Battle of Cowpens

On January 17, 1781, Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeated Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens in South Carolina. Morgan placed militia under Andrew Pickens in forward lines and used Continental infantry under John Eager Howard to trap Tarleton's advancing force. The battle ended with a sharp American victory and the destruction or capture of much of Tarleton's command.

Cowpens intensified the crisis inside Britain's southern campaign because Cornwallis could not afford to lose aggressive light troops while trying to restore royal authority in the Carolinas. Morgan's tactical plan also demonstrated that militia and Continental regulars could be combined effectively when command and terrain were handled carefully. The January victory therefore strengthened American morale only months after the catastrophe at Camden.

Cowpens forced Cornwallis into a hard pursuit across North Carolina and fed directly into Nathanael Greene's campaign toward Guilford Court House. The battle also helped drain British manpower in the South, contributing to the chain of setbacks that eventually ended at Yorktown.