Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
2332 New Garden Road, Greensboro, NC
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Date of Battle: March 15, 1781
The Battle
After the failures of Generals Lincoln and Gates, General Nathanael Greene is tasked with contesting British control of Georgia and the Carolinas. He confronts General Cornwallis’ army at Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina.
Although much of the American line is made up of militia, they manage to hold off several British charges. The fighting becomes so entangled that General Cornwallis is forced to fire grapeshot into both his own men and the enemy in order to break it up. The British manage to win the field but are greatly crippled by their casualties.
Visiting the Battleground
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, 250 acres on the site of a Revolutionary War battlefield, commemorates the Battle of Guilford Courthouse between Major General Nathanael Greene's militia and Continental army and Lord Charles Earl Cornwallis’ British and Hessian army on March 15, 1781.
Address: 2332 New Garden Road, Greensboro, NC
Entrance fee: None
In the Visitor Center you can view exhibits, including artifacts from the battle, and two interpretive films.
You can tour the battlefield by bicycle or car, or by foot. The following self-guided cell phone tours are available:
- Walking tour: Narrated 1.75 mile walk along the inner trails of the battlefield
- Driving tour: 2.5-mile drive with narration at 9 stops along the way
The park also includes the Hoskins Farmstead Site, purchased by Joseph and Hannah Hoskins in May 1778 after they fled from the war in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The site features a log house built by the Hoskins’ son Ellis in the 1810s, a reconstructed tobacco barn altered to function like a historic Summer kitchen, a blacksmith workshop, and a barn.
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park has 29 monuments and gravesites that commemorate the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The monuments were erected along the American lines of battle beginning in 1887, after the land was purchased by David Schenck who established the Guilford Battle Ground Company. The General Greene Monument was dedicated on July 3, 1915.
Check the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park web site for information on hours of operation and annual events.
→ Have you been here? Do you have suggestions for others who are passionate about history and want to make the most of their visit, or recommendations for things nearby that every history lover should see? Please send them in and we may add them to this page.
Contributor: This list of major Revolutionary War Battles and descriptions was written by Michael Troy, the creator and host of the American Revolution Podcast, who selected these sites and described the battles.
Photo: National Park Service, public domain. Nathanael Greene Monument in December 2017, documented for the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park Monument Photo Survey.
Editor: Creation of this trip, including additional research on visiting these historic sites by Donna Keesling, editor at The History List.
Updated April 8, 2022