The dedication plaque reads:
Retreat to the Dan Memorial
Dedicated by Berryman Greene Chapter
National Society Daughters of the American Revolution
June 27,2010
There is a historical marker (like the Civil War Trail markers). It starts out...
You are looking toward a site of American Patriot General Nathanael Greene’s strategic “Retreat to the Dan” which occurred on February 14, 1781. This retreat foiled British General Cornwallis’ southern strategy and was a turning point in the American victory.
The Crossing of the Dan took place at Boyd’s Ferry and Irvin’s Ferry. Boyd’s Ferry is just past the railroad trestle. This site of Irvin’s Ferry is 4 miles up stream.
General Cornwallis commanded an army of seasoned British solders in pursuit of General Greene’s smaller force. Cornwallis hoped to overtake the American army I North Carolina, thus setting the stage for the capture of Virginia and a certain victory for England.
Realizing they were unprepared to face the British, the army traveled from Guildford’s Courthouse North Carolina (now Greensboro) for four days to reach the Dan River. Greene, who had been George Washington’s quartermaster, was aware of the necessity of recruits, supplies, and a surprising maneuver to outwit the enemy.
To the rear of the slower foot soldiers, Greene assigned a Light Troop of Calvary under Col. Otha Williams and Lt. Col. Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee (father of General Robert E. Lee). This Light Troop lead the British cavalry in a series of false leads. The cavalry gave the Americans time to get their slowest units to the crossing site ahead of the British. These units would be safe from British attack once they crossed to the north side of the river.
Boats were at the ferry landing. These boats and their crews were called into service Col. Edward Carrington, General Greene’s quarter master. All of the Americans made a safe crossing of the icy, rain swollen Dan River before the British could catch up. On February 14, 1781, Lighthorse Harry Lee and Edward Carrington were in the last boat to cross to the north side of the river. The stranded British could find no vessels of any kind. Any effort to swim or ford the river would have been meet with Patriot resistance. General Cornwallis had been tricked. He had been led far away from his lines of his support and communication. His army turned away from the Dan and marched back to North Carolina.
The results of the retreat to the Dan were dramatic. Greene more than doubled his troops in a few weeks. Seeing the enemy on their own property caused many people to join the Patriot army. Also, Greene found must needed supplies in Halifax County. In March, Greene led his increased forces in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. He inflicted heavy losses on the Redcoats of Lord Cornwallis although the British claimed victory by holding the field.
Cornwallis withdrew to Wilmington, NC, for replacement troops, but the crossing of the Dan and other factors forced him to camp at Yorktown rather than to sweep through Virginia for a British victory. Cornwallis was trapped when the French Fleet held off a British squadron nearby in the Atlantic and when American General George Washington and French General Comte de Rochambeau combined forces on land to bring about England’s defeat. The British surrender on October 19, 1781, signaled the end of the American Revolution. Without Greene’s retreat to the Dan the surrender of Yorktown would never have taken place.
The Retreat to the Dan is often overlooked for more dramatic and bloody battlefields. The citizens of Halifax County are proud that their ancestors had a part in the turning point of the war which was accomplished with strategy instead of blood shed.
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The marker is given in honor of Mr. Carroll Headspeth.