Customer Reviews

Battle of Cowpens: A Documented Narrative and Troop Movement Maps

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While it doesn't have the name recognition of Bunker Hill or Lexington the battle of Cowpens is one of the important battles of the American Revolution. This slim volume gives a fair amount of detail on the situation leading up to the battle and the personalities involved. The description of the battle itself is given in detail and the B&W maps make it easy to follow along with the action.
It's difficult to give a fair review to this book, since it is problematic to determine its niche. It is a very quick read (maybe an hour) and the level of detail is not overwhelming. As a brief overview of an obscure battle it hits the mark dead on...the question then becomes, do you need an overview of an obscure battle?
For wargamers or miniature players the book might be a good investment for working out troop movements and TO&E's.
I would not recommend it for the casual history buff, you'd be better off picking up something more general that covers more of the war or at least the campaigns in the south.

This book is not only an accurate account of the battle itself, but also covers the pursuit by the English after the battle and how the patriots managed a tricky escape. A very enjoyable read.

Edwin Bearss does a masterful job of describing the Battle of Cowpens. In a couple of weeks an old friend and I, both of us retired military will be walking the battlefield. Both of us grew up only a few miles from the site. Bearss' book will assist us in locating the exact place of different parts of the battle and in understanding what happened. He is quite clear in his description of events. The only thing I don't like about the book is the maps are so small one can only read them with difficulty but then, the book only has so much space.