This Day in History: February 1

In the later months of the Revolutionary War, Lord Charles Cornwallis marched his British forces through the backcountry of North Carolina to intercept General Nathanael Greene and his Patriot troops. On February 1, 1781, the Battle of Cowan’s Ford, near present-day Mecklenburg County, was General Greene’s attempt to prevent a full scale battle with the superior British forces. Although Lord Cornwallis successfully tricked the Patriot forces at Cowan’s Ford, General Greene was able to elude the British with his “fight-and-retreat” strategy. [More]