The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1857-04-22

reeds at the head of the branch. This
over which the battle was fought, and the
same mentioned in the historical accounts
The traditional account given us by Mr.
Scruggs, of the approach and position of
tie opposi G forces, is however, somewhat
opposed to the historical account of Simms
and others; but fortified as it is, by vari-
Gus circumstances and traces Of the fight,
we think it none the less reliable, and TO
our minds, even more probable. The ac.
count which he has received from mary
old soldiers who were in the engagement,
is somewhat as follows:
Morgan being pressed hard by Tarleton
who had much larger number Of men,
after crossing at Grndell Shoals, some
twenty miles below Cowpens, was making
his way as fas: as possible, along the
ridge between Pacolett and Broad rivers
towards Gulf RI Court House, where he
expected to be reinforced. When within
few miles Of Island Ford upon Broad
river, he found that Tarleton would GER
tanly overtake him, before he could
reach Guiltord, he determined to give
him battle, and for that purpose marched
back to Cowpens as the most favorable spot
for such a fight. lie encamped not far
from where the monument now stands,
and made preparations to receive the enc
my. Tarleton's force, which, after travel
ing very late in pursuit of Morgan, stop
ped sometime after midnight, and er
camped to refresh themselves some two.
or two miles and half below, and in a
direction a little south Of east from Nor
gan's Camp, struck their tents about day
, light next morning, and came upon Nor
gan about sun up, when the fight com
menced. According to Simms' account
/ IarIeton had marched some five miles
that morning but Mr.. Scruggs says that
he remembers, when a boy, to have seen
the spot, and that it was pointel out to
him by those who lived at the time, as
the place where Tarieton encamped the
night before he fought Morgan, and that
many things, such as broken ware Of VA
rous kinds DC, remained to mark it, as.
without doubt, the very spot where he
pitched his :ents.
If we understand too, the historical ac
counts ofthc direction from which Tarle-
ton approached the American forces, they
arc not sustained either by the tradition.
airy account, or the marks aud relics o.
the fight. We have already said that
the account given 10y Mr.. Scruggs fixes
Iarietons camp some two or two and E
halt miles in a direction somewhat soull
Of east from where the monument nov
stands. and from this direction he mus
lave made the attack. The marks upor
the trees 60 10 prove this statement, a.
they show that the balls must have beer
fired with the parties thus opposed to eac
other. Those balls found IN the east side
of the trees have almost all Of them rang
ed higher than those from the west, cor
roborating what is stated in history, and
what we have always understood abuu,
the battle, that the british oycrshot on,
men," Numerous relics, such as guns
pistols, stlrrups, spars, cartridges cartridge
boxes, DC, which have at various times
been picked up, together with the places
which tradition points out as the burial
places OF the slain, all 60 to show this
statement correct.
We have not time or space to say all
we would like to at present, and must
hasten to put an end to our account. Nh
Scruggs has quite an inexhaustibIe store
of anecdotes and incidents of the battle
and we hope before long to give our read
ers some of them. He saws when he was
a boy they used to have chopping frolics
in order to get the lead from the trees, on
the battle field that if they could get pow
der in those days, when the demand for il
made it so dear, that they could always
supply themselves with lead from the
trees, upon which the British wasted Sc
much in that memorable battle.
xr@--.