The Rutherford County Regiment was authorized on October 30, 1779, by the Province of North Carolina Congress. It was created at the same time that
Rutherford County, North Carolina was created out of the western part of
Tryon County, North Carolina
Tryon County is a former county which was located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It was formed in 1768 from the part of Mecklenburg County west of the Catawba River, although the legislative act that created it did not become effective unti ...
when Tryon County and its regiment of militia were abolished. Officers were appointed and commissioned by the Governor. The regiment was engaged in battles and skirmishes against the British during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
in North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina between 1779 and 1782. It was active until the end of the war.
Officers
The Rutherford County Regiment was placed under the existing
Salisbury District Brigade
The Salisbury District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disba ...
when it was created in 1779. This brigade was commanded by
Brigadier General Griffith Rutherford. In may of 1782, the regiment was re-subordinated to the newly created
Morgan District Brigade
The Morgan District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War. This unit was established by the North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 17, 1782, and disbanded at the end of the wa ...
. The regiment included the following colonels and commandants:
* Colonel Andrew Hampton (1779–1781): He had previously been a captain in the Tryon County Regiment of Militia (1775–1776) and lieutenant colonel in the Tryon County Regiment of Militia (1776–1779)
* Colonel Robert Porter (1781–1783): He had previously been a captain in the Tryon County Regiment of Militia (1776–1777), major in the Tryon County Regiment of Militia (1777–1779), major in the Rutherford County Regiment of Militia (1779–1780), and lieutenant colonel in the Rutherford County Regiment of Militia (1780–1781).
Known lieutenant colonels included:
*
Lt. Col. Baylis Earle
* Lt. Col. John Earle
* Lt. Col. Jack
* Lt. Col. James Miller
* Lt. Col. Robert Porter
* Lt. Col. William Porter
Known majors included:
* Maj. Adam Hampton
* Maj. Robert Porter
* Maj. William Rutherford
* Maj. Patrick Watson
* Maj. James Gray
* Maj. Richard Lewis
* Maj. James Porter
* Maj. Reese Porter
* Maj. Richard Singleton
The unit also had one adjutant, William Walker, and a surgeon, Joseph Camp. The regiment included 64 known companies headed by captains with lieutenants, sergeants, ensigns, corporals under the captain.
Engagements
The regiment was engaged in 23 known battles and skirmishes in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. See
Salisbury District Brigade#Engagements for a chronological list of these battles and skirmishes, along with other regiments of the brigade. One or more companies participated in each of these engagements.
See also
*
List of American Revolutionary War battles
This is a list of military actions in the American Revolutionary War. Actions marked with an asterisk involved no casualties.
Major campaigns, theaters, and expeditions of the war
* Boston campaign (1775–1776)
* Invasion of Quebec (1775†...
*
Salisbury District Brigade
The Salisbury District Brigade was an administrative division of the North Carolina militia during the American Revolutionary War (1776–1783). This unit was established by the Fourth North Carolina Provincial Congress on May 4, 1776, and disba ...
*
Southern Campaigns: Pension Transactions for a description of the transcription effort by Will Graves
*
Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
The Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War was the central theater of military operations in the second half of the American Revolutionary War, 1778–1781. It encompassed engagements primarily in Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina. ...
References
Bibliography
* Arthur, John Preston, ''Western North Carolina; a history (1730–1913)'', National Society Daughters of the American Revolution of North Carolina. Edward Buncombe Chapter, Asheville, North Carolina, Publication date 1914
Link accessed Jan 29, 2019
* Hunter, C.L.; ''Sketches of western North Carolina, historical and biographical : illustrating principally the Revolutionary period of Mecklenburg, Rowan, Lincoln, and adjoining counties, accompanied with miscellaneous information, much of it never before published'', Raleigh : Raleigh News Steam Job Print, 1877; pages 166-183
*
{{NCRevWarUnits
North Carolina militia
Rutherford County, North Carolina