View complete article and references at Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina at: https://docsouth.unc.edu/commland/monument/25

Description: The James Hunter Monument, also known as the Battle of Alamance Monument, stands at the Alamance Battleground State Historic site. A tall granite and marble column is topped with a bronze statue of James Hunter, nicknamed the "General of the Regulators." Hunter is clad in traditional, colonial-style clothing and holds the muzzle of a musket with the butt of the gun resting on the ground. There are four plaques on the sides of the granite column. The plaque on the left side shows a bas-relief image of a man being hanged with an inscription.

Images of left plaque: Photograph Image | Postcard Image

Nickname: The Regulator Monument, James Pugh plaque is on the side.

Inscription:
Front: THE BATTLE / OF THE / ALAMANCE, / THE FIRST BATTLE OF THE / REVOLUTIONARY WAR, WAS / FOUGHT IN ORANGE COUNTY, / NORTH CAROLINA / MAY 16TH, 1771.

Right: 1771-1781 1901 / JAMES HUNTER / "GENERAL" OF THE REGULATORS / "THE COUNTRY IS AS MUCH MASTER NOW / AS EVER." NOVEMBER 6TH, 1772 / ALAMANCE MAY 16TH, 1771 / CHEROKEE WAR OCTOBER 1776 / GUILFORD COURTHOUSE MARCH 15TH, 1781 / BORN 1740. DIED 1821.

Left: OF TWELVE REGULATORS CONDEMNED AT / HILLSBORO, THE FOLLOWING SIX WERE EXECUTED / BY THE BRITISH GOVERNOR: JAMES PUGH, ROBERT / MATEAR, BENJAMIN MERRILL, CAPTAIN MESSER, / AND TWO OTHERS, WHOSE NAMES ARE NOW / UNKNOWN. "OUR BLOOD WILL BE AS GOOD SEED IN / GOOD GROUND, THAT WILL SOON PRODUCE ONE / HUNDRED FOLD."- JAMES PUGH, UNDER THE GALLOWS / AT HILLSBORO, N.C., JUNE 19TH, 1771.

Rear: 1773 WITHOUT COURTS AND BEYOND THE / GOVERNOR'S CONTROL, THE PEOPLE WERE A / LAW UNTO THEMSELVES. THEY CORRESPONDED / WITH ALL THE OTHER COLONIES AND WATCHED THE / PROCEEDING OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT. / 1774 A CONVENTION OF THE PEOPLE OF THE / PROVINCE ASSEMBLED- "THE FIRST / REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY THAT EVER MET / IN NORTH CAROLINA OR IN AMERICA, SAVE BY / ROYAL AUTHORITY. IT MET IN OPEN, FLAGRANT / DEFIANCE OF THE CROWN, ITS GOVERNOR, AND / HIS PROCLAMATIONS. / 1775 APRIL THE 8TH ENDED THE LAST ROYAL / LEGISLATIVE BODY THAT EVER MET IN NORTH / CAROLINA. MAY 20TH THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION / WAS MADE. AUGUST 20- A POPULAR GOVERNMENT / FOR THE PROVINCE WAS ESTABLISHED, EVERY / COUNTY AND BOROUGH TOWN BEING / REPRESENTED IN THE CONVENTION. / 1776 FEBRUARY- THE FIRST VICTORY OF THE / REVOLUTIONARY WAR WAS GAINED AT MOORE'S / CREEK BRIDGE, NORTH CAROLINA, BY THE / PEOPLE OF THE PROVINCE. / APRIL 12TH- NORTH CAROLINA WAS THE FIRST TO / DECLARE FOR CONTINENTAL INDEPENDENCE

Dedication date: 1901

Subject notes: The monument's inscription combines the records of two different James Hunters active in North Carolina during the Revolutionary era: one a regulator and the other a legislator. The correct identities of both men were established be Vearl Guymon Alger in 1977.

Controversies: A controversy arose when Hunter's descendants opposed moving the monument from the Guilford Courthouse to the Alamance Battleground State Historic Site in 1962.

Location: The monument is within 300 feet of several other commemorative pieces.

Former Locations: The monument was originally dedicated in 1901 at the Guilford Courthouse battleground, and it was relocated in 1962 to the Alamance Battleground Historic site.

City: Burlington

County: Alamance

Subjects: Historic Military Figures,Historic Political Figures,Revolutionary War