Documenting the American South

Monument Name

Moores Creek Stage Road Monument, Moores Creek National Battlefield

Type

Marker

Subjects

Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Creator

Meier’s Marble and Granite Works, Wilmington, NC, Builder

City

Currie

County

Pender

Description

This monument is a 5’ x 8” granite boulder with a polished frame for the inscription and a small relief sculpture of a cannon below. The cannon faces the historic Negro Head Point Road and resides on the battlefield outside the reconstructed earthworks. Originally, the monument rested atop a concrete base that no longer remains.

Inscription

OLD WILMINGTON AND FAYETTEVILLE STAGE ROAD / ROUTE TAKEN BY BRITISH AND TORY ARMY FROM / CROSS CREEK TO JOIN LORD CORNWALLIS AND / CLINTON AT WILMINGTON. THEY WERE DEFEATED IN / THE BATTLE OF THIS PLACE. 350 WERE CAPTURED / AS PRISONERS OF WAR FEB. 27, 1776

Custodian

Moores Creek National Battlefield, National Park Service

Dedication Date

July 27, 1911

Decade

1910s

Geographic Coordinates

34.458350 , -78.112590

Series

Moores Creek National Battlefield

Supporting Sources

“Unveil Marker at Armenia to Commemorate Confederate Victory,” Kinston Free Press (Kinston, NC), May 10, 1920, 1

Blankenship, Jamie. "Background Study on Fences and Monuments at Moores Creek National Battlefield," (Currie, NC: National Park Service, 1989), accessed December 6, 2012

Capps, Michael A., and Davis, Steven A. "Moores Creek National Battlefield: An Administrative History," (Atlanta, GA: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, National Park Service, Southeast Regional Office, Cultural Resources Stewardship, 1999), accessed December 6, 2012

Carraway, Gertude Sprague. [Scrapbook of clippings and other material dealing with the Moore's Creek battleground celebration and North Carolina's part in the Sesqui-Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia], (1926), accessed December 6, 2012

Hatch, Charles. "Moores Creek National Military Park, North Carolina: the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge," (Washington, D.C.: Office of History and Historic Architecture, 1969), accessed December 6, 2012

Hawes, E. A., Moore, J. F., and Thomas, Charles R. "Ceremonies at the unveiling of the monument upon Moore's Creek battle ground to the women of the Revolution, August, 1907," ([Pender County, N.C.: Moore's Creek Monument Association, 1907])

U.S. Department of the Interior. National Park Service. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory. Nomination Form "Moore's Creek National Military Park No. 66000070]," ([1976]), accessed December 6, 2012

Wright, Joshua G. "Address delivered at the celebration of the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, February 27th, 1857: by Joshua G. Wright, Esq.," (Wilmington, N.C.: Fulton & Price, Steam Power Printers, 1857), accessed December 14, 2012

“Among the Dealers: Trade Changes and Work Being Done.” The Reporter, 44 (January 1911), 7, accessed December 14, 2012

“Commemorating the Battle — Moores Creek National Battlefield” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed January 7, 2025)

“Old Battlefield a National Park,” New York Times (New York, NY), August 22, 1926, 10.

“U.S. Takes over Battle Ground of First Victory in North Carolina,” The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, GA), August 12, 1926, 9.

Public Site

Yes

Materials & Techniques

Granite

Sponsors

Moores Creek Monumental Association

Nickname

Old Wilmington and Fayetteville Road Monument

Subject Notes

The monument marks the location of the historic Wilmington-Fayetteville road traveled by both the Loyalist and Patriot forces.

Controversies

According to the National Park Service, there is no evidence that this road was ever used by a stage or if it even connected to Fayetteville.

Location

The memorial is located at the Moores Creek National Battlefield Historic Park, 40 Patriots Hall Dr., Currie, NC 28435. It stands next to the historic Negro Head Point Road on the battlefield.

Landscape

The historic marker stands at the intersection of historic trails in a clearing before a forested area.

Relocated

Yes

Former Locations

The monument was moved from its original location on July 26, 1838 for restoration of the original earthworks on the battlefield.

Post Dedication Use

An annual ceremony of the battle of Moores Creek is held in February with historic military demonstrations and reenactments.