Show f 1 h r I 1 r Y e r. r It I Y tl r l I r t It Y l r 1 3 t rT rE y J L r 1 i if A wo- wo n. n tM r f f ti ti 9 i r Y N I 4 r j i 1 r J y r ti F r. r 4 4 1 p QT Jr J r s n ti Il w r 44 ill 1 J i Ca Caf I r f I II I v. v S r a tai r LIf 7 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON I HIS month marks the anniversary of ot otI I J S the battle of ot Guilford Court House Housein in North Carolina fought Just years ears ago ago on on March Mach 15 lv 1781 Compared Com Corn pared to other engagements In In- Inthe the Revolution devolution this one is but little known to most Americans The forces engaged were not large It was not as spectacular as Washington's Washing Washing- Washington's tons ton's exploit at Trenton Waynes Wayne's v L capture of Stony Point or the amazIng amazing S ing lag victory of the backwoodsmen at Kings Mountain and its Its' im l P result was not Immediately visible At the moment It was a vl victory tory for the British but In the long run it was an American r triumph and iii In In- Ina a certain sense It was one one of 1 the decisive e battles in the struggle for freedom But ut more than an anything else the battle of Gull- Gull j ford C Court House Is a perpetual monument to t the le memory of a man who measured up to tol l th the supreme test of a great military commander his bis ability to lose battles and win campaigns That man was Gen N Greene The task which was given gi him In 1780 was one which would have hu daunted any commander Sir Henry Clinton had captured Charleston and and General General Gen Gen- eral Lincoln's army aimy of ot 2000 men The British had llad overrun o Georgia and South Carolina and with the brilliant Lord Loid Cornwallis In command It seemed as though all of the South had definitely been won back to the crown Congress had ball sent General Gates the credited though little des hg lag victor at Saratoga to take charge of what Patriot forces there were available there and al although although al- al though he could ill afford to spare them Washington Wash Wash- Washington ington s sent nt a division of Continental troops under Laron de Kalb to help Gates stem the tide of British success As for Gates his Northern laurels lau gels turned to Southern willows vs and he suffered a disastrous defeat at the battle of ot Camden which Was Vas as all the more tragic because of the loss of 1 De Kalb Following his success at Camden fader L Cornwallis Proceeded with the Invasion Invasion of North Caro Carolina na The defeat of Ferguson at Kings Mountain l on October 7 1780 with will Its loss of 1000 of CornWallis' CornWallis CornWallis' CornWallis Corn- Corn Wallis' Wallis he and best men checked him temporarily fell tell back to Winnsboro But this lightened for only a n moment the gloom which seemed to be set set- thug down over o the patriot cause The outlook Was as still dark darl enough when Greene arrived In InI I Charlotte N N. C C. early In iii December Washington had al given him as his second In n command Baron Steuben and he also had Gen Daniel Morgan the he real hero heto of Saratoga John Laurens nn and Light L ht Horse Borse Harry Lee Upon taking command Greene immediately won the confidence o of of- Cal Col 01 William Washington Washing u a brilliant ca cavalry vary leader an gad and l the famous partisan leaders lenders Marion Marlon I at and l Sumter 4 T The he total force at Gr Greene Greenes enc's s 's disposal tva w was probAbly p ob ably aby never neve much over o 2000 With bl his few fW hum liun- fired Arun Continentals and the unreliable wl o e fluctuated constantly he knew that he could Id not risk a pitched battle with C 1115 JUs only hope was to carry on the partisan w warfare warfare war war- fare of the Carolina leaders on a larger scale so he Je divided his arm aimy almy y for that purpose Sending Morgan forgan organ with about GOO GUU men to co operate with Boiler Sumter him K on left flank and giving C Or erder lers s to threaten the I British leaders leader's line of 9 Con and tile tide various h posts all 1 S Sj j the way to Augusta In Georgia Greene took Ge Gen Isaac Huger with him In an advance Into the valley val val- valley ley of the Pedee to threaten Georgetown and Cornwallis' Cornwallis communications communications- with Charleston On the face of ot It this was poor strategy but subsequent events proved the wisdom of Greenes Greene's decision The I logical thing for Cornwallis to do was to tr try to defeat the American forces In detail detail de de- de tail tall and Greenes Greene's division of his forces seemed to offer the opportunity But the new American commander had the Briton worried from the start for Cornwallis had no Illusions about Greene He ne Is as dangerous as Washington he be wrote a friend If he moved forward against Greene Morgan would fall upon his rear If It he turned to crush Morgan Greene would pounce down upon him from behind He could not leave Camden and its vast stores of supplies So It will be seen that Greene had put him In a hole at the outset Cornwallis' Cornwallis final decision was to follow Greenes Greene's example and dI divide his forces which forces which was just what Greene hoped he would do More than that the American commander began planning miles mUes and weeks ahead He sent his chief engineer engineer engineer engi engi- neer Kosciuszko and his quartermaster Carrington ton to examine the fords fords of the various rivers of ot North Carolina and to gather boats wagons and supplies at strategic points Then he prepared prepared pre pre- pared for a game of ot seek hide op on a large scale luring Cornwallis on to attack him but never allowing the Briton to catch cutch him Cornwallis' Cornwallis first move was to send one of his best officers Col Tarleton to attack Morgan The result was the battle of Cowpens on January 17 1781 In which Morgan won a complete complete com com- and brilliant victory Cornwallis Immediately Immedi set out to punish Morgan but that leader although encumbered with prisoners and the large store of supplies captured at Cowpens retreated so rapidly that within a week he had covered nearly 90 DO miles and put his army across the Ca Ca- There on January 30 Greene accompanIed by only three men joined him having left Huger luger In command with orders to follow up the YadkIn and hurried across country to be with Morgan Greene had now decided to unite his army In North Carolina and Cornwallis had 11 decided to pursue pursue pur pur- what Greene sue the Americans Americans' just northward northward Just hopes hope he would do Cornwallis spent two days at 1 Mills III s burning all his tents baggage extra clothing and supplies He lle was stripping snipping his army for a rapid advance When he reached the Catawba he found that stream swollen by rains and for two days he waited for the water to subside Then he be crossed over o scattered the militia which Greene had left there to dispute his crossing and set out after Greene The next day Greene reached the rains but Yadkin which was also swollen by Carrington was there with his boats and the tile little lit It quickly ferried across Americans was tie tle force farce o of f leaving for the northern shore The Time lust just fust bouts boats were when the Bl British advance giu rd came Into view forced to seek seck boats boits Cornwallis vas as Having no shallower fords s 23 miles up the Yadkin Il n lie then hen hurried toward the upper fords fons on the time Dan river reaching them before Greene could couill of In the hope hone value Its But again Greenes Greene's s 's forethought ht proved pro lie He had hid boats waiting for him on the lower o Dan Dun Dunt over Mer In these crossed find and l he lie t P By kee keeping keeping keep keep- Greenes Greene's pion had worked orla perfectly Cornwallis he had enticed him of ing Just In front G. G British advancing 1 First position of British Brit ish B B. B Front line of Americans North Americans North Carolinians Carolinians Carolin Carolin- ians lans C C. C Second line of Americans A. A American right wing E. E Maryland and Virginia Continentals 2 Second position of British D D. D Fight between be between tween Hessians and Americans 3 Third position of British northward nearly miles away from his base of ot supplies at Charleston and at the same time had brought his own troops nearer to Steuben who was assembling reinforcements In Virginia It had had been a Q thrilling race across the Catawba Ca Ca- across the Yadkin and across the Dan Both armies were almost worn out by this midwinter mid winter march but Cornwallis was In much worse condition than Greene Cornwallis consoled himself with the remark that he hG h had forced the enemy out of the Caro- Caro Hnas linas But It was an empty boast for the enemy wouldn't stay forced out No sooner had Cornwallis Corn Corn- wallis started on his return than Greene ell the Dan By this time he had been jol jollied joined ed by the rest of his army under Huger and at Guilford Court House on ground which he had care carefully chosen he offered battle The British leader was was' perfectly willing to accept the challenge since It offered the possibility of retrieving some of ot the prestige he be had lost In being outmaneuvered ered by Greene during the famous retreat Greene posted his troops In three lines followIng following following fol fol- fol- fol lowing the tactics which Morgan had successfully successfully successfully success success- fully used at Cowpens The North Carolina militia mill mili tin tia were In front with parties of expert riflemen on either lank flank Three hundred yards behind them was a line of Virginia militia with Col William Washington's cavalry on their right flank and Light Horse Harry Barry Lees Lee's on their left lert Five hundred and fifty yards In their rear were posted the Continental troops with General Huger commanding on the right and Col Otho Williams Williamson on the lift left I ft The first and third lines were on the edge of clearings giving a good field of ot fire but butth th the second was In the woods All AU told Greene had about men but a large part of these were militia none too steady under fire and amid given to sudden panics Cornwallis Corn Corn- wallis had about 2200 men British and Hessians ami antl virtually all of them were well-trained well sol sol- diers attacked about noon Greenes Greene's first line became nervous as the British advanced to the attack began firing too soon and with practically no effect Then when the British line charged the line broke and the militia fled In dis ells order The second line stood Its ground better until the British turned Its flank when It retreated retreated re reo re- re treated past the left of or the Continentals Cornwallis then pressed on through the woods to the second clearing and fell upon the Continentals Among th these se were tw two veteran Maryland regiments regi ments ments who had been taught the value of ot disc disc- pline They They not only repulsed two British attacks with heavy loss Joss but also launched a furious counterattack counterattack counterattack coun coun- ter-attack ter which broke the time British line In the cen cen- en ter One British battalion was driven In In confusion confusion sion from the field losing nearly half halt Its strength The Virginia Continentals up to now v had not been heavily y engaged and Greene might have thrown them In at this moment crushed Cornwallis Corn Corn- wallis and won the day But nut these Continentals were not the veterans that the Maryland troops were and they would have been pitted against some of the best troops In the British army who saw victory almost within their grasp If f the result In the destruction destruction destruction Virginians failed It might tion of ot Greenes Greene's whole army We Ve can never I. I ow how v sorely tempted the American commander was then to gamble with fate to stake er e everything on one last throw and to try try- the Issue to the time bitter bit bit- bitter r ter end But he must have realized that more than this one victory was at stake there If It he guessed wron wrong and lost his army the South was lost and perhaps the whole patriot cause way wa lost So he gave the or order er t to retreat and retired from Crom the field held In good order Cornwallis had won wan but hut he had paid de dearly rl In defeating Greene at Guilford he lost nearly a third of his own awn force furce As Pox the time British minister minIster min Ister remarked d when he heard the news of ne news s of this battle A few more victories like that and ond we weare weare weare are undone cc eJ b bj Western Newspaper Union |