Battle of Guilford Court House

Battle of Guilford Court House
Part of the American Revolutionary War

Battle of Guilford Court House, a portrait of the battle by H. Charles McBarron Jr.
DateMarch 15, 1781
Location
Greensboro, North Carolina, British America
Result British victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain
Hesse Hesse-Kassel[1]
Ansbach[2]		  United States
Commanders and leaders
Charles Cornwallis
Banastre Tarleton  (WIA)[3]
Charles O'Hara  (WIA)		 Nathanael Greene
Strength
2,100[4] 4,500[4]
Casualties and losses
93 killed
413 wounded[5][6]
26 missing or captured[7][8][9]		 79 killed[10][11] [12][13]
184–185 wounded[14][15] [13]
75 wounded prisoners[12][16]
971–1,046 missing [a] [12][16][17]
[a] The American casualty list was compiled on March 16; most of the missing were North Carolina militiamen who had simply left once the fighting ended.[4]

The Battle of Guilford Court House was on March 15, 1781, during the American Revolutionary War, at a site that is now in Greensboro, the seat of Guilford County, North Carolina. A 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Nathanael Greene's 4,500 Americans. The British Army suffered considerable casualties, with estimates as high as 27% of their total force.[18]

The battle was "the largest and most hotly contested action"[19] in the American Revolution's southern theater. Before the battle, the British had great success in conquering much of Georgia and South Carolina with the aid of strong Loyalist factions and thought that North Carolina might be within their grasp. The British were in the process of heavy recruitment in North Carolina when this battle put an end to their recruiting drive.

In the wake of the battle, Greene moved into South Carolina. Cornwallis chose to march into Virginia and attempt to link with roughly 3,500 men under British Major General Phillips and American turncoat Benedict Arnold. These decisions allowed Greene to unravel British control of the South, while leading Cornwallis to Yorktown, where he eventually surrendered to General George Washington and French Lieutenant General Comte de Rochambeau.

The battle is commemorated at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and associated Hoskins House Historic District.

  1. ^ https://www.nps.gov/guco/crownforcessoldiers.htm#:~:text=The%20Von%20Bose%20joined%20Cornwallis's,battery%20on%20New%20Garden%20Road.
  2. ^ https://www.nps.gov/guco/crownforcessoldiers.htm#:~:text=The%20Von%20Bose%20joined%20Cornwallis's,battery%20on%20New%20Garden%20Road.
  3. ^ Cheaney, Janie B. "Banastre Tarleton". jrshelby.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  4. ^ a b c Savas, Theodore P. and J. David Dameron. A Guide to the Battles of the American Revolution. New York: Savas, Beattie LLC, 2010. ISBN 978-1-932714-94-4. p. 286.
  5. ^ "Battle of Guilford Courthouse • American Revolutionary War".
  6. ^ "The American Revolution in North Carolina - the Battle of Guilford Courthouse".
  7. ^ Babits and Howard (2009) page 173
  8. ^ Rodgers, 1977. p. 224.
  9. ^ "Battle of Guilford Courthouse • American Revolutionary War".
  10. ^ "The American Revolution in North Carolina - the Battle of Guilford Courthouse".
  11. ^ "Battle of Guilford Courthouse • American Revolutionary War".
  12. ^ a b c Guilford Courthouse: A Pivotal Battle in the War for Independence, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan gives 79 killed, 185 wounded. The difference between Savas with 70 and NPS with 79 could be a typo in one of the sources.
  13. ^ a b Babits and Howard (2009), page 175
  14. ^ "The American Revolution in North Carolina - the Battle of Guilford Courthouse".
  15. ^ "Battle of Guilford Courthouse • American Revolutionary War".
  16. ^ a b Showman, Conrad and Parks (editors), The Papers of General Nathanael Greene, Volume 7, University of North Carolina Press, 1994, ISBN 978-0807820940), page 441, gives 75 wounded prisoners and 971 missing, totaling the same 1,046 missing shown by Savas
  17. ^ The maximum figures for killed and wounded (94 killed and 211 wounded) leave 42 fewer men unaccounted for than the minimum numbers (79 killed and 184 wounded).
  18. ^ Babits, Lawrence E.; Howard, Joshua B. (2009). Long, Obstinate, and Bloody: The Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The University of North Carolina Press. p. 122.
  19. ^ "Guilford Courthouse National Military Park". Museum Management Program. National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. 6 June 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2017.