Chapter XXIII: ````"Cornwallis led a country dance; (2)

As we have observed (page 591), Greene soon prepared to recross the Dan, and attempt to retrieve his losses in Carolina. We have considered the first movements toward the accomplishment of this object--the expedition of Lee and Pickens beyond the Haw, the defeat of Pyle, and the retreat of Tarleton to Hillsborough. The success of this enterprise, the arrival in camp of General Stevens, with six hundred Virginia militia, and the necessity of making a demonstration before the Tories should rise, caused Greene to break up his camp after a few days of repose. He recrossed the Dan on the twenty-third,[[Feb 1781]] and this event being made known, completely dispirited the Loyalists who were disposed to join the royal army. The recruiting service stopped, and the friends of government, awed by the fate of Pyle's corps, stood still. The situation of Cornwallis was full of peril. The country around Hillsborough was speedily stripped of provision by his army, * and he found it expedient to fall back and take a new position upon the south side of the Allamance, west of the Haw.[[Feb 27]] On the same day, Lee and Pickens, with their respective forces, joined the main body of the American light infantry, and the whole corps crossed the Haw, a little below the mouth of Buffalo Creek. Greene, with the main army augmented by the

North Carolina militia, crossed above Buffalo Creek the next morning, [[Feb 28]]and encamped between Troublesome Creek and Reedy Fork. It was an ineligible place; and, hoping to gain time for all his expected re-enforcements to come in, Greene constantly changed his position, and placed Colonel Williams and his light corps between the two armies, now within a score of miles of each other. Tarleton occupied the same relative position to the British army, and he and Williams frequently menaced each other. Finally, the latter having approached to within a mile of the British camp, Tarleton attacked him,[[March 2, 1781]] and a brief but warm skirmish ensued. This encounter was sustained, on the part of the Americans, chiefly by Lee's legion and Preston's riflemen. About thirty of the enemy were killed and wounded. The Americans sustained no loss. In the mean while, Greene's constant change of position, sometimes seen on the Troublesome Creek, and sometimes appearing near Guilford, gave the impression that his force was larger than it really was, and Cornwallis was much perplexed. Well knowing that the American army was augmenting by the arrival of militia, he resolved to bring Greene to action at once. Under cover of a thick fog, he crossed the Allamance,[[March 6]] hoping to beat up Williams's quarters, then between that stream and Reedy Fork, and surprise Greene. Williams's vigilant patrols discovered the approach of the enemy at about eight o'clock in the morning, on the road to Wetzell's Mill, an important pass on the Reedy Fork. Lee's legion immediately maneuvered in front of the enemy, while Williams withdrew his light troops and other corps of regulars and militia across the stream.** A covering party, composed of one hundred and fifty Virginia militia, were attacked by Lieutenant-colonel Webster, with one thousand British infantry and a portion of Tarleton's cavalry. The militia boldly returned the fire, and then fled across the creek. The British Infantry followed, *** and met

** Stedman says (ii., 335),: "Such was the situation of the British army [at Hillsborough], that the author, with a file of men, was obliged to go from house to house throughout the town, to take provisions from the inhabitants, many of whom were greatly distressed by this measure, which could only be justified by extreme necessity."

** These consisted of quite a large body of militia, under Pickens; a corps of cavalry, under Lieutenant-colonel William A. Washington; some militia and riflemen, under Colonel Campbell, the hero of King's Mountain; and regular infantry, under Colonel John Eager Howard, who distinguished himself at the Cowpens.

*** Lee says, that in the woods, near the mill, where some riflemen were stationed, was an old log school-house. In this building, twenty-five of the most expert marksmen, who were at King's Mountain, were stationed by Lee, with orders not to engage in the general conflict, but to pick off officers at a distance When Webster entered the stream, and was slowly fording its rocky bed, the marksmen all discharged their rifles at him in consecutive order, each certain of hitting him, yet not a ball touched him or his horse. Thirty-two discharges were made without effect! The hand of Providence shielded him on that day, but soon he received a fatal wound, in a battle far more fierce and bloody.--Lee's Memoirs, 164.

[[[Skirmish on Reedy Fork.--Augmentation of the American Army.--Disposition of the two Armies.]]]

{606}with a severe attaek from Campbell's riflemen and Lee's infantry. Webster was quickly re-enforced by some Hessians and chasseurs, and the whole were supported by field-pieces planted by Cornwallis upon an eminence near the banks of the stream. The artillery dismayed the militia, which Williams perceiving, ordered them to retire. He followed with Howard's battalion, flanked by Kirkwood's Delaware infantry and the infantry of Lee's legion, the whole covered by Washington's cavalry. * The day was far spent, and Cornwallis did not pursue. In this skirmish the Americans lost about fifty killed and wounded.

As soon as Greene heard of the approach of Cornwallis, he fell baek across the head waters of the Haw with the main army, determined not to risk an engagement until the arrival of re-enforcements, now fast approaching. In the mean while he changed his position daily, and Cornwallis, who, unwilling to wear down his army by useless attempts to strike the Americans in detail, had retired slowly to Bell's Mills on the Deep River, about thirteen miles below the present Jamestown, could gain no positive information concerning him. ** At length, while encamped at Speedwell's iron-works, on Troublesome Creek, northeast of Guilford, Greene was joined by a brigade of militia from Virginia, under General Lawson; two from North Carolina, under Generals Butler and Eaton; and four hundred regulars, raised for eighteen months.[[March 10]] He now felt strong enough to grapple with the earl, and the light corps of Colonel Williams was incorporated with the main army. *** Crossing the Haw and Reedy Fork, Greene encamped in battle order near Guilford Court House.[[March 13]] The movements of the two generals during the ten preceding days were or great interest. They were contending for a prize of the greatest value. One false step by either party would have been his ruin. None were more interested spectators than the Tories, from whom Cornwallis fondly anticipated aid. When Greene invited battle, they were utterly amazed, and not one dared lift his arm in defense of the king, the issue being so doubtful.

Cornwallis, in the mean while, had advanced from Deep Reep River toward New Garden (Quaker) meeting-house. Perceiving Greene's disposition to fight, he gladly prepared to meet him. It was an event he had been trying to accomplish for more than six weeks. Sending his baggage back to Bell's Mills, on the evening of the fourteenth, under a proper escort, he moved forward at dawn the next morning,[[March 15]] with twenty-four hundred men, chiefly veterans. The vigilant Lee, with his legion, was near New Garden

* Gordon relates that Sergeant-major Perry, and Quarter-master-sergeant Lumsford, of Lee's dragoons, performed a very bold maneuver. They were separately detached, with four dragoons, to make observations. They saw sixteen or eighteen British horsemen ride into a farm-house yard in an irregular manner, and some of them dismount. The two young men joined their forces, charged the horsemen, and, in sight of Tarleton's legion, eut every man down. They then retired without a scar!--Gordon, iii., 172.

** Cornwallis first encamped, in this retrograde march on the plantation of William Rankin, a Whig, and then proceeded to the plantation of Ralph Gorrel, another wealthy patriot. The family were turned out of doors, and sought shelter at a neighbor's house. The soldiers plundered and destroyed until the place was made a desolation. On Sunday, the eleventh of March, the royal army proceeded to the plantation of Reverend Dr. Caldwell, one of the most ardent Whigs in North Carolina, from the time of the Regulator movement. The doctor was then in Greene's camp, at the iron-works on Troublesome Creek. His family left the house, and retired to the smoke-house, where they remained twenty-four hours without food or a bed, exposed to the abuse and profane language of the soldiery. Cornwallis occupied the house of Mr. M'Cuistin, on the great road from the Court House to Fayetteville. Every thing but the buildings were destroyed on the plantation of Dr. Caldwell. ''Every panel of fence on the premises was burned; every particle of provisions was consumed or carried away; every living thing was destroyed, exeept one old goose; and nearly every square rod of ground was penetrated with their iron ramrods in search of hidden treasure." By command of the officers, the doctor's valuable library and papers--even the family Bible--were burned in an oven near the house. All was made a desolation. Cornwallis had offered a reward of one thousand dollars to any one who should bring Dr. Caldwell into his camp. Dr. Caruthers, in his Life of Caldwell, gives many painful descriptions of the sufferings of this good man and his faithful Rachel. Dr Caldwell died in 1824, when in his hundredth year. His wife died in 1825, at the age of eighty-six.

*** The whole army fit for duty now consisted of 4243 foot, and 161 cavalry. It was composed of Huger's brigade of Virginia continentals, 778; Williams's Maryland brigade, and a company of Delawares, 630; infantry of Lee's partisan legion, 82; total of Continental regulars, 1490. There were 1060 North Carolina militia; 1693 from Virginia; in all, 2753. Washington's light dragoons, 86; Lee's dragoons, 75. To these were added, the next day, 40 horse, under the Marquis of Bretagne, a French nobleman.

[[[Skirmish at New Garden Meeting house.--Defeat of Tarleton.--Lee driven back by the main British Army]]]

{607}meeting-house when the van of the British army, consisting of cavalry, some light infantry, and yagers, under Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, * approached. Desirous of drawing them as far from the royal army, and as near Greene's as possible, Lee ordered a change of front, and a slow retreat.

Hoping to produce a route, Tarleton and his cavalry pressed forward upon Armstrong, who was now in the rear, but with little effect.

They made a second charge, and emptied their pistols, when Lee, with the troops of Rudolph and Eggleston, wheeled suddenly, and, in a close column, advanced upon Tarleton. The moment Tarleton saw the gain the main army. Lee did not pursue, but endeavored to cut off Tarleton's retreat. While pushing forward with eager hope, he met the British vanguard, in the midst of the lofty oaks at the meeting-house. They instantly displayed, and gave his cavalry a terrible volley. Lee ordered a retreat, when his infantry came running up, and delivered a well-directed fire. This was followed by a volley from Campbell's riflemen, who had taken post on the left of the infantry, and a general action ensued. It had continued but a few minutes, when Lee, perceiving that the main body of the British was approaching, ordered a general retreat; his cavalry falling in the rear, to cover the infantry and riflemen. *** During this skirmish, Greene prepared for battle.

From Guilford Court House southward, the ground slopes abruptly, terminating in a broken vale, through which winds a small stream. At the time of the engagement, there were pretty broad clearings around the court-house, which extended southward along the great Salisbury road. On either side of the road, and crossing it at some distance from the court-house, was a forest of lofty oaks. Within the southern border of this forest, and the whole cavalry of the legion pressing upon him, he sounded a retreat; for he well knew the superiority of the horses of the Americans. ** Only one front section of the British cavalry met the shock, and these were all dismounted, and most of the horses were prostrated. Some of the dragoons were killed, and others made prisoners. The Americans lost neither man nor horse. Tarleton, with the remainder of his corps, withdrew in great haste.

* Banastre Tarleton was born in Liverpool, England, on the twenty-first of August, 1754. He commenced the study of the law, but when the war in America commenced, he entered the army, and came hither with Cornwallis. He served with that officer In all his campaigns in this country, and ended his military career at Yorktown, in 1781. On his return to England, the people of his native town elected him their representative in the House of Commons. In 1798, he married the daughter of the Duke of Ancaster. In 1817, he received the commission of major general, but never entered into active service. At the coronation of George the Fourth, he was created a baronet and Knight of Bath. In person, Tarleton was below the middle size, stout, strong, and heavily built. His legs were very muscular, and great activity marked all of his movements. He had a sanguinary and resentful temper, which made him unmerciful to his enemies.--See Georgian Era, London, 1833.

** The inferiority of the horses of the British cavalry was owing to the fact that they had been taken chiefly from the plantations in South Carolina, and could not be compared in size and strength with those of Pennsylvania and Virginia, from whence came those of Lee. The momentum of the latter, when meeting, was much greater than that of the former, and, of course, in a charge they had a great advantage.

*** About forty of Tarleton's dragoons were killed in this action; and it is believed that about one hundred of the infantry were killed and wounded by the riflemen. The loss of the Americans was considerably less; the exact number was not reported. Lieutenant Snowdon, of the legion infantry, was left wounded on the field. Captain Tate, who shared in Howard's memorable charge at the Cowpens, was with Lee, and had his thigh broken.

[[[Disposition of the American Army at Guilford.--Plan of the Battle.--Approach of the British]]]

{608}Concealed behind a fence and some dwarf trees, lay the North Carolina forces (B), militia and volunteers, and some riflemen, the whole under Generals Butler and Eaton.

They were strongly posted, and much was expected of them. Within the woods, about three hundred yards in the rear of the first line, the second line (C) was formed. It was composed of the Virginia militia, under Generals Stevens and Lawson; * the right flank of Stevens, and the left flank of Lawson, resting on the road. The Continental infantry, consisting of four regiments, were drawn up near the court-house, in the field, on the north side of the road, about four hundred yards in the rear of the Virginians. The two Continental regiments of Virginia were commanded by Colonel Greene and Lieutenant-colonel Hewes, under Brigadier Huger, and composed the right. The two Maryland regiments, led by Colonel Gunby and Lieutenant-colonel Ford, were under Colonel Williams, and composed the left. The remainder of the troops, under Greene, lay near the court-house. Only Gunby's regiment were experienced soldiers; the remainder were new recruits. Lieutenant-colonel Washington, with his cavalry, the old Delaware corps, under Captain Kirkwood, and Colonel Lynch with a battalion of Virginia militia, were posted on the right; Lieutenant-colonel Lee, with his legion, and the Virginia riflemen, under Colonel Campbell, were posted on the left, each being ordered to support the respective flanks. Captain Singleton, with two six pounders, took post in the road, a little in advance of the front line, and the remainder of the artillery (only two pieces) were with the rear line, near the court-house.

Such was the disposition of the Americans for battle when the royal army, under Cornwallis, approached. It was about noon; the sun was unclouded, and the air was cool, but not cold. They could be seen for more than a mile, defiling (G) from the Salisbury road into the open fields, and presented a gorgeous spectacle; their scarlet uniforms and bur-

* These were chiefly from Augusta and Rockbridge counties, and were descendants of the Scotch-Irish, who first settled that portion of Virginia. One company was composed principally of the congregation of James Waddell, the glorious Blind Preacher of the wilderness along the eastern base of the Blue Ridge, whose person and ministration is so eloquently described in Letter VII. of Wirt's British Spy. He gave them a farewell address when they were under arms and ready to march. Many of them were left upon the field of Guilford.

* NOTE: Explanation of the Plan.--The shaded parallelograms, A, B, and C, and others not lettered, represent American troops; the half shaded ones the British troops. G, the British columns advancing along the road from the direction of the New Garden meeting-house. 1. Their first position, in battle order. B, the first American line, consisting of North Carolina militia, posted at the head of a ravine, in the edge of a wood. C, the second American line, of Virginia militia. A, extending irregularly along the road to Reedy Fork, to its junction with the main road, near the court-house. E, the Maryland and Virginia Continentals, under Huger and Williams. 2. The second position of the British, after the retreat of the Carolinians. 3. The third position of the British, endeavoring to gain Greene's right. D, severe conflict between Lester with the Hessians and the Americans. E, Guilford Court House. The broken chimney in the corner of the map represents all that is left of the old court house.

[[[Commencement of the Battle.--Flight of the Carolinians.--Bravery of the Virginians and Marylanders.--General Stevens.]]]

{609}nished arms strongly contrasting with the somber aspect of the country, then barren of leaves and grass. Having formed their line, they approached slowly and steadily, chiefly in solid column (1), to the contest. As soon as the van appeared, Singleton opened a cannonade upon it, but with little effect. Lieutenant M'Leod, commanding the British artillery, pressed forward along the road, and returned the fire, also with little effect. The battle now commenced. Although Cornwallis knew his inferiority of numbers, and the great advantages of Greene's position, he boldly began what he had so long sought an opportunity for--a general battle with his antagonist. He had brave and veteran troops. The 71st (Fraser's Highland regiment), with the Hessian regiment of Bose, formed his right, under General Leslie; his left consisted of the 23d and 33d regiments, under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Webster. The royal artillery, led by M'Leod, and supported by the light infantry of the guards and the yagers, moved along the road in the center. Lieutenant-colonel Norton, with the first battalion of the guards, supported the right, and Brigadier O'Hara, with the grenadiers and second battalion of guards, supported the left.

After a brisk cannonade of nearly half an hour, Singleton, pursuant to orders, fell back to the second line. Leslie, with the guards in the center, supported on the left by the Hessians, and on the right by Webster's brigade, immediately advanced upon the North Carolinians, who were concealed behind a fence in the edge of the wood. When the British were within rifle shot, the Carolinians commenced a desultory fire upon them. The British pressed steadily forward, and when at a proper distance, discharged their guns, and with a loud shout rushed forward to a bayonet charge. The North Carolinians wheeled and fled in great confusion, though not a man had been killed, or even wounded. Only a few of General Eaton's men were exempt from the panic, and these, falling back upon Lee's legion and Campbell's riflemen, maintained their ground well. Butler and Eaton, with Colonel Davie, the commissary general, endeavored, but in vain, to rally the fugitives. Throwing away their muskets, knapsacks, and even canteens, they rushed through the woods like frightened deer, until far beyond the point of danger. * Had the first line done its duty, the result of the battle must have been far different; for the few that remained with Campbell, together with his corps, maintained their position so manfully that Leslie was obliged to order Lieutenant-colonel Norton into line for his support. The cowardly flight of the Carolinians left Lee's legion exposed to the danger of being cut off from the main body. The Virginians of the second line, upon whom the first had partially retreated, did their duty nobly, ** until, being hard pressed by the British, the right of that line, under General Lawson, wheeled round upon the left, and retreated in confusion, back to the line of regulars. Lieutenant-colonel Webster, with the British left, now advanced across the open fields, in the face of a terrible fire from the Americans, and gallantly attacked their right, while Leslie and Bose were in fierce conflict with the American left. The whole of the British infantry were now engaged in action. The Virginians, under Stevens and Lawson, combated vigorously with Webster, while supported on the right by Washington and his cavalry. That officer sent Lynch's battalion of riflemen to fall upon the flank of Webster. Perceiving this, O'Hara, with the grenadiers and second battalion of guards, hastened to the support of the left. Webster immediately turned the 33d regiment upon Lynch, and relieved his flank from annoyance.

* Dr. Caruthers, speaking from tradition, says that many of the Highlanders, who were in the van, fell near the fence, from behind which the Carolinians rose and fired. Among the Carolinians were some volunteers, under Captain John Forbes, from the Allamance, consisting chiefly of his friends and neighbors. Captain Forbes fired the first gun, and in the retreat received a mortal wound. He was found by his friends thirty hours after the battle. He said that a Tory passed him, and, instead of giving him some water asked for, he kicked him, and called him a rebel. After the death of Forbes, the Tory was found one morning suspended to a tree before his own door.

** General Stevens had posted forty riflemen twenty paces in the rear of his brigade, with orders to shoot every man who should leave his post. This had the effect to keep the cowardly in the ranks. General Stevens was shot through the thigh during this first conflict of his brigade with the British, yet he did not quit the field. When the Carolinians retreated, he had the address to prevent his own brigade being panic-stricken, bv telling them that the former had been ordered to retreat after the first fire. He ordered the Virginians, to open, and allow the fugitives to pass through.

[[[Retreat of Marylanders.--Washington's Charge.--Junction of British Regiments.--Cornwallis's victorious Blow.]]]

{610}O'Hara, advancing at that instant with the remainder of the left, with fixed bayonets, aided by the 71st, under Leslie, compelled first Lawson's and then Stevens's brigade to give way, and the second line of the Americans was broken up.

In the mean while, the action on the right (D), between the regiment of Bose and the riflemen, and the legion infantry, was unremitting. The portion of the British force thus engaged could not be brought to bear upon the third line of the Americans, now well supported by Colonel Washington at the head of his cavalry, and Captain Kirkwood with his brave Delawares. Greene felt hopeful, and, riding along the lines, exhorted his battalions to stand firm, and give the final blow which would secure victory. Webster pressed forward over the ground lately occupied by the Virginia militia (c) to attack the right wing of the Continentals. There stood Colonel Gunby and Lieutenant-colonel Howard, with the first Maryland regiment, ready to do battle. The British, with great courage, rushed forward, and engaged in a close fire. The Marylanders, nobly sustained by Howe s Virginia regiment and Kirkwood's Delawares, received the shock so valiantly, that Webster recoiled and fell back across a ravine, where, upon an elevation, he awaited the arrival of the remainder of his line. Very soon Lieutenant-colonel Stuart, with the first battalion of guards, followed by two other small corps, swept across the open fields, and attacked the second Maryland regiment, under Colonel Ford, which was supported by Captain Finley with two six pounders. Colonel Williams expected to observe bravery on the part of his second regiment, like that of the first, and hastened toward it to combine his whole force in repelling the attack, but he was disappointed. It gave way at the first shock, fled, and abandoned the two field-pieces to the enemy. Stuart pursued, when Gunby, who had been left free by the recession of Webster to the other side of the ravine, wheeled upon him, and a very severe conflict ensued. Lieutenant-colonel Washington, who was upon the flank of the Continentals, pressed forward with his cavalry, and Stuart was soon compelled to give way. With sword in hand, followed by his cavalry, and Howard and his infantry with fixed bayonets, Washington furiously charged the British, and put them to flight.* Stuart was slain by Captain Smith of the first Maryland regiment, the two field-pieces were retaken, and great slaughter ensued. The whole of Stuart's corps would have been killed or made prisoners, had not Cornwallis, who came down from his post where the Salisbury road enters the wood a little south of the court-house, ordered M'Leod to draw up his artillery and pour grape-shot upon the pursuers. This cannonade endangered friends as well as foes, for it was directed in the face of the flying guards. It was effectual, however; and Washington and Howard, perceiving two regiments of the enemy, one on the right, and the other on the left, approaching, withdrew to the line of Continentals.

When Webster perceived the effect of Stuart's attack upon Ford, he recrossed the ravine, and fell upon Hawes and Kirkwood. The 71st and 23d (the two regiments discovered by Washington) were soon connected in the center by O'Hara, who, though severely wounded, kept his horse, and, rallying the remnant of the guards, filled up the interval between the left and right wing. The fierce contest upon the British right still continued, with some advantage to the enemy. Norton, believing Bose's regiment sufficient to maintain the conflict, joined the 71st, in preparation for a final blow upon the Continentals. Lee's legion infantry and Campbell's riflemen immediately attacked Bose with new vigor. Bose and his major, De Buy, fought gallantly, and by example encouraged their men. Leaving Campbell to continue the contest, Lee hastened, with his infantry, to rejoin his cavalry, whom he had left on the flank with the Continentals. On his way, he found Norton with the guards upon the eminence occupied by Lawson's brigade. He attacked Norton, and driving him back upon Bose, withdrew with Campbell, and joined the Continentals near the

* It was at this time that Francisco, a brave Virginian, cut down eleven men in succession with his broadsword. One of the guards pinned Francisco's leg to his horse with a bayonet. Forbearing to strike, he assisted the assailant to draw his bayonet forth, when, with terrible force, he brought down his broadsword, and cleft the poor fellow's head to his shoulders! Horrible, indeed, were many of the events of that battle; the recital will do no good, and I will forbear.

[[[End of die Battle.--Retreat of the Americans.--View of the Battle ground.--Loss of the Combatants.]]]

{611}court-house. The flight of the North Carolinians, the retreat of the second Maryland regiment, the scanty supply of ammunition, and the junction of the two wings of the British army, convinced Greene that there was no hope of success in a conflict with Webster, who was now pressing forward in good order, with a prospect of speedily turning the American right. He had resolved, before the battle, not to risk the annihilation of his army, and he now determined to retreat before it should be too late. Ordering the brave veteran Colonel Greene, with his Virginia regiment, to take post in the rear, and cover a retreat, the Americans withdrew in regular order, leaving their artillery behind, for almost every horse had been slain.

The 71st and 23d British regiments, supported by Tarleton's cavalry, commenced a pursuit; but Cornwallis, unwilling to risk such a movement, soon recalled them. * Thus ended the battle at Guilford Court House; a battle, in its effects highly beneficial to the cause of the patriots, though resulting in a nominal victory for the British army. Both of the belligerents displayed consummate courage and skill, and the flight of the North Carolinians from a very strong position is the only reproach which either army deserved. It doubtless caused the loss of victory to the Americans. Marshall justly observes, that "no battle in the course of the war reflects more honor on the courage of the British troops than that of Guilford." Greene had a much superior force, and was very advantageously posted. The number of the Americans engaged in the action was quite double that of the British. The battle lasted almost two hours, and many brave men fell upon that field of carnage. *** The British claimed the victory; it was victory at fearful cost and small

* Ramsay, Gordon, Marshall, Lee, &c.

** This view is from the eminence southwest of the site of old Guilford Court House, near the junction of the roads running one north to Bruce's Cross-roads, the other west to Salem. The log-house, partially clap-boarded, seen on the right, was uninhabited. It stands near the woods which intervene between Martinsville and the plantation of Mr. Hotchkiss. In the distance, near the center, is seen Martinsville, and between it and the foreground is the rolling vale, its undulations furrowed by many gulleys. In an open field, on the left of the road, seen in the hollow toward the left of the picture, was the fiercest part of the battle, where Washington charged upon the guards. Upon the ridge extending to the right, through the center of the picture, the seeond line (Virginians) was posted. The fence running to the right from Martinsville, down into the valley on the right, denotes the Salisbury road. The snow was falling very fast when I made this sketch, and distant objects were seen with great difficulty. Our point of view, at the old log-house, is the extreme westerly boundary of the field of controversy.

*** The British lost in killed and wounded over six hundred men, besides officers. Colonel Stuart, of the guards, and Lieutenant O'Hara (the general's brother), of the royal artillery, were killed. Lieutenant-colonel Webster was severely wounded; so also were Captains Schultz and Maynard, of the guards, and Captain Wilmouski and Ensign De Trott, of the Hessian regiment. They all died of the wounds received in the battle, during the march of the army to Wilmington. The whole army deeply lamented the loss of Webster, for he was one of the most efficient officers in the British serviee. He was the son of an eminent physician in Edinburgh, and came to America with Cornwallis. During the operations in New Jersey, in 1777, he was very active. In 1779, he had charge of Fort La Fayette at Verplanck's Point, and sustained the attack of General Robert Howe upon that post. He commanded the right wing in the battle at Camden; and, as we have seen, bore a conspicuous part in the pursuit of Greene previous to the battle in whieh he received his death wound. Webster was buried near Elizabeth, on the Cape Fear River, now Bladen county. Captains Goodrych, Maitland, Peter, Lord Douglas, and Eichenbrocht, who were wounded, recovered. Among the wounded was Adjutant Fox, a brother of the eminent statesman, Charles J. Fox.

*** The Americans lost in killed and wounded about three hundred of the Continentals, and one hundred of the Virginia militia. Among the killed was Major Anderson, of the Maryland line; and among the wounded were Generals Stevens and Huger. Of the North Carolina militia, six were killed and three wounded, and five hundred and fifty-two missing. Of the Virginia militia, two hundred and ninety-four were missing. The missing, "as is always the case with militia after a battle," according to Lee, might be found "safe at their own firesides." By these desertions, Greene's army suffered a greater diminution than that of the British, whose loss in action was so much greater. They did not, however, desert "by thousands," as the editor of the Pictorial History of England avers.

*** Events such as are generally overlooked by the historian, but which exhibit a prominent trait in the character of the people of North Carolina, occurred during this battle, and deserve great prominence in a description of the gloomy picture, for they form a few touches of radiant light in the midst of the somber coloring. While the roar of cannon boomed over the country, groups of women, in the Buffalo and Allamanee congregations, who were under the pastoral charge of Dr. Caldwell, might have been seen engaged in common prayer to the God of Hosts for his protection and aid; and in many places, the solitary voice of a pious woman went up to the Divine Ear, with the earnest pleadings of faith, for the success of the Americans. The battling hosts were surrounded by a cordon of praying women during those dreadful hours of contest!

[[[Effect of The Battle.--Withdrawal of Cornwallis.--Pursued by Greene.--American Women at Prayer.]]]

{612}advantage. * In some degree, the line of the Scotch ballad might be applied to the combatants,=

``"They baith did fight, they baith did beat, and baith did rin awa'."=

The Americans retreated in good order to the Reedy Fork, and crossed that stream about three miles from the field of action. Tarrying a short time to collect the stragglers, they retired to Speedwell's iron-works, on Troublesome Creek, ten miles distant from Guilford Cornwallis remained upon the battle-ground that night, burying the dead. The next morning he proceeded as far as New Garden meeting-house. On the eighteenth,[[March 1781]] he issued a proclamation boasting of his complete victory, calling upon the Loyalists to join him in restoring good government, and offering pardon to the rebels. Had he remained, this proclamation might have given confidence to the Tories, but the very next day[[March 19]] he decamped, leaving behind him between seventy and eighty wounded British officers and soldiers in the New Garden meeting-house, which he used for a hospital. He also left behind him all the American prisoners who were wounded, and retreated as speedily as possible southward, toward Cross Creek (Fayetteville), evidently afraid that Greene would rally his forces and attack him. Greene, supposing the earl would advance, had made preparations to confront him; as soon as he was informed of his retreat, he eagerly commenced a pursuit,[[March 20]] after writing a letter to the Quakers at New Garden, desiring them to take care of the sick and wounded of both parties. Notwithstanding heavy rains and wretched roads, Greene pressed after his lordship with great alacrity, as far as Ramsay's Mills, on the Deep River, in Chatham county. On the way, frequent skirmishes occurred between the light troops of the two armies, and Greene arrived at the earl's encampment, on the Deep River, only a few hours after Cornwallis had left it.

* This victory of Cornwallis was considered by many British statesmen equivalent to a defeat. In the Parliament, the intelligence of the battle produced a great sensation. Ministers were dissatisfied, and the opposition had a theme for just denunciation against the policy of government. Fox moved in committee, "That his Majesty's ministers ought immediately to take every possible measure for concluding peace "with our American colonies and in the course of an animated debate, he declared, "Another sueh victory will ruin the British army." William Pitt, the successor of his father, the Earl of Chatham, inveighed eloquently against a further prosecution of the war. He averred that it was "wicked, barbarous, unjust, and diabolical--conceived in injustice, nurtured in folly--a monstrous thing that contained every characteristic of moral depravity and human turpitude--as mischievous to the unhappy people of England as to the Americans." Fox's motion was rejected by one hundred and seventy-two against ninety-nine.

[[[Cornwallis's March to Wilmington.--Pursued by Green.--Greene's Approach to Camden.--New Garden Meeting-house.]]]

{613}Before leaving Winnsborough, Cornwallis sent an order to Lieutenant-colonel Balfour, who commanded at Charleston, to dispatch a competent force by water to Wilmington, to hold that post as a depot for supplies for the royal army in North Carolina. Balfour detached Major Craig upon that service, who drove the American militia from Wilmington, and took possession of it on the same day when General Davidson was killed at Cowan's Ford.

After the battle at Guilford Court House, Cornwallis, observing the backwardness of the Loyalists in that vicinity, and the scarcity of provisions, determined to fall back to Cross Creek, where, he knew, had been a population of loyal Scotchmen, and there make his head-quarters, not doubting that his army could be easily supplied with stores, by water, from Major Craig at Wilmington. In these expectations the earl was bitterly disappointed. The Loyalists were comparatively few, a large portion having been changed to either active or passive Whigs; provisions were very scarce, and no communication could be had with Major Craig. Greene was in eager pursuit, and the earl had no alternative but to continue his march to Wilmington. This he performed along the southwestern side of the Cape Fear, and arrived at Wilmington on the seventh of April.[[1781]] He had got so much the start of Greene, that the latter relinquished pursuit at Ramsay's Mills,[[March 28]] where he resolved to allow his troops to repose and recruit, as far as circumstances would allow. Greene dismissed all of the militia except a few North Carolinians, yet he could not afford his army such comforts as he desired. *

At the suggestion of Lieutenant-colonel Lee, Greene resolved to march back into South Carolina and take post at Camden with the main army, while the light troops should join Marion on the Pedee, and beat up all the British posts between Camden and Ninety-Six, and Charleston. Pursuant to this plan, he left Ramsay's and marched toward Camden, to confront Lord Rawdon, then in command there. Cornwallis, as we have already noticed in chapter xxi., soon afterward marched into Virginia, while Greene and his brave partisan allies of the South regained all that had been lost in previous conflicts.

Let us here leave the two commanders and their armies for a time, and resume our journey toward King's Mountain and the Cowpens. We shall meet them both frequently, in our future journeys in the Carolinas and Georgia.

I left the Guilford battle-ground and the hospitable cottage of Mr. Hotchkiss, at noon, the snow falling fast. At four miles distant, on the Salisbury road, I reached the venerable New Garden meeting-house, yet standing within the stately oak forest where Lee and Tarleton met. It is a frame building with a brick foundation. It was meeting-day, and the congregation were yet in session. Tying Charley to a drooping branch, I entered softly. A larger number than is usually present at "week-day meetings" had congregated, for a young man of the sect from Randolph county, thirty miles distant, and a young woman of Guilford, had signified their intentions to declare themselves publicly, on that day, man and wife. They had just risen before the elders and people when I glided into a seat near the door, and with a trembling voice the bridegroom had begun the expression of the marriage vow. His weather-bronzed features betokened the man of toil in the fields, and strongly contrasted with the blonde and delicate face, and slender form of her who, with the downcast eyes of modesty, heard his pledge of love and protection, and was summoning

* "No magazines were opened for our accommodation." says Lee in his Memoirs; "rest to our wearied limbs was the only boon within his gift. Our tattered garments could not be exchanged; nor could our worn out shoes be replaced. The exhilarating cordial was not within his reach, nor wholesome provision in abundance within his grasp. The meager beef of the pine barrens, with corn ash-cakes, was our food, and water our drink; yet we were content; we were more than content--we were happy."--Page 189.

[[[Quaker Marriage.--A Centenarian Preacher.--His Blessing.--Jamestown.--Ridge Roads.]]]

{614}all her energy to make her kindred response. I had often observed the simple marriage ceremony of the Quakers, but never before did the beauty of that ritual appear so marked with the sublimity of pure simplicity. *

At the close of the meeting, I learned from one of the elders that a Friend's boarding-school was near, and, led by curiosity, I visited it. The building is of brick, spacious, and well arranged. It was under the superintendence of Thomas Hunt, a son of Nathan Hunt, an eminent Quaker preacher. An incidental remark concerning my relationship with Quakers, made while conversing with the wife of the superintendent, caused her to inquire whether I had ever heard of her father-in-law. I replied in the affirmative, having heard him preach when I was a boy, and expressed the supposition that he had long ago gone to his rest. "Oh no," she replied, "he is in the adjoining room," and leading the way, I was introduced to the patriarch of ninety-one years, whose voice, still vigorous, I had listened to when I was a lad of twelve years. He remembered well when the New Garden meeting-house was built, and resided in the neighborhood when the wounded and dying, from the field of Guilford, were brought there. Although physical infirmities were weighing heavily upon him, his mind appeared clear and elastic. When I was about departing, and pressed his hand with an adieu, he placed the other upon my head and said, "Farewell! God's peace go with thee!" I felt as if I had received the blessing of a patriarch indeed; and for days afterward, when fording dangerous streams and traversing rough mountain roads, that uttered blessing was in my mind, and seemed like a guardian angel about my path. Gloomy unbelief may deride, and thoughtless levity may laugh in ridicule at such an intimation, but all the philosophy of the schools could not give me such exquisite feelings of security in the hands of a kind Providence as that old man's blessing imparted.

The storm yet continued, and the kind matron of the school gave me a cordial invitation to remain there until it should cease; but, anxious to complete my journey, I rode on to Jamestown, an old village situated upon the high southwestern bank of the Deep River, nine miles from New Garden meeting-house, and thirteen miles above Bell's Mills, where Cornwallis had his encampment before the Guilford battle. The country through which I had passed from Guilford was very broken, and I did not reach Jamestown until sunset. It is chiefly inhabited by Quakers, the most of them originally from Nantucket and vicinity; and as they do not own slaves, nor employ slave labor, except when a servant is working to purchase his freedom, the land and the dwellings presented an aspect of thrift not visible in most of the agricultural districts in the upper country of the Carolinas.

I passed the night at Jamestown, and early in the morning departed for the Yadkin. Snow was yet falling gently, and it laid three inches deep upon the ground; a greater quantity than had fallen at one time, in that section, for five years. Fortunately, my route from thence to Lexington, in Davidson county, a distance of twenty miles, was upon a fine ridge road ** a greater portion of the way, and the snow produced but little inconvenience. Toward noon, the clouds broke, and before I reached Lexington (a small village on the west

* The marriage ceremony of the Quakers is very simple. The parties give notice at a monthly meeting of the society that on a certain day they intend to enter into the holy estate of matrimony. On the day appointed, they, with their friends, repair to the meeting-house, where they arise before the whole congregation and say, the bridegroom first, "I, A B, do take thee, C D, to be my wedded wife, and promise, through Divine assistance, to be unto thee a loving husband, until separated by death." The bride then repeats the same, only changing the person. A certificate of the marriage is then read by a person appointed for the purpose, and is signed by as many present as may choose to do so. These simple proceedings compose the whole marriage ceremony, which is as binding in the sight of God and man as the most elaborate formalities of priest or magistrate. The groomsman and bridesmaid are called waiters among the Quakers of New Garden.

** These ridge roads, or rather ridges upon which they are constructed, are curious features in the upper country of the Carolinas. Although the whole country is hilly upon every side, these roads may be traveled a score of miles, sometimes, with hardly ten feet of variation from a continuous level. The ridges are of sand, and continue, unbroken by the ravines which cleave the hills in all directions for miles, upon almost a uniform level. The roads following their summits are exceedingly sinuous, but being level and hard, the greater distance is more easily accomplished than if they were constructed in straight lines over the hills. The country has the appearance of vast waves of the sea suddenly turned into sand.

[[[Journey to the Yadkin.--Salisbury.--A Night with a Cotton-planter near Concord]]]

{615}side of Abbott's Creek, a tributary of the Yadkin), at half past two in the afternoon, not a flake of snow remained. Charley and I had already lunched by the margin of a little stream, so I drove through the village without halting, hoping to reach Salisbury, sixteen miles distant, by twilight. I was disappointed; for the red clay roads prevailed, and I only reached the house of a small planter, within a mile of the east bank of the Yadkin, just as the twilight gave place to the splendors of a full moon and myriads of stars in a cloudless sky. From the proprietor I learned that the Trading Ford, where Greene and Morgan crossed when pursued by Cornwallis, was only a mile distant. As I could not pass it on my way to Salisbury in the morning, I arose at four o'clock, gave Charley his breakfast, and at earliest dawn stood upon the eastern shore of the Yadkin, and made the sketch printed upon page 601. The air was frosty, the pools were bridged with ice, and before the sketch was finished, my benumbed fingers were disposed to drop the pencil. I remained at the ford until the east was all aglow with the radiance of the rising sun, when I walked back, partook of some corn-bread, muddy coffee, and spare-ribs, and at eight o'clock crossed the Yadkin at the great bridge, on the Salisbury road. * The river is there about three hundred yards wide, and was considerably swollen from the melting of the recent snows. Its volume of turbid waters came rolling down in a swift current, and gave me a full appreciation of the barrier which Providence had there placed between the republicans and the royal armies, when engaged in the great race described in this chapter.

From the Yadkin the roads passed through a red clay region, which was made so miry by the melting snows that it was almost eleven o'clock when I arrived at Salisbury. This village, of over a thousand inhabitants, is situated a few miles from the Yadkin, and is the capital of Rowan county, a portion of the "Hornet's Nest" of the Revolution. It is a place of considerable historic note. On account of its geographical position, it was often the place of rendezvous of the militia preparing for the battle-fields; of various regular corps, American and British, during the last three years of the war; and especially as the brief resting-place of both armies during Greene's memorable retreat. Here, too, it will be remembered, General Waddell had his head-quarters for a few days, during the "Regulator war." I made diligent inquiry, during my tarry in Salisbury, for remains of Revolutionary movements and localities, but could hear of none. ** The Americans, when fleeing before Cornwallis, encamped for a night about half a mile from the village, on the road to the Yadkin; the British occupied a position on the northern border of the town, about an eighth of a mile from the court-house. I was informed that two buildings, occupied by officers, had remained until two or three years ago, when they were demolished. Finding nothing to invite a protracted stay at Salisbury, I resumed the reins, and rode on toward Concord. The roads were very bad, and the sun went down, while a rough way, eight miles in extent, lay between me and Concord. Night approached, brilliant and frosty; the deep mud of the road soon became half frozen, and almost impassable, and I was beginning to speculate upon the chances of obtaining comfortable lodgings short of the village, when a large sign-board by the way-side indicated a place of entertainment, and relieved my anxiety. Such an apparition is so rare in the upper country of the Carolinas, where the traveler must depend upon the hospitality of the planters, that it is noteworthy. Passing through a lane, I came to the spacious mansion of Mr. Martin Phifer, one of the largest planters in Cabarras county. It is in the midst of one of the finest districts of North Carolina for the production of upland cotton. Practical observations upon that great staple of the South was the chief topic of our evening's conversation, which was protracted to the "small hours of the morning;"

* The Yadkin rises in North Carolina, on the east of the Alleghany range, and flows east and southeast into South Carolina. A few miles below the Narrows, in Montgomery county, it receives the Rocky River, and from thence to its mouth at Winyaw Bay, near Georgetown, it bears the name of the Great Pedee.

** An ancient stone wall exists at Salisbury, but tradition has no knowledge of its origin. It is laid in cement, and plastered on both sides. It is from twelve to fourteen feet high, and twenty-two inches thick. The top of the wall is a foot below the surface of the earth at present. It has been traced for three hundred feet. Six miles from Salisbury there is a similar wall, and may connect wilh the other. Conjecture alone can read its history. May it not be a part of the circumvallation of a city of the mound builders?

[[[A Patriot's Grave at the Red Hills.--Picturesque Scenery.--Arrival at Charlotte.--Ancient Chureh and Congregation.]]]

{616}and I left his hospitable abode a wiser man than when I entered it. Mr. Phifer is a grandnephew of John Phifer, one of the leading patriots of Mecklenburg, whose remains lie buried at the Red Hills, three miles west of Concord. A rough, mutilated slab covers the grave of the patriot. Tradition avers that when the British army was on its march from Charlotte to Salisbury, a fire was built upon the stone by the soldiers, in contempt for the patriot's memory.

Departing from the post-road, a little distance from Mr. Phifer's, I traversed a nearer, though a rougher route to Charlotte than through Concord, passing that village about three miles to the westward, close by the Red Hills. The scenery through this whole region is extremely picturesque. Wooded hills, deep ravines, broad cultivated slopes and uplands, and numerous water-courses, present diversified and pleasing pictures at every turn of the sinuous road. In summer, when the forests and fields are clad, the roads hard, and the deep shades of the ravines and water-courses desirable, I can not imagine a move agreeable tour for a traveler of leisure than that portion of my journey from the Roanoke to the Cowpens, across the Broad River, back to the eastern side of the Catawba, and so down to the verge of the low country, near Camden. In the vicinity of Concord are the head-waters of several tributaries of the Yadkin and Catawba, and between that village and Charlotte I crossed the Coddle, Stony, and Mallard Creeks, and one of the main branches of Rocky River. The latter, which is a considerable tributary of the Yadkin, is here a small stream, but very turbulent, and broken into numerous cascades. I reached Charlotte at half past three o'clock, having traveled only twenty-one miles since morning. * It was Saturday[[Jan 6, 1840]] and I eagerly coveted the Sabbath's rest, after a week of excessive toil. Charley, too, was jaded, and needed repose; for a large portion of the circuitous journey from Hillsborough hither had been through a region abounding in red clay, saturated with rains and melting snows.