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
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2nd Battalion 33rd Foot advance American army American line artillery attack battle battlefield bayonet brigade Brigadier-General British British Legion Camden camp campaign Captain cavalry charge Charleston clearing Colonel colonies commanded companies Continental Continental Line continued Cornwallis Cornwallis’s Cowpens Creek crossing defeat detachment dragoons east enemy face February field fight fire flank Foot Guards force Ford formation formed fought front further Fusiliers Garden Road Greene Greene’s army Grenadier ground Guilford Courthouse guns Hessians Horse January later Lee’s Legion Lieutenant-Colonel light light infantry loyalist Major-General March Maryland Regiment miles militia militiamen Mill Morgan musket North Carolina officer ordered Park position Quaker ranks reached redcoats regulars rest retire retreat returned Rifles River road second line sent side Skirmish soldiers southern supported Tarleton third line troops turned units victory Virginia Virginia militia volley Washington Webster woods wounded yards