Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Also known as: Guilford Battlefield
Why it's listed
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park covers 220 acres northwest of Greensboro, North Carolina, the most important part of the roughly 800 acres where American and British forces fought on March 15, 1781. Citizens of the Guilford Battleground Company began preserving the field in 1887, adding monuments, roads, a lake and landscaping, and gave the land to the federal government in 1917. The National Park Service has managed it since 1933 and works to restore the battlefield's historic look. Today the park holds 28 monuments, markers and memorials, three historic roads, and the site of the vanished courthouse. The battle was a key moment in the Southern Campaign. Cornwallis held the field but lost about a quarter of his army, then retreated to Wilmington. Seven months later he surrendered at Yorktown. The park is rated of the highest order of significance.
Significance in brief: The battle was a pivotal engagement of the Revolutionary War's Southern Campaign of 1780-81. Although the British won the field, they lost about 25% of their army, and Cornwallis withdrew to Wilmington. The nomination holds that this contributed to the surrender at Yorktown seven months later, and it rates the park of 1st Order significance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 66000069, listed October 15, 1966. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Address restricted by the NPS (common for archaeological sites and some private homes) |
|---|---|
| County | Guilford County |
| Listed | October 15, 1966 |
| Reference number | 66000069 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 18th Century (battle on March 15, 1781) |
| Areas of significance | Military, Architecture, Transportation, Conservation, Historic - Non-Aboriginal |
| Level of significance | National |
| National Historic Landmark | Yes, designated January 3, 2001 |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition rated good, altered, on its original site; open to the public as a park and administered by the National Park Service since 1933, which works to restore the battlefield to its historic appearance. |
| Acreage | 319 |
| Coordinates | 36.13140, -79.84640 (Wikidata) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 66000069.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5615921
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.