George Bancroft, History of the United States from the Discovery of the American Continent, Vol. 10

[463] his troops, he resolved to give battle to his pursuers.

Chap. XXII.} 1781. Jan. 16.

In the evening, he moved among his men, inspiring them with cheerfulness. During the night, Pickens, who had been for a few days absent, returned with about one hundred and fifty militia, and another party of fifty came in.

At an hour before daylight, Morgan, through his

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excellent system of spies, knew that Tarleton's troops were within five miles of his camp. His men were roused, quietly breakfasted, and prepared for battle. The ground chosen was an open wood between the springs of two little rivulets, with a slight ridge extending from one of them to the other. In the wood, free from undergrowth, no thicket offered covert, no swamp a refuge from cavalry. The best troops, about four hundred in number, were placed in line on the rising ground. Two hundred and eighty of the Maryland light infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Howard, formed the centre; two companies of approved Virginia riflemen were on each wing. Lieutenant-Colonel Washington's regiment of dragoons, consisting of eighty men, was placed as a reserve out of sight and out of fire. The volunteers from the Carolinas and Georgia, four hundred in number, were posted under Pickens in advance, so as to defend the approaches. Of these, sixty sharpshooters of the North Carolina volunteers were to act as skirmishers on the right flank one hundred and fifty yards in front of the line, and as many more of the Georgians at the same distance on the left.

Tarleton's troops, about eleven hundred in number, having two field-pieces, and a great superiority