A Devil of a Whipping Read online

While serving as a wagoner during the French and Indian War, Morgan was punished, some say unjustly, for having struck a British officer. One account from a British officer entertained by Morgan after the American victory at Yorktown is typical.

  He told us that the British owed him a lash: that he drove one of the waggons which accompanied General Braddock’s army. . . . [H]e had, on a certain occasion, knocked down a sentinel; for that offence he had been condemned to receive four hundred lashes, of which only three hundred and ninety-nine were inflicted—”I counted them myself,” continued he, laughing, “and am sure that I am right; nay, I convinced the drum-major of his mistake . . . so I am still their creditor to the amount of one lash.”4

  Henry Lee, and other American writers, mention this incident and Morgan obviously relished the story; it is possible he used it to stir up his men before the battle of Cowpens.5

  When the Revolutionary War broke out, Morgan led riflemen from Frederick County, Virginia, to Boston. Morgan and his men went to Canada with Benedict Arnold in the winter of 1775. In the December assault on Quebec, Morgan took over one column when Arnold was wounded. Captured and then exchanged, Morgan commanded the nth Virginia Regiment until authorized to raise a rifle corps that played a distinguished role at Saratoga. In 1780 his health failed, and he took a leave of absence and returned to Virginia.6

  Following the 16 August 1780 Camden debacle, Morgan returned to the army. Congress finally promoted him, and, as a brigadier, he commanded the light troops under Gates, then the Flying Army under Greene. After Cowpens, “sciatica,” possibly a slipped disc, hemorrhoids, and rheumatism, left him unfit for service.7 After the war, Morgan participated in putting down the Whiskey Rebellion and served one term as representative in Congress but did not seek reelection. He retired to his home, Saratoga. The last year of his life he lived in Winchester, Virginia, where he died 6 July 1802.8

  The requirements of a general described in an eighteenth-century military dictionary show that, except for birth, Morgan was close to the ideal and he obviously impressed his men.9 “Geni Morgan’s personal appearance to be over Six feet high, his metle [sic] to be of much Bodily strength, with a large Scar on his Cheek[. He] wore no marks of distinction as an officer[,] his Sword excepted.” The lack of uniform embellishment may have been Morgan’s personal preference, or due to a poor supply system.10

  Morgan’s army “family” consisted of staff officers who served in his headquarters. They included a brigade major, a commissary, a quartermaster, a forage master, and various aides. These men were, respectively, responsible for obtaining food, acquiring and maintaining equipment and campsites, and feeding army livestock, especially dragoon and militia horses.11

  Aides carried orders and assisted in administration. They were more than simple message carriers; they spoke with the authority of Morgan himself. Two aides are known: Major Edward Giles of the Maryland Regiment Extraordinary and the Baron de Glaubec. During the battle, a Maryland surgeon attached to Morgan’s staff, Doctor Richard Pindell, helped rally the South Carolina militia before attending to the wounded.12

  A personal escort for Morgan has never been identified, but it is probable that he had one. Called a “Life Guard,” this detachment was typical of an eighteenth-century general’s entourage. George Washington had one, and other officers in the South, including militia leaders, did as well. South Carolina militia captain Dennis Tramell, a local resident, with “Geni. Morgan and his life-guard and Aide d camp went out and selected the ground” for the battle.13

  The core of the American force at Cowpens served under Morgan for more than three months before Cowpens. In addition to Continental light infantry, a Virginia militia battalion under Major Francis Triplett saw extensive service with the Flying Army. North Carolina militiamen under Colonel Joseph McDowell operated as a second militia battalion under Morgan. Finally, cavalry composed largely of the remnants of the Third Continental Dragoons under William Washington completed the components of the Flying Army. This force was first placed under the command of William Smallwood, then Daniel Morgan when he joined the southern army.14 Drafted militia from Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia also served with Morgan as the campaign progressed. In mid-January 1781, local militia from western South Carolina turned out in large numbers for service under Morgan.

  Morgan’s most reliable soldiers were Continental infantry—Americans with many similarities, especially long service and good discipline, to British regulars. By January 1781, Morgan’s Continentals had all served at least one year. Many enlisted men had four or five years’ service, and some would serve until 1783. Continental officers were much like their British counterparts and fully as professional. Members of a literate elite, the officers formed the social and economic leadership of their states in later years. Like their men, they had seen extensive service, some dating to 1775.

  The five Continental companies formed a battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard of Baltimore, a superb officer. In the northern campaigns, Howard established a solid reputation for leadership and fearlessness in battle. After Cowpens, Howard played a spectacular role at Guilford Courthouse when he led the First Maryland against the British Guards. Howard’s reputation for coolness and courage under fire was enhanced at Camden, Hobkirk’s Hill, Ninety Six, and Eutaw Springs, where he was wounded. Nathanael Greene would later write, “Howard, as good an officer as the world affords. He has great ability and the best disposition to promote the service He deserves a statue of gold.”15

  Daniel Morgan; oil painting by Charles Wilkon Peale (Independence National Historical Park Collection)

  Serving as Howard’s assistant, or brigade major, was Maryland captain Benjamin Brookes. Captain James Somerville served as Howard’s adjutant, or his aide. Howard’s immediate command consisted of five Continental companies, consolidated from remnants of the old Maryland-Delaware Division plus a Virginia company, “amounting to 300 regular troops.”16

  The Delaware Company commanded by Captain Robert Kirkwood had an incredible reputation by the end of the war. Kirkwood’s first biographer was his old comrade in arms, Henry Lee, whose evaluation was based on personal observation.

  That corps . . . was commanded by Captain Kirkwood, who passed through the war with high reputation. . . . Reduced to a captain’s command, Kirkwood never could be promoted. . . . Kirkwood retired, upon peace, a captain; and when the army under St. Clair was raised to defend the West from the Indian enemy, this veteran resumed his sword as the eldest captain of the oldest regiment. . . . The gallant Kirkwood fell. . . the thirty-third time he had risked his life for his country; and he died as he had lived, the brave, meritorious, unrewarded, Kirkwood.17

  Kirkwood was assisted by two other officers, Lieutenant Thomas Anderson and Ensign William Bivins. Kirkwood and Anderson were assigned to the light infantry on 25 September 1780. Bivins, a “nine months regular,” joined the army after Camden.18

  The Delaware Company was composed of about half the Delaware Regiment soldiers who survived the defeat at Camden. Kirkwood’s company was given responsibility for difficult tasks during the southern campaign and operated as a special, elite force, often in conjunction with William Washington’s dragoons. The unit also had a nickname, “the Delaware Blues.”19 Kirkwood’s company is the best-documented Continental unit at Cowpens. Ideally a Continental company numbered eighty men, but sixty was more common later in the war. Since all the men and much of their past service is known, it is possible to break them down into platoons, squads, and messes, on the basis of earlier membership in the old Delaware Regiment. Kirkwood’s company had a reported strength of fifty-one privates, three sergeants, three corporals, and an ensign, lieutenant, and captain.20

  The Delaware Company was not simply a gathering of survivors. A cadre of two sergeants and three corporals was assigned on 16 September 1780. On 20 September, privates were detailed with each company in the old regiment represented by several men and at least one leader. Noncommissioned of
ficers apparently decided with their officers who went to Kirkwood’s Company.21

  The three sixty-man Maryland companies were also created from earlier regiments. Captain Richard Anderson’s First Maryland Company was formed with one platoon each from the old 1st and 7th Maryland Regiments. Lieutenant William Adams and Ensign Walter Dyer were placed in this company by brigade orders of 16 December 1780.22 Captain Henry Dobson commanded the Second Maryland Company composed of veterans from the 2d, 4th, and 6th Maryland Regiments. He was assisted by Lieutenant James Ewing and Ensign Edward Miles Smith.23 The Third Maryland Company was made up from the 3rd and 5th Maryland Regiments under the command of Lieutenant Nicholas Mangers. Lieutenant Gassaway Watkins and Ensign Roger Nelson were placed in this company.24

  Virginia had a history of combining units together as needed. This was particularly true late in the war due to recruiting problems, under-strength units, and various crises in the South. Veterans already in North Carolina, including survivors of the infamous Waxhaws massacre, and new recruits were combined into a Virginia light infantry company and assigned to the Flying Army in October 1780. The commander was initially Captain Peter Bruin, but by January 1781 Bruin was in Virginia, recalled by Jefferson. At Cowpens, Andrew Wallace commanded the Virginia Company. His second-in-command was Captain Conway Oldham.25

  Intermediate between long-service Continentals and short-term militia were state troops. Men in these units enlisted for six to eighteen months. Pensioners usually mentioned service as state troops, state line, or state regulars rather than militia or Continentals.

  A detachment of Virginia State Troops at Portsmouth was commanded by Major Thomas Posey although he, personally, was not at Cowpens. At least one fifty-man company under Captain John Lawson participated in the battle.26 A very few North Carolina State Troops can be identified by a combination of long-term enlistments and by enlistment in eastern counties. Many seem to have been on duty as artisans at Salisbury when they were sent to join Morgan. At Cowpens, these men were apparently commanded by Captain Henry Connelly.27

  South Carolina State Troops serving as infantry were commanded by Major Samuel Hammond and Captain Joseph Pickens. These men were raised under Colonel Andrew Pickens and Major James McCall during late 1780, apparently with a core of officers and men from Pickens’s Long Cane Regiment. When they joined Morgan, “those who were not so equipped [as cavalry] were armed with Rifles & placed under” Samuel Hammond.28 Hammond took command of the left wing of skirmishers, so Joseph Pickens, younger brother of Andrew Pickens, took over command of the South Carolina state infantry.29

  In the absence of a standing, or regular, army, militia were the original colonial defense force. The militia existed from the beginning of colonial settlements and served as an internal peace-keeping force. By 1780, most Americans did not view militia duty as glamorous, rewarding, or desirable. Continentals openly made fun of the militia. South Carolina’s Colonel Francis Marion was “attended by a very few followers, . . . most of them miserably equipped; their appearance was in fact so burlesque, that it was with much difficulty the diversion of the regular soldiery was restrained by the officers; and the general himself was glad of an opportunity of detaching Colonel Marion, at his own instance, toward the interior of South Carolina.”30

  Precise distinctions between regular service and militia duty were made by veterans in their pension statements. They used terms such as Continental, State Line, and Regular to describe long-term service. Militia service was usually short term, and often resulted from an enforced draft, as recalled by Cowpens veteran Virginian Jacob Taylor: “the first time I was enlisted, I considered myself in the regular service. I was in the regular service three years and eight days. The second time I was draughted. The first time I enlisted.”31 Militia service was legally required duty. In an emergency, the age group could expand dramatically.32

  In the South, militia duty served to identify who supported the patriot or Loyalist sides by noting who reported for duty. Lukewarm British supporters called “pet Tories” turned out with patriot militia but seem to have taken little part. Tories who were more open or obnoxious were singled out for special treatment.33 Militia responsibilities included collecting supplies. This duty was not simply gathering food, clothing, and leather goods, but included retribution against Loyalists. Patriot militia frequently plundered those who supported the king rather than impress property from those supporting the patriot cause. Loyalist militia operated in the same fashion.34

  Like the army, the militia was organized into brigades of two or more regiments. A regiment was composed of several companies made up of smaller groups called a “lieutenant’s command,” a platoon, or a squad, depending on circumstances. Southern militia regiments were organized along county lines with companies drawn from neighborhoods. The county’s social and economic elite served as the regiment’s leadership while local leaders were company commanders. Musters were usually at the company level with the captain charged with training his men.

  Each battalion was commanded by a lieutenant colonel or colonel. It was the custom in South Carolina in 1780 to have two colonels.35 Pensioners indicated the South Carolina militia followed an alternating system in late 1780 and 1781. In this organizational scheme, some captains served under a certain major and lieutenant colonel to make up a regiment’s monthly quota. The next month, the colonel and another major commanded the remainder of the regiment.

  The January 1781 situation in backcountry South Carolina was so critical that Whig leaders called for a total manpower commitment regardless of rotation. Duplication of officer positions under the alternating system provided a large number of officers vis-à-vis the number of men. Officers therefore were placed throughout the chain of command where they were needed and often held leadership positions at the squad level where lieutenants commanded groups of four or five.

  In North Carolina, officers recruited in accordance with their rank. A captain was expected to raise twenty-five or thirty men, if not more. Ideally, soldiers came from among the neighbors within an officer’s home area. In Rowan County, “Lieutenant Elsbury beat up for Volunteers and this declarant with fourteen others joined and entered into the services of the United States.” In Lincoln County, a Captain Barber raised “a company of volunteers, about 15 or 20.”36

  In order to alleviate hardship, drafts were usually for a company-sized unit drawn from the entire county. The first call was for volunteers. If enough men were not raised, the county drafted more to fill out the unit. Drafted men were sometimes allowed to obtain substitutes. These replacements were often unmarried, unemployed kin of the drafted man. Other men hired replacements. In any case, volunteers, draftees, and hired replacements were usually men who were not family heads and were often without work. In some cases, those drafted were former Continental soldiers who had come home after a tour of duty and then found their names in the draft pool.37

  Such was the crisis during late December 1780 that special consideration was given to those who brought their own horses. Rowan County’s James Stewart “volunteered his service and furnished his horse and Served a Tour of Six weeks which Service of Self & horse was then considered and agreed to be equated to a Three month Tour on foot.” Similar encouragement was given to infantrymen in Surry County, where officers promised Jesse Morris “that if he would volunteer and serve 6 weeks he should receive pay and a discharge for 3 months. He accordingly received a discharge at Burk Courthouse from Captain Hampton for 3 months service but the time he was in actual service on this tour was 6 weeks.”38

  In South Carolina, the crisis was so acute that all available men were called out, and virtually the entire Spartanburg County regiment saw service with Morgan. The battle was fought in Spartanburg District, which provided two battalions, but districts (counties) farther away provided fewer men.39

  An overview of the militia suggests that, while they may have been undisciplined in a formal military sense, they were not raw troops. Many had consider
able combat experience, and virtually all had “smelled powder” in backcountry ambushes or skirmishes. At Cowpens, perhaps one-fifth of the militia had prior Continental service.

  Militia strength varied from day to day, depending on the situation, time of service, weather, and a host of other factors, as explained by South Carolina’s Aaron Guyton, who later recollected:

  I was under Col Brandon who had a few Brave Men who stood true for the Cause of Liberty in the back part of the State. . . . Some times we had 75 Some Times 150 men, and some times we had 4 or 5 Cols with from 50 to 150 men. Each of them had Command of a Regt at home & some times not more than 5 of his men with him. The Cols were Brandon, Hayes, Robuck, White,—In December 1780 . . . we had no Officer in our Company & only two or three or four men. And the morning before the Battle 17 Jany 1781 we joined Capt John Thompsons Compy.40

  When field-grade officers, major or above, were mentioned, they rarely led more than 200 men. A militia regiment was actually composed of 100-300 men, organized in companies ranging in size from twenty to forty soldiers. A regiment often companies would be a large unit with about 250 men. The term company, as defined by the Von Steuben manual, is misleading for militia. Company size is difficult to assess, since few figures exist, but militia captains rarely commanded more than forty men. The immediate impression is that a captain commanded about twenty to thirty men, or half the size of a Continental army company. This helps explain the plethora of captains at Cowpens. A captain’s group of twenty or thirty men would be consolidated with another similar “company” to achieve better command and control. In such situations, surplus officers took positions normally filled by sergeants and corporals.

  In discussing company size at Cowpens, it is important to realize that the smaller units, and their sizes, were generated from documents. Estimating the size of a company where it is not given is fraught with danger. Pension documents provide clues. Five sixty-man Continental companies, from three states, were examined to show the representativeness of pension data. Five militia companies representing three states provide specific information about unit size that can be compared with pension applications.