We are visiting Cowpens National Battlefield, just ten miles from our camping spot in Gaffney, South Carolina. This area got its name because it literally was the place that cattle were pastured. With so many trees in this part of the country, it is indeed unusual to see a cleared meadow. So the local backwoods militia knew where to come for the battle. We are still in awe of how the soldiers from different militia groups got the message and knew when to converge--without email, text messages, or a television announcement. As we walked through the meadow, we could see the actual locations that Continental soldiers stood to face their British enemies.
With the ingenuity of General Morgan's plan, the Continental army soundly defeated the more seasoned red coats. The battle would last less than one hour. It was another turning point of the American Revolution and the Southern Campaign that the British forces started. Once a place filled with deadly gunfire, the only inhabitants of this peaceful meadow today were a few tourists and a flock of turkeys.
Besides a one-mile stroll through the battlefield, there is also a paved road around the park. That made a nice three-mile bike ride for a little more exercise today. Since we have landed in this area, we are having some trouble getting our usual amount of calories burned. At the same time, we seem to be having no problems in finding enough calories to eat.
Our bike ride took us to the Scruggs homestead. Built in the 1700's, additions were made to the house as the Scruggs family grew and money became available. Now the national park service has restored it to its original size and function. We figure it's about the same size as our motor home, but it has an additional loft bedroom. We might have a few modern conveniences in the motor home that the Scruggs family couldn't even imagine.
Our bike ride took us back to the visitor's center, where the memorial to the brave troops in the Battle of Cowpens stands.
On another day, we drove a few minutes further across the border in North Carolina to yet another national park--Kings Mountain Battlefied. We watched the film at the visitor's center and went through the museum. We are pretty sure we learned about the American Revolutionary War in some history class when we were kids, but we realized we have forgotten most of the details. As we hiked up the steep mountain path, we had a chance to ponder the ferocity of the battle fought here.
Memorials have been built at the top of Kings Mountain, and we took pictures of both. This was another victory for the Patriot Militia in 1780. Denisa is a little squeamish when the national park film describes the hand-to-hand battle that included bayonets and hatchets. But it's an honor to visit the places where our brave forefathers risked their lives to make us free from British rule.
Our final stop from the past was to the oldest surviving bridge in South Carolina. The Poinsett Bridge was built in 1820, and is still mostly intact. Now it's on a lonely country road canopied with tall hardwood forest. Denisa is standing at the top rail of the bridge to give scale to the size of this ornamental bridge. It looks pretty good for being just a few years shy of its 200th birthday.
The further east we wander, the older the sites and stories have become. So while we enjoy very much living in the present, wandering in to the past is very educational for us as well.
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