Page:The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war.djvu/294

 268 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