Rowan County Regiment

Prior to the American Revolution, Rowan County had a colonial militia when part of the Province of North Carolina. The Rowan County militia was used to defend the settlers during the Anglo-Cherokee War of 1758 to 1761 when the Cherokee Indians were devastating the outlying settlements. The Rowan County Regiment may have been the militia unit commanded by Hugh Waddell from Fort Dobbs built in 1755–1758.[2] From mid-May to mid-June 1767, Waddell commanded Rowan and Mecklenburg militia detachments accompanying Governor Tryon to establish a boundary between North Carolina and the Cherokee.[3] In 1768, the regiment was commanded by Colonel Alexander Osborne. Colonel Osborne marched with the Rowan County regiment to assist Governor William Tryon in suppressing the Regulator Movement at Hillsborough in 1768 on the Yadkin River above Salisbury. (The Rowan County Scots-Irish did not join the Regulator Movement.) Colonel Osborn (1706–1776) was the father of Adlai Osborne, who would later command the 2nd Rowan County Regiment during the American Revolution.[4][5][6]

The DAR marker commemorating the Battle of Torrence's Tavern, located on Langtree Road near the intersection with N.C. Highway 115 in Mount Mourne.

As a lead up to the American Revolution, the Rowan County Regiment was established on about August 1, 1775 under patriot command. Most of the regimental leadership were participants in the Rowan County Committee of Safety. The North Carolina Provincial Congress authorized the Rowan County Regiment to be organized as one of the 35 existing county militias on September 9, 1775. Colonel Griffith Rutherford became its first commander. Shortly after being authorized, the regiment was split on October 22, 1775 into two separate and distinct regiments—the 1st Rowan County Regiment and the 2nd Rowan County Regiment. The 1st Rowan County Regiment retained most of the original members of the original Rowan County Regiment. When the Salisbury District Brigade was created on May 4, 1776, the Rowan County Regiment was included in this Brigade and Col Rutherford assumed command of the Brigade. On May 9, 1777, the 2nd Rowan County Regiment was renamed as the Burke County Regiment, and the 1st Rowan County Regiment reverted to its original name—the Rowan County Regiment. On May 1, 1782, this Regiment was once again split into two separate and distinct regiments—the 1st Rowan County Regiment and the 2nd Rowan County Regiment. These two separate regiments continued until the end of the war (September 3, 1783).[1]

The following listings show the known commanders, officers, staff, and soldiers of the Rowan County Regiment.[7][1][8] Col Rutherford left the Rowan County Regiment when he was promoted to Brigadier General in charge of the 1st Salisbury District Minutemen and later the Salisbury District Brigade.[9]

Commandants and colonels:[1]

• Colonel Alexander Osborne (commander prior to 1775)
• Colonel Griffith Rutherford (commandant, original officer) (Sep 9, 1775 to Dec 21, 1775)[9][4]
• Colonel Matthew Locke (1775–1783, 2nd colonel, brother of Francis Locke)[1][4]
• Colonel Francis Locke, Sr. (original officer) (commandant, December 21, 1775–November 13, 1776; April 10, 1777–1783)[9][1][4]
• Colonel Hugh Montgomery (commandant, November 23, 1776–April 10, 1777)[1]

The regiment consisted of 160 known companies headed by captains. Company officers included lieutenants, ensigns, sergeants, corporals, and privates/drummers/fifers. The following are the known notable captains and subordinates:[7][1]

• Lieutenant William Richardson Davie, 10th Governor of North Carolina (1798–1799)
• Captain William Sharpe, delegate to the Continental Congress (1779–1781)[4]
• Captain Joseph Dickson, Congressman from North Carolina (1799–1801)and Tennessee (1807–1811)

The Rowan County Regiment was involved in 31 known engagements during the American Revolution from 1775 to 1782. They fought in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The battle of Torrence's Tavern was the only battle fought in what became Iredell County, North Carolina in 1788, where many of the regiment's soldiers resided after the war. Companies were headed by captains. Not every company took part in every engagement. The regiment was also responsible for manning a shoe factory near what is now Statesville, North Carolina. The known engagements included:[1][7][4]

Map of the route taken by the Rowan County Regiment in the Cherokee Expedition, known today as the Rutherford Trace

Battle of Guiliford Courthouse 1781 )(reenactment)

• Cherokee–American wars
• Fort Dobbs
• List of American Revolutionary War battles
• Salisbury District Brigade
• Southern Campaigns: Pension Transactions for a description of the transcription effort by Will Graves
• Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War

• Arthur, John Preston (1914). Western North Carolina; a history (1730–1913). National Society Daughters of the American Revolution of North Carolina. Edward Buncombe Chapter, Asheville, North Carolina. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
• Broadwater, Robert P. (Feb 23, 2012). "American Generals of the Revolutionary War: A Biographical Dictionary". p. 122.
• MacDonald, James M. (2006). Politics of the Personal in the Old North State: Griffith Rutherford in Revolutionary North Carolina (PDF) (Ph.D.). Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College. OCLC 75633820. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2010. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
• Rumple, Jethro (1881). History of Rowan County, containing sketches of prominent families and distinguished men, with an appendix. Salisbury, N.C.: Republished by the Elizabeth Maxwell Steele Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.

• "1st Rowan County Regiment". Wikitree.com. Retrieved January 29, 2019.