A Devil of a Whipping Read online

  It is difficult to tell where Fair Forest companies served at Cowpens. Veterans were as likely to list Brandon or Farr as the commander, although Farr actually served as a sharpshooter.81 Placing the Fair Forest companies on the battle line is done on the basis of seniority, casualties, and residence patterns. The companies were probably aligned from the right flank with Robert Anderson, Robert Montgomery, John Thompson, Joseph Hughes, and William Grant. A volunteer company from Chester County gave John Moffett no seniority in the Fair Forest Regiment, so it is likely his men were on the battalion’s left incorporated with a Fairfield County company under James Adair.82

  William Grant Sr. served in the French and Indian War and was a captain under Brandon at Blackstock’s. On the basis of seniority, he ranks lower than Thompson.83 John Moffett, of Chester County, distinguished himself at Fishing Creek and commanded a company at Kings Mountain.84 A last Fair Forest company was under Samuel Otterson. This company was scouting when the battle began and did not get back in time, but they played a major role in pursuing Tarleton.85

  Georgia militia was present in three small companies commanded by Major Cunningham and Captains Richard Heard, George Walton, and Joshua Inman.86 Captain Joshua Inman appears infrequently in documentary sources relating to the Revolution, on muster or pay rolls. Like Joshua Inman, George Walton is one of the forgotten captains of the Revolution.87 Captain Richard Heard came from Wilkes County, Georgia. His family plantation was called Heard’s Fort, in Wilkes County, Georgia.88 Many other Georgians fought with refugee and South Carolina companies.89

  Lieutenant Colonel William Washington commanded the mounted Americans. His nominal command, the 3rd Continental Light Dragoons, was augmented by state troops, militia, and volunteers before the battle. His employment of the mounted arm exemplified the phrase “as opportunity presents,” because the American cavalry played a key role in sequentially driving off attacks against both flanks. Despite their numerical inferiority, American horsemen were successful at Cowpens because they were employed en masse at critical times.

  Washington was of “stout frame, being six feet in height, broad, strong, and corpulent.” Lee described him as a “fit man for the common business of life, amiable and good humored, generous, innocent and agreeable.” In describing Washington’s military accomplishments, Lee commences with the word “bold,” which can be seen in engagements such as Hammond’s Store, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk’s Hill, and Eutaw Springs. He preferred action and was very composed in battle.90

  When the ist and 3d Dragoon Regiments were sent south in 1780, Washington was in command of the 3d regiment. The light dragoons were badly handled by the British, first at Monck’s Corner and later at Lenud’s Ferry. Washington attempted to recruit the regiment in North Carolina but was not very successful.91

  Included in his Continental cavalry at Cowpens were remnants of the ist Continental Light Dragoon Regiment, but most First Dragoons were stationed below Cheraws on the Peedee River under Captain Griffin Faunt-leroy.92 Enough ist Continental veterans claimed they were present at Cowpens to suggest they formed a troop under Washington. These men were identified because they mentioned service in the ist Regiment, or under Theodoric Bland or Anthony White, and also served at Cowpens.93 When the dragoons were consolidated under Washington in the fall of 1780, some Continental infantrymen were given the opportunity to join. At least three men from the Delaware Regiment did so.94

  The Continental light dragoons were seriously undermanned and numbered only eighty-two men at the time of Cowpens. While a regiment had four mounted troops and two dismounted troops, Washington’s four un-derstrength troops at Cowpens were all mounted.95 The troops were commanded by Major Richard Call and Captains William Barrett and William Parsons. A Lieutenant Bell apparently commanded Churchill Jones’s troop.

  A few Virginia state dragoons were initially under the command of Major John Nelson, then Captain Clement Read (Reid). Although General Greene ordered Read back to Virginia in December, a small group, perhaps less than fifteen men, was present at Cowpens. These men were probably the best equipped of Read’s troopers, retained because they were needed.96

  Some North Carolina state dragoons may not have been so designated at the time of Cowpens. However, a number of North Carolina men swore that they served at Cowpens as horsemen. Their enlistment terms were longer than usual for militia. Some used the term “state dragoon(s)” or “light horse”; others claimed service at Cowpens under Washington. These North Carolinians may have been guides similar to those delegated from Hampton’s South Carolina state dragoon regiment.97

  The South Carolina state dragoons were those South Carolina State Troops already “equipped as cavalry” when they joined Morgan under the command of Major James McCall. McCall “had been promoted to the command of a Regiment of Cavalry authorized to be enrolled for six months. . . . very few arrived with swords & pistols. . . . the few 25 - to 30 that were equipped as Horsemen were placed under Col MCall and attached to Col Washington’s Command.”98 McCall’s twenty-five or thirty men who “arrived with swords & pistols” apparently served in “troops” led by Captain Samuel Taylor, who lost a leg at Cowpens, and Captain Alexander Luckie.98 Some mounted Georgians were also with the mounted South Carolina State Troops.100

  American preparations for dealing with Tarleton’s legion included equipping men with swords Morgan earlier ordered from the main army. “Two companies of volunteers were called for. One was raised by Major Jolly of Union District, and the other, I think, by Major McCall. . . . We drew swords that night, and were informed we had authority to press any horse not belonging to a dragoon or an officer, into our service for the day.” These volunteers numbered forty-five men, probably the number of swords Morgan had available to issue that night. They included William Venable, who was “in Capt George [sic] Taylors Company of Light horse, in Col. Billy Washington’s regiment.”101

  Taken as a whole, the Americans might at first seem to be a motley group. A close inspection of participant accounts and pension records reveals that Morgan’s men, if untrained in formal European warfare, were hardly green troops new to battle. More than 70 percent had seen combat, some of it heavy. While this is particularly true of the officers, it is also true of the men.

  Whatever their experience, Morgan utilized the men he had very well. The British coming after him already had a reputation for brutally handling Americans who broke and ran, and his men knew it. Several men were at Waxhaws when Tarleton’s dragoons got the upper hand. Many of them burned with a desire for retribution stronger than any love of liberty, but they knew their enemy was formidable.

  THE BRITISH

  The British pursuing Morgan were a combined arms task force under a young, aggressive officer named Tarleton. Banastre Tarleton, third child of John and Jane Parker Tarleton, was born 21 August 1754 at the family estate near Liverpool. His family was involved in shipping and owned plantations in the West Indies.102

  Tarleton studied to become a lawyer at University College, Oxford. There he was closely associated with Francis Rawdon, who would see American service, some of it in the South. Tarleton’s time seems to have been spent at sporting events, but he must have done well enough academically, as he went to London and studied law at Middle Temple after his father’s death, a period that included living the life of a rake and gambler.103

  Banastre Tarleton; oil painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds (National Portrait Gallery, London)

  He eventually quit studying law and purchased a cornet’s commission in the ist Regiment, Dragoon Guards. In 1775, Tarleton was serving in Norwich. He went overseas on leave before 24 December 1775 and saw service at Charleston in June 1776. He also served with the 16th Light Dragoons during the New York campaign.104 In the winter of 1776-77, he was in the party that captured General Charles Lee. He participated in the Philadelphia Campaign of 1777 and returned to New York with the army in 1778.

  While on the Philadelphia Campaign, Tarleton worked on occasio
n with American Loyalists serving as scouts under the command of Captain Richard Hovenden, the commander who would make first contact with Americans at Cowpens.105 During 1778, British officers and American Loyalists raised several companies of Americans for British service. One mounted unit was raised by Captain David Kinlock of Fraser’s Highlanders, the 71st Regiment. These companies were combined into the British Legion in June and July 1778. Tarleton was appointed major of the legion on 1 August 1778. Thereafter, the history of the British Legion, or Tarleton’s legion, as it came to be known, was the history of Tarleton in America. At the time of Cowpens, Banastre Tarleton was twenty-six years old.106

  Tarleton deserves credit for his rapid marches, hard, driving attacks, and an approach to warfare that seems more modern than that of some contemporaries. The ability to obtain information ahead of the army, the rapidity with which he pursued and destroyed opposition forces, and achieved maximum efforts, at times, from a rather motley group, reflect favorably on his abilities, even though he was often somewhat impulsive on the battlefield.

  His command badly damaged American mounted forces at Monck’s Corner and Lenud’s Ferry in 1780. His destruction of Buford’s command at Waxhaws, South Carolina, and the infamous brutality of his officers and men toward wounded and prisoners there and elsewhere, created an impression of savagery that served both to enhance his operations and rally the opposition. Tarleton routed Colonel Thomas Sumter at Fishing Ford, South Carolina, on 18 August 1780,107 temporarily ending organized American resistance in South Carolina. American writers have generally portrayed him as “Bloody Tarleton” for destroying patriot military units in the South. To some extent this is unwarranted, but a perception of cruelty and arrogance seems to surround Tarleton and his legion, even though there are examples of humanity to friends and enemies alike.108

  Tarleton’s command in January 1781 included infantry, artillery, and cavairy, making up what would be called a combined arms group today. It combined rapid movement with heavy firepower and included all of Corn-wallis’s light infantry. Both the British Legion infantry and the 71st Regiment were known for their rapid marching and ferocity in battle.

  The 7th Regiment of Foot, the Royal Fusiliers, was rebuilt before coming south. The regiment had been destroyed by capture during the American invasion of Canada in 1775. Prisoners exchanged at New York in December 1776 allowed the regiment to reform. The fusiliers saw service in the northern theater between 1777 and 1779. The 7th was sent to Charleston in December 1779.109 At Cowpens, the 7th was commanded by Major Timothy Newmarsh, a veteran officer of some distinction. There were nine officers and about 168 men arranged in four companies, with a captain, a lieutenant, and about forty men in each company.110

  The 71st Regiment of Foot, Fraser ‘s Highlanders, was raised specifically for American service in 1775. So many men turned out that two battalions numbering a total of 2,340 men were initially mustered. The 71st was an elite unit and made an impact as the “hired soldiers” mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. The regiment arrived in New York in July 1776 and saw extensive northern service before transfer to the South in December 1778.111

  Fraser’s Highlanders enhanced their solid reputation in the South, commencing with the initial assault on Savannah in December 1778 and the occupation of Georgia. In the battles at Stono and Briar Creek, the taking of Charleston, and the subsequent occupation of South Carolina, the 71st received high honors for their performance. After routing American militia at Camden, the 71st was heavily involved in the destruction of the Maryland and Delaware Division. Justifiably, the 71st Highlanders were regarded as first-rate troops.112 At Cowpens, the line companies of the 71st had 249 men and 14 officers. “Out of sixteen officers which they had in the field, nine were killed and wounded,” and only Ensign Fraser escaped becoming a prisoner of war.113

  Each British army regiment had two specialized “flank” companies. One was composed of grenadiers; the other was light infantry—men selected for their agility and endurance. Light companies were usually consolidated into battalions operating in front or on the flanks of a military force.114 The light infantry at Cowpens formed a battalion of four companies detached from the 16th Regiment (41 men), the First Battalion, 71st Regiment (about 35 men), the Second Battalion, 71st Regiment (about 34 men), and the Prince of Wales American Regiment (25-50 men). The low estimate of the light infantry’s total strength is about 135; possibly it had as many as 160 men. The range is due to confusion about the Prince of Wales American Regiment’s strength.115 The light infantry battalion commander is unknown. On seniority, command should have gone to the officer leading the 16th Regiment’s light infantry company. There were two officers listed for the 71st, but both were lieutenants and only one officer, Lieutenant Lindsay, was with the Prince of Wales’s light infantry company.116

  The British Legion infantry was the foot component of the British Legion. It was raised in New York during July 1778 from the Caledonian Volunteers, a Philadelphia Tory unit, and three other companies originally armed with a “light musket,” or fusil.117 The legion went to Savannah in December 1778. The unit saw extensive service after the fall of Charleston, and many American prisoners were recruited into it during the fall of 1780. Compared with other Tory units, the legion was considered an elite group.118

  The British Legion compiled a mixed record during the southern campaigns. The legion is well known because its commanding officer, Banastre Tarleton, wrote an account of its 1780-81 activities.119 Its actual combat performance varied from superb at Waxhaws to very poor at Charlotte and Cowpens. When well led and in a pursuit situation, the legion was almost unbeatable, but when faced with determined opposition, it might opt out of engaging altogether. The British Legion infantry was usually commanded by Major George Hanger, Lord Colraine, but he was absent sick at the time of Cowpens, so the senior Captain John Rousselet was probably acting as commander. British Legion infantry strength at Cowpens was between 200 and 271 enlisted men.120

  The mounted troops under Tarleton included two units, the 17th Light Dragoons and the British Legion dragoons. The 17th was commanded at Cowpens by Lieutenant Henry Nettles, who came to America in the initial 17th Light Dragoons deployment from Ireland. His deputy was Cornet Patterson.121

  Arriving in Boston in May 1775, the 17th served in the northern campaigns until 1778. When Campbell took Savannah in 1778, sixty 17th Light Dragoons accompanying the expedition were attached to the British Legion. The unit was still attached to the British Legion at Waxhaws. Some 17th Light Dragoons returned to New York with Clinton before 16 August 1780, but the remainder continued serving with the British Legion.122

  The 17th Regiment’s southern service included Camden, Fishing Creek, and Blackstock’s before Cowpens. December reinforcements sent to Corn-wallis included about fifty additional members of the regiment. Tarleton requested these men for his detachment, but only if they had horses. In the battle of Cowpens, the 17th Light Dragoons have traditionally been credited with about fifty men, suggesting some new men were present.123 After Cowpens, they served at Guilford Courthouse and in Virginia before surrendering twenty-five men at Yorktown. An additional 17th officer, Ensign David Ogilvie, commanded a British Legion troop.124

  Despite a close association, the 17th Light Dragoons never considered themselves part of the British Legion. “When their old regimental uniform was worn out they were offered the green uniform of the legion, but they would have none of it. They preferred to patch their own ragged and faded scarlet, and be men of the Seventeenth.”125

  The other British cavalry unit at Cowpens was the British Legion dragoons, the mounted men of Tarleton’s British Legion. For most people, it was Tarleton. Its history was the same as that of the legion infantry. As originally formed, it had six companies of dragoons armed with saber and pistol.126 The British Legion dragoons at Cowpens had approximately 250 men. As with the infantry, they were a mixed group of Tories and former American soldiers enlisted after Camden.


  The British artillery at Cowpens is credited with a solid performance, but little is known about them. Generally speaking, the Fourth Battalion, Royal Artillery, served in America during the Revolutionary War and participated in virtually every battle. A light gun called for eleven men and a noncommissioned officer. When two guns were together, a lieutenant commanded them, but Tarleton’s two cannon were originally from different commands, the 7th Regiment and Tarleton’s legion, so an officer was probably not assigned and no artillery officer served at Cowpens.127

  About fifty British Loyalist volunteers served Tarleton as scouts. Alexander Chesney raised a company “with great difficulty” in late 1780 and then acted as a guide to Tarleton in January 1781. Chesney commanded militia at Cowpens. The unit dispersed after the battle, but Chesney ordered them to reassemble later.128

  The two forces commenced maneuvering against each other in the South Carolina backcountry during early January 1781. How they shifted to achieve advantages, obtain supplies, and bring their opponents to battle sets the stage for 17 January. The movements between 10 and 17 January adversely affected the British while providing advantages for the Americans. They are a key aspect of the Cowpens campaign.

  3: Prebattle Activities

  Push him to the utmost.

  —Lord Cornwallis to Banastre Tarleton, 2 January 1781

  Once Greene divided the Americans, Morgan was left to his own resourcefulness. He fed his men, kept his army intact, and posed a threat to western British outposts. The British quickly moved to counter Greene’s strategy. Cornwallis directed Tarleton to protect Ninety Six, then get rid of Morgan. The movements of both sides culminated in battle on 17 January. To reach the Cowpens crossroads, each side shifted, seeking positional advantages given their original orders. Morgan worked hard to avoid surprise; Tarleton protected Ninety Six and gathered supplies. Once he was ready, Tarleton went after the Americans with care, knowing Morgan was a dangerous opponent. These preliminary movements provide a key to understanding what happened in the battle of Cowpens.1