Battle of Moores Creek to be commemorated at upcoming anniversary event

Feb 15, 2023 • 3 min. read | By Justin Williams Pope

This year marks the first time since 2020 that Moores Creek National Battlefield will host a full lineup of events for their annual commemoration of the 1776 Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. (Photo courtesy of Moores Creek National Battlefield)

 

This weekend, history will come to life at the Moores Creek National Battlefield in Currie, North Carolina, where an important milestone in the Revolutionary War played out 247 years ago. 

 

Twice per day on Feb. 25 and 26, visitors to the park can watch a narrated reenactment of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, now lauded as one of the first significant victories for Patriot forces in the American Revolution. During the original battle on February 27, 1776, British Loyalists charged Moores Creek Bridge but were caught off guard by nearly 1,000 North Carolina Patriots, who halted the Loyalist advance. 

 

The reenactments are part of a program of events taking place to commemorate the battle’s anniversary, and this year will be the first time since 2020 that all events are returning to the annual event’s lineup, according to National Park Service officials.

 

“It’s really exciting for us to be able to return to a full event. We have missed our visitors over the past few years,” said Jason Collins, chief of interpretation at Moores Creek Battlefield.

 

Like many other organizations, Collins said that the battlefield was forced to shutter or scale back many events over the past few years. He said that “coming back to normal” will be a welcome change for park staff and the many visitors who love Moores Creek. 

 

With this return to normalcy, park officials said they are expecting a big turnout. 

 

“Dependent on the weather, we are expecting 5,000 to 7,000 [visitors] over the weekend,” Collins said. 

 

The last full reenactment in February 2020 brought an estimated 6,000 visitors to the community in western Pender County. 

 

Nearly 140 volunteers from all over the state will participate in the battle reenactments on Saturday and Sunday. 

 

Said Collins, “We love doing living history programs. Moores Creek is a vital part of our history and we are certainly excited to be able to do this again.”

 

Also on hand will be guest speakers that include Hunter Ingram, assistant director of the Revolutionary War-era Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens as well as Michael Cecere, author of “March to Independence: The American Revolution in the Southern Colonies, 1775-1776.” 

 

Collins said park staff are very excited to showcase the new Moores Creek Amphitheatre, which will be used for educating at events like this as well as for many future educational events. 

 

Tying in other Revolutionary-era locales, the Tryon Palace Fife and Drum Corps will be providing colonial-era music throughout the weekend. Other festivities include musket demonstrations as well as a wreath-laying ceremony on Saturday to open the event and pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the battle at Moores Creek. 

 

The Moores Creek Anniversary event takes place Feb. 25-26. Click here to see a schedule of events.