Sal and Amanda Take Morgan's Victory March to the Battle of Cowpens (3 page)

Grammy looked over at Ben as he wrote:

Grammy smiled because she knew each of her children was already planning to bring her grandchildren to the march.

“Now, Mr. Terrific, you better get to bed. You have lots to do tomorrow to finish your speech,” Grammy chuckled as she shooed him off to his room.

Ben brushed his teeth and got in bed. He closed his eyes, but the day's events were rambling in his head. He muttered to himself, “I don't know how I'll ever be able to write all of this down in a
speech
, and I don't know why Grammy insists! Besides, all my other cousins are not having to do this!”

“'Cause you need to know your heritage to appreciate it!” a familiar voice whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes, and there sat Sal on his pillow.

“I thought you two were gone! Where's Amanda?” Ben asked, perking up and looking around the room for Sal's companion.

“She's right there,” Sal pointed at his sister, who scurried down from the bedpost.

“We were trying to help you, but we needed to hide from your grandmother. You have to remember to keep quiet!”

“Yeah, sure!” Ben whispered. “I will!”

“Now where were we?” Amanda asked as she chewed on a gnat and considered the day's history lesson.

“The Southern Campaign, sis! Let me tell it!” Sal cleared his throat and began.

“The British were not able to do much to win the war in the North, so they headed back south. Their plan seemed to be working when Savannah fell in 1778 and Charles Town and Camden in 1780. The British set up a network of strongholds at Augusta, Ninety Six, Camden and Georgetown to protect their supply lines and support the Tory militia.”

Ben interrupted in a whisper, “All those places are here in South Carolina, right?”

“Yes. We were a very important part of the Southern Campaign!” Amanda answered.

Ben went on to ask about the Tory militia and its role in the war. Sal explained that these individuals were the colonists who lived in the colonies and supported the king and agreed to fight for him as volunteer soldiers.

“I thought they were the Loyalists. I'm confused!” Ben said in an exasperated tone.

“Keep it down or we're outta here!” Sal warned.

“OK, sorry!” Ben whispered.

“Loyalists and Tories are the same thing. They are synonyms,” Amanda clarified.

Ben wanted to know why the Loyalists were fighting for the King, since he had assumed that the colonists all wanted freedom.

“Well, there were two, maybe three sides to this war. The colonists who lived near the coast got tired of being taxed and not having any voice in the government. It was called taxation without representation. They were the Patriots,” Amanda explained.

Sal took up the cause. “Many of the colonists in the backcountry just wanted to stay out of the fight. They didn't buy much, so they weren't too worried about taxes. You could just say they were neutral. Loyalists were grateful for the land the king had given them and were happy to be protected by the king's soldiers. They supported their mother country, England.”

“Well, I can see their point,” Ben mused. “I have to decide which side was right so I can take a stand for my speech,” Ben muttered.

Banastre Tarleton

“Yeah, we heard about that,” Sal smiled. “Why do you think we are here?”

Amanda went on to explain that militia and volunteer soldiers, were on both sides of the war and they fought against each other. Sal added that it was really a civil war with neighbors fighting against neighbors. Ben, saddened by this, suddenly realized how important it was for him to reenact the battle and write a good speech to honor the lives that were lost in the war.

Amanda continued, “It looked like the British were winning, but something happened that changed the minds of many of the neutrals in the backcountry. At the Battle of the Waxhaws, a British commander, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, killed many Patriots even when they were showing the white flag of surrender.”

“How awful! Everyone knows what waving the white flag means!” Ben insisted.

“Of course. But Tarleton was so ruthless he got the nickname ‘Bloody Ban.' And it backfired on ole Bloody Ban, 'cause we had something in the backcountry the British didn't understand,” Sal said excitedly. “The settlers in the backcountry were mostly Scots Irish who were fiercely protective of their families. They had come to the New World to offer a better life for their children, and they had tried to stay out of all this. But they didn't want their fellow countrymen to be treated in such awful ways.” Amanda and Ben leaned in to listen to Sal as he excitedly explained what happened next.

“They rose up and joined the Patriot cause with a new kind of army that used backwoods tactics. They were good riders, sharp shooters and had a strong network of support. They had come to raise their families in peace, but they were not going to be pushed around!”

“Well, this is beginning to make sense,” Ben sighed. He secretly wondered how the salamanders knew so much about South Carolina history and the Revolutionary War.

“Uncle Newt has taught us about history since we were just babies. And we've listened to the tour guides at Walnut Grove for most of our lives,” Sal said, as if he had read Ben's mind.

Nathanael Greene

“That's what ambassadors are supposed to do: represent their country or, in our case, state. You can't do that unless you know its history,”Amanda affirmed.

“What did the backcountry Patriots do when they got all fired up?” Ben asked, really getting into the story.

Sal, anxious to get on with the tale, felt it was important to discuss these brave individuals. “Well, that's the wild part. Neighbors fought neighbors. Feuds were the order of the day. That's why the American Revolution was a civil war in many ways; sometimes families were fighting each other!”

Sal continued the story, explaining how in late 1780, General George Washington sent General Nathanael Greene into this mess to take command of the southern army. Greene was a smart military strategist who could figure out good battle plans. Greene made a surprising move. He split his army in two and put Daniel Morgan in charge of the strongest fighting men. Greene sent Morgan and his men southwest of the Catawba River. Greene and the rest of the army went to Cheraw near the Pee Dee River to regroup and recover.

“Daniel Morgan must have been one more fantastic soldier, 'cause he's what this whole march is about. The entire state is talking about the march, and there are billboards posted all over town! He's also the reason why I have to write this stupid speech!” Ben whined.

Thomas Sumter

Sal laughed. “Morgan was instructed to cut off British supply lines, hamper their operations and annoy them. He was also to ‘spirit up the people.' And Morgan was the right man for the job. Volunteer militia from North Carolina, commanded by Brigadier General Davidson, and South Carolina, commanded by General Thomas Sumter, were supposed to help him.”

Amanda added, “Oh, boy that was a problem! That Gamecock Thomas Sumter didn't want to be told what to do and was furious that General Greene had not put
him
in charge instead of Morgan, so he refused to obey any orders Morgan gave.”

“That's not what soldiers are supposed to do!” Ben added. “They are to obey orders no matter what!”

Sal continued, “Dividing the troops was a smart battle plan because this forced Cornwallis to divide his army too. He would be confused about which to pursue, Greene or Morgan. This move also bought Greene some time to rest his tired soldiers.”

“Was this why the Battle of Cowpens happened?” Ben asked.

Sal, moving at a quick pace to get all his facts straight, told Ben that he was getting to the best part and to be patient. Ben sat up in bed and listened.

“Morgan headed west from Charlotte. He set up camp between the Broad and Pacolet Rivers. He was on both sides of the Pacolet.” Sal paused to explain why armies were always placed near rivers. “Remember there were no bridges then, so they had to be near a ford in the river where soldiers and horses could cross. Forage was often near the river too.”

“Forage? What's that?” Ben asked.

“Forage is simply food for animals, in this case, horses. Remember, the soldiers had to eat too. The food had to be brought to them, so it was also important that the camps be set up near places that could be easily reached,” Sal explained.

Amanda, anxious to tell what she knew, quickly explained how Uncle Newt had told them that food was a really important reason that the colonies won the Revolution. “The Patriots knew the land better than the British, so they could get food more easily. And farmers who were also Patriots shared their crops. Sometimes the Patriots had women who traveled with them to cook and take care of the wounded too.”

Ben jumped into the conversation. “Jen told me about them. She said they were called camp followers. I wish she was here to learn all about this.”

“Don't worry, she can hear it in your speech,” Sal grinned at Ben.

“Oh, don't remind me!” Ben groaned.

Amanda was hopeful that she was helping Ben's cause to learn as much as he could about the war and continued, “We have some really strong river systems in South Carolina. They were all used during the Revolution. The rivers in the Lowcountry led to swamps. Francis Marion attacked the enemy and then hid in the swamps. Banastre Tarleton said, ‘As for this old fox, the devil himself could not catch him!' That's how Marion got the nickname ‘Swamp Fox.'