Guilford Courthouse, Yorktown and the "Little-Man"

Yorktown was our last stop of the trip. This was where Cornwallis finally surrendered to the American army on October 19, 1781. Following the “long, obstinate and bloody” battle at Guilford Courthouse the tide was turned in favor of the Americans and the path was set for the siege and surrender of Yorktown.

The day before we had the opportunity to tour the Guilford Courthouse battlefield with Lawrence Babits. Though Nathaniel Greene’s patriot force could not count this as a battle won, this battle was an incredibly important turning point in the war. Both the British and American forces suffered great losses in this battle. At this point the British were not well supplied and had lost their foothold in the Southern colonies, particularly the Carolinas. 

Babits’ tour around the battlefield proved to be very insightful and informative in picturing the stages of the battle he described in his book, Long, Obstinate and Bloody: The Battle of the Guilford Courthouse. Like in his other work, Babits focuses on telling the individual soldier’s story. Nathaniel Greene led the militia, the Continental army, and state troops in this battle. While we toured the battlefield, I could not help but think about the individual men and their motives for fighting. While some maybe were fighting for freedom, some were just fighting to end the war and return life to normal.  

As we toured Yorktown and looked out over the surrender field, I thought about the individual men that took part in the siege. In cooperation with the French, the Americans set siege to Yorktown beginning on October 6, 1781 and began bombarding the British positions until a cease-fire was requested on October 17 and Cornwallis asked to negotiate surrender terms. 

Surrender Fields

The men that took part in this siege again had an array of motives. While the regular French soldier had little personal interest in the war, Patriots had interest ranging from liberty and freedom to simply maintaining their way of life and ending the war. While thinking about the “little-man” and his experience and motives in all of the battles discussed on our trip, I truly gained a new appreciation for their sacrifice, courage and bravery.

Yorktown was a great place to end our American Revolution tour. Each of the places we visited and discussed led to the ultimate British surrender at Yorktown. Overall it was a great trip and I came away from it with a better understanding of the American Revolution, particularly in the South. 

Cowpens

One of the many stops along our American Revolution tour of the south was Cowpens Battlefield. While the battle itself was just a little over 30 minutes long, it proved to be one of the most important and decisive battles in the Southern campaign of the American Revolution. We had the incredible opportunity to meet up with the world’s leading authority on the Battle of Cowpens, Lawrence Babits. He led us along the trail, giving us a highly detailed explanation of battle chronology in this decisive Patriot military victory, making the battlefield come to life.

Lawrence Babits

After reading Babits’ book, A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens, it was incredible to see the landscape and tour the grounds with Babits himself. Upon seeing the geography and the lay of the land make Daniel Morgan’s leadership and battlefield genius apparent. Morgan set his men up in three defensive lines that proved to be an excellent choice strategically. Banastre Tarleton and his men, unaware of what was ahead of them, approached the battlefield with confidence, only to receive “a devil of a whipping” from the Patriot forces.

The British would have marched up this road to find Morgan's troops awaiting them. 

Battlefield from Morgan's hill

 As we circled the battlefield, Babits provided both a clear overview of the different stages of the battle, but he also had many anecdotes about different individual men that fought in the battle. Often it is the leaders, like Daniel Morgan or Nathaniel Greene, who are remembered as war heroes. While it is important to recognize their leadership, it is also important to remember and recognize the ordinary individuals who fought in the militia, the Continental army, or the state armies. It was just as much their bravery, skill and will to fight that won this battle as the impeccable leadership that organized them. It was clear that through his research, Babits’ aim was to tell the story from the ground up.

Babits lecturing on the battlefield

On January 17, 1781, the Battle of Cowpens proved to be turning point in the Southern campaign in the American Revolution. This decisive win for the Patriots proved that the “tide of war had turned” and the British were set on a path to surrender at Yorktown.

Fort Moultrie

While in Charleston, my American Revolution travel class had the opportunity to tour Fort Moultrie, situated on Sullivan’s Island at the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Established at this strategic location in 1776, Fort Moultrie has played a pivotal role in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I and World War II. Though decommissioned in 1947, the fort has much to tell visitors about the past and our nations history.

The Revolutionary era fort was built only six months before the British attacked on June 28, 1776. The Patriots constructed the fort out of palmetto logs and sand. This design proved to be extremely beneficial during the battle against the British, as the logs and sand absorbed many of the projectiles shot from the British ships. Commodore Sir Peter Parker and the British fleet were not expecting the nine and half hour battle that ensued upon their arrival. Colonel William Moultrie led his troops in a great defense of Charleston harbor. With an incomplete fort and only 31 cannons, this unlikely victory for the Patriots proved to be a decisive win for the Patriots early on in the Revolution. Had the British captured Charleston, they would have had an early and strong foothold in the South.

After winning this pivotal battle, Colonel William Moultrie was promoted to brigadier general and the fort was named in his honor. Additionally to commemorate this victory, South Carolina has a palmetto tree on its flag representing the palmetto log fort. 

William Moultrie's grave. 

After reading Crescent Moon over Carolina: William Moultrie and American Liberty by C.L. Bragg and learning about this battle, it was very helpful to physically see the geography and where the Fort was positioned. After walking through the visitor center’s display chronicling the history of Fort Moultrie and standing in the fort looking out over the harbor, I was able to clearly see why this fort played an important role in not only the American Revolution, but also many others in American history.