Well it's a big day for the cause of the Americans in 1781. We go to South Carolina, where Nathaniel Greene has been trying desperately to hold the Cause together after Horatio Gates, former commander of the Southern Department showed his true colors a few months before at Camden. Not only had Gates led his army into a disastrous battle against our old buddy Lord Cornwallis, but once he committed his army to a battle he couldn't win, and disaster loomed, he fled the field on the fastest horse he could find. Cornwallis prepared to start his army northwards, into the Upper South, in the hopes he could conquer it all and then unite with the main British army. Think Sherman marching north from Georgia in 1865, only about 85 years sooner... But along came Greene, joined by the legendary Daniel Morgan, to take charge. Greene violated every rule of warfare, and split his army, taking some off to a "camp of repose" to recover, while sending the rest, under Morgan, to see what they could do. Cornwallis had no clue what this amateur was up to, but decided to play along, and split his army... Which was what Greene was up to! Cornwallis sent "Bloody Banister" Tarleton and his force after Morgan. When Tarleton got close enough, Morgan stopped running and prepared to fight. His army of about 1200 men was in a mediocre position, but Morgan had spent the night before the battle explaining his entire plan to his troops, especially the militia. On the morning of the 17th, Tarleton got his thousand or so troops up early and on the road to attack. Morgan woke his men up with gentle kisses and a breakfast buffet (NOTE: that might not be true, but he at least gave them breakfast). Then he put them into position for the sort of attack he expected to be fighting (i.e. a British charge straight up the gut) and waited. When Tarleton came, he sent his attack straight up the gut. Morgan's militiamen did what he told them to do- fire two shots and then run off to the side of the hill- and then the attackers came after his Continentals. Who stood and fought. Then, while the British were engaged there, out charged William Washington (cousin of you-know-who) and his cavalry onto the British flank. And then the militia, which Morgan had reformed, charged out into the other flank. It's called a "double envelopment" and it's what every general in history has tried to do. From then on, it was a simple matter of chasing away "Bennie Tarleton" (as Morgan called him) and a few of his remaining cavalry, while collecting everyone else as a prisoner. And then, after a short period of reorganizing, Morgan took his men (the ones who didn't go home because the battle was over), and hauled ass northwards to get away from Cornwallis, who was presumably gonna be pissed off (and was). Morgan alas had to retire within a couple weeks due to old injuries, but Greene and his army escaped to Virginia. Then, when Cornwallis turned around because the chase was over, Greene went back into North Carolina. He and Cornwallis fought at Guilford Court House in March. Cornwallis "won" that battle, but by then decided he'd had enough of the Carolinas and headed north. To Yorktown. In the end, Cowpens, along with the earlier annihilation of a loyalist force at King's Mountain, hurt Cornwallis badly, and cost him probably half the force he had been left with after the capture of Charleston. And given the small attacks against his supply lines by partisans, his hold would be tenuous at best. As was shown after Cornwallis left... In the end, Cowpens was one of the smallest and yet most important battles of the Revolution, and could be said to have saved the War in the South.
In 1899, the US takes charge of a small Pacific island, called Wake Island. It'll be important a few decades later.
In 1917, the US buys the Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
In 1929, the guy most responsible for all the spinach we kids had to eat makes his first appearance. Yup, it's Popeye The Sailor Man. He appeared in a comic strip, and eventually takes it over. It's all the spinach. He was able to beat everyone else up.
In 1945, the Soviets capture what's left of Warsaw, which has pretty much been leveled. Also, while that happens, the Germans are evacuating their little place at Auschwitz.
In 1983, fellow Detroiters, Hudson's closed their store downtown. It was the tallest department store in the world.
In 1998, the Drudge Report makes its name, breaking the story of what a sleazeball Bubba Clinton is, by telling the world about his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
And that's about it.
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