Battlefield Trail - Cowpens National Battlefield

I continued my February 2017 visit to Cowpens National Battlefield with a walking tour of the battlefield on the 1.3 mile Battlefield Trail. From the rear of the visitor center, signs direct visitors to turn left and follow the trail in a clockwise loop. The initial short paved section leads to the gravel historic Green River Road. Turning right, the route passes from the rear of the Patriot defenses to the first line sharpshooters over 300 yards in front of the Continental line. The trail then turns right off of the road and follows the edge of the woods back to the visitor center.

Although not listed as ADA compliant on any documents I have found, a powered wheelchair should be able to complete the loop during dry weather. I do not know how quickly the gravel Green River Road drains or how soft or muddy it may become after a rain event. A quick call to the ranger on duty at the information desk should help with any questions about mobility. Manual wheelchairs would be fairly easy to push on the asphalt sections, but would require quite a bit of work pushing trough the pea gravel on the historic road. However, most of the battlefield is visible from the paved portions of the trail, especially the return leg along the south side of the field.

Bench seating for school groups and ranger talks

Paved trail across the open field

Cowpens ranges from open field to dense forest

Another view of the forest along the edge of the field

Looking north toward the Broad River on the historic Green River Road

Looking south on the historic Green River Road at the Cowpens

The approximate location of the third line of defense manned by Continental soldiers

Continental soldiers stood shoulder to shoulder firing simultaneous volleys from their muskets

Imagine the British line emerging from the woods in front of you

The second line of defense was near this bend in the road

Both Patriot and British lines spanned nearly the width of the field

Sharpshooter at the ready

A bench is located about halfway around the loop

Continuing down the Green River Road leads to the Robert Scruggs House, 
but the Battlefield Trail turns to the right here

American dragoons fighting with swords and pistols drove their British counterparts from the field near here

Looking at the battlefield from the British left flank

Wetlands impeded the progress of the British left flank
Rivercane (Arundinaria) has been replanted  to reestablish the historic canebrake

Colonel Washington's Patriot dragoons were held in reserve in a swale behind the hill on the left

Historic ephemeral stream

Looking south along the approximate location of Patriot second line consisting of militia

View northeast along the Patriot second line

Two British grasshopper cannons were captured near here

Washington Light Infantry Monument of 1856

Front of the monument

Returning to the visitor center

Entry to Cowpens National Battlefield is free.

The battlefield website is https://www.nps.gov/cowp.