Colonial Campaigns Club (CCC)

Not so tiny.....

And an Important "what if" battle in in my Grand Southern Campaign revision:

<i>The original battle took place when 5,000 British troops ran into about 900 American Patriots while crossing the Catawba River at Cowans Ford, between Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties.


Settlers built their cabins and farmed the land beside the Catawba River, but before long, they were drawn into battle against the British Crown. In 1781, General Cornwallis proclaimed Charlotte to be "a damned hornet's nest of rebellion". At the battle site at Cowans Ford, General William Lee Davidson, along with a band of Catawba Valley farmers were able to slow the advance of General Cornwallis. Early in the battle, General Davidson was shot and killed at the riverbank. A monument honoring Davidson is located near the present site of Cowans Ford Dam, but the exact location of his demise is under the waters of Lake Norman.

British commander Cornwallis advances back into North Carolina as American General Nathanael Greene's army retreats. At a crossing place, or "ford," on the Catawba River, the Battle of Cowan's Ford claims the life of beloved North Carolina militia commander General William Lee Davidson. In later years, a town, a county and a college will be named for Davidson


At the Battle of Cowpens, on January 17, 1781, Patriot forces under General Daniel Morgan won an important victory over Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton at the Battle of Cowpens, and this started the "race to Dan River". Lord Cornwallis wanted to rescue the troops who had been taken prisoner by Morgan. General Davidson, waiting with the Mecklenburg and Rowan North Carolina militias, took position at Beatties Ford to cover Morgan's crossing.

General Nathanael Greene arrived giving orders to General Davidson to slow the British Army's crossing of the Catawba River. At that very moment, General Cornwallis and the British Army were on the opposite shore at Beattie's Ford in full view of the Americans. Early in the morning of February 1, 1781 the British moved down to "force a passage" at Cowan's Ford, and General Davidson was there with his militia forces to give battle.

General Davidson's resistance at the Catawba River succeeded in slowing the great British advance, but it was a great sacrifice. The British lost over 100 soldiers. The Americans lost 3 men and General William Lee Davidson.

The British then faced off with General Greene at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and finally left North Carolina for good.</i>

Excerpts From:
<i>The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas </i>
By: John Buchanan

I Catawba-Crossing Remain,