Last updated: June 30, 2026
Place
Cowpens Audio Tour Stop 2: Morgan's Flying Army
NPS
Morgan's army came from many states - the two Carolinas, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, and Virginia. They were joined by the militia, some of whom had helped destroy the British army of loyalist Americans under Ferguson at Kings Mountain. They camped nearby without tents and nervously awaited the dawn.
Morgan was a frontiersman, a teamster by trade, experienced at fighting Indians, and a genius at leading men in battle. When at age 45 he took command of Nathanael Greene’s light troops in 1780, he was well-known for his military abilities, having fought with distinction at Quebec in 1775 and at Saratoga in 1777. After Morgan left the army in February 1781 due to illness, Greene remarked: “Great generals are scarce—there are few Morgans to be found.”
Morgan was a frontiersman, a teamster by trade, experienced at fighting Indians, and a genius at leading men in battle. When at age 45 he took command of Nathanael Greene’s light troops in 1780, he was well-known for his military abilities, having fought with distinction at Quebec in 1775 and at Saratoga in 1777. After Morgan left the army in February 1781 due to illness, Greene remarked: “Great generals are scarce—there are few Morgans to be found.”