The Race to the Dan

The Race to the Dan. . The American Revolution was raging, and it was headed this way., Hopes for American liberty were carried by the army of General Nathanael Greene. In early 1781, after five long years of war, Greene's American army retreated across the Carolinas ahead of Lord Cornwallis' British troops. The two armies were approaching exhaustion by February 10, 1781, when General Greene led his 1,400 men on a 75-mile forced march to cross the Dan River into the shelter of Virginia. Pursued by a much larger and better-equipped British force, on icy trails and through sleepless nights, Greene's army struggled to the river., (captions) , The Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina on January 17, 1781. After this battle, the American and British armies raced across the Carolinas toward the Dan River and Virginia (Painting by Alonzo Chappel), The American army on the winter march in early 1781. (General Greene's Army by Robert Wilson, image courtesy of South Carolina State Museum), After the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, the British army pursued the American army to the Dan River (Map courtesy of Wyatt Osborne), Major General Nathanael Greene (1742-1786) was the commander of the American southern army (Portrait from frontispiece of General Greene by Francis Vinton Greene, 1893), Lieutenant General Charles, Second Earl Cornwallis (1718-1805), was the commander of the British army in the south (Image courtesy of Clements Library, University of Michigan)