Sleep Deprivation Or Fatigue In The American Revolution

The article I have chosen to analyze is from the electronic library of San Jacinto College website through Blackboard. The author’s title to his article is explanatory enough as to what is the author’s main focus. All throughout the article, the author listed examples to support his case study about the role of sleep deprivation or fatigue in the American Revolution in the Carolinas. The author’s purpose was to highlight that sleep deprivation led to fatigue and eventually resulted in the defeat at the battles of Cowpens and Camden. The author also added other factors that affected the performance of both the British at Cowpens and the Patriots at Camden.

To begin with, the author’s first example of fatigue as a factor of British defeat under

Sleep deprivation, for one, affected the patriots a great deal. Patriots were headed by Horatio Gates while British troops were led by Lord Charles Cornwallis. The Patriots were composed of men who had never been in action during war. They lacked in experience and, for some of them, was first time to serve their country. Other factors that caused the defeat of Patriots were the lack of military training and supplies such as food and tents. However, the worst contribution to the fatigue was their circadian cycle (sleep pattern). The militiamen slept on the ground exposed to the elements. Also, lack of experience meant that the journey to South Carolina was taxing on the militiamen. Gates, forced them to march south. The troops had a lack of food that, by the time the final leg of the march began, fatigue reached a critical level to the militiamen. They suffered sleep deprivation, malnutrition and extreme environmental conditions. None of them slept the night before the Battle of Camden. To make it worse, supply factor added to the dilemma. Gates ordered molasses to be substituted for rum, it resulted in diarrhea for the militiamen. By the time British emerged, militiamen turned and fled the field. Militiaman John Boon complained that the militia suffered much fatigue and hardship marching towards where the enemy was camped. Suffering from such

The author listed references, among the lists were from the following: A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, The Battle of Camden: A Documentary History, Charleston, SC: The History Press, etc. The author Gary Sellick is a Ph. D Candidate at the University of South Carolina, working under his dissertation advisor, Dr. Woody Holton. Sellick is British and graduated from the University of Kent with a B. A. in American Studies and History in 2010.

In conclusion, I support the author’s case study. Based on the situations of the two battles, the party who was on the move in pursuit of the enemy was the one who was defeated in the battles. The reason was that they were the ones who had to march and endure all the hardships. By the time they reached the battleground, fatigue overcame them and eventually lost the battle. Also, I like the fact that the author did not single out sleep deprivation alone as the factor of losing the battles. Although it was his main argument, he incorporated other factors such as supplies, training and environmental