hard marching, building boats to cross rivers that were flooding with winter rains. Receiving word that Tarleton was in hot pursuit, Morgan retreated north to avoid being trapped between Tarleton and Cornwallis. By the afternoon of the 16th, Morgan was approaching the Broad River, which was high with flood waters and reported difficult to cross. He knew Tarleton was close behind. By nightfall, he had reached a place called locally "Hannah's Cowpens", a well-known grazing area for local cattle. Pickens, who had been patrolling, arrived that night to join Morgan with his large body of irregular militia. Morgan decided to stand and fight rather than continue to retreat and risk being caught by Tarleton while fording the Broad River. Learning of Morgan's location, Tarleton pushed his troops, marching at 3 a.m. instead of camping for the night. Prelude Continental force The size of the American force at Cowpens remains in dispute. Morgan claimed in his official report to have had about 800 men at Cowpens, which is substantially supported by historian John Buchanan, whose estimate is between 800 and 1000 men. In contrast, historian Lawrence E. Babits, in his detailed study of the battle, estimates that the strength of Morgan's command on the day of the battle was closer to 1,900, composed of: A battalion of Continental infantry under Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard of Baltimore, with one company from Delaware ("Delaware Line"), one from Virginia, and three from the famous stalwart "Maryland Line" regiment, each with a strength of sixty men (300) A company of Virginia state militia troops under Captain John Lawson (75) A company of South Carolina state troops under Captain Joseph Pickens (60) A small company of North Carolina state troops under Captain Henry Connelly (number not given) A Virginia militia battalion under Frank Triplett (160) Three companies of Virginia militia under Major David Campbell (50) A battalion of North Carolina militia under Colonel Joseph McDowell (260–285) A brigade of four battalions of South Carolina militia under Colonel Andrew Pickens, comprising a three-company battalion of the Spartan Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Roebuck, a four-company battalion of the Spartan Regiment under Col. John Thomas, five companies of the Little River Regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Hayes, and seven companies of the Fair Forest Regiment under Col. Thomas Brandon. Babits states that this battalion "ranged in size from 120 to more than 250 men". If Roebuck's three