In 1771, an armed rebellion of backcountry farmers called Regulators battled with royal governor William Tryon's militia, looking for economic independence and political liberty. The spark for this conflict was growing resentment in the Carolina colony against the taxes, dishonest sheriffs, and illegal fees imposed by the British Crown and political and economic elites in the colony. In response, the Regulators were formed and began to fight back. (The term Regulators meant “reformers”. Part of the conflict was religious as most of the Regulators were Protestant radicals–Baptists, Presbyterians, Quakers–while the elites were Anglican. The Regulators had come to view agrarian reform as a moral right, consistent with their religious faith.)
On May 16, 1771, a colonial militia unit of about 1,000 men quickly defeated 2,000 armed but disorganized farmers in a battle near Hillsborough, NC. Following the battle, the victorious troops marched through Regulator settlements and Regulators and their sympathizers were forced to swear allegiance to the government. Seven farmers were hanged.
Though the rebellion was crushed, some think that this battle amounted to the first shots of the Revolutionary War. We had a few minutes on our way back from Wentworth Monday afternoon (May 23rd) and spent a few minutes at the battle site, which is about 10 miles south of Burlington and the I-40 route back to RDU. This was a historical site we had wanted to visit while on our mission.
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