Place

Morgan's Flying Army

Morgan\'s Flying Army way side in front of a field with sparse trees and bushes.
Battlefield Tour Stop 1

NPS Photo / Mike Puckett

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.”   

Cowpens National Battlefield

Last updated: June 26, 2022