Battle of Guilford Court House

The British forces, led by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, technically won the battle by driving Major General Nathanael Greene's American army from the field. However, the victory proved to be disastrous for the British war effort in the long term.

Although Cornwallis held the field, his army suffered devastating and irreplaceable casualties, losing roughly a quarter of his troops. This severely weakened British forces in the southern theater, forcing Cornwallis to eventually retreat to Yorktown, Virginia, where he would later surrender.

The battle was fought on March 15, 1781, in what is now present-day Greensboro, North Carolina. The landscape featured heavily wooded terrain and small farms, which General Greene used to his tactical advantage.

General Greene deployed his forces in three defensive lines spanning the dense woods, utilizing untrained militia in the front to absorb the initial British charge. This tactic successfully inflicted massive casualties on the British regulars before the Americans strategically retreated.