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15 March 1781Primary source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Guilford Courthouse: A Costly British Win

Cornwallis holds the field but bleeds his army toward Yorktown

On the timeline · around 15 March 1781 · A New NationThe War for IndependenceA New NationGuilford Courthouse: A Costly British Win1780178117821783

Quick facts

Location
Guilford Court House, near Greensboro, North Carolina
Date
15 March 1781
British commander
General Charles, Lord Cornwallis
Result
British hold field but suffer crippling casualties

What happened

On 15 March 1781, Cornwallis's army of about 2,100 men engaged Nathanael Greene's Continental army near Guilford Courthouse, North Carolina. Greene borrowed Morgan's Cowpens tactic of layering militia and Continentals in depth. When the British advanced within 150 yards, the Americans opened fire, and the two sides traded volleys until British forces surged forward and broke through, eventually forcing Greene to withdraw from the field. Cornwallis technically won by holding the ground, but his casualties, roughly 532 killed and wounded out of 2,100, were disproportionately heavy against Greene's larger but less experienced force.

Why it matters

The victory cost Cornwallis so many men that a member of Parliament later said another such win would ruin the British army; Cornwallis abandoned the Carolina campaign afterward and marched north into Virginia, a decision that led directly to his army being trapped at Yorktown seven months later. Greene, though he lost the battle, achieved his real goal of wearing down British strength through attrition rather than decisive victory.

How we know

American Battlefield Trust's account of the battle draws on the recorded British and American casualty totals and tactical dispositions on the field.

Sources

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