Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
| Guilford Courthouse National Military Park | |
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IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
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| Location | Greensboro, North Carolina, USA |
| Nearest city | Greensboro, NC |
| Coordinates | 36°7′53″N 79°50′47″W / 36.13139°N 79.84639°WCoordinates: 36°7′53″N 79°50′47″W / 36.13139°N 79.84639°W |
| Area | 220.25 acres (89.13 ha) |
| Established | March 2, 1917 |
| Visitors | 277,484 (in 2004) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
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Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
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| Nearest city | Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Architect | National Park Service; Bureau of Public Roads |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000069 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD | January 3, 2001 |
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, at 2332 New Garden Road in Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina, commemorates the Battle of Guilford Court House, fought on March 15, 1781. This battle opened the campaign that led to American victory in the Revolutionary War. The losses by the British in this battle contributed to their surrender at Yorktown seven months later. The battlefield is preserved as a National Military Park and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). Based on research of historical evidence, the interpretation of the battle has changed since the late 20th century, which will affect the placement of monuments and markers.
In 1886, local resident David Schenck initiated plans to gain control of land to commemorate the Guilford Courthouse battleground as a park. The following year, he chartered the non-profit Guilford Battle Ground Company to advance such efforts. From an early date, he planned on the group's donating the property it purchased to the federal government. When the US Congress finally established Guilford Courthouse as a national military park in 1917, the GBGC turned over its 125 acres (0.51 km2) at no charge. Without David Schenck's generosity, it is entirely possible that the park would not exist today.
Although generous in starting the park, the years of control by the GBGC left a mixed legacy. First, Schenck did not preserve the terrain in its approximate historical state, but beautified the landscape for a pleasing experience. Before the grounds were established as a military park, state historical societies began to erect monuments in the area purchased by the GBGC. Although well-meant, these monuments and interpretations were not based on researched evidence and were often constructed in convenient, if inaccurate, locations.
Second, he adopted an interpretation of the battle that encompassed a much smaller area than is indicated by contemporary accounts. Historians believe his limited funds, coupled with landowners' demanding top dollar, influenced his interpretation. This mis-led researchers and historical groups who relied on his work; they placed historical monuments and markers in the wrong spots. It also hampered government efforts to acquire land or resist development in areas outside the original area designated as battleground by Schenck. Since his time, the expanding city of Greensboro approached and encircled the park with private development, destroying some battlefield areas. When the National Park Service assumed responsibility for the park, their historians and researchers sought to clarify the accuracy of the locations of the battle. The renewed accuracy places many of the monuments in locations that had very little reference to the actual battle.
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Wikipedia