Cowpens, South Carolina January 17, 1781 Johnny Reb/AWI by Jeff Glasco

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1 Cowpens, South Carolina January 17, 1781 Johnny Reb/AWI by Jeff Glasco Revised: February 2, 2015 While small in size, the Battle of Cowpens helped end the British control over the backwoods of South Carolina and ultimately led to the withdrawal of Cornwallis' force from the South after the Battle of Guilford Court House. It is one of the most interesting battles to play due to the variety of forces on both sides. Scale: 1 figure = 20 men or 1 gun. Orders of Battle: British: Tarleton s Column (brigade): (57 figures) Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton (2) Ogilvie's Troop/British Legion Dragoons (40): 2 figures, Veteran, Swords 1 Troop/17 th Light Dragoons (40): 2 figures, Crack, Swords 2 Royal Artillery (2 x 3-pdr) 3 : 2 figures, Green, 3-pdr British Converged Light Infantry Battalion (160) 4 : 8 figures, Elite, SBM British Legion Infantry (210): 12 figures, Veteran, SBM 7 th Regiment of Foot (167): 8 figures, Veteran, SBM 1 st Bn/71 st Highland Regiment (263): 12 figures, Veteran, SBM British Legion Dragoons (200): 10 figures, Veteran, Swords Americans: Light Corps: (73 figures) Brigadier General Daniel Morgan (3) Continental Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard (2) Maryland/Delaware Light Battalion 5 (@300): 16 figures, Elite, SBM Triplett s Virginia Militia (riflemen) Battalion (175): 8 figures*, Green, AR 1 This is a one stand unit. 2 This is a one stand unit. 3 Crewed by 9 men from 7th ROF, 9 men from British Legion and a few artillerymen. This is a one stand unit. 4 4 Companies: 1 st Bn/71 st Highland (35), 2 nd Bn/71 st Highland (34), 16 th ROF (41), Prince of Wales American Regiment (25-50). The strength numbers are rank and file, with additional officers and sergeants, this unit probably had around 160 men. 5 Composed of Anderson's Company/1st Maryland (60), Brook's Light Company/1st Maryland (60), Dobson's Company/2nd Maryland (60), Kirkwood's Light Company/2nd Maryland (60) and Lawson's Virginia Company (@40) and Wallace's Virginia Company (@20)/Buford's Regiment.

2 Tate's Augusta Virginia Riflemen (50) Comb's Fauquier County Virginia Riflemen (40) Gilmore's Rockbridge Virginia Riflemen (40) Beatty's Burke County NC Militia Riflemen (25) Buchanan's Augusta Riflemen (20) SC Militia Brigade: Colonel Andrew Pickens (1) 1st Spartan SC Militia Regiment 6 (@200): 12 figures, Militia, SBM Thomas' 1st Battalion Roebuck's 2nd Battalion 2nd Spartan (Fair Forest), SC Militia Regiment 7 (@100): 12 figures, Militia, SBM +Hayes' Little River, SC Militia Regiment 8 (@150) McDowell's North Carolina Riflemen (@100): 6 figures*, Green, AR Surry & Wilkes County NC Riflemen (60) Lincoln & Rutherford County NC Riflemen (40) Cunningham's Battalion (Riflemen) (115): 6 figures*, Green, AR Cunningham's Georgia Militia Battalion (55) Hammond's South Carolina State Company (60) Cavalry Brigade: Lieutenant Colonel Washington [3rd Dragoons] (2) Continental Dragoons 9 (82): 4 figures, Elite, Swords State & Militia Dragoons (75): 4 figures, Green, Swords State Dragoons (30) Nelson's Virginia State Dragoons (15) Clark's North Carolina State Dragoons (15) McCall's South Carolina Dragoons (45) Jolly's Georgia Dragoons (20) McCall's South Carolina Dragoons (25) Game Information and Special Rules: 1. American Strengths: How many Americans were involved in the battle and how they were organized is really unknown as there was no headcount on the day of the battle and some units seem to have been left out of the official reports. Babits and O'Kelley argue that there were far more Americans present than previously known. I'm not completely convinced of their arguments. In attempting to make a campaign game for this era, I realized that there was no way their numbers for the militia were accurate. Instead, I've based the militia numbers on what other primary sources indicated. 6 Commanded by Colonel John Thomas Jr. 7 Commanded by Colonel Thomas Brandon 8 Commanded by LTC Joseph Hayes 9 Composed of Parson s Troop/1 st Dragoons (27), Jones Troop/3 rd Dragoons (28), and Barrett s Troop/3 rd Dragoons (27).

3 2. British Strengths: These are based on primary source British returns and letters. 3. British Fatigue (Optional): The British force marched in the night to reach the battlefield as Tarleton did not want Morgan s force to escape him. To simulate the fatigue of the British forces, reduce their Command Levels to 30% and 50% instead of 40% and 60%. 4. Command Levels: Rather than compute command levels by stand, but only once a unit is completely eliminated. I use 1/2 point per infantry or cavalry stand, 1 point per artillery stand, 2 points per brigade commander, 4 points per division commander, and 6 points per wing or army commander. For this scenario, Tarleton counts as a brigade commander, Morgan counts as a division commander, and the other American commanders count as brigade commanders. 5. Infantry Unit Sizes: The units marked with an asterisk (*) after the number of figures are based 2 to a stand (on a 1" x.75" stand) and considered to be in open order line formation, they cannot use the close order line formation. They can also go into march column formation (form as per Johnny Reb 3) or skirmish formation (place stands up to one stand width apart). All other formations are as per the Johnny Reb 3 rules with the exception that double line and attack column are not used in the American Revolution (except for French troops who can use a modified version of the attack column called column of companies, which was closed column of companies - see my revised QRC for Johnny Reb 3/AWI). I base all other infantry on 4 figure stands (2 ranks on 1" x 1" stand), cavalry on 2 figure stands (1 rank on 1" x 1.5" stand) and artillery on a 2 figure and 1 cannon stand (1" x 1.5" stand); that's the reason the quick reference charts show 25% loss for morale modifiers rather than per stand. Command Levels: British: Tarletons' Brigade = 11.5 points 40% = 5 points (optional 30% = 4 points) 60% = 7 points (optional 50% = 6 points) Americans: Entire Division = 22 points (Morgan = 4 points) 40% = 9 points 60% = 14 points Picken's Brigade = 8 points 40% = 4 points 60% = 5 points Howard's Brigade = 6 points 40% = 3 points 60% = 4 points Washington's Brigade = 4 points 40% = 2 points 60% = 3 points

4 Victory Conditions: The Americans win a minor victory if the British brigade reaches 40% Command Level losses and a major victory if the British brigade reaches 60% Command Level losses (or 30% and 50% respectively if using the optional British fatigue level rules). The British win a minor victory if 2 out of the 3 American brigades reach the 40% Command Level losses, and a major victory if all 3 American brigades reach the 40% Command Level losses or if 2 of the 3 American brigades reach 60% Command Level losses without the British reaching 40% Command Level losses. Tarleton gets knighted and the British win the 1781 campaign if the entire American division reaches the 60% Command Level losses and the British force does not reach the 40% Command Level loss! Given the command level rules, this game will be hard for the British to win. Also the fact that the British have only one command means that if they break, their entire command will break, which is pretty much what happened in the battle. Game Length: The game continues for up to 16 turns (4 hours). The real battle was settled very quickly, but the longer game duration allows for some more imaginative tactics on the part of the British side. The actual battle began at 7 a.m., so you can go for more than 16 turns if you want, but the 16 turn limit makes the British player "rush" his attack as Tarleton did. The real battle was over in about an hour (4 turns). Set Up: 1. Americans: The Americans set up within 30" of the northwestern portion (upper) of the board. The Americans set up first. 2. British: The British set up in the southeastern portion (lower) 18" of the board. The upper right corner is north. Terrain (see map below): Wooded Areas: treat as Woods Small Streams: treat as Rough Hills (two levels): the hills have an impact on line of sight, but are not steep enough to have an impact on any unit s movement (no movement penalties). I have not been to Cowpens, but pictures of the battlefield and viewing it on Google Earth, I have noted that the slope of the hills are very marginal. Road: treat as a Road. Map Size: Each square on the map equals 300 yards. If using 1" = 37.5 yards, like I do with my Johnny Reb/AWI variant and 15mm figures, then each square on the map equals 8"; thus the overall battlefield is 24" by 40".

6 Sources: PRO 30/11/103 Cornwallis Papers Returns of Troops Atkinson, Christopher T. "British Forces in North American, : Their Distribution and Strength." Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 16 (Spring 1937), 3-23; 18 (Autumn 1940), ; 20 (Winter 1941), Babits, Lawrence. A Devil of a Whipping, The Battle of Cowpens. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, Cornwallis, Earl. Answer to Sir Henry Clinton's Narrative of the Campaign in 1781 in North America. Philadelphia: John Campbell, Lesser, Charles H., ed. The Sinews of Independence. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, Lumpkin, Henry. From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South. New York: Paragon House, Moncure, John. The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute, (a very good source for this battle) Novak, Greg. The American War of Independence: A Guide to the Armies of the American War of Independence, Volume 2: The Southern Campaign. Calumet, PA: Old Glory Corp. O'Kelley, Patrick. "Nothing but Blood and Slaughter" Volume Three. Blue House Tavern Press, Sherman, William Thomas. Calendar and Record of the Revolutionary War in the South: Seattle: Gun Jones Publishing, (comprehensive coverage of Southern Campaign) Tarleton, Banastre. A History of the Campaigns of 1780 and 1781 in the Southern Provinces of North America. London: T. Cadell, Ward, Christopher, The War of the Revolution, 2 vols. New York: MacMillian, 1952.

Camden, South Carolina, August 16, 1780 Piquet/Cartouche By Jeff Glasco

Camden, South Carolina, August 16, 1780 Piquet/Cartouche By Jeff Glasco Revised August 8, 2016 Camden is an interesting battle given the disparity in quality of troops and leaders. The British have an