The Battle of Hill's Ironworks 2

Part 2: A Center of Resistance

Previous: Strategic Overview

Next: Huck Attacks

The British Post at Rocky Mount:

Lieutenant-Colonel George Turnbull commanded the British outpost at Rocky Mount, South Carolina, with his New York Volunteers and Captain Christian Huck‘s company of British Legion dragoons [see Note 1]. The South Carolina Backcountry was a patchwork of different communities, some predominately aligned with the “American“ cause, or “Whigs,” while others were loyal to the Crown, or “Tories.” Within a given community could be found persons that preferred to stay out of the conflict or that supported (secretly perhaps) a different cause than their neighbors. It was Turnbull's responsibility to organize and support the Loyalists in his area and to suppress rebellion. Turnbull largely remained in Rocky Mount, relying chiefly on Captain Huck and the Loyalist militia (who, like the dragoons, were mounted) to control the countryside.

Turnbull had several bands of Loyalist militia at his disposal in early June, including companies commanded by Henry Houseman, James Ferguson, and John Owens. On June 15, Matthew Floyd joined the Rocky Mount garrison with around 30 men. Floyd was the rare man that was clearly committed to the Crown, influential among his neighbors, and experienced in war. Turnbull promptly gave him a colonel’s commission.

Soon after Floyd reached Rocky Mount, word arrived that the Americans were destroying the homes and property of Floyd and his men. Turnbull promptly dispatched Huck’s troop and all the Loyalists on hand (a mere 60 men) “to give these fellows [the Americans] a Check.” Either because of exhaustion or other pressing business, the newly-appointed Colonel Floyd did not participate in this mission. Instead, command of the Loyalists devolved on his son, Captain Abraham Floyd. Captains Huck and Floyd set off on the morning of June 16. They would "Check" the Americans by destroying Hill’s Ironworks, the chief center of American resistance in the area.

Hill’s Ironworks:

William Hill’s Ironworks was a well-known locale that included sawmills, a gristmill, and a blast furnace. The ironworks was the most productive in the state, supplying Backcountry settlers with plows, kitchen wares, and other implements. Once the war began, the ironworks were used to manufacture cannon, cannonballs, rifles, and other materials of war for the American army. As the British overran the Backcountry, proprietor William Hill turned the ironworks into an important center of resistance. On June 12, Hill spoke out against a British officer sent to the ironworks to take the submission of the area settlers, raising the spirits of his neighbors. Hill then encouraged them to reactivate the New Acquisition militia regiment, which had disbanded after the British advanced into the Backcountry. The men of this regiment then elected Andrew Neal as their colonel and William Hill as their lieutenant colonel [see Note 2].

American Forces at the Ironworks:

It is uncertain which American commanded the forces at the ironworks when Huck attack and what units were present. According to William Hill, Andrew Neal, colonel of the New Acquisition militia regiment, departed the ironworks to attack Floyd shortly before the battle, leaving 12-15 men behind. These men may have belonged to Captain Joseph Howe's company, to judge from the pension applications filed by Samuel Gordon and James Clinton. Two sources link John Thomas’ 1st Spartan militia regiment (see pension applications of Samuel Gordon and James McIlhenny) and Captain John Moffett’s company of militia (see James Collins’ autobiography and Robert Patteson’s pension application) to the battle.

William Hill did not indicate, in his memoir, either that he accompanied Neal's mission to stop Floyd's Loyalists, or that he was at the ironworks at the time of the battle. Michael Scoggins observed that a statement he wrote on behalf of Captain John Henderson implicitly places him at the battle. If Hill was present, he was arguably in command; Colonel John Thomas also could have held that position.

Christian Huck told George Turnbull that the Americans had 150 men when he made his attack. This number could be close to correct, but it's doubtful that he had either the opportunity to count the Americans for himself or that he would have obtained accurate information from the men he captured. Michael Scoggins conservatively accepted as present only the 12-15 men mentioned by Hill; Patrick O'Kelley estimated the total as 50 men.

Notes:

1: “Huck” is the anglicized spelling of a German surname, most likely Houck or Hauck. Early writers sometimes called him Hook, or used other spellings; Huck is the spelling most often given, and it is the spelling that Huck chose for himself (for more, see this discussion on Marg Baskin’s Banastre Tarleton website; a longer biography appears in Michael Scoggins’ book on Huck‘s Defeat).

2. Neal was chosen colonel because he was experienced in war; Hill was not.

Sources:

Michael C. Scoggins. (2005). The Day It Rained Militia: Huck's Defeat and the Revolution in the South Carolina Backcountry, May-July 1780. (link to amazon.com).

Patrick O'Kelley. Hill's Iron Works, South Carolina: The Presbyterian Rebellion -- 18 June 1780 (or June 9th or 11th) (.pdf file). Article in Volume 2, Number 6 of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution magazine.

Michael C. Scoggins. More on the Battle of Hill's Ironworks (.pdf file). Article in Volume 2, Number 7 of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution magazine.

Keith Krawczynski. Aera Ironworks (.pdf file). Article in Volume 2, Number 7 of the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution magazine.

James Collins. (1859). Autobiography of a Revolutionary Soldier.

Robert S. Lambert. (1987). South Carolina Loyalists in the American Revolution. (link to amazon.com).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Samuel Gordon (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of James Clinton (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the postwar memoir of William Hill (.pdf file)

Michael G. Williams transcribed the pension application of James McIlhenny (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Robert Patteson (.pdf file).

Cowpens in Miniature 3

Part 3: American Order of Battle
Previous: British Order of Battle

Next: Morgan's Decision

There is considerable uncertainty about the number of American participants at the battle of Cowpens, a topic about which I have previously commented on at length. I noted that two trustworthy sources (Brigadier-General Daniel Morgan and Sergeant-Major William Seymour) placed the American total at or below 800 men.

In this post I describe the American order of battle in some detail. In this description, Morgan's command has a total of 950 men.

The chief reason why I chose a larger total concerns the question of how many militia were present at the battle. Why Morgan's and Seymour's accounts imply a very low total, other credible sources explicitly indicate otherwise (see How Many Fought at Cowpens?). These statements include a total in the neighborhood of 350 for just the militia line (Otho Williams) to a total for all of the militia of about 500 (Nathanael Greene), 550 (US Congressional Resolution) or 600 men (William Moultrie). In my scheme there are around 590 militia (45 mounted militia, 230 on the main line, and 315 on the militia line).

My total of 950 men is not likely to sit well with some.

Those readers swayed by contemporary author Lawrence Babits would regard this number as too low. He estimated between 1,800 and 2,400 Americans were present at the battle. His estimate of a comparatively large total is based chiefly on an examination of pension applications filed by veterans after the war. I'm in favor of using pension application as a source of information, but I was unswayed by his analysis. This topic was covered in six previous posts (see How Many Fought at Cowpens?, Problems with Pensions, Veteran Survival, Little River Regiment, Morgan and Seymour, Fitting Large Numbers on the Militia Line).

Conversely, those swayed by early historian James Graham would regard this number as too high. I quoted him before, but a key passage bears repeating.

"It is true, his entire command, including all the militia that arrived previous to the battle, would appear to be about nine hundred and eighty men, if army returns and muster rolls were alone consulted. But every one acquainted with military affairs knows that such evidences of strength always exceed the reality. A number of his regulars were sick at the time, and many of the militia were absent. One detachment had been sent off with the baggage, another had gone to Salisbury in charge of prisoners, and a third guarded the horses of the militia. Besides, after the retreat of the militia from the front line, several of them never again appeared in the field, and a few mounted their horses and fled from the ground. Such men should not be permitted to lesson the glory of the achievement, by sharing in the honors of the victors as well as diminishing the mortification of the vanquished. The forces engaged in the battle under Morgan did not exceed eight hundred and fifty men."

Below I describe in some detail the composition of the American force, and estimate the size of each component. I don't have great confidence in the estimates of the various components, but at least there is some logic behind the decisions and the total is consistent with early sources.

American Deployment at Cowpens (click to enlarge). 1 = Continental Light Dragoons; 2 = Mounted Militia; 3 = Right Wing of the Main Line; 4 = Continental Infantry; 5 = Left Wing of the Main Line; 6 = Right Wing of the Militia Line; 7 = Left Wing of the Militia Line. Each miniature represents approximately 20 combatants.

Cavalry Reserve

Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington, commanding. Units #1 & #2 in the above figure.

Continental Light Dragoons: 72 men (Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington). See The American Cavalry - Part 1 for additional details.

Mounted Militia: ~45 men (served in two companies commanded by Major James McCall and Captain Banjamin Jolly). See The American Cavalry - Part 2 for additional details.

Total: ~117 men

The Main Line Continentals

Lieutenant-Colonel John Eager Howard commanding. Unit #4 in the figure.

1st Delaware Regiment: ~60 men. (one light infantry company under Captain Robert Kirkwood; total is based on Babits' A Devil of a Whipping).

1st Maryland Regiment: ~180 men (three light infantry companies under Captains Richard Anderson, Henry Dobson, and Nicholas Mangers; information from Babits.

Virginian Continentals: ~20 men (one company under Captain Andrew Wallace). William Jewell who fought in this company wrote, "Captain Wallace... marched us to Charlotte in North Carolina where we Joined General Greene: General Morgan was here permitted to select about 20 men to reinforce his own little band of perhaps 300 men against Tarleton at the Cowpens – he was selected as one and after the battle went as guard with the prisoners to Albemarle Barracks in Virginia."

Others: ~33 men.

As noted previously, some Virginia State troops and North Carolina Continentals may have served on the main line. Like Wallace's men, they may have been handpicked to supplement Morgan's other Continentals. Colonel Otho Williams in a January 23, 1781 letter said that Morgan had 290 light infantry. There were perhaps 237 Maryland and Delaware Continentals (number based on U.S. Congressional Resolution of March 9, 1781), plus 20 men with Wallace. An additional 33 men would produce a total force of 290.

That Howard's light infantry was an amalgam of men drawn from several units rather than a single large regiment is a reflection of the destitute condition of the American army in the South. On December 7, 1780, Major-General Nathanael Greene wrote to General George Washington complaining that:

"Nothing can be more wretched and distressing than the condition of the troops, starving with cold and hunger, without tents and camp equipage. Those of the Virginia line are literally naked, and a great part totally unfit for any kind of duty, and must remain so untill clothing can be had."

It was necessary to handpick men for service with Morgan because so many were incapable of a rigorous campaign.

Total: ~290 men (based on Williams)

Main Line Militia

Units #3 & #5 in the figure.

Major Francis Triplett's Virginia militia battalion: ~170 men (four companies under Captains James Tate, Patrick Buchanan, James Gilmore, and either Captain Combs or Lieutenant Dearing). The total number is based on the aforementioned letter by Williams.

Little River Regiment of South Carolina militia: ~40 men (Colonel Joseph Hayes, commanding). Daniel Morgan's letter of Jan 4, 1781 identified "forty militia horsemen under Col. Hays." A regimental strength of about 40 men can be interpreted as being consistent with statements made by Private Aaron Guyton of South Carolina (see Little River Regiment). Statements by Morgan and Seymour likewise suggest that the South Carolina militia regiments were quite small (see Morgan and Seymour).

Babits pointed out that there were last minute arrivals adding to the strength of the militia on the eve of the battle. However, there were also last minute departures. Major Joseph McJunkin observed that these regiments included a significant number of "pet tories" who were reluctant to fight (and prone to desert), and Morgan complained that he couldn't keep the militia together.

Other Units: ~20 men (conjectural). This includes a company of North Carolina State Troops commanded by Captain Henry Connelly.

As noted previously, some other militia units have been identified with the main line by various sources. Babits noted that his review of pension applications placed two companies (50 men) of Major David Campbell's Virginia militia battalion at the battle. The pension applications in question are lacking in details. It is not clear how many companies were in this battalion, how many men were in each company, whether all or only part of the companies served in the battle, or even whether the claims made in the applications are trustworthy. As these men are not mentioned in other participant accounts, this group, if present, was not likely to have been of a significant factor in the battle.

Total: ~230 men.

Placement of Militia Units on the Main Line

Of the Virginia militia, Combs'/Dearing's company (~42 men; based on a four-way division of Triplett's 170 men) and Tate's company (~42 men) appear to have been on the left wing, while Buchanan's company (~42 men), appears to have been on the right. Hayes' Little River Regiment (~40 men), and Connelly's company (~20 men) also appear to have been on the right wing (see The Main Line: Composition). I have not been able to place Gilmore's company on either wing. To even things out, I tentatively place Gilmore's company on the left wing to bring that total over the desired threshold. This gives the left wing 126 men (all Virginians), and the right wing 102 men (a hodgepodge of units from several states).

Lieutenant-Colonel John Eager Howard noted that at the climax of the battle that he had only 350 men with him. At this time, the right wing of the main line had fled, but the left wing remained in place. By my calculations, he would have had 290 Continental and Virginia state troops plus 126 riflemen under Major Francis Triplett. This total (416 men) is considerably above the 350 men Howard stated. It could be that some of my assumptions are in error. Alternatively, Howard, in arriving at 350 men, may have thought only half of the Virginian riflemen remained (this would have been 85 men) and forgot about the other units. He might also have subtracted about 20-25 men due to the losses he had sustained from British fire up to this point. This would result in a total of about 350 men.

Militia Line (Left Wing)

Unit #7 in the figure.

Georgia Refugees: One battalion under Major John Cunningham.

South Carolina State Troops: One regiment under Captain (Major) Samuel Hammond. Hammond is referred to as both a captain and a major. Hammond himself noted that he had been promoted to major, but technically he remained a captain, because he had not yet received his commission. Hammond stated that he

"Commanded on the left of the front line as Major of McCall's Regiment. It is here necessary to observe that Col. McCall had been promoted to the command of a Regiment of Cavalry authorized to be enrolled for six months & Applicant appointed to the Majority neither had yet been commissioned & only few armed with swords & pistols. The Refugee militia attached to their respective commands enrolled in the regiment and were promised by the Governor to be provided with clothing & arms as soon as they could be procured --- not a day was lost in recruiting nor was the full number made up before the Battle. The few 25 to 30 that were equipped as Horsemen were placed under Col. McCall and attached to Col. Washington's command. Those who were not so equipped were armed with Rifles & placed under the Applicant."

Upper Ninety-Six Regiment of South Carolina militia: I argued in a previous post that the left wing of the militia line likely included Colonel Andrew Pickens' regiment of South Carolina militia and perhaps also other volunteers from Georgia and South Carolina not affiliated with either Cunningham or Hammond. (see The Militia Line: Composition and Organization).

Total: ~115 men. I have not found information about the number of men in these units, therefore, I defer to Babits' number, which in turn comes from an unpublished study described in the Greene Papers. I haven't read the study and so I can offer no comment other than that the number seems plausible.

Militia Line (Right Wing)

Unit #6 in the figure.

Major Joseph McDowell's battalion of North Carolina militia: ~120 men. This total is based on a letter from Daniel Morgan to Nathanael Greene, dated December 31, 1780.

1st Spartan Regiment of South Carolina militia: ~40 men (Colonel John Thomas, commanding). The estimate is an extension of that for Hayes' regiment (see above).

2nd Spartan Regiment of South Carolina militia: ~80 men (two battalions; Colonel Joseph Brandon and Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Roebuck, commanding). Again, the estimate is an extension of the reasoning applied to Hayes' regiment.

The battalions of McDowell, Thomas, Brandon, and Roebuck are estimated to have had a total force of 240 men. However, there were some significant detachments. Captain Samuel Otterson of Brandon's battalion indicated that 30 men were detached as serving as spies and missed the battle. Captain Benjamin Jolly, also of Brandon's battalion, commanded a company of mounted militia contained men drawn, in part, from the South Carolinians' ranks (see The American Cavalry - Part 2).

Total: ~200 men (240 men - detachments).

Grand Total

• Cavalry: ~117 men
• Main Line Continentals: ~290 men
• Main Line Militia: ~230 men
• Militia Line (Left Wing): ~115 men
• Militia Line (Right Wing): ~200 men

Total ~950 men

Sources:

Lawrence Babits' A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens is available through amazon.com

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of William Jewell (.pdf file).

A summary of the Otho Williams papers can be found here. The item in question is a letter from Williams to Dr. James McHenry, dated January 23, 1781.

A transcription of the letter from Greene to Washington can be found here.

January 23, 1781 letter from Major-General Nathanael Greene to Brigadier-General Francis Marion (not available online).

Theodorus Bailey Myers' 1881 Cowpens Papers has the U.S. Congressional Resolution, a copy of the statement by Jackson, and various statements by Morgan.

This issue (.pdf file) of The Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution magazine provides a complete treatment of McJunkin's statements.

Will Graves trancribed the pension application of Samuel Hammond (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Samuel Otterson (.pdf file).

James Graham's 1856 The Life of General Daniel Morgan

Related: How Many Fought at Cowpens?, The Main Line: Composition, The Militia Line: Composition and Organization

Little River Regiment

This is the third in a series of posts defending the view that a relatively small number of Americans fought at Cowpens.

I think Lawrence Babits' efforts to use pension applications to better understand the battle of Cowpens is commendable, even though I disagree that a very large number of Americans fought at Cowpens, and I've previously taken issue with the argument that either the sheer number of pension applications, or pension-derived estimates of unit size convincingly show that a large number of Americans were present. In this post I take issue with a third argument in favor of a large American total, which involves "counting captains."

To illustrate my concerns, I focus on one militia regiment in particular, the "Little River Regiment," of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Hayes. About this regiment Babits said (A Devil of a Whipping, p 39):

"The Little River Regiment was composed of five companies under Captains James Ewing, William Harris, James Dugan, Samuel Sexton, and James Irby. Captain James Ewing commanded the right flank company located on the Green River Road. Captain William Harris served under Hayes during the fight at Blackstock's Plantation. Captain James Dugan was reported as a major at Cowpens, but his brother appears to have held that rank... Captain James Lindsay commanded a platoon in Dugan's company."

He then further described the companies of Sexton and Irby, which I brought up in my last post.

Babits believed each of these companies to be of a decent size, although considerably less than a full strength company of Continentals. He noted (p 31), "The immediate impression is that a captain commanded about twenty to thirty men."

Under this formula, the five companies would combine to create a regiment of about 100 to 150 men. This falls short of the 150 to 200 men he attributed to each regiment (p 189, n. 11). However, if Sexton was correct that he had 24 men and Irby was correct that he had around 65 men, then the range would be more like 149 to 179.

In working on this project, I've read quite a few of the pension applications that have been transcribed and publicly posted on the website southerncampaign.org. There are, at this writing, a little over 5,500 applications online (and the number has been increasing almost by the day), mostly for veterans that served with units from Virginia and the Carolinas. Many of these veterans claimed service at Cowpens*

*A search for the term Cowpens generates at the moment 598 results, although not all of these "hits" involve applications in which the veteran claimed service at the battle of Cowpens. Some applications mentioned Cowpens because it was a staging ground before the battle of King's Mountain; in some other cases the term refers to an entirely different locale.

I have already disagreed with Babits about where Hayes' regiment was on the battlefield. Searching through these pensions I also found evidence for a very different organization for Hayes' regiment. Mindful that the officers comanding a given company could change with some frequency, I assembled a list of those online applications where the application clearly indicated service in Hayes' regiment under a given company commander at the battle of Cowpens. In some cases the applicant makes these connections; in other cases they appear in statements of support appended to the application. Links (all are to .pdfs) are provided for the benefit of the reader that would to examine these applications for himself/herself.

1. Thomas Blasingame's company. Jethro O'Shields and John O'Shields served in this company.

2. James Dillard's company. See Captain James Dillard's pension application. Babits (p 75) says that "Dillard's company became the left, or second, platoon under Ewing," and cites Robert Long's application as evidence. This contention is by no means clear from Long's application.

3. James Ewing's company Robert Long placed himself in this company.

4. William Harris' company. Lewis Saxon, Joel Harvey, and Joseph Griffin served in this company.

5. John Jones' company. Golding Tinsley served in this company. Although in the application of Robert Long, he implies that was in Ewing's company.

6. John Ridgeway's company. John Ridgeway (junior) places himself in his father's company. William Childress also places himself in this company.

7. Samuel Saxton's company. See Captain Samuel Saxton's pension application.

8. Daniel Williams' company. James Tinsley served in this company.

(9). James Dugan's company. This is one of the companies that Babits described. The online records I examined (which are incomplete) did not indicate a clear connection between James Dugan's company and Hayes' regiment at the time of Cowpens.

(10). John Irby's company. Neither Captain John Irby nor Richard Griffin who was also in this company say that they were adjoined to Hayes' regiment. Irby said he was in the Little River area before setting out for Cowpens. Richard Griffin indicated that he was one of the Georgian refugees, which would seemingly place Irby's company on the left wing of the militia line, while Robert Long's statements clearly place Hayes' regiment on the right wing of the main line. Brigadier-General Daniel Morgan stated that Hayes' regiment was on the left wing of the militia line near the Georgian refugees.

In short, a partial inspection of the pension applications indicates 8 companies that with some confidence can be placed in Hayes' regiment at the time of the battle. Following Babits' suggested company size, this would give Hayes' regiment between 160 and 240 men. However, there are 8 different companies described in these 12 applications, and 1 captain for every 6 applications. These numbers suggest an alternative possibility -- that the militia companies at Cowpens were both very numerous and very small.

A clear indication that the militia companies were very small can be found in a statment made by Private Aaron Guyton of Colonel Thomas Brandon's regiment of South Carolinians. Guyton said:

"I was under Col Brandon who had a few Brave Men who stood true for the cause of Liberty in the back part of the State who composed our little Army I was out the most of this time Some times we had 75 Some Times 150 men, and some times we had 4 or 5 Cols with from 50 to 150 men. Each of them had Command of a Regt at home & some times not more than 5 of his men with him. The Cols were Brandon, Hayes, Roebuck, White,--in December 1780 Genl Morgan & Col. Washington of the Cavalry came out and took Camp near Pacolet River was soon joined with what few Malitia was in our part."

In other words, even if there were a handful of South Carolina militia regiments at Cowpens, the total number of men representing those regiment could still have been very small. Babits, I think, interpreted this statement as an indication that each colonel or lieutenant colonel commanded between 50 to 150 men (although in his book he does not give the strength of any of these regiments as being under 150 men). My interpretation is that this number refers to the combined forces of these officers, as suggested by Guyton's phrases "our little Army" and "what few Malitia was in our part [of South Carolina]."

If a regiment at times could be as few as five men and a colonel, then it requires no stretch of the imagination to believe that the individual companies could also be quite small. Indeed, Guyton went on to say that, "we had no Officer in our Company & only two or three or four men, and the morning before the Battle 17 January 1781 we joined Captain John Thompson's Company."

With such small companies in existence, men would perhaps frequently jump from one company to another as the occassion warranted, especially if their officers were not always present. For this reason I was careful in my pension search to make sure that the application clearly indicated that service with a given company commander occurred at the battle of Cowpens.

Babits suggested that a typical militia company contained around 25 men, which does seem like a reasonable estimate. However, evidence for this in regards to Cowpens is poor. Only Samuel Sexton and John Collins mentioned commanding companies of this size at Cowpens, and Sexton's company was seemingly raised under unusual circumstances. John Irby claimed to have commanded a company of 60 to 70 men at the battle, but I gave reasons for why this is dubious.

In my opinion, one cannot reject the possibility that some, if not many, of the militia companies present at Cowpens consisted of groups of 10 men or less.

One also cannot reject the possibility that some of these statements about companies and commanders are inaccurate. For example, North Carolina militiaman James Patterson stated that he, "was at the battle of the Cowpens; engaged in the battle some time near the middle of January—he was under Col. Rutherford in the battle with the militia who retreated in the first attack but he was wounded and cut down but afterwards recovered and joined the regular troops under Col. Howard and assisted during the rest of the battle in defeating the British and joined in pursuit of the enemy." Rutherford's regiment is not regarded as having been present at the battle. Does Patterson's statement mean that historians have overlooked an entire regiment of North Carolinians? Of course not. More believable is that Patterson was in error. Perhaps Patterson was in Major Joseph McDowell's battalion of North Carolina militiamen and misremembered that fact. In the case of a statement about a large formation, the error is easily caught. Statements in error about smaller formations are both more likely to occur and less likely to be discovered.

As is the case with the other arguments I've considered, the argument that a large number of combatants in Morgan's force is indicated by a large number of companies is insufficient in my view to reject other evidence.

Related: Introduction, Problems with Pensions, Veteran Survival

The Militia Line at Cowpens

[Revised 12/26/09]

General:

An 1822 history, Sketches... of the Highlanders of Scotland, which tells the story of the battle of Cowpens from the perspective of the Scottish soldiers in the 71st Foot, provided one of the clearest descriptions of where the American militia line stood during the battle.

"On the morning of the 17th January 1781, intelligence was received that General Morgan was in front, with his force drawn up on a rising ground, thinly covered with pine trees; the front line being on the crown of the rising ground, and the second 400 paces in rear of the first line."

In other words, there were militia positioned near the number 1 on the map below.

Not all of the militia were deployed in this one spot. Rather, the militia line was divided into two wings, with one wing located near the crest of Elevation #1 (#6 on the map below), and the other wing located near the Green River Road (#7 on the map below).

1 = Continental Light Dragoons, 2 = Mounted Militia, 3 = Right Wing of the Main Line, 4 = Continental Infantry, 5 = Left Wing of the Main Line, 6 = Right Wing of the Militia Line, 7 = Left Wing of the Militia Line, 8 = Skirmishers

Clear evidence for this deployment can be found in the after action report of the American commander, Brigadier-General Daniel Morgan. Morgan stated:

"An hour before daylight [on the morning of the battle] one of my scouts returned and informed me that Lieut. Col. Tarleton had advanced within five miles of our camp. On this information, I hastened to form as good a disposition as circumstances would admit, and from the alacrity of the troops, we were soon prepared to receive them... The volunteers from North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, under the command of the brave and valuable Col. Pickens, were situated to guard the flanks. Maj. McDowall, of the North Carolina volunteers, was posted on the right flank in front of the line, one hundred and fifty yards; and Maj. Cunningham, of the Georgia volunteers, on the left, at the same distance in front, Colonels Brannon and Thomas, of the South Carolinans, were posted on the right of Maj. McDowall, and Cols. Hay and McCall, of the same corps, on the left of Maj. Cunningham."

Other participant accounts also indicated that the militia were divided into two parts.

Major Joseph McJunkin of South Carolina recalled that, "the regulars [were] in the center, commanded by Col. Howard, the militia on the right and left—the right commanded by Gen. Pickens, the left by _________ [blank in the original]. Col. Washington in the rear with his troop of cavalry."

Sergeant-Major William Seymour of the Delaware Continentals recorded in his journal that, "The militia were... drawn up in front of the standing troops [i.e., the Continentals] on the right and left banks, being advanced about two hundred yards.”

Private Robert Long of South Carolina described the two militia wings to the front of his regiment. Directly in front of him on the right wing was "Major McDowell, of North Carolina... Cols. Thomas and Roebuck [were] in the extreme right. The left wing was similarly formed of militia." See The Statements of Private Robert Long.

Private Adam Files of South Carolina recalled in his pension application that, "The right of the Army was commanded by General Pickens. The left by Colonel McCall and these Center by General Morgan."

Private John Harris of South Carolina claimed in his pension application that, "I was in the left wing for the militia under Col. McCall."

Composition of the Right Wing:

The right wing of the militia line consisted of North and South Carolinians. The North Carolinans were organized into a single battalion under the command of Major Joseph McDowell. Following, in part, the analysis of Lawrence Babits described in A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Camden, the South Carolinians were organized into three small battalions. These South Carolinians included the 1st Spartan Regiment, under the command of Colonel John Thomas, and two battalions of the 2nd Spartan Regiment, under the command of Colonel Thomas Brandon, and Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Roebuck. According to South Carolinian Aaron Guyton, these battalions were well linked with each other and Colonel Joseph Hayes' Little River regiment:

"I was under Colonel Brandon who had a few Brave men – who stood true for the cause of liberty in the back part of the State who composed our little Army I was out the most of this time sometimes we had 75 sometimes 150 men, and sometimes we had four or five Colonels with from 50 to 150 men. Each of them had command of a Regiment at home & sometimes not more than 5 of his men with him. The colonels were Brandon, Hase, Roebuck, White." Following Babits, these officers were Colonel Thomas Brandon, Colonel Joseph Hayes, Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Roebuck, and Major Henry White (second-in-command to John Thomas).

Morgan placed McDowell's battalion to the left side of the South Carolinians. Robert Long's account further adds that Thomas and Roebuck were on the extreme right. By extension, Brandon's battalion must have been deployed next to McDowell's men.

Composition of the Left Wing:

The left wing of the militia line consisted of Georgians and South Carolinians.

Major John Cunningham commanded a small battalion of Georgia militia. According to Major James Jackson of Georgia, Cunningham's command was comprised of three companies under the commands of Captains Samuel Hammond, Joshua Inman, and George Walton. Babits named a Captain Richard Heard in place of Hammond. One David Thurmond claimed, in his pension application, to have been a captain in this battalion at the battle.

Major (soon to be Colonel) James McCall commanded a regiment of South Carolina State Troops. McCall's regiment was recruited from Georgia and South Carolina "refugees." This regiment was supposed to be equipped as dragoons, but the regiment was still being organized at the time of the battle, and only a relatively small number were prepared to fight in that capacity. McCall took personal command of those troops equipped as dragoons and fought alongside Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington and the remainder of the American cavalry during the battle. The rest of the troops served under McCall's second-in-command, Captain (soon to be Major) Samuel Hammond. (Hammond's pension application is the source of many of these details).

Morgan's account indicates that the Georgians served on the right end of the left wing, while South Carolinians served on the left. Morgan placed Colonel Joseph Hayes' regiment of South Carolinians on the left wing, but Long convincingly placed it on the main line.

There are some other bodies of troops that were likely a part of the left wing that are generally not described in accounts of the battle. These may have included Captain John Irby's company of Georgia refugees (see Little River Regiment), and other, miscellaneous volunteers (see pension application of George Harbinson).

More significantly, Colonel Andrew Pickens' Upper Ninety-Six District Regiment of South Carolina militia was likely on the left wing. The few references to Pickens' regiment in accounts of the battle may reflect the absence of the regiment's senior leadership. Pickens was given overall command of the front-line militia and so was away from his regiment. Major Alexander Noble possibly had command of the American baggage (at least this was his assignment after the battle). Private Patrick Norris mentioned that Noble was "officer of the guard" and after the battle "conducted the forge wagon with a considerable number of arms, that were taken from Tarleton at his defeat to Gilbertstown in North Carolina."

McCall was well known to the men of Pickens' regiment having come from the same part of the state and having been, at one time, a captain in the regiment. It can be difficult to distinguish in some pension applications whether the applicant was a South Carolina refugee attached to McCall or whether the individual was in Pickens' regiment.

John Harris is one individual whose account is somewhat ambiguous.

Early in the war he was clearly in what would become Pickens' regiment: "In the summer of 1778–I was again called out and went in Captain Noble’s Company under Col. Andrew Williamson and Maj. Andrew Pickens." This was before Noble and Pickens had been promoted.

Sometime in 1780, however, he "joined Col. (then Capt McCall) in an enterprise which he under took to surprize the British at Augusta... [later] McCall retreated up the Saluda River spent two weeks in the mountains on the border of North Carolina, almost without food, and joined Gen’l. Morgans army in North Carolina a short time after the Battle of Kings Mountain. With this army I remained until the battle of the Cowpens Jan’y. 1781, in which I was in the left wing for the militia under Col. McCall."

A number of pension applications, however, clearly establish Pickens' regiment as one present at the battle.

Charles Holland was a private in Joseph Pickens' company of Colonel Andrew Pickens' regiment:

"he volunteered, some time in the month of September (as well as he can recollect) 1776, in a company of militia under the command of Captain James McCall, in the District then called Ninety-Six, now Abbeville, in the State of South Carolina, that said company was attached to a Regiment, or corps of men, under the command of Major Andrew Williamson or Winson, the Colonel, if any, not recollected; that he continued with Captain McCall until about a month July 1777, when the Captain was taken prisoner by the Indians & this relator was transferred to a militia company commanded by Captain Andrew Pickens, in the same Regiment; that soon after this, Williamson was promoted to the command of the Regiment & Captain Pickens was made the Major... [later,] one Joseph Pickens was promoted to the captaincy of said Company... and Major Andrew Pickens became the Commandant of this Regiment; and one Alexander Noble became Major."

Holland was also at the battle of Cowpens, where a British cavalryman wounded him "by a sword thrust through the body, which disabled him for active service for two or three months." Others in his regiment experienced the same fate.

James Pettigrew was a private in James Caldwell's company:

"The next battle he was in of any note was at the Cowpens under General Morgan. General Pickens, Col. Anderson, Colonel McCall, Major Noble, Lieut. Carlile [Francis Carlisle] were in that engagement and most of them, if not all, were under the command of General Pickens and from Abbeville District. He recollects that Colonel Washington with his cavalry was there and saved the militia from inevitable destruction. James Caldwell commanded this applicant's company and was cut almost to death by Tarlton's horsemen so much so that he had to be borne from the field."

Jeremiah Files was a private in John Files' company:

Jeremiah "enrolled himself as a volunteer under Colonel Andrew Pickens and at the time of his enrollment resided in Abbeville District in the State of South Carolina and marched from thence as a volunteer with Col.Pickens to Granvile Shoals on Packlet River and there joined General Morgan about the first of January in the year 1781 and then placed under the command of Captain McKall [James McCall] in the Battalion of Major Noble in the Regiment of Colonel Andrew Pickens of the South Carolina Militia... we marched under General Morgan to the Cowpens and was at the Battle fought there against Tarltons Legion on the Wednesday Morning on the 17th day of January 1781... This Deponent was wounded by Tarleton's Dragoons on the head – on the left arm and on the right hand each wound was made with a sword & the wounds are now visible the wounds Greatly Disabled this Deponent -- & Stunned him for some time & one Captain Alexander of Rowan County North Carolina was the first man to come to his relief & informed him of our victory."

Samuel Hammond's dubious sketch of the battle shows Pickens' regiment on the left wing of the main line (see The Hammond Map). However, Pettigrew's statement (see above) links McCall with Pickens' regiment, suggesting that their regiments served together during the battle.

Sources:

David Stewart's 1825 Sketches... of the Highlanders of Scotland is available through Google Books.

Morgan's report of the battle can be found in James Graham's 1856 The Life of General Daniel Morgan.

For a transcription of Long's accounts of the battle see The Statements of Private Robert Long.

John Moncure's The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour webpage has a transcription of the statements by Hammond, Seymour, and Howard.

This issue of the online magazine, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution has complete transcriptions and commentary on McJunkin's statements.

A transcription of William Seymour's journal can also be found on this Battle of Camden website.

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of David Thurmond (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Adam Files, which can be read here (.pdf file).

C. Leon Harris transcribed the pension application of John Harris, which can be read here (.pdf file).

Lawrence Babits' A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens is available through amazon.com.

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Aaron Guyton (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Samuel Hammond (.pdf file).

C. Leon Harris transcribed the pension application of George Harbinson (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Patrick Norris (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Charles Holland (.pdf file).

Nan Overton West transcribed the pension application of James Pettigew (.pdf file).

Will Graves transcribed the pension application of Jeremiah Files (.pdf file).