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Lecture: 02-2006
America the Divided:
Militia and Riflemen
By: Skip Gochenour
Daily, the American media
reminds us that the country is divided into “red” and “blue” states. More correctly, the country is
philosophically divided into “red” and “blue” counties. The implication is that this is a recent
phenomenon. Actually, it is a condition
that has existed since Colonial times.
The philosophical divide has constantly operated along the same
demographic breakdown. We are also told
by the same purveyors of lament that the tenor of this divide has never been
more intense and bitter. That
evaluation, of course, assumes you discount the two occasions in American
history where the members of those respective sides of the divide picked up
guns and killed one another. The first
occasion was in the 4th quarter of the 18th century and
the second was the 3rd quarter of the 19th century.
What we refer to as the American
Revolution was as much a civil war as it was a break with England. As the Revolution matured, Loyalists joined
the ranks of the British forces. Those
Loyalists who joined the regular military forces of the British came,
predominately, from the demographic background of what today would be referred
to as “blue” counties.
In this discussion, we will look
at two battles that ultimately were turning point incidents in the
Revolution. Those battles were King’s
Mountain and Cowpens. Both battles were
in western South Carolina.
PERSPECTIVE
Most Americans with a high
school graduation date prior to 1965 were presented with a view of the
importance of militia and riflemen in the Revolution. Among the roles of history is to teach a given culture lessons
about commonly held values. Apocryphal
or not, the reason American history emphasized the value of the individual to
turn out to defend his home territory was to underscore the value of individual
men willingness to fight for their homes and commonly held values. American history, as taught in the last
quarter of the 20th century, discounts and denigrates the value of
militia and riflemen in the Revolution.
Arguably, this change in view is more reflective of belief systems of
the teachers than of the actual value of those individual Americans who picked
up their guns and confronted the British, the Loyalist and German troops who
sought to keep America and Americans as “subjects”.
Before examining King’s Mountain
and Cowpens, we will examine the battle casualties of the major battles during
the war. We will also take a quick look
at the evolution of the thinking of those Americans who took up arms to be free
of the identifier, “subject”.
1775
The Revolution actually began as
an action taken by individuals.
Congress tried to play catch-up.
They sanctioned actions that had already happened and tried to organize
fighters who were already engaged and on the march. Fighting was ongoing for more than a year before Congress
concluded that there was no reason to negotiate a settlement with the British
that would continue Americans British subjects. Individual Americans decided to stand-up to the British army,
without the input or guidance of government.
Lexington and Concord
American losses: 95
British Losses: 273 (25% +)
Breed’s Hill (Bunker Hill)
American losses: 411
British losses: 1,054 (42%)
(As of this point, no organized
military forces were in operation for the American forces.)
Great Bridge, Va.
American losses: 1
British losses: 62
1776
Moore’s Creek, NC
American losses: 2
Loyalist losses: 880
(This engagement was American
militia against organized Loyalist troops fighting under British command.)
Ft. Sullivan, SC
American losses: 37
British losses: 200
Long Island, NY
American losses: 1500
British losses: 400
Harlem Heights, NY
American losses: 130
British losses: 199
White Plains, NY
American losses: 150
British losses: 313
Ft. Washington, NY
American losses: 2800
German losses: 458
Ft. Lee, NY
American losses: 150
(These NY engagements were
American forces operating as an organized military operating under contemporary
European rules of warfare.)
Trenton, NJ
American losses: 4
German losses: 2000
1777
Princeton, NJ
American losses: 40
British losses: 275
Hampshire Grants, VT
American losses: 250
British losses: 185
Bennington, VT
American losses: 70
British losses: 900
(This engagement was local
residents turning out to fight the British army.)
Newark, DE
American losses: 40
British losses: 23
Chadd’s Ford, PA (Brandywine)
American losses: 900
British losses: 550
Germantown, PA
American losses: 700
British losses: 534
Saratoga, NY (Freeman’s Farm) and Bemis Heights
American losses: 410
British losses: 1,156
(Gen. Burgoyne surrendered his remaining 5000 troops.)
(American forces in this
engagement were predominately local residents who converged on British forces
on the march. Gen. Daniel Morgan, understood the value of militia and riflemen
and would refine his technique of using them at Cowpens.)
Ft. Constitution and Ft.
Montgomery NY
American losses: 250
British losses: 150
Ft. Mercer, NJ
American losses: 37
German losses: 371
Ft. Mifflin, PA
American losses: 300
British losses: 12
(The British seized
Philadelphia, then the American capital.
Traditional European warfare recognized that the taking of an opponent’s
capital city meant the end of the war.
Someone forgot to tell the Americans that rule, Congress moved to York,
Pa.)
1778
Wyoming, PA
American losses: 23
British losses: 11
(This engagement was on the
American frontier. British and Indian
forces burned 1000 homes in the area.
Civilians were murdered. This
tactic would rally the populace of SC when the same tactic was promised should
locals resist British forces.)
Monmouth Courthouse, NJ
American losses: 312
British losses: 1,021
(Mary Ludwig Hayes, aka Molly
Pitcher, showed what American women are made of!)
Newport, RI
American losses: 211
British losses: 260
1779
Briar Creek, GA
American losses: 220
British losses: 16
Stony Point, NY
American losses: 95
British losses: 678
Savannah, GA
America/French losses: 1100
British losses: 45
1780
Monck’s Corner, SC
American losses: 87
British losses: 3
Charles Town, SC
American losses: 5800 (5400 surrender)
British losses: 265
Waxhaw, SC
American losses: 316
British losses: 19
(Tarelton refuses to take
prisoners. Americans who surrendered
were killed.)
Camden, SC
American losses: 950
British losses: 315
(Tarelton is given license to
subdue the SC country side. Major
Patrick Ferguson is given 1000 Loyalist troops, predominately from NJ and
NY. He is to support Tarelton. Gen. Cornwallis invades the south.)
King’s Mountain, SC
American losses: 90
Loyalist losses: 910 (Entire force was killed, wounded or
captured.)
(The American forces were
completely locals who were not even an organized militia. They were a group of riflemen/hunters.)
Blackstock Farm, SC
American losses: 8
British/Loyalist: 50
1781
Cowpens, SC
American losses: 72
British losses: 932
(Daniel Morgan refines the
incorporation of riflemen, militia and regulars. Tarelton narrowly escapes with 140 of his force.)
Guilford Courthouse, NC
American losses: 1308
British losses: 532
Camden, SC
American losses: 522
British losses: 693
(A young American local was
captured and put into the servitude of a British officer. The young American refused to black the
officer’s boots and was struck on the head with a saber. He wore the scar into the Whitehouse as President
Andrew Jackson.)
Ninety-Six, SC.
American losses: 185
Loyalist losses: 85
Yorketown, VA
American/French losses: 341
British/German Losses: 532 (7247 surrender)
KING’S MOUNTAIN October 7, 1780
King’s Mountain was one of the
most dramatic American victories of the Revolution. In one hour, the British lost 1/3 of their entire force in the
south. During the battle, there was
only one Brit on the entire field.
Major Patrick Ferguson was a well regarded officer in the British army. He was considered one of the best rifle
shots in the army and certainly one of the best on the American continent at
the time of the Revolution. At King’s
Mountain he commanded a Loyalist force of about 1000.
King’s Mountain is, even today,
a very out of the way place. Ferguson
arrayed his men on the top of the mountain.
The ground on which he fought was about ¼ of a mile long with a flat
plateau that ranges from about 10 yards to 30 yards in width. The sides of the mountain are steep and
boulder strewn.
Given the conventional fighting
paradigm of the time, it is not clear why he chose this location. European warfare involved volleyed fore from
muskets and bayonet charges. The
fighting ground of King’s Mountain was not conducive to this form of fighting.
Ferguson’s force was largely
local militia with several companies of Loyalist Regulars from New York City
and New Jersey.
The American forces were largely
local riflemen. There were some
Virginians at the battle. The Americans
arrived at the fight after traveling 30 miles on horseback, non-stop in a rain
storm. They had little food and did not
stop to refresh themselves before entering the fight. They arrayed themselves around the mountain and fought from tree
to tree.
The Americans fired on the
Loyalists from distances of 200 yards and beyond. British forces used weapons that were accurate to 100 yards or
less. Orders to the Americans were that
“every man be his own officer”. Some
fighting was hand to hand, but largely, the Americans, when confronted with a
bayonet charge, simply withdrew to a location where they could effectively use
their rifles outside the range of the Loyalist muskets.
The ferocity of the Americans
was an admixture of their natural disposition and reaction to Col. Tarelton’s
conduct at Waxhaws as well as personal business with some of the local Loyalists
who had engaged in atrocities on local non-combatants.
The terrain of King’s Mountain
was ideally suited for a fighting style that suited riflemen operating as
individuals and small groups.
The battle ended with Ferguson’s
entire command killed, wounded or captured.
It also left Gen. Cornwallis’ entire left flank exposed causing him to
withdraw northward and eventually to Yorketowne, VA. Along with the prisoners, Americans captured 1500 weapons, 17
wagons of supplies, powder and lead.
While rifles and riflemen played
prominent roles in other American victories during the Revolution, in no other
battle did they play such a singular role.
COWPENS, SC January 17, 1781
Like King’s Mountain, Hannah’s
Cowpens is very much out of the way, even today. King’s Mountain was well known to the locals because it was a
deer hunting camp. Cowpens was well
known because it was used as a natural pasture for the keeping of cattle. An open area, surrounded by dense growth
trees and brush, cattle tended to stay in place to graze. A road, well traveled at the time ran
through the center of the clearing.
Col. Banastre Tarelton commanded
the British Regulars in this engagement.
He was a fierce fighter who commanded a contingent of Dragoons. His command was about 1000 men. He was reputed to “take no prisoners”. In his command were some of the fiercest
fighters in the British army. He intended
to destroy any American forces and patriot sympathizers in South Carolina.
Daniel Morgan was the architect
of the American victory at Cowpens. He
was an experienced fighter on a personal and military level. He had commanded rifle units from early in
the war. He used riflemen to turn
victories in Boston, Monmouth Courthouse and Saratoga. He was regularly a determining factor in
major American victories. His
experience had taught him how to best integrate the various qualities of
riflemen, militia and regulars. He
understood how the British fought and how to use their techniques against
them. He did just that at Cowpens.
Tarelton arrayed his forces at
one end of the pasture. They began
their march towards the other end of the pasture where the American regulars
waited, just after dawn.
Morgan placed his men in four
groups. At the very front were
riflemen. These fighters were told to
reduce the British forces, particularly the officers by 1/3. They did that and then withdrew to the right
rear of the American line.
Next, militia were placed and
told to fire two volleys into the advancing British ranks, and then they too
were to withdraw to the rear of the regulars.
They did so further reducing the British force.
The regulars were to stand and
fight the remainder of the British force.
American Dragoons were kept out of sight to the right side of the
American lines to engage Tarelton’s Dragoons when they tried to sweep the
American militia as they retreated to form again to the flank of the American
Regulars line for harassment of the British while they engaged the American
Regulars.
As the British line closed on
the American Regulars, several American units turned away from the battle line
and marched, in perfect military order, away, “trailing arms”.
The British army had no system
for loading weapons on the move. They
regarded the firing of the weapon as an intimidation action. The bayonet charge was the chief
tactic. The British did not even use
aimed fire in attack. Americans, on the
other hand, used aimed fire regularly.
Seeing the American Regulars
turning away from their line of advance, the British charged. With their lines seriously depleted,
especially of officers, the formation was scattered. Trailing arms was a technique Americans used to reload their
weapons while on the move. When the
British were about 25 yards away from the American lines, the order was given
to turn about and fire. The volley from
the American guns was devastating on the remaining British forces. The order was then given to the American force
to “give them the bayonet”. The fight
was over, with one small exception.
Tarelton was at the front. When he saw his troops falter and then
surrender he knew he was in serious danger of capture. Col. William Washington, American Dragoons
was in similar peril. He had managed to
get about 30 yards in front of his dragoons.
Washington was set upon by Tarelton and two other British officers. Washington’s sergeant came up just in time
to thwart a saber blow to Washington.
Another British officer turned his saber on Washington and was shot by
Washington’s servant boy. All the while,
Tarelton and Washington clashed sabers.
Tarelton seeing his predicament shot Washington’s horse and galloped
away.
So ended the battle of Cowpens.
SUMMARY
The current conventional view of
the riflemen and the militia that fought in the Revolution, as largely without
military significance seems to be predicated on views as diverse as accepting a
face value the comments of general officers of the time and the social
political dispositions of present day historians.
Historians point to comments made
by Washington about the First Continental Regiment, a rifle unit, and the
militia. Certainly, Washington can be
relied upon for his accurate reporting.
He can also be relied upon to have accepted the dogma of European
tactics. Once the decision was made to
allow the British to determine the format of battles, the ability to fit the
militia and riflemen into that mold was beyond problematic. When that format was rejected, as with
Concord, King’s Mountain, or Saratoga, the British paid the price. When the skills of the riflemen and militia
were integrated into a total system of battle dictated by the British form of
warfare, as with Cowpens, the British still paid a price.
When riflemen fought under
conditions that devalued the bayonet, the riflemen exacted terrible tolls. Militia showed up when their homes were in
danger. They were there to protect
their families. They were there to stop
the enemy, not play on his terms using some artificial set of rules set by the
enemy to favor his specific tools. To
conclude militia was “unreliable” because they went home when they realized
they were expected to engage on terms set by the enemy, that put the militia
men at a decided disadvantage, is to ignore the obvious implications of their
voluntary presence. They came to
fight. If in the course of fighting for
their homes and families, they were killed, such was fortune. They did not come to be used as fodder.
The other obvious that is
ignored is that no one sent them away.
While Washington bristled at the
behavior of the First Continental Regiment, he used them throughout the
war. They were always in harms
way. They were between the Regulars and
the enemy at all times. Washington used
them to scout and skirmish to his front and to cover his retreats. He used them to protect his army. That hardly sounds like he found them of
little value.
CASULATY
FIGURES
Lexington and Concord
American losses: 95
British Losses: 273
(25% +)
Breed’s Hill (Bunker Hill)
American losses: 411
British losses: 1,054
(42%)
Great Bridge, Va.
American losses: 1
British losses: 62
Moore’s Creek, NC
American losses: 2
Loyalist losses: 880
Ft. Sullivan, SC
American losses: 37
British losses: 200
Long Island, NY
American losses: 1500
British losses: 400
Harlem Heights, NY
American losses: 130
British losses: 199
White Plains, NY
American losses: 150
British losses: 313
Ft. Washington, NY
American losses: 2800
German losses: 458
Trenton, NJ
American losses: 4
German losses: 2000
Princeton, NJ
American losses: 40
British losses: 275
Hampshire Grants, VT
American losses: 250
British losses: 185
Bennington, VT
American losses: 70
British losses: 900
Newark, DE
American losses: 40
British losses: 23
Chadd’s Ford, PA (Brandywine)
American losses: 900
British losses: 550
Germantown, PA
American losses: 700
British losses: 534
Saratoga, NY (Freeman’s Farm) and Bemis Heights
American losses: 410
British losses: 1,156
(Gen. Burgoyne surrendered his remaining
5000 troops.
Ft. Constitution and Ft.
Montgomery NY
American losses: 250
British losses: 150
Ft. Mercer, NJ
American losses: 37
German losses: 371
Ft. Mifflin, PA
American losses: 300
British losses: 12
Wyoming, PA
American losses: 23
British losses: 11
Monmouth Courthouse, NJ
American losses: 312
British losses: 1,021
Newport, RI
American losses: 211
British losses: 260
Briar Creek, GA
American losses: 220
British losses: 16
Stony Point, NY
American losses: 95
British losses: 678
Savannah, GA
America/French losses: 1100
British losses: 45
Monck’s Corner, SC
American losses: 87
British losses: 3
Charles Town, SC
American losses: 5800
(5400 surrender)
British losses: 265
Waxhaw, SC
American losses: 316
British losses: 19
Camden, SC
American losses: 950
British losses: 315
King’s Mountain, SC
American losses: 90
Loyalist losses: 910
(Entire force was killed, wounded or captured.)
Blackstock Farm, SC
American losses: 8
British/Loyalist: 50
Cowpens, SC
American losses: 72
British losses: 932
Guilford Courthouse, NC
American losses: 1308
British losses: 532
Camden, SC
American losses: 522
British losses: 693
Ninety-Six, SC.
American losses: 185
Loyalist losses: 85
Yorketown, VA
American/French losses: 341
British/German Losses: 532
(7247 surrender)