The North Carolina Line refers to North Carolina units within the Continental Army. The term "North Carolina Line" referred to the quota of infantry regiments assigned to North Carolina at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.
On June 26, 1775, less than ten weeks after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress voted to support 1,000 Continental troops in North Carolina. This force was organized in September of that year as two regiments of 500 men each. Not all Continental infantry regiments raised in a state were part of a state quota, however. On December 27, 1776, the Continental Congress gave Washington temporary control over certain military decisions that the Congress ordinarily regarded as its own prerogative. These "dictatorial powers" included the authority to raise sixteen additional Continental infantry regiments at large.[1]
On November 28, 1775 the Continental Congress ordered both North Carolina and South Carolina to provide sufficient numbers of men to help the Continental Army, to be paid by the Continental Congress and not the states. Both states rose to the occasion and North Carolina provided the regiments identified above over a period of two years. These regiments fought in both theaters of the American Revolution, the Northern Department and the Southern Department.[2][3]
On March 7, 1777, the Continental Congress approved placing three companies of North Carolina Light Dragoons onto the Continental Line, not to be assigned to any existing regiment. On July 10, 1777, the Continental Congress approved placing the two companies of NC Artillery onto the Continental Line.
On June 17, 1777, the Continental Congress accepted the offer of North Carolina to furnish another regiment for the Continental Army. This regiment, under the command of Colonel Abraham Sheppard, was unofficially designated the "10th North Carolina Regiment."[3]
The North Carolina Regiments were for a time organized into a 1st, 2nd and 3rd Battalions (sometimes referred to as Brigades) early in the war and then consolidated as a North Carolina Battalion before October 1777.
The 1st Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General James Hogun on January 9, 1779 and consisted of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd regiments, and two companies of North Carolina Artillery. It was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[5]
The 1st Brigade was part of Major General Benjamin Lincoln's surrender of Patriot forces at Charleston on May 12, 1780. General James Hogun was taken prisoner and imprisoned with his troops at Haddrell's Point, South Carolina.[5]
The 2nd Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General James Moore in 1776.[4]
The 2nd Brigade was commanded by Brigadier Jethro Sumner on January 9, 1779[6]
The North Carolina Brigade was commanded by Brigadier General Jethro Sumner on September 8, 1781 at the Battle of Eutaw Springs[6]
Dragoons
The Corps of North Carolina Light Dragoons consisted of four companies: 1st Company (Captain Samuel Ashe, Jr.), 2nd Company (Captain Martin Phifer), 3rd Company (Captain Cosmo Medici); 1777; 4th Company (Captain John Brown), 1778.[10]
Artillery
On May 9, 1776, the North Carolina General Assembly authorized the creation of one company of artillery, the 1st North Carolina Company of artillery, headed by Captain John Vance. Captain Vance resigned in November 1777 and he was replaced by Captain John Kingsbury on November 16, 1777. A second company, the 2nd North Carolina Company of Artillery was authorized by the North Carolina General Assembly on January 7, 1777 and was headed by Captain Thomas Clark. The 2nd company was disbanded in June 1779. While both companies were originally part of the North Carolina State troops, both companies were place under the Continental Line on July 10, 1777.[11]
On May 7, 1776, the Deputy Quarter Master General's Department was created for the Southern Department and Colonel Nicholas Long, former commander of the Halifax District Minutemen, was selected to head the department. Camp Quankey, near the town of Halifax, North Carolina was established as a depot and it remained until the end of the war with Colonel Long as commander.[12][13]
Engagements
The regiments of the North Carolina Line are known to have been involved in 36 engagements from December 1775 to August 1782.[3]
Heitman, Francis B.Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, April 1775 to December 1783. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967 (Originally published, 1914).
Lesser, Charles H. Editor. The Sinews of Independence: Monthly Strength Reports of the Continental Army. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1976.
