The Trees of Guilford Courthouse

On March 18th, 1781 British General Cornwallis led his army against the Americans led by General Greene into battle at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina. This was the largest battle fought between the two sides in the Southern Campaign and proved to be one of the most important battles of the American Revolution.

Which is weird because it was not an American victory. The British “won” the day and held the field, but Cornwallis‘s army was so devastated that he decided to stop chasing Greene and pull back to the Wilmington on the North Carolina coast for reinforcements and supply. Once there he decided it would be best to take the fight into Virginia. That decision led him to a little place called Yorktown, and we know how that ended.

One of the striking things about this battle is the ground over which it was fought. Most of the time when you picture battles of the Revolution you probably still think of them as old-fashioned.  “Two sides line up in an open field and shot at each other from real close”. Of course at the time many of the battles were fought like that. Even Guilford Courthouse started that way, but a large portion of the battle occurred in a forest. This made it difficult to form lines and concentrate fire. Inside this battle within a battle a bloody melee became the order of the day.

The View of the Field

The picture above is from the site of the battle at Guilford Courthouse which still maintains a very close feel to how it was back in 1781. Placed among the trees are several silhouettes that show you  it may have looked like during the height of battle. You have to imagine the plumes of smoke that would have obscured your vision as much as the trees..