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Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina
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Source:  Colonel James Innes, Wilmington. Photo by bobbystuff.com

  • Monument Name

    Colonel James Innes, Wilmington

  • Type

    Marker

  • Subjects

    Colonial Wars

    Educational Institutions

    Colonial History

  • City

    Wilmington

  • County

    New Hanover

  • Description

    The memorial to Colonel James Innes is a single lectern shaped block of granite standing several feet high. The front face is finished and the edges are rough hewn. It stands on a single concrete base. The inscription below that on the lectern face appears to have been added at a later time.

    Images (courtesy of Cosmos Mariner): View of the memorial marker in front of the courthouse building.

  • Inscription

    Lectern face: THIS PUBLIC AREA PERPETUATES THE NAME OF / COLONEL JAMES INNES / A FEARLESS AND BRAVE NEW HANOVER COUNTY SOLDIER. / HE SERVED AGAINST THE SPANISH FORCES AT CARTAGENA, / COLOMBIA, IN 1740, AND IN 1754 COMMANDED THE COLONIAL / FORCES IN THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR. IN THAT CAMPAIGN / HE MADE HIS WILL LEAVING A LARGE PART OF HIS CONSIDERABLE / FORTUNE “FOR THE USE OF A FREE SCHOOL FOR THE / BENEFIT OF THE YOUTH OF NORTH CAROLINA.”

    INNES ACADEMY –BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST SCHOOL / IN THIS STATE FOR THE PURPOSE DESIGNATED, / WAS LOCATED ON THIS SITE IN 1783.

    Front face: GEORGE WASHINGTON, THE FIRST PRESIDENT, AS A YOUNG LIEUTENANT / GLADLY SERVED IN VIRGINIA UNDER COLONEL INNES, WILMINGTON'S / GREAT MILITARY LEADER AND PUBLIC BENEFACTOR.

  • Custodian

    New Hanover County

  • Dedication Date

    Circa 1950

  • Decade

    1950s

  • Geographic Coordinates

    34.236630 , -77.945940 View in Geobrowsemap pin

  • Supporting Sources

      Smith, Jr., Clairborne T., 1988. “Inness, James,” NCpedia.org, (accessed November 17, 2023) Link

      Steelman, Bennett L. and Tetterton, Beverly, 2006, 2021. “Community Theater,” NCpedia.org, (accessed November 17, 2023) Link

      “Colonel James Innes,” The Historical Marker Database, HMdb.org, (accessed November 17, 2023) Link

      “New Hanover County Courthouse in Wilmington, North Carolina,” Bobbystuff.com, (accessed November 5, 2023) Link

  • Public Site

    Yes

  • Materials & Techniques

    Granite

  • Location

    The memorial is located on the grounds of the New Hanover County Courthouse at 316 Princess St, Wilmington, NC 28401. Other memorials on the courthouse grounds include the Freedom Flame, Korean War and Vietnam War, Missing in Action, and Statue of Liberty replica.

  • Landscape

    The memorial marker stands on the front lawn of the courthouse building.

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