On 14 January 2023, the Colonel James Wood II Chapter of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution conducted a ceremony to commemorate the Battle of Cowpens. The event was held at Mt Hebron Cemetery, near the grave site of Daniel Morgan. Morgan was the commander of the American forces and won this decisive action against one of the elite units in the British Army. This battle was the turning point in the southern campaign of the War for Independence. It was fought on 17 January 1781 near the town of Cowpens, South Carolina. General Nathanael Green was the commander of the American Army in the south. He split his army, sending Morgan to southwest to cut supply lines and hamper British operations in the back country. General Lord Cornwallis, British commander sent Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to find and defeat Morgan. Tarleton was highly regarded by Cornwallis, but feared and hated by the Americans. It was his army at the Battle of Waxhaws where American soldiers attempting to surrender were given no quarter. This became known as Bufords Massacre and infuriated the colonists. Morgan's Army was joined by militia units, increasing his force to about 2,000 men. Tarleton led an army of 1,150 men, chasing Morgan through harsh weather conditions and rough terrain. Morgan chose the spot for the battle and deployed his troop in three lines in an open pasture known as cowpens. The land was between two low hills with the Broad River at his back. Tarleton was an aggressive leader who pushed his men hard on an exhausting march to catch the Americans. Morgan developed a plan of double envelopment which led to a devastating defeat for the British. With superior tactics, he crushed an elite British army which eventually led to the Siege of Yorktown and the American victory in the War of Independence. Morgan's army had 72 casualties and the British suffered over 300 casualties with over 500 men captured.
