The Battle of Green Spring July 6, 1781 225th Anniversary Re-enactment In the summer of 1781, British General Lord Cornwallis set a trap for the patriot force in Virginia by pretending to move the bulk of his Redcoat army across the James river. But Cornwallis had sent only his army’s baggage - and held his troops in a wooded area by the river. Gen. “Mad Anthony” Wayne led about 900 Continental Army troops and Virginia militia forward to capture what they thought was Cornwallis’ isolated rear guard. They suddenly found themselves facing about 2,000 British and Prussian troops on three sides. Instead of running, Wayne ordered a charge into the musket fire and cannon grapeshot. It worked. Wayne’s tactic froze the British and for 15 minutes, the two sides traded fire only 70 yards apart. As night fell, Wayne’s men performed an orderly retreat toward Williamsburg. Cornwallis lost his prey and missed an opportunity to control Virginia. He soon decided to camp at Yorktown, and within a few weeks, was under siege by American and French forces. He surrendered in October 1781. On July 15th & 16th, 2006, under a blistering sun, nearly 500 re-enactors took the field at the Williamsburg Winery for a re-enactment of the last great land battle in Virginia, before the siege at nearby Yorktown ended combat in the American Revolution. This film documents the first re-creation of the Battle of Green Spring, and the national effort to save the original battlefield on the banks of the James River.