Monday, September 27, 2010

Brooks Lyles retired LtCol USA and fellow Red Team member visited the east coast last week from his home at Ft Leavenworth, KS. Brooks was here for a number of reasons one being to hunt down the grave sites of some of his ancestors. Brooks has direct lineage to the Penn family that includes a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a Rev War Colonel, and a CS officer that commanded the 42nd VA at the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam). I talked Brooks into taking a side tour to the Guilford Courthouse Battlefield in Greensboro, NC while here. His Rev War ancestor, Col Abram Penn, led the Henry Co militia during the war. We thought that Col Penn's militia fought at GCH but found out different while at the visitors center. The Henry Co militia arrived the day after the battle but did go on with Gen Greene and fought at Eutaw Springs, SC later in 1781. The picture shows Brooks at the marker at tour stop one at GCH. The marker locates the position of the NC militia at the 1st line of defense. You are looking from the NC position down the New Garden road and the direction of the British attack.

Guilford Courthouse is on the north side of Greensboro on Hwy 220N and a must see if you are in the area. The core area is well preserved and there is a very nice visitors center and bookstore. You can walk, bicycle, or drive the battlefield via trail or paved road. http://www.nps.gov/guco/

Downtown Greensboro also has a very nice Historical Museum that is hosts a collection of 150 Confederate Arms as well as some original Troiani paintings. http://www.greensborohistory.org/exhibits/collector.htm