Introduction

I have a long-standing interest in the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence), especially it's military history. I intend to use this blog as a creative outlet in which I will share my thoughts about specific battles of the American Revolution, the people that fought in them and how they were won or lost. I am also painting military miniatures (15mm in height) and will use these to visually demonstrate how specific battles were fought.

The first battle that I will focus on is the Battle of Cowpens, which was fought January 17, 1781 in the State of South Carolina. Few battles of the Revolution have received as much attention as the Cowpens (in fact, its recreation in miniature is even the subject of another blog), but I chose this one in part because a number of visually appealing military units were involved, in part because the total number of soldiers involved was modest compared with other engagements (which makes recreating the battle in miniature viable), and in part because the battle was of special historical significance (arguably, whether or not the Deep South became a part of the United States hinged on the outcome of this battle). Perhaps the most important reason why I've chosen to begin with this battle over others, however, is because of easy access to a treasure trove of documents pertaining to the battle. I have a copy of Lawrence Babits' seminal A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens). Several early histories of the battle can be found online as well as two modern histories (here and here). Also, the website southerncampaign.org has posted thousands of transcribed pension applications by veterans of Revolutionary War, including many by those that served at Cowpens. This makes it possible to work out a particularly detailed account of this battle.