The first North Carolina man to die in the Revolutionary War

By Patsy M. Boyette
Olde Kinston Gazette
March 1999

Twenty year old John Grady was a patriot - one among a new breed of colonists who found themselves yearning for freedom from the ruling powers of a king across the ocean. One of nine children, Grady hailed from the farm country of eastern North Carolina.

Just as in the other colonies, Carolinians had toiled to build the New World into a thriving land, surviving many hardships and earning pride in their achievements.

Though English blood ran in their veins, some colonists' sentiments toward British rule were becoming rebellious. It was with a growing spirit of self reliance and desire for independence that John Grady and many others followed their hearts to fight for the emerging nation that was their home.

America's fight for independence from England began in 1775, but tensions between England and the colonies had been brewing for some time. Over the course of a century, the colonists had grown prosperous and self governing in their political and economic affairs. However, England began to view the colonies as too independent. Coupled with this attitude was the fact that England had a large national debt and felt it had the right to reap from the prosperity the colonists enjoyed.

The Sugar Act of 1764 and the Stamp Act of 1765 were England's attempts to benefit from that prosperity in the form of tax revenues. Many colonists questioned the right of Britain to tax them without their input and began to protest adamantly. Even when England revoked the Stamp Act and toned down the Sugar Act, the seeds of revolution had been sown.

England failed to recognize the potential of the colonists' desire to self govern. Still resolute on its right to collect taxes from the colonies, the Townshend Act was passed in 1767. British troops, known as redcoats, were sent to Boston in 1768 because of the mounting air of conflict. The redcoats were withdrawn in 1770 following the Boston Massacre, in which colonists assaulted a group of redcoats with rocks outside a Customs office. The British fired at the colonists, killing five. Even though the Townshend Act had been repealed earlier that day, the confrontation was indicative of the negative feelings the colonists were harboring against the British.

The next three years were relatively peaceful, but the Tea Act of 1773 and the resulting Boston Tea Party led to the passage of the Intolerable Acts, which closed the port of Boston and allowed the quartering of British troops again in Boston. The colonies responded by holding the first Continental Congress. Meeting in Philadelphia in 1774, the colonies rebuked the acts. The stage was being set for war.

When British troops attempted to collect arms and munitions from local militias in April 1775, they encountered rebellion at Lexington and Concord. Soon other rebel contingents gathered around Boston. The second Continental Congress was meeting at that time in Philadelphia and the lawmakers organized the forces opposing the British. George Washington was chosen as the commander of the Continental Army. A delegate from Virginia, Washington was a militia officer in the French and Indian Wars.

The Revolutionary War had begun.

The war divided the colonists. Those who were in favor of revolt and independence were called Whigs, while Tories were those who remained loyal to the king.

One of those in favor of independence was Colonel Richard Caswell. Col. Caswell had already been elected to the Provincial Congress and would eventually serve as North Carolina's first constitutional governor.

In February 1775, Col. Caswell and his troops were marching to New Hanover County to cut off loyalist Highlanders who were attempting to join the redcoats. The Highlanders had vowed their allegiance to the king before coming to the New World and considered this allegiance a matter of honor.

When Col. Caswell passed through Duplin County on his march, John Grady joined him. Grady was a minute man but was not attached to a military unit. He was enthusiastic at the chance to participate in the revolution.

After joining Colonels Lillington and Moore, the group staged their position at the Widow Moore's Bridge, which spanned Moore's Creek, a stream running through a large swamp. The bridge crossing the stream was a perfect place for the Whigs to block the Highlanders, because the swamp provided a natural barrier. Although they could get through the swamp on foot, the Highlanders would have to use the bridge to get their wagons across.

When night fell on February 26, the Whigs were camped a half mile away from the Highlanders. The Whigs decided on a diversionary tactic and lit their fires, but slipped away over the bridge. As they went, they removed the planks and applied soap and tallow to the bridge. Hiding in various locations on the other side of the creek, the Whigs waited for the morning.

The strategy worked. The Highlanders thought the Whigs had retreated in the night and gave chase. The Whigs opened fire on the oncoming enemy, while many of them fell off the greased remains of the bridge and drowned. The entire skirmish lasted only three minutes, but historians say the Battle of Moore's Creek was a "decisive battle" for the revolution.

At some point during the action, young John Grady poked his head above the breastworks to fire and was hit by a musket ball. Grady supposedly died instantly, but one version of the story says that he died three days later. Nonetheless, he had earned his place in history as the first North Carolinian to die in the Revolutionary War.

A Grady family history, written by Dr. James Grady in the late 1800s, relates that when "Caswell of Lenoir was returning from the Battle of Moore's Creek, he stopped at my grandfather's (old Bud Grady) house and told them about their relative (John Grady) being killed. Caswell told them he was so brave, so resolute that he did not exercise the prudence that he ought and consequently was killed while exposing himself to danger." After the battle Grady was taken the thirty miles to Wilmington and buried.

Eighty-one years later, Grady's remains were moved, as written in an article in the Wilmington Tri-Weekly Commercial dated February 12, 1857. The article stated that the 81st anniversary of the Battle of Moore's Creek would be celebrated on February 27 and a monument would later be erected. On the day of the celebration, a cornerstone of the monument would be laid as the beginning of the memorial.

A later article in the same newspaper, dated March 3rd, 1857, stated that the cornerstone had been laid and that in it a box was placed "containing the publications of the day . . . and all the remains of the patriotic Grady that could be found . . . after which the box was sealed."

The monument had an inscription which read: "Here Lie the Remains of John Grady of Duplin County, who fell bravely fighting for his country . . . the first martyr in the cause of freedom in North Carolina and the only Whig killed in the battle."

The remains of John Grady were again moved in October 1974. The monument itself was to be moved in order to restore the battle site in readiness for being declared a National Historic Site.

When workers raised the memorial, there was no cornerstone as had been previously reported. Instead, there was a brick foundation. After digging several feet under where the foundation had been and finding no remains, it was decided to break apart the foundation itself. There inside was the box which contained the remains of John Grady.

After the restoration of the battle site was completed, Grady was returned to Moore's Creek and interred with full military honors in February 1975 during the annual celebration of the famous battle. The first North Carolina man to give himself for his country had been laid to rest for the final time.

While John Grady was a martyr on the field of honor, other members of his family also fought in the Revolutionary War. Grady descendants fought in the War of 1812 as well as the Civil War.

A Grady descendant of note was the Honorable Benjamin Franklin Grady (B.F. Grady) who fought in the Civil War. B.F. Grady graduated from the University of North Carolina and joined the Confederate Army while teaching at the University of Texas. He distinguished himself in the educational field and served four years in Congress, from 1890 to 1894. The B.F. Grady School in Duplin County was named after him and the original school sat on a tract of land that John Grady's father had received in a land grant in 1739.

Some information for this story came from an article titled "A Patriot's Return to Moore's Creek," by Betty Perkins, published in the January 1975 edition of The State magazine and an article titled "Our Heritage," by Claude Moore.