A little known Revolutionary War engagement occurred on the Regulator battlefield on March 1, 1781. Ten years after the Battle of Alamance, and approximately two weeks before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse near Greensboro, soldiers of the Delaware Light Infantry commanded by Capt. Robert Kirkwood fought a small contingent of troops from the British Army of Lord Charles Cornwallis. The discovery of a Continental Army button near this spot in 2010 confirmed the written account of this inconclusive skirmish.
The skirmish at Alamance Battleground occurred just ten days before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (March 15th, 1781), where Cornwallis won a costly victory over American Major General Nathanael Greene. The British could never recover and eventually surrendered at Yorktown seven months later.
Captain Kirkwood wrote the following entries in his Journal and Order Book:
March 4, 1781
We came us with the Enemy at the Allamance.
March 5, 1781
Marched this Night to the Old Regulation ground and attack'd the advanc'd picquet. Brought off one of their Centinells & returned to Camp by morning...
Found during a 2010 archeological survey of Alamance Battleground, this button is a rare example of the type issued to the Maryland and Delaware Continentals in 1780.
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Pictured
above: The original title page and entries from Captain Kirkwood's Diary and Order Book. Delaware Historical Society
Background: Dotted lines in this circa 1785 map of David Ramsay shows British and American troop movements through the area during the year of 1781. University of North Carolina of Chapel Hill
Modern day Delaware Light Infantry re-enactors.
This display was made possible by the Alamance County Tourism Development Authority and Convention and Visitor Bureau.
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