One of my ancestors....7 generations ago...served in the North Carolina militia and fought in this battle. I have his written account given when he was an old man in the 1820s. In it he swears he fired his 3 shots before running away.
The big complaint was that the militia did not all fire their 3 aimed shots at the redcoats before fleeing - thus did not thin their ranks sufficiently - and that’s why the Colonial Secessionists lost the battle.
Me too...
He fought at Guilford Courthouse and was there wounded by a British saber slash. He survived and went on to be a witness to Cornwalllis’ surrender at Yorktown. After the war , for his long services in the Carolina militias he was rewarded with a land track , out in the far west, on the banks Cumberland River. As time passed , that land track has become what is nowadays known as Gallatin Tennessee.
“The big complaint was that the militia did not all fire their 3 aimed shots at the redcoats before fleeing “
That was the recurring complaint about Colonial militia. I discovered that I had a bunch of militia ancestors but none at Guilford Courthouse. A couple were at a Patriot militia vs Loyalist militia fight that while small, was a Patriot victory:
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/williamsons-plantation