Guilford Courthouse 1781: Lord Cornwallis's Ruinous VictoryBy the Spring of 1781, the American Revolutionary War had dragged on for almost six years and the outcome still hung in the balance. When the British commander Lord Cornwallis launched his invasion of North Carolina in early 1781, his objective was to destroy General Nathaniel Greene's American army. At Guilford Courthouse on 15 March 1781 the two armies met. In a desperately hard-fought battle the small but professional British army succeeded in fighting its way through three separate lines of American troops – but at a dreadful cost. Cornwallis lost over a quarter of his command. When news of the 'victory' reached Britain, a politician remarked; 'Another such victory would ruin the British army'. |
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User Review - ksmyth - LibraryThingThis is a handy little book. It is great illustrations and orders of battle for both Guilford and Weitzel's Mill. There are excellent descriptions of the action, as well as the terrain. I was ... Read full review
Contents
OPPOSING COMMANDERS | |
OPPOSING ARMIES | |
THE CAMPAIGN | |
AFTERMATH | |
THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY | |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | |
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Common terms and phrases
15 March 1st Maryland Regiment 23rd Fusiliers 2nd Battalion 2nd Maryland Regiment 33rd Foot 4th Virginia Regiment 5th Virginia 71st Highlanders American army American line American victory artillery battle of Camden battle of Cowpens battle of Guilford battlefield bayonet Bose Regiment BrigadierGeneral British army British Legion British victory Butler’s Camden camp Campbell’s Captain captured Catawba River Charleston Colonel William commanded CommanderinChief companies Continental Army Continental dragoons Continental Line Cornwallis ordered Cornwallis’s army Creek defeat deployed detachment February fight fire Foot Guards force formation fought Garden Road Greene’s army Grenadiers guardsmen Guilford Courthouse Guilford Courthouse campaign guns Hessians Jägers January Lee’s Legion left flank LieutenantColonel light infantry loyalist miles militiamen Mill Morgan musket Nathaniel Greene North Carolina Militia numbers º º O’Hara officer outposts position redcoats retire retreat riflemen second line Skirmish soldiers Tarleton troops Virginia militia Virginia Rifles volley Washington Washington’s cavalry Webster woods wounded yards
Bibliographic information
| Title | Guilford Courthouse 1781: Lord Cornwallis's Ruinous Victory |
| Author | Angus Konstam |
| Illustrated by | Adam Hook |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013 |
| ISBN | 1472803981, 9781472803986 |
| Length | 96 pages |
| Subjects | › › History / General History / Military / General History / Modern / 18th Century History / Reference Technology & Engineering / Military Science |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |