Page 71 - ASM Book 9/2020

Battle of Cowpens
Morgan’s Troop Deployment Won Decisive Victory
The Americans won a decisive victory with a new and unique deployment of troops. Morgan devised an effective way to use militia along with regular troops that maximized their combined strengths.
The British had 100 killed, 229 wounded and 829 captured. American casualties were light: 12 killed, 60 wounded and no captives.
The victories at Kings Mountain and Cowpens increased American morale and confidence and weakened the British. British defeats also convinced General Charles Cornwallis to pull his troops out of South Carolina and move to Virginia.
British Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton became known
in America as “the butcher” because of his brutal tactics and actions at the Battle of Waxhaws.
M Details of Morgan’s Bold Plan
organ’s plan was to use the militia to make the Redcoats think the battle would be easy to win, then surprise them with a strong force that would lead to an American victory.
The night before Morgan instructed his 1,000 soldiers to fire two rounds, two well-placed shots, and then to orderly withdraw to the rear.
On the front line he stationed 150 mountaineer sharpshooters. The second and third lines were militia that were known to retreat soon after the Redcoats started firing. Morgan placed his main line on a hill. The rest were concealed on the back side of the hill.
After the first three lines fired their weapons two times and retreated, the Redcoats expected the final line to retreat, but they held fast. The Redcoats faced veteran Continental soldiers, 200 riflemen, 100 Continental dragoons, and hundreds of militia.
O
n January 17, American General Daniel Morgan defeated British Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s loyalist forces in a South Carolina pasture known as Hannah’s Cowpens.
Morgan’s plan was so successful that it became a pattern for other American officers.
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