Customer Reviews

A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lawrence Babits has packed a thorough study of the Battle of Cowpens into a slim book.

The forty-minute battle was crucial to our success in the war. It was a devastating defeat for the British, specifically "Bloody Tarleton," whose British Legion had been the scourge of the Carolinas. The defeat was so total because of the Masterful plan and seamless execution by General Morgan and his subordinates. Too few Americans know about Cowpens and its place in steering Cornwallis ultimately to Yorktown.

The author had a mission: to dissect the Battle of Cowpens through pension records of participants and memoirs in order to construct an accurate placement of troops during the battle, the size of American forces present, the total of British casualties and the duration of the affair.

He has done his work well and convincingly. In the process, Babits clarifies and rectifies some commonly held notions of Cowpens. The militia line made an orderly retreat through the Main line through previously established gaps in that line and not around the flank; Morgan's troop totals and casualties in his report were only for Continental troops -- the militia doubled Morgan's probable force to 1800 men engaged; Washington did not encounter Tarleton at the end of the battle but three British cavalry officers; the South Carolina militia did not cross the field during their planned withdrawal; the North Carolina militia stayed in the fight on the American right after their planned withdrawal.

If these details have lost you, it focuses on a major facet of the book. It is for readers who have some appreciation of the Revolution in the South and the Battle of Cowpens. While thoroughly researched and minutely written, my one criticism is that at times the author gets bogged down in details that interrupt the flow of the larger story. Thus the book may seem inaccessible to a first timer looking to find out about the Battle of Cowpens.

Not that the author doesn't tell the battle story in full. He does. This book underscores General Daniel Morgan's tactical brilliance as well as General Greene's strategic insight in detailing Morgan to the interior initially. Morgan's battlefield plan and his sub commander's (particularly William Washington and John Howard's) performances are correctly studies in leadership and execution. Morgan planned a tactical masterpiece that made use of all his troops' strengths and used some of their weaknesses (in the case of the militia) to his advantage. American arms have seldom exceeded this level of performance at the tactical level.

(Delaware partisan warning here) The author also highlights the rock steady performance of Captain Kirkwood and his Delaware Line during the battle and the pursuit of Tarleton. Kirkwood was one of the best Continental battlefield leaders of the war, noticed by George Washington as well as a host of others. Prohibited from rising to General by the virtue of his coming from a small state (the number of state troops raised had much to do with the general offices available), Kirkwood and his Delawares (as the author describes them; today we say Delawareans, although I'm not sure if that was the case 225 years ago) were a mainstay in Morgan's line, absorbing the direct fire of the main British regiment and receiving the most unit casualties of any of Morgan's forces. I was very glad to see Babit give this small band of Blue Hens their due.

This is a very good book in terms of research and analysis. Much more has been learned about the Battle of Cowpens because of Babits painstaking study. He has added to our knowledge of one of the Revolution's pivotal battles.

Objectively, this book represents historical scholarship at his best. The labor the author put into the work is evident. I doubt we can get any closer to the truth of the Battle of Cowpens than what is presented here. There is also a lot of insight into how Revolutionary War battles were fought on the tactical level. However, I think only professional historians, battle re-enactors, or American Revolution junkies could truly "love" this book (although many will like it). This is definitely not a "popular history" and, as such, the presentation is very dry and frankly sometimes tedious.

If you're looking for the straight facts, and lots of detail, get this book. If you're looking for a history that is also "entertaining," you might be disappointed.

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 of the existing maps and plans for the battle are heavily dependent on what Morgan planned in advance to do if a fight were forced upon him. The plan he followed, when additional militia forces continued to join him (and he *decided* to fight) was remarkably different from the earlier contingency plan.

Babits clears up the nonsense about the militia crossing in *front* of the Continental line in their withdrawal. They went *through* the main line in openings prepared for that purpose.

There is significant analysis of the types and locations of wounds reported by individuals. E.g., one only received a saber wound to the head if one were in contact with cavalry.

He clears Tarleton of the charge of killing his Loyalist militia in the baggage wagon incident.

He does refer to Waxhaw as "an atrocity", but does not dwell on it.

I still do not recall his giving any explanation for the failure of the Legion cavalry (the reserves) to charge when Tarleton commanded them to do so. I don't recall Tarleton having an explanation either. He *does* explain the failure of the British infantry to press the assault (battle fatigue/shock) due to no food, no sleep, hard marching, cold weather, and the adrenaline rushes followed immediately by unexpected reverses.

I thought it interesting that the British pointed out that the Patriots gave quarter, but "with regret".

I'll have to go back to Cowpens, take the book and see if I can get fixed in my head where the "rivulet", the "swale", etc. lie on the field.

This is a "must-read" for those interested in this battle. It will be the standard from this point forward.

Babits certainly put in the time to do the research for this book. As anyone knows who has done research involving combat actions, memories, even very shortly after a battle can become blurred. Babits I think does a good job sifting through some of the bogus recollections that comes from this "fog" of battle. The battle reconstruction, unit movements, and analysis of casulties is the best I have read regarding this action. Anyone reading this book should do so carefully. Footnotes should be consulted and time should be spent with the variety of charts and maps. The book is a little slow, but then most books of this nature are read by people looking for knowledge and not a good time.

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.

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.

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 Devil of a Whipping is extensively detailed and very informative of what happened during the Battle of Cowpens. The first half of the book basically sets up the scenario for the battle, and describes tactics, weapons, the armies, and prebattle military movements. Overall, the first half of the book is a barrage of in-depth information, most of which the common reader will find boring and useless.

But during the second half of the book, the pace picks up, as the author finally gets to the action-packed, minute-by-minute description of the Battle of Cowpens. Whether the author's sources of information are entirely accurate or not, the second half of the book is still exciting, since the author took care of explanations of tactics, etc., earlier in the book, which would otherwise have interrupted and taken away from the exciting, fast-paced battle sequence in the 2nd half of the book.

So, if you're looking for the most information you ever saw crammed into 160 pages of reading material, read Devil of a Whipping.

After you read this book, you will wonder who was the protagonist; Banister Tarlton or Daniel Morgan. Both individuals and the times they lived-in provide a story almost unbelievable except that its true. Their devotion to their cause cannot be understated and the detail provided in this book enlightens the reader to those times when a fast horse and sure shot won the day. Its sad that in today's world few people would risk all for any cause, much less such a lost cause as independence for a small colony controlled by the largest military power in the world. Read this book and you will step into the shoes of the participants that heard the shot fired around the world.

Babits' book is a long overdue and comprehensive description on what was probably one of the three most important battles in the Revolutionary War (Saratoga NY and Kings Mountain being the other two).

Books on battles and campaigns can sometimes be tedious and dry. Not so with this one! The author's writing style is technical without being tedious and easy to follow without being simplistic.

I particulary enjoyed how Babits vividly described the battle and how the American tactics and use of terrain led to a decisive victory. Especially helpful were the many detailed and helpful maps in the text. Including many maps made the book easier to follow and broadened my understanding of the battle.

Since I live within 1.5 hours of the battlefield, I have been able to visit the battlefield several times. Babits book has really enhanced my visits.

All in all, a highly recommended read!