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GREENSBORO - The sounds of battle that reverberated through Guilford County in 1781 may help promote the South's role in the American Revolution.

Guilford County is part of a large swath of central North Carolina being considered for a National Heritage Area. The federal designation would mostly provide more exposure to historic sites, many of them lesser-known than Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, said Tom Edmonds , a development officer with the state Department of Commerce.

By linking these sites, visitors "will kind of get a better perspective of the Revolutionary War in the South," said Charles Cranfield , the military park's superintendent.

Americans lost the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781 . But the battle put a dent in British forces, changing the momentum of the war. Battles such as Pyles' Massacre in Alamance County also could be highlighted in the heritage area, Edmonds said.

The Guilford Courthouse battle will be re-enacted again this weekend in an annual celebration of what North Carolina historians say is an important battle. Students learn about Valley Forge and Yorktown, but Guilford Courthouse receives little attention, said Joshua Howard, a research historian with the N.C. Office of Archives and History.

"There is a lot more to the story than is traditionally taught," he said.

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, where Maj. General Nathanael Greene lost to Britain's Lord Cornwallis , would be "a critical component" of the heritage area, Edmonds said.

The proposed area would stretch through South Carolina, including sites such as Camden, where Lord Cornwallis crushed American forces the year before the Guilford Courthouse battle.

The lengthy process of becoming a heritage area began last summer with a feasibility study.

That likely won't be finished for another year, said Chris Abbett , assistant regional director with the National Park Service. Congress must then approve the designation.

Federal funds would help start the projects, but that money is becoming limited as more areas are created, Abbett said.

The money must be matched locally, he said.

The designation allows for regional marketing, tapping into a growing interest in heritage tourism, Abbett said.

More than 40 heritage areas in the United States include a Civil War area that encompasses all of Tennessee and a 308-mile stretch that follows the Ohio and Erie Canal.

Contact Jennifer Fernandez at 373-7064 or jennifer.fernandez@news-record.com