logoTitleMasthead
 

The Battle of Guilford Court House
This page was last updated on 04 November 2025

Click here to 
Print this page

Biography finder

A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X
Y Z
       
       
Please Support
the Douglas Archives
donate button
with heartfelt thanks to those who already have.

Major-General Nathaniel Greene 1st Continental Regiment 

 
The Battle of Guilford Court House, fought on March 15, 1781, near present-day Greensboro, North Carolina, was a pivotal clash in the Southern campaign of the American Revolutionary War. British General Charles Cornwallis led approximately 2,100 seasoned troops against American General Nathanael Greene’s larger force of around 4,500 men.

Greene deployed his troops in three defensive lines, a tactic inspired by Daniel Morgan’s success at Cowpens. The first two lines—composed of North Carolina and Virginia militia—were instructed to fire and retreat, while Continental regulars held the third line. Cornwallis’s troops advanced steadily, breaking through the first two lines but suffering heavy casualties and losing cohesion.

The final phase saw fierce fighting between British regulars and American Continentals, including a counterattack by Lt. Colonel William Washington’s cavalry. Though Cornwallis technically won the field, his army lost about 25% of its strength and was too depleted to pursue Greene. He withdrew to Wilmington to regroup.

Strategically, the battle was a turning point. Greene’s resistance weakened British control in the South, setting the stage for Cornwallis’s eventual surrender at Yorktown later that year. The battle is commemorated at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

Among those involved were:
     
Capt. Edward Douglas   Chatham County Regiment Detachment
Capt. Benjamin Douglas   Caswell County Regiment 
Capt. John Douglas   Caswell County Regiment 
Capt. William Douglas   Caswell County Regiment 
Thomas Douglass   Under the command of Col. Lanier




Contributions
Do you have an ancestor whose story should be told here?  Can you add to this article? Please let us have the details.

Source

 

Sources for this article include:
  • J.D. .lewis; www.carolana.com

    Any contributions will be gratefully accepted





    Errors and Omissions

    The Forum

    What's new?

    We are looking for your help to improve the accuracy of The Douglas Archives.

    If you spot errors, or omissions, then please do let us know


    Contributions

    Many articles are stubs which would benefit from re-writing. Can you help?


    Copyright

    You are not authorized to add this page or any images from this page to Ancestry.com (or its subsidiaries) or other fee-paying sites without our express permission and then, if given, only by including our copyright and a URL link to the web site.

    		  

    If you have met a brick wall with your research, then posting a notice in the Douglas Archives Forum may be the answer. Or, it may help you find the answer!

    You may also be able to help others answer their queries.

    Visit the Douglas Archives Forum.

     

    2 Minute Survey

    To provide feedback on the website, please take a couple of minutes to complete our survey.

    		  

    We try to keep everyone up to date with new entries, via our What's New section on the home page.

    We also use the Community Network to keep researchers abreast of developments in the Douglas Archives.


    Help with costs

    Maintaining the three sections of the site has its costs.  Any contribution the defray them is very welcome
    Donate

     

    Newsletter/Magazine

    You can subscribe to our periodic magazine and newsletters here>>>.
    		 
    		 
     


     

    Back to top

     



    The content of this website is a collection of materials gathered from a variety of sources, some of it unedited.

    The webmaster does not intend to claim authorship, but gives credit to the originators for their work.

    As work progresses, some of the content may be re-written and presented in a unique format, to which we would then be able to claim ownership.

    Discussion and contributions from those more knowledgeable is welcome.

    Contact Us

    Last modified: Sunday, 08 March 2026