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. These decisions allowed Greene to unravel British control of the South, while leading Cornwallis to Yorktown, where he was forced to surrender to General George Washington and French Lieutenant General Comte de Rochambeau.
On 18 January 1781 Lord Cornwallis learned he had lost one-quarter of his army at the Battle of Cowpens. Yet he was still determined to pursue General Nathanael Greene into North Carolina and destroy Greene's army. According to Cornwallis, "The loss of my light troops could only be remedied by the activity of the whole corps." At Ramsour's Mill, Cornwallis burned his baggage train, except the wagons he needed to carry medical supplies, salt, ammunition, and the sick. In the words of Charles O'Hara, "In this situation, without Baggage, necessaries, or Provisions of any sort...it was resolved to follow Greene's army to the end of the World."
As Cornwallis departed Ramsour's Mill on 28 January, Greene sought to reunite his command but ordered Edward Carrington to prepare for possible retreat across the Dan River into Virginia. In Greene's words, "It is necessary we should take every possible precaution. But I am not without hopes of ruining Lord Cornwallis, if he persists in his mad scheme of pushing through the Country..."
On 3 February, Greene joined Daniel Morgan's Continentals at Trading Ford on the Yadkin River, and on 7 February, Lighthorse Harry Lee rendezvoused with the army at Guilford Court House. By 9 February, Greene commanded 2,036 men, 1,426 of whom were regular infantry, whereas Cornwallis had about 2,440 men, 2,000 of whom were regulars. The opponents began a "Race to the Dan": Greene's council of war recommended continuing the retreat, opting to fight at a future date and location.
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) grew from colonial resistance to British taxation without parliamentary representation — a dispute that radicalized through the Stamp Act (1765), the Townshend Acts (1767), and the Boston Massacre (1770). Fighting began at Lexington and Concord in April 1775; the Continental Congress declared independence on July 4, 1776. The Continental Army under George Washington faced severe shortages of supplies and troops, enduring the brutal winter at Valley Forge (1777–1778) before French alliance and French financing turned the military balance. Major engagements included Bunker Hill (1775), Trenton (1776), Saratoga (1777) — which secured French intervention — and Yorktown (1781), where British General Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. An estimated 25,000 American soldiers died in service, from combat, disease, and captivity. The Treaty of Paris (1783) recognized American independence and ceded British territory east of the Mississippi, though it left unresolved questions about Indigenous land rights and the status of Loyalists.
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