James Moore (Continental Army Officer) - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

While preparing to march north in the spring of 1777, Moore became ill. He died of what was called "a fit of gout in his stomach" on about April 15, 1777. Oral tradition holds that Moore died on the same day and in the same house as his brother, Maurice. Anne, Moore's wife, died within a few months thereafter.

Moore, who had not been involved in any military engagement, was nonetheless able to construct a working military force out of the disparate parts provided for him by North Carolina. Samuel A'Court Ashe, an early North Carolina historian, described Moore as "perhaps the most masterful military man furnished by North Carolina to the war of independence." Another historian speculated that Moore's "actions had held the promise of greatness." Moore's strategic command before and during the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge has been acclaimed as a major factor in the Patriot victory there.

The Wake Forest, North Carolina chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and a U.S. Army battery at the now defunct Fort Casey in Washington state were named in his honor. In 1940, the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources erected a North Carolina highway historical marker in Pender County near Moore's former home at Rocky Point commemorating his life and Revolutionary War service.