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The three days of the Race to the Dan played a critical role in the victory of a little upstart army of colonists in defeating the mighty kingdom of Great Britain. A classic among military scholars, the Race is little known among Americans who might otherwise be British.

By the winter of 1780, Lord Cornwallis, with his 3,000 British Redcoats, had conquered the South.

At the Battle of Camden, the American General Horatio Gates had wheeled his horse and fled before the awesome ranks. The American army scattered wildly, not knowing what to do. It was into this chaotic situation that General George Washington dispatched his right-hand man — the cool, unflappable, brilliant General Nathanael Greene.

His first act was to order boats built, for he knew that the Carolinas were threaded with rivers, and he might need to cross them for a getaway — a signal mark of his brilliance. Then he set out for Guilford Courthouse in North Carolina where the shattered army was assembling.

He could scarcely believe the sight that awaited him — 1500 scarecrows, half naked, half starved, half sick. He resolved that they must be fed and rested before they could begin to fight. He settled them to hunt, fish, and rest on the Pee Dee River. He called it the Camp of Repose.

Greene had given his men a month's rest, but now he had to move them. Cornwallis would be coming. Should he stand and fight with these inexperienced troops, or should he run, risking massacre if caught on the way? He did a rare thing for him; he called in his officers to debate the best plan. They came from every direction — an assembly of brains and grit, pledged to the American cause. Greene summoned all units to Guilford Courthouse, still undecided whether to fight or run. So he called a rare war council.

It was made up of men worth listening to — daring guerillas used to fighting against odds and winning.

There was Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. He and his men lived in the South Carolina swamps, stealing out by night to wreak havoc on sleeping British soldiers. When food was short, they ate snakes.

Gen. Andrew Pickens was a dour Presbyterian Elder, also from South Carolina, whose ferocity matched his piety. Then the legendary Old Wagoner in his buckskin, Gen. Daniel Morgan, adored by his men. He had to return to Virginia, too sick to fight.

Dashing Col. Lighthorse Harry Lee in his white leather pants, green cape, and brass helmet was Greene's eyes and ears. Finally, there was Gen. Greene as he studied every detail of the map. He fought war like chess, figuring every move in advance.

The officers weighed the deplorable condition of the raw half-naked troops who had already marched 150 freezing miles in the mud. They opted to run for the river.

And Greene had a plan. He assigned to Col. Otho Williams the hair-raising job of playing decoy to the enemy. Williams and 700 light troops were to allow themselves to be seen as they lathered their horses going in the wrong directions towards more shallow fords upriver. Cornwallis did not question the direction, never dreaming that Greene could cross downriver. He could not possibly have enough boats, so Cornwallis headed north.

It was February 10, 1781. The barefoot scarecrow army set out on the 80 miles to Boyd's and Irwin's Ferries — and the boats. Could Williams, as the rear guard, hold off Cornwallis? Or would the Americans be massacred as they ran?

It was said of General Greene that he had never seen the Catawba River but he knew more about it than the men who were born on its banks.

It was also true of the Dan. As soon as Greene received his unwelcome assignment, he began to study the rivers. He ordered “100 batteaux” from Col. Carrington in Richmond, then sent him down to map the Dan. Before he moved out of the Camp of Repose, he ordered Carrington to hide the boats along the banks near Boyd's and Irwin's Ferries.

Greene needed additional transportation, so he called on the ferries. The court of Claims lists four Pittsylvania ferrymen making claims for ferrying men, horses, and wagons in large numbers across the river. They are John Dix, Sherwood Toney, John Wynne, and John Owen. John Lewis asked recompense for the use of three canoes, indicating a need for anything that would float.

This human tide of 1600 exhausted men, plus horses and wagons, were still under the knife-edge of time. The British may well have overtaken Williams and discovered the ruse, and might at any moment swoop down upon a helpless mass trapped between the enemy and the river.

But it didn't happen. All got over the river swiftly and smoothly. The horses, swimming to save boat space, turned around in the middle of the river and swam back to North Carolina. Rounding them up and loading them on boats may well have been accompanied by strong language.