Last updated: September 30, 2026
Place
Cowpens Audio Tour Stop 14: Double Envelopment
NPS Photo / Mike Puckett
Online Tour Stop # 14 – Double Envelopment
The “double envelopment” is a military tactic in which attacking forces surround an enemy from both sides to trap and defeat them. General Daniel Morgan achieved a “double envelopment” at Cowpens when his troops fixed the British in place from the front and simultaneously attacked both flanks of Tarleton’s army.
At the peak of the fighting, Morgan’s Continental Line held firm against a bayonet charge from the British infantry. The Americans fired a point-blank volley of musket fire into the charging mass of redcoats and then counterattacked with their own bayonet charge. At precisely the right moment, American militia infantry and cavalry, expertly commanded by Colonel Andrew Pickens, hit the left of the British line and surrounded the venerable 71st Highlanders. Lt. Col. William Washington’s Dragoons, with more militia infantry, charged around the British right flank.
Exhausted and shocked by the ferocious charge of the Americans, Tarleton’s army shattered into pieces. Hundreds of British redcoats surrendered to the onrushing Americans. All efforts by Tarleton to rally his troops completely failed.
General Daniel Morgan “the Old Waggoneer” had engineered the dream of every battlefield commander dating back to antiquity. Morgan’s brave troops nearly destroyed Tarleton’s entire army with the “double envelopment.” 85% of the British on the battlefield were killed, wounded, or captured. Morgan’s victory at Cowpens stands beside Hannibal’s destruction of the Roman Legions at Cannae in 216 B.C. and serves as a classic example of the “double envelopment.” The complete victory at Cowpens earned Morgan a new nickname, “The American Hannibal.”
The “double envelopment” is a military tactic in which attacking forces surround an enemy from both sides to trap and defeat them. General Daniel Morgan achieved a “double envelopment” at Cowpens when his troops fixed the British in place from the front and simultaneously attacked both flanks of Tarleton’s army.
At the peak of the fighting, Morgan’s Continental Line held firm against a bayonet charge from the British infantry. The Americans fired a point-blank volley of musket fire into the charging mass of redcoats and then counterattacked with their own bayonet charge. At precisely the right moment, American militia infantry and cavalry, expertly commanded by Colonel Andrew Pickens, hit the left of the British line and surrounded the venerable 71st Highlanders. Lt. Col. William Washington’s Dragoons, with more militia infantry, charged around the British right flank.
Exhausted and shocked by the ferocious charge of the Americans, Tarleton’s army shattered into pieces. Hundreds of British redcoats surrendered to the onrushing Americans. All efforts by Tarleton to rally his troops completely failed.
General Daniel Morgan “the Old Waggoneer” had engineered the dream of every battlefield commander dating back to antiquity. Morgan’s brave troops nearly destroyed Tarleton’s entire army with the “double envelopment.” 85% of the British on the battlefield were killed, wounded, or captured. Morgan’s victory at Cowpens stands beside Hannibal’s destruction of the Roman Legions at Cannae in 216 B.C. and serves as a classic example of the “double envelopment.” The complete victory at Cowpens earned Morgan a new nickname, “The American Hannibal.”