Vae Victis 176: Cowpens 1781, Chef d’oeuvre tactique en Caroline de Sud (Francés)

A small force of the Continental Army under the command of Morgan was marching through South Carolina in order to forage for supplies and raise the morale of local colonial sympathizers.

As he considered Morgan’s army a threat to his left flank, British General Cornwallis dispatched cavalry under commander Tarleton to defeat Morgan. Tarleton, bolstered by British reinforcements, set off in hot pursuit of the American detachment.
Morgan resolved to make a stand at Hannah’s Cowpens, a position on a low hill in open woodland, with the expectation that the aggressive Tarleton would make a headlong. On January 17, 1781, he deployed his army in three main lines. Tarleton’s army, after an exhausting march reached the field and attacked immediately; however, the American defense-in-depth absorbed the British attack. The British lines lost their cohesion as they hurried after the retreating Americans. When Morgan’s army went on the offensive, it wholly overwhelmed the British in the only double envelopment of the war, nearly eliminating Tarleton’s force.