The Battle of Cowpens, published in 1958, is the last published work of the late novelist Kenneth Roberts

Kenneth Roberts

Roberts graduated from Cornell University in 1908, where he wrote the lyrics for two Cornell fight songs, including Fight for Cornell. He was also a member of the Quill and Dagger society...

. It is an essay discussing the Battle of Cowpens

Battle of Cowpens

The Battle of Cowpens was a decisive victory by Patriot Revolutionary forces under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War...

 during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, which Roberts had originally intended to turn into a novel but published as an essay to popularize his view of the battle.

The American commander at Cowpens was Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan

Daniel Morgan was an American pioneer, soldier, and United States Representative from Virginia. One of the most gifted battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War, he later commanded troops during the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion.-Early years:Most authorities believe that...

, one of the heroes of Roberts' earlier novels Arundel and Rabble in Arms as a key aide to Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

. Roberts wanted to challenge the historians that had written about the blunders of both Morgan and British Colonel Banastre Tarleton

Banastre Tarleton

General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British soldier and politician.He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence. He became the focal point of a propaganda campaign claiming that he had fired upon surrendering Continental...

 during the battle, but his physical condition wouldn't permit him to finish another novel. Instead, Roberts accepted a commission from Collier's

Collier's Weekly

Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....

to write an essay about the battle. Roberts, however, was displeased with the abridged version of the essay that was published and arranged to have the unedited version published, albeit posthumously.

"The battle was the turning point in the American Revolution, when Morgan's rough & ready raiders took on Tarleton's veteran troops in a South Carolina meadow and in less than an hour showed the way that Yorktown would go. This is a diorama of the battle done with the unfailing skill of Roberts at his best through the last. It is a gem of historical re-enactment." - Charles A. Wagner, New York Mirror