The Battle of Guilford C
Many erroneous Ntat4*iii4*nts have been
nia4le about this famous 4*4»nflict: here are
the actual fa4*ts in 4*onne4*tiou with what
took place at Guilf4»ril Courthouse.
By R. GETTY RROiVMXG
IN* connection with the Battle of
Guilford Courthouse, it has gen-
o rally IxH-n understood that Gen¬
eral Greene lost the battle and that
his failure was largely due to the “dis¬
graceful behavior” of the North Caro¬
lina militia who have been accused
of running away from the Battlefield
upon the approach of the British
Army. This story of the battle has
been repeated so much that many
people throughout the country, as
well as in North Carolina, have ac¬
cepted it as being true. The facts do
not support this conclusion, but on the
contrary demonstrate, without doubt,
that the North Carolina troops gave
an excellent account of themselves,
obeyed their instructions to the letter,
and' did all they could to annihilate
the British troops.
An American Victory
Instead of this Battle resulting in
defeat for General Greene, it is quite
evident from the facts of history that
it was a decided victory for the Ameri¬
can cause.
It is well known that General Greene
rallied his troops the evening of the
battle within three miles of the Battle¬
ground, and was prepared to renew
the conlliet in the morning. The Brit¬
ish commander, however, having lost
more than one-third of his men, was
in no position to renew the conflict
when morning came, and he spent the
day in burying his dead, caring for
his wounded, and in planning a re¬
treat, which he began the following
morning and continued with the ut¬
most haste until he reached his in-
trenchments at Wilmington, 150 miles
away. General Greene, in the mean¬
time, far from being defeated, im¬
mediately took up the chase and pur¬
sued him until be was outdistanced
S’ the more rapid movements of the
ritish and was compelled to abandon
the race.
Considering the character of the
troons in General Greene’s army, his
battle plan was undoubtedly the most
effective that could have been devised
under the circumstances. He had se¬
lected the field beforehand, he knew
every feature of the topography and
the condition and direction of all the
roads leading to and from the field.
He knew exactly when and where to
expect the British and had made all
necessary preparations to meet them.
General
Ьч\
with a small group of
dragoons, was sent to meet the British
advance guard early in the morning
on the day of the Battle and he suc¬
ceeded in inflicting a great deal of
damage before ho was compelled to re¬
treat and report to General Greene
that the main body of British was
approaching.
At the extreme west edge of the
Battleground a small creek runs at
right angles to the New Garden-
Hillsboro Road and this road bisects
the Battleground and runs almost di¬
rectly cast from this stream. The
British formed their line of battle im-
The Statue of General Greene, Guil¬
ford Courthouso Battlefield
mediately after crossing the creek and
advanced in a front extending for a
width of about 400 yards toward the
American line, which lay at right
angles to the road, on each side of it
and distant about 300 yards from the
stream.
Greene’s Instructions
Before the British assault, General
Greene had ridden along the front
line and personally gave the order, so
that all the soldiers knew that it was
his express command that they should
fire two rounds at the British, and
then retire to the second lino which
was some 300 yards farther east and
parallel to the front line. When it is
understood that the Americans were
armed only with the muzzle-loading
flint lock hunting rifle and had no
bayonets, it can be appreciated that
they were not in a position to suc¬
cessfully withstand a bayonet charge
delivered by the highly disciplined
and experienced troops advancing
against them. The best they could hope
to do was to fire ns rapidly and ac¬
curately as they could and then retire
until they could reload their guns and
resume the conflict.
On the north side of the road I ho
British column included the highly
trained British troops under Colonel
Webster, while on the east side of the
road was placed a Highland Regi¬
ment and a regiment of Hessians.
These troops also were veterans, and
many of them had fought on many
battlefields from Quebec to Camden
and looked upon this particular battle
as an opportunity to revenge them¬
selves for their shameful defeats at
Cowpens and Kings Mountain. There
was certainly no lack of enthusiasm
or incentive on the part of the British
troops to do their level best to wipe
out the American army if possible,
and they were probably as well
equipped and as highly trained as
any troops in any army of that «late.
Nevertheless, these American volun¬
teers, looked upon as untrained back¬
woodsmen, had sufficient courage and
skill to face the British Army and de¬
liver their fire with euch tolling effect
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