On the far right end of the American line on the crest of present-day Sandy Hollow Heritage Park, General Adam Stephen’s 3rd and 4th Virginia Regiments held their positions until they were overwhelmed by superior British and Jaeger forces, and their actions allowed Sullivan’s and Stirling’s forces to escape back down Birmingham Road and through Dilworthtown. A British lieutenant said the Americans defended their guns to the last and fought to great advantage, while the damage to Cornwallis’ troops was so severe that General Howe wrote in his journal that he believed 10,000 Americans held the hill. From 6:30 to 7 PM, as Lord Cornwallis’ attack from the north forced the Continentals to retreat and threatened to block the road to Chester, their escape route, General Greene, General Weedon, and North Carolina troops under Brigadier General Nash tried to slow the British by forming a semicircle south of the Dilworth Crossroads between today’s Webb and Harvey Roads on either side of Wilmington Pike, today’s Oakland Road. They were joined by Casimir Pulaski, a Polish nobleman with military experience and a volunteer officer in the battle, who asked General Washington to let him lead the thirty horsemen of the General’s escort. Pulaski directed them to strike the flank of the leading British soldiers and then withdraw before the British realized the attackers were a small cavalry unit that could be easily overwhelmed, and the unexpected attack helped break the British advance and prevented pursuit of the retreating Continentals.
