Framed Battle of Cowpens by Frederick Kemmelmeyer

Battle of Cowpens by Frederick Kemmelmeyer is an early 19th-century depiction of one of the most decisive American victories of the Revolutionary War, fought on January 17, 1781, in South Carolina. Kemmelmeyer, a German-born American painter known for patriotic subjects, focuses on the moment of close combat between Continental cavalry under Colonel William Washington (cousin of George Washington) and British dragoons led by the fearsome Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. The painting dramatizes the clash of sabers and the chaos of the battlefield, with American troops pressing forward while British forces begin to falter. Though somewhat stylized rather than strictly accurate, it captures the triumph of militia and Continental cooperation in Daniel Morgan’s brilliant tactical double envelopment — a victory that crippled British momentum in the South and helped pave the way to Yorktown.