Dear Teacher,
If you had visited Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781, you would have been met by Major General Nathanael Greene—for whom Greensboro was named—and his army of 4,500 soldiers struggling to secure America’s independence. When you visit Guilford Courthouse National Military Park today, you will still be met by General Greene—in heroic bronze statuary—and a staff of helpful National Park Service employees dedicated to preserving this important battlefield of American history for you and your students.
A carefully planned visit will provide students with the opportunity to learn much about this nation's fight for independence on a historically significant battlefield. Our staff can help you and your students understand what happened here and how it affected the events and people of that time. However, because of the limited amount of time that most classes have to spend here, any preparation that occurs in the classroom before the visit will be of value to the student. Students, no matter what their age, benefit most from a visit if they know something of the when, what and why of the Revolutionary War period. Whatever your curriculum requirements, we consider a familiarity on the part of the students of what was happening in the 1770's and 1780's to be very important.
The information in this Guide has been assembled to help you plan and prepare your students for an enjoyable and educational visit. You are free to use all or any of its parts to adapt or build upon to create a valuable learning experience for your class. You may wish to choose other ways or areas of study that will interest your students and help them better understand the importance and consequences of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Naturally, the depth of study will depend upon your time and a consideration of the individual student's level of learning, ability and particular interests. Consider a park visit an extension of your classroom!
Arranging a visit---
Scheduling a visit to Guilford Courthouse National Military Park is easy. Just call us at:
(336) 288-1776, Ext. 228
We require that reservations be made as far in advance as possible (no less than two weeks prior to your planned day of visit). We will need to know the following when you set up a visit:
Your name
An address formailing a confirmation and a school telephone number
Day and date of your visit
Time of arrival (please, no mid-day requests)
Number of students & adults
Grade level
Length of stay (consider 1½ hours for a basic visit)
Selection ofProgram(s)
Someone on our ranger staff will answer any questions you might have about our programs and services. If your group has special needs you may wish to arrange for a special program. We are busiest in the spring and early fall. Thursdays and Fridays tend to fill up quickest. At times we may be completely booked for a particular day and unable to accommodate further requests for visits. However, we will be glad to schedule you for another day or time.
You know what is best for your students. In planning the amount of time for a visit, first determine how much you want your students to see and learn. Most classes can easily spend an hour in the visitor center viewing the 30-minute film and exhibits. If you arrange for a talk, special program, or service by one of our rangers, this will add time to your visit. Large school groups (multiple classes) and allowing students to purchase items in the park's Revolutionary War bookstore can consume more of your planned time. Touring the battlefield is a highly recommended activity, either by foot or vehicle. Knowing your plans we can better schedule your class. Generally, we prefer to schedule groups on the hour beginning at 9 AM. If you schedule to arrive at a different time, such as9:45, we would have to schedule the next group at 11 AM or 1 PM. We kindly ask that you do not plan a mid-day arrival. This Guide includes a list of this school year's regular services and programs offered to classes by advanced arrangements with the park staff.
GUILFORDCOURTHOUSENATIONALMILITARYPARK
2006-2007 SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAMS SERVICES
The following programs and services are available to teachers and their classes visiting GuilfordCourthouseNationalMilitaryPark during regular park operating hours. The park needs to know your plans as far in advance as possible, preferably no less than two weeks prior to your visit.
After each program and service is an approximate length of presentation to help you budget your time while at the park. Of course, time lengths will vary according to group size, grade, and student interest. NOTE:Large groups must plan extra timeas they will have to be divided into smallerunits for viewing the map program.
There is no charge or fee for any interpretive program or service at GuilfordCourthouseNationalMilitaryPark.
REGULAR SERVICESPrograms available to all park visitors / PROGRAM LENGTH
Film, Another Such Victory. Shown only on the hour, 9AM-4PM. (Live action ) Recommended for Grades 5 and above. NOTE:This film is rated PG and may be too graphic and its surround sound effects scary for younger students. Teacher discretion recommended. / 32 minutes
Battle Map Program, Fighting the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. (animated and live action) Shown on the: 15 and: 45 of the hour, 8:45AM-4: 45PM. This room accommodates one class (up to 25). Fine for all students interested in the tactics of the battle of Guilford Courthouse. / 11 minutes
VisitorCenter exhibits (self-tour) Artifacts of the period are displayed with informational panels. / 20-30 minutes APPROXIMATE
Narrated Battlefield Tour: Auto Tour Road (vehicular self-tour) A CD or cassette taped tour is available for loan to teachers upon request (Teacher must provide playing device) / 1½ hours
APPROXIMATE
Battlefield Tour: Foot Trails (self-tour) A written walking tour is available to teachers. / 2 hours
APPROXIMATE
Eastern National Bookstore: Books & related items on the American Revolution for sale (several items for children are priced less than $5). / Time spent depends on teacher
RANGER CONDUCTED PROGRAMS & SERVICES
(These programs require prior arrangements with the park staff and may not always be available for presentation) Monday-Friday at 9,10 & 11AM; afternoons after 1:30PM / PROGRAM LENGTH(APPROXIMATE)
Ranger Interpretive Talk: An explanatory talk on the importance and other aspects of the battle. (All scheduled school groups receive a brief introductory talk) / 10 minutes
"The Revolutionary War Soldier": A show & tell presentation of the arms, uniforms & equipment of the American & British soldier / 30 minutes
Musket Firing Demonstration: Talk on & demonstration of the flintlock musket. Firing the musket is an outdoor activity and is dependent upon agreeable weather. / 20 minutes
Guilford Courthouse "Discovery Trail": Museum and battlefield fact-finding activity using a park map and question sheet. Questionnaires for elementary, 8th grade and high school are available to teachers. / 2 hours
NOTE: For classroom use or for pre-trip preparation, the park has loan copies of "Guilford Letters", an 18-minute VHS video on the campaign of Guilford Courthouse, and the 30-minute “Another Such Victory”. Videotape(s) may be picked up at the park visitor center or may be sent by mail to the school. Teachers are responsible for the return of these videotape(s) to the park.
FACILITIES at GUILFORDCOURTHOUSENATIONALMILITARYPARK
THE VISITORCENTER
Begin your park visit at the visitor center located at the park entrance on New Garden Road. Signs will direct you here. The following facilities are available inside the visitor center.
THEATER.This 30-minute movie, “Another Such Victory” is shown on the hour beginning at 9AM with the last showing at 4PM. The movie combines live action with surround sound effects to tell the story of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse with re-created battle scenes and first person accounts by participants and the people affected by the passage of the armies. Auditorium has a maximum seating capacity of 120. As a courtesy to other visitors and the importance of the film’s first few minutes, entry to the theater after the movie begins is not recommended.
NOTE: The park staff has rated this film PG due to its realistic battle and hospital scenes. This and the surround sound effects may make this film too intense for students less than 10 years of age. This must be your decision.
BATTLE MAP PROGRAM. This 11-minute narrated program, “Fighting the Battle of Guilford Courthouse” uses computer-projected color graphics mixed with live action on a 1781 battlefield map to show and explain the deployment and movements of individual units in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. This room, much smaller than the theater, can accommodateup to 25 students at a time.
MUSEUM EXHIBITS. Educational museum exhibits provide students with information on the American Revolution, the battle, the campaign and the people involved. There are also displays of weaponry, military equipment, everyday items, musical instruments and information on soldiers, women, Quakers, commanders and the aftermath of the battle and the meaning of the War for Independence. At times, the museum may feature special exhibits or displays.
EASTERN NATIONAL BOOKSTORE. The park’s Revolutionary War bookstore sells items related to the history of the battle and the American Revolution and the 18th-century period—books, postcards and reproduction artifacts. The bookstore also sells books on the national parks and nature topics. Prices of books and items range from less than a dollar to more than seventy-five dollars, but many items are affordable by most students. Funded by Eastern National, this cooperating association uses its profits to aid the interpretive programs of the National Park Service.
If you allow your students to purchase items from the bookstore, you will have to budget extra time into your visit. The estimated time for a class of 25 students to purchase items is about 30-45 minutes.
Instruct students to purchase all of the items they want at one time. Small denomination bills and change, especially pennies, help to speed each transaction. Make sure your students know that 7% North Carolina and local sales tax is added to every sale at the register. Some sales items are in big demand during the year and shortages of these popular bookstore items do occur.
PARK OFFICES. Ranger and administrative offices for GuilfordCourthouseNationalMilitaryPark are located in the visitor center whose address is 2332 New Garden Road. A telephone and emergency and first aid assistance are available here, too.
RESTROOMS & WATER. Restrooms and drinking fountains are located in the visitor center. The park does not provide any vending machines for soft drinks or snacks.
THE BATTLEFIELD
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park preserves approximately 230acres, about one-fifth of the March 15, 1781 battlefield. A walk over these grounds is an interesting and important part of your visit. The battlefield offers your class the following.
TOUR ROAD. A driving tour of the battlefield begins at the visitor center. Tour Stop 1 is a short walk from the visitor center. Stops 2-8 are located along the 2 1/4-mile automobile tour road at points of interest. Parking at these stops accommodates both automobiles and buses. The park tour road finishes on New Garden Road at the visitor center entrance. A printed tour guide is contained in the park's Official Map and Guide. A narrated audio (CD/cassette) driving tour is available for sale or loan to teachers, but requires furnishing your own playing device.
TRAILS. The park has nearly three miles of foot trails, which include sections of the historic road known in the 18th Century as the Great Salisbury Wagon Road. Foot trails are graveled and occasionally steep. Good walking shoes are advised. Most of the park's twenty-eight monuments can be reached by these trails. The trails are an excellent way to explore the park and its cultural and natural resources. A 1½-mile “Battlefield Walking Tour for Teachers”or a longer 2¼-mile walking guide is available for your use in touring the park.
BATTLEFIELD EXHIBITS. Colorful and informative interpretive exhibits are located on the battlefield providing on-site information about the battle, monuments, people and park history. Exhibits at Stop 6 explain the climactic action on the American third line. Here, too, was the site of the county seat town of Guilford Court House(named Martinville in 1785) from ca. 1775 to 1808. None of the town’s buildings remain.
MONUMENTS. GuilfordCourthouseNationalMilitaryPark has twenty-eight monuments, memorials and graves honoring men, women, and events of the battle and the American Revolution in North Carolina. Several of these have special interest. The NathanaelGreeneMonument is the cultural feature most associated with the park. Atop its granite base is a large bronze equestrian statue of the American commander. The Signers' or Hooper-PennMonument stands over the graves of two of North Carolina's three signers of the Declaration of Independence. The KerrenhappuchTurnerMonument and the MarthaMcFarlandMcGeeBellMonument honor two women and their patriotic deeds. Three brave Delaware soldiers, killed in the battle and originally buried north of the battlefield, were re-interred under the DelawareMonument in the early days of the park. Other monuments honor local heroes, such as Arthur Forbis, a militia officer mortally wounded on the field, and the Reverend David Caldwell, a clergyman, patriot, physician and educator. One monument honors David Schenck, the man who began the preservation of this battlefield in 1887. The British are remembered with a single monument to Lieutenant-Colonel James Stewart (Stuart) killed in the intense fighting on the third line. A booklet, The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, a handy guide to the history and meaning of the monuments, is available for sale in the park’s Eastern National Bookstore.
TANNENBAUM HISTORIC PARK. This GreensboroParks and Recreation facility is located at the intersection of NewGarden and Battleground Roads. Groups are urged to travel the 1/8th mile farther to visit this western-most part of the historic battlefield preserving a portion of a larger farmstead where the British army arrived and deployed. The ColonialHeritageCenter contains many displays, many of which are interactive,telling of life in Piedmont North Carolina in the late 18th century. A diorama recreates the battlefield in miniature. Out buildings, such as the 1850’s log Hoskins House, the 1830’s Coble barn and a reconstructed kitchen are open by appointment.
PARKING, PICNICING & RECREATIONAL FACILITIES. GuilfordCourthouseNationalMilitaryPark was established to preserve a nationally significant battlefield where people suffered, died, and where many now lie buried. Contrary to many people’s concept of a “park”, this is not a recreational area and does not provide facilities (tables, shelters, etc.) for picnicking. However, several nearby GreensboroCity parks do offer school groups ample recreational and picnicking facilities. Call the Greensboro Parks & Recreation Department at (336) 373-2574 for reservations of tables and shelters at either GreensboroCountryPark or Bur-MilPark. Tables are also available on a first come basis at nearby TannenbaumHistoricPark. Restrooms and a drinking fountain are located at Stop 6. Ample parking is available at the visitor center and on Old Battleground Road for cars and buses. Smaller spaces are at each tour stop location on the tour road. School buses and others up to 40-passenger can easily navigate the tour road.
RESTROOMS. A comfort station with restrooms and drinking water is located at Stop 6 (closed during the winter months).
PARK SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS
We need your cooperation in making a visit to the park a safe, educational and enjoyable occasion for everybody. Have your class abide by your own established classroom rules and the following:
- Do not climb on monuments and cannon--- or in trees.
- Stay on marked trails.
Avoid walking on the tour road. Also be aware of traffic when crossing the tour road and busy Old Battleground and NewGarden Roads.
Watch your footing on walkways, steps, bridges, and ramps, especially if they are wet.
During the warmer months, watch for and avoid ticks, yellow jackets, and poison ivy.
- During the colder months, beware of ice on trails and paths, especially in shady areas.
Do not damage or disturb any plants, animals or cultural objects. It is the responsibility of every user of this national park to preserve these things for all to enjoy.
If injuries should occur, report them immediately to a park ranger. First aid and 911assistance are available at the visitor center.
NEARBY FACILITIES.
You may want to contact the following parks and museums to schedule visits while in the Greensboro area.
NaturalScienceCenter, Planetarium and Zoo. 4301 Lawndale Drive. 288-3769.
Greensboro Children’s Museum. 220 North Church St. 574-2898.
GreensboroCountryPark. Lawndale Drive. 288-2043. Picnic Shelter reservations: 373-2574.
Bur-MilPark. 5834 Owls Roost Road. 545-5300.
Bryan Park. 6275 Bryan Park Rd. Browns Summit..Picnic shelter reservations: 375-2222.
Greensboro Historical Museum. Summit Ave. 373-2043.