The Southern Campaign - The Battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens
The Revolutionary War in the South laid the groundwork for the eventual Patriot victory at Yorktown. There were many battles with both successes and defeats. Students will be asked to explore each southern battle with the primary essential question in mind. To guide them along this path, activities have been created that highlight certain aspects of southern battles, and where appropriate, show the connectivity of battles. Each battle will have a “Driving Question” that ties to the “Essential Question”. Students will be asked to complete activities that answer the “Driving Question”, culminating in a final project.
Lesson Created By: Lisa Ray and Lewis Huffman
Lesson Partners: National Parks Service, Sons of The America Revolution-National, Sons of The America Revolution-SC, ETV Education, Self Family Foundation
Essential Question
How did the South Carolina frontier experience affect the outcome of Revolutionary War battles fought during the Southern Campaign?
Driving Question: Is necessity the mother of invention? Prove or disprove this adage using the battles of King's Mountain and Cowpens.
Grade(s):
- 8
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Computer with internet access - White Board/Projection device to project the analysis sheet
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
The sheets (Anaylsis & Ms. Necessity) can be copied for students and used in a traditional manner.
Lesson Progression
Background:
Small bands of partisan fighters were successfully thwarting British progress in the South and were greatly disrupting British supply lines. In an attempt to control the situation, British threats against civilian populations became harsher and British military leaders used coercive tactics in an attempt to control and expand the British perimeter. As a result of these strategies two defining Patriot victories occurred. Use the Driving Question to compare both battles, and learn how frontier ingenuity and experience turned the tide of war for the Patriots.
Driving Question: Is necessity the mother of invention? Prove or disprove this adage using the battles of King's Mountain and Cowpens.
Step 1: Break students into groups, provide each group an Analysis Sheet that can be shared on individual tablets, or copied for each student in the group.
Step 2: Watch the video, Kings Mountain: The Turn of the Tide of Success.
Step 3: Each student will complete the Southern Campaign Analysis Sheet for Kings Mountain.
Step 4: Watch the video, Cowpens: A Brilliant Victory.
Step 5: Each student will complete the Southern Campaign Analysis Sheet for Cowpens
Step 6: Students will compare notes of each battle within their group, noting both similarities and differences. Students will complete one group analysis sheet for each battle.
Step 7: The teacher will project the analysis sheet for Kings Mountain. Students from each group will contribute to a class analysis of the battle.
Step 8: The same will be done for the battle at Cowpens with students creating a class analysis sheet for the battle.
Step 9: Students will complete the Exit Slip (Ms. Necessity) and answer the Driving Question.
About The Southern Campaign
The Southern Campaign of the American Revolution, picks up the story after the fall of Charleston in 1780. After catastrophes at The Waxhaws and Camden, victories in battles and skirmishes such as...
View AssetKings Mountain: The Turn of the Tide of Success | The Southern Campaign
Kings Mountain is a rocky wooded hill on the border of North and South Carolina. On October 7, 1780, a thousand patriots surrounded and attacked the British troops and Loyalist soldiers. This battle...
View AssetCowpens: A Brilliant Victory | The Southern Campaign
General Daniel Morgan’s battle plan at Cowpens was considered a masterpiece of military strategy and tactics. In Fall of 1780, General Nathaniel Greene sent a portion of his men under Morgan to fight...
View AssetResource to Share Information with Students
Exit Slip - A way to project the exit slip
View ResourceStandards
- 8.2.CO Compare the motives and demographics of loyalists and patriots within South Carolina and the colonies.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the economic, political, and social motivations of the patriots and the loyalists in the era of the American Revolution.
- 8.2.CE Explain the economic, political, and social factors surrounding the American Revolution.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the colonies began to unify to create a distinctive American identity over the course of events of the American Revolution.
- 8.2.CX Contextualize the roles of various groups of South Carolinians as the colonies moved toward becoming an independent nation.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into the motivations of colonists during the American Revolution and the progression of conflict and failed compromise that ultimately led to revolution.
Assessments
Kings Mountain-Cowpens - Ms. Necessity Exit Slip
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14HrTB9nel2VrsVtG4GWqQz0EPEXFdIsGp9lt...
