War of the Regulation The War of the Regulation ( or the Regulator Movement ) was a North and South Carolina uprising , lasting from about 1765 to 1771 , in which citizens took up arms against corrupt colonial officials . Though unsuccessful , some historians consider it a catalyst to the American Revolutionary War . Causes . The origins of the War of Regulation stem from a drastic population increase in North and South Carolina during the 1760s , followed by immigration from the large eastern cities to the rural west . The inland section of the colonies had once been predominately composed of planters with an agricultural economy . Merchants and lawyers began to move west , upsetting the social and political structure . At the same time , the local agricultural community suffered from a deep economic depression , due to severe droughts throughout the past decade . The loss of crops cost farmers not only their direct food source , but also their primary means of an income , which led many to rely on the goods being brought by newly arrived merchants . As income was cut off , the local planters often fell into debt . The merchants , in turn , relied on lawyers and the court to settle disputes . Debts were not uncommon at the time , but from 1755 to 1765 the cases brought to the docket increased 15 fold , from seven annually to 111 in Orange County alone . Court cases could often lead to planters losing their homes and property , so they grew to resent the presence of the new merchants and the lawyers . The shift in population and politics eventually led to an imbalance within the colony ' s courthouses , where the newly arrived and well - educated lawyers used their superior knowledge of the law to their sometimes unjust advantage . A small clique of wealthy officials formed and became an exclusive inner circle in charge of the legal affairs of the area . The group was seen as a ' courthouse ring ' , or a small bunch of officials who obtained most of the political power for themselves . In 1764 , several thousand people from North Carolina , mainly from Orange , Anson , and Granville counties in the western region , were extremely dissatisfied with the wealthy North Carolina officials , whom they considered cruel , arbitrary , tyrannical , and corrupt . Taxes were collected by local sheriffs supported by the courts ; the sheriffs and courts had sole control over their local regions . Many of the officers were very greedy and often would band together with other local officials for their own personal gain . The entire system depended on the integrity of local officials , many of whom engaged in extortion ; taxes collected often enriched the tax collectors directly . At times , sheriffs would intentionally remove records of their tax collection in order to further tax citizens . The system was endorsed by the colonial governor , who feared losing the support of the various county officials . The effort to eliminate this system of government became known as the Regulator uprising , War of the Regulation , or the Regulator War . The most heavily affected areas were said to be that of Rowan , Anson , Orange , Granville , and Cumberland counties . It was a struggle between mostly lower class citizens , who made up the majority of the population of North and South Carolina , and the wealthy ruling class , who were about 5 % of the population , yet maintained almost total control of the government . The primary aim of the Regulators was to form an honest government and reduce taxation . The wealthy businessmen / politicians who ruled North Carolina at this point saw this as a grave threat to their power . Ultimately , they brought in the militia to crush the rebellion and then hanged its leaders . It is estimated that out of the eight thousand people living in Orange County at the time , some six or seven thousand of them were in support of the Regulators . Although the " War of the Regulators " is considered by some to be one of the first acts of the American Revolutionary War , it was waged against corrupt local officials and not against the king or crown . In reality , many anti - Regulators went on to become Patriots during the American Revolution , such as William Hooper and Francis Nash ; while many Regulators became Loyalists . Regulators . Herman Husband became one of the unofficial leaders of the Regulators . Husband was from Maryland , born into a Quaker family . One of the major flaws in Husband ' s campaign was he tried to invite good relations with the eastern regions of North Carolina , mostly unaffected by local sheriffs . Husband retained very little control over the Regulators , who generally went against his policies of winning over public sentiment and committed acts of minor violence at regular intervals . Another Regulator leader was James Hunter . He refused to take command of the Regulators after Husband ' s departure before the Battle of Alamance . Captain Benjamin Merrill had about 300 men under his control and would have assumed control over military leadership after James Hunter , but he was unable to serve in the Battle of Alamance . Opposition . Governor Arthur Dobbs , who authored popular works such as " Trade and Improvement of H ' elend " and " Captain Middleton ' s Defense , " served as the Royal Governor of North Carolina until his death in 1765 . William Tryon then assumed the position . Tryon had an extremely lavish home built in 1770 in New Bern ( now known as Tryon Palace ) , which became one of the main points of resentment for the Regulators , who were already paying substantial taxes . William ( The Regulator ) Butler was quoted as saying " We are determined not to pay the Tax for the next three years , for the Edifice or Governor ' s House , nor will we pay for it . " Governor Josiah Martin succeeded Governor Tryon in office just after the end of the rebellion . His policies eased the burden on former Regulators and allowed them to be assimilated back into society . Edmund Fanning was the main opposition to the Regulators . A graduate of Yale College , he was generally regarded by his friends as well disciplined and firm . He held many political offices in Orange County . He was once found guilty of embezzling money ( along with Francis Nash ) but was fined only one cent per charge . Events . Breaking up the court . North Carolina ' s colonial court met in Hillsborough . In 1768 , the Regulators entered Hillsborough , broke up the court , and dragged those they saw as corrupt officials through the streets . The mob attempted to have the judge try the cases that were pending against several Regulator leaders , including Husband . The presiding judge ( Richard Henderson ) quickly adjourned the court until the next morning to avoid being forced to make a ruling in the presence of an angry mob of Regulators , and escaped in the night . The Regulators rioted , destroying public and private property alike . Fanning was among the lawyers beaten , found after taking refuge in a shop neighboring the courthouse . According to judge Richard Henderson , Fanning ' s beating was so severe that " one of his eyes was almost beaten out . " The courthouse was systematically and symbolically vandalized . Human waste was placed on the judge ' s seat , and the body of a long deceased slave was placed upon the lawyers bar . The mob continued to destroy shops and property in the town , and ultimately brought their destruction to Fanning ' s personal residence . After destroying all of the furniture and drinking all of his alcohol , the entire house was picked apart . Henderson ' s barn , along with his stables and home were also burned to the ground . They cracked the church bell of the Church of England , but stopped short of looting the church further due to their religious beliefs . Documents . There were several different publications and petitions circulated to promote the end of taxation and other issues . A number of influential members of the area communities signed the Regulator Advertisement and the Regulator Petition , of which there were several versions of each . Each document identified concerns and issues relevant to the Regulator Movement . The terms " Regulation " and " Regulator " were introduced in the Regulator Advertisement in 1768 . War . While small acts of violence had been taking place for some time , mainly out of resentment , the first organized conflict was in Mecklenburg County in 1765 . Settlers in the region , who were there illegally , forced away surveyors of the region assigned with designating land . Minor clashes followed for the next several years in almost every western county , but the only true battle of the war was the Battle of Alamance on May 16 , 1771 . The governor and his forces which numbered just over 1 , 000 , with roughly 150 officers , arrived at Hillsborough on May 9 . At the same time , General Hugh Waddell , supporting Governor Tryon , en route with his contingent of 236 men was met by a large contingent of Regulators . Realizing his force was outnumbered , he fell back to Salisbury . On May 11 , having received word of the retreat from a messenger , Tryon sent the force to support General Waddell . He intentionally chose a path that would lead his forces through Regulator territory . He gave strict orders that nothing was to be looted or damaged . By May 14 , his troops had reached Alamance and set up a camp . Leaving about 70 men behind to guard the position , he moved the remainder of his force , slightly under 1 , 000 men , to find the Regulators . About 10 miles ( 16 km ) away , a force of approximately 2 , 000 Regulators ( by some accounts , 6 , 000 ) without any clear leadership or supplies was gathered mainly as a display of force , and not a standing army . The general Regulator strategy was to scare the governor with a show of superior numbers in order to force the governor to give in to their demands . The first clash of the battle was on May 15 when a rogue band of Regulators had captured two of the governor ' s militia soldiers . Governor Tryon had informed the Regulators that they were displaying open arms and rebellion and that action was to be taken if they did not disperse . The Regulators did not understand the severity of the crisis they were in and ignored the warning . Despite hesitation from his own forces , Governor Tryon allegedly initiated the main battle of Alamance on May 16 by shooting Robert Thompson , who was the first death of the battle . The Regulators resistance crumbled somewhat quickly . Captain Merrill , a Regulator , was supposed to arrive on the battlefield but was delayed . The battle was over with nine deaths for the governor ' s forces and about the same for the Regulators . Virtually everyone captured in the battle was fully pardoned in exchange for an allegiance to the crown ; however , seven Regulators were executed for their part in the uprising . Aftermath . Following the battle , Tryon ' s militia army traveled through Regulator territory where he had Regulators and Regulator sympathizers sign loyalty oaths and destroyed the properties of the most active Regulators . He also raised taxes to pay for his militia ' s defeat of the Regulators . At the time of their defeat at the battle of Alamance , public opinion was decidedly against them . They were seen as a bunch of " lawless desperadoes " and Governor William Tryon was praised for his actions in stamping out the rebellion . As news articles spread the word of his victory , Tryon was branded a hero of the colonies for defeating the larger group of Regulators with his small , well prepared militia . However as the initial excitement over the glorious battle died down , many newsmen , especially in the Boston area , began to question the reasons behind the rebellion and investigated further to find its cause . Several reasons were found to see the destruction of the Regulators as an act of an oppressive government . Most particularly admonished was the methods in which Tryon himself had used to win the battle of Alamance . The use of a riot act , and the execution of rebellion leaders after the battle was frowned upon . Reports also indicated that severe battlefield misconduct had taken place on the governor ' s side , including giving the farmers a 2 hour warning period before the battle began , and subsequently breaking that agreement to bombard them with artillery fire . Several trials were held after the war , resulting in the hanging of six Regulators at Hillsborough on June 19 , 1771 . Many of the main leaders remained in hiding until 1772 , when they were no longer considered outlaws . Many Regulators moved further west into places such as Tennessee , notably establishing both the Watauga Association at Sycamore Shoals ( 1772 ) in present day Elizabethton , Tennessee , the first independent white republic on American soil , and the State of Franklin ( 1784 ) , another short - lived republic that failed to join the Union of the United States . The " Regulators " are important characters in Jimmy Carter ' s historical novel " The Hornet ' s Nest " ( 2003 ) . The Battle of Alamance is also a significant event in the novel " novel , " the fifth book in the " Outlander " series of novels by author Diane Gabaldon . Regulation in South Carolina . At the same time as the regulation in North Carolina , the South Carolina colony had a group of men calling themselves regulators , albeit with very different goals . The regulators of the south were also farming class , landowning men who had grievances against officialdom . However their main problems stemmed not from corruption , but a lack of representation and of government - provided services such as courts and churches . These regulators also found an enemy in local groups of " hunters " ( who were seen as undesirables ) and bandits . It can be argued that the South Carolina regulation is also a partial cause for the revolutionary war , as the distant authority of the Parliament of Great Britain caused so much delay in meeting their demands . The Regulators of South Carolina were formed during the mid - 1760s , and active mainly between 1767 and 1769 . Over the past few decades the population of the frontier had boomed , thanks to the planning of Robert Johnson ( governor ) . He supported sending yeomen out to the frontier in mass , to provide a buffer for the coastal cities from Cherokee attacks . The slave population alone grew 19 % ( however the entire slave population of the frontier only accounted for 8 % of the total population of the colony ) . During this time violent crimes and organized bandit raids threatened the welfare of the settlers inland of the colony . The fallout of the Cherokee war of 1760 - 1761 left many settlers without homes , and children were abandoned during native raids . These people would fall back on the only trade they could use to sustain themselves and their families , which was hunting for their food . In the colonial period on the western frontier this was not seen as an honorable profession , and hunters were labeled as vagrants , bandits , and outlaws , and blamed for stealing livestock . Their method of " fire hunting " at night used fire to blind deer . However , in the dark , farmers ' livestock would often be mistaken for deer . Many unused animal corpses were also left as a result , which drew wolves and scavengers closer to populated areas . Hunting also pushed well into the boundary of the local natives , the Creek Indians , hurting the already tense relationship with colonists . In due course the bandits were found to be some 200 strong . Eventually they were bold enough to attack magistrates , and one regulator , James Mayson , was dragged from his home in the night . The bandits , while originally being composed of the hunting groups , were not an exclusive group . They accepted mulattos , free blacks , and runaway slave s , and any outlaw available . Some members of the bandit network were well established farmers as well . In South Carolina , " regulators " were not rebels , but a vigilante force of propertied elite men , and they co - operated with their colonial government for their entire active time . The South Carolina regulators were a much smaller organization than the mass movement in North Carolina . There were 100 known regulators , of whom 32 became justices of the peace , and 21 were militia leaders . 31 owned slaves , and 14 owned 10 or more . Their primary aim was to protect themselves and their assets from bandits , their secondary purpose was to get courts , churches and schools established in their quickly growing communities . Unfortunately the only court in the colony was in Charleston , through which all legal documentation had to go . In fact , the inland settlers had the sympathy of the coastal elite , but the circuit court act , which would establish the jails , courts , sheriffs and 14 judicial districts , was held up by a dispute with the Parliament of Great Britain concerning the tenure of judges . In contrast to the outcome of Herman Husband ' s Sandy Creek association and regulators , the South Carolina regulation movement was a great success . Their manifesto , written by Anglican missionary Rev . Charles Woodmason forcefully argued their case . Eventually a series of acts were passed that met the needs of the propertied frontiersman . These included vagrancy acts , which outlawed many aspects of hunter lifestyle , such as their trespassing on native lands . This , coupled with the 1769 ordinance for the preservation of wolves , which forbade fire hunting , led to many hunters being whipped and banished from the area . In 1768 the Charleston grand jury began urging the creations of new schools in the back country , as per regulator request . And finally in 1769 the circuit court act was passed , making way for the new courthouses and jails , as well as setting up four new judicial districts . The cooperation between frontier and coastal colonists was so effective , that by 1771 Governor Montague of South Carolina had issued a full pardon for any actions taken by the regulators in his state .