Battle of Cowpens in the American Revolution

The Battle of Cowpens was fought Jan. 17, 1781  during the American Revolution and saw American forces win one of their most tactically decisive victories of the conflict. In late 1780, British commander Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis sought to conquer the Carolinas and destroy Major General Nathanael Greenes small American army in the region. As he retreated north Greene directed Brigadier General Daniel Morgan to a take a force west to raise morale in the region and find supplies. Pursued by the aggressive  Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton, Morgan made a stand in a pasture area known as the Cowpens. Correctly assessing his opponents reckless nature, Morgans men conducted a double envelopment of the British and effectively destroyed Tarletons command. Background After taking command of the battered American army in the South, Major General Greene divided his forces in December 1780. While Greene led one wing of the army towards supplies at Cheraw, South Carolina, the other, commanded by Brigadier General Morgan, moved to locate additional supplies for the army and stir up support in the backcountry. Aware the Greene had split his forces, Lieutenant General Cornwallis dispatched an 1,100-man force under Lieutenant Colonel Tarleton to destroy Morgans command. A bold leader, Tarleton was notorious for atrocities committed by his men at earlier engagements including the Battle of Waxhaws.   Riding out with a mixed force of cavalry and infantry, Tarleton pursued Morgan into northwestern South Carolina. A veteran of the wars early Canadian campaigns and a hero of the Battle of Saratoga, Morgan was a gifted leader who knew how to obtain the best from his men. Rallying his command in a pastureland known as the Cowpens, Morgan devised a cunning plan to defeat Tarleton. Possessing a varied force of Continentals, militia, and cavalry, Morgan chose Cowpens as it was between the Broad and Pacolet Rivers which cut off his lines of retreat. Armies & Commanders AmericanBrigadier General Daniel Morgan1,000 menBritishLieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton1,100 men Morgans Plan While opposite to traditional military thinking, the Morgan knew his militia would fight harder and be less inclined to flee if their lines of retreat were removed. For the battle, Morgan placed his reliable Continental infantry, led by Colonel John Eager Howard, on the slope of a hill. This position was between a ravine and a stream which would prevent Tarleton from moving around his flanks. In front of the Continentals, Morgan formed a line of militia under Colonel Andrew Pickens. Forward of these two lines was a select group of 150 skirmishers. Lieutenant Colonel William Washingtons cavalry (around 110 men) was placed out of sight behind the hill. Morgans plan for the battle called for the skirmishers to engage Tarletons men before falling back. Knowing that the militia was unreliable in combat, he asked that they fire two volleys before retreating behind the hill. Having been engaged by the first two lines, Tarleton would be forced to attack uphill against Howards veteran troops. Once Tarleton was sufficiently weakened, the Americans would switch over to the attack. Tarleton Attacks Breaking camp at 2:00 AM on January 17, Tarleton pressed on to the Cowpens. Spotting Morgans troops, he immediately formed his men for battle despite the fact they had received little food or sleep in the preceding two days. Placing his infantry in the center, with cavalry on the flanks, Tarleton ordered his men forward with a force of dragoons in lead.  Encountering the American skirmishers, the dragoons took casualties and withdrew. Pushing forward his infantry, Tarleton continued  taking losses but was able to force the skirmishers back. Retreating as planned, the skirmishers kept firing as they withdrew. Pressing on, the British engaged Pickens militia who fired their two volleys and promptly fell back around the hill. Believing the Americans were in full retreat, Tarleton ordered his men forward against the Continentals. Morgans Victory Ordering the 71st Highlanders to attack the American right, Tarleton sought to sweep the Americans from the field. Seeing this movement, Howard directed a force of Virginia militia supporting his Continentals to turn to meet the attack. Misunderstanding the order, the militia instead began withdrawing. Driving forward to exploit this, the British broke formation and then were stunned when the militia promptly stopped, turned, and opened fire on them. Unleashing a devastating volley at a range of about thirty yards, the Americans brought Tarletons advance to a halt. Their volley complete, Howards line drew bayonets and charged the British supported by rifle fire from Virginia and Georgia militia. Their advance stopped,the British were stunned when Washingtons cavalry rode round the hill and struck their right flank.While this was occurring, Pickens militia reentered the fray from the left, completing a 360-degree march around the hill. Caught in a classic double envelopment and stunned by their circumstances, nearly half of Tarletons command ceased fighting and fell to the ground. With his right and center collapsing, Tarleton gathered his cavalry reserve, his British Legion, and rode into the fray against the American horsemen. Unable to have any effect, he began withdrawing with what forces he could gather. During this effort, he was personally attacked by Washington. As the two fought, Washingtons orderly saved his life when a British dragoon moved to strike him. Following this incident, Tarleton shot Washingtons horse from under him and fled the field. Aftermath Coupled with the victory at Kings Mountain three months before, the Battle of Cowpens aided in blunting the British initiative in the South and regaining some momentum for the Patriot cause. In addition, Morgans triumph effectively removed a small British army from the field and relieved pressure on Greenes command. In the fighting, Morgans command sustained between 120 to 170 casualties, while Tarleton suffered approximately 300 to 400 dead and wounded, as well as around 600 captured. Though the Battle of Cowpens was relatively small in regard to numbers involved, it played a key role in the conflict as it deprived the British of desperately needed troops and altered Cornwallis future plans. Rather continuing efforts to pacify South Carolina, the British commander instead focused his efforts on pursuing Greene. This resulted in a costly victory at Guilford Court House in March, and his ultimate withdraw to Yorktown where his army was captured that October.

The Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare - 1777 Words

causes them to become silent. is Father. Horatio and Marcellus, both learn the truth The Tragedy of Hamlet is one of the most confounding works ever written in the English language. William Shakespeare, written in many different nuances with this play. There are multiple perspectives to analyze Hamlet from; there is death, mental illness, revenge, a catastrophic ending to the play. The purpose of this assignment to examine the role of Hamlet’s emotional stability and how he handles ethical dilemmas with certain characters in the play. Hamlet is not mentally ill; but is going through a dramatic event. This play can show how humans react to death and violence. The Ghost first appears before Barnardo and Francisco, in the first act. They†¦show more content†¦Hamlet and Fortinbras are parallel to each other in their lively hood positions; but Fortinbras, is not as angry as Hamlet. Hamlet is very uncomfortable that his Mother, Gertrude is in a relationship with Claudius, his Uncle. This is where the conflict begins within the play. Everyone believes that Hamlet, is madly in love with Ophelia and that is the reason for his instability. Hamlet broods to himself in the first act about his Mother’s relationship with his Uncle. ‘ O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason would have mourn’d longer-married with my uncle, My father’s brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules. Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears had left flushing in her galled eyes, She married-O most wicked speed.’(Hamlet.1.2 150-156) Hamlet is devastated over his family’s incest. This is a problem, that his family tries to ignore; but it is a problem, that forces them all to confront it, The fight between Hamlet and Laertes is the main conflict in the play. Hamlet murders Laertes’s Father, Polonius. Hamlet confronts his Mother, after he had a play preformed, where a Queen murdered a King, in front of Claudius and Gertrude while they are watching . Polonius, the consul to the King is speaking, to the Queen, before Hamlet enters, when Hamlet confronts his Mother. Polonius is hiding, the closet. Hamlet draws his sword and kills Polonius. Hamlet thought it was Claudius, who was the one who was hiding inShow MoreRelatedThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1427 Words   |  6 PagesWhy has Hamlet’s rage led him to a death that was destined to happen? Simple, his absolute motive was to seek revenge for the death of his father, who was once the King of Denmark. In this tragedy, Hamlet wanted to put on this image of an insane man. This would mislead the people around him from his intentions of killing King Claudius, who is strangely his uncle and â€Å"father† simultaneously. Claudius takes the throne for Denmark after pouring poison down King Hamlet’s ear without leaving any evidenceRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1483 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet is a misfortunate play that exhibits Prince Hamlet’s internal and external conflicts which show the ultimate purpose of the story. Revenge is perhaps the greatest theme in Hamlet, and is shown by the conflicts Prince Hamlet has with his family, friends, and a girlfriend as well as within his self. The anguish Hamlet feels towards his new father and his mother is magnified by the discovery that they were both involved in his father, the king’s, murder. ThisRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1131 Words   |  5 PagesTragedy, according to American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, is a drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, tragedy is no short supply. Shakespeare takes the reader on a journey of epic proportions through the struggles and conflicts, internal andRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1543 Words   |  7 Pagesplay, The Tragedy of Hamlet, seems to have a domino effect. As Hamlet tries to get his revenge, he brings ruin upon the kingdom. Hamlet is self-doubtful; he doubts himself to a point where he does not know what is true in his life. He constantly contradicts himself, causing many people, whose death was unintended, to die. In Williams Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, in order to portray Hamlet’s tragedy, Shakespeare uses soliloquies, metaphors, symbolism, and anti-thesis. Shakespeare utilizesRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare Essay822 Words   |  4 PagesIn 1604, William Shakespeare finished one of the most famous plays of revenge in English history. This play has left a plethora of questions, most left unanswered even after the hundreds of scholars who have analyzed it. The complexity and multiple facades of the characters, the use of many themes, and the symbols in this play have been construed into a delicate tale; Shakespeare purposely left out many details in order to shroud this piece in mystery. In The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare s vagueRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare2594 Words   |  11 PagesJulian A tragedy is a dramatic work that is about a character whose tragic flaw leads to his downfall and to the demise of many of the other characters. William Shakespeare was a playwright during the Elizabethan Era who was made famous for his literary works of tragedies, comedies and sonnets. One of Shakespeare?s most renowned tragedies is Hamlet. In this classic tragedy the protagonist, Hamlet, pursues revenge and seeks justice against the antagonist, Claudius, for the murder of King Hamlet. As aRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1146 Words   |  5 Pages How certain can one be that they will see tomorrow? How certain can one be that they will see the next second? In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, all of the characters face uncertainty at some point in the story. The character of Hamlet is, for lack of a better term, a laggard; he procrastinates like no other, making him an uncertain character in his entirety. His most famous line is â€Å"To be , or not to be? That is the question.† The entire scene is about Hamlet’s uncertainty about suicideRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare Essay1334 Words   |  6 PagesIn William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Hamlet, each character stands out in unique ways. Madness is one of the crucial themes as Shakespeare depicts the chaotic turbulence in the Hamlet family and the court of Denmark. Though she is generally read as a minor character, Ophelia’s madness reveals the struggle of the female character that attempts to have a voice of her own. Ophelia’s life certainly seems tragic based on Aristotle s definition of tragedy, which says that â€Å"A tragedy is the imitationRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare Essay1829 Words   |  8 PagesThe tragedy of Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare is one of the best tragedies ever written. The term hamartia, coined by the philosopher Aristotle in his writing Poetics, can be d efined as â€Å"tragic flow,† to miss the mark â€Å"leading to a mistake† (American Heritage Dictionary). Aristotle points out that: tragedy is an imitation not only of a complete action, but of events inspiring fear or pity as well as the tragic hero must not be an utter villain or a perfect man, but he must be, then: theRead MoreThe Tragedy Of Hamlet By William Shakespeare1931 Words   |  8 Pages William Shakespeare is an English Poet known for his famous dramatized writings. Shakespeare was born in the United Kingdom in April. Here are some of his legendary texts: â€Å"Macbeth†, â€Å"Julius Caesar†, and â€Å"Hamlet†. â€Å"The Tragedy of Hamlet† was written during the sixteenth century and was performed in 1609. Shakespeare writes this tragedy to reveal the roles of women during the Middle Ages. Back then females were referred as noblewomen and were expected to do the following: run households, take care

Theme in Lenses free essay sample

Theme in Lenses Imagine for a moment a world where there are no feelings or warmth, no smiles or tears. A world where people are no longer people, but pieces of metal. We would only see this world as dead, not beautiful. Leah Silverman’s Lenses foreshadows this imaginary world as our future. The message that the way we are made, as unique individuals, is the most beautiful is conveyed through the main character Corinne’s thoughts, emotions and viewpoint. The author uses Corinne’s thoughts to support the message. An example of this can be found on page 2 where Corinne thought â€Å"but her new eyes will not be brown, and they will not shine with her laughter†. Corinne believed that the grey mechanical eyes simply couldn’t compare to her friend Grusha’s real eyes that â€Å"hold you when you look into them†. Another example is the use of personifications in the story. We will write a custom essay sample on Theme in Lenses or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Corrine described Grusha’s eyes as eyes that danced, flashed and shined; just as how she would describe living, breathing people. This emphasizes how the eyes contribute to the individuality and beauty of a person, and the fact that nothing can replace them. Corinne’s thoughts led to her distressed emotions on the up-coming surgery to replace Grusha’s eyes. The reason for her distress reinforces the message because the source of that distress does not come form the fear of an unsuccessful surgery, but the idea that her friend will no longer possess real eyes. Corinne loved Grusha’s brown eyes that told a story. She felt that it would be easier to â€Å"carve her own heart out of her chest† than to replace Grusha’s eyes. She also felt extremely guilty about taking ways Grusha’s eyes because she believed that by taking away those eyes, she would also take away a part of Grusha that made her unique: a part of Grusha’s soul. Although Grusha was the one that would ultimately lose her eyes, the author chose to write the story not in her perspective but in her friend Corinne’s. This is another way the author used to express and emphasize the message. Due to the fact that Grusha needed well-functioning eyes for her profession and her sight, she does not have much of a choice. She may not have wanted to replace her eyes, but there wasn’t any room for compromises. By writing the story in Corinne’s point of view, the author is able to introduce a truer feeling of sadness and loss. Another reason is the fact that people tend to overlook certain details about themselves, such as the feelings their eyes convey. By using Corinne’s voice, the author emphasizes the aliveness of Grusha’s eyes. A world made of pieces of metal is only filled with emptiness and loneliness. There is no hatred and sadness, but there is no happiness and love either. It may be a perfect world in people’s eyes, but it will never truly be beautiful. By creatively using the main character’s thoughts, emotions and viewpoint, Leah Silverman clearly conveys the message that nothing is more beautiful than the way we are made as unique individuals.

The Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb Essays - Japan,

The Decision To Drop The Atomic Bomb Maria Tidwell World Cultures III Professor Longfellow 26 November 2000 The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb On August 6th 1945, the world changed forever. The United States dropped the first Atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, Japan. The surviving witness Miyoko Watanabe describes her experience: I came out of the front door?an intense yellow, orange and white light overwhelmed me? the light was thousands of times brighter than a magnesium flash gun?I went inside to hide?There were strange sounds, crashing noises and jolts, and I kept no track of the time?I locked back to see how my mom was. She looked worse then a devilish witch. (47) The heat was intolerable; everywhere Miyoko looked there were wounded and dying people, bleeding from all over their bodies like her mom. Miyoko continues, Those who fled from one or one and a half kilometer from the hypocenter really did have to step over bodies and shake off hands grasping their legs for help. When someone caught hold of their shoes they just had to leave their precious shoes and flee ? otherwise they wouldn't survive(49). A friend of Miyoko told her that he had to leave his sister to die in the flames to save his life. That day, according to the Japan Times, 140,000 died as a direct result of the bombing. Later the total number of victims claimed in Hiroshima City came to 217,137. There is one question that comes to my mind reading these terrible stories from the victims of Hiroshima; was this necessary? Scholars have discussed the question for more than half a century. However, they all agree that the answer to this question does not make the use of atomic weapons seem less awesome or less awful, but it merely throw different light on it. The main argument defending the decision to drop the bomb is that it was necessary to end the war. Richard B. Frank in his book, Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire defends the American decision. Relying on a host of original documentary sources, most notably the Japanese messages that were intercepted and decoded by the American forces, he presents a researched work that attempts to explain what might have happened if the bombs had not been dropped. The reader is left with the unshakable conclusion that the use of the bomb was a necessary evil--that the government of Japan was not ready to surrender, and even after the bombing of Hiroshima, the decision was to fight on. However, the conclusion of his book is that the bombing of Nagasaki (though nowhere near as damaging as the bombing of Hiroshima) persuaded the Japanese cabinet that the bomb was not a one off event, and that they faced certain destruction if they didn't sue for peace. According to Frank, Most American strategists believed that the war with Japan would be a ?long drown out operation' with Japan's fanatical resistance extracting mounting casualties the closer the American forces drew to the Home Islands (21). To understand this position, it is necessary to take a closer look at the American experience with the Japanese, during the war. The Japanese were known by their culture of no surrender; they would rather die than surrender. Particularly, in the Japanese military forces this tradition was prominent. Frank continues with a terrible example of this, The first intimations that the Japanese would literally choose death over surrender?and not merely an elite warrior caste but the rank and file?came in August 1942 at Guadalcanal. Two small Imperial Navy island garrisons fought to virtual extinction. Major general Alexander Archer Vandegrift, the Marine commander wrote: I have never heard or read of this kind of fighting. These people refuse to surrender. The wounded wait until men come up to examine them?and blow themselves and the other fellow to pieces with a hand grenade(28). Another example, maybe as shocking, happened at the island of Saipan; nearly 30,000 Japanese soldiers fought to the death, only 921 (3 percent) were taken prisoner. On this Island there were 20,000 civilians. Only 10,258 surrendered; the rest chose death. In a carnival of death that shocked even battle-hardened Marines, whole families waded into the sea to drown together or