Qualla: Battle of Guilford Court House

Battle of Guilford Court House: Introduction

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MarmadukePercy, CC BY-SA 3.0. "Another such victory would ruin the British Army!" Charles James Fox, leader of the British Whig Party, borrowed from Plutarch's account of King Pyrrhus to describe what happened near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, on March 15, 1781. On paper, Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Nathanael Greene's Americans at Guilford Court House. On the ground, the British lost roughly 27 percent of their total force -- over 500 killed, wounded, or missing from an army of just 2,100 men. That night, the victors occupied a woodland with no food or shelter while torrential rains fell. Fifty of the wounded died before sunrise. Cornwallis had won the battle and broken his army.

Image: MarmadukePercy | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Guilford Court House: The Race to the Dan

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tamar Hayardeni, CC BY-SA 4.0. The campaign that culminated at Guilford Court House began with a British disaster sixty miles to the southwest. At the Battle of Cowpens on January 18, 1781, Cornwallis lost one-quarter of his army. Rather than retreat, he doubled down. At Ramsour's Mill, he burned his own bagga...

Image: Tamar Hayardeni | CC BY-SA 4.0

Battle of Guilford Court House: The Largest Action in the Southern Theater

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Wahkeenah at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Greene recrossed the Dan on February 22, reinforced by militia and Continental regulars, and chose his ground near Guilford Court House. When Cornwallis learned Greene's position on March 15, he marched from New Garden to meet him. The advance guards clashed near the Quaker New G...

Image: Wahkeenah at English Wikipedia | Public domain

Battle of Guilford Court House: A Victory That Unraveled an Empire

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Hallcp, CC BY-SA 4.0. The aftermath reshaped the war. Cornwallis, his force reduced to fewer than 2,000 effective soldiers, could not pursue Greene into the backcountry. He marched instead to Wilmington on the coast to rest and refit, then made the fateful decision to move into Virginia rather than re...

Image: Hallcp | CC BY-SA 4.0

Battle of Guilford Court House: Hallowed Ground in the Piedmont

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit MarmadukePercy, CC BY-SA 3.0. The battlefield is preserved today as Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, established in 1917 near Greensboro, North Carolina. Every year around March 15, reenactors in period uniforms demonstrate Revolutionary War fighting techniques on or near the original ground. Recen...

Image: MarmadukePercy | CC BY-SA 3.0