Guilford Courthouse

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park North Carolina Guilford Cgurthou$| The morning of March 15, 1781, was clear and cold. A light frost had disappeared under the first rays of the Sun, but the ground underfoot was still spongy from winter rains and snows. In the damp woods west of Guilford Courthouse, hub of an isolated little farming community on the main road through North Carolina, some 4,400 American troops, in all kinds of uniforms and country clothes, waited for battle. It was a long, suspenseful morning. About 12:30 the enemy—some of the best regiments of His Majesty George III—in campaign-worn, faded columns of crimson, blue, and green, marched into sight where the road from Salisbury emerged from woods into a clearing. When the Americans opened fire on them from t w o cannons astride the road, an engagement opened that lasted more than t w o hours—and greatly hastened the end of the war. The generals w h o brought it to pass were well-matched. Both were energetic, talented, and experienced. But the one w h o chose the ground lost the day—and the one w h o kept the field lost the war. The ground had been chosen by Nathanael Greene, commanding general of the Continental Army's Southern Department. He was an ironmaster by trade, self-taught in the art of war. His opponent, Charles, Earl Cornwallis, now coolly deploying his troops, was a scion of English nobility, a professional soldier and every inch an aristocrat. A basic shift in England's strategy for suppressing the American rebellion had brought both men from com- mands in the northern colonies to this field. By 1778 it was apparent to the British high command that the war was stalemated. The rebellion was continuing and even growing, and the rebels had made an alliance with France. In a complete turnabout of military policy, the British ordered the Army to break off the war in the North and throw its full force into a campaign to retake the South. Such a campaign had been tried in 1776 and failed. But, by late 1780, both Georgia and South Carolina were in British hands, and Cornwallis was ready to drive northward through the Carolinas into Virginia. He was set back in October w h e n backwoods militia wiped out his left wing at Kings Mountain. He fell back temporarily to a base at Winnsboro, but by the time Greene arrived in Charlotte, N.C., in December to take over w h a t was left of the American forces in the South, Cornwallis was poised to resume his thrust northward. Greene was too weak to come to grips with Cornwallis. Hoping to lead his adversary to scatter his superior strength, thus securing for himself an undisturbed encampment and time to find recruits and subsistence, Greene split his small army. He moved its main body southeast to Cheraw, S.C., on Cornwallis's right flank and sent Gen. Daniel Morgan with 600 men westward to threaten his enemy's left. Greene's risky stratagem succeeded. Cornwallis divided his force into three parts. One he positioned at Camden to watch Greene. Another, under Banastre Tarleton, he sent to attack Morgan. He himself resumed his original course toward North Carolina. It was January 24, 1781, w h e n Greene learned that Morgan had chopped up Tarleton's troops on January 17 at the Cowpens in western South Carolina. Recognizing that Cornwallis would try not only to destroy Morgan but also place himself between Greene and Virginia, whence he knew Greene expected fresh troops, Greene ordered all his forces to join at Guilford Courthouse for a general withdrawal into Virginia. Through rain and snow, Greene led his foe a bewildering chase. Cornwallis burned most of his baggage to speed his pursuit, but at the end of three torturous weeks, he found Greene safely beyond the swollen Dan River in possession of all his boats and he himself w o r n d o w n , hungry, and ill-equipped, 230 miles from his base at Winnsboro. Disconsolately he turned back to Hillsborough, N.C., hoping to raise reinforcements among the loyalists of the region. A f e w days later, reinforced by Virginia militia, Greene recrossed the Dan. For three more weeks, the armies sparred, seldom more than 20 miles apart, their detachments skirmishing regularly. Cornwallis hungered for a general action, but Greene, anticipating additional forces, bided his time. By March 14, with the arrival of new troops, he was ready to attack. Greene spent an uneasy night worrying that rain might fall and render his muskets useless or that Cornwallis (camped on Deep River 12 miles away) might attack in the night and demoralize his militia. But when the morning of Nationa^0Rervice U.Sj^risartment of the Interior the 15th dawned quiet and clear, Greene, learning of the British approach, laid down his lines of battle. The courthouse at Guilford stood alone in a clearing by the "Great Road" (New Garden Road). From it the road sloped westward through woodlands of oak and other hardwoods to Little Horsepen Creek, a mile away. Beyond the creek it disappeared in dense timber. On the near side of the creek, on both sides of the road, lay cornfields a quarter-mile deep, their upper boundaries marked by a zig-zag rail fence. Cornwallis would have to come east on the road to the creek and up through the fields. Behind the fence, backed against the woods, Greene placed the center of a half-mile-wide line of North Carolina militia w i t h skilled rifle companies, Delaware regulars, and cavalry on its wings. In the road he placed t w o 6-pounders. To the rear of this line, on a slight knoll within the woods, he formed a second line of Virginia militia. About 500 yards behind this line, on an open hill in front of the courthouse, he placed his crack troops, Continentals from Virginia and Maryland, in a large V, with his t w o remaining field pieces in the center. The 1st Marylanders were some of the best troops in the Continental Army. They were tough, disciplined, and led by good officers. The private soldier loading his musket at left wears regimental dress. Drawings by Don Troiani A British Victory Dearly Bought The Sun had begun to slant westward when the British advanced from the woods and approached the creek. The fieldpieces in Greene's front line opened fire. For 30 minutes the British answered with their guns. Then, according to plan, Greene's artillerists galloped their guns to the rear. By then the enemy ranks were moving forward. Drums snapping, bagpipes skirting, bayonets glinting, they came at a measured pace across the cornfields toward the rail fence on which a thousand American guns rested. When they were 150 yards from the fence, the militia opened its first crashing round of fire. The British line, w i t h great holes torn in it, staggered but re-formed and continued uphill, stepping over its dead. At musket range, the redcoats delivered a volley, gave a huzza, and rushed at the North Carolinians with leveled bayonets. The Carolinians had been told they might fall back after delivering t w o rounds and leave the engagement to the second and third lines. Some of the militia got off another round, but many broke and fled, flinging away their weapons. The American flanks held longer, and, as Cornwallis threw regiments against them, separate combats drifted far into the woods. With the American flanks driven aside, the re-formed British ranks strode into the woods to engage Greene's Nathanael Greene, a Rhode Island Quaker, proved himself an able, aggressive, and cunning soldier. He was robust and commanding in appearance, though he walked with a tiring limp, struggled against asthma, and suffered from a recurrent eye infection due to a smallpox inoculation when a youth. He was 38 in the fall of 1780 when George Washington handpicked him for command in the South. Charles, Earl Cornwallis, short, heavyset, and also afflicted with a bad eye, was 42 in the spring of 1781. Though sympathetic with American political thought, he loyally volunteered for service in America in 1775 and fought with distinction in the North. Adept at politics, he was able by 1781 to ignore his commander in chief's wishes and propose to London war plans of his own. His soldiers, saw him as brave, just, and compassionate. National Portrait Gallery, London second line. In the heavy underbrush, their files were broken, their bayonets of little use in the tangled surroundings. Fighting savagely, the redcoats drove through to Greene's last line. There, in cleared fields, the action swayed back and forth, and there, for the first time that afternoon, Greene's cavalry came slashing into the fight. Until now Cornwallis had had the best of it, but suddenly he saw he was checked and in danger of defeat. Attacked from the front and flank by infantry and cavalry, he directed his artillery to fire grapeshot into the American horsemen. This was a difficult decision, knowing that some of his best troops would be trapped in the indiscriminate fire. His cannon fire did its work: the American cavalry charge was checked, the infantry driven back. Then more British units poured from the woods and there was fighting close in. Greene had lost his fieldpieces to the enemy w h e n he got word British infantrymen were working around to his rear. By now he could see that the tide was turning against him. He ordered his regiments to disengage. They w i t h d r e w "leisurely" from the smoky field, covered by a skillful rearguard. Independence National Historical Park As the afternoon turned sharply cold and a storm moved in, Greene marched toward an old camp 15 miles away. Chilled to the bone, hungry, and exhausted, Greene re- viewed the events of the day with conflicting emotions. He was disgusted by the panic of the Carolinians but proud of the w a y his army as a whole had stood against the disciplined British veterans. He was pleased that his regulars had not run and that Cornwallis had not dared a close pursuit. But as contests at arms are measured, no matter how savagely his army had fought, he knew he had suffered a defeat. In camp he discovered that he had been more successful than he had dared hope. His losses were relatively light, while those of Cornwallis were overwhelming. This view was confirmed w h e n , a f e w days later, Cornwallis began a painful retreat toward Wilmington on the North Carolina coast. Greene for a short time shadowed him, before making the crucial decision to move southward and reconquer South Carolina and Georgia. Cornwallis did not follow him. Instead, still obsessed that a conquest of Virginia would assure the fall of all the States to the south, he convinced himself that his garrisons strung across South Carolina could handle the wily Rhode Islander. In April he obstinately set out again for Virginia. He hoped that Greene would be drawn after him. Aware that American troops were assembling in Virginia, Greene left it to them to confront Cornwallis. These t w o decisions—Greene's for South Carolina and Cornwallis's for Virginia—set the stage for the final collapse of British power in the South. Greene, using hardhitting local partisans, brilliantly regained South Carolina in the ensuing months. Cornwallis, committed to an unsound operation, fought through a hapless summer that ended w i t h his surrender at Yorktown, October 19, 1781—seven months after his "victory" at Guilford. Although the war technically dragged on until 1783, its outcome was settled when Nathanael Greene's great adversary in the Carolinas surrendered in Virginia. This map, sketched shortly after the battle by a British engineer, was submitted with Cornwallis's reports to his commander, Sir Henry Clinton. It clearly shows Greene's advantages of terrain and position. The American first line—held by militia— looked across cleared fields. Behind them 350 yards, in dense forest discouraging alike to cav- alry and infantry formations, stood a second line of Virginia militia. Five hundred yards farther on, the advancing British ran into Greene's Continentals deployed along the brow of a hill to the left of the New Garden Road. Although knowing little about his foe's numbers or deployment, Cornwallis nevertheless chose to attack. Touring the Battlefield soldier killed in t h e battle. W i n s t o n and a f e l l o w soldier, Jesse Franklin, are buried nearby. The best w a y t o see t h e park is by t a k i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g self-guiding auto/bicycle t o u r traced o n the map below. From t h e visitor center w a l k t o Stop 1, t h e n take the 2'/.-mile driving road around t h e park. A l l o w a b o u t an hour f o r the tour, d e p e n d ing on y o u r interests. Foot trails at t h e stops lead t o many features y o u w o u l d o t h e r w i s e miss. Include Tannenbaum Historic Park, part of the battle's first line act i o n , in y o u r visit. For Safety's Sake: Use caution d r i v i n g t h e t o u r road. Watch f o r bicycles and cross carefully at intersections of Old Batt l e g r o u n d Road. Do n o t climb o n cannons or m o n u m e n t s . Pets must be leashed and a t t e n d e d at all times. 1 . A m e r i c a n First Line On b o t h sides of N e w Garden Road, a b o u t 150 yards away, w e r e more t h a n 1,000 N o r t h Carolina militiamen d i v i d e d i n t o t w o brigades. They held a position b e h i n d a rail fence overl o o k i n g three m u d d y f a r m fields. T h o u g h Greene k n e w these untested citizen-soldiers w e r e no match f o r veteran redcoats, he hoped t h e y w o u l d get off a f e w shots each and at least s l o w t h e British attack. But w h e n the British rushed f o r w a r d after t a k i n g t h e first American fire, part of Eaton's brigade on t h e right of the road f l e d , beginning a panic t h a t quickly spread d o w n t h e line. 2. F r a g m e n t e d A t t a c k As the rest of t h e first line dissolved i n t o t h e w o o d s beh i n d , some of t h e N o r t h Carolinians in Butler's brigade on t h e American left j o i n e d w i t h t h e forces of "Light-horse Harry" Lee and W i l l i a m Campbell. These units w i t h d r e w t o the southeast t a k i n g t w o of Cornwallis's regiments w i t h t h e m . This monument marks the graves of William Hooper and John Penn, two of the state's signers of the Declaration. Hooper headed North Carolina's delegation to the Continental Congress from 1 114-11. Penn served in Congress from 1775-1780 and later on North Carolina's Board of War, which helped supply the state's militia. 5. B a t t l e f i e l d P r e s e r v a t i o n The preserv a t i o n of t h e Guilford Courthouse battlefield began in 1887 by David Schenck and the Guilford Battle Ground Company. Using i n f o r m a t i o n t h e n available, they erected memorials and marked b a t t l e f i e l d locations. Since t h e n , extensive research and technology, p r o v i d i n g a w e a l t h o f n e w i n f o r m a t i o n , have been used t o correct b a t t l e f i e l d locations and enhance historical i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . The 1909 m o n u m e n t t o t h e American cavalry specifically honors the service of t h e legendary Peter Francisco, W i l l i a m W a s h i n g t o n , and t h e Marquis de Bretigny, a French v o l u n t e e r f i g h t i n g for American independence. 7. The British Soldier a t G u i l f o r d C o u r t h o u s e Frequent f i r e f i g h t s in t h e w o o d s and gullies s l o w e d the British army as it f o u g h t its w a y t o w a r d the American Third Line. Trails take y o u t o several m o n uments, including one h o n o r i n g a British officer killed in t h e t h i r d line f i g h t i n g . Other trails lead t o t h e historic N e w Garden Road and t h e American Third Line. The Turner Monument pays tribute to Kerrenhappuch Norman Turner. One of her sons was badly wounded in the battle, and she is said to have ridden on horseback from her home in Maryland to Guilford Courthouse to nurse him back to health. The statue shows her holding a cup and towel, her tools of healing. 6. G u i l f o r d C o u r t h o u s e a n d t h e Third Line The battle t o o k its name f r o m t h e first county courthouse b u i l t in 1775 o n t h e b r o w of a hill near t h e "Great Salisbury W a g o n Road" (New Garden Road). President George W a s h i n g t o n visited here in 1791. The c o m m u n i t y began its decline in 1808 w h e n t h e decision was made t o move t h e county seat six miles s o u t h . Nothing remains of either the small w o o d en b u i l d i n g standing here in 1781 or t h e t o w n t h a t was later named " M a r t i n v i l l e . " 3. S u s t a i n e d F i r e f i g h t Two brigades of Virginia militia w a i t e d in t h e deep forest behind t h e first line. Gen. Edward Stevens, south of t h e road, and Gen. Robert Lawson, h o l d i n g the line n o r t h of t h e road, kept up a long f i g h t in t h e w o o d s u n t i l the British finally broke t h r o u g h t o t h e t h i r d line. A f o o t trail leads t o the Greene M o n u m e n t along the line t h a t Stevens's Virginians d e f e n d e d . 4. E x p a n d i n g B a t t l e The m o n u m e n t t o M a j . Joseph W i n s t o n honors those Surry County riflemen w h o f o u g h t s t u b b o r n l y under Lee and Campbell on t h e American left. As Tarleton's cavalry ended this separate f i g h t far t o t h e southeast, one o f Winston's m e n , Richard Taliaferro, was shot; he may have been t h e last American cled this area in 1781, British Guards and grenadiers clashed w i t h t h e veteran 1st M a r y l a n d and W i l l i a m Washington's cavalry. On t h e opposite side, Cornwallis's order t o his artillery t o fire i n t o t h e American horsemen stopped t h e m b u t inflicted casualties o n his o w n Guards. In battle, drums conveyed orders and signals to the infantry. This drum, donated by the local DAR, was carried by Luther W. Clark in the battle. It is part of the park's collection and, along with other artifacts of the battle and the war, is on exhibit at the park. Photograph courtesy of NPS Museum Management Program The trail leads t o the hillside position held by t h e southern flank of Greene's Continentals. British units, f a r t h e r t o t h e n o r t h , w e r e the first t o assault this line. In t h e l o w g r o u n d in f r o n t of this posit i o n , part of connected fields t h a t half-cir- 8. G r e e n e M o n u m e n t The trail at this stop leads t o t h e Greene M o n u m e n t , the most impressive one in t h e park. The historic N e w Garden Road, t h e axis of t h e battle, d i v i d e d t h e Virginia militia t h a t held t h e w o o d s o n t h e American Second Line. On this side of t h e road British Gen. James Webster's i n f a n t r y struck Gen. Robert Lawson's brigade, breaking t h r o u g h after t u r n i n g its n o r t h e r n flank. T a n n e n b a u m Historic Park This Greensb o r o Parks and Recreation site on N e w Garden Road preserves a portion of Joseph Hoskins's f a r m s t e a d , w h e r e Cornwallis's troops f o r m e d f o r battle. Ironically, Hoskins had left Pennsylvania after his f a r m suffered damages d u r i n g t h e Philadelphia campaign. Exhibits in t h e Colonial Herit a g e Center and historic buildings depict life before, d u r i n g , and after t h e Battle of Guilford Courthouse. About Your Visit Guilford Courthouse National Military Park is six miles north of downtown Greensboro, N.C., off U.S. 220 on New Garden Road. The visitor center, near the American First Line, has information, exhibits, a half-hour film on the battle, an animated battle map program, and a Revolutionary War bookstore. Ask about special activities and seasonal programs; groups should contact the park in advance. Follow the signs for self-guiding tours by car, bicycle, or on foot. A narrated auto tour of the battlefield is also available for sale in the bookstore. West of the park, Tannenbaum Historic Park has historic buildings and exhibits on civilian life at the time of the battle. For More Information Guilford Courthouse National Military Park 2332 New Garden Road Greensboro, NC 27410 336-288-1776 www.nps.gov/guco Guilford Courthouse National Military Park is one of more than 380 parks in the National Park System. The National Park Service cares for these special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Visit www.nps.gov to learn more about parks and National Park Service programs in America's communities. • GPO:2002^491 282/P02SU Reprint 2002 Printed on recycled peper Powder horn used by a Virginia militiaman in 1 Battle of Guilford Courthouse. It is now part of the park collection. Photograph courtesy of NPS Museum Management Program "The battle was long, obstinate, and bloody. We were obliged to give up the ground and lost our artillery, but the enemy have been so soundly beaten that they dare not move towards us since the action, notwithstanding we lay within ten miles of him for two days. Except the ground and the artillery, they have gained no advantage. On the contrary, they are little short of being ruined." —Nathanael Greene The large equestrian-statue of Nathanael Greene near tour stop 8 is a fitting monument to the strategist of the Southern Campaign. As early as 1848 local citizens were thinking of raising a monument to Greene's memory. Congress appropriated money for a monument in 1911. The commission went to Francis H. Packer, a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the American realist. The monument was unveiled on July 3, 1915. Photograph by Griffin-Lusk Studios