Timeline of War

 

American Revolution WNC Facts

1. Western North Carolina or better known as the backcountry was a stronghold for loyalists during the American revolution mostly because the Carolina coast was rebel.
2. After the defeat of the British at two of the most famous American Revolution Battles, Battle of Cowpens and Kings Mountain, most loyalists change sides. The colonies were in such turmoil that people believed that only the militia could set things right.
3. The British committed countless acts of violence against the colonials in reprisal for crimes against the crown committed by the militia.
4. The militia terrorized loyalist communities. The British got blamed for all the trouble of that day, whether they were guilty or not. 
5. When the revolution broke out, the  Cherokee Indians sided with the British. The Native American Indians believed the British would stop the encroachment on Native American Indian lands due to the Proclamation of 1763. The Colonial militia often punished those loyal to the British.  John Rutherford led the militia in carrying out a campaign against the Cherokee Indians, killing men, women and children, annihilating whole villages.
6. After the American revolution, things began to settle down. Rice planters from Charleston South Carolina came up to the mountains to escape the summer heat and disease of the South Carolina coast (yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases carried by Mosquitoes). You might say they were the first tourists.
7. Near the North Carolina Coast, Edenton, NC in 1774 protested the Boston Port act in support of the Massachusetts revolutionaries. The women of Edenton organized a successful boycott of English tea, drinks, clothing and fabrics.
   • Edenton NC was an important inland port during the Revolution.
   • Joseph Hewes of Edenton NC signed the Declaration of Independence
   • Hugh Williamson of Edenton NC , a surgeon general of North Carolina's state colonial troops, signed the Constitution in 1787 and thereby joined the Union.

Timeline

1492 October 12, Columbus discovered America.

1584 July 4, Amadas and Barlow approach the coast of North Carolina.

1663 Charter of Charles II, William Drummond, first Governor of North Carolina.

1678 John Culpeper's Rebellion.

1693 Carolina divided into North and South Carolina.

1705 First Church erected in North Carolina.

1705 First Newspaper published in the United States.

1710 Carey's Rebellion.

1729 Charter of Charles II, surrendered.

1765 Stamp Act passed.

1771 May 16, Battle of Alamance.

1774 August 25, Popular Assembly at Newbern.

1775 May 20 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

1775 June, General Washington commander-in-chief.

1775 June 17, Battle of Bunker's Hill.

1775 August, Josiah Martin, Royal Governor, retreated.

1775 December 9, Battle of Great Bridge, near Norfolk, Va.

1776 February 27, Battle of Moore's Creek, N.C.

1776 August 27, Battle of Long Island.

1776 December 12, Constitution of North Carolina formed at Halifax.

1776 December 26, Battle of Trenton.

1776 Aug. & Sept., General Rutherford subdues the Cherokees.

1777 January 3, Battle of Princeton.

1777 September 11, Battle of Brandywine.

1777 October 4, Battle of Germantown.

1777 October 7, Battle of Saratoga.

1778 June 28, Battle of Monmouth

1779 March 3, Ashe defeated at Brier Creek.

1779 June 2 Battle of Stono, near Charleston.

1780 May 17 Surrender of Charleston.

1780 June 21, battle at Ramsour's Mill.

1780 August 7, Battle of the Hanging Rock.

1780 August 16, Gates defeated at Camden.

1780 October 7, Battle of King's Mountain.

1781 January 17, Battle of the Cowpens.

1781 March 15, Battle of Guilford Court House.

1781 September 8, Battle of Eutaw.

1781 October 19, Battle of Yorktown.

1783 January 20, Treaty of peace at Versailles.

1783 September 3, England recognizes the Independence of the United States.

1787 May, Constitution of the United States formed.

 

 

see Colonial NC Religion & Colonial NC Facts for more information

see North Carolina State Information

Suggested Reading

The Road to Guilford Courthouse: The American Revolution in the Carolinas

The Road to Guilford Courthouse is no less than a tour de force of pop military scholarship, an exhaustive battle-by-battle account of the Crown's grinding march to wrest the Carolinas from the resourceful Rebels. Beginning with Colonel William Moultrie's valiant defense atop the palmetto ramparts of Fort Sullivan against an outnumbering force of British men-of-war to the final "long, obstinate, and bloody" exchange at Guilford Courthouse, Buchanan meticulously recounts each skirmish, battle, and shift of strategy in the campaign. Relying on copious primary and secondary sources, he brings the combatants to life, from the worthy but somewhat obscure, such as Nathanael Greene, whom George Washington considered to be his successor should he fall, to soon-to-be legends such as Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. --Paul Hughes

Daniel Morgan: Revolutionary Rifleman

Daniel Morgan is one of the most interesting personalities of the American Revolution. He did not, as the author seems to believe, however, win the war single handed. He did, though, fight and win the only battle of annihilation at cowpens in January 1781, executing a double envelopment of a British force of equal strength possessing more reliable troops, regulars, than he did. In this victory, though, he was ably assisted by some of the best combat officers in either army, John Eager Howard, and William Washington, cousin of the commmander-in-chief.

A Devil of a Whipping: The Battle of Cowpens

It's easy to forget that the British won most of the battles during the American Revolution. The Americans certainly carried the day at Saratoga and Yorktown, but they were beaten again and again by their enemy elsewhere--and often badly. So it's especially odd that the Battle of Cowpens, fought in South Carolina on January 17, 1781, isn't better the Continental troops' greatest tactical moment--and it marked a crucial turning point in the war.

 Battle of Kings Mountain 1780, With Fire and Sword

Describes and illustrates the land and the people for which the Battle of Kings Mountain was fought in South Carolina on Oct. 17, 1780. Contains unnumbered pages 

Roster of the patriots in the battle of Moores Bridge 776