Clemson and Cowpens

We moved into a new area because there were a few things we wanted to see.  First stop, Clemson University.

Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second largest university by enrollment in South Carolina and sits on a 1,400 acre campus.  Thomas Green Clemson, the university's founder, came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838 when he married Anna Maria Calhoun, the daughter of John C. Calhoun, South Carolina statesman and seventh U.S. Vice President.  The Campus of Clemson University was originally the site of John Calhoun's plantation, named Fort Hill.  Upon Calhoun's death, the plantation passed to his daughter and son-in-law.  When Clemson died in 1888, he left most of his estate, which he inherited from his wife, in his will to be used to establish a college that would teach scientific agriculture and the mechanical arts to South Carolinians.  

I'd heard a lot about Clemson over the years so it was interesting to finally be there.  Of course, we had to visit the bookstore and were happy to see that parking was easy.

It was a great store and we spent quite a bit of time perusing things.

Hats, hats, and more hats!

Yes, he bought one

From there we took a drive out to the football stadium - I'm sure soon it will be hopping with fans.

And then into the "downtown" area to wander around and have some lunch.  Pretty quiet since school had not started yet.

This is a beautiful sculpture.

And Then There was War

"We were just boys, mere boys, and then there was war and half of us were dead or wounded"

Dedicated to and by the Class of 1944

Sculpture by T.J. Dixon and James Nelson

As we drove to the university, we saw signs for the Cowpens Battlefield.  We'd never heard of this so our curiosity got the best of us and after leaving the university, we took a drive.

The Battle of Cowpens took place in the latter part of the Southern Campaign of the American Revolution on January 17, 1781.  It became known as the turning point of the war in the South, part of a chain of events leading to Patriot victory at Yorktown.  

Visitor Center

After viewing a 20 minute movie explaining all about the battle, we went outside to meet with a Ranger to give us more specifics and take a walk.  For the first 20 minutes or so, we were the guide's only visitors and we had a great time talking with him while he shared so much information about the battle.

Joseph - he knew his stuff!

After another visitor joined us, we started the walk to the battlefield.

A pasturing area at the time of the battle, the site commemorates the place where Daniel Morgan and his army turned the flanks of Banastre Tarleton's British army.  This classic military tactic, known as double envelopment, was one of only a few in history.

The term "cowpens" would be etched in history.  The field itself was 500 yards long and just as wide, a park-like setting dotted with trees, but devoid of undergrowth, having been kept clear by cattle grazing in the spring on native grasses.

Coming from a family of vertically challenged ancestors, we found this interesting.

The height of the common soldier was 5-5"

 

The Washington Light Infantry built this monument in 1856, several years before the Civil War.  At first glance, the monument is not very impressive.  However, this type of design was typical of Revolutionary War monuments of that era.  Before the Civil War, the nation commemorated few battlefields with monuments, and most of these were in the North, such as Bunker Hill.  Many southern sites remained agricultural land and the battlefields became forgotten.  This monument is significant in that it represents one of the few such examples of the time period to memorialize a Revolutionary War battlefield in the South.

 

The monument's story started in 1807 with the founding of the Washington Light infantry, a South Carolina militia group based in Charleston.  From its inception, the Washington Light Infantry participated as a unit in every major war involving the United States until 1919, when the group became part of the South Carolina National Guard.

Originally, the militia was named in honor of George Washington, but in 1827 they became more associated with his cousin, cavalry commander Col. William Washington.  That year, Colonel Washington's widow donated the group her late husband's flag.  Colonel Washington had flown that homemade flag throughout the Southern Campaign of the Revolution.

The Washington Light Infantry travelled to the Cowpens Battlefield in April, 1856 to build this monument.  They travelled to Laurens, South Carolina (my ancestors lived there!) by train.  They then marched over 100 miles to Spartanburg.  On April 21, after a few days of events in town, the men arrived at the site of the battle and determined, as best they could, the location where the first clash occurred.

At the time of construction, the monument stood on private property.  To preserve the land, a group of Spartanburg women decided to raise funds to purchase a one-acre tract around the monument.  Through a series of fundraisers and bake sales, the women purchased the deed in July, 1856.  A group of local men subsequently erected an iron fence around the monument.

Since that time, the monument has suffered several attacks of vandalism.  One of these incidents resulted in the theft of the golden eagle.  With the creation of Cowpens National Battlefield in 1972, the National Park Service began preserving the battlefield as well as the other historical structures onsite, including the Washington Light Infantry Monument.  In 1980, repairs were made to restore the monument as it reflects the earliest commemorative efforts on this battlefield and in the South.

What a great day filled with education!