"Downright Fighting": The Story of CowpensFleming, Thomas J.
History
"Downright Fighting": The Story of Cowpens
Fleming, Thomas J.
Cowpens National Battlefield (S.C.); Cowpens, Battle of, Cowpens, S.C., 1781
For those who wish to explore the story of Cowpens in more depth, the
following books will be helpful. _Daniel Morgan, Revolutionary Rifleman_
by Don Higgenbotham (1961) is a well-paced, solidly researched narrative
of the Old Wagoner’s adventurous life. Still valuable, especially for
its wealth of quotations from Morgan’s correspondence, is James Graham’s
_Life of General Morgan_ (1856). On the struggle for the South Carolina
back-country, _Ninety Six_ by Robert D. Bass (1978) is the best modern
study. Edward McCrady’s two-volume work, _A History of South Carolina in
the Revolution_ (1901), is also useful. For personal anecdotes about the
savage civil war between rebels and loyalists, _Traditions and
Reminiscences, Chiefly of the American Revolution in the South_ by
Joseph Johnson, M.D. (1851) is a basic source book. Equally illuminating
is James Collins’ _Autobiography of a Revolutionary Soldier_, published
in _Sixty Years in the Nueces Valley_ (1930). Biographies of other men
who participated in Cowpens are not numerous. _Skyagunsta_ by A. L.
Pickens (1934) mingles legend and fact about Andrew Pickens. _Piedmont
Partisan_ by Chalmers G. Davidson (1951) is a balanced account of
William Lee Davidson. _James Jackson, Duelist and Militant Statesman_ by
William O. Foster (1960) is a competent study of the fiery Georgia
leader. _The Life of Major General Nathanael Greene_ by George
Washington Greene (1871) gives the reader a look at the battle from the
viewpoint of the American commander in the South. For the British side
of the story, one of the best accounts is Banastre Tarleton’s _A History
of the Campaign of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North
America_ (1787), available in a reprint edition. _The Green Dragoon_ by
Robert D. Bass (1957) gives a more objective view of Tarleton’s meteoric
career. Two other useful books are _Strictures on Lt. Col. Tarleton’s
History_ by Roderick Mackenzie (1788), an officer who fought at Cowpens
with the 71st Regiment, and _The History of the Origin, Progress and
Termination of the American War_ by Charles Stedman (1794), a British
officer who was extremely critical of Tarleton. Both are available in
reprint editions. _Cornwallis, the American Adventure_ by Franklin and
Mary Wickwire (1970) has an excellent account of Cowpens—and the whole
war in the South—from the viewpoint of Tarleton’s commander. _Rise and
Fight Again_ by Charles B. Flood (1976) ably discusses the influence of
Cowpens and other Southern battles on the ultimate decision at Yorktown.
—_Thomas J. Fleming_
Index
A
Anderson, Lt. Thomas, 44
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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