Dashboards and Saddlebags the Destination Magazine™ Issue 021 December 2012 | Page 18

Alamance
Continued From Page 12

the American Revolution many
North Carolina people became
strongly discontented with the
way the provincial government
was handling the colony’s affairs.
However, their quarrel was not
with the form of government or
the colony’s laws but with abuses
by government officials.
Grievances affecting the daily lives
of the colonists included excessive
taxes, dishonest sheriffs, and illegal
fees. Scarcity of money contributed
to the state of unrest. Those living
in the western part of the province
were isolated and unsympathetic
with the easterners and it was in
those frontier counties that the War
of the Regulation began.
Minor clashes occurred until the
spring of 1768, when an association
of “Regulators” was formed.
Wealthier colonists considered
them to be a mob. The Regulators
never had an outstanding leader,
though several men were prominent
in the movement; including James
Hunter, Rednap Howell, William
Butler, and Herman Husband.
Husband, a Quaker and follower
of Benjamin Franklin, circulated
political pamphlets advocating
peaceful reform.

Violent Resistance
Discouraged over failing to secure
justice through peaceful negotiations,
the reformers took a more radical
stand. Violence, lawlessness, and
terrorism reigned. When the
government retaliated against them,
the Regulators defiantly refused
to pay fees, terrorized those who
administered the law, and disrupted
court proceedings.

It fell to royal governor William
Tryon to bring the backcountry
revolt to a speedy conclusion.
In March 1771, the governor’s
council advised Tryon to call out
the militia and march against the
rebel farmers.
Volunteers for the militia were
mustered. When the expedition
finally got under way, Gen. Hugh
Waddell was ordered to approach
Hillsborough by way of Salisbury,
with Cape Fear and wester n
militia at his command. Tryon
and his army proceeded more
directly toward Hillsborough.
Waddell, with only 284 men,
was challenged on his way by a
large groups of Regulators. Since
he was outnumbered, the general
decided to turn back. On May 11,
Governor Tryon and his forces left
Hillsborough intending to rescue
Waddell. After resting on the
banks of Alamance Creek in the
heart of Regulator country, Tryon
gathered his army of approximately
a thousand men. Five miles away,
2,000 Regulators had assembled.

The Battle of Alamance
The battle began on May 16 after
the Regulators rejected Tryon’s
suggestion that they disperse
peacefully. Lacking leadership,
organization, and adequate arms
and ammunition, the Regulators
were no match for Tryon’s militia.
Many Regulators fled, leaving their
bolder comrades to fight on.
The rebellion of the Regulators
was crushed. Nine members of
the king’s militia were killed and
61 wounded. The Regulator losses
were much greater, though exact
numbers are unknown. Tryon took
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18 Dashboards and Saddlebags •The Destination Magazine