Battle of Alamance

Battle of Alamance
Part of War of the Regulation
Site of the Battle of Alamance, including red flags marking militia positions, the 1880 monument to the battle, the visitor center of Alamance Battleground.
Date May 16, 1771 Location near Great Alamance Creek in Alamance County, North Carolina Result Decisive Government victory
Belligerents
Colonial North Carolina	North Carolina
Commanders and leaders
Governor William Tryon	Herman Husband, Captain Montgomery, others
Strength
appx. 1,000	appx. 2,000
Casualties and losses
Between 9 and 27 killed 61 wounded	9 killed Unknown number injured 7 later executed for treason

The Battle of Alamance was the final battle of the War of the Regulation, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control. In the past, historians considered the battle to be the opening salvo of the American Revolution and locals agreed with this assessment. However, modern historians reject this notion, as there does not seem to have been any intent to rebel against king or crown, only to protest taxation and corrupt local government. Named for nearby Great Alamance Creek, the battle took place in what was then Orange County and has since become Alamance County in the central Piedmont about six miles south of present-day Burlington, North Carolina.

Events prior to the battle

In the spring of 1771, Governor William Tryon left New Bern, mustering and marching approximately 1,000 militia troops west in order to address a rebellion that had been brewing in western counties for several years, but which had included only minor, scattered acts of violence, followed by refusal to pay fees, disruption of court proceedings, and continued harassment of government officials. A group of 2,000 so-called Regulators had gathered, hoping to gain concessions from the governor by intimidating him with a show of superior force. Funded by Council Member and wealthy merchant Samuel Cornell for £6,000, on May 11, Tryon left the county seat of Hillsborough with his militia to confront the Regulators, who had made camp south of Great Alamance Creek in western Orange County or present-day Alamance County.

Course of the battle

On the evening of May 15, Tryon received word that the regulators were camped about 6 miles away. The next morning, at about 8:00, Tryon's troops set out to an old field about one-half mile from the camp of the Regulators. He set out 2 lines, and split his artillery between the two wings and the center of the first line. The Regulators, however, remained disorganized, with no leadership - no officers ranked higher than Captain - and no anticipation of an attack, expecting that their superior numbers would frighten Tryon's militia away.

Tryon sent out one of his aide-de-camps, Captain Philmore Hawkins, and the Sheriff of Orange County with the following proclamation:

Alamance Camp, Thursday, May 16th, 1771. To Those Who Style Themselves "Regulators": In reply to your petition of yesterday, I am to acquaint you that I have ever been attentive to the interests of your County and to every individual residing therein. I lament the fatal necessity to which you have now reduced me by withdrawing yourselves from the mercy of the crown and from the laws of your country. To require you who are now assembled as Regulators, to quietly lay down your arms, to surrender up your leaders, to the laws of your country and rest on the leniency of the Government. By accepting these terms within one hour from the delivery of this dispatch, you will prevent an effusion of blood, as you are at this time in a state of REBELLION against your King, your country, and your laws. (Signed) William Tryon.

While the terms were being read, Tryon's troops began to move forward. Shortly thereafter, Tryon was informed that the Regulators had rejected Tryon's terms. Herman Husband, a Quaker, recognizing that violence was about to take place, left the area.

By midday, the hour had expired, Tryon sent the aide-de-camp with one final warning:

GENTLEMEN AND REGULATORS: Those of you who are not too far committed should desist and quietly return to your homes, those of you who have laid yourselves liable should submit without resistance. I and others promise to obtain for you the best possible terms. The Governor will grant you nothing. You are unprepared for war! You have no cannon! You have no military training! You have no commanding officers to lead you in battle. You have no ammunition. You will be defeated!

Some of the Regulators petitioned the Governor to give up seven captured Regulators in exchange for two of his men that the Regulators had captured the day before. Tryon agreed but after a half an hour, there was no appearance of the captured officers. He became suspicious that his positions were being flanked and ordered the militia to march within 30 yards of the Regulators. Shortly thereafter, a large crowd of regulators appeared in front of the militia, waving their hats and daring the militia to open fire.

Around this time, two men left Tryon's camp who had been attempting to negotiate a peace between the 2 sides: Reverend Dr. Caldwell and Mr. Robert Thompson. Dr. Caldwell made it to the field in between the 2 lines, but was warned off the field by the Regulators who sensed the governor was about to open fire. Mr. Thompson, however, was detained by Tryon as a prisoner. Tryon, in a moment of anger, took a gun from a militiaman and shot Mr. Thompson dead. Realizing what he had done, he sent a flag bearer by the name of Donald Malcolm, with a white flag in hopes of calming things quickly. The flag bearer failed and was himself fired upon by the Regulators, who responded, "Fire and be damned".

While the Regulators lacked the leadership, organization, and adequate munitions that Tryon held, the early course of the battle went well for them. They employed what contemporary recorders referred to as "Indian style" fighting, hiding behind trees and avoiding structure and lines in order to gain advantage. This allowed two of the Regulators, brothers named McPherson, to capture one of Tryon's three cannons on the field. Unfortunately for them, the Regulators had no ammunition for this cannon and it could not be used.

A man considered to be one of the principal military leaders of the Regulators, Captain Montgomery, was shot and killed by a shell at about the same time that a bullet hit Tryon's hat. The governor sent a second white flag by another aide-de-camp, but the aide-de-camp was killed even while Regulator Patrick Muller called for his fellow insurgents to cease fire. Outraged at the disregard of a second white flag, the governor rallied his troops against the insurgents, who ammunition was rapidly running out. At this point, many of the regulators fled the field. Delays prevented approximately 300 reinforcements under Captain Benjamin Merrill from arriving in time to help the rebel cause. After this, some of the Regulators remained behind to continue firing upon the milita. Tryon ordered the woods to be set on fire.

Losses for both sides are disputed. Tryon reported nine dead and 61 wounded among the militia. Other historians indicate much greater numbers, between 15 and 27 killed. Both sides count 9 dead among the regulators and dozens to over one hundred wounded.

Tryon took 13 prisoners, one of them (James Few) being executed at the camp, and six executed later in nearby Hillsborough. Many Regulators traveled on to frontier areas beyond North Carolina. The governor pardoned others and allowed them to stay on condition they pledge an oath of allegiance to the royal government.

The battle took place in what was then Orange County. During the American Revolution a decade later, the same section of Orange County (subdivided into Alamance County in 1849) hosted several minor skirmishes, including the infamous Pyle's Hacking Match in 1781. Recent archeological studies at the site have shown that the area now known as Alamance Battleground was also the site of another skirmish in the Revolutionary War and of a Civil War era Confederate encampment.

Participants in the battle

Colonial militia

According to Governor Tryon's journal, the following men served under his command:

• Major-Generals: John Ashe and Thomas Lloyd;
• Lieutenant-Generals: John Rutherford, Lewis Henry DeRosset, John Sampson, Robert Palmer, Benjamin Heron, and Samuel Strudwick;
• Majors of Brigade: Abner Nash and Robert Howe;
• Colonels: Alexander Osborne, Edmund Fanning, Robert Harris, James Sampson, Samuel Spencer, James Moore, and Maurice Moore;
• Lieutenant-Colonels: John Frohock, Moses Alexander, Alexander Lillington, John Gray, Samuel Benton, and Robert Schaw;
• Majors: William Bullock, Walter Lindsay, Thomas Lloyd, Martin Fifer, and John Hinton.
• Alexander Lillington and James Moore were both American patriots at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge
• Richard Caswell was delegate to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, one of the principal authors of the 1776 constitution of North Carolina, and the first governor of the newly-independent state
• Francis Nash, whose guilt for extortion precipitated the War of the Regulation, fought and died as an American Patriot in the Revolution
• Griffith Rutherford served as a Brigadier General in the Continental Army

Regulators

The following individuals were numbered as members of the Regulators:

• Herman Husband
• James Hunter - So-called "General of the Regulators", whose 1901 statue is now found at Alamance Battleground
• James Few - executed at camp after the battle

The following were excepted from pardon by Governor Tryon:

• Samuel Jones
• Joshua Teague
• Samuel Waggoner
• Simon Dunn, Jr.
• Abraham Creson
• Benjamin Merrit (Merrill)
• James Wilkerson, Sr.
• Edward Smith
• John Bumpass
• Joseph Boring
• William Rankin
• William Robeson
• John Winkler
• John Wilcox

Six men were found guilty of treason, but were pardoned at Tryon's behest:

• Forest Mercer
• James Stewart
• James Emerson
• Hermon (or Harmon) Cox - his powder horn is now on display at Alamance Battleground
• William Brown
• James Copeland

Six men were found guilty of treason and were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered, although in practice, they were only hanged:

• Benjamin Merrill
• Robert Matear (Matter)
• James Pugh
• Captain Messer
• 2 Unknown men

Battle of Alamance memorial

Visitors to Alamance Battleground State Historic Site may view the field of battle, memorialized in 1880 with a granite monument and a second monument from 1903. Today the site contains exhibits, period cannon, and colored flags representing troop positions. The visitor's center offers exhibits, artifacts, and a presentation on the battle. Visitors may also tour the onsite Allen House, a restored frontier farmstead of the period.

See also

• Alamance Battleground
• Carter County, Tennessee
• Doe River
• Elizabethton, Tennessee
• Holston River
• Kings Mountain National Military Park
• Kings Mountain, North Carolina
• Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)
• Roan Mountain State Park
• Roan Mountain, Tennessee
• Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
• Overmountain Men
• Issac Shelby
• Watauga River

External Links

• Alamance Battleground
• An authentick relation of the Battle of Alamance, Virginia Gazette (Williamsburg), June 27, 1771.