Battle of Guilford Court House

Battle of Guilford Court House
Part of the American Revolutionary War
Battle of Guilford Court House, a portrait of the battle by H. Charles McBarron Jr.
Date March 15, 1781 Location Greensboro, North Carolina, British America Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain Hesse-Kassel[1] Ansbach[2]	United States
Commanders and leaders
Charles Cornwallis Banastre Tarleton  (WIA)[3] Charles O'Hara  (WIA)	Nathanael Greene
Strength
2,100[4]	4,500[4]
Casualties and losses
93 killed 413 wounded[5][6] 26 missing or captured[7][8][9]	79 killed[10][11][12][13] 184–185 wounded[14][15][13] 75 wounded prisoners[12][16] 971–1,046 missing [a] [12][16][17]
[a] The American casualty list was compiled on March 16; most of the missing were North Carolina militiamen who had simply left once the fighting ended.[4]

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.^[18] The battle was "the largest and most hotly contested action"^[19] in the American Revolution's southern theater. Before the battle, the British had great success in conquering much 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 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 American turncoat 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.