16th May 1771: The Battle of Alamance ends the Regulator Movement in Provincial North Carolina скачать в хорошем качестве

16th May 1771: The Battle of Alamance ends the Regulator Movement in Provincial North Carolina

The Regulator Movement began in 1766 as a rebellion against the perceived corruption of the colonial officials who governed North Carolina. The arrival in 1765 of a new Royal Governor, William Tryon, had failed to improve the relationship between the wealthy local officials and the poorer backcountry population who sought a more honest government and reduction in taxes. In response they called their movement the Regulators as they existed ‘for regulating public grievances and abuses of power.’ By 1770, after making little progress against Governor Tryon, the rebellion had built its own force of armed volunteers. In September a large group disrupted the court session in the town of Hillsborough and attacked Crown Attorney Edmund Fanning before ransacking his home. These disturbances continued into the following spring, prompting Tryon to assemble the militia. On 16 May 1771 Tryon’s forces, consisting of approximately 1,000 militiamen, marched on Great Alamance Creek near modern-day Burlington. Around 2,000 Regulators had set up camp in a show of force that they hoped would win them some concessions from the governor. Soon after the Regulators refused to lay down their weapons, the battle began when Tryon fired at Robert Thompson who had been trying to negotiate a peace. The Battle of Alamance lasted for around two hours, by which time the inexperienced Regulators had exhausted their ammunition. The militia suffered 9 deaths, while up to three times that number of Regulators died. A further six were hanged for treason. The battle has since been seen by some as a precursor to the American Revolution.