Disposition of the American Army. John Eager Howard. Silver Medal awarded to Howard tured two American videttes, and learned from them the place of Morgan's encampment. At eight o'clock he came in sight of the advanced guard of the patriots, and fearing that Morgan might again retreat, and get safely across the Broad River, he resolved to attack him immediately, notwithstanding the fatigue of his troops. The Americans were posted upon an eminence of gentle descent, covered with an open wood. They were rested, had breakfasted, and were thoroughly refreshed after their flight from the Pacolet. And now, expecting Tarleton, they were drawn up in battle order. On the crown of the eminence were stationed two hundred and ninety Maryland regulars, and on their right the two companies of Virginia militia, under Major Triplet. These composed the rear line of four hundred and thirty men, and were under the general command of Lieutenant. colonel Howard. One hundred and fifty yards in advance of this line was a body of militia, about three hundred in They were commanded by Colonel Andrew Pickens, who, with his followers, had joined Morgan during the night. About one hundred and fifty yards in advance of this first line, were placed the best riflemen of the corps of M Dowell and Cunningham. Those on the right were commanded by Cunningham, and those on the left by M.Dowell. These were directed to operate as circumstances should direct, after delivering their first fire, which was to be E. Howard, No accurate plan of the arrangement of the troops on this occasion has ever been made. Captain Hammond made a sketch many years afterward from memory, which is published in Johnson's Traditions and Reminiscences of the Revolution. As it does not fully agree with official reports, I forbear copying it. 2 John Eager Howard was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, on the fourth of June, 1752. When the war commenced, he entered the service as captain of one of those bodies of militia termed flying camps. He was present at the battle near White Plains, New York. His corps was dismissed in December, 1776, The following are the device and inscriptions: An officer mounted, with uplifted sword, pursuing an officer on foot bear ing a stand of colors. Victory is seen descending in front, over the former, holding a wreath in her right hand over his head. In her left hand is a palm branch. Legend: JOHN EAGER HOWARD, LEGIONIS PEDITUM PREFECTO COMITIA AMERICANA-"The American Congress to John Eager Howard, commander of a regiment of infantry." Reverse: A laurel wreath, inclosing the inscription, QUOD IN NUTANTEM HOSTIUM ACIEM SUBITO IRRUENS, PRÆCLARUM BELLICA VIRTUTIS SPECIMEN DEDIT IN PUGNA, AD COWPENS, 17TH JANUARY, 1781-"Because, rushing suddenly on the wavering line of the foe, he gave a brilliant specimen of martial courage at the battle of the Cowpens, January 17, 1781." Morgan prepared to Fight. His Address to his Troops. The Attack. Tarleton's Charge. given when the British should be within one hundred and fifty yards. In the rear of the second line, under Howard, and behind an eminence of sufficient height to conceal them,' the American reserve was posted. These consisted of Washington's cavalry, and McCall's mounted militia of Georgia, armed with sabers. He ex Tarleton was rather disconcerted when he found that Morgan was prepared to fight him, for he expected to overtake him on a retreat. He rode cautiously forward to reconnoiter, but the shots of the advanced corps of riflemen obliged him to retire precipitately to his lines. Yet, feeling sure of an easy victory, Tarleton quickly arranged his line in battle order upon the Spartanburg road, within three hundred yards of Morgan's first line. At this moment, Morgan, with solemn voice and sententious sentences, addressed his troops. horted the militia of the first line to be steady, and fire with sure aim; and expressed his conviction that, if they would pour in two volleys at a killing distance, victory would be theirs. He addressed the second line in a similar manner, informed them that he had ordered the militia to fall back after delivering two volleys, and exhorted them not to be disconcerted by that movement. Then taking post with his line, near Lieutenant-colonel Howard, he awaited in silence the approach of the British van, already in motion. It consisted of the light troops and the legion infantry, with the 7th regiment, under Major Newmarsh. In the center of this line were the two pieces of artillery. Upon each flank was a troop of cavalry; and in the rear, as a reserve, was Major M'Arthur, with the battalion of the 71st regiment and the remainder of the cavalry. Tarleton placed himself in the first line. It was now about nine o'clock in the morning. The sun was shining warm and bright over the summits of Thicketty Mountain, and gave brilliancy to the martial array in the forests below. At a signal from Tarleton, his advance gave a loud shout, and rushed furiously to the contest, under cover of their artillery and an incessant discharge of musketry The riflemen, under Cunningham and M Dowell, delivered their fire with terrible effect, and then fell back to the flanks of the first line under Pickens. The British still shouting, rushed forward, and poured in a close fire upon the militia. These stood firm, until assailed with bayonets, when they fell back to the second line. McCall's militia fled to their horses, while the remainder, under Pickens, took post upon Howard's right. Upon the main body Tarleton now made a vigorous charge, and was met with equal valor and determination. The contest was close and severe, and the British line began to bend, when M'Arthur, with the reserve, was ordered to advance. This movement reanimated the quailing Britons, and they plied ball and bayonet with incessant force. While the contest was raging, M'Arthur and at the solicitation of his friends, he accepted of the commission of major in one of the Continental battalions of Maryland. In the spring of 1777, he joined the army under Washington, in New Jersey, with which he remained until the close of June, when he returned home, on account of the death of his father. A few days after the battle on the Brandywine, he rejoined the army, and was distinguished for his cool courage in the battle at Germantown, of which he wrote an interesting account. In that engagement, he was major of the 4th regiment, commanded by Colonel Hall, of Maryland. Major Howard was present at the battle of Monmouth, in 1778. On the first of June, 1779, he received a commission as lieutenant colonel of the 5th Maryland regiment, "to take rank from the eleventh day of March, 1778." In 1780, he went with the Maryland and Delaware troops to the South, and served under Gates until the arrival of Greene. Soon after this, we find him with Morgan, winning bright laurels at the Cowpens; and for his bravery there, Congress awarded him the honor of a silver medal. Howard again distinguished himself at the battle of Guilford, where he was wounded. At the conclusion of the war, Colonel Howard married Margaret, the daughter of Chief-justice Chew, around whose house at Germantown he had valiantly battled. In November, 1788, he was chosen governor of Maryland, which office he held for three years. He was commissioned major general of militia in 1794, but declined the honor. Washington invited him to a seat in his cabinet, at the head of the War Department, in 1795. That honor he also declined. He was then a member of the Maryland Senate. In 1796, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, where he served antil 18C3, when he retired from public life. When, in 1814, Baltimore was threatened with destruction by the enemy, the veteran soldier prepared to take the field. The battle at North Point, however, rendered such a step unnecessary. He lost his wife in 1827; and on the twelfth of October, 1827, he, too, left the scenes of earth, at the age of seventy-five years. Honor, wealth, and the ardent love of friends, were his lot in life, and few men ever went down to the grave more truly lamented than John Eager Howard. Between this eminence and the one on which Howard was stationed, the Mill-gap road passes. Charge of Tarleton. Bold Maneuver of Howard. Americans Victorious. Colonel Washington. attempted to gain the American flank under Colonel Howard. That officer perceived the movement and its intent, and instantly ordered his first company to charge the British 71st. His order was mistaken, and the company fell back. The whole line also gave way at W. Washington the same moment, and Morgan ordered it to re- At I WILLIAM WASHINGTON, "the modern Marcellus," "the sword of his country," was the eldest son of Baily Washington, of Stafford county, Virginia, where he was born on the 28th of February, 1752. He was educated for the Church, but the peculiar position of public affairs led him into the political field. He early espoused the patriot cause, and entered the army under Colonel Hugh (afterward General) Mercer as captain. He was in the battle near Brooklyn, Long Island, distinguished himself at Trenton, and was with his beloved general when he fell at Princeton. He was afterward a major in Colonel Baylor's corps of cavalry, and was with that officer when attacked by General Grey, at Tappan, in 1778. The following year, he joined the army under Lincoln in South Carolina, and was very active in command of a light corps in the neighborhood of Charleston. He became attached, with his corps, to the division of General Morgan, and with that officer fought bravely at the Cowpens. For his valor on that occasion, Congress presented him with a silver medal. He was an active officer in Greene's celebrated retreat, and again fought bravely at The following are the device and inscriptions: An officer mounted at the head of a body of cavalry, charging flying troops; Victory is flying over the reads of the Americans, holding a laurel crown in her right hand and a palm branch in her left. Legend: GULIELMO WASHINGTON LEGIONIS EQUITUM PREFECTO COMITIA AMERICANA-"The American Congress to William Washington, commander of a regiment of cavalry." Reverse: QUOD PARVA MILITUM MANU STRENUE PROSECUTUS HOSTES VIRTUTIS INGENITE PRÆCLARUM SPECIMEN DEDIT IN PUGNA AD COWPENS, 17TH JANUARY, 1781-"Because, having vigerously pursued the foe with a small band of soldiers, he gave a brilliant specimen of innate valor in the battle at the Cowpens, 17th January, 1781." This inscription is within a laurel wreath. Retreat of the British. Encounter between Washington and Tarleton. Result of the Battle. thur, were too much mixed up with the main forces of Tarleton, to present a rallying point, and the whole body retreated along the Mill-gap road to the place near Scruggs's, delineated on page 430, then covered with an open wood like the ground where the conflict commenced. There the battle ended, and the pursuit was relinquished. It was near the northern border of that present open field that Washington and Tarleton had a personal conflict. In the eagerness of his pursuit of that officer, Washington had got far in advance of his squadron, when Tarleton and two of his aids, at the head of the troop of the 17th regiment of dragoons, turned upon him. An officer on Tarleton's right was about to strike the impetuous Washington with his saber, when his sergeant came up and disabled the assailant's swordarm. An officer on Tarleton's left was about to strike at the same moment, when Washington's little bugler, too small to wield a sword, wounded the assailant with a pistol-ball. Tarleton, who was in the center, then made a thrust at him, which Washington parried, and gave his enemy a wound in the hand.' Tarleton wheeled, and, as he retreated, discharged a pistol, by which Washington was wounded in the knee. During that night and the following morning, the remnant of Tarleton's force reached Hamilton's Ford, on Broad River, and also the encampment of Cornwallis, at Turkey Creek, about twenty-five miles from the Cowpens. For this defeat, Tarleton's cotemporaries censured him severely.' The loss of the Americans in this decisive battle was about seventy men, of whom, strange to say, only twelve were killed. The British, according to Cornwallis's letter to Sir Henry Clinton, written a few days afterward, lost ten officers and ninety privates killed, and twenty-three officers and five hundred privates taken prisoners. Almost the whole of the British infantry, except the baggage guard, were killed or taken. The two pieces of artillery," eight hundred muskets, two standards, thirty-five baggage wagons, and one hundred dragoon horses, fell into the possession of the Americans. To the honor of the victors, it is declared that, notwithstanding the cruel warfare which Tarleton had waged had exasperated the Americans to the last degree, not one of the British was killed or wounded, or even insulted, after they had surrendered. wallis. 4 The defeat of the British at the Cowpens has not been inaptly compared to that of the Germans of Burgoyne's army near Bennington. The disaster, in both cases, dealt a severe blow against the success of the main army. The battle near Bennington paralyzed the energies of Burgoyne's army; the battle at the Cowpens equally affected the power of CornHe was advancing triumphantly toward the heart of North Carolina, having placed Guilford Court House. He behaved gallantly at Hobkirk's Hill, near Camden, and at the battle at Eutaw Springs he exhibited signal valor; but his horse being shot under him, he was there made a prisoner. He remained a captive until the close of the war. Having become attached to a South Carolina lady during his captivity, he married her, and settled in Charleston. He represented that district in the State Legislature. His talents as a statesman were so conspicuous, that he was solicited to become a candidate for governor. He declined the honor, chiefly because he could not make a speech. When President Adams appointed General Washington commander-in-chief of the American army, he chose Colonel Washington to be one of his staff, with the rank of brigadier. Colonel Washington died on the sixth of March, 1810. He was tall in person, possessed of great strength and activity, and in society was taciturn and modest. In the pres 1 It is related that this wound was twice the subject for the sallies of wit of two American ladies, who were sisters, daughters of Colonel Montfort, of Halifax county, North Carolina. When Cornwallis and his army were at Halifax, on their way to Virginia, Tarleton was at the house of an American. ence of Mrs. Wilie Jones (one of these sisters), Tarleton spoke of Colonel Washington as an illiterate fellow, hardly able to write his name. "Ah! colonel," said Mrs. Jones, "you ought to know better, for you bear on your person proof that he knows very well how to make his mark!" At another time, Tarleton was speaking sarcastically of Washington, in the presence of her sister, Mrs. Ashe. "I would be happy to see Colonel Washington," he said, with a sneer. Mrs. Ashe instantly replied, "If you had looked behind you, Colonel Tarleton, at the battle of the Cowpens, you would have enjoyed that pleasure." Stung with this keen wit, Tarleton placed his hand on his sword. General Leslie, who was present, remarked, "Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe, Colonel Tarleton knows better than to insult a lady in my presence."Mr. Ellet's Women of the Revolution. 2 See Stedman, ii., 324. 3 These two pieces of artillery were first taken from Burgoyne at Saratoga; then retaken by the British at Camden; now were recovered by the Americans, and afterward fell into the hands of Cornwallis at Guilford. They were of the kind of small field-pieces called "grasshoppers." 4 Ramsay, Gordon, Marshall, Lee, Johnson, Tarleton, Moultrie. The Heroes of the Cowpens. Departure from that Place. Cherokee Ford. Indians in the Carolinas. South Carolina, as he thought, in submission at his feet. The defeat of Ferguson at King's Mountain, and now of Tarleton, his favorite partisan, withered his hopes of Tory organization and co-operation. His last hope was the destruction of Greene's army by his own su perior force, and for that purpose he now commenced the pursuit which we have considered in a preceding chapter, the capture of Morgan and his prisoners being his first object. The victory of the Cowpens gave great joy to the Americans throughout the confederacy. Congress received information of it on the eighth of February,a and on the ninth of March that body voted an award of a gold medal to Morgan; a silver medal to Howard and Washington; a sword to Colonel Pickens; and a vote of thanks to the other offi cers and men engaged in the battle.' a 1781 It was almost sunset when I left the Cowpens to return to a house of entertainment upon the road to the Cherokee Ford, seven miles distant; for the resident there could not find a corner for me in his dwelling, nor for Charley in his stable, that cold night, "for love nor money," but generously proposed that I should send him a copy of my work when completed, because he lived upon the battle-ground! To a planter on horseback, from Spartanburg, who overtook me upon the road, I am indebted for kindness in pointing out the various localities of interest at the Cowpens; to the other for the knowledge that a small building near his house was the depository of a field-piece used by an artillery company in the vicinity, when celebrating the anniversary of the battle. After dark, I reached the house of Mrs. Camp, where I was comfortably lodged for the night; and early the following morning, accompanied by one of her sons on horseback, I proceeded to the Cherokee Ford, on the Broad River, ten miles distant. The road was very rough most of the way, and quite hilly. At the ford, on the west side of the river, is a large iron manufactory. The ore is brought from the neighboring mountains, smelted there,, and wrought into hollow-ware, nails, spikes, tacks, &c. Around the establishment quite a little village has grown up, and there, as at Matson's Ford (Conshohocken), on the Schuyl kill, where hostile parties were seen during the Revolution, and all around was a wilderness, the hum of busy industry is heard, and the smiles of cultivation are seen. Here, as we have observed (page 427), the Americans, who gained the victory at King's Mountain, crossed this stream on the morning of the battle. Before crossing the Broad River, the Eswawpuddenah of the Cherokee Indians, let us take a historical survey of the most important occurrences westward of this stream, in the beautiful country watered by the Tyger, the Ennoree, and the Saluda, and further on to the noble Savannah. Standing here upon the western selvage of civilization when the war broke out, and where the aborigines were sole masters but a few years before, let us glance, first, at the record of events which mark their conflicts with the over-reaching white race, who beat them back beyond the mountains." We have already noticed, on page 356, the efforts of the Corees, Tuscaroras, and other Indians of the Neuse and Cape Fear region to expel the Europeans.b This conflict was soon succeeded by another, more serious in its character. For a while, the very existence of the Southern colony was menaced. The powerful nation of the Yamassees, who ains. Journals of Congress, vil., 47. b 1712 2 South Carolina was occupied by twenty-eight Indian nations when the Europeans first made a permanent settlement upon the Ashley River. The domain of these tribes extended from the ocean to the mountThe Westos, Stonos, Coosaws, and Sewees occupied the country between Charleston and the Edisto Rivers. They were conquered by the Savannahs, and expelled from the country. The Yamassees and Tluspairs held the territory in the neighborhood of Port Royal. The Savannahs, Serannahs, Cussobos, and Euchees occupied the middle country, along the Isundigia, or Savannah River. The Apalachians inhabited the head waters of the Savannah and Alatamaha, and gave their name to the mountains of Apalachy, and the bay of Apalachicola. The Muscoghees or Creeks occupied a part of the country between the Savannah and Broad Rivers, being divided by the latter from the country of the Cherokees. The Congarees, Santees, Waterees, Saludas, Catawbas, Peedees, and Winyaws lived along the rivers which bear their respective names. The Muscoghees and Catawbas were the most warlike; the Cherokees were more numerous than either, but more peaceful. These various nations, when Charleston was founded, could muster probably, fifty thousand warriors.-See Simms's History of South Carolina, page 67. |