On March 15, 1781, a British army under Charles, Lord Cornwallis clashed with the Southern Continental army under Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene at Guilford Courthouse. Greene employed a tactic successfully utilized at the Battle of Cowpens two months before. While he was pushed from the field, Greene inflicted heavy casualties on the British. The battle compelled Cornwallis's withdrawal toward Wilmington. With few options, Cornwallis decided to move on Virginia and began the long road to Yorktown.