Battle of Cowpens

1. Battle of Cowpens By Dante Gambino and Paul Roushdy January 17, 1781

2. The Generals Involved General Daniel Morgan General Banastre Tarleton

3. General Daniel Morgan Daniel Morgan was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey to Welsh immigrants Morgan served as a civilian team master during the French and Indian War Morgan accquired a hatred for the British army after he was given 499 lashes for punching a superior officer He served in Dunmore’s war in the Ohio country raiding Native villages

4. General Banastre Tarleton Banastre Tarleton was born in Liverpool, England in 1754 to John Tarleton, the mayor of Liverpool Tarleton attended Oxford and gained a large amount of money after his father died, but he lost most of it on gambling and women He bought a rank as a cavalry officer in the British army, where his skills quickly led him up the ranks Gained prominence after the Battle of Waxhaws, where he killed 113 colonists and suffered only 5 casualties

5. Build Up to the Battle Major General Nathanael Greene, leader of the continental army in the South, divided his forces in December 1780 in order to force the British to fight multiple fronts Greene led one wing of the army, while the other, commanded by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, moved to attack the British supply lines and gain support for the continental army in the rural areas of the South Aware the Greene had split his forces, Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis dispatched an 1,100-man force under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to destroy Morgan's command Riding out with a mixed force of cavalry and infantry, Tarleton pursued Morgan into northwestern South Carolina, where Morgan created a plan to defeat Tarleton’s forces

6. How the Continental Army Won the Battle General Morgan split his army into three lines, militia men in the first two lines, and veteran continental soldiers in the third line in the back Morgan ordered his first line to fire two shots and then retreat to the back, where they reformed The movement of the second line to the front of the battle hid the third line from view of the British

7. The Formation of Morgan’s Troops

8. How the Continental Army Won the Battle (continued) The British soldiers mistook this for a retreat, and charged the continental army, where they encountered the third line of experienced continental soldiers The continental soldiers then engaged in a bayonet charge, attacking British soldiers face-to-face and killing the majority of British soldiers that remained While this was happening, the first line of militia soldiers re-entered the battle from behind the British The battle ended when Colonel Washington engaged Colonel Tarleton, but Tarleton escaped after killing Washington’s horse

9. Battle of Cowpens

10. Impact of the Battle of Cowpens The victory of the Continental Army at Cowpens was the first major victory by the continental army after a stretch of losses The Continental Army suffered fewer than 75 casualties, killed 329 British soldiers, and took over 600 prisoner The defeat of the most feared British force in the south gave the American forces hope that a victory in the war was possible General Morgan successfully executed the only double envelopment in the Revolutionary War

11. Interesting Story One of the most interesting stories of the war took place at this battle. As the British troops started to collapse, the Patriots soldiers remained among their ranks. However two American officers focused their attention on a small British Cannon that was still functional. Capitan Anderson of Maryland used his lance to pole vault himself near the cannon, which the colonists then took under their control