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Glite Dictionary
Cowpens

Cowpens

1 9.3
A 1781 battle in the American Revolution where American troops led by Daniel Morgan defeat the British
  • proper noun
  • /ˈkaʊpənz/
translation icon : Cowpens
  • PHOTO (COLOR): Painting by Carter Ridgeway, 13, of Cowpens, South Carolina.

Examples

  • At the Battle of Cowpens, rugged backwoods settlers teamed up with General Daniel Morgan's Continental regulars.

  • He was awarded a silver medal by Congress for his leadership at the Battle of Cowpens, during which he commanded the 3rd Maryland Regiment, Continental Army.

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  • Brigadier General in the Continental Army, Battles of Quebec, Freeman's Farm, Bemis Heights, Cowpens, and the Whiskey Rebellion.

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  • Among killing ten men at a time at Guilford Courthouse and picking up a half-ton cannon from the mud and walking it back to the American general at Cowpens, he had so many ridiculous exploits that this just makes it as a footnote: "he was said to have thrown two men, along with their horses, over a fence near his farm when they annoyed him."

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  • The Americans turned the tide and defeated the British at Cowpens on January 17, 1781.

  • He was awarded a silver medal by Congress for his leadership at the Battle of Cowpens, during which he commanded the 3rd Maryland Regiment, Continental Army.

Synonyms

Battle of Cowpens
vsCowpens
8.4

A battle during the American Revolutionary War in 1781 where American forces led by Daniel Morgan defeated the British

is the shorter informal name used for the same 1781 engagement

Compounds

Battle of Cowpens
8.4

A battle during the American Revolutionary War in 1781 where American forces led by Daniel Morgan defeated the British

Surface Forms

Cowpens main

Morphology

Cowpens = cow + pen (semi-transparent) = cow + pen + s

The place name is clearly formed from 'cow' + 'pen' with a plural marker, but as a historic toponym and the name of a battle the referent is specific and not directly inferable by learners.

Etymology

Cowpens comes from two simple English words, cow and pens, meaning 'cow' and 'place to keep animals'. The place had cattle pens, and the famous 1781 fight there became known as the Battle of Cowpens.