Battle+of+Cowpens+period+5

=**__Battle of Cowpens__**= __**By: Amy Arnold**__ -American Strength: 1,912 -British Strength: 1,150 -Morgan's plan works perfectly, Tarleton not expecting 3 consecutive lines. -At the first two lines, Morgan's troops withdraw causing the British to think they're retreating. -The British are confused and surprised but still continue to advance. -Tarleton's troops reach the third line of highly trained Continentals with surprise and confusion once again and begin to halt their advances. -Continentals surge forward with bayonets creating more shock, Tarleton's troops exhausted.
 * The Battle of Cowpens occured on January 17, 1781 in South Carolina and was a decisive American victory over the British and Loyalist Americans.
 * Brigadier General Daniel Morgan was the leader for the Americans and Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton was the leader for the British.
 * Tarleton was said to be a ferocious and ruthless leader.
 * **__Morgan's plan:__** was to place his army between the Broad and Pacolet River making escape impossible which proved to be very wise. He also used three lines of soldiers; the first of skirmishers, the second of militiamen, and a main force (the Continentals). The third and[[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/DanielMorgan.jpeg/220px-DanielMorgan.jpeg width="131" height="139" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DanielMorgan.jpeg"]] final line contained the best and highest trained troops. Morgan also had an advantage with knowing the landscape of Cowpens and having extra time to plan before Tarleton's arrival. By knowing the terrain, he placed 2 lines out of site of the British and the last line of Morgan's Continental sharpshooters on a hilltop.
 * **__Tarleton's Plan:__** was direct. He planned to attack the American army head on and with strong force. His battle line consisted of dragoons (trained men on horses) and cannons.
 * __**Facts:**__
 * __**The Outcome:**__ The battle was over in just one hour. It was an overwhelming victory by the Americans. Tarleton's side suffered 110 killed, 200 wounded, and 712 captured while Morgan's side suffered just 25 killed and 124 wounded.
 * __**Significance:**__ This battle showed the Americans first step to reclaiming South Carolina from the British. Also, in the beginning most Americans didn't believe they could win the war against the British. This victory gave the colonists and the militiamen hope that the British army could be defeated and independence could be achieved.


 * __Citations:__**
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 * 4. [][[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/05/Battle_of_Cowpens.Dean.USMA.edu.history.gif width="415" height="457" align="right"]]

Map showing advances of British (in red) and American (in blue) forces. Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton of the British.