The first of five scheduled NC
MRF History Tours was held on April 21st in Burlington, NC.
The tour started in Apex and traveled to the Alamance County Battlefield
and the scene of Pyle's Defeat. Thirty-one riders came out for this
tour.
Visitors to Alamance Battleground view the field of battle, which
is marked by a granite monument given as a memorial in 1880. An
audiovisual presentation of the battle is offered in the visitor
center. Located on the grounds of the site is the Allen House, a
log dwelling characteristic of those lived in by frontier people
on the western fringes of the colony.
During our visit, we watched the audiovisual presentation and then
we were lucky enough to get a personalized guided tour of the battlegrounds
from local historian Bill Thompson. Bill also did a live fire demonstration
of a period black powder musket for us. From there, we rode to the
scene of Pyle's Defeat where we learned how Light Horse Harry Lee
defeated a force three times his size. After the tour was over,
we headed out and enjoyed friendship over a BBQ lunch at Carolina
Bar-B-Q & Seafood.
We would like to thank the riders who came out for this tour. These
riders understand the importance of protecting the things they love.
Riding our motorcycles is important to all of us and these riders
have shown their love for motorcycling by financially supporting
the MRF on this history tour. Twenty-three riders donated $10 each
to allow us to make a $230 Freedom Fighter donation. That donation
will go directly towards our fight at the federal level for fair
motorcycle related legislation. Three riders also joined the MRF
during this tour and three riders renewed their membership bringing
the total raised for the MRF to $445.
To view the MRF's legislative agenda go HERE.
If you are not already an MRF member, please consider joining. The
MRF is completely focused on supporting street motorcycling.
The next NC
MRF History Tour be a 110+ mile ride to the House
in the Horseshoe on Saturday, May 19, 2007. There will be a
total of five NC
MRF History Tours during 2007.
We would like to thank long-time MRF Individual Sustaining Member
Bruce Harris for his dedication to the MRF, his time and effort
in organizing and planning this History Tour, and his enthusiasm
for creating fun, alternate riding opportunities for North Carolina's
riders.
The
Battle of Alamance
During the years preceding the American Revolution many North Carolina
people experienced strong feelings of discontent with the way the
provincial government conducted the affairs of the colony. Their
quarrel was not with the form of government or the body of laws
but with abuses by government officials. Grievances affecting the
daily lives of the colonists included excessive taxes, dishonest
sheriffs, and illegal fees. It was in the western counties that
the War of the Regulation began.
In 1768, an association of "Regulators" was formed. Wealthier
colonists considered them to be a mob. The Regulators never had
an outstanding leader, though several men were prominent in the
movement. One leader, Herman Husband, a Quaker and disciple of Benjamin
Franklin, circulated political pamphlets seeking to effect peaceful
reform.
Discouraged over failure to secure justice through peaceful negotiations,
the reformers took a more radical stand. Violence, lawlessness,
and terrorism reigned. When punitive measures were taken against
them, the Regulators defiantly refused to pay fees, terrorized those
who administered the law, and disrupted court proceedings.
It fell to Royal Governor William Tryon to bring the back country
revolt to a speedy conclusion. In March 1771, the governor's council
advised Tryon to call out the militia and march against the rebel
farmers. Volunteers for the militia were mustered. After resting
on the banks of Alamance Creek in the heart of Regulator country,
Tryon gathered his army of approximately one thousand men. Five
miles away, the army of Regulators, almost three thousand strong,
had assembled.
The Battle of Alamance began on May 16, 1771 after the Regulators
rejected Tryon's suggestion that they disperse peacefully. Lacking
leadership, organization, and adequate munitions, the Regulators
were no match for Tryon's militia. Many Regulators fled the field
of battle, leaving their bolder comrades to fight on.
The rebellion of the Regulators was crushed by military defeat.
Nine members of the militia were killed and sixty-one wounded. The
Regulator losses were much greater, though exact numbers are not
known. Tryon took fifteen prisoners, of whom seven were executed
later.
The War of the Regulation illustrates the dissatisfaction of a large
segment of the population during the time before the American Revolution.
The boldness with which reformers opposed royal authority provided
a lesson in the use of armed resistance, which revolutionaries employed
a few short years later in the War for Independence.
