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STEPHEN R WEEKS
CLASS OF 1886; PH D THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
THE WEEKS C(0)LILECTI(0)N
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MRS. KERENHAPPUCH TURNER.
A Heroine of 177 6.
AN ADDRESS
HV
G. S. BRADSHAW, ESQ.,
fccasion of the Unveiling of a Monument
to Her Memory, at the Guilford Battle
Ground, July 4th, 1902.
PUBLISHED BY
THE GUILFORD BATTLE GROUND COMPANY
GREENESBORO, N.,C.
T jU V' /iTii
Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive
in 2010 witii funding from
University of Nortii Carolina at Chapel Hill
http://www.archive.org/details/mrskerenhappuchtOObrad
MRS. KERENHAPPUCH TURNER.
00
o
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It has been truly said that a people is poor who have
no days to celebrate and a people is rich whose history
is full of heroic days. The history of North Carolina,
g'lorious as it is, in its recital of heroic virtue and brave
deeds, tells us of no day more lustrous than that we cel-
ebrate today — "the supreme moment in the life of Corn-
wallis and the crisis in the Revolution," when the fatal
wound was given to royal authoritv from which it ling^er-
ed and lingering died seven months thereafter at York-
town. I rejoice and exult with you over the fact that to-
day our annual pilgrimage to this historic spot hallow-
ed scarcely more by the memories of the brave deeds of
the dead heroes who made it famous than by the patriotic
and unselfish efforts of the few who have been dutifully
engaged in the pious work of preserving and perpetuat-
ing its name and fame is under auspices most delightful
and inspiring.
Who on this bright, cloudless day, filled with God's
own sunshine, can look without a sense of delight upon
this magnificient Park, with its charming groves of state-
ly oaks, its waving grain, its beautiful flowers, its lovely
lake, its cool springs, its green meadows and its sacred
acres of hill and vale.' Who on this anniversary of tbe
birthday of our Republic in the presence of this multitude
of God's own people, moved by patriotic impulse to keep
it holy, can behold without a thrill of inspiration these
splendid monuments and these beautiful memorial stones
erected to tell us and those after us of self-sacrifice, noble
deeds and heroic virtues.' Who that looks upon this
sacred spot and recalls its deathless record, reclaim-
ed as it is, beautified and decorated with these imposing
memnrials, is not moved to uncover in presence of Judge
Schenck and Maj. Morehead, who have led at untold sac-
rifice in the great work here accomplished? This audi-
ence needs not to be told of the great work of Judge
Schenck, who first secured for the l^attle Ground Asso-
ciation lodgement in the public attention of this State
and successfully invoked the aid of our Stale Legislature.
Nor does it need to be reminded of the strenuous efforts
of Maj. Morehead throughout these years and that as the
acting President of this Association for some years past
has succeeded in securing for it a surer and more exalted
place in the patriotic love of the people of this State.
We may rejoice today over another fact and for anoth-
er reason. Not only does this Company or Association
occupy a higher and safer place in the affections of our
own people and under the fostering and continuing care
of state legislation than ever before, but through the
vigilance and diligence of President Morehead and our
representatives of all parties in Congress, the favoring
eye and the fostering hand of the National Government
have been attracted as never before. More prom-
inently and favorably than ever before does our Company
stand in the esteem of Congress and the people of all
sections of this great country as is illustrated by the
action of the present House of Representatives in voting
two monuments to Generals Nash and Davidson because
of what has been done here and because of the avowed
declaration that they should be located here. This is as it
should be, for does not its history and every memory
attaching to it belong to our whole country.'' I am per-
suaded that if Congress and the whole country could see
with their own eyes what we behold today with ours,
these nineteen monuments and the great work here ac-
complished by individual effort in preserving and caring
for this great battle field on which was fought the critical,
the tuDiiii^ and the greatest battle of the Revolution —
that battle which meant so much and was the means of
3
securing so much not only for our forefathers but for all
succeeding generations, no Congress would refuse or hes-
itate in extending the fostering hand of the national Gov-
ernment in aid of its permanent preservation.
But this patriotic Company is not waiting for outside
help, badly as it needs it. We are here today to witness
again further evidence of its self-sacrifice and labor of
love. Yonder stand — hidden as yet from your view — two
more monuments which we are met to dedicate and unveil
to-day and which shall stand through coming time to tell
you and yours and those who shall come after you of the
virtues of a brave, good woman, and the story of a great
man. The story of this great man, Nathaniel Macon, you
have just heard from the eloquent gentleman (Mr. Pitt-
man) who preceded me. It is for me to tell you some-
thing of the brave woman in honor of whose memory we
today unveil on this sacred spot the first monument ever
erected on American soil to a Revolutionary heroine.
In song and in story^"in thoughts that breathe and in
words that burn" — have been toid again and again the sto-
ry of the virtues, the brave deeds, the sacrifice, the suffer-
ing and the heroism of the men who fought, bled and
died in that terrible war for Indepe ndence, but the story
of the privation, the suffering, the daring and the dying
of tlic grand reserve army of that war is yet untold and
unsung. The women by their lonely hearthstones sur-
rounded by helpless children in the primeval forests, with-
out mail or telegr aph or Railroad to bring them tidings
of the absent loved ones — their griefs, their sorrow, their
suspense, their anxiety, their agony — their death borne
without a murmur. They died not in the exciting and
exulting rush of battle. Theirs was the long, slow,
wasting, lingering death — a thousand deaths. Some-
times it was coldblooded murder; sometimes it was the
cold, piercing cutting dagger of helpless grief and some-
times they fell under the crushing burden of domestic
care and trouble. Their battles were fought in the
darkness and loneliness and silence of their homes.
They heard not the martial music which thrilled
heroes; they felt not the elbow touch which heroes
feel in the mad rush of battle. There was never a shout
or cheer to give them courage and strength. There
were no medals awarded to them; no promotions were
bestowed to stimulate them. Theirs was a lonel)- march
to death, and yet how bravely and how patiently they
fought to the end no tongue or pen can ever tell. These
were heroines— and whilst in village, hamlet, town and
city, from ocean to ocean, we have with stone and
brass built memorials of every name, size and kind
in honor of our heroes, the mothers, the wives and the
daughters of that awful time who toiled and suffered and
died for their country are unwept, unhonored and unsung.
Not only did they suffer and fight and toil thus in their
lonely and desolate homes, but these ministers of com-
passion, these angels of pity, whenever possible, went to
the battle fields to moisten the parched tongues, to bind
the ghastly wounds, and to soothe the parting agonies
alike of friend and foe, and to catch the last whispered
messages of love from d}-ing lips. Not since Aaron stood
between the living and the dead has there ever been a
ministry so gracious, so patient, so self-sacrificing, so
tender, so gentle and so faithful as was that of the hero-
ines of the Revolution.
Among the brave women who hastened to the field of the
battle of Guilford Court House to minister to the wound-
ed and the dying was Mrs. Kerenhappuch Turner, whose
sons and grandsons were with Gen. Greene in this battle.
Mrs Kerenhappuch Turner was the wife of James Turner
one of theearly settlers of Maryland, possessed of his cour-
agerous spirit as well as noted for her skill in nursing the
sick, and her wisdom, tact and energy. She loved her
children with the devotion of a true mother, but she loved
her country also. Sending forth her sons to the defense
of their country, she exacted from them the promise that
5
she should be kept informed of their whereabouts and
there needs that she might continue to minister to them.
One of these sons received a fearful wound in the battle
of Guilford Court House, but the brave mother came to
him, riding on horseback all the way from her home in
Mary, land and herself nursed him back into life and
service. Placing him in a log cabin, near this spot
whereon we now stand, upon the floor, beneath the bare
rafters she bored holes in tubs which she suspended from
these rafters above the ghastly wounds and keeping these
tubs filled with cool water from the "Bloody Run" near
by the constant dripping upon the wound allayed the
fever, and she thus improvised a treatment as efficacious
as the "ice pack" of modern science.
One of her daughters, Elizabeth, married Joseph More-
head, of North Carolina, of Scotch ancestry and her de-
scendants have ever been noted for their love of country
and public spirit. Another daughter, Mary, married
Charles, the brother of Joseph Morehead, and left off-
spring in the West. Of these Governor Charles S. More-
head of Kentucky and his cousin. Governor James Tur-
ner' Morehead of the same State, have been eminent
statesmen, having served not only as Governor, but also
in the Senate of the United States from that State.
The North Carolina branch of the family has given to
this State the late Governor John M. Morehead, one of
the greatest, if not the greatest Governor our State has
yet produced, who was a great leader of the old Whig
party, and the greatest internal improvement man the
State has yet known, and his brother, Hon. James Turner
Morehead, one of the greatest and most distinguished
lawyers of his day in this State, and who at one time rep-
resentedthis District in Congress where he could have
remained indefinitely but for his positive refusal to remain
in Congress. He preferred' his profession to which he
was devoted.
The late Gov. Morehead is survived by one son, Maj.
6
J. Turner Morehead, now of New York City. The only
surviving sons of the late Hon. James Turner Morehead
are Col. James T. Morehead, one of the leading and most
distinguished members of the Greensboro bar, who, like
his father, is devoted to his profession, preferring it to
political honors, and Maj. Joseph M. Morehead, who is
now and has been for some years the acting President of
the Guilford Battle Ground Company. It was the latter
who conceived the idea of erecting the beautiful monu-
ment which we dedicate and unveil to-day in honor of
the memory of Kerenhappuch Turner. The conception
of this idea was submitted by him to his patriotic kins-
man, Maj. J. Turner Morehead of New York City, who
like all members of this distinguished family, is noted
for his public spirit, and who with enthusiasm as well as
with purse and brain, joined President Morehead in the
execution of the idea under the auspices of said Com-
pany'. These two men are, therefore, entitled to the
honor of erecting here the first monument ever built in
America to a Revolutionary heroine — an honor of which
they may well be proud and which entitles them to the
gratitude of every man who loves his country. They
have set an example worth}' of imitation, which it is to
be hoped will stimulate others to like manifestation of
patriotic and filial piety.
We honor ourselves in honoring the brave and good
woman of whom I speak today. Her long ride, her
gentle touch, her tact, her skill and her heroic service
saved the life of her son. It was an Ancient Roman
touched perhaps by a transient gleam of Christian truth,
who said when he turned aside from a career of Asiatic
Conquest that he would rather save a human life than
become master of all the dominions of Mithridates.
This is but one life of which history and tradition tell us.
How many were saved by the tender ministry of the
brave women of that awful time will never be known.
The history of the part enacted by them in that great
struggle has never been written. I salute the Daughters
of the American Revolution who honor us today with
their presence, and bid them God-speed in their pious
and patriotic work of rescuing from oblivion the history
of those heroic days. They can render their sex and
their country no greater service than that of rescuing
from oblivion those records and traditions which tell
us of the glorius deeds and God-like sacrifices of the
brave women of those days. It is fit, Mr. President,
that the Daughters of the Revolution should join with
us in the tribute we pay today to one who glorified her
sex in her homely toils and in her angelic ministry upon
this battle-field where valor wrote in crimson letters
"the purple testament of bleeding war."
It is meet, too, that on this Sabbath of our Government
this uncounted multitude should come and share with us
the honor of dedicating to a brave woman this beautiful
monument around which in the coming years youth and
age shall gather and linger to read its story, and to study
the annals emblazoned by the Christ-like services of the
heroines of the Revolution.
Then upon this holy ground whereon fell the tears of
our mothers and the blood of our fathers in the starless
night of their supremest effort, let us reverently uncover
in the presence of this most fitting and beautiful memo-
rial to the memory of a Revolutionary mother.
" The bravest battle that was ever fought,
Shall I tell you where or when ?
On the maps of the world you will find it not,
'Twas fought by the mothers of men.
Nay, not with cannon or battle shot,
With a sword or nobler pen ;
Nay, not with eloquent word or thought
From mouths of wonderful men.
But deep in a walled up woman's heart,
A woman that would not yield,
s
But bravely, silent'y bore her part —
Lo, there is that battlefield.
No marshalling troops, no bivouac song,
No banner to gleam and wave ;
I5ut oh these battles they la^t so long,
From bab\ hood to the grave.
Yet, faithful still as a bridge of stars.
She fights in her walled up town :
Fights on and on in the endless wars,
Then silent, unseen, goes down.
Oh ye with banners and battle shot,
And soldiers to shout and praise.
I tell you the kingliest victories fought
Are fought in these silent ways.
Oh, spotless woman in a world of shame
With splendid and silent scorn,
Go back to God as white as you came —
The kingliest warrior born.
M
iiU
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL
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