Monuments of Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

Commemorating the Battle of Guilford Courthouse

Starting in 1887 the Guilford Battleground Company began commemorating the Battle of Guilford Courthouse to bring awareness of this pivotal battle to the Greensboro residents. The Company felt that the best way to commemorate and bring awareness to the battlefield, the Battle itself, and the American Revolution was to place a variety of monuments and reinter graves of key historical figures to the Revolutionary War. The key monument was the General Greene Monument, dedicated on July 3, 1915. Other commemorative actions included creation of formal gardens around the General Greene Monument, the man-made Lake Wilfong, and several springhouses and picnic areas. Overtime, other special interest groups donated monuments to commemorate events or participants on the battlefield. The final monument placed in the park is the Crown Forces Monument, to commemorate Cornwallis’ soldiers.

Every monument was placed after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse took place. These twenty-nine artistic commemorations tell a variety of stories about the Battle, the participants, and the people who affected by the Revolutionary War. You’ll discover several monuments related to people who were not at this battle. The original Guilford Battleground Company, under the leadership of David Schenck, incorrectly placed the 3^rd Line monuments. The National Park Service uses wayside exhibit panels to place the various monuments in the context of the Battle based on the latest historical research.

 

 

The American First Line Monuments

The following monuments are located surrounding the American First Line, where the British Army first encountered Greene's forces the North Carolina militia. However, the monuments tell the stories of two soldiers of this battle and other Revolutionary War figures. Some of these monuments hold the graves of soldiers who fought away from the First Line, such as James Tate, while other graves are to soldiers who fought in the Southern Campaign but not at this battle. The other commemorative monuments tell the stories of people involved in the Revolutionary War.

Commemorative Monuments

1. Nathaniel Macon
2. James Gillies
3. Kerenhappuch Turner
4. James Morehead
5. No North-No South
6. Washington's Visit
7. Martha McFarlane McGee-Bell

Grave Sites of the First Line

1. James Tate Monument and Grave
2. Jethro Sumner Monument and Grave
3. John Daves Grave

 

The American Second Line Monuments

The American Second Line Monuments surround the area of the Virginia Militia, and is located east of Old Battleground. The General Greene Monument is the main focal point of this area, and the monument stands just in front of the wooded area where the Virginia Militia waited for the oncoming British Army. Like at the American First Line area, you can see how David Schenck wanted to create a Revolutionary War commemorative landscape with the Signers Monument. The remains of William Hooper and John Penn were reintered under this monument. The Guilford Battleground Company later honored Schenck and Joseph Morehead, the second president of the Company.

Monuments to Participants

1. Major General Nathanael Greene
2. Henry "Hal" Dixon Monument
3. George Reynolds

Commemorative Monuments

1. The Signer's Monument and Grave to William Hooper and John Penn
2. David Schenck
3. Joseph Morehead
4. David Caldwell

 

The American Third Line Monuments

If you were to read the inscription of the monuments that speak about the Third Line, you would think you were standing in the footsteps of the Continental Army. However, David Schenck was wrong about the placement of the Third Line, and it wasn't until research was completed in the late 1990s and early 2000s that the National Park Service discovered the true location of the Third Line. As you tour these monuments, be sure to read the accompanying wayside exhibits that explain why these monuments were placed and where the action actually took place.

Monuments to Participants

1. Third Line Regulars
2. Continental (Delaware) Soldiers and Graves
3. Maryland
4. James Stuart
5. Cavalry, associated with William Washington's unit and Peter Francisco
6. Griffin Fauntleroy
7. Joseph Winston

Graves

1. The graves of Joseph Winston and Jesse Franklin are located at Tour Stop 4 next to the parking lot.
2. The graves of the Delaware soldiers are in the center of the battlefield, accessible on foot by the Historic New Garden Road.