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by Robert a. Ford (Author)
The Battle of Cowpens, Reexamined takes an uncompromising look at a turning point in the American Revolution. At Cowpens, Daniel Morgan, an American from the backcountry leading a force largely composed of backcountry militiamen, defeated an army of professional soldiers led by Britain's most feared commander, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. The way Morgan achieved victory has fascinated historians and readers of history for two hundred and fifty years. Traditionally, scholars asserted Morgan deployed his men in three lines, weakest in front, each succeeding line increasingly stronger than its predecessor. After a detailed examination of the eyewitness accounts, this book concludes the traditional view was wrong. A three-line defense in depth was at most a minor departure from a standard template. Morgan was an innovator, and what he designed at Cowpens was entirely new. He massed riflemen on the front line, with orders to eliminate the British officers using aimed shots at long distance. He placed the rest of his army in a single line, with the intention to fight the British at close quarters once the riflemen had depleted the British leadership. His innovation worked remarkably well. The rifle fire proved deadly. The American rifle enjoyed a range far beyond that of the British musket. The riflemen were able to wreak great damage on the British chain of command. They had orders to move out of harm's way when the British line advanced. Once the British reached the main American line, they had been deprived of a huge number of its officers and noncommissioned officers. The American regular soldiers, with the use of volleys and the bayonet, eliminated the British force, killing or capturing all but a few survivors.
Author Biography
Robert Ford graduated magna cum laude from Washington and Lee University in 1977. After four years of military service where he attained the rank of captain, he attended Wake Forest University, obtaining a juris doctor degree magna cum laude. Now retired, he lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
