Last updated: June 26, 2022
Place
Double Envelopment
NPS Photo / Mike Puckett
On this field, the Continentals blunted the British advance, then charged with bayonets flashing. Cavalry hit the left and right of the 71st. The militia reformed and surged against the right and left. British troops found themselves overwhelmed and surrounded. Morgan had executed a Double Envelopment. In less than an hour, the crucial Battle of Cowpens had been decided.
The classic use of the military tactic of "double envelopment" took place at the Battle of Cannae (in southern Italy) in 216 B.C. There, soldiers under the command of Hannibal surrounded and crushed a much larger, superior Roman army.
The classic use of the military tactic of "double envelopment" took place at the Battle of Cannae (in southern Italy) in 216 B.C. There, soldiers under the command of Hannibal surrounded and crushed a much larger, superior Roman army.