Execution of Tories.

Character of the Battle-ground.

One of Sumter's Men.

Route to the Cowpens.

On the morning after the battle,a a court-martial was held, and several of the a Oct. 8, Tory prisoners were found guilty of murder and other high crimes, and hanged. 1780. Colonel Cleaveland had previously declared that if certain persons, who were the chief marauders, and who had forfeited their lives, should fall into his hands, he would hang them. Ten of these men were suspended upon a tulip-tree, which is yet standing-a venerable giant of the forest. This was the closing scene of the battle on King's Mountain, an event which completely crushed the spirits of the Loyalists, and weakened, beyond recovery, the royal power in the Carolinas. Intelligence of the defeat of Ferguson destroyed all Cornwallis's hopes of Tory aid. He instantly left Charlotte, retrograded, and established his camp at Winnsborough,b in Fairfield District, between the Wateree and Broad Riv

ers.

It was from this point he commenced the pursuit of Morgan and General Greene, after the battle at the Cowpens, as detailed in a preceding chapter.

b Oct. 29,

1780.

After making the sketch on page 423, and that of the monument on King's Mountain, Iwe rode back to Mr. Leslie's. It was twilight when we arrived; for we had proceeded leisurely along the way, viewing the surrounding scenery. I could perceive at almost every turn of our sinuous road the originals of Kennedy's graphic sketches in the scenery of Horse Shoe Robinson, and a recurrence to that tale at the house of Mr. Leslie awoke pleasing reminiscences connected with its first perusal. On our return, we ascertained that the grandfather of Mr. Leslie, the venerable William M Elwees, had just arrived. His company for the evening was a pleasure I had not anticipated. He was one of Sumter's partisan corps, and fought with him at Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock. He was also in the battle at Guilford, and during the whole war was an active Whig. Mr. McElwees was eighty-seven years of age when I saw him,c yet his intellect seemed unclouded. His narrative of stirring incidents, while following Sumter, was clear and vivid, and when, at a late hour, the family knelt at the domestic altar, a prayer went up from that patriarch's lips, equal in fervid eloquence, both in words and accents, to any thing I ever heard from the pulpit.

c Jan., 1849

A cold, starry night succeeded my visit to the battle-ground on King's Mountain, and at sunrise the next morning I was on my way to the Broad River and the Cowpens. The ground was frozen and very rough. I traversed King's Mountain in a northwesterly direction, and in the deep narrow valley at its western base crossed King's Creek, a large and rapid stream. The country over which I passed, from Leslie's to Ross's Ferry, on the Broad River, a distance of twenty-one miles, is exceedingly rough and hilly. In some places the road was deep gullied by rains; in others, where it passed through recent clearings, stumps and branches were in the way, endangering the safety of wheel and hoof. Within a mile of the ferry, I discovered that the front axle of my wagon was broken, evidently by striking a stump; but, with the aid of a hatchet and strong cord with which I had provided myself, I was enabled to repair the damage temporarily.

The sun was about an hour high when I reached the eastern bank of the Broad River, a little below the mouth of Buffalo Creek. The house of Mrs. Ross, the owner of the ferry, was upon the opposite side. For more than half an hour I shouted and made signals with a white handkerchief upon my whip, before I was discovered, when a shrill whistle responded, and in a few minutes a fat negro came to the opposite shore, and crossed, with a miserable bateau or river flat, to convey me over. The river, which is there about one hundred and twenty yards wide, was quite shallow, and running with a rapid current, yet the ferryman had the skill to "pole" his vessel across without difficulty. I was comfortably lodged at the house of Mrs. Ross for the night, and passed the evening very agreeably in the company of herself and two intelligent daughters. Here I observed, what I so frequently saw in the upper country of the Carolinas, among even the affluent planters-the windows withou sashes or glass. In the coldest weather these and the doors are left wide open, the former being closed at night by tight shutters. Great light-wood (pine) fires in the huge chimney

ularly mentioned by the commander-in-chief. He was on the high road to military fame, when he was slain on King's Mountain. He was a major in the British army, and lieutenant colonel of the Tory militia.

Ventilation of Southern Houses.

Thicketty Mountain.

Loss of Way.

Visit to the Cowpens Battle-ground

places constantly blazing, in a measure beat back or temper the cold currents of air which continually flow into the dwellings. This ample ventilation in cold weather is universally practiced at the South. At Hillsborough and Charlotte, I observed the boarders at the hotels sitting with cloaks and shawls on at table, while the doors stood wide open!

a Jan. 11,

I was now within fifteen miles of the Cowpens, and at daybreak the next morn1849. inga started for that interesting locality. I was informed that the place of conflict was among the hills of Thicketty Mountain, and near the plantation of Robert Scruggs. To that gentleman's residence I directed my inquiries. After traversing a rough road, much of it, especially along the water-courses, of red clay, I began the ascent of Thicketty Mountain, upon the Mill-gap road, at the forks leading to Clarke's iron-works and Rutherfordton. Here the ground was covered with snow, and I had no means of discriminating between the beaten track of the Mill-gap way and the numerous forks. I ought to have turned to the northwest after leaving the Rutherfordton Fork half a mile, and descended the northern slope of the mountain. Instead of that, I kept along the ridge road, skirted by the forest on each side, without any indication of habitation. For an hour I slowly traversed this gradually ascending way, and almost imperceptibly approached the summit of Thicketty Mountain, until convinced that I was not in the Mill-gap road. Far to the northward, some thirty miles distant, I could see the azure range of the Blue Ridge, near the Nut-gap, where the springs of the Broad River gush out from the mountains. They were covered with snow, and from their lofty summits came a keen breeze, like that of December at the North. The day was waning, and I had no time to lose in deliberation, so I turned back and sought a lateral road, toward the west, to the settlements below. Presently I heard the crying of a child, and looking in the direction of the sound, I saw some thin blue smoke curling among the trees near. I tied Charley to a laurel shrub, and soon discovered a log cabin, in front of which some children were at play. They fled at my approach, and the mother, a lusty mountaineer, whose husband was at work in the iron-beds which abound in that mountain, appeared astonished at the apparition of a stranger. From her I learned that I had left the Mill-gap road at least three miles back. By her direction I found it, and at about four His house is upon the Mill-gap road, and

o'clock reached the residence of Mr. Scruggs. about half a mile west of a divergence of a highway leading to Spartanburg, the capital of Spartanburg District, in which the Cowpens' are situated. Upon the gentle hills on the

SCENE AT THE COWPENS.

borders of Thicketty Creek, covered with pine woods, within a triangle, formed by the Spartanburg and Mill-gap roads, having a connecting cross-road for a base, the hottest part of the fight occurred. The battle ended within a quarter of a mile of Scruggs's, where is now a cleared field, on the northeast side of the Mill-gap road, in the center of which was a log-house, as seen in the annexed engraving. The field was covered with blasted pines, stumps, and stocks of Indian corn, and had a most dreary appearance. In this field, and along the line of conflict, a distance of about

This name is derived from the circumstance that, some years prior to the Revolution, before this section of country was settled, some persons in Camden (then called Pine-tree) employed two men to go up to the Thicketty Mountain, and in the grassy intervales among the hills, raise cattle. As a compensation, they were allowed the entire use of the cows during the summer for making butter and cheese, and the steers for tilling labor. In the fall, large numbers of the fattest cattle would be driven down to Camden to be slaughtered for beef, on account of the owners. This region, so favorable for rearing cows, on account of the grass and fine springs, was consequently called The Cowpens.

They have a dangerous practice at the South in clearing their wild lands. and left standing, to decay and fall down, instead of being felled by the ax. among them, and frequently they fall suddenly, and endanger the lives of the was the condition of the field here represented.

The larger trees are girdled Cultivation is carried on laborers in the field. Such

Material of the Army under Morgan.

Biography of Morgan.

two miles, many bullets and other military relics have been found. Among other things, I obtained a spur, which belonged to the cavalry of either Washington or Tarleton.

"Come listen a while, and the truth I'll relate,

How brave General Morgan did Tarleton defeat;
For all his proud boasting, he forced was to fly,
When brave General Morgan his courage did try."
Revolutionary Song.

We have noted on page 390 the disposition which General Greene made of the "shadow of an army" (less than two thousand men) which he received from Gates. Brigadier-general Daniel Morgan,' an exceedingly active officer, who was placed in command of the

Dan Magen

Western division, was stationed, toward the close of 1780, in the country between the Broad and Pacolet Rivers, in Spartanburg District. His division consisted of four hundred Continental infantry, under Lieutenant-colonel Howard of the Maryland line; two companies of the Virginia militia, under Captains Triplet and Tate; and the remnants of the first and third regiments of dragoons, one hundred in number, upder Lieutenant-colonel William Washington. This force, at the time in question, was considerably augmented by North Carolina militia, under Major M Dowell, and some Georgia militia, under Major Cunningham. At the close of December, a Morgan and his troops were encamped near the northern bank of the Pacolet, in the vicinity of Pacolet Springs. From this camp Lieutenant-colonel Washington frequently sallied out to smite and disperse bodies of Tories, who assembled at different points and plundered the Whig inhabitants. He at

a 1780.

1 DANIEL MORGAN was a native of New Jersey, where he was born in 1737, and at an early age went to Virginia. He was a private soldier under Braddock, in 1755, and after the defeat of that officer, returned to his occupation of a farmer and wagoner. When the war of the Revolution broke out, he joined the army under Washington, at Cambridge, and commanded a corps of riflemen. He accompanied Arnold across the wilderness to Quebec, and distinguished himself at the siege of that city. He was made a prisoner there. After his exchange, he was appointed to the command of the 11th Virginia regiment, in which was incorporated his rifle corps.* He performed great service at Stillwater, when Burgoyne was defeated. Gates unjustly omitted his name in his report of that affair to Congress. He served under Gates and Greene at the South, where he became distinguished as a partisan officer. His victory at the Cowpens was considered a most brilliant affair, and Congress voted him a gold medal. (See next page). At the close of the war, he returned to his farm. He commanded the militia organized to quell the Whisky Insurrection in Western Virginia, in 1794, and soon afterward was elected a member of Congress. His estate in Clarke county, a few miles from Winchester, Virginia, was called Saratoga. He resided there until 1800, when he removed to Winchester, where he died on the sixth of July, 1802, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. The house in which he died stood in the northwest part of the town, and a few years since was occupied by the Reverend Mr. Boyd. His grave is in the Presbyterian grave-yard at Winchester; and over it is a plain horizontal slab, raised a few feet from the ground, upon which is the following inscription:

"Major-general DANIEL MORGAN departed this life on July the 6th, 1802, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Patriotism and valor were the prominent features of his character, and the honorable services he ren.

This sketch of the flag of Morgan's rifle corps I made from the original in the Museum at Alexandria, in Virginia.

Defeat of Tories by Washington.

Pursuit of Morgan by Tarleton.

Gold Medal awarded to Morgan

tacked and defeated two hundred of them at Hammond's store, and soon afterward a section of Washington's command dispersed another Tory force under Bill Cunningham. Cornwallis, who was still at Winnsborough, perceived these successes with alarm, and apprehending a design upon his important post at Ninety-Six, over the Saluda, determined to disperse the forces under Morgan, or drive them into North Carolina, before he should rally the Mountain Men in sufficient numbers to cut off his communication with Augusta. He accordingly dispatched Tarleton with his legion of horse (three hundred and fifty in number), and the foot and light infantry attached to it, the 7th regiment, and the first battalion of the 71st, with two field pieces, to force Morgan to fight, or retreat beyond the Yadkin. Tarleton's entire force consisted of about eleven hundred well-disciplined men, and in every particular he had the advantage of Morgan.

Tarleton commenced his march on the eleventh of January. The roads were in a very bad condition, and it was not until the fifteenth that he approached the Pacolet. He had crossed the Broad River near Turkey Creek, and advanced with all possible speed toward the camp of Morgan. That officer was at first disposed to dispute Tarleton's passage of the Pacolet, but, informed of the superiority of his numbers, and that a portion had already crossed above him, he retreated hastily northward, and took post on the north side of Thicketty Mountain, near the Cowpens. Tarleton passed through the place of Morgan's camp in the evening, a few hours after he had left, a and leaving his baggage behind, he pressed eagerly forward in pursuit, riding all night, and making a circuit around the western side of Thicketty Mountain. Early the following morning,b he cap

a Jan. 16, 1781.

b Jan. 17.

dered to his country during the Revolutionary war crowned him with glory, and will remain in the hearts of his countrymen, a perpetual monument to his memory."

In early life General Morgan was dissipated, and was a famous pugilist; yet the teachings of a pious mother always made him reverential when his thoughts turned toward the Deity. In his latter years, he professed religion, and became a member of the Presbyterian church in Winchester. "Ah!" he would

often exclaim, when talking of the past, "people said old Morgan never feared-they thought old Morgan never prayed-they did not know old Morgan was often miserably afraid." He said he trembled at Quebec, and in the gloom of early morning, when approaching the battery at Cape Diamond, he knelt in the snow and prayed; and before the battle at the Cowpens, he went into the woods, ascended a tree, and there poured out his soul in prayer for protection. In person, Morgan was large and strong. He was six feet in height, and very muscular.

The following are the devices and inscriptions upon the medal: An Indian queen with a quiver on her back, in the act of crowning an officer with a laurel wreath; his hand @esting upon his sword. A cannon lying upon the ground; various military weapons and implements in the back-ground. Legend: DANIEL MORGAN DUCI EXERCITUS COMITIA AMERICANA-"The American Congress to General Daniel Morgan." Reverse: An officer mounted, at the head of his troops, charging a flying enemy. A battle in the back-ground. In front, a personal combat between a dragoon unhorsed and a foot soldier. Legend: VICTORIA LIBERTATIS VINDEX-" Victory, the assertor of Liberty." Exergue: FUGATIS, CAPTIS AUT CESIS AD COWPENS HOSTIBUS, 17TH JANUARY, 1781-"The foe put to flight, taken, or slain, at the Cowpens, January 17, 1781."

Disposition of the American Army.

John Eager Howard.

Silver Medal awarded to Howard

tured two American videttes, and learned from them the place of Morgan's encampment. At eight o'clock he came in sight of the advanced guard of the patriots, and fearing that Morgan might again retreat, and get safely across the Broad River, he resolved to attack him immediately, notwithstanding the fatigue of his troops.

The Americans were posted upon an eminence of gentle descent, covered with an open wood. They were rested, had breakfasted, and were thoroughly refreshed after their flight from the Pacolet. And now, expecting Tarleton, they were drawn up in battle order. On the crown of the eminence were stationed two hundred and ninety Maryland regulars, and on their right the two companies of Virginia militia, under Major Triplet. These composed the rear line of four hundred and thirty men, and were under the general command of Lieutenantcolonel Howard. One hundred and fifty yards in advance of this line was a body of militia, about three hundred in number, all practiced riflemen, and burning with a spirit of revenge, because of the cruelties which the British and Tories had inflicted. A part of these were commanded by Captain Beatty and Samuel Hammond, of South Carolina. '

John

They were commanded by Colonel Andrew Pickens, who, with his followers, had joined Morgan during the night. About one hundred and fifty yards in advance of this first line, were placed the best riflemen of the corps of M Dowell and Cunningham. Those on the right were commanded by Cunningham, and those on the left by McDowell. These were directed to operate as cir

E. Howard

cumstances should
direct, after deliver-
ing their first fire,
which was to be

No accurate plan of the arrangement of the troops on this occasion has ever been made. Captain Hammond made a sketch many years afterward from memory, which is published in Johnson's Traditions and Reminiscences of the Revolution. As it does not fully agree with official reports, I forbear copying it. 2 John Eager Howard was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, on the fourth of June, 1752. When the war commenced, he, entered the service as captain of one of those bodies of militia termed flying camps. He was present at the battle near White Plains, New York. His corps was dismissed in December, 1776,

The following are the device and inscriptions: An officer mounted, with uplifted sword, pursuing an officer on foot bear ing a stand of colors. Victory is seen descending in front, over the former, holding a wreath in her right hand over his head. In her left hand is a palm branch. Legend: JOHN EAGER HOWARD, LEGIONIS PEDITUM PREFECTO COMITIA AMERICANA-"The American Congress to John Eager Howard, commander of a regiment of infantry." Reverse: A laurel wreath, inclosing the inscription, QUOD IN NUTANTEM HOSTIUM ACIEM SUBITO IRRUENS, PRÆCLARUM BELLICE VIRTUTIS SPECIMEN DEDIT IN PUGNA, AD CowPENS, 17TH JANUARY, 1781--"Because, rushing suddenly on the wavering line of the foe, he gave a brilliant specimen of martial courage at the battle of the Cowpens, January 17, 1781."