Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens was arguably the most tactically perfect battle of the Revolutionary War and one of the most brilliant uses of terrain and troop types in military history. Daniel Morgan, faced with Tarleton's aggressive pursuit and with his back against the Broad River, chose to make a stand at Cowpens — an open cattle pasture — and devised a plan that turned militia unreliability into a tactical weapon.

Morgan understood his militia: they would not stand for long against regular troops in the open, and expecting them to do so had lost previous battles. So he built their limitation into his plan. He placed his militia in front with specific orders to fire two aimed volleys and then fall back around the American left flank. Behind them were the Continentals who would do the heavy fighting. On the flanks, concealed from Tarleton's view, was William Washington's cavalry and Andrew Pickens's militia.

When Tarleton attacked at dawn on January 17, his 1,100-man force including the feared 71st Highland Regiment advanced confidently. The militia fired their two volleys — killing and wounding dozens of officers with aimed fire — then fell back as planned. Tarleton's men surged forward, believing the battle won. They ran directly into Morgan's Continentals, who held firm. Washington's cavalry swept around both flanks. Then a miscarried maneuver by the 71st appeared to be a retreat. The entire Continental line fired, then charged with the bayonet. The Highlanders were surrounded.

Tarleton's force was virtually annihilated: 110 killed, 229 wounded, 829 captured — over 86% of his force. Two British cannon and their battle standards were captured. Tarleton himself barely escaped with about 200 cavalry. American casualties were 25 killed and 124 wounded. The battle was Morgan's masterpiece and has been studied in military academies ever since. Cowpens, combined with Kings Mountain, set in motion the events that led directly to Yorktown.