Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-09-14
SOVYa cAROAt&A IN
YaK REpOh UFt0a
How the Spirit of Liberty Was Kept Alive by an
UncOnquerable People
BY REV. ROBERT LATHAM. ID. ID.
From the Yorkville Enquirer Of 1876
INSTALLMENT XXI.
The Battle Of cowpens and its Results,
Incidents, Etc.


Incidents, Etc.
It is natural for us to dwell with
special delight upon the worthy deeds
of our ancestors. BY an instinct which
nothing but death can overcome. we
cherish the spot which gave us birth
The exile from his native land revisits
in dreams the play grounds or MS
childhood. In his lonely cell, thoughts
fill his mind which may be expressed
in this short sentence: Take me
home to die" II we may innocently
love our native land with an intensity
which no oppression can destroy, may
we not also as intensely love those
who gave us existence and bequeathed
to us that native land?
The part which the south took In
the Revolutionary war is not under
stood by the American people, at least
It has never received that prominence
which It justly deserves. The battles
Of Lexington. Saratoga and Bennington
together with an almost countless
number Of skiFmishes which took place
in the north, form the woof and warp
of Revolutionary history; whilst the
battles OF Kings Mountain and Cow
pens are treated with silent neglect
British officers did not think these bat
ties small affairs. which might be for
gotten in q few days. Lieutenant Col
onel Tarleton, in speaking Of the fall
of Ferguson, deliberately declared that
the discontinue Of the British at
Kings Mountain, put period to the
first expedition Of the British into
North Carolina and the AFFAIR OF the
Cowpens overshadowed the commence
ment of the second with gloom. 1t is
easy to see according to all human
probabilities, what would have been the
result had Ferguson been victorious at
Kings Mountain. Cornwallis would
have formed a junction with General
Leslie at Portsmouth, and in that event
II would have been impossible for Cen
erai Washington to have concentrated
troops to resist either Cornwallis OF
clinton The British camp would have
swarmed with loyalists, whilst the
American army would have been ami
hilated by desertions. Had Tarleton
been victorious at the Cowpens, Cen
eral Greene would have been ruined
Cornwallis could have either cut him
off and forced him to surrender or run
him into the arms of the traitor, Ar
mold. The loss Of either Kings Noun
tain or Cowpens, would have lost to
the Americans, Georgia, the two Caro-
linas and Virginia and ultimately all
Of the thirteen colonies.
It must be remembered that the VIC
tories gained at Kings Mountain and
the Cowpens, forever broke the spirit OF
the Tories and loyalists from the Dan
to the Savannah. AS we will see In
the sequel, this class of citizens lost all
confidence in the kings troops to pro-
tect them. These were no idle fears
II was a deliberate conclusion deduced
from facts. At Kings Mountain the
British lost absolutely everything and
the Americans comparatively nothing.
At the Cowpens, the British lost In
killed and prisoners nearly as many
men as the Americans had in the battle
The news OF these sad disasters, spread
amongst the loyalists from Cross creek
North Carolina, to Augusta, Georgia,
Dreadful was the CONSERVATION which
it produced among the friends Of King
George. On the other hand, joy and
gladness filled the hearts Of the friends
Of liberty.
Perhaps most Of those military chief
tains who have learned all their the
ories of war second handed, would be
ready to censure both Campbell and
Morgan. Ferguson was well posted on
a craggy mountain. He was well pro-
vided with men and the munitions OF
war The patriot band who attacked
him, were self made soldiers. They
knew little of the science Of war as
taught in the schools. The same re-
mark will apply to the heroes Of the
Cowpens. Colonel Tarleton was CEN
tainly a brave man and a skillful off,
Ger. His men were we'll provided with
everything that such corps required
General Daniel Morgan, the principal
in command at the battle Of the Cow
pens, was one Of those men whose real
character is likely to be misunderstood
There are multitudes of the human
family who have learned the art OF
selling themselves for more than they
are really worth. In a social and mora
point Of view, they appear to be better
than they really are. They put on airs
and look wise and pretend to be gooG
and wise and the multitude in process
ness and goodness which they claim
To this class of men General Morgan
did not belong. He was a better mar
in every respect than he appeared tc
Jersey. His ancestors came from
Wales. In his viens no doubt there
was some blood which the Caesar:
could not subdue. His parents were
pun " uSquSdbi " bhCii
son anything but a life of toll. Hi.
education was neglected as was the
case with many others in those days
In 1881. when young Morgan was il
his seventeenth year, he left the hum
BILE home of his parents and came t
Frederick county, Virginia. He en-
gagged with one of the wealthy planter
of that region as day laborer. Ever
at that early period Of his life, h,
contemplated by industry and prope
management, bettering his condition II
life. The planter made him his wagon
er. Morgan so increased his mean
that in the expedition which Genera
Braddock led against the Indians an
in which he was killed, he accompanie,
the army, driving a wagon OF his own
During this expedition Of BraddocR
Morgan incurred the displeasure Of
British officer and was sentenced to re
ceive five hundred lashes. After tn
punishment had been inflicted, 1t wa
discovered that Morgan was not guilt
Of the crime for which he had been s
cruelty treated. At the time Morga
bore the indignity like a stole, and Il
after life manifested no resentment to