Qualla: Battle of Cowpens https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:14 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Cowpens https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens Battle of Cowpens: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens/ Photo credit Joshua Reynolds, Public domain. When Cornwallis received the news, he leaned on his sword until the blade snapped. On the morning of January 17, 1781, at a place called Hannah's Cowpens -- nothing more than a well-known grazing area for local cattle in the South Carolina backcountry -- Brigadier General Daniel Morgan had done what no American commander had managed since Saratoga. He had not merely beaten a British force; he had annihilated it. Banastre Tarleton's crack troops suffered an 86 percent casualty rate. The battle lasted barely an hour. And the tactical blueprint Morgan drew up that morning, using untrained militia as bait in a layered defense, has been studied by military academies ever since.

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Image: Joshua Reynolds | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/dnjz-battle-of-cowpens-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Cowpens: The Old Wagoner's Gamble https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens/ Photo credit Circuitloss at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Morgan was 45 years old, plagued by sciatica so severe he sometimes could not mount his horse, and bitter about being passed over for promotion. His military career stretched back to the French and Indian War. He had served at the siege of Boston, been captured at the Battle of Q...

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Image: Circuitloss at English Wikipedia | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/dnjz-battle-of-cowpens-the-old-wagoners-gamble.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Cowpens: Three Lines, One Trap https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens/ Photo credit Larry Pieniazek, CC BY 2.5. Morgan's genius lay in understanding what militia could not do -- and asking only what they could. British officers despised militia. At Camden, half the American force had broken and fled at the first volley, leaving the regulars exposed. Morgan turned that expectation into a we...

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Image: Larry Pieniazek | CC BY 2.5

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/dnjz-battle-of-cowpens-three-lines-one-trap.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Cowpens: Exhaustion Meets Ambition https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens/ Photo credit Images uncredited in the original., Public domain. Tarleton roused his troops at two in the morning and marched them straight to the battlefield. His men had been on the move for five days, covering rough terrain in winter conditions. In the 48 hours before the battle, they had run out of food and slept less than four hours total...

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Image: Images uncredited in the original. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/dnjz-battle-of-cowpens-exhaustion-meets-ambition.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Cowpens: The Minute Everything Turned https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens/ Photo credit Images uncredited in the original., Public domain. The sharpshooters fired and fell back. The militia fired their two volleys and retreated. Tarleton's troops pushed forward, convinced the Americans were collapsing. Then a misunderstood order changed everything. When Howard spotted the 71st Highlanders attempting to flank the Ame...

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Image: Images uncredited in the original. | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/dnjz-battle-of-cowpens-the-minute-everything-turned.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Cowpens: The Chain That Led to Yorktown https://qualla.com/battle-of-cowpens/ Photo credit Vidor at English Wikipedia, Public domain. When the smoke cleared at eight o'clock that morning, Morgan's army had taken 712 prisoners, 200 of them wounded. One hundred and ten of Tarleton's men were dead. Every artilleryman was killed or severely wounded. Tarleton himself escaped with about 40 horsemen after his own cava...

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Image: Vidor at English Wikipedia | Public domain

]]> Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/d/n/j/z/battle-of-cowpens-wp/dnjz-battle-of-cowpens-the-chain-that-led-to-yorktown.mp3 0:06 6 full