✅ Greene’s Movements:

• Left Charlotte in late January to early February 1781
  
• Moved northeast into the Cabarrus/Rowan County region
  
• Ninth Mile Creek and the Yadkin River were ideal for:
  
  • Militia gathering
    
  • Resupply and defensive regrouping
    
  • Blocking British flanking from the west
    

❗ Greene did not go west — that was Cornwallis’s direction

• Cornwallis crossed Cowan’s Ford on February 1, 1781, losing General Davidson
  
• Greene instead moved northeast toward Salisbury, then Guilford County
  

🔥 Strategic Outcome:

• The Battle of Guilford Courthouse (March 15, 1781)
  
  • Tactical British victory
    
  • Strategic disaster for Cornwallis
    
  • Greene preserved forces and bled the British
    

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🎯 Why This Matters to the Artillery Map (Northlake Position)

The Northlake ridge and wagon road split:

• Sat between Greene’s supply/retreat route and Cornwallis’s path of pursuit
  
• Was a likely rear guard or observation post
  
• Could have been manned by local militia or light Continental artillery
  

The fact that this ridge covers the south approaches, overlooks the Wagon Road forks, and offers sightlines toward Long Creek, Cowan’s Ford, and uptown Charlotte makes it a textbook defensive screen — likely used to monitor or slow Cornwallis as Greene pulled out northeast.

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• Greene’s retreat northeast line (from Charlotte to Yadkin)
  
• Cornwallis’s westward movement line (Charlotte to Cowan’s Ford)
  
• Possible rear guard or lookout post placement behind Northlake
• Greene’s Encampments & Patriot Watch Points (Winter 1780–1781)
• ✅ 1. Trading Ford (Yadkin River)
• Location: Near present-day Spencer/Rowan County.
• Annotation: Greene’s army crossed here in early February 1781, after retreating from Cowpens and avoiding British pursuit. The ford was deep and difficult, but freezing rain helped cover their tracks. This crossing was crucial in preserving Greene’s army.
• ✅ 2. Salisbury, NC
• Location: Just southwest of Trading Ford.
• Annotation: Greene paused here to regroup and rest after a grueling retreat. Local patriot support and supplies were key. This was also where Greene famously remarked that he was “fighting with a broken sword,” emphasizing the desperate state of the Continental forces.
• ✅ 3. Catawba River Watch Points (Eastern Ridge Overlook)
• Location: Along high ground east of the Catawba River (potentially near Mountain Island and Gar Creek ridge areas near Northlake Mall today).
• Annotation: Patriot militia from Mecklenburg and Rowan Counties established lookouts here to observe British movement west of Charlotte. These vantage points provided a strategic line of sight toward British routes from South Carolina.
• ✅ 4. Cowan’s Ford (Battle Site)
• Location: North of present-day Huntersville, at a crossing on the Catawba River.
• Annotation: Site of a key delaying action by General Davidson’s militia on February 1, 1781. Davidson was killed, but his men delayed Cornwallis enough to aid Greene’s escape.
• ✅ 5. High Ridge Militia Watch Points – “Craighead Ridge”
• Location: Near present-day Gar Creek and Northlake Mall, possibly near “Craighead” community or Craighead Plantation remnants.
• Annotation: Local militias used this elevated plateau to monitor British movements toward the Yadkin and observe wagon roads north of Charlotte. Earthworks and signal fires may have been employed.
• ✅ 6. Alamance Creek & Troublesome Ironworks (Post-Dan Encampment)
• Location: North-central North Carolina (near present-day Greensboro).
• Annotation: Greene regrouped here after crossing the Dan River into Virginia. It became a rallying point for militia and Continental reinforcements before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
• ✅ 7. Guilford Courthouse
• Location: Present-day Greensboro.
• Annotation: Major battle on March 15, 1781. Though technically a British victory, Greene inflicted heavy losses and forced Cornwallis to retreat to Wilmington, shifting momentum toward the Patriots.