Battle of Wetzell ' s Mill The Battle of Wetzell ' s Mill ( the name may also be spelled " Weitzell " , " Weitzel " , " Whitesell " , or " Whitsall " ) was an American Revolutionary War skirmish fought on March 6 , 1781 , between detachments of Nathanael Greene ' s Continental Army and Banastre Tarleton ' s Loyalist provincial troops . Greene was trying to avoid encounters with the larger British Cornwallis ' larger army while awaiting the arrival of additional troops , and had sent Williams and several hundred men on reconnaissance to watch Cornwallis ' movements . Cornwallis learned where Williams was on March 4 , and , realizing he could be trapped because he was separated from Greene ' s army by Reedy Ford Creek , sent Tarleton and 1 , 200 men toward the ford at Wetzell ' s Mill . Early on March 6 Tarleton ' s men tried to sneak up on Williams ' position , then about ten miles south of the ford . After a brief skirmish , the two forces raced toward the ford . Williams kept Harry " Light Horse " Lee in the rear to cover their retreat , and reached the ford ahead of Tarleton . His army crossed , at which point he decided to make a stand at the crossing . Tarleton ' s first attempt to cross was repulsed , but the second succeeded , and Williams retreated . Background . The British attempt to regain control of its rebellious colonies in the American Revolutionary War through the " southern strategy " of gaining control over the southern colonies and moving north began in late 1779 with the capture of Savannah , Georgia . By early 1781 , Georgia and South Carolina were nominally under British control , two Continental Armies had been captured or routed , and General Lord Cornwallis was chasing a third , under the command of General Nathanael Greene , out of North Carolina . Greene , with a smaller and more mobile army , had risked division of his forces at one point , and was rewarded with Daniel Morgan ' s victory over Cornwallis ' main cavalry force , led by Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton , at the Battle of Cowpens in January 1781 . Cornwallis , realizing he could more easily defeat Morgan or Greene before their forces rejoined , stripped his army of all nonessentials , and gave chase . Greene and Morgan were able to join forces , but they were still relatively weak due to expiring enlistments , so Greene continued to retreat northward toward Virginia , avoiding full - scale battle , in what became known as the " Race to the Dan " ( after the Dan River , which flows near the border between Virginia and North Carolina ) . Greene beat Cornwallis to the Dan , which , like many other rivers , was swollen by heavy rains , and crossed to relative safety in Virginia . After receiving additional supplies and some reinforcements , Greene recrossed the Dan with an eye toward finally forcing a confrontation after additional troops arrived . Criss - crossing the area around Guilford , North Carolina with his main army , Greene detached Colonel Otho Williams with companies of light infantry , riflemen , and the cavalry of Henry " Light Horse Harry " Lee to maintain contact with Cornwallis ' army so that he could continue to maneuver without a large confrontation . Cornwallis sent out Tarleton on expeditions to find Greene ' s army so that a confrontation could be forced . On March 3 , Williams sent out a company of men to harass the British camp . They killed several sentries and took two prisoners before returning to Williams ' camp at Wetzell ' s Mill , near a ford across Reedy Ford Creek . Cornwallis ordered Tarleton out on March 6 to go after Williams . Battle . Williams was alerted to Tarleton ' s approach , and managed to withdraw most of his men across the ford , where they established a defensive line . Tarleton ' s men then drove the last of Williams ' light infantry across the river . Tarleton sent a company of men from the 23rd Regiment under James Webster to storm across the ford . Williams ' riflemen were ordered to target the officer , and Henry Lee reported that they " discharged their rifles at him , one by one " , but " himself and horse were untouched " . The British eventually succeeded in crossing the creek , and after several miles of pursuit , Tarleton gave up the chase and rejoined the main army . Aftermath . Williams and his men rejoined Greene ' s army , which , following the arrival of 2 , 500 reinforcements , prepared to meet Cornwallis near Guilford , North Carolina , where the key Battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought on March 15 .