July 4th Week: Moore’s Creek National Battlefield

In the winter of 1775-76, both the Carolinas and the South, in general, were undecided in revolutionary spirit. A few were vehement American patriots and some were loyal to the Crown. Most were waiting to see which side would be successful first; the Carolinians were very pragmatic. Who would have guessed?

Eager unresolved eyes watched when, in February 1776, a regiment of 1,600 Loyalists marched across Carolina towards the port town of Wilmington and a rendezvous with British warships. The English knew the South’s ambivalence and believed if they conquered the Carolinas they would suppress the rebellion began in Massachusetts the previous April.

What happened next? Click here to read on.

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Guilford Courthouse National Military Park

Greensboro, N.C.
Visited: October 31, 2005
NPS Site Visited: 277 of 353
NPS Website

WHAT IS IT?
Site of a bloody March 15, 1781 Revolutionary War battle won by the British forces commanded by General Cornwallis.

BEAUTY (6/10)
Battlefield endangerment purists probably won’t like it here because much of the Battleground lays outside the Park boundaries, victims of development. There are also lots and lots of monuments. Monuments and statues honoring everyone from War heroes like Nathanael Greene (hence Greensboro) to North Carolina’s Declaration of Independence signatories to a woman who lost her son in the battle to the countless people who made the Guilford Courthouse NMP possible.

But we liked it. The Park occupies a lovely narrow bit of public green space wedged between the suburban sprawl of Greensboro. Its humble acreage creates a cozy, well-trod feel. The Battlefield was manageably walked and easily completed in less than two hours.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (8/10)
“Another such victory would ruin the British Army,” was the response of Charles James Fox, head of Parliament’s opposition party, when informed of the results at Guilford Courthouse. He was, as they say over there, spot on.

In fact, the British Army never got a chance to win again. Their “victory” came at a high cost: the loss of the American colonies. General Cornwallis lost ¼ of his 1,900 men and was forced to retreat to Yorktown, Virginia where he would surrender his Army seven months later.

The Site claimed Guilford Courthouse as the most important Revolutionary War battle fought south of Philadelphia. We agree. We also agreed when the same thing was said at Kings Mountain, Cowpens, Fort Moultrie, Moore’s Creek and Yorktown… but we really agree this time.

CROWDS (8/10)
We saw hundreds of Greensboro-ians enjoying the beautiful day at their National Park. No, they were not touring the battlefield, they were picnicking, running, walking and utilizing the grounds more as a pleasant City Park than a Battlefield. Seeing non-history-buff-type people was nice, especially after walking mile after lonely rural mile through the Carolina’s other Revolutionary War parks.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (5/5)
The sprawl of Greensboro, N.C. has completely engulfed the once separate village of Guilford Court House. The Park is located just off U.S. Route 220, about three miles northwest of downtown. An isolated 2¼-mile auto tour, populated with more joggers than cars, circles the battlefield. Numerous paved and unpaved trails weave around the battlefield meeting at unexpected angles.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (5/5)
The Guilford Courthouse NMP is so extensive and chock full o’ titles that we openly wondered, “are you sure this wasn’t a Civil War battle?” You know, because the Civil War-related bookstores are all great. OK, maybe this is only funny to us; we have been to a lot of battlefields.

COSTS (4/5)
Free. An in-depth Revolutionary War education is cheap.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (3/5)
Rangers are posted at the entrance desk armed with answers. The fully self-guided Museum is bound to generate questions.

TOURS/CLASSES (8/10)
When did “electric maps” become “fiber-optic battle presentations”? Guilford Courthouse’s fiber optic presentation is encased in a soundproof glass booth. We felt like we were on a quiz show.

The tremendous map is par for the Guilford Courthouse’s educational course. An excellent and new Museum examines the southern campaign of the Revolutionary War at great length with skilled panels and original artifacts. The Museum also included a tactile map of the Battlefield, combined in its display with a Braille recap of the different stages of the fight. Amazing stuff.

If the free NPS exhibits do not satiate your 18th-century appetite, the Tannebaum Historic Park is less than a ¼ mile away.

FUN (7/10)
Guilford Courthouse NMP offers the best learning experience of the seven Carolina NPS Revolutionary War Parks. We came here last, which was not a bad choice. The Museum tied together everything we had learned over the course of our whirlwind tour.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (7/10)
March 18-19, 2006 marks the 225th Anniversary of the Battle that won the Revolutionary War. If you are in Greensboro on that date, you should definitely enjoy the festivities. Why would you be in Greensboro then, you ask? Well, that date coincides with Greensboro’s hosting of the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The first round games are on the 16th, second round on the 18th. We say go to the second round games and enjoy history on the 19th. Go Hoyas!

TOTAL 61/80

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Blue Ridge Parkway

stretches from Shenandoah NP, Va. to Great Smoky Mountains NP, Tenn.
Visited: October 30, 2005
NPS Site Visited: 276 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website

WHAT IS IT?
469 miles of two-lane road that follows the Appalachian Mountain ridgeline, each mile more breathtaking than the last.

BEAUTY (10/10)
The Parkway rides the long, bumpy spine of the Appalachians, roller-coastering its way above the fray and the madness below. Its humble two-lane, 45-mph speed limited road is free from billboards, litter, cross traffic and tractor-trailers. The Parkway is almost 500 miles of panoramas, sweeping vistas and majestic overlooks.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (4/10)
The Blue Ridge Parkway bisects the mountainous areas of Virginia and North Carolina known as southern Appalachia, where coal and logging industries introduced a diverse group of workers to the region previously inhabited (and probably named) by Native Americans.

Appalachian history is highlighted in many of the Parkway’s roadside stops, exhibits and remnants of farms and mills. Appalachian culture is alive in the folk art centers and music center that lie within NPS boundaries.

CROWDS (8/10)
Every Visitor Center was full. Pullouts were packed. An unseasonably warm day brought sunbathers from (we are assuming) Appalachian State University to the lawns around Moses Cone Manor. We were part of a sea of people moving along the previously inaccessible Blue Ridge in either direction.

The accessibility of the Parkway guarantees at least 20 million visitors a year. 20 million people driving just to drive, drawn by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We felt a connection with our fellow travelers. The Blue Ridge Parkway is an essential American experience.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (4/5)
Nine out of twelve months this rating would be a five, but icy conditions intensify at the higher altitude passes in the winter and late fall. Plan on a few road closures and detours if you visit the Parkway between the end of October and spring thaw. We encountered two.

The rest of the year, the Parkway is the easiest way to explore the Appalachian hills and ridges. The Parkway stretches from Rockfish Gap, Va. to the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. Mile markers increase in number from North to South. Should you find yourself missing life in the fast lane, Interstate 81 parallels the east side of the Blue Ridge and the Parkway.

The Parkway did not connect from end to end until less than 20 years ago. 461.5 of its miles were ready by 1967, but a 7.5-mile boulder-filled course over Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina was impassable until the construction of the Linn Cove Viaduct in September of 1987. Site literature calls the Viaduct, “the most complicated concrete bridge ever built.”

Asheville, N.C. and Roanoke, Va. are the largest cities close to the Parkway; the smaller towns of Lexington and Lynchburg are also easily reached. We know because we spent nights in each of them.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (5/5)
There are not one but two opportunities to lose yourself among the rich crafts of the Southern Highland Craft Guild along the Parkway. The Parkway Craft Center is housed inside the stately Moses Cone Manor at milepost 294. The Allanstand Craft Shop, the Guild’s flagship and oldest continuously operating craft shop in the nation, occupies the first floor of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center at milepost 382, east of Asheville, NC.

So if you are kicking yourself for not picking up that piece of glassware, patchwork quilt or hand-carved puzzle box when you first saw it, odds are you can find something similar further along in your journey. The Moses Cone Manor should be awakening any day now from its winter dormancy. The Allanstand is open and active with events and demonstrations year round.

COSTS (4/5)
There is no toll for the East’s most famous drive but we dare you not to buy souvenirs at the Park’s extraordinary folk art centers.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
Rangers were on hand at every Visitor Center, but most were occupied with rerouting visitors around the two road closures on the Parkway. As we lined up to let the Ranger highlight our map and tell us how to get back on course, we wondered how many times she had gone through this routine already today and if perhaps there were a better way to disseminate this information.

TOURS/CLASSES (8/10)
The works of the Southern Highland Craft Guild rival any museum of American folk art that we have seen. The Folk Art Center at milepost 382 gives credence to our statement with its second floor gallery, showcasing both current artisans and works from the past while it explains the raw materials and process by which each object was made.

The brand new Blue Ridge Music Center at milepost 213 is filled with sunshine, smells of freshly hammered timber and gold records acquired by some of the forefathers (and mothers) of bluegrass and the blues. The bright and spacious main building tells of Appalachia’s contributions to American music and hosts concerts and open jam sessions in spring, summer and fall.

Mount Mitchell State Park, just off the Parkway’s milepost 355 offers more educational opportunities and exhibits, but its concrete observation deck with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains is why we strayed from the Parkway. Mount Mitchell is the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

FUN (10/10)
One would think that after being in the car together for almost two years, we would not seek out roads that necessitate low speeds and prolong our drive time. We enjoyed every minute of our time on and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Every time Gab started to fidget, a sign for the next Visitor Center appeared or a stunning overlook emerged from around a bend. Perfect timing.

We chose the trails around Linville Falls (milepost 316) as one of the sites to stretch our legs, as did everyone else it seemed. Trails were crowded but well kept. The 45-mph Parkway speed limit must have rubbed off on us. We were so relaxed and unhurried that we didn’t really mind waiting as a family scooted their throng of little ones up steps and closer to the falls. Driving the Parkway is all about going with the flow.

We were nervous about hitting the Parkway at such a peak time of year, but we can’t say our visit was affected by people. The biggest challenge was finding a high perch for sunset but still making off the Parkway and down the ridge before dark. The only disappointment was the early winter closing of some of the smaller Visitor Centers.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (10/10)
We kept reminding ourselves as we cruised along that these mountaintops were once totally out of reach to most of the American public. The Parkway serves as a memorial to the vision of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the ingenuity of the American people to make it real.

Although it took over 52 years to complete the Parkway, today’s visitors need only get in the car and go. This unforgettable drive requires low effort and yields high rewards. Since it is closed to commercial vehicles, one can take those curves as slowly as one would like, allowing for plenty of time to take in the mountain air and enjoy the peacefulness of the drive.

The only way one could not fully enjoy a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway is to see it as a route between two National Parks and not a destination in its own right.

TOTAL 67/80

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park

near Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Visited: October 26, 2005
NPS Site Visited: 271 of 353
NPS Website

WHAT IS IT?
Wonderfully vast and diverse Appalachian mountain park that boasts over 500,000 acres and more plant species than the continent of Europe. This wilderness playground is home to many superlatives including our most visited National Park and our most polluted.

BEAUTY (10/10)
Newfound Gap Road, the two-lane highway that bisects the Park, gets our vote for one of the most scenic roads in the United States. Even though Great Smoky Mountains NP has hundreds of thousands of acres which can only be explored by trail, the casual visitor can get an astounding sensory snapshot of what the Park has to offer and hardly has to leave his or her vehicle.

Appalachian cottages are clustered near the north and south entrances of the Park. In between, the Newfound Gap Road travels aside the Oconanluftee River, winds through five distinct forest types and climbs up to meet the highest point of the Appalachian Trail. Changes in elevation guarantee that the landscape, fauna and flora will vary from start to finish. Waterfalls, stone bridges and small animals appear when you least expect them. We found it impossible to drive farther than a few miles at a time without stopping to admire the scenery around us.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (6/10)
Great Smoky Mountain NP is designated both as an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site, meaning it is recognized as a core area that preserves and protects both biological and cultural resources.

The cultural resources protected by the Park include Appalachian homes, mills and artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries left behind as the Park was assembled through the acquisition of private lands.

Great Smoky Mountain NP is one of the first National Parks east of the Mississippi as well as one of the first patch-worked together from private lands.

Although not without opposition, activists in the 1930s convinced the states of Tennessee and North Carolina to protect the Smokies from commercial logging, purchase the land and donate it to the federal government. What is amazing is the amount of land the National Park Service has been able to manage and preserve one-half million acres?! To set aside that amount of land on the East Coast and protect it from urban and commercial development unfortunately seems like an unattainable dream today.

CROWDS (4/10)
The Great Smoky Mountains NP is perpetually packed, as in no room to walk or even breath packed. In 2005, 9.2 million people visited the Great Smokies. In the same year, 10.5 million combined people visited Grand Canyon NP, Yellowstone NP AND Yosemite NP!

We approached the Park from its southeastern entrance at Cherokee where the crowds were modest but steady. Once we crossed the Blue Ridge and entered Tennessee, there were cars and people everywhere.

The Clingman’s Dome overlook parking lot overflowed while no less than 100 professional photographer types (sturdy tripods, high-end Canons, bulging camera bags, multiple light filters, old press passes hanging from their necks and cigarettes dangling from their mouths) lined the parking lot’s ridge at sundown prepared to get the perfect sunset photo.

The descent towards Gatlinburg means more and more people and constant traffic lines along the Park’s narrow, tortuous two-lane roads. Luckily, there are ample places to pull over and take in the ethereal scenery.

We avoided the Park’s signature drive (we’re blushing in shame) the Cades Cove Loop Road. Evidently, the 11-mile loop takes between 2 and 4 hours to traverse because a) all the cars and b) bear jams. Black bears hang out on the road, people take pictures and traffic stops. Makes sense to us. The Cades Cove Loop is “the most heavily visited destination within the most heavily visited national park in the U.S.”

Despite the swarms of people, the Park feels like a place where, if you wander of the beaten path, you will be rewarded with tremendous scenery and some peace and quiet. Nearly the entire Park is wilderness and inaccessible by car; there cannot be people in these places, can there?

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (5/5)
The Park’s only accessibility downsides are the large crowd deterrence and twisty roads. But heck, this is what an appreciated National Park looks like: lots of people and smoggy sunsets.

Unlike Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion and the Grand Canyon, megalithic-sized tourist towns have sprung up around Great Smoky NP. If you cannot find a cheap hotel room here, you are not looking hard enough.

Gatlinburg is a quaint, Swiss-chalet-ish town with narrow streets, kitschy cute shops and a Dukes of Hazzard-tribute restaurant owned by the actor who played Cooter. Pigeon Forge is eight lanes of traffic (Route 441) sided by go-cart tracks, bungee jumping towers, motels and themed restaurants. Route 441 is numbered with mile-markers as if it were a beach town. Pigeon Forge’s most famous denizen is Dolly Parton and her amusement park, Dollywood.

If Dollywood isn’t your speed, the Park is within 40 miles of both Knoxville, Tenn. (to the west) and Asheville, N.C. (to the east). These two quirky, growing college towns both boast prominent literary sons (James Agee and Thomas Wolfe) and desirable downtowns.

If you want to stay in the Park, there are over 1,000 campsites in 10 campgrounds. 500+ of these sites can be reserved ahead of time. Backcountry permits are free and probably the preferable way to get away from it all.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (5/5)
On sale are hundreds of books raging in topic from local history to Cherokee heritage to mountain ghost stories. The store is also generous with the stuffed animals; we were partial to the Plush Turkey Vulture. We think those soaring omnivores are super cuddly and endearingly clumsy. The bookstore hands out an eight-page glossy flier called “Smokies Gift Ideas” which can be very helpful amid the overwhelming selection.

COSTS (5/5)
The Great Smoky Mountains proudly stands in the pantheon of American National Parks and remarkably charges no entrance fee. Perhaps that is why it is our most crowded and most visited National Park.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (5/5)
Great Smoky Mountains NP gets mad props for manning each Visitor Center with a throng of Rangers and volunteers to direct, recommend, and manage its seemingly unmanageable number of guests.

TOURS/CLASSES (7/10)
How do you deal with 9.2 million people coming through your Park every year?

A) Offer a high-definition introductory movie in a large theatre playing on what seems like a continuous loop at Sugarlands, the most popular VC; B) Showcase your cultural exhibits outside in historic villages like Cades Cove and living history museums like Mountain Farm; and C) Publish an excellent array of supplemental booklets and brochures that visitors can purchase for a nominal fee at self-serve stations at every VC.

Usually we wince at having to pay extra for trail maps or guides to scenic drives. That was before we peeked inside these wonderful, thick-papered pullouts produced by the Great Smoky Mountain Association. These single-subject supplements to the official park brochure and the park newspaper are filled with detailed information on everything from birding to backpack loops, to favorite long and short hikes. Scenic drives, wildlife, waterfalls and wild flowers also get their own specialized treatment. Priced from 50 cents to a dollar, we found these to be well worth the cost. We emptied our pockets of change and left with several.

It is hard being so well-liked. The Park’s film, newspaper, and pretty much all of its official materials highlight the challenges created by the steady stream of people and cars through the protected lands. More than an explanation or an excuse, the publications invite the public to join in the stewardship of the Park. That gets another thumbs up.

Not officially part of the Park, the newly renovated Museum of the Cherokee Indian just south of the Oconaluftee VC highlights the Trail of Tears and ten thousand years of Cherokee history.

Just before the north entrance of the Park, the Southern Highland Craft Guild operates one of their Craft Shops. As beautiful as any gallery or art museum, the Shop warrants a stop, if only to browse and admire.

FUN (10/10)
A road closure on the Blue Mountain Parkway and its mandatory detour gave us a later start in the Park than we had hoped for. We still managed to traverse Newfound Gap Road before dark, stopping frequently to climb down into creek beds, gaze up at foliage, stretch our legs and just stare.

We even took a non-mandatory but highly recommended detour up to Clingman’s Dome. Because of the altitude, we have a feeling this road leads to a winter wonderland almost any time of the year. We happened to drive up it before the road closed for the winter but after an early winter snow storm which left everything in a coat of white sticky snow.

Can you picture how gorgeous this is with the late afternoon sun streaming through the pines? If you can’t hundreds of photographers were there to capture the moment on film.

Because of our late morning start and meandering drive, we experienced the blinding glitter and glam of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge at night. The unending commerce of Pigeon Forge makes the protected peace of Great Smoky Mountains NP all the more appreciated and quite frankly, unbelievable. We found a place to rest our heads and returned to the Park the next day to do it all again.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (10/10)
Absolutely, emphatically, yes. There is a reason, in fact many reasons, why 9 million+ people make the pilgrimage here every year.

TOTAL 67/80

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Carl Sandburg National Historic Site

Flat Rock, N.C.
Visited: October 26, 2005
NPS Site Visited: 270 of 353
NPS Website

WHAT IS IT?
Longtime home (and goat farm) of Carl Sandburg, famed 20th-century American poet and Abraham Lincoln biographer.

BEAUTY (6/10)
The Sandburg’s whitewashed clapboard house is probably the least impressive home along the streets of Flat Rock. Its interior is equally drab, save for Carl’s thousands and thousands of books. Furniture and wall hangings are sparse, at least that’s what we were told. Much of the home’s items were under plastic wrap during some necessary restoration work on windows and walls.

If we lived in the Sandburg home, we would spend much of our time where Carl did: outside. Connemara’s 245 acres overlooks the rolling pastures dotted with Mrs. Sandburg’s prized goats, a lake stocked with trout and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (5/10)
Carl Sandburg wrote about a 1/3 of his literary output here at Connemara. Sandburg is remembered as singularly American because of his populist poetry, his Illinois prairie roots and his vast and iconic Lincoln biography, often called the best work written about America’s most-written-about hero.

CROWDS (7/10)
Tours of Connemara max out at 15 people. Our 9 am tour of the house reached capacity and felt even larger since we had to squeeze past several NPS employees already working inside. We were carefully herded through the halls and around the protected belongings of the Sandburgs. Space was tight. This house tour is not for the claustrophobic, especially when there are acres of pasture, forest and a lakefront to enjoy.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (3/5)
Flat Rock, NC is just south of Asheville, NC and north of Greenville, NC along I-26. Carl Sandburg Home NHS is reached via exit 22, US-25. Once you are on US-25, turn on to Little River Road which is between the post office and the Flat Rock Playhouse (Flat Rock is a very small town), go just 0.1 mile and the parking lot will be on your left.

The Site’s brochure says just follow the signs to the Sandburg Home NHS, but if you are coming up from Greenville, signs are less prevalent and the exit is easy to miss. We did.

The walk from the parking lot up to the Sandburg home and Park VC is a steady incline which may prove difficult for elderly visitors or those with physical disabilities. Luckily, there is a small information building at the foot of the walk with a phone. You can call up the hill and, if staffing allows, a Ranger will come get you in a little shuttle.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (5/5)
The best bookstores are ones that offer treasures to every budget range. Mr. Sandburg’s writings were available in lovely hardbound editions as well as dollar paperback versions.

COSTS (2/5)
A tour of the Carl Sandburg house runs $5 per person, free with the National Parks Pass. During our tour the House’s star attraction, Sandburg’s vast book collection, was hidden behind dust-resistant covers for cleaning and inventory purposes. If we had paid the $5, we would have been very disappointed.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
We found two Rangers at the Goat Barn letting the goats out to graze. After oh so many goat portraits, we wandered back to the house where another Ranger invited us in the basement Visitor Center, gave us our tour tickets and settled us in for the film. We assumed she would be giving the tour. Not so.

A kind, but less than knowledgeable volunteer escorted us through the Sandburg home. With a limited timeframe and a tour group that tended towards tangential questions, we would have appreciated a more dexterous and informed guide.

We were even more frustrated by this bait and switch when we peeked through half-opened doors to find several Rangers engaged in inventory inside Connemara.

TOURS/CLASSES (5/10)
The Park’s introductory film is a must-see whether you are a Sandburg scholar or are just taking a side trip from your Asheville fall-colors vacation. The film is just a rebroadcasted Carl Sandburg interview done by famed journalist Edward R. Murrow. Sandburg sings, recites poetry, speaks philosophy, plays with his goats over the course of 20 minutes. His personality jumps off the screen and pleasantly frames the rest of your visit. You see Sandburg’s quirks and whimsies in his books, his farm, his views, his house and his life.

The volunteer-led tour was not so great. Your experience could be different. Sandburg 14,000 books were covered; you could not even see the titles. Had we known, we would not have taken the tour.

FUN (8/10)
Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats! Goats!

What is more fun than running around a stunning Appalachian mountain estate with friendly goats? We say nothing. Well, maybe listening to Gab’s impressions of Carl Sandburg reading his poetry. Maybe she can upload a .wav image, because you cannot capture her mimicry skills in print.

The wonderful thing about Carl Sandburg’s vast estate is that it is now Americas to enjoy. He has given it back to the people. Five miles of trails weave through the mountains and pastures. His views are now our views, his inspiration now ours.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (7/10)
The NPS’s roster of literary-related sites will do nothing to dispel the myth that writers are bonkers. Edgar Allan Poe, Eugene O’Neill and now Carl Sandburg. While Poe and O’Neill’s sites might throw you into a severe depression, Sandburg’s will just make you feel good. He was kooky and lived in a separate planar dimension but he loved life, humanity and America. It is impossible to leave Flat Rock without a warm feeling towards the bard, his wife, his wonderful prize-winning goats and even yourself.

TOTAL 52/80

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Moores Creek National Battlefield

Currie, N.C.
Visited: October 18, 2005
NPS Site Visited: 263 of 353
NPS Website; Local Website

WHAT IS IT?
Site of a February 27, 1776 Revolutionary War battle that preceded the signing of the Declaration of Independence by more than three months. The Patriot victory ended British authority in the North Carolina colony.

BEAUTY (4/10)
Two trails lead through Moores Creek NB’s 80+ acres. The Tar Heel Trail takes you amid soaring longleaf pine trees that are used in the creation of tar and turpentine, North Carolina’s primary economic source in Revolutionary times, hence the Tar Heel State.

The History Trail weaves through reconstructed Patriot Earthworks and to the infamous Moores Creek Bridge. The creek is mildly swampy and surprisingly narrow. Why exactly did the Loyalists have to cross here and here alone? The remainder of the History Trail passes Monuments that remember the Loyalists, Patriots and the first president of the Moores Creek Monument Association.

HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (5/10)
In the winter of 1775-76, both the Carolinas and the South, in general, were undecided in revolutionary spirit. A few were vehement American patriots and some were loyal to the Crown. Most were waiting to see which side would be successful first; the Carolinians were very pragmatic. Who would have guessed?

Eager unresolved eyes watched when, in February 1776, a regiment of 1,600 Loyalists marched across Carolina towards the port town of Wilmington and a rendezvous with British warships. The English knew the South’s ambivalence and believed if they conquered the Carolinas they would suppress the rebellion began in Massachusetts the previous April.

The Loyalist’s march necessitated a bridge crossing at Moores Creek, 20 miles to the north of Wilmington. 1,000 Patriots understood the Redcoats’ route and raced to be the first to Moores Creek. The Patriots got there first.

With the Loyalists camped just a few miles away, the Patriots dismantled the bridge and greased the girders. Nature smiled on the Patriots. That morning, a thick fog masked the trap. Loyalist after Loyalist fell into the water ambushed by rifle fire. 70 Loyalists were killed or wounded while the Patriots lost only one man.

Their decisive victory brought a wave of patriotism to the Carolinas. Loyalist property was seized en masse and the British sympathizers were banished to Canada. The British invasion was stopped before it even began. Just three months later, the North Carolina delegation at the Continental Congress became the first colony to vote for Independence from Britain.

CROWDS (6/10)
We were the only people there.

EASE OF USE/ACCESS (2/5)
We are still unclear why all 1770’s roads to Wilmington passed through this part of the turpentine woods. If you visit this remote Tar Heel hamlet, you will be confused too. The Port of Wilmington has not moved but its sprawl is inching closer to Moores Creek every day. If you are coming from Port City, take U.S. Route 421 north for about 20 miles until you reach North Carolina Route 210. Turn left (west) onto 210 and the Battlefield should appear on your left in about three miles.

From Interstate 40, take Exit 408 (Rocky Point). You should be on NC 210. Take 210 west for about 15 miles and you should see the NPS facility. You could probably reach the Park Site in a quicker fashion using unmarked back roads. We tried this option, however, and got lost.

CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
The Visitor Center is currently under construction so a teaching trailer currently houses the bookstore. The good if not overwhelming selection of Revolutionary texts contains more books about other Carolina battles than Moores Creek. But really, how much can you say about such a short fight?

COSTS (4/5)
It is free.

RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (4/5)
The Ranger on duty in the trailer seemed startled by us. Is visitor traffic at Moores Creek that slow? Another Ranger mulled around in a side office poised to help. We think. Neither helped us understand the pre-Declaration of Independence fight that well but heck, there were two of them and two of us.

TOURS/CLASSES (3/10)
We two Pennsylvania travelers had no idea a Revolutionary War battle occurred in North Carolina months before the colonies formally seceded. We had only a vague idea that the Southern colonies experienced any of the War. Everything we learned at Moores Creek was new and a shock to our historical reference points.

The 30-year old cartoon film and the confusing Ranger were a poor introduction. We began to sort things out via the Park brochure and the History Trail’s wayside exhibits but achieved a better understanding only after visiting Carolina’s other Revolutionary War sites. In the meantime, our chronology and perspective were a bit off.

FUN (4/10)
The story of Moores Creek reads more like fraternity prank than a War. The Patriot men greased a bridge, wore kilts and saw only one casualty. The story also presents a villainous opposition, the Loyalists, true to the Crown and downright un-American.

After spending the previous week trolling Virginia Civil War battlefields where deaths numbered in the hundreds of thousands, a fight where only 40 died (Loyalists, even) feels almost light-hearted and fun. The good guys won, too.

WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (3/10)
Before our trip, the Wilmington, N.C. area elicited thoughts of the venerable WB Network show Dawson’s Creek and the twice-made horror film Cape Fear, not a decisive Revolutionary War battle. We assumed Moores Creek (and four other Carolina sites) honored Civil War battles. We were off by almost 100 years.

Nonetheless, Moores Creek NB was the least remarkable of the Revolutionary War sites and recommended only to the most hardcore Patriot historian. The knowledge that the battle happened is good enough for us; we did not need to see the famous bridge, now reconstructed and crossable.

TOTAL 38/80

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