he wanted -- far from urban supply centers and short of food. Returning to Guilford Courthouse, he fought Cornwallis' army employing with some success, Morgan's tactics at Cowpens. At battle's end, the British were technically the winners as Greene's forces retreated. If it could be called a victory, it was a costly one: Five hundred British lay dead or wounded. When the news of the battle reached London, a member of the House of Commons said, "Another such victory would ruin the British army". Perhaps the army was already ruined, and Greene's strategy of attrition was working. Soon, Greene's strategy was evident: Cornwallis and his weary army gave up on the Carolinas and moved on to Virginia. On October 18, 1781, the British army surrendered at Yorktown. Cowpens, in its part in the Revolution, was a surprising victory and a turning point that changed the psychology of the entire war. Now, there was revenge – the Patriot rallying cry Tarleton’s Quarter. Morgan's unorthodox but tactical masterpiece had indeed "spirited up the people", not just those of the backcountry Carolinas, but those in all the colonies. In the process, he gave Tarleton and the British a "devil of a whipping".
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The 25th time I watched it I had a copy of Dr Walter Edgar's splendid "South Carolina, A History" open in my lap and read along. The history and movie are very close.
If you have to be one, be a Big Red One!
Loved The Patriot, but it took some liberties with history. In the movie, Colonel Tavington burned people in a church. The real life Colonel Tarleton didn't burn people, as far as I know. Tarleton did order cattle, hogs, and fowl driven into a barn where corn was stored, had the doors closed, and the barn put to the torch. [see the book, "The Road to Guilford Courthouse", by John Buchanan].
Where was PETA when we needed them?
IIRC, some British troops and their Indian allies burned people alive in cabins up in Pennsylvania during the war. So, in that sense, The Patriot did capture some of what happened, though they incorrectly attributed burning people to Tarleton.
Tarleton's troops apparently did kill surrendering American troops, which gave rise to the cry of "Tarleton's quarter" among the Americans. Tarleton was also pretty ruthless against civilians.
So, who was the model for the Mel Gibson character in the Patriot?
He was actually three rolled into one: Thomas Sumter (The Gamecock) Francis Marion (The Swampfox) and the Pickens character mentioned above.
Tarleton in the movie was renamed Tavington, while Cornwallis remained the same.
BTW, remember the old Disney TV series about Francis Marion? I used to love that show, but since Leslie Nielson did all those comedies I can't watch swamp fox without cracking up!
Today's classic warship, USS Cowpens (CVL-25)
Independence class light aircraft carrier
Displacement: 11,000 t.>br> Length: 622'6"
Beam: 71'6"
Extreme Width: 109'2"
Draft: 26'
Speed: 32 k.
Complement: 1,569
Armament: 26 40mm, 16 20mm, 30 aircraft
Nickname: The Mighty Moo
USS Cowpens (CV-25) was launched 17 January 1943 by New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N.J., sponsored by Mrs. M. H. Spruance; daughter of Vice Admiral W. F. Halsey; and commissioned 28 May 1943, Captain R. P. McConnell in command. She was reclassified CVL-25 on 15 July 1943.
Departing Philadelphia 29 August 1943, Cowpens arrived at Pearl Harbor 19 September to begin the active and distinguished war career in which she was to earn a Navy Unit Commendation. She sailed with TF 14 for the strike on Wake Island on 5 and 6 October, then returned to Pearl Harbor to prepare for strikes on the Marshall Islands preliminary to invasion. She sortied from Pearl Harbor 10 November to launch air strikes on Mille and Makin atolls between 19 and 24 November, and Kwajalein and Wotje on 4 December, returning to her base 9 December.
Joining the vast carrier TF 58, Cowpens sailed from Pearl Harbor 16 January 1944 for the invasion of the Marshalls. Her planes pounded Kwajalein and Eniwetok the last 3 days of the month to prepare for the assault landing on the 31st. Using Majuro as a base, the force struck at Truk on 16 and 17 February and the Marianas on 21 and 22 February before putting in to Pearl Harbor 4 March. Returning to Majuro, TF 58 based here for attacks on the western Carolines; Cowpens supplied air and antisubmarine patrols during the raids on Palau, Yap, Ulithi and Woleai from 30 March to 1 April. After operating off New Guinea during the invasion of Hollandia from 21 to 28 April, Cowpens took part in the strikes on Truk, Satawan and Ponape between 29 April and 1 May, returning to Majuro 14 May for training.
From 6 June to 10 July 1944, Cowpens operated in the Marianas operation. Her planes struck the island of Saipan to aid the assault troops, and made supporting raids on Iwo Jima, Pagan, Rota, and Guam. They also took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea on 19 and 20 June, accounting for a number of the huge tally of enemy planes downed. After a brief overhaul at Pearl Harbor, Cowpens rejoined the fast carrier task force at Eniwetok on 17 August. On the 29th, she sailed for the preinvasion strikes on the Palaus, whose assault was an essential preliminary to the return to the Philippines. From 13 to 17 September, she was detached from the force to cover the landings on Morotai, then rejoined it for sweep, patrol, and attack missions a gainst Luzon from 21 to 24 September. Cowpens, with her task group, flew strikes to neutralize Japanese bases on Okinawa and Formosa from 10 to 14 October, and when CANBERRA (CA-70) and HOUSTON (CL-81) were hit by torpedoes, Cowpens provided air cover for their safe withdrawal, rejoining her task group 20 October. En route to Ulithi, she was recalled when the Japanese Fleet threatened the Leyte invasion, and during the Battle of Surigao Strait phase of the decisive Battle for Leyte Gulf on 25 and 26 October, provided combat air patrol for the ships pursuing the fleeing remnant of the Japanese fleet. Continuing her support of the Philippines advance, Cowpens' planes struck Luzon repeatedly during December. During the disastrous typhoon of 18 December, Cowpens lost one man, planes and equipment but skillful work by her crew prevented major damage, and she reached Ulithi safely 21 December to repair her storm damage.
Between 30 December 1944 and 26 January 1945, Cowpens was at sea for the Lingayen Gulf landings. Her planes struck targets on Formosa, Luzon, the Indo-Chinese coast and the Hong Kong-Canton area and Okinawa during January. On 10 February, Cowpens sortied from Ulithi for the Iwo Jima operation, striking the Tokyo area, supporting the initial landings from 19 to 22 February, and hitting Okinawa on 1 March.
After overhaul at San Francisco and training at Pearl Harbor, Cowpens sailed 13 June for San Pedro Bay, Leyte, on her way striking Wake Island on 20 June. Rejoining TF 58, Cowpens sailed from San Pedro Bay 1 July to join in the final raids on the Japanese mainland. Her planes pounded Tokyo, Kure, and other cities of Hokkaido and Honshu until 15 August. Remaining off Tokyo Bay until the occupation landings began 30 August, Cowpens launched photographic reconnaissance missions to patrol airfields and shipping movements, and to locate and supply prisoner-of-war camps. Men from Cowpens were largely responsible for the emergency activation of Yokosuka airfield for Allied use. Between 8 November 1945 and 28 January 1946 Cowpens made two voyages to Pearl Harbor, Guam, and Okinawa to return veterans. Placed in commission in reserve at Mare Island 3 December 1946, Cowpens was decommissioned 13 January 1947.
Reclassified as an "Aircraft Transport", with hull number AVT-1, on 15 May 1959, while in reserve. Stricken from the Navy List on 1 November 1959 and sold for scrap in 1960.
In addition to her Navy Unit Commendation, Cowpens received 12 battle stars for World War II service.
Hmmm, I don't seem to remember that.... When was it on?
USS Francis Marion
APA-LPA 249
Commissioned: July 6 1961
De-Commissioned: Sept 14 1979 ....Transferred to Spanish Navy (Argon 80)
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Francis Marion
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