American Travel Journal: Visitor Center - Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

On March 15, 1781, only two months after the Patriot victory at the Battle of Cowpens, the Patriot and British armies met again at Guilford Courthouse in what is now Greensboro, North Carolina. In what would become the largest battle of the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War, Major General Nathanael Greene deployed his 4,500 Patriot troops in three lines against about 1,900 advancing British forces.

Before giving his men an opportunity to eat breakfast, Lt. General Charles Cornwallis marched his British troops over 10 miles from his camp on the Deep River to Guilford Courthouse by way of the Salisbury Road. Arriving about noon, the weary and hungry troops formed lines and marched into battle. As the battle proceeded, flanking troops on both sides broke off to fight skirmishes in the woods somewhat removed from the main battle. At one point when the battle seemed to be a stalemate, the Patriot cavalry charged directly into the middle of the British lines. In an effort to thwart the Patriot charge, Cornwallis ordered his artillery to fire grapeshot directly into the charging cavalry with the full knowledge that he would kill many of his own men as well. The advance was halted and, shortly, the Patriots began an orderly retreat from the field.

In the 2 ½ hour battle, the Patriots suffered losses of just over 250 killed or wounded, while the British lost over over 500 or one-quarter of their southern army including twenty-nine of one hundred officers. Upon hearing of the battle, Member of Parliament Charles James Fox made the following remarks in the House of Commons:

We have often asserted that so much domestically and internationally depends upon subduing the rebel forces in the southern colonies. But now news of another disaster, Guilford Courthouse. Gentlemen, this war is bleeding us white. We may have won this piece of ground in North Carolina, but another such victory would ruin the British Army.

Based on efforts of David Schenck and the non-profit Guilford Battle Ground Company beginning in the 1880s, the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park was established in 1917. Without Schenck's efforts, it is doubtful that the park would exist. However, his interpretation of the battle resulted in a much smaller area being preserved than would have been desirable. Monuments were placed at convenient locations instead of accurate ones. Although the exact location of the courthouse has been lost, more recent archaeological studies show that the battle extended well beyond the boundaries of the park.

The visitor center contains an information desk, bookstore and giftshop, museum with Revolutionary War artifacts, restrooms and two theaters. The smaller theater hosts a 10-minute narrated description of the battle with the movements of military units depicted on a map. This excellent presentation is made at 15 and 45 minutes after the hour.

The larger theater has seating for about 70 people although I was the entire audience. A 32-minute battle reenactment entitled Another Such Victory is shown on the hour. Although this 2001 film meets the exacting technical and historic standards of the park service, it includes some actors breaking the fourth wall to speak directly to the audience describing their reasons for fighting and some of the emotions they felt. There was nothing to indicate that these monologues were from diaries or letters of the participants until late in the film when General Lord Cornwallis is writing a letter and wondering if his actions are having any positive effect upon winning the people of the Carolinas to the British cause. The closing scenes described what happened after the battle to some of the individuals who stepped out of the action. If you like actors speaking directly to the audience, this is the documentary for you. I felt it broke up the flow of the story and was disappointed in its use.

The staff at the information desk was very helpful as they provided a weather forecast and directions to a parking lot that isn't locked at 5 PM so I could continue to tour the battle site on foot after hours. I visited the park in June 2017.