Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens

By Lawrence E. Babits

Book Overview

The battle of Cowpens was a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War in the South and stands as perhaps the finest American tactical demonstration of the entire war. On 17 January 1781, Daniel Morgan's force of Continental troops and militia routed British regulars and Loyalists under the command of Banastre Tarleton. The victory at Cowpens helped put the British army on the road to the Yorktown surrender and, ultimately, cleared the way for American independence.
Here, Lawrence Babits provides a brand-new interpretation of this pivotal South Carolina battle. Whereas previous accounts relied on often inaccurate histories and a small sampling of participant narratives, Babits uses veterans' sworn pension statements, long-forgotten published accounts, and a thorough knowledge of weaponry, tactics, and the art of moving men across the landscape. He identifies where individuals were on the battlefield, when they were there, and what they saw -- creating an absorbing common soldier's version of the conflict. His minute-by-minute account of the fighting explains what happened and why and, in the process, refutes much of the mythology that has clouded our picture of the battle.
Babits put the events at Cowpens into a sequence that makes sense given the landscape, the drill manual, the time frame, and participants' accounts. He presents an accurate accounting of the numbers involved and the battle's length. Using veterans' statements and an analysis of wounds, he shows how actions by North Carolina militia and American cavalry affected the battle at critical times. And, by fitting together clues from a number of incomplete and disparate narratives, he answers questions the participants themselves could not, such as why South Carolina militiamen ran toward dragoons they feared and what caused the "mistaken order" on the Continental right flank.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080784926X
• ISBN13: 9780807849262
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

A Devil of a Work

Dr. Babits has researched and written what should be considered the best reconstruction of a Revolutionary War battle. "A Devil of a Whipping" is good narrative. However, underneath most of the book is a technical and logical chronology of what took place throughout the Battle of Cowpens. The action is so perfectly dissected that Babits gives an almost minute-to-minute account of the battle. Babits utilizes scores of veteran pension statements to give the reader a sense of were people where at a given point in the battle. We also get to know the colorful leaders-Morgan and Tarleton.Babits also uses his experience as a reenactor and student of 18th century tatics to explain how and why the armies moved and used their weapons the way they did.This work will most certainly stand the test of time. I would like to see other battles of the Revolution explored in such an innovative manner.

A Must Read for students of the Southern Campaign!

Larry has produced the consumate account of the battle of Cowpens using data painstakingly gleaned from veteran's pension applications to locate the various units on the field, while using their stories and records of their casualties, to determine their role in the conflict. The story that he reveals differs in several respects from the long accepted version. The reader will find that, to use Wellington's phrase, "it was a near run thing..." while some of our more cherished stories of Cowpens are exposed as myth. "A Devil of a Whipping ... " joins "The Raod to Guilford Courthouse" by Buchanan as a "must read" account of the Revolutionary war in the South.

The best summary yet of the Battle of Cowpens

For those with interest in the Battle at Cowpens, there is a real treat in store for you in Lawrence Babits' "Devil of a Whipping", a full length book on the battle which was released in early November 1998.Babits has made full use of all available sources and has made a very detailed analysis of the battle. Many of the ideas that have been fairly common to previous accounts and have been engraved on monuments at the park will henceforth be given a serious re-examination.I am reading "Devil of a Whipping" for my 2nd or 3rd time and far from my last!He commented that Tarleton correctly expressed the facts "if he knew them" and included him among his primary sources. Essentially he proves that Tarleton's estimate of number of militia was quite close to actual, and that Morgan had not counted them at all! And he explained why Morgan had not included them (fear of losing support for a regular army due to two quick local victories involving militia).He clearly makes the point that his work would not have been possible without the monumental work that Dr. Bobby Moss has done in wading through all the records of the individual participants. Dr. Moss has accounted for more Patriots at Cowpens than Morgan reported, despite the fact that, for most, *50 years* had passed before they had occasion to report their experience in applying for a pension.I noted that he said that the victory of the patriots can be explained by the better use of cavalry. This is notable since Washington had only had half as many as Tarleton and half of them were militia "stand-ins". Whenever W. used his, he used them *all* in the same place, always noticeably out-numbering the British cavalry he opposed.I understand him to say that Morgan's use of his forces was more skillful than he has been given credit for. I also understand him to say that the resulting battle fatigue and battle shock played a larger role than the tactics per se.As I read it, he does give Tarleton more credit for directing his forces than do most other accounts, and he also gives him credit for continuing the fight until it was beyond hope.I believe that he gives the militia a lot of credit. I understand him to say that *most* British casualties were inflicted by the main militia line of riflemen. He also credits them with protecting both flanks, driven back but gaining critical delays of a few minutes that allowed Washington to use his cavalry "en masse" on both flanks, key to the battle's outcome. They also played an effective role in the last infantry action of the battle when they attacked the 71st, as well as in pursuit of the fleeing British.I have never seen two maps of the battle that placed Brandon's SC militia regiment in the same place. This case is no different. Babits places Brandon on the *left* end of the line. Brandon's was the first regiment to fire their volley as well as the last. They fired two volleys; the others fired a single volley.Most

The only book on Cowpens you'll ever need!

Babits does a remarkable job detailing one of the most important and overlooked battles in American history. The amount of time and research invested in this account are evident from the first word. A student of the American Revolution and the Battle of Cowpens in particular for many years, I was amazed at the amount of information I did not know. Babits' book studies not only the intricate troop movements before, during and after the battle but also the psychology behind decisions made by the principal players. Daniel Morgan, John Eager Howard, Banastre Tarleton and William Washington all come alive in this riveting book. This book is a must for any serious student of the southern campaigns or the Battle of Cowpens. It is the most informative account of the battle written to date.

Buy this book!!

This book is the best book ever written on the Battle of Cowpens, PERIOD. Any serious student of the Revolutionary War, Cowpens or Daniel Morgan should have this book, NOW. The amount of research and new information included in this book is incredible. I have studied the Southern Campaign and this battle in particular for years and was amazed at the amount of information I did not know. While being vastly informative, this book remains very readable. If you have only one book on the Battle of Cowpens, this should be it! I have only one minor suggestion for future editions of the book. I was pleased to see topographical maps of the battlefield included with illustrations of troop movements. However, these maps would have been made even more useful had elevation values been included on the contour lines. Having been to the battlefield it would have been nice to see exactly how much the Swale has filled in etc... Outside of that one minor flaw, "A Devil of a Whipping" is nearly perfect.