Cowpens: 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 the British in western South Carolina.  

In response, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton was sent to chase after Morgan's army. Tarleton met Morgan's men on January 17, 1781 at the Battle of Cowpens. 

Morgan learned a lot from the mistakes of Waxhaws and Camden. Because he understood his troops’ capabilities and the landscape of the battlefield, he was able to layout a plan that would change the entire plan of the Southern Campaign.

Standards

• 4.2.CE Examine the economic and political motivations for colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
• 4.2.CX Contextualize South Carolina’s role in the development of the new nation.
• 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.

Resources