Noland Battlefield

The Noland Battlefield--location where a strategic victory took place. American raiders under Colonel Paterson of the North Carolina militia attacked British reserves near Newport. The port of Newport was a major trading center in the region, the British hoping to get supplies sent several reserves to the port of Newport. The naval engagement between the British fleet and French fleet was predicted by Cornwallis and in hopes of gaining some supplies from the arriving American armies, under the command of George Washington, sent some reserves to Newport. In route from Yorktown and Newport the British reserves met the American rear line under Colonel Paterson of the North Carolina militias. Seven hundred and sixty-two men of the American militia disrupted a force of 1500 British reserves at Noland. Noland is a small region currently on the Christopher Newport University property, and the end of the battlefield was located on the Newport News Mariner's museum area. This is where the battle took place. At the time Noland was a forested area, located between Yorktown and Newport, the militia used guerilla tactics in the woods and ambushed the British regulars under the command of Major David Ross. The battle was an overwhelming success and prevented the British from gaining supplies to reinforce Yorktown. After the war Colonel Patterson, then General for his bravery at Noland said, "If it wasn't for our ambush at Noland then the British would have held Yorktown for another two months."