Brentwood and SAR Marking Revolutionary War Veteran’s Grave Oct. 25
Published on October 03, 2025
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Thomas Bradley probably never forgot the first 20 minutes of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. It was a mild spring day in 1781 and, according to the George Washington Presidential Library, American and British cannons fired mercilessly at each other to start the battle. Bradley was only 15 when those cannon balls exploded against the North Carolina hillside, and for the next three hours, he’d help the Continental Army inflict heavy casualties upon the Red Coats.
The historical website revolutionarywar.us argues that British forces lost as many as 27 percent of their men during the fighting, and that “the battle was ‘the largest and most hotly contested action’ in the Revolution’s southern action and led to the surrender of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown.”
Bradley survived that bloody day in March, and he is listed on the payroll of soldiers serving in North Carolina during the Revolutionary War. More than two decades after the battle, in 1802, he moved his family to a quiet, pastoral stretch of land – 640 acres – along Brentwood’s Little Harpeth River. He was listed among the Tennessee Revolutionary War pensioners between 1843 and 1856, and he lived in what is now Brentwood until his death on May 13, 1849.
Bradley, along with his wife Margaret, was buried near their home, and the John P. Holt Brentwood Library now occupies the site. This October, in celebration of America 250, the area near their final resting place will be marked in recognition of his military service. At 1 p.m. on Oct. 25, the Brentwood Historic Commission (BHC) and the Lt. Andrew Crocket Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) will unveil the new monument marking the Revolutionary War veteran’s grave. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place behind the library.
Bradley is one of nine known Revolutionary War veterans buried within the Brentwood city limits.
In addition to Bradley, Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Brentwood include:
- Andrew Crockett
- Green Hill
- Benjamin Humphrey
- David Johnston
- John Johnston
- Moses Lindsey
- James Moore
- Thomas Cox
America 250 is the celebration marking the 250th Anniversary, on July 4, 2026, of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
For more information on the Revolutionary War Soldiers buried in Brentwood, visit https://www.brentwoodtn.gov/Your-Government/Volunteer-Boards-Commissions/Historic-Commission/Revolutionary-War-Soldiers-at-Rest-in-Brentwood.