The Battle of Green Spring isn’t as celebrated a battle as the great American victories at Saratoga or Cowpens, but it is a relatively simple meeting between two great opposing forces, one that would demonstrate the evolution of the Continental Army in the face of superior British numbers and firepower.
Lafayette’s Maneuvers Led to the Battle of Green Spring
It was the summer of 1781, and the outnumbered Marquis de Lafayette was dogging British Gen. Charles Cornwallis as the two armies tried to outmaneuver one another across Virginia. With 7,000 experienced troops, Lord Cornwallis was eager to trap Lafayette’s 3,000-strong force, which was filled with mostly inexperienced militiamen.
Lafayette deftly dodged the British attempts to force an engagement, but his harassment of the British forces grew bolder when he received reinforcements, around 1,000 Continental Army troops under the legendary Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne.
When Cornwallis’ movement suddenly shifted eastward, Lafayette correctly deduced the British were headed to the coast and that they would have to cross the James River. Lafayette believed that Cornwallis was in retreat and that his forces were overextended. In truth, despite having retreated several times, Cornwallis allowed the Americans to think he was forced to do so and even set up an elaborate ruse to lure them in. After the June 26th Battle at Spencer’s Ordinary, he pretended to withdraw toward Portsmouth in the southeast, where he might be resupplied.
British Deception Sparked the Battle of Green Spring
This is why the aggressive Lafayette planned to hit Cornwallis and his forces as they tried to cross the wide James River. When the Americans arrived at the British position near Green Spring Plantation on July 6, they found what they believed was Cornwallis’ rearguard, a small force under Banastre Tarleton. Wayne’s troops began to skirmish with Tarleton as Lafayette rode to get a better view of the battlefield.
When he did, he saw the large lines of Redcoats hidden out of sight of Wayne and the rest of the Continentals. He realized they were about to ride into a trap. Cornwallis had finally fooled Lafayette into investing in a battle, and he was about to face the entire British force. He rode to warn Gen. Wayne, but it was too late. Wayne’s flanks exploded with canister and grapeshot, followed by an infantry charge.
Wayne’s Bayonet Charge Shaped the Battle of Green Spring
Lafayette was undeterred, however, and ordered reinforcements to prevent Wayne from being surrounded or captured. Wayne, realizing his situation was precarious, believed that ordering a general retreat would chaotically dissolve his army, so he did what no one else but “Mad” Anthony Wayne would do. He ordered his 500 men to fix bayonets and then charged the 7,000-strong British Army.
It sounds crazy, and that’s how Gen. Wayne earned his nickname, but the audacious plan actually worked. They pushed the British back for long enough that Lafayette’s men were able to arrive and facilitate an orderly retreat. It was a tactical and strategic victory for the British, but the American force was able to survive and fight another day.
Cornwallis decided not to pursue them and instead crossed the river. As Lafayette and Wayne licked their wounds in Richmond, Cornwallis received orders to establish a supply base on the Virginia coast. He chose to dig in at a place called Yorktown.
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