What is known today as the Tryon Resolves (entitled at the time the Tryon Declaration of Rights and Independence from British Tyranny) was a brief declaration adopted and signed by "subscribers" to the Tryon County Association that was formed in Tryon County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

in the early days of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. In the Resolves—a modern name for the Association's charter document—the county representatives vowed resistance to the increasingly coercive actions being enacted by the government of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

against its North American colonies. The document was signed on August 14, 1775, but—like other similar declarations of the time—stopped short of calling for total independence from Britain.

Background

The " Tryon Association" was formed with the signing of the ''Tryon Declaration of Rights and Independence from British Tyranny''. (This document only became known as "''The Tryon Resolves''" in the 20th-century.) The Association was formed in response to the April 19, 1775, Battle of Lexington. The Resolves was among the earliest of many local colonial declarations against the coercive policies that the British government had instituted in the colonies that were considered oppressive by the colonists. Other similar associations with signed "declarations" from the same period included the Mecklenburg Resolves (adopted in nearby

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it th ...

) and the

Suffolk Resolves The Suffolk Resolves was a declaration made on September 9, 1774, by the leaders of Suffolk County, Massachusetts. The declaration rejected the Massachusetts Government Act and resulted in a boycott of imported goods from Britain unless the In ...

(adopted in

Suffolk County, Massachusetts Suffolk County ( ) is located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 797,936, making it the fourth-most populous county in Massachusetts. The county comprises the cities of Boston ...

). The Tryon Resolves predated the

United States Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America in the original printing, is the founding document of the United States. On July 4, 1776, it was adopted unanimously by the Second Continen ...

by almost 11 months, but stopped short of proscribing independence from Britain, instead supporting armed resistance until a resolution with England could be made. ''The Tryon County Patriots of 1775 and Their Association''
Parker, Herschel; August 11, 2014; WebPage; "Journal of the American Revolution" online; retrieved April 2023 As tensions between the North American colonies and the British government continued to increase, county residents began forming Committees of Safety to prepare militia companies for a potential war. On September 14, 1775, many of the signers of the Tryon Resolves formed the Tryon County Militia in preparation for British retaliation against American revolutionaries.Sullivan, Kathy Gunter; ''Tryon County Documents, 1769-1779: A North Carolina County'' (Genealogical Society of Old Tryon County, NC: 2000), pp. 184–186; citing Proceedings of the Committee of Safety, 1775-1776; Secretary of State Papers; S.S. 305, State Archives, Raleigh.

Text summary and effect

In the Tryon Resolves: * The county residents refer to "the painful necessity of having recourse to arms in defense of our National freedom and constitutional rights, against all invasions; * Vow to take up arms and risk our lives and our fortunes in maintaining the freedom of our country..." * The colonists declare they will continue to follow the Continental Congress or Provincial Conventions in defiance of British declarations that these were illegal; * The signers warn that force will be met with force until such a time as a "reconciliation" can be made between the colonies and Britain.

Signers

The "subscribers" (signatories) to the Tryon Association in alphabetical order were : * Robt. Alexander * Jas. Baird * Abel Beatty * Thomas Beatty * John Beeman * George Black * James Buchanan * Christian Carpenter * Samuel Carpenter * James Coburn * Jacob Costner * Geo. Dellinger * John Dellinger * Thomas Espey * Jacob Forney * William Graham * Frederick Hambright * Andrew Hampton * Benjamin Hardin * Joseph Hardin * Robert Hulclip * David Jenkins * Joseph Kuykendall * Samuel Loftin * Jas. Logan * Perrygren Mackness (or Magness) * Jacob Mauney, Jun. * Valentine Mauney * Fried Mauser * James McAfee * Charles McLean * Jas. Miller * Moses Moore * John Morris * Andrew Neel * Joseph Neel * George Paris * Jonathan Price * John Robison * Peter Sides * Adam Simms * Samuel Smith * William Thompson * Joab Turner * Richard Waffer * John Walker * John Wells * Davis Whiteside * William Whiteside

Notes

References

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