Last updated: September 30, 2026
Place
Cowpens Audio Tour Stop 12: A Race for the Grasshopper
NPS
Banastre Tarleton’s army at Cowpens had two pieces of artillery to provide heavy firepower during the campaign against Daniel Morgan’s army. The Americans had no artillery on the battlefield. One British 3-pounder cannon, sometimes referred to as “grasshoppers,” deployed on the Green River Road and the other piece on the British left. At Cowpens, it is thought that each cannon had a crew of 9 men.
When the action began, both cannons immediately began firing their deadly shot at the American lines. A “grasshopper” could launch a 3-pound iron cannon ball out to 1000 yards. The two cannon crews pushed the guns forward with the advancing infantry assault. During the assault, they switched from solid shot to cannister or grape shot. Cannister shot was, typically, a tin can filled with as many lead balls as it could hold and fired within 300 yards of the enemy lines. Grape shot was a grouping of small iron balls, normally weighing around 1-2 ounces each, and placed tightly in a bag, then tied together with string and fired into massed enemy infantry lines from around 200 yards. Private Richard Treasure of Delaware lost a leg at Cowpens, possibly due to grape shot fired from the 3-pounder cannon supporting the 7th Regiment on the British left wing.
In the final stages of the battle, the Americans stopped the British assault cold and counterattacked with overwhelming numbers. Two Continental officers raced towards the two British cannons to capture the guns. Lieutenant Thomas Anderson of Maryland won the Race to the Grasshoppers when he used his spontoon to pole vault onto one of the cannons. His Delaware Regimental commander, Captain Robert Kirkwood, captured the second cannon. The British cannoneers fought desperately to keep the guns from falling into American hands. All 18 of the British cannoneers were killed, wounded, or captured defending their guns.
When the action began, both cannons immediately began firing their deadly shot at the American lines. A “grasshopper” could launch a 3-pound iron cannon ball out to 1000 yards. The two cannon crews pushed the guns forward with the advancing infantry assault. During the assault, they switched from solid shot to cannister or grape shot. Cannister shot was, typically, a tin can filled with as many lead balls as it could hold and fired within 300 yards of the enemy lines. Grape shot was a grouping of small iron balls, normally weighing around 1-2 ounces each, and placed tightly in a bag, then tied together with string and fired into massed enemy infantry lines from around 200 yards. Private Richard Treasure of Delaware lost a leg at Cowpens, possibly due to grape shot fired from the 3-pounder cannon supporting the 7th Regiment on the British left wing.
In the final stages of the battle, the Americans stopped the British assault cold and counterattacked with overwhelming numbers. Two Continental officers raced towards the two British cannons to capture the guns. Lieutenant Thomas Anderson of Maryland won the Race to the Grasshoppers when he used his spontoon to pole vault onto one of the cannons. His Delaware Regimental commander, Captain Robert Kirkwood, captured the second cannon. The British cannoneers fought desperately to keep the guns from falling into American hands. All 18 of the British cannoneers were killed, wounded, or captured defending their guns.