The photographs above are of the men and women participating in the annual reenactment of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
Battle Participants
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park preserves the history and battleground on which the Battle of Guilford Courthouse was fought on March 15, 1781. For decades, visitors to the park have asked about their ancestors and relatives who were said to have fought in the battle. Park officials used a card file to collect these names and any evidence presented. The quality of evidence of battle participation in the park’s possession varied greatly. Park personnel recognized the value of a historically accurate database to park visitors and historians and wanted their records to be brought up to today’s standards. From October 2016 to October 2017, a team of 25 DAR members contributed over 1200 volunteer hours to develop a list of names for whom there is Revolutionary War pension application evidence of their participation in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. The resultant database compiled over 2350 names and words relevant to the battle taken from pension applications. The words, often those spoken many years ago by the participants themselves as they described their role in the battle during the pension application process, were included in the database compiled by the DAR team. The database, The Battle of Guilford Courthouse, was presented by Guilford Battle Chapter, NSDAR, to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park during the March 2017 battle commemoration ceremony. It is available for viewing in both hardcopy and digital formats at the park.
There were said to have been about 4500 men who fought for the Americans that day. Some of the names of those men have been forever lost to history and some are yet to be discovered. Although the main focus of evidence for this project was Revolutionary War pension applications, there are other less abundant sources of evidence that represent acceptable documentation. These sources include diaries, journals or obituaries and a few of the entries in the database were substantiated from these sources. These types of sources represent potential sources of evidence for additional battle participants. Park visitors and historians are encouraged to continue to submit names and evidence of potential battle participants to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park officials.
It is hoped that this database will provide a bridge for the current generation and our children’s generation to connect with these historical events on a personal level and to give them assurance that their own ancestor’s or relative’s contribution is remembered and honored.
Chapter research team for the Battle Participants project at
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park.
⁎ Photographs This Page Courtesy Chapter Archives ⁎
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