A Devil of a Whipping Page 6

  The Rockbridge Rifles under Captain James Gilmore claimed 42 enlisted men when they left Lexington, Virginia. Allowing for attrition, they probably had about 38 enlisted men in the battle. Spartanburg captain John Collins raised 24 men the night before Cowpens. Captain Samuel Sexton of Hayes’s Battalion led a newly raised company of 25 men. Another Little River company under Captain John Irby had as many as 70 men.41

  TABLE 1.Ratio of Unit Size to Survivors Who Made Pension Application

  a Not all Virginia Continentals are included due to difficulty in identification.

  Continentals are easier to identify because better records were kept and they had longer service commitments than the short militia tours. In comparison with many militia companies, in which only two to six men can be identified, every Delaware soldier at Cowpens is known, and the entire second platoon of the 1st Maryland Company is known as well. While all of Gilmore’s Rockbridge County, Virginia, soldiers are known, complete rolls from other militia companies did not survive; their size is known only from pension statements.

  Based on an admittedly small sample, for every one person’s name in a document, there were about three men who actually were present and fought with the company at Cowpens. For militiamen, the range is much greater, and fewer men apparently survived to claim pensions or identified their company if they did. Militia companies range from a low of one name representing five men to a high of about fifteen. Sexton’s company seems aberrant in that no other veteran claimed service with him. A similar case occurred with Irby’s seventy-man refugee company in Hayes’s Battalion, where only two veterans filed pension applications claiming service under him. Continental numbers are probably more representative because they were easier to identify, not because they survived longer. It is probable that one pensioner represents about four soldiers who served during the Revolutionary War, at least for the limited sample represented by Cowpens pensioners.

  Morgan and his subordinates recognized the utility of smaller militia “companies” and shifted them as needed. One Burke County, North Carolina, company was put on the main line’s left flank because their captain opted to serve with mounted volunteers augmenting Washington’s dragoons.42 Unit consolidation began even before the men reached Morgan. Some Virginia companies merged in Virginia; North and South Carolina counties did likewise, just as they did before Kings Mountain.43

  The Virginia militia at Cowpens fit into two major groups. First, there are the four long-service companies from Augusta, Fauquier, and Rock-bridge Counties. The other Virginia units were a mix of militia and state troops nominally under the command of Major David Campbell. Major “Frank” Triplett was given command of the Flying Army’s Virginia militia at New Providence, North Carolina, in mid-October 1780.44 In service since October, their three-month enlistments had apparently been extended a month. This battalion is the best-known Cowpens Virginia militia unit.

  Three different Fauquier County companies underwent consolidation during the march south. The final result of the mergers and the arrival of additional companies can be seen in the company commanded by Captain John Combs at Cowpens. Combs’s Fauquier County Company was originally Triplett’s company. When Triplett took command of the Virginia militia, John Combs took over the company. Another captain, James Winn, was a platoon leader whose “company” was a platoon under Combs.45

  James Tate’s Company was one of two raised by draft in Augusta County during October 1780. Some men received their weapons when they arrived in Hillsborough, North Carolina.46 Captain James Gilmore’s Rockbridge County Company was known as the “Rockbridge Rifles” because they carried that weapon.47 Gilmore’s company also included a few men from neighboring Botetourt County. Captain Patrick Buchanan’s Company was the second company drafted in Augusta County in the fall of 1780. Except during the battle of Cowpens, Buchanan’s company was under Triplett s operational control.48

  Most Virginia militiamen under Triplett, on the left, and Captain Edmund Tate, on the right, did not claim prior Continental experience. Not mentioning Continental service is an important omission because veterans of the regular army, even today, invariably recall that portion of service as distinctive. Former Continentals would, and did, remember their regular service as different from militia duty.49

  Fifty-two men from Triplett’s Battalion are listed in Moss. The forty-four enlisted men include thirty-six privates and eight sergeants. Twenty-two privates had prior service, seventeen with combat, but only eight (22 percent), all with combat, had Continental experience. The eight sergeants included three Continental combat veterans and three others who had experienced combat as militiamen. Of eight officers, two did not document any combat. Triplett saw combat as a Continental officer. Triplett’s men had been together in at least one fight, as most of them mentioned the skirmish at Rugeley’s Mill. These numbers hardly warrant suggesting most were “continental veterans,” as some historians reported.50

  Other Virginians claimed service under captains not otherwise known to have served at Cowpens. Patterns emerging from this group make it possible to identify two additional companies, and a third company that arrived as the battle ended. By comparing officers, march routes, arrival times, and experiences during enlistment, two companies from Major David Campbell’s Virginia militia regiment can be identified as participants in the battle.51

  Campbell’s Virginia Militia Regiment is mentioned by a number of pensioners and historians. One hundred men under Campbell in Salisbury, North Carolina, were ordered about 8 January to join Morgan. On 16 January, William L. Davidson reported from Charlotte that Campbell was moving to join Morgan by way of Kings Mountain and would be leaving the next day. Pensioners indicate Campbell’s Regiment did not travel as an intact unit. At least two of Campbell’s companies reached Cowpens in time for the battle as is evidenced by wounds some men received.52 Since Campbell arrived at Cowpens about noon on 17 January, and one company arrived just as the battle ended, it is most likely he was at Kings Mountain before the 16th. Given the hundred men ordered to Cowpens, the typical number of militia companies, and other units with Campbell, it is likely these companies numbered about twenty-five men each.53

  The North Carolina militia riflemen are usually described as front-line skirmishers who then withdrew to the militia line. This is true but simplistic. North Carolina unit composition and numbers have been subject to discussion for a long time.54 The North Carolina militia commander was Colonel Joseph McDowell, whose name was “generally pronounced ‘McDoll.’ “ He lived at Quaker Meadows, to distinguish him from his nephew of the same name who resided at Pleasant Garden.55

  McDowell’s Battalion had two majors: Charles McDowell, his elder brother, and David McKissick.56 Each major coordinated two or three companies of skirmishers under Joseph McDowell’s overall command. The North Carolina battalion resolved issues of seniority and county affiliation by having majors give orders to captains commanding consolidated companies. This structure enhanced control by creating progressively larger units.

  Regardless of county affiliation, all North Carolina militiamen served under McDowell with the exception of twenty-five Burke County men placed under Triplett. McDowell had at least five large, consolidated companies whose men came from Burke, Rowan, Lincoln, Rutherford, Surry, Wilkes, and a group of counties in north-central North Carolina. Each company numbered at least forty men, based on statistical projections from pension records where each man represents at least three and possibly as many as five men. County representation reflects the strategic situation. No North Carolina border county east of Cowpens provided men except one man from Mecklenburg. Border county men were needed to block a British advance through their own counties toward central North Carolina.

  Salisbury, North Carolina, was a major production center for clothing, shoes, and accoutrements. The work was performed by artisans who either volunteered for service, were drafted, or were taken out of combat units. As part of their duty, the artisans were sent to Salisbury
and utilized their skills as tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, wheelwrights, and leathersmiths, but they could be assigned to other duties. When Tarleton advanced against Morgan, some were formed into a company and sent to Morgan.

  If all the militiamen from Guilford, Rockingham, Caswell, Orange, Granville, and Warren Counties, as well as those from the eastern counties, were actually consolidated, as seems likely, they would number about two dozen after deductions were made for known Continentals, state troops, dragoons, and militiamen serving in other units. The twenty-four known men represent a Cowpens company of about sixty to seventy-five men. This composite company was created with men from counties providing squads or individual men. So many Guilford County men claimed service under Rowan County’s Captain William Wilson that it is possible he led this “Northern Company” at Cowpens.

  The Burke County Company is well known. On first impression, it appears the Cowpens skirmish line, if not North Carolina’s total contribution to the battle, were all from Burke County. For one thing, Colonel Joseph McDowell, Major Charles McDowell, and Captain Joseph McDowell were from Burke County. Burke County men included many with extensive prior service. Some, like David Vance, had been Continentals.57 The commander of the Burke Company was Captain Joseph “Pleasant Garden Joe” McDowell, nephew of Colonel Joseph “Quaker Meadows Joe” McDowell.58 A final group of Burke County men served under Triplett on the main line’s right flank. This company of twenty to thirty men marched to the field under Captain Mordecai Clark. When Clark volunteered to fight on horseback, his men were posted as infantry on Triplett’s left flank.59

  The Rowan County Company was another large unit. Men from adjacent counties served in this company under some eight named captains. Since veterans likely remembered officers as holding their highest earned rank, there were probably fewer captains. The twenty-five officers and men who served under known Rowan County officers indicate a company strength of about seventy-five men under Captain Abel Armstrong.60

  Men from Surry and Wilkes Counties served in another company. Eleven Surry County veterans, three pensioners from Stokes County, and nine Wilkes County men claimed service at Cowpens. Surry and Wilkes men served together as a unit under Colonel Benjamin Cleveland at Kings Mountain. This company of about sixty men was commanded by Captain Samuel Hampton.61

  The Lincoln and Rutherford men were combined into a single unit; these new counties were known as Tryon County until 1779. The men of Rutherford and Lincoln served with Burke County men at Kings Mountain under McDowell. Men from all three counties mentioned serving under officers from each other’s counties at different times.62 Thirteen men claimed service at Cowpens, indicating a company of about forty to fifty men. They probably were under Captain Joseph White, who served under Major Charles McDowell.63

  South Carolina militia infantry formed the second line as a brigade of four battalions under Colonel Andrew Pickens. Morgan gave Pickens overall command of the militia, but official promotion to general did not occur until after 23 January. As senior colonel at Cowpens, Pickens exercised a general’s command.64 His battalions were commanded by Colonel John Thomas Jr., Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Roebuck, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Hayes, and Colonel Thomas Brandon. Thomas’s Spartanburg Regiment, from the Cowpens neighborhood, provided two battalions. The militia battalions ranged in size from about 120 to more than 250 men.

  Andrew Pickens was born in Paxton Township, Pennsylvania, in 1739. At the time of Cowpens, Pickens lived near Long Cane Creek north of Ninety Six. Married, with three sons and six daughters, he was a devout Presbyterian of simple habits.65 In the months before Cowpens, Pickens and his activities seem mysterious. He served as a commissioner to examine treatment of the Kings Mountain prisoners because many were his neighbors. On parole, Pickens did nothing militant until Tory dragoons under Robert Dunlap terrorized his family and destroyed his plantation. The parole violation was noted in a letter Pickens personally presented to Captain Ker, the British commander at White Hall, outside Ninety Six.66

  TABLE 2.

  North Carolina Cowpens Pensioners by County

  Bladen 1

  Burke 15

  Caswell 2

  Dobbs 1

  Edgecombe 1

  Granville 3

  Guilford 9

  Jones 1

  Lincoln 9

  Mecklenburg 1

  Montgomery 1

  New Hanover 1

  Orange 5

  Rockingham 3

  Rowan 23

  Rutherford 4

  Surry 11

  Stokes 3

  Wake 3

  Warren 2

  Wilkes 9

  Total 108

  Note: Some men in Table 2 are Continentals and state dragoons. Wake County men were either Continental or state troops. Warren County had one Continental. Guilford County included at least two dragoons and one Continental. Orange County included a Continental and a dragoon. Granville County’s total included one Continental.

  Georgia’s Major James Jackson served as brigade major under Pickens. He joined Morgan with three small companies after fighting in South Carolina with Georgia refugees. In 1782, Jackson would lead the Americans into Savannah at the head of his Georgia Legion. After the war, he served in the U.S. Congress and as governor of Georgia.67

  The four battalions deployed from right to left under Roebuck, Thomas, Hayes, and Brandon, all of whom had extensive experience as combat leaders. Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Roebuck served as second in command of the Spartanburg Regiment. Born in Orange County, Virginia, circa 1755, his family settled in Spartanburg District, South Carolina, in 1777. Roebuck saw combat at Stono River and Savannah as a lieutenant and was a captain at Kings Mountain. Wounded at Mud Lick in March 1781, he was captured while convalescing and imprisoned at Ninety Six.68

  Roebuck’s Battalion consisted of at least three consolidated companies commanded by Captains George Roebuck, Major Parson, and Dennis Tramell. Captain George Roebuck was a brother of the battalion commander. Captain Major Parson had seen service in the South Carolina Continental Line and was wounded in the assault on Savannah in October 1779. Tramell started his military service in 1777 and, by the time of Cow-pens, had seen heavy fighting in the South Carolina backcountry.69

  Captain Dennis Tramell’s Company is very well documented for a militia company because pensioners reported information about officers and located the unit on the battlefield. Since the company demonstrates unit consolidation, a discussion of its composition is appropriate. Sergeant James Harden reported the company was often assisted by volunteers under Captain John Lawson. When Lawson was killed at Cowpens, Jeremiah Dick-son (Dixon) took command. One of Dickson’s men stated that he was a “Flank Guard” to Thomas’s Regiment, thus placing Dickson’s platoon on the right of the South Carolina militia line.70

  Colonel John Thomas Jr. succeeded his father as commander of the Upper Ninety Six militia, which became the Spartanburg Regiment. Thomas’s major was Henry White, a courageous man better known for his exploits at Ninety Six and Eutaw Springs than Cowpens.71 Thomas had at least four companies present at Cowpens, under Captain Thomas Farrow, Captain John Files Sr., Captain Andrew Barry, and Captain John Collins.

  Captain John Collins noted that “the night before the Battle of the Cowpens I again joined General Morgan with 24 fresh men. and fought with my Company the next day.”72 Captain Andrew Barry led a company that included his brother, John.73 Captain John Files Sr. commanded a company that included his sons, John Jr., Jeremiah, and Adam. Wounded at Cowpens, he was murdered in May 1781 by a party of Tories and Indians. Captain Thomas Farrow served since the war’s beginning with extensive combat experience before Cowpens.74

  Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Hayes commanded the Little River Regiment, from what is now Laurens County, positioned between Thomas and Brandon. At Kings Mountain, Hayes took over Williams’s Regiment when Williams was killed. Contemporaries described him as bold and incautious. Hayes was hacked to death after surrendering H
ayes Station, “Edge-hill,” to William Cunningham during the “Bloody Scout” of November 1781. Hayes’s major was probably Robert Dugan of Newberry District.75

  The Little River Regiment was composed of five companies under Captains James Ewing, William Harris, James Dugan, Samuel Sexton, and James Irby. Captain James Ewing commanded the right flank company located on the Green River Road.76 Captain William Harris served under Hayes during the fight at Blackstock’s Plantation. Promoted about the time of Cowpens, he attained the rank of major before the end of the war.77 Captain James Dugan was reported as a major at Cowpens, but his brother Robert appears to have held that rank. James was murdered by Tories the night following Cowpens.78 Captain John Lindsay commanded a platoon in Dugan’s Company.

  Two officers raised men on the way to Cowpens. Captain Samuel Sexton, while on “route to the Cowpens . . . succeeded in inducing twenty-five men to join . . . and [I] was chosen their captain. . . . [We] offered our services to the army at the Cowpens, were received and I and my Company were put under the command of Colonel Hays.” Captain John Irby noted “many refugees . . . formed a volunteer Company to the amount of Sixty or Seventy and that he was elected Captain of said Company and was commissioned as such by General Pickens of South Carolina. That he served as Captain of said Company in the Battle of the Cowpens.”79

  Union County’s Fair Forest Regiment was commanded by Colonel Thomas Brandon. Brandon had a fearsome reputation when it came to dealing with Tories. Born in Pennsylvania, he emigrated to Union County. Lieutenant Colonel William Farr was second in command of the Fair Forest Regiment. Brandon’s brigade major was Joseph Mcjunkin, the brother-in-law of Colonel John Thomas Jr. Brandon’s adjutant was Captain Joshua Palmer.80