Battle Reenactment March 18/19

The Guilford Courthouse Battle Reenactment will be help on the weekend of March 18 and 19 this year at Country Park in Greensboro. In addition to the reenactment  Country Park and Guilford Courthouse National Park  will have colonial life demonstrations  going on all weekend.

Crown Forces Monument Dedication

The dedication of the Crown Forces Monument on March 13, 2016 was a signal event and a significant day for the Guilford Battleground Company and the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.

The monument is dedicated: “In memory of the men who fought and the units of the Crown Forces in which they served at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse March 15, 1781.”

Speakers at the event included Park Superintendent Doyle Sapp, GBC President Ed Deaton, author and historian Dr. Larry Babits, and Col. Nicholas Lock, Assistant Military Attaché, British Embassy, Washington, DC. Jay Callaham presided as Master of Ceremonies. The Guilford Courthouse Fife and Drum Corps provided period music, and an Honor Guard composed of reenactors  fired a three volley salute.

Mr. Jimmy Wiggins, owner of North State Monument, designed and erected the monument. The foundation was designed by S&ME.

Click to view the Building of a Monument photos.

Click to view the Dedication Ceremony photos.

Click to view the Dedication Ceremony video provided by South Carolina Educational TV.

Click to view the WFMY Channel 2 video of Jay Callaham presentation.

Click to view the Resolution  Recognizing Crown Forces Monument Day by the City of Greensboro and County of Guiford.

Panoramic photo courtesy Ed Wasserboehr. Dedication photos courtesy of Carol Deaton.

2017 Guilford Courthouse Battle Reenactment and Weekend Activities

 

GUILFORD BATTLE ANNIVERSARY OBSERVANCE

 

(Greensboro, NC)   Over 300 Revolutionary War reenactors from across the country will muster in Greensboro on March 18^th & 19^th, 2017 to commemorate the 235th Anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, The Colonial Heritage Center, and Greensboro Country Park.  Scheduled events take place from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM each day.

 

At 10:00 AM on Saturday, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park will honor those who fought on these grounds in a ceremony at the Nathanael Greene Monument. The program will feature Revolutionary War music performed by the Guilford Courthouse Fife & Drum Corps, a wreath-laying ceremony, and a volley of flintlock musket fire.  Other weekend events include a variety of interpretive programs demonstrating military life, colonial life-ways, 18^th century dancing, musical performances, firearms demonstrations, and guided walks of the battlefield. There will also be a dedication to the new Crown Forces Monument at 11:00 AM on Sunday. All three parks will have military encampments.

 

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse will be reenacted at 2:00 PM in Country Park both Saturday and Sunday. Parking for the reenactment is available at Jaycee Park located at 3899 Jaycee Park Drive, Greensboro, NC 27455.

 

All activities are free to the public.  Visit http://www.nps.gov/guco for a complete schedule of events.

 

 

2016 Guilford Courthouse National Military Park Lecture Series

The Lecture Series is presented each year in conjunction with the anniversary observance of the battle fought on March 15,1781. This year’s series will be offered on four nights, Tuesday, March 8 through Friday, March 11 at 7:00 pm in in the Park Visitor Center auditorium. The Lecture Series is sponsored by the National Park Service and the Guilford Battleground Company. Lectures are free to attend, but reservations are required and may be made by calling 336.288.1776

For details about each speaker visit: http://www.nps.gov/guco/planyourvisit/lecture-series-2016.htm

 

The 235th Anniversay Observance of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse-March 2016

Over 300 Revolutionary War reenactors from across the country will muster in Greensboro on March 12th & 13th, 2016 to commemorate the 235th Anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, The Colonial Heritage Center, and Greensboro Country Park. Scheduled events take place from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM each day.
At 10:00 AM on Saturday, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park will honor those who fought on these grounds in a ceremony at the Nathanael Greene Monument. The program will feature Revolutionary War music performed by the Guilford Courthouse Fife & Drum Corps, a wreath-laying ceremony, and a volley of flintlock musket fire. Other weekend events include a variety of interpretive programs demonstrating military life, colonial life-ways, 18th century dancing, musical performances, firearms demonstrations, and guided walks of the battlefield.All three parks will have military encampments.
There will also be a dedication to the new Crown Forces Monument at 11:00 AM on Sunday.
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse will be reenacted at 2:00 PM in Country Park both Saturday and Sunday. Parking for the reenactment is available at Jaycee Park located at 3899 Jaycee Park Drive, Greensboro, NC 27455.
All activities are free to the public.

Follow this link for the weekend schedule. http://www.nps.gov/guco/upload/ANNIVERSARY-weekend-schedule-2016.pdf

You may also check with the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park at 336-288-1776 or the Greensboro Country Park at 336- 373-3648.

Veteran’s Day at Guilford Courthouse NMP “Bonus”

In addition to the 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Veteran’s Day celebration “History of the American Soldier ” timeline representing periods of U.S. military history from the 1600’s until the present, Dr. Scott Culclasure will be signing his newest book from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the park’s Visitor Center.

Dr. Culclasure’s book Guide to the MONUMENTS Guilford Courthouse National Military Park has just been published by the Guilford Battleground Company and is available for purchase in the Eastern National bookstore located in the Visitor Center. The book provides the historical context of the monument’s placement in the park, a description and photograph of each monument, and a map of the park indicating the locations of the monuments.

VETERANS’ DAY at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

PROGRAM TO HONOR VETERANS’ DAY

On Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Guilford Courthouse National Military Park will present “History of the American Soldier” an educational program in honor of Veterans’ Day.

The “History of the American Soldier” involves a timeline representing periods of U.S. military history from the 1600’s until the present. Each period will feature a soldier or group of soldiers, portrayed by park volunteers, uniformed, equipped and armed according to the period they represent. The public is invited to tour the timeline and to speak with these soldiers to ask questions and to see and compare the changes from one historical period to another.

This outdoor program, located at Stop 8 near the General Nathanael Greene Monument, is sponsored by the National Park Service and Guilford Courthouse National Military Park with the assistance of its dedicated Volunteers In Parks. This program is free to the public and is dependent on favorable weather conditions.

For more information call the Park. (336) 288-1776

Guide to the MONUMENTS GUILFORD COURTHOUSE NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

The Guilford Battleground Company has just published Guide to the MONUMENTS Guilford Courthouse National Military Park written by Dr Scott Culclasure. The guide organizes descriptions of the monuments into sections that correspond to the three American defensive lines around which the battle was fought. Each section begins with a brief explanation of the fighting in that area. Photographs of each monument illustrate the book and a map by Dave Wasserboehr provides the location of each monument in the park.

“Fought at a backcountry village on March 15, 1781, the Battle of Guilford Court House was one of the most intense engagements of the American Revolutionary War and proved decisive in the high-stakes Southern Campaign of 17801. After winning a dubious victory, British general Lord Cornwallis abandoned North Carolina and moved his forces into Virginia—with ruinous consequences seven months later at Yorktown—leaving American commander Nathanael Greene free to embark on a successful campaign to liberate the Carolinas. For years afterward, the battlefield’s woods and fields lay neglected, until Judge David Schenck organized the Guilford Battle Ground Company in 1887 to purchase land for preservation. Those early years witnessed the building of the park’s first museum and the placing of monuments on the battlefield. The property was deeded to the federal government in 1917 in recognition of its national significance. Since 1933, the National Park Service has worked to preserve both the battlefield and the knowledge represented by the park’s monuments. This book is a guide to the park’s monuments and memorials, describing their background and how they fit into the larger story of the battlefield’s preservation.”
Scott P. Culclasure teaches at the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, North Carolina. Among his publications are The Past as Liberation from History  and a work of Southern history he co-edited, The Confessions of Edward Isham: A Poor White Life of the Antebellum South. Since his own school days, Scott has also volunteered at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, where on many summer afternoons he can be found leading guided walks across this Revolutionary War battlefield.

The book is available in the Eastern National bookstore located in the park Visitor Center and the Gift Shop of the Greensboro Historical Museum. Dr. Culclasure will be signing this book at the Visitor Center from 2:00 pm-4:00pm on Saturday, November 14.              ISBN 978-0-692-50033-0

It’s Party Time and ……

Come out to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and honor the General as we celebrate his 273rd birthday.

Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and Guilford Battleground Company are recipients of a 2015 National Park Service Centennial Challenge Grant

GREENSBORO, NC – Today, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park and Guilford Battleground Company announced they were the joint recipients of a 2015 National Park Service Centennial Challenge Grant. These Centennial Challenge Grants are part of a multi-year effort to prepare for the National Park Service Centennial in 2016. The NPS Centennial Grant Program includes $26 million for restoration projects at national parks around the country, including $16 million from non-governmental partners. In the National Park Service’s Southeast Region, this grant program will fund 25 separate projects totaling over $3 million dollars. The Guilford Courthouse project will involve updating the museum exhibits at the Colonial Heritage Center to make them interactive and more relevant to park visitors.

The Colonial Heritage Center

“The Centennial Challenge Program is a great way to leverage federal dollars,” said Guilford Courthouse NMP Superintendent Doyle Sapp. “We believe once completed the improved exhibits will result in an increased understanding of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and the people who lived, fought, and died here. We want to thank the Guilford Battleground Company for their support. Without our friends and partners, this project would not have gone forward.”
“We are very pleased to have this opportunity to revitalize the Colonial Heritage Center,” said Ed Deaton, President of the Guilford Battleground Company. Deaton also wanted to thank the Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation which generously provided a grant in the amount of $200,000 to the Guilford Battleground Company which is being used for this project. The Foundation has been a longtime supporter of the Colonial Heritage Center and its mission of teaching how people lived in the 1780’s here in Piedmont North Carolina and their connection to the Battle. The upgrades will take advantage of new audio visual techniques to make the story more appealing to today’s youth.
The Guilford Battleground Company is the official friends’ group and fundraising partner of Guilford Courthouse NMP. Its primary mission is to promote and preserve the National Military Park as well as take every opportunity to teach the public about its significance. This upgrade of the Center will add to the public’s knowledge and understanding of what took place here on March 15, 1781.
In order to qualify for a Centennial Challenge Grant, projects needed to demonstrate that they provided for authorized activities that benefited one or more National Park System areas, contributed towards at least one of the Director’s Call to Action goals, required little or no additional recurring NPS operating or maintenance funds to be sustainable, did not include the construction of new facilities; and have partner(s) who were ready, willing, and able to contribute at least 50% of the project. Once submitted, projects that were highly evaluated included more than a 1:1 match, impacted multiple parks, included a contribution to Centennial goals, particularly youth engagement, and addressed high priority deferred maintenance needs.
The Centennial Challenge Grants are part of a multiyear effort to prepare for the 2016 Centennial of the National Park Service including the Find Your Park Campaign which connects a broader audience to public lands, and President Obama’s Every Kid in a Park initiative that will give every fourth grader and their families free access to national parks and all federal lands and waters for a full year, beginning this Fall.