While July 4, 1776 officially marks the day that we declared our independence from British rule, our independence and yes, our very freedom, was far from secure. 

In fact, the infant republic was hanging on by a thread for several years thereafter. With our troops starving and freezing to death, it really wasn't until the Battle of Cowpens that things began to turn for the Americans. 

At the Battle of Cowpens, rugged backwoods settlers, including many Scots-Irish, who had come to America seeking freedom, teamed up with General Daniel Morgan's Continental regulars. The Americans turned the tide and defeated the British at Cowpens on January 17, 1781. Thus began the long retreat for British forces which culminated in Cornwallis' surrender at the Battle of Yorktown later that year. The last British troops finally left America in 1783 and our freedom was finally secure, at least for a while.