The Cowpens and Guilford Court-House: Hara and Cornwallis

A sergeant of the Royal Welsh Fusileers saw his danger, and, seizing the bridle, guided him to the skirt of the wood. Here the whole scene broke upon him. He saw the rout of his best troops; saw them mixed with their pursuers in irretrievable disorder. The headlong flight must be stayed, or the day was lost, and, with the day, the British army. From a small eminence on the skirt of the wood his artillery commanded the ground of the deadly conflict.

"Open upon them, at once!" he cried.

"It is destroying our own men," exclaimed O'Hara, who was bleeding fast from a dangerous wound.

"I see it," replied Cornwallis; "but it is a necessary evil, which we must endure to avert impending destruction."

O'Hara turned away with a groan. The fire was opened, striking down equally friends and foes. It checked the pursuit; but half the gallant battalion was destroyed. Still discipline retained its controlling and organizing power. The shattered and disheartened troops were collected and formed anew; formed amid the dead and dying, for a third of their number lay dead or wounded on the field.

Meanwhile Greene also had pressed eagerly forward to get a nearer view of the field, without observing that there was nothing between him and the enemy but the saplings that grew by the roadside. But Major Burnet saw it, and warned him of his danger, as he was in the act of riding "full tilt" into them. Turning his horse's head, but without quickening his pace, he rode slowly back to his own line.

It was a trying moment. He had heard nothing from Lee, and naturally feared the worst. The enemy were gaining ground on his right, and had already turned his left flank. The failure of the 2d Maryland regiment had confirmed his distrust of raw troops. It was evident also that the enemy had suffered severely. If he had not conquered, he had crippled them. The chief object for which he had given battle was won; and, faithful to the resolve not to expose his regulars needlessly, he ordered a retreat. The enemy attempted to pursue, but were soon driven back. At the Reedy Fork, three miles from the field of battle, he halted, drew up his men, and waited several hours for the stragglers to come in. Then, setting forward again, he returned to his old encampment at the ironworks of Troublesome Creek.

The American loss in killed and wounded was about four hundred while the fugitives who returned to their homes increased the total loss to thirteen hundred. The British lost about five hundred. The result of the battle was little less than a defeat to Cornwallis, who gained no profit from Greene's retreat. In a very short time the latter was ready for battle again, which Cornwallis failed to offer. He soon after retired to Wilmington, while Greene advanced into South Carolina.