Guilford Courthouse National Military Park — Attraction in Greensboro

Most Americans consider the Battle of Yorktown the defining conclusion of the Revolution, but how did we get to Yorktown? The history runs through here at Guilford Courthouse Battleground, where British commander Lord Cornwallis fought and won a victory that cost him over 25% of his army. The Americans in the words of Cornwallis "fought like demons" in a tense battle. The Americans were led by Nathanael Greene, and included a host of men of character, including Henry Lee (father of Robert E. Lee), Peter Francisco (a giant man that could pull cavalry of their horses), William Washington (cousin to George Washington), Marquis De Bretigny, a French nobleman, and many more. The British were led by Lord Cornwallis and included some of his Majesty's finest soldiers, including the feared cavalry leader Banastre Tarleton. While a tactical defeat, the battle helped to secure American victory by weakening the British army. Locally, the battle is permanently imprinted, with the city of Greensboro named after Greene, and part of Winston Salem taking it's name from Patriot Joseph Winston, who is buried in the park. The park itself was the first national park related to the American Revolution. There are two museum facilities to explore, and many monuments dedicated to both American and British service along the beautiful walking trail that details the events. Activities are planned throughout the weekends each year, culminating in the annual March 15 battle anniversary. Additionally, July 4th includes a simple but reverent ceremony to the heroes of the Revolution (two of the NC signers of the Declaration of Independence also buried at Guilford Courthouse). If you are near Greensboro,...

I am a travel writer for National Park Planner and I was at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in May, 2013. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place towards the end of the American Revolution. It was a British victory, but the Americans killed or wounded 25% of the Cornwallis' army and they never could recover. British officials made comments like, "We can't afford another victory like that."

The park consists of a Visitor Center that has an information booth, museum, animated map presentation, and a movie theater that shows a park film at the top of every hour. Plan to spend 1 hour at the Visitor Center.

You can see the battlefield either by car or on foot. The Auto Tour has eight stops and takes about an hour to complete. You can also do a hike of the battlefield. I've come up with a 3-mile hike that takes about 2 hours and gets you to all of the Auto Tour Stops except #4, plus monuments you can't see by car. Of course the Auto Tour has Stop 4 and a few monuments you cannot see on foot, so you really have to do both to see everything. However, the average tourist will be happy with one or the other, probably the Auto Tour for most.

You can explore the Visitor Center, tour the battlefield by car and on foot in around 5 hours. There are no picnic facilities at the park, but there is a county park next door that you can have a lunch, plus the park is near shops and restaurants.

For plenty of quality photos and complete information about the park, please visit National Park...

While staying in the Durham/Raleigh area, we were looking for something to do and came across Guilford Courthouse National Military Park. Since it was an NPS site, we decided to check it off our list—and I’m so glad we did. This is a beautiful memorial honoring the Patriots who fought in the Battle of Guilford during the Revolutionary War, especially General Greene.

The highlight of our visit was the NPS ranger at the visitor center. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the park and the battle, explaining everything in great detail with genuine enthusiasm. It was clear that he truly takes pride in his job, and his passion for history made the experience even better.

Inside the visitor center, they also had replicas of items from the colonial and Revolutionary War era. I found the replica of New York colony currency particularly fascinating and took a picture of it. Little details like that really added to the visit.

The visitor center closed at 5 PM on the day we arrived, but fortunately, the rest of the park remained open, allowing us to explore the memorials. They also had a separate parking lot that stays open past the visitor center’s hours, making it easy to still walk around and take in the history.

Overall, this was a great stop and a well-preserved piece of American history. I highly recommend visiting if you’re...