An elegant beaver hat, made agreeably to the fashion of those times, marked inside, The property of Josiah Martin, Governor [Royal Governor of North Carolina], was found ten miles below. James Jack, Mrs. Wilson's brother. The British had left Charlotte in virtual panic; in their rush to leave the camp at Barnett's mill they had abandoned some twenty wagons, a large quantity of clothing, many tents and other equipment, and a number of guns. It would be recorded, however, as the last battle with an invader on Mecklenburg soil. This direction, as it afterward appeared, carried the British troops considerably above the place where the ford terminated on the other side, and where the enemyâs pickets were posted, so that when they delivered their fire the light infantry were already so far advanced as to be out of the line of its direction, and it took place angularly upon the grenadiers, so as to produce no great effect.". The Battle of Cowan's Ford: General Davidson's Stand on the Catawba River, and its place in North Carolina History [Stonestreet IV, O. C.] on Amazon.com. He swung to the left and came northward west of the Catawba. Their general and two or three other officers were among the killed; the number of wounded was uncertain; a few were taken prisoners. Gen. Lord William Cornwallis and his army of British and Tories successfully crossed the Catawba River, defeating the Patriot forces of Gen. William L. Davidson, Maj. Joseph Graham, Col. William Polk, and Lt. Thomas Davidson. Fortunately, they were able to dress the body in a suit left there by Capt. Davie wrote Gen. He and Morgan then set out towards Salisbury. The backbone of the British offensive against the South was broken. Also, the fighting in the vicinity of Charlotte had used up all the supplies in that region. Cowan’s Ford is a family-oriented club with amenities that include a beautiful championship golf course, generous practice facilities, Junior Olympic-size pool, Tennis and Pickleball courts, and a private boat ramp and dock. Their general and two or three other officers were among the killed; the number of wounded was uncertain; a few were taken prisoners. Davidson evidently feared that Tarleton's troops might, in the darkness of a winter's night, slip across the Catawba and get behind him, from which position they could attack him as the British infantry began its crossing. Wiki here. Cornwallis had envisioned a 3-pronged drive northward to overpower what he considered would be feeble resistance in North Carolina. Cornwallis' venturing into North Carolina had been disastrous. On December 2, Major General Nathanael Greene took command of this force, numbering, according to a field return made just before the march to Charlotte , more than 1,100 militiamen and upward of 1,000 Continental regulars, with some 400 under command of Morgan. McK. The carefully thought out southern campaign upon which he had embarked so hopefully was shattered never to be reshaped. To the west he had dispatched Major Patrick Ferguson from Fort Ninety-Six to move northwestward to enlist Tory supporters and subdue the Americans. On our side, Lieutenant-colonel Hall and three men were killed, and thirty-six wounded, all of the light infantry and grenadiers of the guards.â, âLeslieâ Orderly Book entry for 1 February: âLord Cornwallis is highly displeased that Several Houses was set on fire during the March this day, a Disgrace to the Army; & that he will punish with the Utmost Severity any persons who shall be found Guilty of Committing so disgracefull an Outrage â- His Lordship requests the Comdg. They also suffer a devastating incident at nearby Torrence’s Tavern. Cleared of resistance on the wings and in the rear, Cornwallis would sweep through North Carolina and roll on into Virginia to end all of the American resistance to His Majesty's government. We now learned that we had been opposed by about three hundred militia that had taken post there only the evening before, under the command of General Davidson. A man named Frederick Hager, a Tory who lived in the vicinity, was serving as the guide for the British force. It was late in January now. And then he and Morgan set out towards Salisbury. Our annual biscuit and coffee breakfast begins at 9:00am. The task of the Americans, spaced thinly along the eastern bank, was to anticipate Cornwallis' crossing strategy and slow his advance in order to give Morgan, already impeded by the prisoners and supplies he had taken at the Cowpens, more time to conduct an orderly retreat. The task of the Americans, spaced thinly along the eastern bank, was to anticipate Cornwallis' crossing strategy and slow his advance in order to give Morgan, already impeded by the prisoners and supplies he had taken at the Cowpens, more time to conduct an orderly retreat. On january 17, Cornwallis was on the move. . When the light infantry had nearly reached the middle of the river, they were challenged by one of the enemy’s sentinels. Alexander’s, eight miles above Charlotte. He made a move to indicate he was planning to cross at Beatties Ford by sending Lt. Col. Webster and a detachment of British to "make every possible demonstration by cannonading and otherwise, of an intention to force a passage there," he would write some six weeks later. Nevertheless, you’ll love the patriotic heroine who makes an appearance at the end of the story! Cornwallis was on a mission to stop General Nathanael Greene and his … Davidson in writing his congratulations expressed deep concern: "My anxiety for you (least your Wound be fatal) is such that I have scarcely spirit to congratulate you on your glorious victory. I think I am possessed of all the patience necessary to my profession but I assure you it is nearly exhaustedâ¦". On learning that Cornwallis was again on the move, he had sent out orders for the militia to meet at Charlotte on January 10. Battle of Cowan's Ford Fought today in 1781. From a visitors area along NC Hwy 73 next to the Catawba River, one can see Cowan's Ford Island. They had heard that Davidson had some 5,000 soldiers and was pursuing them; actually the brigadier general had hardly more than 300 men, but Davie with a part of Davidson's cavalry was harassing the fleeing Redcoats and the number of their pursuers must have seemed frightfully large. The event took place at Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Huntersville. Joseph Graham: âWe had none wounded or taken. I think I am possessed of all the patience necessary to my profession but I assure you it is nearly exhausted…". Narrative of the Battle of Cowan's Ford, February 1st, 1781 The light infantry landing first, immediately formed, and in a few minutes killed or dispersed every thing that appeared before them; the rest of the troops forming, and advancing in succession. But it was what Green aptly termed "only the shadow of an army.". But down in South Carolina, Gen. Search. To the west, Ferguson was dead and buried at Kings Mountain and his forces, regulars and Tories, were dead, wounded or captured. Battle of Cowan’s Ford, North Carolina 1 February 1781 14 February 2018 / tjlinzy / 0 Comments After Daniel Morgan’s devastating victory over the British commander Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens on 17 January 1781 , the American commander of the southern theatre, Nathaniel Greene, was leading a confident force. The battle was an important part of the fight-and-retreat strategy of Gen. Nathanael Greene, commander of the American army in the South. They took the body to the home of David's widowed stepmother, Mrs. Samuel Wilson. In short, his lordship never found himself so far from home as at that place; and it may appear strange that although we were more than two weeks in surprizing distance with our raw militia, yet the enemy never attempted it, owing, I suppose to the great attention of our commander in preventing them from obtaining intelligence, and moving his troops every night.". Some of the dead were found down the river some distance lodged in fish traps, and in brush about the banks, on rocks, etc., etc. The other group was sent toward Fort Ninety-Six under Col. Daniel Morgan. The different parties met in the afternoon at Jno. Gen'l Gates with the Continental Troops will be at Charlotte tomorrow. Frederick Hager's rifle, said the neighbors, shot such a ball. Greene decided to leave Charlotte, but before he could get his army moving, heavy rains set in and kept his troops from marching. They buried their dead, disposed of their wounded, and about mid-day he marched, and in the afternoon united with Cornwallis at Givens’ plantation, two miles from Beattie’s Ford, and one mile south of the Salisbury road Tarleton joined them before night. No sooner did the guide [a Tory] who attended the light infantry to show them the ford, hear the report of the sentinelâs musket, than he turned round and left them. ?? Our new tradition begins on Friday, January 27, 2017 , beginning at 5:30pm with mixing and a cash bar at the River Run Golf & Country Club in Davidson, NC. On this day in 1781, Americans lose the Battle of Cowan’s Ford. On December 20, Greene divided his forces and went with one group to the Cheraw region on the Pee Dee in South Carolina, where he made camp the day after Christmas. Buy Narrative of the Battle of Cowan's Ford, February 1st, 1781: and Narrative of the Battle of King's Mountain by Henry, Dr Robert online on Amazon.ae at best prices. Battles of Cowan's Ford. It was a battle in the Southern Theater of Cornwallis's 1780â1782 Campaign that eventually led to the British Army's surrender at Yorktown. He was not hurt himself. He had ordered the capture of Wilmington, to be held as a port city through which he could receive supplies and also as a right wing protection of his own forces in their drive toward Charlotte and on to Hillsboro . The Leonard’s Creek Chapter joined in honoring and remembering General William Lee Davidson, and the Battle of Cowan’s Ford. Before establishing his camp at Forney's, some 4 miles from the river, he had ventured to Beatties Ford but had fount it impassable because of the raging current. McK. He sent a message to Sumner suggesting that they join in an assault on the British, but the rain slowed Sumner and Cornwallis outdistanced his pursuers and withdrew to Winnsboro, where 70 miles south of Mecklenburg's pestiferous hornets he established headquarters. The Battle of Cowan's Ford was also called the Battle of McCown's Ford. Meanwhile, the pickets huddled on the bank at the eastern end of the wagon ford. Their resistance hardly slowed Cornwallis' advance. At 1:00 A.M., Cornwallis reveals in his own account of the skirmish at "McCowan's ford," he began his march to the river, which was reached after much difficulty and the loss of some of their cannon, "the morning being very dark and rainy & part of our way through a wood where there was no road." Several hundred of them did not have any weapons and were almost without clothing in the dead of this winter of 1780, and half of the entire force were untrained militiamen. [Chalmers G Davidson;] Home. WorldCat Home About WorldCat Help. And in the center his Lordship, chagrined, fearful, bitter, was running southward in disorganized retreat. Above Beatties were McEwen's and Sherrill's, and below were Cowan's, Tool's, and Tuckassege. Major General Greene inspected the defense and suggested that Brigadier General Davidson put 200 of his men on horseback as a mobile reserve. The morning being very dark and rainy, and part of our way through a wood where there was no road, one of the three pounders in front of the 23d regiment and the cavalry overset in a swamp, and occasioned those corps to lose the line of march; and some of the artillery men belonging to the other gun, (one of whom had the march) having stopped to assist, were likewise left behind. The militiamen were picking off many British struggling in the water. But even yet, two weeks after the Charlotte muster and a week after Cowpens, Davidson wrote Greene that he was "distressed on account of the Smallness of our Resources and the Want of propper Ecconomy." We lie at the old post a dead weight on the Publick. Meanwhile, during the preceding many weeks, Davidson had been riding the district enlisting recruits to fill the places of those men whose terms of enlistment had expired. Toward nightfall, Davidson himself led a detachment to Cowan's Ford and set up camp a half mile or so back from the river, but he assigned a picker to watch from the water's edge the Cowan's crossing point. The actual ford and the site of the February 1781 battle are on the north side of the island. But instead of going to Beatties Ford, which his actions there during the day had indicated he would try to force, he moved down the river to Cowan's. Davie to be his commissary-general, Davidson would not have the services of that daring and resourceful cavalry leader. The former Southern Power Company, now Duke Energy, broke ground for the lake on September 28, 1959. The men [N.C. militia] under Col. [Joseph] Williams and Capt. The Battle of Cowan's Ford was a defeat for the Americans, but the delay it provided allowed General Morgan and General Greene to rendezvous their armies and escape to the north, only to fight Cornwallis six weeks later at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, a battle in … Their behaviour justified my high opinion of them; for a constant fire from the enemy, in a ford upwards of five hundred yards wide, in many places up to their middle, with a rocky bottom and strong current, made no impression on their cool and determined valour, nor checked their passage. So he stayed well back from the river bank opposite to the point where the horse ford emerged on the Mecklenburg side. This, which at first seemed to portend much mischief, in the end proved a fortunate incident. For a few minutes, the action was lively. Potts who were guarding Tuckasege and Toolâs Fords, had early notice of the enemyâs crossing and retired. That night by torchlight, with Pastor McCaule conducting the brief service and with Mary Brevard Davidson standing stalwart beside the red clay grave, Davidson was buried in Hopewell Presbyterian churchyard, which was located on Beattie’s Ford Road, approximately 5 miles south of the battlefield. Get directions, maps, and traffic for Cowans Ford, NC. The British loss was greater, but the skirmish proved a defeat for the Americans. The Battle of Cowan's Ford: General Davidson's Stand on the Catawba River, … The militiamen were picking off many British struggling in the water. Cleared of resistance on the wings and in the rear, Cornwallis would sweep through North Carolina and roll on into Virginia to end all of the American resistance to His Majesty's government. Officers of Corps will Endeavor to find out the Persons who set fire to the Houses this day.”. This was actually 2 fords; one, the horse ford, though shallower than the other, was longer, because it crossed the stream obliquely; the other, called the wagon ford, went straight across the river. In this new venture into North Carolina, Cornwallis was careful to avoid a second encounter with the Mecklenburg hornets. The pickets on the eastern bank were asleep, but the noise of the British crossing awakened them and their firing brought Davidson and his men racing toward the wagon ford. It never was explained by what means his Excellency lost his hat. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. ?? In the Fall, on October 19, Cornwallis would surrender to Gen. George Washington’s Army at Yorktown, Virginia. Joseph Graham: “We had none wounded or taken. On February 1, at 1:00 A.M., he would march down the river to Cowan's Ford, where he planned his major drive to cross the stream. I sincerely wish you a speedy recovery, and in the meantime regret the Want of your services in the field, at this critical and important Juncture. This year’s speaker is Jeremiah DeGennaro, the site manager of the Alamance Battleground Historic Site. The sentinel having challenged thrice and received no answer, immediately gave the alarm by discharging his musket; and the enemy’s pickets were turned out. Meanwhile, during the preceding many weeks, Davidson had been riding the district enlisting recruits to fill the places of those men whose terms of enlistment had expired. Gen. Davidson's body stripped naked by the British. His Lordship's venturing into North Carolina had been disastrous. ?? Meanwhile, Greene had arrived at the Catawba and with Washington had visited Morgan and Davidson at Beatties Ford and planned his strategy. We lie at the old post a dead weight on the Publick. And in the center his Lordship, chagrined, fearful, bitter, was running southward in disorganized retreat. The last battle of the American Revolution fought in Mecklenburg County on February 1, 1781. Davidson evidently feared that Tarleton's troops might, in the darkness of a winter's night, slip across the Catawba and get behind him, from which position they could attack him as the British infantry began its crossing. But he was still anxious to attack the enemy, even though by Greene's appointment of Colonel Davie to be his commissary-general, Davidson would not have the services of that daring and resourceful cavalry leader. Hager led them straight across along the wagon ford and soon the horses were over their heads in the raging torrent. But even yet, 2 weeks after the Charlotte muster and a week after Cowpens, Davidson wrote Greene that he was "distressed on account of the Smallness of our Resources and the Want of propper Ecconomy." Battle of Cowan's Ford. At 1:00 A.M., Cornwallis reveals in his own account of the skirmish at "McCowan's ford," he began his march to the river, which was reached after much difficulty and the loss of some of their cannon, "the morning being very dark and rainy & part of our way through a wood where there was no road." It had rained at times all day, and in the evening and night it fell in torrents. And to the west he had dispatched Ferguson from Fort Ninety-Six to move northwestward to enlist Tory supporters and subdue the Americans. Smallwood, "The torments of the damned are scarcely equal to the torture of my feelings these five or six days past, from the rage of the militia for returning home. Excerpt from Narrative of the Battle of Cowan's Ford: February 1st, 1781 Having seen the following most valuable and interesting narrative quoted very often in "King's Mountain and its Heroes," written by Lyman C. Draper, L. L. D., of Wisconsin, I wrote the Doctor with a view of obtaining the original manuscript if possible, but was unable to procure it. For 3 days, he camped at Ramsour's Mill, where he was joined by Tarleton. From a visitors area along NC Hwy 73 next to the Catawba River, one can see Cowan's Ford Island. He sent Tarleton to meet Morgan; they clashed at Cowpens and Morgan gave the British cavalry a resounding defeat. On Feb. 1, 1781, the Battle of Cowan’s Ford took place near present day Mecklenburg County. Infobox Military Conflict |conflict=Battle of Cowan s Ford |partof=the American Revolutionary War | |caption= Battle of Cowans Ford by Dave Teague. On January 28, he marched eastward toward the river to Jacob Forney's; there for another 3 days his hungry troops feasted on the affluent Forney's cattle and sheep, hogs and chickens, while they waited for the swollen waters of the Catawba to subside. 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