{"id":2218,"date":"2025-06-30T00:24:03","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T00:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/?p=2218"},"modified":"2025-07-10T04:46:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T04:46:58","slug":"greenes-move-from-charlotte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/30\/greenes-move-from-charlotte\/","title":{"rendered":"Greene\u2019s Move from Charlotte"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u2705 Greene\u2019s Movements:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Left Charlotte in late January to early February 1781<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moved <strong>northeast<\/strong> into the <strong>Cabarrus\/Rowan County region<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Ninth Mile Creek<\/strong> and the <strong>Yadkin River<\/strong> were ideal for:<br>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Militia gathering<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Resupply and <strong>defensive regrouping<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blocking British flanking from the west<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u2757 Greene did not go west \u2014 that was Cornwallis&#8217;s direction<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cornwallis crossed <strong>Cowan\u2019s Ford<\/strong> on February 1, 1781, losing <strong>General Davidson<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Greene instead moved <strong>northeast<\/strong> toward <strong>Salisbury<\/strong>, then <strong>Guilford County<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83d\udd25 Strategic Outcome:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Battle of Guilford Courthouse<\/strong> (March 15, 1781)<br>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tactical British victory<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Strategic <strong>disaster for Cornwallis<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Greene preserved forces and bled the British<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\ud83c\udfaf Why This Matters to the Artillery Map (Northlake Position)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Northlake ridge<\/strong> and <strong>wagon road split<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sat <strong>between Greene\u2019s supply\/retreat route<\/strong> and <strong>Cornwallis\u2019s path of pursuit<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Was a likely <strong>rear guard or observation post<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Could have been manned by <strong>local militia or light Continental artillery<\/strong><strong><br><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The fact that this ridge covers the south approaches, overlooks the Wagon Road forks, and offers sightlines toward <strong>Long Creek, Cowan\u2019s Ford, and uptown Charlotte<\/strong> makes it a textbook <strong>defensive screen<\/strong> \u2014 likely used to monitor or slow Cornwallis as Greene pulled out northeast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Greene&#8217;s <strong>retreat northeast<\/strong> line (from Charlotte to Yadkin)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cornwallis\u2019s <strong>westward movement<\/strong> line (Charlotte to Cowan\u2019s Ford)<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Possible <strong>rear guard or lookout post<\/strong> placement behind Northlake<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Greene\u2019s Encampments &amp; Patriot Watch Points (Winter 1780\u20131781)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>1. Trading Ford (Yadkin River)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: Near present-day Spencer\/Rowan County.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>Greene\u2019s 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\u2019s army.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>2. Salisbury, NC<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: Just southwest of Trading Ford.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>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 \u201cfighting with a broken sword,\u201d emphasizing the desperate state of the Continental forces.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>3. Catawba River Watch Points (Eastern Ridge Overlook)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: Along high ground east of the Catawba River (potentially near Mountain Island and Gar Creek ridge areas near Northlake Mall today).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>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.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>4. Cowan\u2019s Ford (Battle Site)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: North of present-day Huntersville, at a crossing on the Catawba River.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>Site of a key delaying action by General Davidson\u2019s militia on February 1, 1781. Davidson was killed, but his men delayed Cornwallis enough to aid Greene\u2019s escape.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>5. High Ridge Militia Watch Points \u2013 &#8220;Craighead Ridge&#8221;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: Near present-day Gar Creek and Northlake Mall, possibly near \u201cCraighead\u201d community or Craighead Plantation remnants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>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.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>6. Alamance Creek &amp; Troublesome Ironworks (Post-Dan Encampment)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: North-central North Carolina (near present-day Greensboro).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>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.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u2705 <strong>7. Guilford Courthouse<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Location<\/strong>: Present-day Greensboro.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Annotation<\/strong>: <em>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.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2705 Greene\u2019s Movements: \u2757 Greene did not go west \u2014 that was Cornwallis&#8217;s direction \ud83d\udd25 Strategic Outcome: \ud83c\udfaf Why This Matters to the Artillery Map (Northlake Position) The Northlake ridge and wagon road split: The fact that this ridge covers the south approaches, overlooks the Wagon Road forks, and offers sightlines toward Long Creek, Cowan\u2019s&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","texture-woo-product-list","opn-qv-enable","real-estate-elementor-woo-hover-","open-single-product-tab-horizontal","open-shadow-","open-shadow-hover-"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2218"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2220,"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218\/revisions\/2220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nodanights.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}