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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Griffin Fauntleroy Monument

  • Monument Name

    Griffin Fauntleroy Monument, Guilford Courthouse

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

  • Creator

    PC Fauntleroy, Designer

  • City

    Greensboro

  • County

    Guilford

  • Description

    This monument, a rectangular slab of roughly-cut granite in the shape of a tombstone, stands just over 3.5 feet tall with a width of 2.5 feet.

  • Inscription

    THIS SITE WAS OCCUPIED / BY THE 1ST VIRGINIA CALVARY / UNDER LIEUTENANT COLONEL / WILLIAM WASHINGTON, CONT'L / LINE, AND IT WAS HERE CAPTAIN / GRIFFIN FAUNTLEROY, 1ST VA. / LT. DRAGOONS, CONT'L LINE- / WAS MORTALLY WOUNDED ON / MARCH 15, 1781. / BORN SEPTEMBER 28, 1754. / NORTHUMBERLAND CO., VA /

  • Custodian

    Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

  • Dedication Date

    Placed on the battleground sometime between June 30, 1931 and April 1932. The exact date is unknown.

  • Decade

    1930s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    36.134470 , -79.840520 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Series

    Guilford Courthouse Battleground

  • Supporting Sources

      "Captain Griffin Fauntleroy," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography 40.2 (1932), 170-175

      "Captain Griffin,” Waymarking.com, (accessed April 11, 2018) Link

      Baker, Thomas E. and Michael H. White. The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, North Carolina, (Greensboro, NC: Guilford Courthouse NMP, 1991)

      National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. North Carolina National Register of Historic Places. "Inventory Form - Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," (accessed November 6, 2019) Link

      “1st Virginia Cavalry,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed April 11, 2018) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite

  • Sponsors

    This slab was funded in part by P. C. Fauntleroy, a descendant of Griffin Fauntleroy.

  • Nickname

    1st Virginia Cavalry Monument

  • Subject Notes

    Fauntleroy was born in 1754 in Northumberland County and by 1776 was a lieutenant in the Seventh Virginia Continental Infantry. A year later he was serving in the First Continental Light Dragoons and was promoted to Captain. During the battle on March 15, 1781 at Guilford Courthouse, Fauntleroy was shot in the thigh. He was left on the field where he died.

  • Location

    The memorial is located in Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, on the Auto Tour at stop 7.

  • Landscape

    The monument is located in the woods off of a paved trail that runs through a portion of the park.

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