American Historical Ephemera & Photography Online

Thomas Dicey & Co., 14 May 1781.4pp., folio, 12 x 17 3/4 in. Disbound (partially separated at central fold, chipping, short tears, and some loss at edges, light toning at or near folds, ink stamp lower right on p. 1).

This newspaper contains front page, breaking news and three inside page columns reporting on the Battle of Guilford Court House, near present-day Goldsboro, North Carolina, during the Southern Campaign of the Revolutionary War. During the battle, which occurred on 15 March 1781, a 2,100-man British force under the command of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis defeated Major General Nathanael Greene's 4,500 Americans. The British Army, however, suffered considerable casualties (with estimates as high as 27% of their total force). 

The battle was "the largest and most hotly contested action" in the Revolution's southern theater. Before the battle, the British had great success in conquering much of Georgia and South Carolina with the aid of strong Loyalist factions and thought that North Carolina might be within their grasp. In fact, the British were in the process of heavy recruitment in North Carolina when this battle put an end to their recruiting drive. In the wake of the battle, Greene moved into South Carolina, while Cornwallis chose to march into Virginia and attempt to link with roughly 3,500 men under British Major General Phillips and American turncoat Benedict Arnold. These decisions allowed Greene to unravel British control of the South, while leading Cornwallis to Yorktown, where he eventually surrendered to General George Washington and French Lieutenant General Comte de Rochambeau.