Existing comment:
Expanding Battle
This monument honors Maj Joseph Winston and the Surry County riflemen who fought stubbornly beside William Campbell and "Light-Horse Harry" Lee. During a fierce struggle with British regiments, Lee's Legion veered southeast of the American second line, with a large contingent of enemy troops in pursuit.
You are looking in the direction of that separate engagement, but the fighting actually occurred a half-mile to the south, well beyond the present-day park boundary. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was far more sprawling than the tour road and boundaries indicate.
Maj Joseph Winston and fellow soldier, Jesse Franklin, were reburied here in 1906 near the monument to Winston and his Surry County militia.
Lt Colonel Banastre Tarleton, British cavalry officer, was known as "Bloody Tarleton" because his troops on more than one occasion had slaughtered surrendering rebel soldiers.
As the battle around the courthouse waned, heavy firing was heard to the south. Cornwallis dispatched Tarleton's dragoons to investigate. After Lee left there, the American militia, with no protection against cavalry, had to flee. |