pens SC. Yeah, I said Cowpens. HAHA! It is a funny name for a town, but this quirky named town was the site of the January 17, 1781, American Revolutionary War Battle of Cowpens. Where the American Colonel Daniel Morgan and his 1,000 men trounced British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarlton and his 1,100 red coats. It ranks as one of the greatest tactical battles in history. Along with the battle at Kings Mountain, this was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War for the Americans.In honor of the 229th anniversary (Jan 16-17, 1781) of the American victory over the British, the Cowpens National Battlefiel
d Park was having a re-enactment of sorts. Not re-enacting the battle, (which they do every 5 years,) but they had hundreds of volunteers dressed up in Revolutionary War period clothing. They brought the 18th century to life right before our very eyes as we got to see how people of the period fought, dressed, lived, and cooked. The park had free activities like; park-ranger led battlefield walks, author talks, book signings, guided lantern lit walks, a 20 minute movie about the park every hour, and entrance into the museum/visitor center throughout the day from 9am til 7:30pm. After touring t
he visitors center, (to get warm cause it was chilly out,) we walked out onto the battlefield and our first stop was at the blacksmith. We watched him bring coal up to a fiery hot blaze and start pounding away at a rod of iron, bending, splicing, and contorting it into different shapes. The blacksmith really did a great job of explaining his tools, what they did, and how the life of a blacksmith was in 1781. Next, we walked over to a little camp where a group of women had kettles over an open fire going. They were boiling water to make coffee and some sort of chicken/vegetable soup for lunch. It was just startling to see how rustic and simple people lived back then. I mean I knew it, but to SEE it, was just another layer of "getting it" and really understanding 18th century living.
d Park was having a re-enactment of sorts. Not re-enacting the battle, (which they do every 5 years,) but they had hundreds of volunteers dressed up in Revolutionary War period clothing. They brought the 18th century to life right before our very eyes as we got to see how people of the period fought, dressed, lived, and cooked. The park had free activities like; park-ranger led battlefield walks, author talks, book signings, guided lantern lit walks, a 20 minute movie about the park every hour, and entrance into the museum/visitor center throughout the day from 9am til 7:30pm. After touring t
he visitors center, (to get warm cause it was chilly out,) we walked out onto the battlefield and our first stop was at the blacksmith. We watched him bring coal up to a fiery hot blaze and start pounding away at a rod of iron, bending, splicing, and contorting it into different shapes. The blacksmith really did a great job of explaining his tools, what they did, and how the life of a blacksmith was in 1781. Next, we walked over to a little camp where a group of women had kettles over an open fire going. They were boiling water to make coffee and some sort of chicken/vegetable soup for lunch. It was just startling to see how rustic and simple people lived back then. I mean I knew it, but to SEE it, was just another layer of "getting it" and really understanding 18th century living. We moved down to the actual battle field to wait for the The Revolutionary War Cavalry demonstration. Since we were a bit early, we decided walk down the trail a bit to warm up and that's when we met a militia man. He spent a goo
d 15 minutes explaining to us how the battle was laid out. I got a bit curious about his gun, so I asked a question and he spent another 10 minutes showing us his musket. How he loaded it with powder, the whole flint lock pan system to ignite a spark that would set off the gun, and how the bayonet fit on the tip of the gun. He explained that many American militia men had French bayonet muskets back then. He let me hold the gun and I was taken aback at how heavy and tall they actually are. It was over 6ft. tall! By now, the Calvary demonstration was about to start, so we all walked up to it. I thanked the guy for his time and hustled up to find my parents and the twins. The Calvary demonstration was cool. About 8-9 riders explaining what t
heir role was during the war. They showed us some riding exercises they did to keep in shape and they explained their weapons to us. I learned what a dragoon pistol was. (Hell, I learned what a DRAGOON was. It's a European term that means an infantry skilled horseman, different from Calvary b/c of the infantry training.) I saw the dragoon sabre sword in action and learned about the different uniforms they wore. The British dragoon, usually a red coated soldier, wore a green coat and the American dragoon, usually a blue coated soldier, wore white coats. After watching them for a bit, we moved on to catch the weapons demonstration.
d 15 minutes explaining to us how the battle was laid out. I got a bit curious about his gun, so I asked a question and he spent another 10 minutes showing us his musket. How he loaded it with powder, the whole flint lock pan system to ignite a spark that would set off the gun, and how the bayonet fit on the tip of the gun. He explained that many American militia men had French bayonet muskets back then. He let me hold the gun and I was taken aback at how heavy and tall they actually are. It was over 6ft. tall! By now, the Calvary demonstration was about to start, so we all walked up to it. I thanked the guy for his time and hustled up to find my parents and the twins. The Calvary demonstration was cool. About 8-9 riders explaining what t
heir role was during the war. They showed us some riding exercises they did to keep in shape and they explained their weapons to us. I learned what a dragoon pistol was. (Hell, I learned what a DRAGOON was. It's a European term that means an infantry skilled horseman, different from Calvary b/c of the infantry training.) I saw the dragoon sabre sword in action and learned about the different uniforms they wore. The British dragoon, usually a red coated soldier, wore a green coat and the American dragoon, usually a blue coated soldier, wore white coats. After watching them for a bit, we moved on to catch the weapons demonstration. 
The 18th century weapons firing demonstrations was pretty interesting. We watched the militia and American soldiers line up together and enter the staging area where they lined up side by side. They talked a bit about the guns, (which I learned earlier from the militia man.) Then there was some witty banter back and forth about militia men vs. soldiers and how different/rough around the edges the militia were compared to the soldiers. (The militia were a group of citizens, farmers, and mountain men, trained to be soldiers.) Finally we got to see, and most importantly h
ear, the weapons being discharged. All the men lined up and one of the Officers told them to turn about face. He called out more orders that made them all raise their guns. They were just about ready to fire, when the Officer noticed some people walking in the area they were going to fire in, so he shouted to fire to the left. When they were ready, he yelled FIRE! and the guns went off. It wasn't as loud as I expected, but it was still really loud. Again, I knew the muskets were in this war, but to hear the actual muskets being fired, the sound just put another layer of understanding. Oh...and the smoke those guns gave off after being fired was stunning. I hadn't expected that much smoke!
ear, the weapons being discharged. All the men lined up and one of the Officers told them to turn about face. He called out more orders that made them all raise their guns. They were just about ready to fire, when the Officer noticed some people walking in the area they were going to fire in, so he shouted to fire to the left. When they were ready, he yelled FIRE! and the guns went off. It wasn't as loud as I expected, but it was still really loud. Again, I knew the muskets were in this war, but to hear the actual muskets being fired, the sound just put another layer of understanding. Oh...and the smoke those guns gave off after being fired was stunning. I hadn't expected that much smoke!
After the firing demonstration, we checked walked around a bit more and checked out the rest of the camp. We got to see another group of women cooking hens on a spit. I mean they were cooking real chickens! One was about to make some peach cobbler over the open fire in a dutch oven like kettle. (It looked like she had the peaches bathing in a milk bath.) I got to sneak a peek into their tents and see how they slept. (Now you know I'm a backpacker, so any tent set up would definitely peak my interest, but to see just how sparse and uncomfortable their set up looked, made me cringe. Not to mention how cold it was. I mean, they had no 15 degree down bag, no aircore therma rest to layer between the ground and their backs. Just some hay and an old wool blanket. OH HELL NO! Seriously though, it just gave another layer to how harsh the conditions really were back then.) W
e finally made it over to the British soldiers camp. The first thing my dad says is, "I like these uniforms alot better." I (jokingly and lovingly) called him out and said it's probably b/c they are your people. haha! My dad is born and raised in Kansas and is a retired Marine, but has Welsh ancestry so it was fun picking on him about his European peeps :) He just smiled, chuckled and said "no, I like how authentic their uniforms look." Yeah right dad! haha!
e finally made it over to the British soldiers camp. The first thing my dad says is, "I like these uniforms alot better." I (jokingly and lovingly) called him out and said it's probably b/c they are your people. haha! My dad is born and raised in Kansas and is a retired Marine, but has Welsh ancestry so it was fun picking on him about his European peeps :) He just smiled, chuckled and said "no, I like how authentic their uniforms look." Yeah right dad! haha! The British camp was really efficient, clean, and organized. Not that the American camps weren't, it just seemed a bit more regimented. We caught them pulling out the boiled beef from their pots and distributing them among themselves. One of the red coats explains to us that during the War, British soldiers would put all their rations together and 
make one big meal for the day. They would start with boiling the beef chunks, eating those and then using some of the beef flavored water along with some flour to make dumplings, that they would pack up to eat later in the day. The rest of the water was used to make a hearty soup of potatoes, carrots, onions, and some beef. Very efficient to only have to cook once a day. I learned that the reason all the volunteers were cooking real food was b/c that was their real lunch. Most of the volunteers had spent the night in their 18th century tents, warmed themselves up from their 18th cent
ury fire pits, and ate their 18th century made lunches. They were really going for authenticity. Not sure if I could rough it like that. By this point, we were all a bit cold and hungry for lunch ourselves, so we said goodbye to the red coats, hopped into our 21st century car and blasted our 21st century heat as we rode home in search of some 21st century pizza :)
make one big meal for the day. They would start with boiling the beef chunks, eating those and then using some of the beef flavored water along with some flour to make dumplings, that they would pack up to eat later in the day. The rest of the water was used to make a hearty soup of potatoes, carrots, onions, and some beef. Very efficient to only have to cook once a day. I learned that the reason all the volunteers were cooking real food was b/c that was their real lunch. Most of the volunteers had spent the night in their 18th century tents, warmed themselves up from their 18th cent
ury fire pits, and ate their 18th century made lunches. They were really going for authenticity. Not sure if I could rough it like that. By this point, we were all a bit cold and hungry for lunch ourselves, so we said goodbye to the red coats, hopped into our 21st century car and blasted our 21st century heat as we rode home in search of some 21st century pizza :) Since my dad was such a history buff, I knew he would dig it. What I was surprised to find, was that we all really enjoyed it. I mean, I knew I would, cause I'm a dork like that, but my mom, Boo and the twins all had a good time. We all found something we really liked about it. Even though it was chilly out, we all got outdoors, learned something about our country's history, and spent some quality time as a family together. All in all I thought it was a wonderful day. Til next time.... GET OUTDOORS!!!
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