Battle of Wetzell's Mill 1781
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 6 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 | 36.0800, -79.7900 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Wetzell's Mill (the name may also be spelled Weitzell, Weitzel, Whitesell, Whitsell or Whitsall) was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on March 6, 1781, between detachments of Nathanael Greene's Continental Army and militia and Banastre Tarleton's Loyalist provincial troops in Guilford County, North Carolina.
Greene was trying to avoid encounters with the larger British Cornwallis' larger army while awaiting the arrival of additional troops, and had sent Williams and several hundred men on reconnaissance to watch Cornwallis' movements. Cornwallis learned where Williams was on March 4, and, realizing he could be trapped because he was separated from Greene's army by Reedy Ford Creek, sent Tarleton and 1,200 men toward the ford at Wetzell's Mill. Early on March 6 Tarleton's men tried to sneak up on Williams' position, then about ten miles south of the ford. After a brief skirmish, the two forces raced toward the ford. Williams kept Harry "Light Horse" Lee in the rear to cover their retreat, and reached the ford ahead of Tarleton. His army crossed, at which point he decided to make a stand at the crossing.
Tarleton's first attempt to cross was repulsed, but the second succeeded, and Williams retreated.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Wetzell's Mill (revision 1370593751), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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