Battle of Guilford Court House 1781
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 March 1781 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1781 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | North America | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | American Revolutionary War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of Great Britain, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 36.1320, -79.8440 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Guilford Court House was fought on 15 March 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, near Greensboro, 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. The battle was "the largest and most hotly contested action" in the American Revolution's southern theater. Before the battle, the British had great success in regaining control 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, but unsuccessful recruitment in North Carolina when this battle put an end to their recruiting drive. The battle is commemorated at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and associated Hoskins House Historic District.
In the wake of the battle, Greene moved into South Carolina. Cornwallis moved his army to Wilmington to rest and resupply. Later, Cornwallis chose to march into Virginia and attempt to link with roughly 3,500 men under British Major General Phillips and Brigadier General Benedict Arnold.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Guilford Court House (revision 1380906927), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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