A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens

Lawrence Babits has packed a thorough study of the Battle of Cowpens into a slim book.The forty-minute battle was crucial to our success in the war. It was a devastating defeat for the British, specifically "Bloody Tarleton," whose British Legion had been the scourge of the Carolinas. The defeat was so total because of the Masterful plan and seamless execution by General Morgan and his subordinates. Too few Americans know about Cowpens and its place in steering Cornwallis ultimately to Yorktown.The author had a mission: to dissect the Battle of Cowpens through pension records of participants and memoirs in order to construct an accurate placement of troops during the battle, the size of American forces present, the total of British casualties and the duration of the affair.He has done his work well and convincingly. In the process, Babits clarifies and rectifies some commonly held notions of Cowpens. The militia line made an orderly retreat through the Main line through previously established gaps in that line and not around the flank; Morgan's troop totals and casualties in his report were only for Continental troops -- the militia doubled Morgan's probable force to 1800 men engaged; Washington did not encounter Tarleton at the end of the battle but three British cavalry officers; the South Carolina militia did not cross the field during their planned withdrawal; the North Carolina militia stayed in the fight on the American right after their planned withdrawal.If these details have lost you, it focuses on a major facet of the book. It is for readers who have some appreciation of the Revolution in the South and the Battle of Cowpens. While thoroughly researched and minutely written, my one criticism is that at times the author gets bogged down in details that interrupt the flow of the larger story. Thus the book may seem inaccessible to a first timer looking to find out about the Battle of Cowpens.Not that the author doesn't tell the battle story in full. He does. This book underscores General Daniel Morgan's tactical brilliance as well as General Greene's strategic insight in detailing Morgan to the interior initially. Morgan's battlefield plan and his sub commander's (particularly William Washington and John Howard's) performances are correctly studies in leadership and execution. Morgan planned a tactical masterpiece that made use of all his troops' strengths and used some of their weaknesses (in the case of the militia) to his advantage. American arms have seldom exceeded this level of performance at the tactical level.(Delaware partisan warning here) The author also highlights the rock steady performance of Captain Kirkwood and his Delaware Line during the battle and the pursuit of Tarleton. Kirkwood was one of the best Continental battlefield leaders of the war, noticed by George Washington as well as a host of others. Prohibited from rising to General by the virtue of his coming from a small state (the number of state troops raised had much to do with the general offices available), Kirkwood and his Delawares (as the author describes them; today we say Delawareans, although I'm not sure if that was the case 225 years ago) were a mainstay in Morgan's line, absorbing the direct fire of the main British regiment and receiving the most unit casualties of any of Morgan's forces. I was very glad to see Babit give this small band of Blue Hens their due.This is a very good book in terms of research and analysis. Much more has been learned about the Battle of Cowpens because of Babits painstaking study. He has added to our knowledge of one of the Revolution's pivotal battles.

Let me say this up front: I am not an experienced reader of battles. In fact, until rather recently, when I encountered the phrase "flanking operation," my brain disengaged from a text. Biographies of George Washington and Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee overcame that resistance and interested me in the Southern part of the Revolutionary War, led me to this book. And I think it is brilliant. In fact, when I finished it, I went back a week later and re-read it.I note that one reviewer complains the writer gives too much exposition to the role of elements of an army and of weaponry in his introduction. That exposition was precisely what made it possible for me to understand this battle so clearly and appreciate its plan and execution. I've visited lots of museums, among them the ones at Cowpens and King's Mountains, but I've usually left more impressed with the aesthetic beauty of the long rifles than with the roles the weapons played in battle in the hands of militiamen. I had no idea how many shots a militiaman could get off in two minutes' time. And that is what matters about those guns, really---that and the accuracy of the weapon and skill of the user. This book ought to please even a seasoned reader of military operations, but it is a jewel for those less familiar with such operations.The writer's organization of his materials, the clarity of his description of the way different elements of an army (e.g., riflemen, musket-using Continentals, artillery, and cavalry) operate in general and how Morgan used them in this battle, and the brisk prose make this a highly readable account of one of the most important (and neglected) battles of the Revolutionary War. I could visualize and appreciate every step of the battle from Morgan's preparation and choice of site to the final route of the British line and of Banastre Tarleton. And Morgan's ability to muster and control the militia impressed me. Washington had little use for militia groups because they were so self-willed and unreliable. He even thought of abandoning them and using the European method of fighting. Morgan made them the centerpiece of his plan, and they lived up to his expectations. A tribute to him as a leader, I think.So interested was I by this book that I ordered "Battle of Cowpens: Primary & Contemporary Accounts," edited by Andrew Waters. There I discovered the remarkably elegant report of the battle that General Morgan wrote to Gen'l Greene. Not only could Morgan lead an army: he could also write with great clarity.So I recommend this book to neophyte and seasoned history reader in general. I'm grateful I discovered it.

This is an interesting narrative of the battle of the Cowpens in South Carolina which appears to have been a further turning point in the American Revolutionary war. The text could do with some refinement as it is neither a story nor a military analysis, some of the writing is disjointed which spoils the narrative and the statistics are not properly evaluated. Having said that the analysis of what most probably happened in terms of timing and casualties is pretty good. Most importantly we do get a clear understanding of why the Crown forces were defeated and the genius of General Morgan and Colonel Washington who won the day. The deployment of skirmishers and the Militia were well disposed to make up for the few Continentals in the line. A potential disaster by the sudden withdrawal of the American right wing was saved by Morgan's instant action resulting in a turnabout and fire upon the Highland Regiment which caused their sudden collapse. The Cowpens reveals a transition begun before the victory at Saratoga of an army fighting for a cause and adopting the military manual of its enemy but then going beyond that to write their own.Just as Cromwell invented his New Model Army so too did Washington.

An extremely well researched book for a fascinating battle in a period which interests me.despite the level of detail Mr Babit's style kept the tale rolling along , and I shall purchase his book on Guildford Courthouse on the strength of this book.

Very prompt despatch, Excellent condition. As described. Would be very happy to trade again. Many thanks. Love the book - exactly as I wanted