February 1, 1781
Cowan’s Ford: The Battle and the Dam
One place, two histories. A river crossing where a North Carolina general was shot dead covering a retreat that arguably saved the southern campaign, and a dam of the same name that put the spot under a hundred feet of water a hundred and eighty-two years later.
The situation
After Daniel Morgan beat Banastre Tarleton at Cowpens in January 1781, Nathanael Greene took the southern Continental army north with Cornwallis behind him. The Catawba stood in the way. Brigadier General William Lee Davidson had about 800 militia spread along the crossings to slow the British while Greene got clear.
On January 31 Cornwallis made a show of moving on Beattie’s Ford, then marched his main force — roughly 2,440 men — to Cowan’s Ford in the dark. A Tory named Hager guided them through the woods.
The crossing
There were two crossings at Cowan’s. The horse ford was shallower but ran at an angle, lengthwise across the current. The wagon ford went straight over but was much deeper. Cornwallis chose the wagon ford. The river was about 400 yards wide with a rocky, irregular bottom, and it was swollen by recent rain. He ordered his men into the water at about one in the morning with instructions not to fire until they reached the far bank. Horses lost their footing in the torrent.
The official state highway marker, L-22, records the whole affair in one line: “Cornwallis, pursuing Greene, crossed the Catawba, 7 mi. w., after sharp fight, Feb. 1, 1781.”
Davidson’s death
Davidson rode to the bank of the wagon ford to rally his militia and was killed by a shot to the chest. The line broke. He is buried at Hopewell Presbyterian Church on Beatties Ford Road, and both Davidson College and Davidson County carry his name.
Two things are often stated about that shot which the record does not support. NCpedia says only that an unidentified British soldier fired it; the tradition that a local Tory guide did so is oral tradition, not documentation, and it is frequently confused with Hager, who guided the column. Casualty figures also conflict sharply between sources and cannot be reconciled, so this article gives none.
A documented postscript
Davidson’s body was found stripped. His wallet of papers turned up in London’s Public Record Office in 1951 and was returned to the United States in 2001.
The race to the Dan
The stand cost the militia the field and cost Davidson his life, and it worked. Greene’s column got away. He crossed the Yadkin near Salisbury in early February and put his army over the Dan River into Virginia on February 14, 1781, at Irvine’s and Boyd’s ferries. The wagons were across by about two in the afternoon; the light corps and cavalry crossed after dark by torchlight, finishing around nine. Greene’s dispatch at 5:12 that evening read: “All our troops are over and the stage is clear.” Charles O’Hara’s British vanguard arrived shortly afterwards and found nothing to catch.
Six weeks after Cowan’s Ford came Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781, a nominal British victory after which Cornwallis withdrew to Wilmington and then to Yorktown, where he surrendered that October.
The dam
Duke Power broke ground on Cowans Ford Dam on September 28, 1959 and completed it in 1963 at a cost of about $62 million. It is an earthen dam with a 1,279-foot concrete gravity spillway carrying eleven Tainter gates, and a powerhouse with four Kaplan turbines rated 87,500 kilowatts each. The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources states directly that the original battle site went underwater when the lake rose in 1963.
The state historic preservation office initially found the dam ineligible for the National Register in 2004 and 2005 on grounds of its recent date, then reversed itself on re-evaluation in 2016, finding it eligible under both Criterion A and Criterion C. Eligibility is not listing, and there is no evidence the dam has actually been listed.
The refuge
Cowan’s Ford Wildlife Refuge occupies a peninsula of about 668 acres in Mecklenburg County, surrounded on three sides by the river, managed by Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation. Audubon North Carolina designated it the state’s first Important Bird Area. Public access is limited to the two-mile entrance road and a covered observation platform at its end. Bird checklists are kept at the Latta Plantation Nature Center about six miles away, which is also the gateway to Mountain Island Lake.
The battle, as the sources actually have it
Cowan’s Ford is a small engagement that mattered enormously, and it has attracted more confident storytelling than the evidence can carry. Here is the line between the two.
| The question | What the record supports |
|---|---|
| How many men | About 2,440 British and about 800 North Carolina militia, on the two accounts that give numbers at all. |
| How many casualties | Sources conflict badly — one gives 44 American to 4 British, another gives 4 British killed and 36 wounded against 4 Americans killed. NCpedia and the state give no figures. This article gives none either. |
| Who shot Davidson | Not established. One state source says an unidentified British soldier; oral tradition names a local Tory guide, and is sometimes confused with Hager, the guide who led Cornwallis to the ford. Tradition is not evidence. |
| Which crossing | Two existed: a shallower horse ford that ran lengthwise across the current, and a deeper wagon ford that ran straight over. Cornwallis chose the wagon ford, and horses lost their footing in it. |
| Davidson’s papers | His body was found stripped. His wallet of papers surfaced in London’s Public Record Office in 1951 and was returned to the United States in 2001. |
| The site today | Submerged when the lake rose in 1963, on the state’s own account. No source specifies how far it lay from the present dam. |
Frequently asked questions
When was the Battle of Cowan’s Ford?
February 1, 1781, on the Catawba River in northwestern Mecklenburg County.
Who died at Cowan’s Ford?
Brigadier General William Lee Davidson, shot in the chest while rallying militia at the bank of the wagon ford. He is buried at Hopewell Presbyterian Church.
Who shot General Davidson?
Not established. NCpedia says an unidentified British soldier. The story that a Tory guide fired the shot is oral tradition and should not be stated as fact.
Can you visit the battlefield?
Not the original ground. The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources confirms the site went underwater when Lake Norman filled in 1963. The site appears on The Liberty Trail.
Is Cowans Ford Dam on the National Register?
No. The state historic preservation office found it eligible on re-evaluation in 2016, but eligibility and listing are different things and no listing has been recorded.
Sources for this article
Two centuries on, the river still divides things
The old ford is the Mecklenburg and Lincoln county line. Adkins Law handles custody, support and property matters on both banks, from an office minutes from the dam.
Adkins Law, PLLC · 9620 Sherrill Estates Road, Huntersville, NC 28078
Keep reading
This article is local history, offered for general interest. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney–client relationship. Historical accounts are drawn from the sources listed above; where sources disagree, that is noted in the text. For advice about your own situation, speak with a licensed North Carolina attorney.