The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-04-18
BATTLE OF ikE GREAT ALLAMANCE.
The First Battle of the Revolution.

centennial of the battle of Lexington, the So |
called first battle of the revolutionary war. The
first battle of the revolution was fought four
years before on the Great Alamance: on the head
waters Of Cape Fear River, III Ncr.h Carolina. 1t
was fought on the 10TH of May, I'LL, between the
Kings troops-regulars and ,nihtia-eleven hun
dred in number, and well armed, commanded by |
the royal governor, William Tryon, regular
officer, and two thousand Regulators under Her.
mon Husbands, hastily gathered, poorly drilled
and badly oi1cered. The Regulators were de- |
feated with two hundred dead on the field AMI |
many wounded, with loss of over seventy to |
Goy. Tryon's forces.
The South has failed to sccnre her full need |
il history by trusting more to her fighting than |
her writing qualities. che his always had an
abundance Of orators and statesmen, and has |
never failed to produce great generals and |
soldiers, but leaves the records Of all he- deeds
to be written up by Northern historians.
In all the school histories, without a single
exception now remembered, the battle Of the
Great Allamance is not alluded to- and yet
here was a pitched battle fought, on the prin-
ciples OF TIE revolution, in which the forces en-
gagged We're superior in n'l.nbers to those en-
gagged at the al-i.ay running tigh' at Lexins ton
and the loss was nearly double in killed and
wuuned to those killed aud wounded at Lexing-
ton; but it was fought on Southern soil, ana
it is utterly ignored, Dacau5 the south cannot
be allowed the credit OF starting TIE resolatiop
airy ball witch made Us nation New 1natan1
alone Was capable OF doing a..
As they ar, determined 10 write reb Is we
might as well SCI no our Gear title to be the od
l. T. l. r ~. 30.
renarl: that we are in fairer way to become q
h naueueons p opa ilCw than We have ever
been. the soc:iouaiism and jealousy OF the North
ard south did rot orig aate, many suppose, III
tie agitation Of the slavery question; they were
'ons anterior 10 that question. In 1865 the
English Government found it necessary to estab-
fish q line be.weon the ecions, and the American
posse sions were separated into two districts,
the Northern and the Southern, by the Potomac
aiver, ard line from its headwaters drawn due
vest. l. cannot be denied that the Colonies,
Nort, and South, were in sympathy in esstance
to tyranny and taxation.
When the stamp act was passed in 1865 and
the stamps were sent out to America, almost
similar and simultaneous action toook place in
all the colonies, but the people OF North Carolina
in any of the other colonies. Chief Justice
Francis Xavier Martin, OF Louisiana, wrote
history of North Carolina, where he had long
lived. He says: "The s.oop-of-war Diligence
came into the Cape Fear River with the stamps
on board, and Gov. Tryon issued his proclama-
ton in relation to Them but Coils. Ashe and
Waddle called their regiments of militia to-
gether and marched to the river and notified the
| commander that they were prepared to resist
the landing of the stamps. They captured a
boat belonging to the sloop of-war, and, mount
| ing it on a cart, hauled it through the town Of
Brunswick with the town Illuminated and all
| the people in procession.
''Gov. Tryon tried to concl.ate and ca jole the
people, but they marched to his house and de
manded the stamp official, James Houston and
| threatened to burn the Governors house if he
was not forthcoming, and the Governor was
obliged to give him up. They took him to the
market and made him swear he would never exc
cute the duties OF his Office. few days after,
| the Governor gave a grand feast at Wilmington,
and invited all the people; he had whole OK
barbecued, and had many barrels of beer
tapped, but the people marched up, threw his
beer on the ground and pitched his OK into the
|
and enc of the officers was killed. Gov. Tryon
had the slayer arrested and Immediately tiled,
but the jury acquitted him, and the Judge, under
Trycns taunts, committed suicide"
Such was the spirit OF these Southern rebels in
resistance to the Stamp Act, and it continued
after the Stamp Act was repealed.
Gov. Tryon, says Martin, was military man,
an educated soldier, and fond of display. In time
OF profound peace he headed great military ex-
cursion into the Cherokee country where he was
adopted by the tribe and made "Great Wolf" Of
the Cherokees. He also built himself palace
at New Berne, which Martin says exceeded any,
thing in North Or South America in splcndor and
cost. He exacted heavy taxes Of the impover-
ished people for these follies, and he would ac-
count to no one for tho money. His officers,
clerks CT courts, sherifs, recorders of Deeds sur
veyors, entry-takers and magistrates charged ex
tortionate fees, and collected unjust and lille.
gal taxes until the people were driven mad.
| Their complaints were unheeded, their wrongs
were unredresscd, and they were denied justice
in the courts. Hermon Husbands, at this time,
ITO, published his Impartial Relation" in which
he exhibited the peoples wrongs and counseled
resistance to tyranny. The people Of Central
North Carolina took this advice and in ITO and
I'LL, formed themselves into bodies called
| Regulators" whose creed was to ''whip every
one who goes to law, or will not pay his just
debts, or will not agree to leave his cause to men
whore disputed and, as to thieves to drive them
out of the country
This organization determined to resist all lille.
gal taxes collected in the Kings name by Gov.
Tryon and his vampires. Several large gather
ings and demonstrations took place, with some
rioting, but no bloodshed until the battle Of the
10Th of May, 177l, when Gov Tryon, with large
army Of picked men, cavalry and infantry,
sad we'll supplied with artillery, advanced across
the Haw River, and determined to put down the
Regulators and collect by force the taxes Hus-
bands, who confronted him, was no military man
and was badly whipped. In the desperate fight
which took place. the Regulators were routed