Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

 The Revolutionary War battle fought in the forest west of Guilford Courthouse could be considered a minor skirmish but it was part of a series of battles between the British and the Patriots that destroyed the British hold on the southern US and helped end the war. 

On March15,1781 British General Charles Cornwallis led his troop of 1,900 men north with the intention of  entering Virginia. Continental Army General Nathanael Green's much larger army of 4,500 men formed three battle lines across the road and the forests, blocking the route north. Half of Green's men were untrained local militia. Many in the first line broke and fled at the start of fighting, the second line was hindered by thick underbrush, and when the British converged on the open field of the last line, Green was forced to retreat. Even though the British won the battle Cornwallis lost 25% of his army while the losses to Green's army were light. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown,Virginia eight month later. 

     

The park has a small visitor center with exhibits featuring artifacts from the battlefield and a short film about the battle. A 2 1/4 mile loop road has stops with interpretive signs. A network of trails through  the woods in the center of the loop also lead to the signs. We attempted to follow the trails but got confused by the many intersections so I recommend walking the road instead of the trails.  

The visitor center is accessible. The road is lightly traveled so it's safe to roll along it. The trails are hard packed or paved but the terrain is hilly.

The parking lot has two long pull-in spaces for buses or RVs. Park  36.13069, -79.84634