James Hunter Monument, (sculpture).

James Hunter Monument, (sculpture).

Bureau Brothers, founder.

Mt. Airy Granite Cutting Company, fabricator.

James Hunter Monument, (sculpture).

Alamance Battleground Monument, (sculpture).

Colonial Column, (sculpture).

Frontiersman, (sculpture).

Militiaman, (sculpture).

Installed spring 1901. Dedicated July 4, 1901. Militiaman added June 1902. Relocated Sept. 14, 1962. Reinstalled Oct. 1962. Rededicated Nov. 11, 1962.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Base: Mt. Airy granite; Plaques: bronze; Foundation: concrete.

Sculpture: approx. H. 7 ft.; Base: approx. H. 27 ft.

Bureau Brothers, Philadelphia (On plaque on front of base:) The Battle/of the/Alamance/The First Battle of the/Revolutionary War, was/Fought in Orange County/North Carolina/May 16th, 1771 (On plaque on left side of base:) (depiction of James Pugh being hung)/Of twelve Regulators condemned at/Hillsboro, the following six were executed/by the British Governor: James Pugh, Robert/Matear/Benjamin Merrill, Captain Messer/and two others whose names are now/unknown. "Our blood will as good seed in/good ground that will soon produce one/hundred fold." James Pugh under the gallows/at Hillsboro, N.C., June 19th, 1771!

(On plaque on rear of base:) 1773 without courts and beyond the/Governor's control the people were a/law unto themselves. They corresponded/with all the other colonies and watched the/proceedings of the British Parliament./1774 A convention of the people of the/province assembled--"The first/representative assembly that ever met/in North Carolina or in America save by/royal authority." It met in open, flagrant/defiance of the crown, its Governor, and his proclamations./1775 April the 8th ended in the last royal/legislative body that ever met in North/Carolina. May 20th the Mecklenburg Declaration/was made, August 20 - a popular government/for the province was established, "every county and boroughtown being/represented in the convention./1776 February - The first victory of the/Revolutionary War was gained at Moore's/Creek bridge, North Carolina, by the/people of province./April 12th - North Carolina was first to/declare for continental independence.

(On plaque on right side of base:) 1771-81 1901/James Hunter/"General of the Regulators"/"The Country is a much master/now as ever." November 6th 1772/Alamance May 16, 1771/Cherokee War October 1776/Born 1740 Died 1821 unsigned Founder's mark appears.

A tall shaft topped with a uniformed figure of a Revolutionary War Continental militiaman standing at rest holding his musket with both hands. He has a bed roll slung over his proper right shoulder and wears a tricorn hat. At the base of the shaft are four commemorative bronze plaques, one on each side. One of the plaques includes a depiction of James Pugh being hung on the gallows.

History -- United States -- Revolution

History -- United States -- North Carolina

Homage -- Hunter, James

Portrait male -- Pugh, James

State of Being -- Death -- Hanging

Figure male -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- Soldier

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Outdoor Sculpture -- North Carolina -- Burlington

Administered by State of North Carolina, Department of Cultural Resources, Division of Archives and History, 109 East Jones Street, Raleigh, North Carolina 27601

Located Alamance Battleground State Historic Site, Burlington, North Carolina

Formerly located Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, Greensboro, North Carolina 1902 to Sept. 14, 1962.

The monument commemorates the "Regulators" of Burlington, North Carolina and their general, James Hunter (1740-1821). The Regulators were local oppositionists who fought what is considered by some to be the first unofficial battle of the American Revolution, the Battle of Alamance, in Orange County on May 16, 1771. They opposed taxation without representation by William Tyron, the colonial governor of North Carolina. Twelve Regulators were condemned and hanged, including James Pugh.

The granite monument was fabricated by Mt. Airy Granite Cutting Company and the commemorative plaques were cast by Bureau Brothers. The monument was installed at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro in 1901, but the figure of the militiaman was not added until June of 1902. In 1962, the monument was moved to the Alamance Battleground shortly after the battleground was named a North Carolina State Historic Site. The monument was vandalized with spray paint on Aug. 26, 1992. The plaques on the base may have been removed to clean off spray paint, and may have been reversed when they were replaced.

IAS files contain: two National Park Service reports: excerpts from William G. Gray's "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," 1967, pg. 10-15; Walter T. Bruce's "History of the Alamance Monument," Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," 1964; newspaper articles from the Greensboro Record, Oct. 9, 1962; Greensboro Daily News, March 22, 1963, pg. 1, 8; The Daily Times-News (Burlington, NC), May 17, 1961, sect. B, and Oct. 9, 1962, pg. 1, and sect. B; an excerpt from "North Carolina Highway Historical Markers," identified only as District G, pg. 59; a two page report from the North Carolina Department of Archives and History, summarizing the decision for relocation. IAS files contain additional citations.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, North Carolina survey, 1994.

Greensboro Daily News, March 22, 1963.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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