Last updated: January 11, 2024
Place
Grady (Patriot) Monument
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Amenities
2 listed
Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits
The Patriot Army on February 27, 1776, consisted of men from places like Wilmington, New Bern, and Kinston. They were farmers, merchants, blacksmiths, and slaves. Many of these men still considered themselves good British subjects, but they had grown weary of over-taxation by the British Government.
When the Patriots learned a British Army was preparing to retake the colony by force, many of them who were Minutemen rushed out of their homes and businesses to take up arms against the Crown. Over the course of a few minutes on February 27, 1776, the fate of North Carolina, and the rest of the colonies, was decided here on these grounds. A Patriot victory here would encourage the Sons of Liberty in North Carolina, on April 12, 1776, to vote for Independence. North Carolina was the first American Colony to do so. Like a piece of a puzzle, the Battle of Moores Creek played an ever-important role in completing the quest for Independence from Great Britain.
In 1857, this monument, known as the Grady Monument, or Patriot Monument, was placed here so we could remember the Patriots who fought for our Independence. This monument commemorates this Patriot victory and honors the only Patriot who died during the battle, Private John Grady of Duplin County. During the dedication ceremony in 1857, the cornerstone for the obelisk was laid into a brick foundation, which contained the reinterred remains of Grady.
Sometime during that year, the obelisk, which was imported from Philadelphia, was placed on top of the cornerstone and brick foundation. Staring up at this prominent memorial anchoring the corner of this hallowed ground, let us recall the final thoughts from an “Address Delivered at the Celebration of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, February 27th, 1857”:
“So let that monument which on this spot we build, proclaim to all the world the prompt obedience which our brave forefathers yielded to their country’s bidding and show how– “When their country called, and called in wild despair, the Patriots came, and all their soul was here.” Let us my countrymen, ever hallow in our hearts, the spot on which we stand – let the monument we build on it be an altar of freedom where we may ever rekindle the expiring fires of patriotism."
When the Patriots learned a British Army was preparing to retake the colony by force, many of them who were Minutemen rushed out of their homes and businesses to take up arms against the Crown. Over the course of a few minutes on February 27, 1776, the fate of North Carolina, and the rest of the colonies, was decided here on these grounds. A Patriot victory here would encourage the Sons of Liberty in North Carolina, on April 12, 1776, to vote for Independence. North Carolina was the first American Colony to do so. Like a piece of a puzzle, the Battle of Moores Creek played an ever-important role in completing the quest for Independence from Great Britain.
In 1857, this monument, known as the Grady Monument, or Patriot Monument, was placed here so we could remember the Patriots who fought for our Independence. This monument commemorates this Patriot victory and honors the only Patriot who died during the battle, Private John Grady of Duplin County. During the dedication ceremony in 1857, the cornerstone for the obelisk was laid into a brick foundation, which contained the reinterred remains of Grady.
Sometime during that year, the obelisk, which was imported from Philadelphia, was placed on top of the cornerstone and brick foundation. Staring up at this prominent memorial anchoring the corner of this hallowed ground, let us recall the final thoughts from an “Address Delivered at the Celebration of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, February 27th, 1857”:
“So let that monument which on this spot we build, proclaim to all the world the prompt obedience which our brave forefathers yielded to their country’s bidding and show how– “When their country called, and called in wild despair, the Patriots came, and all their soul was here.” Let us my countrymen, ever hallow in our hearts, the spot on which we stand – let the monument we build on it be an altar of freedom where we may ever rekindle the expiring fires of patriotism."