In the years before the Revolutionary War, backcountry farmers in North Carolina took the fight to the royal militia May 17, 1771. The "Fight for the Backcountry" program at Alamance Battlefield State Historic Site May 14-15 will recapture the Battle of Alamance.
A livestream webcast Friday, May 13, at 10 a.m. before the re-enactment will feature re-enactors, demonstrations of domestic life and put you in that time and place. Enroll to view and ask questions in real time at http://www.ncdcr.gov/dncrtv.
Protests and petitions of the farmers were unheeded by Royal Governor Tryon. Dishonest sheriffs, illegal fees and taxation led them to insist on regulation, and the Regulator movement was born. The Regulators were defeated by a more organized force with superior firepower, and some of those involved went on to play critical roles in the American Revolution.
In addition to period re-enactors, the livestream webcast will showcase important documents, tools of everyday living and examine the roles of men and women, religious views of Baptists, Quakers, Presbyterians and others contrary to the Anglican Church. It will illustrate why colonists believed that the existing system would not allow them a better quality of life.
Alamance Battleground is located 6 miles south of I-85/I-40, exit 143, on Highway 62 in Burlington, and is on Facebook and Instagram. It is within the Division of State Historic Sites of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.