Battle of Cowpens

Battle of Cowpens
Part of the American Revolutionary War
The Battle of Cowpens, an unnamed, uniformed, Patriot, black soldier, possibly a slave, on (left), firing his pistol and saving the life of Colonel William Washington, (on white horse in center), by William Ranney
Date January 17, 1781 Location Cherokee County, near Chesnee, South Carolina Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain Loyalists
Commanders and leaders
Daniel Morgan	Banastre Tarleton
Strength
1,887–1,912	1,150 2 guns
Casualties and losses
25 killed 124 wounded	110 killed 229 wounded 829 captured or missing 2 guns lost

 Great Britain

The Battle of Cowpens was a engagement between Patriot forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan and British forces under Sir Banastre Tarleton fought on January 17, 1781. As part of the campaign in the Carolinas, a force of 1,100 British under Tarleton were sent against 2000 men under Morgan. The Patriot forces were able to perform a double envelopment of Tarleton's force, at the cost of only 12 killed and 61 wounded. Tarleton was one of around 160 British troops to escape.

A small force of the Continental Army under the command of Brigadier General Daniel Morgan had marched to the west of the Catawba River, in order to forage for supplies and raise the morale of local Patriot sympathisers. The British had received incorrect reports that Morgan's army was planning to attack the important strategic fort of Ninety Six, to the west of the Carolinas. Morgan's army was therefore deemed to represent a threat to the British left flank. Cornwallis dispatched Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to defeat Morgan's command. Upon learning Morgan's army was not at Ninety Six, Tarleton, bolstered by British reinforcements, set off in hot pursuit of the American detachment.

Morgan resolved to make a stand near the Broad River. He selected a position on two low hills in open woodland, with the expectation that the aggressive Tarleton would make a headlong assault without pausing to devise a more intricate plan. He deployed his army in three main lines. Tarleton's army, after exhaustive marching, reached the field malnourished and heavily fatigued. Tarleton attacked immediately, however the American defence-in-depth absorbed the impact of the British attack. The British lines lost their cohesion as they hurried after the retreating Americans. Morgan's army went on the offensive, and wholly overwhelmed Tarleton's force.

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