In February 1781, American commander Nathanael Greene led his British counterpart, Lord Charles Cornwallis, on a desperate chase through Piedmont North Carolina to the Dan River a few miles above the Virginia state line. Greene managed to cross his small army to safety with just hours to spare.  After losing the race to the Dan, Cornwallis marched to Hillsborough, the wartime capital of North Carolina, to rest his army, collect provisions and recruit Loyalists to the King’s Standard. In late February, Greene returned to North Carolina and began a campaign of maneuver against his British adversary. 

 

Our tour will retrace the Carolinas Campaign of 1781 from Cornwallis’s headquarters at Hillsborough to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in present-day Greensboro. Our route will often leave the beaten path and will provide a complete picture of the operations that started Cornwallis on the road to Yorktown. 

 

After a campaign overview on Thursday evening, our tour will start on Friday morning at Cornwallis's headquarters in Hillsborough.  Then, because we will be so close to it, we will make a brief stop at the Alexander Dickson house, which served as Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s headquarters during the closing days of the Civil War. (Johnston’s father, Peter, was a lieutenant in Nathaniel Greene’s army, serving in the cavalry under Lt. Col. Henry “Light Horse Harry” Lee, the father of Robert E. Lee).

 

We will then travel to the site of Pyle's Defeat, where on February 24 , 1781, American forces under General Andrew Pickens and "Light Horse Harry" Lee collided with a column of North Carolina Loyalists under Col. John Pyle.  At this spot we will learn why this action was later dubbed "Pyle's Massacre" and "Pyle's Hacking Match."  Next we will follow the Great Salisbury Wagon Road to the Clapp’s Mill battlefield where, on March 2, the commander of the American light troops, Col. Otho H. Williams, attempted to lure Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton and his British forces into a second Cowpens thrashing.

 

We will then proceed to the old Alamance Battleground, where the Regulators were defeated on May 16, 1771 by a loyal militia force under Royal Governor William Tryon.  This battleground also happens to be the site of Cornwallis’s encampment during the fight at Clapp’s Mill. Our final stop of the day will be at Weitzel’s Mill where on March 6, the aggressive Cornwallis attacked Greene with the intention of bringing on a general engagement.

 

Our Saturday tour will begin at the site of the New Garden Meeting House, where "Light Horse Harry" Lee fought a skillful delaying action against Tarleton early on March 15, 1781, about four miles southwest of Guilford Courthouse.  We will then travel to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and retrace the British and Hessian troops’ bloody advance against the three American lines of battle on the afternoon on March 15. Here we will learn how Greene won the campaign despite losing the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, setting in motion the events that led to Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown seven months later..

 

We hope you’ll join us on this autumn tour of rarely-visited sites of the American Revolution! 

 

About Our Tour Leader

Mark L. Bradley is a veteran tour leader and expert on the Revolutionary War in the Carolinas. He is also widely regarded as the leading authority on the Civil War in North Carolina, and the author of Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville; This Astounding Close: The Road to Bennett Place; and Bluecoats and Tar Heels: Soldiers and Civilians in Reconstruction North Carolina.  

 

Thursday, September 20

8:00 PM – 8:45 PM       Overview – at a hotel in Greensboro, NC soon to be announced

Friday, September 21

8:15 AM                       Bus Departs and Begin Tour

5:00 PM                        Arrive Back at hotel in Greensboro

Saturday, September 22

8:15 AM                       Bus Departs and Continue Tour

4:30 PM                        Arrive Back at hotel in Greensboro

 

Registration Fee (lodging not included): $325

 

If You Must Cancel: Your registration fee will be 100% refunded.

 

What is Included in your Registration:

·        the services of an expert historian chosen for his knowledge and experience  

·        transportation to all sites 

·        Friday & Saturday lunches

·        refreshments and snacks during the tour

·        map package  

             

Base Location & Lodging: We will be based at a hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina soon to be announced. Registrants will shortly be sent lodging information, and the information will also be posted on this page as soon as available.