Guilford Courthouse Flag-March 1781

Following a crushing defeat at Cowpens, British General Cornwallis chased the American Army across the Carolinas.  Trying to move faster, he burned supply wagons and drove his troops relentlessly.  Finally catching up to the Americans in Guilford County North Carolina on 15 March 1781, Cornwallis was able to drive the Americans back.  However, his exhausted, half-starved troops were unable to pursue the American Army any further.

Over the next six months, the British would amass a string of victories looking more like defeats.  Leading General Cornwallis to move his troops to the Yorktown peninsula to await transport to New York for the winter, planning to return in the spring.  This ill-fated decision would lead to the end of Britain’s domination of North America.

According to family history, Micaja Bullock, a quarter master from North Carolina, brought the unusual Flag known as the Guilford Courthouse Flag home from the battle.  His grandson gave the Flag to the local masonic lodge in 1854.  In 1914, the Masons donated it to the North Carolina Historical Commission.

A 2010 study by a Williamsburg textile expert proved the Flag to be from the time of the American Revolution.  Red and blue cloth at the bottom of the Flag indicate it once had 15 stripes.  It is unclear if the two additional stripes were part of the original design or added later, then removed.  However, it is clear that despite this Flag’s unusual color scheme it is one of the oldest versions of the Stars and Stripes in existence.  

For more information, please consult the following sources:

American Battlefield Trust. “Guilford Courthouse” Retrieved 30 June 2024, from https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/guilford-court-house?ms=googlepaid&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwhIS0BhBqEiwADAUhcwHnNukcAVxLG6DqN4UEVnTwmFBKqRcQD2aGMMpiJlbIazkuXT_xgBoCeJQQAvD_BwE

Barrow, Healen. “The Guilford Flag” (2005) Daughters of the American Revolution. https://web.archive.org/web/20140413124902/http://www.ncdar.org/MicajahBullockChapter_files/html/guildfordflag.html

Branch of Historic Sites. “The Significance of Guilford Courthouse” (1940) National Parks Service https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/regional_review/vol5-4-5d.htm

Furlong, William and McCandless, Byron “So Proudly We Hail, The History of the United States Flag” p. 134 (1981) Smithsonian Institution Press

North Carolina Museum of History. “Flag, United States” (1781-1795) https://collections.ncdcr.gov/mDetail.aspx?rID=H.1914.246.1&db=objects&dir=COMBINED

Very special thank you to Charlie Knight, Curator of Military History at the North Carolina Museum of History for shedding some light on the Guilford Courthouse Flag.