The battle of Cowpens took place on January 17, 1781 as part of the southern campaign of the American Revolution.  The Continentals were led by General Daniel Morgan, whose group was made up of continentals and backwoods militia.  The British were led by Banastre Tarelton who had over one-thousand soldiers under his command.  

Before the battle, Morgan asked his militia to fire two volleys and then retreat to the third line with the Continentals.  As the militia was retreating Tarleton’s men were charging toward the center of the line.  The Continentals became confused and some started to retreat.  Morgan saw others following the ones retreating and as they were Morgan told them to turn about and fire in unison.  This volley turned the tide in favor of the Continentals.

The battle was over in an hour.  The British lost over one-hundred men and five-hundred were captured, compared to only twelve killed and sixty men captured from the Continentals.  Tarelton escaped capture and reported the news to Cornwallis.  It was the first time that British regulars had been beaten during the American Revolution but it would not be the last.  Many people say that this victory was the turning point in the American Revolution.