? ? ? The Neutral Ground was one of the bloodiest battlegrounds of the Revolution. To the north were the American lines, whilst to the south in New York were the British. Both sides patrolled the area but the ravaged land was usually left to the “Cowboys” who worked with the British Dragoons, or the “Skinners” who rode with the Americans.? ? ? Both bands lived by stealing horses or cattle and engaging in murderous forays. They were mostly farmhands who wore castoff jackets and boots of the Yankee or Lobsterback cavalrymen and carried swords, tomahawks or British "bagnits".? ? ? Who first named the cowboys is not known but it is generally believed that they received the name from the British after the "Cow Boys" who tended the? cattle on English farms.