Tarleton in his memoirs described it as an “open wood ... disadvantageous for the Americans, and convenient for the British.” He expected to break through the rebel lines, as he had so often done in the past, and ride down the fleeing remnants with his cavalry. Morgan saw the same ground as favoring him and based his plan of battle on a shrewd appraisal of both his foe and his own men. He was happy enough that there was no swamp nearby for his militia to flee to and unconcerned that there were no natural obstacles covering his wings from cavalry. He knew his adversary, he claimed, “and was perfectly sure I should have nothing but downright fighting. As to retreat, it was the very thing I wished to cut off all hope of.... When men are forced to fight, they will sell their lives dearly.” So Morgan deployed his men according to their abilities and handled them in battle with rare skill. They rewarded him, militia and regular alike, with what was probably the patriots’ best-fought battle of the war. Cowpens was only one battle in a long campaign. For perspective, nine other sites of the War in the South are described on the following pages. Several of them are administered by public agencies; a few are barely marked and may be hard to find. Travelers will find two works useful: _Landmarks of the American Revolution_ by Mark M. Boatner III (1975) and _The Bicentennial Guide to the American Revolution, Volume 3, The War in the South_ by Sol Stember (1974). [Illustration: This monument was erected by the government in 1932 to commemorate the battle. It originally stood in the center of Morgan’s third line but was moved to this location when the new visitor center was built for the Bicentennial.] [Illustration: These hardwoods along the patriots’ third line suggest the open woods that contemporaries agree covered the Cowpens at the time of the battle.] [Illustration: Map] VIRGINIA Appalachian National Scenic Trail Blacksburg Roanoke Lynchburg James River To Yorktown and Colonial National Historical Park Blue Ridge Parkway NORTH CAROLINA Danville Winston-Salem Guilford Courthouse National Military Park Burlington High Point Greensboro Durham Chapel Hill Raleigh Hickory Salisbury Fayetteville Moores Creek National Battlefield Kannapolis Gastonia Charlotte Wilmington SOUTH CAROLINA Cowpens National Battlefield Gaffney Kings Mountain National Military Park Spartanburg Rock Hill Waxhaws Ninety Six National Historic Site Camden Battlefield Camden Florence Columbia Eutaw Springs Historical Area Charleston GEORGIA Augusta The Road to Yorktown Savannah 1778-79