Colonel Edward Buncombe - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.100 W 075° 08.888
18S E 487346 N 4422403
In a cemetery full of history and American history, it is a common site to find a Revolutionary War veteran. Colonel Buncombe's grave can be found on the southern end of the Christ Church Burial Ground in Old City Philadelphia.
Waymark Code: WMCY06
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/24/2011
Views: 4
The entrance to the cemetery is along Arch Street. Admission is $2. Go through the iron gates and proceed down the center path and 3/4 of the way look to the right and you will see this stone. The Burial Ground is open March-December (weather permitting). Hours are: Monday-Saturday 10-4, Sunday 12-4.
The original headstone is mostly missing, fractured a few inches from the bottom. A plaque/marker has been placed on the broken headstone to help identify the grave of this veteran. The marker reads:
Colonel Edward Buncombe
Born: 1742..... Died: 1778
A North Carolina
Revolutionary War
Hero
Colonel Edward Buncombe was born in 1742 on the island of St. Christopher (also known as St. Kitt's) in the British West Indies. He was educated in England, and in 1768 he "came to North Carolina to take possession of an estate in the present county of Washington (then a part of Tyrell), which had been bequeathed to him by an uncle. Thereon he built Buncombe Hall, a hospitable mansion, which was standing as late as 1865, but was then demolished." (1905. Ashe, Samuel. A Biographical History of North Carolina. Vol. I. p. 197).
In the early days of September 1775 Buncombe was chosen as colonel of the Tyrell militia, and in April 1776 he was transferred to the 5th Regiment of North Carolina troops in the Continental Line (the regular troops). While there he worked under the command of General Francis Nash. This group wintered Charleston, South Carolina until March 1777 when it went north to join with the troops of General George Washington. Buncombe fought at the battle of Brandywine on September 11th, 1777. Just a month later on October 4th, he and his men fought at Germantown. At this battle he was wounded and left for dead.
A former classmate in the British Army recognized him and he was sent to Philadelphia on parole. The British hoped to exchange British prisoners for him, but he died before that was possible. Because Buncombe had paid for many military expenses out of his own money he was unable to afford proper medical care and failed to make a full recovery. In the May of 1778 he fell down the stairs while sleepwalking and reopened his wounds, bleeding to death. He was buried at Christ Church, Philadelphia. His gravestone was unmarked and the records incorrectly recorded that his name was Cornelius Buncombe. In 1791 a county in North Carolina was named Buncombe in his honor. SOURCE