North Carolina played a critical, often overlooked, role in our nation’s founding. We at the North Carolina History Project have put together this timeline of our state’s contributions to the American Revolution. The following timeline chronologically lays out some of the most important events in North Carolina’s revolutionary history and links out to our more...
To academic historians and amateur (or avocational) historians: We explored the North Carolina Historical Review to find articles about the American Revolution. I hope these summaries (written by a person, not AI) will whet your appetite for the longer versions. (A link to each article on JSTOR is provided for each.) Did North Carolina’s Revolution...
The North Carolina Historical Review includes a rich collection of articles about the American Revolution. This list was compiled by Kathryn McKee and Jane Shaw Stroup.
Pyle’s Defeat occurred in February 1781 near the end of the Revolution. It was a savage blow to British hopes, as Lt. Gen. Charles, Lord Cornwallis attempted to stop the Patriots’ momentum.
The subject of Scottish folklore and myth, Flora MacDonald assisted Prince Charles Stuart in his escape from King George II. In 1774, she moved to North Carolina, where her Loyalist husband and son fought in the Battle of Moores Creek.
The Edenton Tea Party was one of the earliest organized women’s political actions in United States history. On October 25, 1774, Mrs. Penelope Barker organized, at the home of Mrs. Elizabeth King, fifty-one women in Edenton, North Carolina. Together they formed an alliance wholeheartedly supporting the American cause against “taxation without representation.”
Averasboro (Town of)
On the Cape Fear River during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, only Fayetteville's and Wilmington’s populations outnumbered Averasboro’s. Yet population and commercial growth were not inevitable. Only a cemetery surrounded by a grove and a Civil War museum remind anyone that the port town once existed.
Francis Oliver (1740-1808)
Francis Oliver was a Baptist preacher from Duplin County, North Carolina and a delegate at the 1788 state convention to ratify the federal constitution. An Anti-Federalist, Oliver vigorously defended individual liberty and upheld republican values.
Edward Vail (1717-1777)
Edward Vail, resident of Edenton, North Carolina, is most known for his support of American Independence. He served on North Carolina’s Committee of Correspondence prior to the American Revolution and was a colonel in the State Militia.
State of Franklin
The State of Franklin existed from 1784 to 1789 in what is now upper East Tennessee. It was situated on lands that North Carolina ceded to the federal government, yet the State of Franklin was not recognized by North Carolina or by the federal government. This lack of recognition was due not only to factionalism among the Franklinites but also to factors surrounding North Carolina’s cession of its western lands.
Jesse Helms (1921-2008)
A reporter, television-radio executive, and U.S. Senator, Jesse Helms was born October 18, 1921, in Monroe, N.C., to Jesse Alexander and Ethel Mae Helms. The Almanac of American Politics labeled the conservative Helms a “Jeremiah” for believing in an imminent doom and warning against the encroaching dangers of big government, communism, and abortion—to name three examples.
Harper House
Considered by the North Carolina Department of Archives and History to possess the “finest Queen Anne interior styling in the entire state,” the Harper House of Hickory also has a restored landscape, including period gardens. The Catawba County Historical Association (CCHA) raised $2,000,000 for restorations to start the house museum to interpret not only the histories of Hickory and the families who lived in the house but also the history of the Victorian South.
Bunker Hill Covered Bridge
Designated as a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 2001, the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge is the only remaining wooden example of the Improved Lattice Truss patented by Brigadier General Herman Haupt and one of only two original covered bridges remaining in North Carolina.
Federalist Party
Originally, the term “Federalist” referred to supporters of the federal constitution of 1787. Though the Federalist Party existed for less than half of a century, it helped define the new nation. Though they may have lost many political battles, Federalists may have won the war, for their vision of a cosmopolitan and industrialized America eventually came to fruition.
Historic Murray’s Mill
In the rolling hills of eastern Catawba County, Murray’s Mill is located where it was built in 1913. Three generations of the Murray Family operated the mill before bureaucratic red tape and increasing taxes forced Lloyd Murray, John’s son, to close its doors in 1967.
Whiteville
With a population of over 5,000, Whiteville is the largest town in Columbus County and serves as the county seat. Whiteville's beginnings date back to 1733, when it was originally part of a 640 acre tract inherited by attorney John Burgin and his wife, Margaret
Tariffs
Commercial restrictions through tariffs have been an integral part of American history, and Tar Heels have voiced their opinion on tariff legislation since the founding of the United States. The federal government has used tariffs to raise revenue and protect American industry and labor. Before the Civil War, the federal government obtained close to ninety-percent of its revenue from tariffs and avoided insituting income taxation.
Progressive Farmer
Originally devoted to agricultural issues in the Tar Heel State, the Progressive Farmer started publication in Winston, North Carolina, on February 10, 1886. Farmer, Confederate veteran, newspaperman, and former North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, Leonidas L. Polk (1837-1892) founded the journal.