Gillespie Gap Monument, Spruce Pine

The monument is currently located on the grounds of the Museum of North Carolina Minerals. A bronze plaque is jointly dedicated to the passage of the Overmountian Men through Gillespie Gap on their way to participate in the Revolutionary War battle fought at Kings Mountain, to Francis Marion and the Battle of Etchoe Pass, and to the men of the 30th Infantry Division who broke the Hindenburg Line in World War One. The 30th Infantry Division was named in honor of general and seventh president Andrew “Old Hickory” Jackson. At the beginning of World War One it was formed from North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina National Guard units. Although draftees from other states were soon added to its ranks, there were more men from North Carolina than any other state.