Part 4 (click here for first three parts) As we have seen, two untrained, amateur, but very effective soldiers perfected the concept of the defense in depth during the campaigns of 1781. Morgan was the first to experiment with the concept, and he did so with great effect at Cowpens, thoroughly defeating Tarleton’s Legion and …
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Part Three (click here for first two installments) Determined to avenge his embarrassing defeat at Cowpens, Lt. Gen. Charles Lord Cornwallis set his army out in a determined pursuit of the American army. Knowing that he was too weak to face Cornwallis in a pitched battle, Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene, the Southern Department commander, retreated …
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For part one, click here. Brig. Gen. Daniel Morgan, the “Old Wagoner,” as he was known, commanded a light infantry corps assigned to Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s southern army. Morgan met with Greene in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 3, 1780. Implementing a Fabian strategy, Greene split his army to harass the British while buying …
Continue reading Part 2: The Defense in Depth as a Revolutionary War Battlefield Tactic
Part One of Four As a general statement, most people don’t think of the Revolutionary War as a testing ground for battlefield tactics. That assumption would not be correct. In fact, the Revolutionary War proved beyond doubt that traditional European set-piece battlefield tactics were largely ineffective against a determined enemy that was not bound by …
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On a cold January morning 234 years ago, one of the most stunning events in American military history took place in a cattle pasture. Cowpens, South Carolina, was an overwhelming American victory, at a time when one was desperately needed. What went so well? General Daniel Morgan understood the limitations and strengths of his …
After abandoning Fayetteville, North Carolina to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s army group, Lieutenant General William J. Hardee withdrew his corps north of the city. Hardee had ordered the Clarendon Bridge over the Cape Fear River destroyed, removing the possibility of a vigorous pursuit by the Federals. The situation for the Confederates, however, remained dire. Hardee’s …
Continue reading Looking Back to Cowpens: William J. Hardee and the Battle of Averasboro
Emerging Revolutionary War welcomes back guest historian George Kotlik Introduction By 1775, King George III ruled over nineteen provinces in British North America.[1] Six remained loyal to the Crown during the Revolutionary War. Historians have so far explored, in great depth, the various reasons why the thirteen original colonies rebelled. On the flipside, why did …
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By the Red Sea the Hebrew host detained Through aid divine the distant shore soon gained; The waters fled, the deep passage a grave; But thus God wrought a chosen race to save. Though Clinton’s troops have shared a different fate ‘Gainst them, poor men! Not chosed sure of heaven, The miracle reversed is still …
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Emerging Revolutionary War Era 