Introduction
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, fought
March 15, 1781, marked the beginning of the end of the Revolutionary
struggle. It was a British victory, but a victory which left the enemy so
weak that it caused them to lose the campaign in the Southern Colonies--a
victory that started the armies of Cornwallis on the road to Yorktown and
surrender.
Inscribed on the Nathanael Greene monument
in the park is this statement on the significance of the battle by C.
Alphonso Smith:
In the maneuvering that preceded
it, in the strategy that compelled it, in the heroism that signalized
it, and in the results that flowed from it, the Battle of Guilford
Court House is second to no battle fought on American soil. Over the
brave men who fell here their comrades marched to ultimate victory at
Yorktown, and the cause of constitutional self-government to assured
triumph at Philadelphia. To officer and private, to Continental
soldier and volunteer militiaman, honor and award are alike due. They
need neither defense nor eulogy but only just recognition. . .
The Southern Campaign
The campaign climaxed by the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse began more than 2 years earlier. In 1778, with the war
approaching a stalemate in the North, the British authorities adopted a new
plan to transfer operations to the South, an area relatively untouched by
the war up to that time. They planned to overrun the Southern Colonies
successively from Georgia northward in the belief that little more than a
parade of British might would be necessary to restore those Colonies to
normal relations with the Crown.
Sweep Through Georgia
Accordingly, an expeditionary force sent to
Georgia under Sir Archibald Campbell captured Savannah during the last week
of 1778. With the assistance of Gen. Augustine Prevost, who had marched
northward from Florida with 2,000 men, Campbell completed the conquest of
Georgia during the first half of 1779. In April, Prevost entered South
Carolina and devastated it; but, failing to take Charleston, the key city of
the region, he was compelled to return to Georgia. In September, the
Americans, aided by a French fleet, attempted to retake Savannah, but they
were repulsed with severe losses.
Siege of Charleston
In December Sir Henry Clinton, commander in
chief of British forces in America, sailed south from New York with 8,000
men. He landed at Tybee Island at the mouth of the Savannah River. After
obtaining reinforcements from Prevost, he proceeded against Charleston. Gen.
Benjamin Lincoln, the American commander, should have abandoned Charleston,
but instead he collected all the
troops (150k) he could and shut himself up in the city, where he
surrendered on May 12, 1780, after a brief siege.
Having obtained his objective, Clinton
returned to New York, leaving the Earl of Cornwallis in command, with the
task of consolidating the gains in the South and continuing the conquest.
Cornwallis established a series of military posts throughout South Carolina,
but he was constantly annoyed and harassed by guerrilla raids led by such
famed partisan leaders as Francis Marion, Thomas Sumter, Andrew Pickens, and
Otis Williams. Charleston remained the British base of operations and supply
depot, while activity in the interior centered at Camden.
Battle of Camden
In June, Gen. Horatio Gates was appointed
commander of patriot troops in the South. He determined to liberate the
South, beginning with a move in force against the British stronghold at
Camden. This was, strategically and tactically, a sound conception, but in
its execution Gates failed completely. His defeat at Camden on August 16,
1780, was one of the most disastrous battles in which an American army has
ever been engaged. This defeat terminated all organized opposition to
British control in South Carolina and cleared the way for further advances.
In September, Cornwallis moved his main army from Camden to Charlotte.
Simultaneously, a flank column, under Maj. Patrick Ferguson, was marching
from Fort Ninety-Six through the Piedmont;, carrying the war into the
upcountry. This column was expected to join Cornwallis at Charlotte.
Battle of Kings
Mountain
Ferguson's advance aroused the back-country
mountaineers, hitherto not particularly concerned with the war. Separated by
time and distance from the more thickly populated coastal plains, these
settlers had their own problems and their own troubles--notably the Indians.
Ferguson's appearance in their own region was, however, of vital concern to
them. They forthwith assembled in small bodies, each under its own leader,
for the purpose of repelling the invasion. Eventually, about 2,000 of them
gathered from the frontiers of the four southernmost States and at once set
out in pursuit of the invader who had learned of the gathering and had
turned toward Charlotte. Ferguson took position on Kings Mountain to await
reinforcements and there was discovered and immediately attacked by about
1,000 backwoodsmen on October 7.
The position Ferguson chose for his stand
was almost ideally suited to the type of fighting at which his adversaries
were most adept. As a result, at the end of approximately an hour Ferguson
was dead, about 400 of his men were slain, and more than 700 captured. On
learning the news of this disaster, Cornwallis fell back from Charlotte to
Winnsborough to await reinforcements.
Greene Appointed Southern
Commander
A few days after Cornwallis withdrew from
North Carolina, the Continental Congress made an important move affecting
the war in the South. The fiasco at Camden had caused that body to lose
faith in Gates, and Gen. George Washington was requested to nominate a
successor. Nathaniel Greene was Washington's choice, and Congress
accordingly appointed him commander of the Southern Department.
Greene reached Charlotte early in December.
There he found the remnant of Gates' force which had been joined by some
additional militia. The men were low in morale and poorly equipped.
Obviously, the Americans were in no condition to encounter the main British
force. Therefore Greene decided to wage guerrilla-type warfare against
Cornwallis' exposed western outposts. Dividing his army, Greene sent Gen.
Daniel Morgan with about half of the men to the southwest toward Fort
Ninety-Six. Meanwhile Greene conducted the remainder to a position on the
Peedee River near the present site of Cheraw, S.C. This move was undoubtedly
dangerous and violated the basic rule of strategy which forbids the division
of a force in the face of a superior enemy; but it forced Cornwallis to act,
for the Americans were distributed in a way that endangered his entire
forward line. That line ran from Georgetown through Camden, Winnsborough,
and Fort Ninety-Six to Augusta.
Battle of Cowpens
The British commander's answer to this
threat was to divide his own army. He sent Col. Banastre Tarleton with a
strong column to operate against Morgan, while he intended to move into
position to intercept the Americans whom he expected Tarleton to drive
northward. Unfortunately for Cornwallis' plan, Morgan roundly defeated
Tarleton in a battle at Cowpens, and then escaped because Cornwallis had
delayed about 48 hours in moving the main British force northward. The
Battle of Cowpens took place in mid-January 1781, and in it the British
suffered a reverse almost as serious as that of Kings Mountain 3 months
earlier.
Race for the River
Crossings
Morgan began a rapid retreat northward and
eastward immediately after Cowpens, with Cornwallis in close pursuit. The
two armies were then about 25 miles apart. Twenty-three days later, after
the Americans had marched about 125 miles airline distance, they had gained
3 miles. When he began to retreat, Morgan sent news of his victory and of
his future plans to Greene. Thereupon, Greene set his force in motion
northward under Gen. Isaac Huger, while he, himself, with a small escort,
joined Morgan near Beatty's Ford on the Catawba River near the present site
of Moorseville, N.C. The Yadkin River was crossed a few miles from Salisbury
at the Trading Ford, where an overnight rise of 2 feet in the stream
prevented the passage of the pursuing British. From that point the Americans
continued to Guilford Courthouse, where they were joined by the other half
of the army from Cheraw, and whence the retreat was continued toward
Virginia.
Cornwallis, unable to use the Trading Ford
because of the high water, ascended the Yadkin River to the Shallow Ford,
several miles west of the Moravian settlement at Salem.
By this time Greene's plans were fairly
evident. He wished to avoid battle, to draw the British as far as possible
from their base, and to be able to retire into Virginia if the necessity
should arise. To prevent Greene from escaping and in the hope of forcing an
engagement, Cornwallis continued the pursuit which developed into a race for
the river fords.
The Dan River was deep and could be forded
only on its upper reaches; therefore the Englishman interposed his army
between Greene and these fords in the expectation that he might compel the
Americans to fight. Greene, however, had prepared for just such a
contingency and at his direction boats had been built and collected on the
south bank of the Dan. In them the Americans safely crossed the river.
Cornwallis gave up the chase and marched back to Hillsborough, where he
raised the Royal Standard and issued a proclamation calling upon all loyal
subjects to rally to his assistance. The results, however, were so
disappointing that within a few days his army was again on the march, partly
from the necessity of securing food.
Meanwhile, Greene collected reinforcements
and rested his
army (143k) in Virginia. His main object had been to draw Cornwallis
away from his base, and, fearing now that he might return to it, Greene
recrossed the Dan about March 1. For about 2 weeks he kept on the move,
playing for time and position, and avoiding decisive action until he could
be joined by the last of the summoned militia reinforcements. These
reinforcements arrived in camp on March 13 and 14, and the whole American
force immediately marched to Guilford Courthouse where battle stations were
taken. Cornwallis was informed of this on the 14th, and early on the next
morning he marched from his camp on Deep River to the engagement he had so
long sought.
The Battle of Guilford
Courthouse Begins
Lt. Col. Henry Lee opened the battle with
an advance guard action against the British near the Quaker settlement of
New Garden, 3 miles west of the American position. This skirmish resulted in
no advantage to either side. The Americans retired, and the British
continued to advance along the New Garden Road toward the courthouse.
American Lines
Greene's troops were drawn up in three
lines, approximately 400 yards apart, facing west. The first two lines
extended north and south across the New Garden road; the third line was
entirely north of the road, following the crest of a low hill. Heavily
wooded terrain limited the effectiveness of cavalry. The woods likewise
reduced the effectiveness of artillery since the field of fire, particularly
for the attacking force, was poor. Approximately one-half mile in front of
the position was a small stream from which the ground rose steadily, though
rather gradually, to the crest of a hill where the first line was drawn up.
Three cultivated fields, one to the north and two to the south of the road,
provided an excellent field of fire for parts of that line, and the rail
fences enclosing the cultivated land afforded the troops some protection.
The second line was entirely in the woods, and the third was near the
eastern edge of a good-sized clearing.
Both flanks of the first two lines and the
right flank of the third were unprotected. But the heavy woods dictated a
direct frontal attack by the British; therefore these exposed flanks were
not a disadvantage for the Americans. The left flank of the third line
rested on the New Garden Road and was protected by artillery during the
later stages of the battle.
The First Line consisted of two
brigades of North Carolina Militia, almost all of whom were wholly untrained
and entirely without battle experience. On the left flank were stationed Lt.
Col. Henry Lee's Legion and Col. William Campbell's Riflemen. The former
were regulars and the latter were frontiersmen from the Virginia and North
Carolina mountains who had had appreciable campaign experience, including
participation in the Battle of Kings Mountain. The right flank detachment
was composed of Lt. Col. William Washington's regular cavalry, the remnant
of the Delaware regiment of Continentals, and Col. Charles Lynch's Riflemen,
comparable in experience and capacity to Campbell's. In the center on the
road, a section of artillery, two 6-pound guns, commanded the
stream-crossing below.
The Second Line was made up entirely
of Virginia Militia, the majority of whom were as untrained and
inexperienced as were the North Carolinians in the front line. The Virginia
officers, however, were largely men who had served in the Continental Army,
and a number of them had had some battle experience. Also in the ranks of
the Virginians were a few men who had had previous military service. Thus
the second line was somewhat stronger than the first by virtue of this
leaven of experience. Finally, Brig. Gen. Edward Stevens, in command of one
brigade, placed sentinels a few yards in the rear of his line to insure
against any break by his men.
The Third Line was composed of
Greene's two small brigades of Continental troops. Of the four regiments,
one, the 1st Maryland, was a veteran unit. The 2d Maryland and the two
Virginia regiments were recently reorganized, had excellent officers, and
contained a good proportion of veterans in the ranks. The total force,
regular and militia, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, numbered about 4,400.
Of this total possibly 1,500 to 1,600 of all arms were regulars, but many of
these fell into the recruit classification.
British Lines
Lord Cornwallis commanded an army,
numerically inferior to Greene's; but it was vastly superior in
organization, discipline, training, and experience. Engaged in the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse were about 2,000 of the very flower of the British
forces in America. There were two battalions, a grenadier, and a light
infantry company of the Guards; the 23d and 33d Regiments of foot, the
former, the famous Welsh Fusiliers; the 71st Highlanders, the King's Own
Borderers; the Regiment of Bose, one of the best of the Hessian units; some
Hessian Yagers (riflemen); Tarleton's Legion Cavalry; and a detachment of
the Royal Artillery. All were veterans, thoroughly schooled in the business
of war, and commanded by able, experienced officers.
Advancing toward the east from the scene of
the opening skirmish along the New Garden Road, the attacking force crossed
the stream at the foot of the hill in front of the American position, and
formed for action. Meanwhile, the American artillery had opened fire in an
attempt to delay the crossing, and to harass the formation of the line, but
with little result. The British artillery replied with an equally useless
expenditure of ammunition.
Attack formation was a single line with a
small reserve. The right wing consisted of the Highlanders and the Regiment
of Bose with the 1st Battalion of Guards in support. In the left wing the
23d and 33d Regiments were in line and the 2d Battalion and Grenadiers of
the Guards in support. The small reserve consisted of the artillery,
confined by the woods to the road in the center the Yagers and the Light
Infantry of the Guards, stationed to the left in the woods; and the cavalry,
on the road in column behind the artillery.
Attack on the First Line
Their formation now completed, the British
troops waited for the command to attack. At its word they moved almost
directly east toward the brow of the hill held by the Americans. Brisk
fighting ensued on the two flanks, where Greene had stationed his
experienced troops. This flank resistance forced the commander of each of
the two British wings to commit his small support to the battle in its
earliest stages. Gen. Alexander Leslie, on the right, brought up the 1st
Battalion of the Guards to assist in opposing the American left, and thus
extended his own line. On the British left Lt. Col. James Webster caused his
whole line to incline to the left, while his support, the 2d Battalion and
Grenadiers of the Guards, moved into the center to maintain contact with the
right wing and fill the interval caused by Webster's swerve to the left. The
Light Infantry and Yagers were brought up from the reserve and posted on the
extreme left flank. Many casualties were suffered by the British, especially
by the flank units, but the center encountered little resistance, for that
part of the American line, in large measure, broke at the first onset.
The American left flank detachment under
Lee and Campbell retired toward the southeast under pressure from the
Regiment of Bose and the 1st Battalion of the Guards. Continuing their
struggle, these units became completely detached from the main course of the
engagement, conducting what amounted to a separate conflict of their own.
This battle within a battle was finally broken off by the Americans at about
the same time that the main engagement ended.
The exact course of the American right
flank detachment is unknown. It seems most probable that it briefly took
position on the flank of the second line; and, upon the retirement of that
body, moved thence to the flank of the third.
Attack on the Second Line
The break in the center permitted the
attack to proceed east along the road and through the woods about 400 yards,
where it struck the second line. There the Virginians gave a good account of
themselves, inflicting further casualties upon the attackers. Superior
British discipline, organization, and experience, however, were too much for
the militia, who were forced to retire to the rear. The second line withdrew
in a distinctly more orderly fashion than had the first line.
Attack on the Third Line
Withdrawal of the second line opened the
way for the advance against the third. This last line was entirely north of
the road and was opposed by the British left wing. Heavy woods and several
gullies of considerable size served to slow up the advance, particularly
that of the Welsh Fusiliers. The 2d Battalion of the Guards made contact
with the left units of the American line almost simultaneously with the
attack on the American right by the Yagers, the Light Infantry, and the 33d
Regiment. A general engagement resulted in which the contest was more nearly
equal than any which had preceded it.
The Guards were shattered by the combined
efforts of the Maryland Brigade and a charge by Washington's cavalry. This
charge was the only real cavalry action during the battle. In their attack
on the American line, the Guards had been repulsed by the 1st Maryland. Now
in a counterattack, the Maryland regulars advanced to engage with the
bayonet. Precisely at this time Washington led his saber-wielding dragoons
through the broken ranks of the Guards and then left them to the mercies of
the Marylanders. The infantry closed in a fierce but brief hand-to-hand
conflict, ended only by a "whiff of grape-shot" thrown into the struggling
mass at the order of Cornwallis. Only the imminence of a wholesale British
retreat could have induced Cornwallis to thus fire into his own men.
On the extreme left the Yagers, the Light
Infantry, and the 33d Regiment had been driven back to a position of safety
by the steady fire of the Americans. They were not pursued, the defenders in
that quarter remaining steadfast in their own position.
By this time the Fusiliers had succeeded in
passing the woods and gullies, which had impeded their progress, and were in
position to attack. The Royal Artillery had occupied a position from which
it commanded almost the entire American line with grape and canister, and
the Highlanders to the south of the road threatened to turn Greene's left
flank. The Guards, extricated from their conflict with the Marylanders by
the grape-shot, were hastily reorganized, while the latter returned to their
position in the American line. Tarleton had been dispatched with the cavalry
to recall the 1st Battalion of the Guards from the detached contest with the
troops of Lee and Campbell and to conduct that unit to the scene of the
major engagement.
Thus, all was ready for a final assault in
force upon the one remaining line of American troops. That assault was never
to be made, for the American commander decided not to risk a final test of
strength which might result in the complete destruction of his
American Withdrawal
General Greene was faced with a difficult
decision at this juncture. On the one hand a desperate charge by his
Continentals, or even a determined stand in their established position,
might conceivably have shattered the little English force already weakened
by extensive casualties. Either of these courses, however, involved the risk
of sacrificing completely, or materially weakening, his two small brigades
of regulars--the only thoroughly dependable force in his entire command.
On the other hand, a general retirement
from the field with his remaining troops involved no risk and would leave
him situated to renew the contest at his own discretion. His Continentals
had not, thus far, suffered many casualties. They were entirely under
control and fully capable of immediate or future action. He was fully aware
that much further campaigning would be necessary if the South were to be
redeemed from British domination. He had dealt a blow to his adversary while
suffering little himself. He therefore ordered a general retreat, leaving to
his enemy the field of conflict and hence the claim to victory.
British arms had gained another hard-fought
field. Disciplined, organized, regular troops had triumphed again over
greatly superior numbers of raw militia. No more than this had been
accomplished. A victory had been won, but won at such cost that it could not
be exploited. Of the entire British force at the beginning of the battle,
nearly 600, or more than one-fourth of the whole, were casualties at its
close 21/2 hours later.
The Americans, on the other hand, suffered
only about half as many casualties. A large number of men were missing,
principally from among the troops of the first line, but the majority of
these found their way back to the army within a few days.
Yorktown
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was the
climax of a hard campaign of 2 months in the dead of winter. Cornwallis had
previously destroyed his baggage train in order that he might pursue the
Americans more rapidly during the race for the river fords. Now, after their
victory at Guilford, the British found themselves in an almost desperate
situation. Shoes, clothing, ammunition, medicines, food--all the myriad
supplies and equipment necessary for successful campaigning--were either
entirely expended or dangerously low. The men were tired and their morale
was none too good. Rest, reorganization, and refitting were essential, and
for this Cornwallis required time and safety. The English were, therefore,
forced to retreat in order that they might establish immediate contact with
their base of operations at Charleston.
After the battle, Cornwallis headed
southeast. His first destination was Cross Creek near Fayetteville. The
settlers in that region, almost all Highland Scots, were largely loyalists,
and it was thought that they would provide the retreating army with food and
a safe haven for reorganization. It was also thought that water
communication with Charleston could be established by way of the Cape Fear
River. But the river was not navigable to Cross Creek, nor was food
available. Of necessity, then, the march was continued to Wilmington, where
the sea route to Charleston was open, and where all needed supplies could be
delivered without difficulty.
In the meantime, Greene eagerly grasped the
opportunity presented by the action at Guilford Courthouse and the retreat
of his adversary. He followed Cornwallis part of the way to Cross Creek,
seeking in his turn to bring on a contest. This Cornwallis avoided. After a
few days of fruitless pursuit, Greene suddenly changed direction. He led his
army into South Carolina and bent his energies to the redemption of that
State.
In this purpose he was successful. At the
end of the summer he had lost most of his battles, as he had lost at
Guilford. But after each battle the British were compelled to evacuate one
or more of their posts. Finally, in September, after the Battle of Eutaw
Springs, the British were driven from the whole State and continued to hold
only the city of Charleston, against which Greene was powerless for want of
an assisting naval force.
Cornwallis remained at Wilmington for about
a month, going thence to Virginia where he united with an army under
Benedict Arnold and operated over much of the southern part of the State
during the first part of the summer. Early in August he established himself
at Yorktown, where he was forced to surrender on October 19.
The importance of the Battle of Guilford
Courthouse lies not in the battle itself, nor in the numbers involved, the
tactics employed, nor in the casualties inflicted upon either side. Rather
its importance is in the effects which flowed from it, and in the fact that
in winning, Cornwallis was the ultimate loser. Thus Guilford Courthouse is
important in the immediate result of rendering North Carolina safe and in
the larger result of freeing Greene's hands for reconquest to the southward.
Broken was the grand British plan of campaign which would have detached the
Southern Colonies from the Colonies to the north. Cornwallis was driven into
Virginia without making secure his rear. Greene had lost a battle but won a
campaign.
Guide to the Area
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
contains approximately 149 acres, including the site over which much of the
Battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought, and also the site of the original
Guilford County Courthouse. In the park are a total of 29 monuments and
memorials, including a fine equestrian statue of Gen. Nathanael Greene.
Buried in the area are the remains of six persons prominent in the history
of the State of North Carolina.
This guide has been prepared to enable you
more readily to identify and appreciate some of the points of interest on
the battlefield. Two numbered points, the Hoskins House and the Liberty Oak,
are on privately owned land; all other points are within the park
boundaries. Signs and markers on the ground lend assistance in following the
flow of battle.
HOSKINS HOUSE. This house is the
only structure remaining of those that stood on or near the battlefield
during the Revolutionary War. The Hoskins family owned much of the farmland
in the vicinity. The house stands in the area where Cornwallis halted his
march and arranged his troops in battle formation to begin the assault. The
house is said to have been used as a hospital for some of those who were
wounded during the battle.
FRONT LINE OF BATTLE. The British
approached from the west and attacked the American first line near the
present park boundary. The line was about three-quarters of a mile in length
with its center on the New Garden Road, where you are now standing. The
North Carolina Militia made up the bulk of the first line. Untrained and
without bayonets, they broke before the British massed charge. Regular
troops on the flanks of the first line inflicted heavy casualties upon the
British before giving way.
The small monument in this area marks the
remains of Capt. James Tate, of the Virginia Riflemen, who was killed near
the Quaker settlement of New Garden, 3 miles west, in the skirmish which
preceded the battle here. His remains were reinterred on this spot in 1891.
KERRENHAPPUCH TURNER MONUMENT.
According to tradition, Mrs. Kerrenhappuch Turner rode on horseback from her
Maryland home to nurse back to health a son wounded on the Guilford
battlefield. Mrs. Turner lived to be 115 years of age and left many
descendents, several of whom have been prominent in the history of North
Carolina and nearby States.
In this area are several other monuments.
Beside the Turner monument is a memorial to Mrs. Turner's grandson, James
Morehead, who also fought in the Guilford battle. Across the road is a
memorial to Nathaniel Macon and gravestones marking the remains of Maj. John
Daves and Gen. Jethro Sumner. All three men were Revolutionary War patriots.
NATHANIEL GREENE MONUMENT. The most
imposing monument in the park is this memorial to the commander of the
American forces at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. It is located in the
area where the Virginia Militia occupied the American second line.
As early as 1848 there was an effort made
by citizens of Greensboro to erect a monument to Greene on the battlefield.
An organization was formed and funds raised in 1857-59, but this effort was
dropped during the Civil War. In 1888 the first of a series of bills to
erect such a monument was introduced into the United States Congress and in
1911 a bill to appropriate $30,000 for the purpose was passed. Work was
begun in 1914 and the monument was unveiled with appropriate ceremonies on
July 3, 1915.
Francis Herman Packer was the sculptor. The
central figure is an equestrian statue of General Greene. At center front is
a symbolic female figure who is crowned with laurel. She holds two palm
branches in her right hand and a shield ornamented with an eagle and 13
stars in her left. The monument is 35 feet high and the base is
approximately 40 by 30 feet.
DELAWARE AND MARYLAND MONUMENTS.
Delaware and Maryland regiments made up the bulk of the Southern Continental
Army at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The Delaware Monument marks the
grave of three unknown American soldiers who fell on the battlefield. Their
remains were discovered in 1888 and identified by coat buttons stamped
"U.S.A." The Maryland Monument was erected by members of the Maryland
Historical Society in memory of the soldiers of the Maryland line. Both
monuments were dedicated in 1892.
On the road nearby, Cornwallis, during the
climactic phase of the battle, ordered two cannon charged with grapeshot to
be fired into the hand-to-hand fighting being waged in the vale below. This
desperate measure killed a number of his own troops as well as Americans,
but it was effective in breaking up the fighting.
THIRD LINE MARKER. The American
third line was composed of regular troops of the Southern Continental
Army--about 1,500 strong at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Thus it was
at the third line that the British encountered the most resistance and where
the hardest fighting took place. The tall white cenotaph marks the mid-point
of the third line, which extended northward from the New Garden Road.
The small monument near the road is a
memorial to Lt. Col. James Stewart, leader of the 2d British Guards, who
fell mortally wounded at this spot. His sword was exhumed here in 1866.
Colonel Stewart can be seen leading the Guards in the action portrayed in
the museum diorama at the visitor center.
GUILFORD COURTHOUSE SITE. Guilford
County was formed in 1771 and the first courthouse was erected at this
location in 1774. Greene bivouaced his troops in the clearing around the
courthouse the night before the battle. The courthouse, as the most
prominent structure in the area, lent its name to the battle fought several
hundred yards to the west.
In 1808 it was decided that the county seat
should be in the geographical center of the county, which was determined to
be 6 miles to the southeast. A courthouse was constructed at the new
location and the city of Greensboro (named for General Greene) grew up
around it.
As Greene retreated from the battlefield,
he withdrew eastward along the New Garden Road, then turned toward
Troublesome Creek on a road that during the Revolutionary War ran northward
near the courthouse.
LIBERTY OAK. On the morning before
the battle, General Greene's men camped around this tree. A white oak, it
has a circumference of 17 feet 3 inches at breast height and a spread of
more than 100 feet.
FRANCISCO MONUMENT. From this hill,
Lt. Col. William Washington's cavalry charged the British Guards in the vale
below, while simultaneously the 1st Marylanders counterattacked from the
edge of the woods. Thus was enacted one of the most dramatic scenes of the
Revolutionary War.
With Washington's cavalry was Peter
Francisco, a giant of 6 feet 8 inches, who wielded a 5-foot sword given him
by Gen. George Washington after Francisco's complaint that ordinary swords
were too light. With his huge sword and mighty courage, legend credits
Francisco with slaying 11 men in the battle.
The monument was erected by Peter Francisco
Pescud, a grandson of the Revolutionary hero. Unveiled in 1904, the monument
is also a tribute to the Marquis de Bretigny and, through him, to all French
participants in the American War for Independence.
WINSTON MONUMENT. Maj. Joseph
Winston and Capt. Jesse Franklin led the Surry County Riflemen against the
Hessians and Tarleton's dragoons in the last action of the battle. The
figure atop the monument depicts Winston waving his troops into battle.
Both Franklin and Winston were later
prominent in North Carolina politics, with Franklin serving as Governor and
Winston as a member of Congress. The city of Winston-Salem is named in part
for the latter. The tombs of both men are located nearby, the remains being
reburied here many years after the battle.
The Guilford Battle
Ground Company
Creation of the battlefield park was
largely due to the vision, the energy, and the devotion of Judge David
Schenck of Greensboro, N.C., who in the early 1880's was accustomed to make
frequent visits to the area for the purpose of studying the battle. On one
of these visits in October 1886, Judge Schenck suddenly decided to purchase
the site in order to rescue it from oblivion. It was nearly sundown, but an
irresistible urge to carry out this scheme spurred him to immediate action,
and before the twilight had faded, he had bargained for 30 acres of land.
Soon after his initial activity, Judge
Schenck succeeded in imparting some of his enthusiasm for the battleground
venture to a group of his intimate friends, and together they determined to
place the enterprise on a firm basis. They incorporated under the name of
The Guilford Battle Ground Company and petitioned the State Legislature for
a charter. An act of incorporation, passed by the legislature and ratified
on March 7, 1887, stated that the corporation would exist "for the
benevolent purpose of preserving and adorning the grounds on and over which
the battle of 'Guilford Court House' was fought" and the "erection thereon
of monuments, tombstones, or other memorials to commemorate the heroic deeds
of the American patriots who participated in this battle for liberty and
independence."
In May of the same year, the stockholders
enumerated in the charter held their first meeting, organized the company,
and elected Judge Schenck to the presidency, a position he held for many
years. The company then set to work vigorously to carry out the purposes for
which it had been formed. Stock was sold at $25 a share and, as money came
in from the sale of stock, more land was purchased. It seems to have been an
accepted indication of good citizenship in the community to own one or more
.shares of stock in the company and, by 1893, stock was owned by 100
individuals and corporations. As it obtained land, the company proceeded to
develop the battlefield. Woodlands were cleared and monuments were erected.
During the 30 years of the company's existence, between 20 and 30 monuments
were erected in the area--some by the company, some by individuals, and
others by governmental units, including the United States and the State of
North Carolina. The company also erected a small museum and acquired a
number of 18th- and early 19th-century items for exhibit. A part of this
museum collection is now on display in the visitor center at Guilford
Courthouse National Military Park.
In addition to its program for the
development of the battlefield, the Guilford Battle Ground Company desired
to make its property a historic shrine--a repository for the remains of
patriotic and distinguished individuals. As a result, the remains of six
persons were secured and reinterred on the battlefield. Among these were two
of the North Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence, a North
Carolina senator, and a Governor of the State.
Under the auspices of the company, annual
patriotic celebrations were held on the "Battle Ground," a name still used
locally to designate the park; and on these occasions, usually July 4, the
people of the surrounding country gathered almost en masse.
In 1931, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse
was reenacted by units of the National Guard in commemoration of the
sesquicentennial anniversary of the battle.
Establishment of the
National Military Park
An effort to have its property recognized
as of national significance and to have it declared a national preserve was
inaugurated by the Battle Ground Company in 1910. Several bills to effect
the transfer of the property to the Federal Government were introduced in
Congress, but it was not until March 2, 1917, that the legislation creating
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park was enacted. Promptly after
passage of the act, the Battle Ground Company deeded its lands to the United
States, wound up its affairs, and went out of existence.
From 1917 to 1933 the park was under the
jurisdiction of the Secretary of War. In 1933 the park was transferred to
the Department of the Interior to be administered by the National Park
Service. An attempt has been made by the Service to restore the battlefield
to its historic setting. To that end many trees have been planted to give
the area a semblance of the open woodland in which the American and British
forces fought.
- U.S. Department of the Interior.
National Parks Service. Guilford Courthouse
- National Military Park by Courtland T.
Reid (based on original historical
narrative by William P. Brandon). Washington: Government Printing
Office,1959. (National Park Service Historical Handbook Series No. 30).
(I29.58:30)
