Chronology

Governor Tryon reports that Hillsborough has hardly twenty families

Writing to the colonial secretary about the town's new name, Tryon put its resident households at scarcely twenty but predicted it would soon be the leading inland town of the province.

People: William Tryon

George Micklejohn is sent to St. Matthew's Parish in Hillsborough

Governor William Tryon sent the Rev. George Micklejohn, a Society for the Propagation of the Gospel missionary first assigned to Rowan County, to St. Matthew's Parish in Orange County.

People: William Tryon

Subject: St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church

Thomas Hart buys Joseph Maddock's mill on the Eno

Joseph Maddock, a Quaker who had run the grist mill on the Eno west of Hillsborough since 1755, sold it to Thomas Hart, a friend of Governor William Tryon, who built it up with a sawmill, oil mill, fulling mill, distillery, tannery and other works. This is the mill, known as Hart's Mill, that a British guard held in February 1781.

People: Thomas Hart · William Tryon

The governor's Council thanks Edmund Fanning and his men for their conduct against the Regulators

After Tryon read the Council his cold reply to the Regulators' petition, which forbade further meetings and told them to let the taxes be collected, Fanning was called into the room and formally thanked with his men for their behavior in the recent troubles.

People: Edmund Fanning · William Tryon

Edmund Fanning writes Governor Tryon that Orange is in revolt

Two weeks after Regulators rescued a seized horse at Hillsborough, Fanning reported people across the county binding themselves by oath to refuse taxes, and said he and other officers expected an attack.

People: Edmund Fanning · William Tryon · Thomas Lloyd (died 1792) · Thomas Hart · Francis Nash · James Thackston · John Gray

Tryon orders the Regulators home and puts seven counties' militia on alert

Answering Fanning, the governor issued one proclamation to the people and another to militia officers in Bute, Halifax, Granville, Rowan, Mecklenburg, Cumberland and Johnston counties to stand ready to march to his aid.

People: William Tryon · Edmund Fanning

James Hunter and Rednap Howell present the Regulators' petition to Tryon at Brunswick

The petition, Advertisement Number Nine, carried 474 names, 31 of them written in German. Tryon told the Regulators to give up their name and pay their taxes, but he also warned officers against excess fees and had the lawful fees published.

People: James Hunter · William Tryon · Rednap Howell

Governor Tryon arrives at Hillsborough and stays into August

Tryon came to Hillsborough in early July 1768 and stayed until mid-August, hoping the county would submit, while the Regulators went on refusing their taxes. He left for Salisbury on August 17.

People: William Tryon

James Hunter and John Low deliver a Regulator letter to Governor Tryon at Hillsborough

Hunter and John Low waited on Governor Tryon at Hillsborough with a letter from the Regulators. Tryon told them he would answer it on August 17, after consulting his Council.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon

Eight Regulator leaders meet Governor Tryon at Hillsborough and are refused a committee to examine the county's taxes

A week after their letter was delivered, eight principal Regulators met Tryon in Hillsborough and asked that their grievances be settled by a committee reviewing the county's tax accounts. Tryon refused, telling them the law was the only channel for redress, and the next day sent a letter to the inhabitants south of the Haw.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon

Sheriff John Lea brings the Regulators Tryon's demand for a 1,000 pound bond

On the day set for settling accounts, the former sheriff stayed away and the new sheriff, John Lea, brought a severe letter from Tryon, endorsed by three councillors at Hillsborough. It demanded that twelve leading Regulators meet him at Salisbury by August 25 and give a 1,000 pound bond that no one would try to rescue Butler and Husband at the September court; Tryon left for Salisbury the same day.

People: William Tryon · William Butler (Regulator) · Herman Husband

Presbyterian ministers, among them Henry Pattillo of Orange, write against the Regulation

While Tryon toured Rowan and Mecklenburg to raise troops, Presbyterian ministers Hugh McAden, James Creswell, Henry Pattillo and David Caldwell sent him a letter of loyalty condemning the Regulators, and the pastors also wrote to the colony's Presbyterians telling them to keep out of the movement. The letter was read to the Rowan militia and helped raise volunteers for the march on Hillsborough.

People: Henry Pattillo · David Caldwell · William Tryon · Hugh McAden

Tryon musters about 400 militia at Hillsborough and swears them to allegiance

When the town was thought to be in danger, Tryon called out the militia but could gather only about 400 men, to whom he gave an oath of allegiance to the King and the provincial government before sending them home.

People: William Tryon

Tryon's army gathers at Hillsborough to guard the superior court

Tryon reached Hillsborough on September 19 with 195 Rowan and 310 Mecklenburg volunteers, and two days later 699 Orange and 120 Granville militia joined them. With gentlemen volunteers, artillery and officers the force came to 1,461 men, a quarter of the Assembly among its officers.

People: William Tryon · Edmund Fanning · Thomas Lloyd (died 1792) · Thomas Hart

At the Hillsborough camp, Robert Palmer is named one of six lieutenants general

Palmer, whom Governor Tryon had made adjutant general of the militia marching on Hillsborough, was named a lieutenant general of the army in orders issued at the Hillsborough camp on September 20, 1768. The same orders posted a town guard of a hundred men, with the court house and market house as guard rooms.

People: William Tryon · John Rutherford · John Sampson · Benjamin Heron · Samuel Strudwick · John Ashe

Eight hundred Regulators gather within a mile of Hillsborough, face Tryon's militia and disperse

With the superior court sitting under guard of more than a thousand militia, upwards of eight hundred Regulators appeared within a mile of Hillsborough on September 22. A council of war set terms: surrender nine leaders, lay down arms and promise to pay taxes. The Regulators asked for the night to answer and by the next morning had dispersed, about thirty coming in to give up their arms.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · Griffith Rutherford

Tryon sends troops out to arrest the Regulator leaders

The day after the Regulators dispersed, Tryon sent a body of troops to seize the men he most wanted. Some gave themselves up and others resisted, but all who were taken were soon let go because no true bill could be found against them.

People: William Tryon

Tryon hands John Rutherford command of the army at Hillsborough

Made a lieutenant general on September 20 to lead the right wing, the Orange Brigade, Rutherford took command of the whole army at the Hillsborough camp when Tryon's illness worsened, and ordered the next day's sermons to the troops.

People: William Tryon

George Micklejohn preaches to Tryon's militia at Hillsborough

Before Governor Tryon and the troops raised against the Regulators, Micklejohn preached on the important duty of subjection to the civil powers. Tryon had the sermon printed and distributed, and it cost Micklejohn favour with opponents of royal authority.

People: William Tryon

The last of Tryon's militia leave Hillsborough

The troops stayed in town through the court term, began to be discharged on September 28, and the last detachment marched away on October 2. The expedition cost the province 4,844 pounds.

People: William Tryon

Samuel Devinney and John Philip Hartzo are convicted over the horse rescue

Each was fined 25 pounds and given three months in jail, but Tryon soon freed the prisoners and put off collecting their fines for three months.

People: William Tryon · Samuel Devinney

Subject: Orange County jail, Hillsborough

William Butler is convicted of riot at the Hillsborough superior court

With Governor Tryon's militia in Hillsborough for the September 1768 term, the superior court tried the Regulator cases. Herman Husband was acquitted; William Butler was found guilty on two counts and sentenced to a fine of 50 pounds and six months in prison, but Tryon released him and suspended the fines.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: Herman Husband · William Tryon · Samuel Devinney

Tyree Harris reports the Regulators ready to pay their taxes

Writing to Tryon, Tyree Harris said that on recent visits to the Regulators in their homes he had found them willing to pay their taxes.

People: William Tryon · Tyree Harris

The Assembly issues 20,000 pounds in paper money to pay the troops raised at Hillsborough

The Assembly that met in November 1768 first proposed 30,000 pounds in paper to pay the militia gathered at Hillsborough and other debts; after the governor and upper house objected it passed a 20,000 pound issue that was not legal tender. Tryon said he signed it because the militia would not turn out again unpaid.

People: William Tryon

Orange County inhabitants petition for a public inspection at Hillsborough

Francis Nash and twenty five other inhabitants petitioned Governor Tryon and the legislature for a public inspection station at Hillsborough. They argued that having to haul tobacco and hemp at least a hundred miles overland to be inspected discouraged farmers from growing crops their soil suited.

People: Francis Nash · William Tryon

Governor Tryon buys county land and two Hillsborough lots

Tryon bought a large tract in the county and two lots in the town, and put up a house on the lots. His private secretary, Isaac Edwards, also bought and built in Hillsborough.

People: Isaac Edwards

Tryon issues a general pardon for the 1768 disturbances

The proclamation extended to fines and forfeitures for everyone involved in the Orange County troubles of the year before.

People: William Tryon

Tryon makes Hillsborough a borough and market town

Hillsborough became a borough, with its own member in the Assembly, and a chartered market town. Edmund Fanning sat for the new borough when the Assembly met at New Bern that December.

People: Edmund Fanning

Tryon's Council orders a proclamation against the Hillsborough rioters and defers the Assembly

Meeting at New Bern on the Hillsborough dispatches, the Council heard the Attorney General's opinion that pulling down Fanning's house and the assaults amounted to a riot, and ordered a proclamation requiring every justice of the peace to pursue the persons who assembled at Hillsborough on September 24 and 25. It advised putting off the Assembly to November 30.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · Edmund Fanning

The Assembly expels Orange County's member Herman Husband and the Council orders his arrest

The House of Assembly resolved that Husband, a principal promoter of the late riots in Orange County and publisher of a seditious letter printed over James Hunter's name, be expelled. The same day the Council unanimously advised his arrest and the Chief Justice issued a warrant; he lay in the New Bern jail until a grand jury found no bill on February 8, 1771.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: Herman Husband · James Hunter · William Tryon · Martin Howard

Governor Tryon's army buys supplies at Ralph McNair's Hillsborough store

On his expedition against the Regulators, Governor William Tryon bought supplies at McNair's Hillsborough store, including Delft bowls and gilt tin cups.

People: William Tryon

Regulator leader Thomas Person is held in irons at Hillsborough

After the Battle of Alamance, Governor Tryon had Thomas Person seized and held in irons in Hillsborough for three weeks, during which he was marched to the gallows and back. He was released without trial.

People: William Tryon

Guilford County is formed from Orange and Rowan

Governor Tryon assented to the act creating Guilford County from parts of Rowan and Orange, a bill Edmund Fanning had brought in. Tryon told the Earl of Hillsborough the new county was meant to divide the Regulator districts.

People: William Tryon

Four Orange County militia companies march with Tryon against the Regulators

When Tryon's eastern column gathered on the march from New Bern, Orange and Dobbs each supplied four companies, the largest contingents in a force of 917 rank and file and 151 officers. Two Orange companies were later left to guard Hillsborough when the army moved on to Alamance.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon

Thomas Hart contracts to supply provisions for Tryon's campaign against the Regulators

Hart accepted Governor Tryon's offer to victual the militia raised to suppress the Regulators, on the terms on which he had supplied the troops at Hillsborough in 1768. His department covered nearly a thousand men from eleven counties including Orange.

People: William Tryon

Robert Howe serves as quartermaster general of Tryon's army against the Regulators

Governor Tryon's order book for the 1771 campaign against the Regulators, which took his army through Hillsborough to the Battle of Alamance and back to the Hillsborough camp, names Colonel Robert Howe quartermaster general.

People: William Tryon

Tryon's army camps on the south bank of the Eno opposite Hillsborough

Marching west from New Bern, Tryon's army entered Orange by an old road past Patterson's and camped across the Eno from the town on May 9. A hospital and a supply depot were set up at Hillsborough, and on May 11 the army marched through town and west along the later Graham road.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · Edmund Fanning · John Ashe

Tryon's army halts at Colonel Mebane's for Sunday worship on the march to Alamance

Leaving Hillsborough on May 11, Tryon stopped on Sunday at Colonel Mebane's for divine service, then marched to the Haw River, where 23 mounted men under Captain Bullock joined as his only cavalry. He ordered his troops not to take property and reached Alamance Creek on May 14.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon

David Caldwell goes between Tryon's camp and the Regulators before the Battle of Alamance

At the request of his parishioners, some of them Regulators, Caldwell visited Governor Tryon's camp on May 15 with Alexander Martin to urge mild measures. On the morning of the battle he was riding along the Regulator lines urging the men to go home when the order to fire was given.

People: William Tryon · Alexander Martin

Willie Jones is made Tryon's aide-de-camp on the march into Orange County

Jones marched into Orange County with Governor William Tryon's colonial militia and was appointed Tryon's aide-de-camp on May 15, 1771, the day before Tryon defeated the Regulators at Alamance. Several days later he was sent to raid the plantation of the Regulator leader Herman Husband.

People: Herman Husband · William Tryon

Tryon proclaims a pardon for Regulators who come into camp, lay down their arms and take the oath

From the camp Tryon offered the King's free pardon for all treasons and rebellions to anyone who came in by May 21, surrendered his arms, swore allegiance, promised to pay his taxes and submitted to the law, excepting the outlawed leaders and the prisoners already in camp. Further proclamations on May 21, 24 and 31 and June 11 extended the terms.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · John Rutherford

Tryon's army camps a week at Sandy Creek after Alamance

Five days after the battle the army marched to Sandy Creek, the home district of Husband and many Regulators, and stayed a week, taking supplies from the people and giving them the oath of allegiance. It moved west on May 29.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon

Colonel John Ashe commands the guard left at Hillsborough

When Tryon's army marched west from its camp across the Eno in May 1771, two of the four Orange County companies under Edmund Fanning stayed behind as a guard for Hillsborough under Colonel John Ashe. They rejoined the army before the Battle of Alamance.

People: Edmund Fanning · William Tryon

Tryon offers 100 pounds and a thousand acres for Husband, Hunter, Howell and Butler, dead or alive

Marching back toward Hillsborough, Tryon proclaimed from Bethabara that Herman Husband, James Hunter, Rednap Howell and William Butler stood outlawed and liable to be shot by anyone, and offered one hundred pounds and one thousand acres of land to whoever brought any of them into his or General Waddell's camp.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · Herman Husband · James Hunter · William Butler (Regulator) · Rednap Howell

Tryon's army returns to Hillsborough with its Regulator prisoners

The army came back on June 14 and the next day marched through town with drums beating and oak sprigs in their hats before camping a mile east. The special court of oyer and terminer, opened May 30 and adjourned to await the prisoners, then resumed and tried fourteen men for treason.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · Martin Howard · Richard Henderson · Maurice Moore

Tryon takes leave of his army at Hillsborough and hands the command to Colonel Ashe

Having received at Hillsborough camp the King's command to go at once to govern New York, Tryon thanked the officers and men for their conduct through the campaign, gave the army to Colonel John Ashe to march to Colonel Bryan's and disband by counties, and ordered the artillery escorted to New Bern and the horses taken in battle sold for the public. He reached New Bern on June 24 and sailed on the 30th.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon · John Ashe

Governor Tryon's army turns its horses onto the Few farm's crops

Back at Hillsborough in mid-June 1771 after the Battle of Alamance, Governor William Tryon's army turned its horses onto the wheat, barley and oats of the Few farm a mile east of town, where William Few Sr. had given bond for Regulator leaders. The family left for Georgia that winter.

People: William Tryon

Tryon, now governor of New York, asks the King's free pardon for the six reprieved Regulators

Writing from Fort George in New York, Tryon named the six men convicted of high treason at the Hillsborough court in June whose executions he had suspended at the army officers' request, James Stewart, James Emmerson, William Brown, Forester Mercer, James Copeland and Harmon Cox, and repeated his request that the King grant them a free pardon.

Part of The Regulator crisis, 1766–1771 · 90 events

People: William Tryon