2nd North Carolina Regiment The 2nd North Carolina Regiment was an American infantry unit that was raised for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . In 1776 the regiment helped defend Charleston , South Carolina . Ordered to join George Washington ' s main army in February 1777 , the regiment subsequently fought at Brandywine and Germantown during the Philadelphia Campaign . After most other North Carolina regiments were sent home to recruit , the 1st and 2nd Regiments remained with the main army and fought at Monmouth in June 1778 . The regiment was transferred to the Southern Department and was captured by the British army in May 1780 at the Siege of Charleston . Together with the 1st Regiment , the unit was rebuilt and fought capably at Eutaw Springs . The 2nd was furloughed in April 1783 and officially dissolved in November 1783 . History . The 2nd North Carolina Regiment was authorized on 1 September 1775 for service with the Continental Army . Ten companies were organized at Edenton , New Bern , and Salisbury , North Carolina during the autumn of 1775 . Robert Howe was appointed colonel . At the end of 1775 he marched his regiment north to Virginia . Arriving near Norfolk , Virginia on 14 December 1775 , Howe provoked a British attack on the town on 1 January 1776 which resulted in the Burning of Norfolk and the withdrawal of Lord Dunmore ' s forces . On 4 January 1776 , the 2nd Regiment was reorganized in the strength of eight companies . The unit was assigned to the Southern Department on 27 February 1776 . The 1st , 2nd , and 3rd North Carolina Regiment s participated in the successful defense of Charleston that culminated in the Battle of Sullivan ' s Island . At the time , the three regiments were only half of their nominal strength . The early successes of local militia over American loyalists and Indians convinced many southerners that professional soldiers were not required for defense . Therefore , the Continental Army regiments received less support than was seen in the northern colonies . The 2nd North Carolina was transferred to the main army on 5 February 1777 . The unit became part of the North Carolina Brigade on 8 July 1777 . When the North Carolina Brigade arrived near Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , it was so badly understrength that the field officers suggested transferring all the soldiers into the three senior regiments . However , this was not done until the following May when the other regiments were reduced to cadres and sent home to recruit . The 2nd Regiment saw action at the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777 . The North Carolina Brigade , under Brigadier General Francis Nash was deployed in reserve near Chadds Ford . Late in the afternoon , after Sir William Howe ' s flanking column had broken the American right wing , Washington directed Nathanael Greene ' s division and Nash ' s brigade to block the British thrust . Though the battle resulted in an American defeat , Howe ' s advance was brought to a halt in a fierce musketry duel and Washington ' s army limped away to fight again . At the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 , the North Carolina Brigade and William Maxwell ' s New Jersey Brigade were part of Lord Stirling ' s Reserve Division . During the advance , a cannonball killed one of Maxwell ' s aides and mortally wounded Nash . Presently , Lord Stirling ' s column found itself confronted by about 100 British soldiers in the Chew House . After a bombardment by cannon failed to reduce the structure , two New Jersey regiments tried to storm the place . The North Carolina troops fired on the north side of the house in support , but all American attacks were repulsed with heavy losses . During the 1777 – 1778 winter encampment at Valley Forge , Brigadier General Lachlan McIntosh took command of the North Carolina Brigade . Colonel John Patten , Lieutenant Colonel Selby Harney , and Major Hardy Murfree were the field officers in the 2nd North Carolina . The regiment fought at the Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston . The regiment would be captured by the British Army at Charlestown , South Carolina on May 12 , 1780 . The regiment was reformed in the summer of 1781 , furloughed January 1 , 1783 at James Island , South Carolina and disbanded on November 15 , 1783 .