The period of enlightenment in the 16th century did not only spark the American Revolution but also led to political upheavals. Consequently, the battle of Cowpens is among the American historical civil wars. To emerge victorious, both the British and Americans had to gather enough military personnel, weapons and fighting tactics. Therefore, the next discussion gives a detailed description of the military personnel and intelligence applied during the battle.
The Americans gathered army personnel through acquiring volunteers.
In addition, each army group was aware of the military weapons acquired by their opponents. Due to competition, the army leaders had to acquire guns competitively and other military equipments like vehicles. Therefore, the army group on each side new about military personnel, location, movement and fighting tools. However, some information was difficult to retrieve from the opponents. For instance, the American troops were unaware that the Britain army moved in columns. The British army moved in small groups for easier attacks, administration or leadership and control. For example, Lincoln had to give up his army men in Carolina after the British, put them under siege. Critically, none of the two fighting groups was aware of the tactics the armies will employ while in the battlefield. The skills and tactics each group used to attack was confidential information each group had to keep to itself. Some army men especially the militia in South Carolina used brutality and terror to inflict psychological sufferings in their opponents. Therefore, most of the army men had to keep discrete information, which was crucial for their victory during the battle. Depending on the secretive nature of the group, intelligence services and ability to analyze the information from the spies, either group had opportunity to emerge victorious.
The British Army did not know several aspects about their opponents. The British Army did not know that they were going to fight against one of the most tactful army commanders of America during that time, Morgan. General Nathanael Greene appointed Morgan four days before the battle. This meant that the American troops would use tactics that the British army had not experienced before. Tarleton’s troops did not have an idea that Morgan had incorporated some militiamen to be part of his troops. According to Morgan, the militiamen’s expertise in war was instrumental for the Americans to win the battle. Additionally, they were very conversant with the chosen battlefield, Hannah’s Cowpens, and would be of great importance in winning the battle. Tarleton had no idea that the initial retreating of the men in the frontline was not a sign of defeat on the American side but rather one of their tactics in winning the battle. Additionally, Tarleton’s troops did not know that the leader of the opponents strategically chose the battlefield. This gave the American troops the advantage of an ambusher over the British troops.
Unlike the British army, the American troops, led by Dan Morgan knew much information about their opponents. By reputation, Morgan knew the methods that the British army applied in their battles. This means that he had vast knowledge about the weaknesses of the British troops, which he would apply to win the battle. Additionally, Morgan through his intelligence unit, knew that the plan of Tarleton and Lord Cornwallis to attack the American troops in their camps. This gave him the chance to prepare in advance for the upcoming battle. American troops knew the time that the British troops would arrive in the battlefield. It helped them to prepare adequately for the battle at Hannah’s Cowpens without the knowledge of Tarleton’s troops.
Both the British and American armies employed relentless efforts to enhance their victory. Just like any other battle, only one party can emerge as a winner. From the above discussion, it is evident that the efforts of Morgan’s troops turned out to be successful. His efforts to assemble his troops strategically in the battlefield, which included the militiamen, were not in vain. He also ensured that his troops had ample time to prepare for the battle by taking them to Hannah’s Cowpens in time. On the other hand, the efforts of their opponents did not yield any success. This is because success in any battle means the ability of the troops to win. The failure of the British troops can be attributed to their inability to come up with tactful battle strategies irrespective of the fact that they had large numbers of well-trained army officers.
