Battle of Charlotte The Battle of Charlotte was an American Revolutionary War battle fought in Charlotte , North Carolina on September 26 , 1780 . The battle took place at the Mecklenburg County Court House , which is now the site of the Bank of America tower at Trade and Tryon Streets in downtown Charlotte . An advance guard of General Charles Cornwallis ' army rode into town and encountered a well - prepared Patriot militia under the command of William R . Davie in front of the court house . A skirmish ensued in which George Hanger , leading the British cavalry , was wounded . The small Patriot force , which had not intended more than token resistance , withdrew north toward Salisbury upon the arrival of Cornwallis and the main army . Background . Pursuant to the British " southern strategy " for winning the American Revolutionary War , British forces had captured Charleston , South Carolina early in 1780 , and had driven Continental Army forces from South Carolina . Following his successful routing of a second Continental Army at Camden in August 1780 , British General Lord Cornwallis paused with his army in the Waxhaws region of northern South Carolina . Believing British and Loyalist forces to be in control of Georgia and South Carolina , he decided to turn north and address the threat posed by the Continental Army remnants in North Carolina . In mid - September he began moving north toward Charlotte , North Carolina . Cornwallis ' movements were shadowed by militia companies from North and South Carolina . One force under Thomas Sumter stayed back and harassed British and Loyalist outposts in the South Carolina backcountry , while another , led by Major William R . Davie , maintained fairly close contact with portions of his force as Cornwallis moved northward . Davie successfully surprised a detachment of Cornwallis ' Loyalist forces at Wahab ' s Plantation on September 20 , and then moved on to Charlotte , where he set up an ambush to harass Cornwallis ' vanguard . Charlotte was then a small town , with two main roads crossing at the town center , where the Mecklenburg County courthouse dominated the intersection . The southern facade of the courthouse had a series of pillars , between which a stone wall about high had been constructed to provide an area that served as the local market . Davie positioned three rows of militia at and north of the courthouse , with one behind the stone wall , and placed cavalry companies on the east and west sides of the courthouse , covering the roads leading away in those directions . Finally , he put a company of 20 men behind a house on the southern road , where he was expecting the British advance . As his column approached Charlotte , Cornwallis would normally have sent Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton and his British Legion to investigate the town . However , Tarleton was ill , so Cornwallis gave the assignment to Tarleton ' s subordinate , Major George Hanger , an impetuous young Englishman from an aristocratic family . Cornwallis ordered Hanger to cautiously enter the town and check for militia , which he expected to be in the area . Battle . Contrary to Cornwallis ' orders , Hanger and his cavalry blithely galloped into town . Even after the 20 men behind the house opened fire , Hanger ' s men continued to ride on until he was met by heavy fire from the line of militia behind the stone wall . When the first militia line maneuvered to make way for the second , Hanger misinterpreted their movement as retreat , and continued the charge . This brought him into a withering crossfire from the second line and the cavalry companies stationed to the east and west . Hanger went down with a wound , and his cavalry retreated in some disarray back to the Legion ' s infantry . Cornwallis , alerted by the sound of battle , rode forward to assess the situation . Sarcastically calling out " you have everything to lose , but nothing to gain " , the earl ordered the legion forward once more . By this time the main army ' s light infantry had also begun to arrive , and Davie withdrew his forces . Aftermath . Hanger termed the incident " a trifling insignificant skirmish " , but it did clearly communicate to Cornwallis that he would have to expect further resistance . Hanger then also fell ill , further disabling the effectiveness of Tarleton ' s Legion . Instead of advancing on Hillsboro , Cornwallis occupied Charlotte . His position was never entirely secure , because the Patriot militia interfered with any significant attempts to communicate with the countryside . Cornwallis ' left flank , commanded by Patrick Ferguson , was virtually destroyed in early October at Kings Mountain , and Cornwallis eventually withdrew to Winnsboro , South Carolina in November on reports of persistent Patriot militia activity in South Carolina .