List of North Carolina militia units in the American Revolution


The North Carolina militia units were first established in 1775 by the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress on the eve of the American Revolution. Initially, the militia units were centered on the 35 counties that then existed in the Province of North Carolina. The units fought against the British, Loyalists, and Cherokee Native Americans that aligned themselves with British forces. The units included military district brigades established in 1776, county regiments, four battalions, and one independent corps of light horse. Four regiments were located in counties that became part of the Southwest Territory in 1790 and later Tennessee in 1796. The size of brigades could be up to a few thousand volunteers. Brigades were commanded by a brigadier general. Regiments were commanded by a colonel and made up of a number of companies commanded by captains with about 50 men in each company. During engagements, one or more companies of regiments may have been involved in actions and commanded by the regimental or brigade commander. In 1778, Major General John Ashe was selected to command all North Carolina militia and State Troops. Brigade commanders reported to him. Separate from the North Carolina militia, the state provided 10 numbered regiments to the Continental Army that were referred to as the North Carolina Line.

Background

In August 1775, the Third North Carolina Provincial Congress of North Carolina delegates appointed Cornelius Harnett the head of the Council of Safety which oversaw resistance to British rule. They also divided the colony into six military districts for the purpose of organizing militia and arranging representation in the executive body of the Council of Safety. At the county level, there were Committees of Safety, including the Rowan, Anson, Mecklenburg, Surry, and Tryon counties. Many members of these committees of safety became the officers of the regiments of militia.
The North Carolina Provincial Congress authorized 35 existing county militias to be organized on September 9, 1775. Some counties had already established their militias earlier than 1775. The Rowan County regiment was split on October 22, 1775 into two distinct regiment, the 1st Rowan County Regiment and the 2nd Rowan County Regiment. On December 22 that same year, the North Carolina Provincial Council split the Pasquotank County Regiment into two separate and distinct regiments, the 1st and 2nd Pasquotank County regiments. The two additional regiments brought the total number of county regiments to 37 by the end of 1775.

Units

The following are the North Carolina militia brigades and regiments with their subordination, along with the dates established and disestablished, as well as the original commander when the unit was established by the Provincial Congress. Many counties started mustering and training militia before the Provincial Congress got around to it, as early as October 1774. Regiments were subordinated to named brigades after brigades were established in 1776. Brigades were headed by a brigadier general and subordinate to the state militia headed by a major general officer, who reported to the Governor of North Carolina. As new counties were created by the legislature, new regiments were created and some were disbanded. At the time of the Battle of Kings Mountain in October 1780, there were 50 counties and 51 regiments of militia. Many regiments had two colonels. Soldiers and officers from these units were engaged in battles and skirmishes, primarily in North Carolina and South Carolina, but a few engagements were in Georgia, Virginia, and East Florida. As militia units, the soldiers did not serve full-time and returned home between engagements, musters, and drills.
UnitSubordinationEstablishedDisbandedOriginal Commander, RankRefs
North Carolina Militia and State Troops CommandGovernor of North Carolina17781783MG John Ashe, Sr.
Edenton District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17761783BG Edward Vail
1st Regiment of North Carolina militiaEdenton District Brigade17801780Col Samuel Jarvis
2nd Regiment of North Carolina militiaEdenton District Brigade17801780Col Benjamin Exum
Bertie County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col Thomas Witmell
Camden County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17771783Col Isaac Gregory
Chowan County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col Thomas Bonner
Currituck County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col Samuel Jarvis
Gates County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17791783Col Lawrence Baker
Hertford County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col Benjamin Wynns
Martin County RegimentEdenton District Brigade, Halifax District Brigade17751783Col William Williams
1st Pasquotank County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col John Lowery
2nd Pasquotank County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751777Col Isaac Gregory
Perquimans County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col Miles Harvey
Tyrrell County RegimentEdenton District Brigade17751783Col Edward Buncombe
Halifax District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17761783BG Allen Jones
1st Battalion of VolunteersHalifax District Brigade17761777Col Abraham Sheppard, Sr
2nd Battalion of VolunteersHalifax District Brigade17761777Col Francis Locke
Bute County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17751779Col William Person
Edgecombe County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17751783Col William Haywood
Franklin County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17791783Col Benjamin Seawell
Halifax County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17751783Col John Bradford
Nash County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17771783Col James Clinch
Northampton County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17751783Col Allen Jones
Warren County RegimentHalifax District Brigade17791783Col Thomas Eaton
Hillsborough District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17761783BG Thomas Person
Caswell County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17771783Col James Saunders
Chatham County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17751783Col Ambrose Ramsey
Granville County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17751783Col Joseph Taylor
Mounted Volunteers RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17801780Col Philip Taylor
Northern Orange County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17761777Col James Saunders
Orange County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17751783Col John Hogan
Randolph County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17791783Col Andrew Balfour
Wake County RegimentHillsborough District Brigade17751783Col John Hinton
New Bern District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17761783BG Richard Caswell
Beaufort County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col James Bonner
Carteret County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col William Thompson
Craven County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col Joseph Leech
Dobbs County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col Abraham Sheppard
Hyde County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col Rotheas Latham
Johnston County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col Needham Bryan
Jones County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17791783Col John Bryan
Pitt County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17751783Col John Simpson
Wayne County RegimentNew Bern District Brigade17791783Col Benjamin Exum
Morgan District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17821783BG Charles McDowell
Davidson County RegimentMorgan District Brigade17831783Col Anthony Bledsoe
Greene County RegimentMorgan District Brigade17831783Col Joseph Harden
Salisbury District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17761783BG Griffith Rutherford
Anson County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751783Col Samuel Spencer
Burke County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17771782Lieutenant Colonel William Armstrong
Guilford County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751783Col Ransom Sutherland
Lincoln County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17791783Col William Graham
1st Mecklenburg County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751783Col Thomas Polk
2nd Mecklenburg County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17791780Col Caleb Phifer
Polk's Regiment of Light DragoonsMecklenburg County Regiment,
State Troops Command		17801781LTC William Polk, William
Independent Corps of Light HorseIndependent17801780Maj William Richardson Davie
Montgomery County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17791783Col John Little
Richmond County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17791783Colonel Henry William Harrington
Rowan County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751783Col Griffith Rutherford
2nd Rowan County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751777Col Adlai Osborne
2nd Rowan County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17821783Col James Brandon
Rutherford County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17791783Col Andrew Hampton
Sullivan County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17791783Col Isaac Shelby
Surry County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751783Col Martin Armstrong
Tryon County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17751779Col William Graham
Washington District RegimentSalisbury District Brigade17761777Col John Carter
Washington County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17771783Col Evan Shelby
Wilkes County RegimentSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17771783Col Benjamin Cleveland
Wilmington District BrigadeNorth Carolina Militia Command17761783BG John Ashe, Sr.
1st Battalion of MilitiaWilmington District Brigade17761776Col Thomas Brown
2nd Battalion of MilitiaWilmington District Brigade17761776Colonel Peter Dozier
Bladen County RegimentWilmington District Brigade17751783Col Thomas Robeson, Jr.
Brunswick County RegimentWilmington District Brigade17751783Col Robert Howe
Cumberland County RegimentWilmington District Brigade17751783Col Thomas Rutherford
Duplin County RegimentWilmington District Brigade17751783Col James Kenan
New Hanover County RegimentWilmington District Brigade17751783Col James Moore
Onslow County RegimentWilmington District Brigade17751783Col William Cray
Overmountain MenSalisbury District Brigade, Morgan District Brigade17761783Col Isaac Shelby