Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens was fought on January 17, 1781.  It began shortly after dawn on a bitterly cold morning near Chesnee, South Carolina. After almost an hour of fighting, American forces led by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, Colonel Andrew Pickens, Lieutenant Colonel William Washington, and other militia leaders defeated British forces under the command of General Banastre Tarleton. The strategic and tactical victory displayed effective cooperation between leaders of the Continental Army and various state militias in ending the violent conflict that raged in the interior of South Carolina. A turning point in the war’s southern campaign, victory at Cowpens produced a massive boost of morale among American forces and was a crucial step in securing the south for the American patriots.

British Southern Strategy

By 1779, with little strategic progress in the north, the British strategy shifted to focus on the south, believing they would have more support from loyalists in the region. Britain hoped to destabilize the rebellion and create political divisions in the southern colonies. Sir Henry Clinton, commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, believed that the resources of the Continental Army would be spread too thin, and George Washington would be unable to coordinate a victory against the crown on a northern and southern front.

After failure in the 1776 Siege of Charleston, Britain had had little success fighting against Continental Army regiments and militias in the south, rendering them unable to gain a foothold in the profitable colonies of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Momentum began to shift as the British successfully captured Savannah on December 29, 1778. Given its strategic position at the mouth of the Savannah River, which bisected through the interior of the Georgia and South Carolina, the British began efforts to control the coastline into the interior. A few months later, the British successfully captured Charleston in May of 1780. Under the new leadership of General Charles Cornwallis, the British continued to have strategic victories in the interior. These included the Battle of Camden in August 1780.

A Shift in American Strategy

After the failures of Major General Horatio Gates at Camden and the loss of two major ports, on December 3, 1780 George Washington appointed Major General Nathanael Greene as the new commander of the Southern Army in hopes of regaining momentum. 38-year-old Greene’s southern fighting force consisted of a mere 949 Continental Army soldiers and 533 militiamen when he took command. Although Greene knew that convention dictated a small army would be unsuccessful in any direct confrontation, he opted to split his forces in the region. In doing so, he relied on the cooperation of officers in the Continental Army and local militias to mount a hard campaign against the British. Fighting in the Carolinas had been destructive, with civilians bearing the brunt of British plundering and the wreckage of the war. In response, Greene empowered local efforts for independence, and often opted for strategic retreats to mitigate the loss of life and resources. 

Staging the Battle of Cowpens

On December 21, 1780, 600 men under the command of Continental Brigadier General Daniel Morgan were dispatched to take position between the Pacolet and Broad Rivers at Grindal Shoals about thirty miles from the North Carolina border. Greene hoped they would find desperately needed supplies and garner renewed civilian support in their efforts.¹ In doing so, he hoped to avoid an engagement with the British and potentially maneuver forces towards the lowcountry. South Carolina militia leader Colonel Andrew Pickens arrived a few days later with an additional sixty men. Over the next few days, Morgan placed all militia units from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia under Pickens’ command.

Although American troops were reorganizing and planning future movements, Charles Cornwallis intercepted incorrect intelligence that Morgan’s troops intended to move west and attack a British fort in Ninety Six, South Carolina. Initially planning to invade North Carolina, Cornwallis ordered 26-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, infamous for his victory at the Battle of Waxhaws, to lead a legion (roughly 600 army regulars) to confront Morgan and defend the fort. After arriving at Ninety Six, Tarleton realized troops organized under Morgan were not advancing towards the fort. Tartleton requested additional forces to pursue Morgan’s army to what he correctly surmised was their true destination: the Broad River.

On January 16, 1781, Morgan decided to make a final stand at Cowpens, near Chesnee, at a bend in the Broad River nearby. By afternoon, Morgan rendezvoused with several hundred additional soldiers, including Andrew Pickens’ militia, and determined that his force of roughly 1,000 men (which he officially reported as 800 to General Greene) were capable of fending off Tarleton’s attack. ² Morgan spent the night before the battle talking to as many continentals and militiamen as he could, delivering powerful speeches and rallying his men for the battle to come. Yet privately Morgan remained pessimistic, reporting to General Greene that his, “force is inadequate to the attempt you have hinted at.”³

Meanwhile, Tarleton marched his exhausted and hungry soldiers through the day and night in hopes of catching the already entrenched patriot force. When they finally made camp near Cowpens, the British were physically and mentally drained, having slept only a few hours each night for the past week in order to reach the Americans. Regulars and many officers were dangerously malnourished, yet Tarleton roused his forces at 2:00 am on January 17, 1781, and ordered them to continue in pursuit of Morgan in hopes victory would secure control of South Carolina for good.

Morgan’s fighting force consisted mainly of members of the militia, most of whom were poorly trained and, in some cases, recently recruited. Given instances of militia running from battle, Morgan worried that he would not “have more than two-thirds of these to assist me, should I be attacked for it is impossible to keep them collected.”⁴ To ensure all of his soldiers remained engaged, he positioned his men between the Pacolet and Broad rivers to make an escape from the battle nearly impossible. His soldiers were arranged in three lines: the frontline consisted of 150 sharpshooters under the command of Majors Charles McDowell and John Cunningham; the second of 300 militiamen led by Pickens; and the final line of about 550 Continental regulars directed by Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard. Morgan left his force open to flanking from several sides, confident that Tarleton would order a frontal assault.

The Battle of Cowpens

Just after dawn on January 17, Tarleton took the bait and attacked American forces head on at the Battle of Cowpens. He ordered 100 dragoons and his artillery to engage American forces waiting for their charge on a 500 square yard grazing pasture. The militia sharpshooters decimated the British dragoons, taking particular aim at officers and killing fifteen men within minutes. The dragoons retreated and Tarleton then ordered his full infantry force to charge the patriot frontlines. At that time, Morgan’s sharpshooters also retreated and rejoined the second continental line as the redcoats refocused their attack on the flank of the American force. The British inflicted several casualties, especially on men under Howard, who had confused his order as a call to retreat.

As American retreated, Tarleton sensed victory. Morgan ordered Howard’s men, retreating but still in rank, to turn and fire a volley in unison. As the British began a disorganized charge having broken their rank, the American volley halted their advance. Morgan then ordered a bayonet charge by Howard’s men just as patriot cavalry, led by Lieutenant Colonel William Washington, flanked Tarleton’s force from one side and Pickens’ reorganized militia attacked from the opposite flank. This “double envelope,” orchestrated masterfully by Morgan led nearly half the redcoats to lay down arms and cease fighting.

Tarleton tried desperately to rally his soldiers. In a final attempt to salvage the battle, he charged Washington’s cavalry with his mounted British legion. During the ensuing skirmish, Washington attacked Tarleton and the two exchanged blows for a brief time. His men now greatly outnumbered and quickly losing morale, Tarleton finally ordered a retreat after several minutes of engagement but managed to shoot William Washington’s horse out from under him before leaving the battlefield.

Aftermath of the Battle of Cowpens

The battle had lasted under an hour and was a total victory for the Americans. 110 British soldiers, over 40 of whom were officers, had been killed, another 200 were wounded, and 500 taken prisoner—nearly eighty percent of his force. In sharp contrast, only 12 of Morgan’s men were killed and just 60 had been injured. Nine days after the battle, Morgan reported to his friend William Snickers: “I have given [Tarleton] a devil of a whipping.”⁵ Greene and Morgan’s effectiveness was rooted in their ability to identify and empower militia leaders such as Pickens who had demonstrated skillfulness working with militiamen who possessed varied levels of experience on the battlefield. A practical tactician, Morgan ensured that American forces took a field position at Cowpens that played to the strengths of the Continental Army and various state militia groups.

After the battle, Morgan's soldiers gave a proper burial to all 122 fallen men before proceeding to Winchester, Virginia, where he delivered his prisoners and reunited with Nathanael Greene. Greene ordered his army north to search for supplies and prepare for the inevitable engagements to follow with British armed forces.⁶  Tarleton delivered news of his loss to Cornwallis, who was shocked to discover the scale of British defeat. Without the manpower of Tarleton’s forces in the interior of South Carolina there was no clear path to control the backcountry. Cornwallis redirected his focus in the South, fearing British victory in the backcountry was not tangible. He decided that the British would reposition themselves to capture Virginia. He ordered maneuvers for British forces exit the interior of the state in hopes to cut off the south from the support of the Continental Army through victory in Virginia. 

Roger Adams George Washington University, revised by Zoie Horecny, PhD., 16 December 2025 

Notes:

1. Nathanael Greene to Daniel Morgan, South Carolina, January 13, 1781, in Cowpens Papers, Being Correspondence of General Morgan and the Prominent Actors (Charleston, South Carolina: The News and Courier Book Presses, 1881), 19.

2. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, January 19 1781, in Cowpens Papers, Being Correspondence of General Morgan and the Prominent Actors (Charleston, South Carolina: The News and Courier Book Presses, 1881), 21.

3. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, South Carolina, January 15, 1781, The Battle of Cowpens, http://www.battleofcowpens.com/battle-of-cowpens-letters/daniel-morgan-… (accessed October 7, 2016).

4. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, South Carolina, January 15, 1781, The Battle of Cowpens, http://www.battleofcowpens.com/battle-of-cowpens-letters/daniel-morgan-… (accessed October 7, 2016).

5. Daniel Morgan to William Snickers, January 26 1781 quoted in Lawrence E. Babits, A Devil of a Whipping (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 1.  

6. Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, January 19 1781, in Cowpens Papers, Being Correspondence of General Morgan and the Prominent Actors (Charleston, South Carolina: The News and Courier Book Presses, 1881), 21.

Bibliography:

Andrew, Rod. Jr. The Life and Times of General Andrew Pickens: Revolutionary War Hero, American Founder. University of North Carolina Press, 2017.

Burke, Davis. The Cowpens-Guilford Courthouse Campaign. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003.

Babits, Lawrence. A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

Roberts, Kenneth. The Battle of Cowpens: The Great Morale-Builder. Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, INC. 1958.

Stempel, Jim. American Hannibal. The Extraordinary Account of Revolutionary War Hero Daniel Morgan at the Battle of Cowpens. Penmore Press, 2017.