The Moore County Historical Association (MCHA) hosted the Kenneth Black Cemetery Dedication July 20 off Morganton Road in Southern Pines.
The dedication stems from the Tory War of 1781 during the American Revolution, when patriots battled royalists for freedom from Britain.
In July 1781, Kenneth Black, a farmer loyal to the Royal Colony, was mistakenly shot by Patriot Philip Alston and bludgeoned to death with rifle butts. The case of mistaken identity resulted from Black riding Alston’s intended target’s horse, Colonel David Fanning’s, after caring for it when it was exhausted. View a reenactment by the MCHA here.
In honor of Black’s Scottish ancestry, Southern Pines resident Terry Myers played the Great Highland Bagpipe.
Moore County Historical Association’s Susan Pockmire stands next to Southern Pines resident Terry Myers as he prepares to play the Great Highland Bagpipe July 20, 2024, at the Kenneth Black Cemetery Dedication.
The Battle of the House in the Horseshoe in Glendon is reenacted yearly to honor the fallout of Black’s death. Read Historian J.D. Lewis’ research on the 1781 event here.
The dedication encouraged citizens to participate in costume. The July 20, 2024, Kenneth Black Cemetery Dedication crowd includes passionate historians.
A Patriot lurks in the crowd.
A Royalist stands out in the crowd.
A Patriot fires his rifle.
The Mid Atlantic Development Company’s shopping center on Morganton Road in Southern Pines built the memorial across the street from Target. They used two global positioning system surveys to locate and mark the graves. The company raised the dirt with the graves in place to preserve the location.
The memorial’s purpose is to invite visitors to remember America’s quest for freedom and its cost.
~Article and photos by Sandhills Sentinel journalist Stephanie M. Sellers. Stephanie is also an English instructor at Central Carolina Community College. She is the author of young adult fiction, including When the Yellow Slugs Sing and Sky’s River Stone, and a suspense, GUTTERSNIPE: Shakespearean English Stage Play with Translation.
