Guilford Courthouse in Miniature (7)

This is the seventh in a series of posts depicting the battle of Guilford Courthouse in miniature. Previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

The second defensive line at Guilford Courthouse was comprised of two brigades Virginia militia. Brigadier-General Edward Stevens commanded the brigade on the left; Brigadier-General Robert Lawson commanded the brigade on the right.

Among those serving in Stevens’ brigade was a young rifleman named Samuel Houston. He recorded in his journal how that morning the men formed a line in the woods and loaded their rifles.

“Presently our brigade major came, ordering [us] to take trees as we pleased. The men run to choose their trees, but with difficulty, many crowding to one, and some far behind others. But we moved by order of our officers, and stood in suspense.” [1]

The men could plainly hear the opening cannonade (Part 2) followed by the roar of muskets and rifles as the first American line came under attack (Part 4). Gradually the sounds of battle drew closer.

Eventually, the 71st Regiment of Foot (Fraser’s Highlanders) emerged through the trees and attacked Stevens’ men. The blow fell not on Houston’s front (on the left end of the brigade), but rather against Stevens’ center and right.

On the first line, the Highlanders quickly overcame resistance by firing and charging with the bayonet. They found Stevens’ men much more difficult to dislodge.

According to American Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee, “the Virginia militia… were not so advantageously posted as their comrades of North Carolina, yet gave every indication of maintaining their ground with obstinacy. Stevens… had placed a line of sentinels in his rear with orders to shoot every man that flinched.” [2]

Instead of a single swift charge, the fighting was marked by a long thunderous exchange of rifle and musket fire. According to a Scottish author familiar with the battle, “The ground was level, but the wood was so thick and difficult, that, though the fire rolled in torrents, few were killed on either side.” [3]

Eventually, Stevens was shot in the thigh and his horse killed. [4]

Perhaps at the same time, some of the British Guards had begun to threaten Stevens’ right flank and rear. [5]

In any case, “the Virginians stood their ground & fought until their commander the brave General Stevens ordered them to retreat.” [6] Stevens’ men could hold their head high as they fell back; theirs was the one brigade of militia to wholly carry out their assignment in the Americans’ defense in depth.

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British Guards and Fraser’s Highlanders advance through the woods towards the American second line. Mumford’s regiment of Lawson’s brigade is partially visible at the extreme left. Stevens’ brigade is on the right side of the road. Some of the North Carolinians that had fought on the first line can be seen retreating in the distance. [7]

Guards and Highlanders battle Virginia militia in the woods. At left, the bulk of Lawson’s brigade has taken flight (see Part 6). In the distance is part of the American third line. Some of the North Carolinians that had fought on the first line can be seen retreating towards the third line.

Another view of the above.

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Notes:

1. Houston's account appears in William Henry Foote (1855). Sketches of Virginia....

2. Henry Lee. (1812). Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States.

3. David Stewart (1825). Sketches... of the Highlanders of Scotland.

4. Lee, ibid; Pension application of Cornelius Sanders.

5. According to Lee, part of the Guards first attacked Lawson’s brigade and then turned on Stevens’ brigade. In his words: “brigadier O’Hara, advancing… with fixed bayonets, aided by the seventy-first… compelled first Lawson’s brigade and then Stevens to abandon the contest.”

6. Pension application of Christopher Hand.

7. This depiction refers to the following statement by British Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis:

The 71st regiment and [Guards] Grenadiers, and second battalion of Guards, not knowing what was passing on their right, and hearing the fire advance on their left, continued to move forward, the artillery keeping pace with them on road, followed by the cavalry.

Events “passing on their right” will be covered in the next post in this series. The “advance on their left” refers to Webster’s activity on the British left flank, which I began to describe in Part 5, and which I will take up again in Part 9.

Guilford Courthouse in Miniature (6)

This is the sixth in a series of posts depicting the battle of Guilford Courthouse in miniature. Previous posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Brigadier-General Robert Lawson commanded the right wing of Virginia militia on the American second line. Lawson’s brigade consisted of three regiments commanded by (from his left to his right), Robert Mumford, John Holcombe, and Beverley Randolph. [1]

During the opening cannonade of the battle, British round shot came bounding through the woods and into their position. According to Lawson’s brigade-major, St. George Tucker:

“Major Hubbard, of Col. Mumford’s regiment, had the skirt of his surtout shot away by a cannon ball, and his horse slightly wounded by the same. There were not, however, above ten men killed and wounded during the whole cannonade…” [2]

Lawson decided against waiting passively for the redcoats to reach his front. Instead, according to Tucker, “When the cannonade ceased, orders were given for Holcombe’s regiment and the regiment on the right of him [Randolph's] to advance and annoy the enemy’s left flank.”

This was the kind of bold gamble that potentially could win or lose a battle. The British left flank was vulnerable (see Part 5), but Lawson’s decision undermined the planned defense-in-depth.

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John Holcombe’s and Beverley Randolph’s regiments advance through the woods and encounter North Carolinians retreating from the first line.

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While the Virginians trudged through the woods, the British infantry broke the North Carolina line (Part 4). The rapidity of the British advance prevented Lawson’s men from acting as planned. Instead, the Virginians found their own flank imperiled when some British troops – probably from the brigade of Guards – moved into the area between Mumford’s right and Holcombe’s left. This unexpected advance unnerved the Virginians. According to Tucker:

While we were advancing to execute this order [i.e., to harass the British left], the British had advanced, and, having turned the flank of Col. Mumford’s regiment… we discovered them in our rear. This threw the militia into such confusion, that, without attending in the least to their officers who endeavored to halt them, and make them face about and engage the enemy, Holcombe’s regiment and ours instantly broke off without firing a single gun, and dispersed like a flock of sheep frightened by dogs. [2]

A chasm had suddenly opened in the Americans’ second defensive line. Fortunately for the Americans, Tucker was equal to the occasion. He wrote:

With infinite labor Beverley and myself rallied about sixty or seventy of our men, and brought them to the charge. Holcombe was not so successful. He could not rally a man… With the few men which we had collected we at several times sustained an irregular kind of skirmishing with the British, and were once successful enough to drive a party for a very small distance. [2]

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Fighting on the Second Line. At left, the 33rd Foot, supported by Hessian Jaegers and the Guards light infantry (the latter not shown) battles William Washington’s flank corps. Meanwhile, other elements of the Guards brigade (upper right) and the 23rd Foot (lower right) battle parts of Lawson’s brigade.

Another view of the above. Mumford’s regiment is at left. Most of the remainder of Lawson’s brigade is fleeing, although St. George Tucker and others skirmish with the 23rd Foot in the woods.

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Sergeant Roger Lamb of the 23rd Foot (Royal Welch Fusiliers) was one who got caught up in the “irregular kind of skirmishing” with Lawson’s men. He wrote, “Here the conflict became still more fierce.” When the Virginians finally gave way, he spotted a fleeing American officer. He wrote:

“I immediately darted after him, but he perceiving my intention to capture him, fled with the utmost speed. I pursued and was gaining on him, when, hearing a confused noise on my left, I observed several bodies of Americans drawn up within the distance of a few yards.” [3]

Were these more of Tucker’s men? Or had Lamb reached Mumford’s position? In any event, he was now in grave danger:

Whoever has been in an engagement well knows that, in such moments all fears of death are over. Seeing one of the guards among the slain, where I stood, I stopped and replenished my own pouch with the cartridges that remained in his; during the time I was thus employed, several shots were fired at me; but not one took effect. [3]

Lamb was relieved when a company of the guards appeared and attacked the parties of Americans. He watched with admiration as British troops “with calm intrepidity [attacked] superior numbers,” and he noted that “this instance was not peculiar; it frequently occurred in the British army, during the American war.”

In this manner, the Guards and Fusiliers dislodged the last of Lawson’s men.

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Yet another view of the above. In the foreground is the cavalry component of William Washington’s flank corps – chiefly troopers of the 1st and 3rd Continental Light Dragoons. In the middle ground, most of Lawson’s men stream out of action. In the distance, a great blaze of smoke arises from where other Virginia militiamen battle British Guards and Fraser’s Highlanders (more on this next time).

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Notes:

I noted at the outset of this series that I would be presenting a fairly conventional account of the battle of Guilford Courthouse. The present post is something of an exception. The advance made by part of Lawson's brigade has been omitted from virtually every account of the battle (Babits' and Howard's recent history being a notable exception). My feeling is that the major source on this advance -- a letter by St. George Tucker to his wife, written shortly after the battle --provides a clear and believable description of this movement.

1. Letters of St. George Tucker to his wife (from the Magazine of American History); Lawrence E. Babits & Joshua B. Howard (2009) Long, obstinate, and bloody: The battle of Guilford Courthouse. Henry Skipwith led Mumford's regiment on the day of the battle.

2. Tucker, ibid.

3. A copy of Lamb's account (among others) can be found in this compendium.

Guilford Courthouse in Miniature (2)

This is the second in a series of posts depicting the battle of Guilford Courthouse in miniature. Previous posts: Part 1

While the British advanced towards Guilford Courthouse, the Americans formed in three defensive lines. The first line abutted several fields belonging to one Joseph Hoskins. This line was defended by Butler’s and Eaton’s brigades of North Carolina militia in front. Two corps commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee and Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington respectively defended the North Carolinians' left and right flanks.

Just ahead of the North Carolina militia, on the New Garden road, was a 2-gun section of 6-pounders commanded by Captain Anthony Singleton of the 1st Continental Artillery.

Singleton's battery, at the center of the American first line.

Singleton’s guns fired at the head of the head of the British column as soon as it came into view. The British promptly brought up guns of their own (two 3-pounders and probably at least one 6-pounder) and began peppering the American line.

British artillery open fires. The Royal Artillery is supported by jaegers and light infantry. Nearby, General Cornwallis contemplates his deployment.

Some of the British cannonballs overshot the first line, and landed among the men of Brigadier-General Robert Lawson's Virginia brigade, on the second line.

The first two American lines. The North Carolina militia is at center. Lee's flank corps is at extreme left. The Virginia militia brigades of Edward Stevens and Robert Lawson are in the foreground. The British vanguard is partially visible at the top of the image.

Meanwhile, the British commander, Lieutenant-General Charles Cornwallis, began deploying his infantry on either side of the road in a line that paralleled the Americans.

The 71st Regiment of Foot Deploys. The 71st was directed to form on the eastern end of Hoskins' fields, to the right of the artillery. The 23rd Foot has formed on the opposite side of the road.

One American standing near Singleton's guns remembered how his men were exhorted by Lee during the artillery exchange:

...just before the battle commenced Colonel Lee rode up to the lines where [I] stood & read something like these words, "My brave boys, your lands, your lives & your country depend on your conduct this day -- I have given Tarleton hell this morning & I will give him more of it before night." & speaking of the roaring of the British canon he said "You hear damnation roaring over all these woods & after all they are no more than we."

Notes:

For more on this project, see here. For details on the composition of the American army, see here.

The quoted passage is from the pension application of William Leslie.

The Americans at Guilford Courthouse

In this post I briefly describe the American army that fought at the battle of Guilford Courthouse and I show a 15mm-version of this army that I put together.

The American army at Guilford Courthouse consisted of a variety of units including infantry, artillery, and cavalry, Continentals and militia, old soldiers and new recruits. The order of battle, described below, is based primarily on two sources. The first is an obscure (but enormously valuable) troop return that was completed 2 days before the battle. The second is a recent history that provides a wealth of information on the individual units. [1]

American Order of Battle

Commander: Major-General Nathanael Greene

Virginia Continental Brigade (Brigadier-General Isaac Huger commanding).

• 1st Virginia Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel John Green)
• 2nd Virginia Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Hawes)
• Separate light infantry companies [2]
• Total: 778 rank and file present and fit for duty [3]

Maryland Continental Brigade (Colonel Otho Williams commanding).

• 1st Maryland Regiment (Colonel John Gunby) [4]
• 2nd Maryland Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Ford) [4]
• 1st Delaware Regiment (2 Companies) [5]
• Total: 630 rank and file present and fit for duty [3]

Virginia Militia Brigade (Brigadier-General Edward Stevens commanding).

• Militia from Augusta, Halifax, Lunenburg, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, and Rockbridge counties
• Total: 508 rank and file present and fit for duty

Virginia Militia Brigade (Brigadier-General Robert Lawson commanding).

• Militia from Amelia, Brunswick, Charlotte, Cumberland, Mecklenburg, and Powhatan counties
• Total: 615 rank and file present and fit for duty

North Carolina Militia Brigade (Brigadier-General John Butler commanding).

• Militia from Caswell, Chatham, Granville, Guilford, Mecklenburg, Orange, Randolph, Rockingham, and Rowan counties
• Total: 324 rank and file present and fit for duty

North Carolina Militia Brigade (Brigadier-General Thomas Eaton commanding).

• Militia from Edgecombe, Franklin, Halifax, Martin, Nash, Northampton, and Warren counties
• Total: 730 rank and file present and fit for duty

Rifle Regiments

• Units from western Virginia and North Carolina (one corps was led by Colonel William Campbell, another by Colonel Charles Lynch)
• Total: around 400 rank and file present and fit for duty

Light Dragoons and Partisan Corps

• William Washington’s Light Dragoons: 102 rank and file present and fit for duty
• Lee’s Legion: 82 infantry and 86 cavalry rank and file present and fit for duty
• Several small units of state or militia light dragoons [6]

Miscellaneous Units

• Continental Artillery (two 2-gun sections) [7]
• North Carolina Continentals [8]

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The American Army (click to enlarge).

Close Up

Here is the finished American army. One 15mm figure represents 20 actual combatants. The figures have been arranged into three lines, as they were during the historical battle, but this image is not meant to convey the details of their historical deployment (this will be covered in an upcoming post).

The first American line consisted of the two brigades of North Carolina militia [9, 10] and flank corps commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington (at left) and Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee (at right). The flank corps were comprised of light dragoons, light infantry, and riflemen.

The second line consisted of the two brigades of Virginia militia [10].

The third line consisted of the two brigades of Continentals. The Virginians are on the left, and the Marylanders are on the right [10, 11].

2nd Virginia Regiment

American Dragoons. These include some newly-painted Lee's Legion dragoons and a couple of older militia dragoons.

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Notes:

1. An electronic copy of the troop return is available in the George Washington Papers hosted by the Library of Congress. See here.

The recent history is: Lawrence E. Babits & Joshua B. Howard (2009). Long, obstinate, and bloody: The battle of Guilford Courthouse. UNC Press.

In general, I will be talking about the formations within the American army very loosely. The exact composition of these units falls outside the scope of the research that I’ve conducted, and the reader is advised to see Babits & Howard, ibid. for much more detail on this subject.

2. Two companies commanded by Captain Phillip Huffman and Captain Andrew Wallace.

3. Readers may note that my interpretation of the American order of battle differs slightly from that of Babits & Howard, ibid. For example, I count the Virginia and Delaware light infantry companies towards the troop totals for the Virginia and Maryland brigades, respectively, whereas Babits & Howard did not. To be clear, I agree with Babits' & Howard's interpretation of the role these light infantry companies played during the battle.

4. Lieutenant-Colonel John Eager Howard later summarized the situation of the Maryland line at this time. He wrote:

“The Maryland line consisted of 7 regiments about half full when we marched into [South] Carolina. After the actions of the 16th and 18th of August 1780 [i.e., Camden and Fishing Creek] what men we had left were formed into two regiments and the supernumerary officers sent home.--The Maryland troops with me at the Cowpens were picked out of the two regiments….

“There was a new regiment (Regiment Extraordinary) sent out from Maryland which had been raised by the state, and it was thought that the officers had been more favored than the officers of the old regiments. It joined us a few days before the action and there were such jealousies among the officers that Genl Greene sent all the new officers home, and made a new arrangement of the two regiments. This was at the time my light infantry [i.e., the troops at Cowpens] joined their regiments. The most of the new men were thrown into the second regiment which was very deficient of officers.”

5. The two companies were commanded by Captains Robert Kirkwood and Peter Jacquett. Kirkwood’s company, which greatly distinguished itself at Cowpens, was assigned to William Washington’s flank corps. Jacquett’s company is thought to have served with the 1st Maryland Regiment, but this hospital return, transcribed by Will Graves, seemingly shows that it was with the 2nd Maryland.

6. These units were attached to serve with either Lieutenant-Colonel William Washington, or Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Lee. Possibly their strength is partially accounted for in the listed troop totals for those units (I say partially, because some cavalrymen were added to those units after the March 13th return). In any case, the strength of these small units is difficult to assess. Some examples of pension applicants claiming service with these units: George Gresham (W2933), a Georgian horseman who fought under Lee, Philemon Holcombe (S4399), a Virginian horseman who fought under Washington, James Hilton (S30484), a North Carolinian horseman who fought under Lee.

7. The gun sections were commanded by Captain Anthony Singleton and Captain Ebenezer Finley. The artillery is notably absent on the March 13 troop return. Were these men treated as part of the infantry brigades? In my calculations I assumed they were not.

8. Babits and Howard, ibid., make a good case that some North Carolina Continentals served at the battle. They proposed that these men were assigned to protect and assist the American artillery.

9. Histories of the battle represent Eaton’s and Butler’s North Carolina brigades as equal in size, but the troop return shows that the former dwarfed the latter. I’m presuming that the imbalance was not as great during the actual battle (e.g., perhaps the men detached to guard the baggage were chiefly drawn from Eaton’s brigade).

10. The troop totals indicated in the pictures above do not exactly match the strength listed above. This is because 1) I added counted noncommissioned officers, musicians, and most commissioned officers when calculating how many figures I needed, 2) I took into consideration that some militia joined the battle after March 13, and 3) I took into consideration that Greene detached a large force of men (mostly, if not exclusively, North Carolina militiaman to judge from pension applications) to guard his baggage train before the battle. I don’t believe the number of men that joined after the date of this return or that were assigned to the baggage train is known; my additions and deductions are speculative.

11. The colors shown carried by the Virginia and Maryland regiments are ahistorical; I wrote about these in a previous post.