tinentals and more than two thousand militia. Lord
Cornwallis commanded eighteen hundred and seventy-five
veterans. On the 15th of March, 1781, Greene
drew up his army in three lines. The foremost of
these was composed of North Carolina militia, posted
in the woods behind a fence. A portion of this line
was on the edge of a clearing. Its left was supported
by a body of riflemen under Lieutenant-colonel Henry
Lee and Colonel Campbell. Greene's second line,
stationed three hundred yards behind the first, was
composed of Virginia militia. They stood in the thick
woods. The third line contained all the Continentals
of the army.
Opposite to this force, after a skirmish of the advanced-guards. Lord Cornwallis drew up his army in two divisions. The left wing was under Lieutenant-colonel Webster, the right under Brigadier-general Leslie. The right wing first came on the North Carolina militia, which fled at its approach. Lee and Campbell, however, with their riflemen, continued in action. The British advanced against the Virginia militia. The whole English line was now engaged, and the Virginians defended themselves so well that Lord Cornwallis was obliged to call up his reserves. The American second line was finally driven back, and the British pressed forward to meet the Continentals. By this time a good deal of confusion had been caused among the English, fighting in the thick woods. It was Lieutenant-colonel Webster, with his brigade, who first met the Continentals. Attacking them rashly, he was driven back behind a ravine. The Second Maryland regiment, however, was broken by an attack
