Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens was a military engagement of the American Revolutionary War fought on January 17, 1781, near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. An American army of 2,000 regulars and militia under Brigadier general Daniel Morgan defeated a force of 1,000 British and Loyalist troops commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Banastre Tarleton. It was the worst defeat suffered by the British in North America during the conflict following the 1777 Saratoga campaign.

The battle was part of the British "Southern strategy" in which British forces attempted to retake control over the American South under the belief that there was a significant Loyalist population there. However, such assumptions were mostly unfounded, and pro-Patriot sentiment surged in the South following the spread of news of the American victory at Cowpens. Tactically, the battle demonstrated that militia, when deployed properly, could defeat experienced regulars, something which American military and political leaders had previously considered impossible.

Morgan's militiamen disbanded after the battle, leaving 550 regulars under his command. British General Lord Cornwallis pursued Morgan during December 1780 and January 1781 with an army of 2,500 men. Morgan evaded Cornwallis and joined American General Nathanael Greene’s army near Greensboro, North Carolina, in early February, resulting in the Battle of Guilford Court House.