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Liberty Hall DAR Monument

In 1780 Liberty Hall on Queen’s College was used as a hospital for wounded soldiers from the battles of Bufords Defeat and Camden. One of the surgeons in the hospital was Dr. James Alexander, son of Hezekiah Alexander. It was also used as a hospital by the British Army under General Cornwallis during their short stay in Charlotte.

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Site of Queen’s College, established 1771

“Whereas the proper education of Youth has always been considered as the most certain source of tranquility, happiness and improvement both of private families and of States and Empires…the rising generation may repair, after having acquired at a Grammar School a competent knowledge of the Greek, Hebrew and Latin Languages…to obtain…a regular and finished education…and whereas several Grammar schools have been long taught in the western parts of this Government….  Be it enacted…founding establishing and endowing Queen’s College in Charlotte Town….”

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British Encampment, 1780

From September 26 to October 12, 1780 the British Army was encamped in Charlotte.  It totaled about 4,000 people including officers, soldiers, loyalists, laborers, sutlers and camp followers.  This included a number of negroes who had been promised freedom if they would run away from their masters and come to the British side; the British army used them for only the most menial of tasks.  Sutlers were merchants who sold equipment, clothing and supplies (especially rum) to the soldiers.  The encampment made a square centered on the courthouse, at the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, about 300 yards across.  This marker is in the southern part of that encampment, where Lt. Col. Tarleton’s infantry and cavalry, the Loyalists militia and camp followers were located. The four cannons of the artillery were placed in the crossroads near the courthouse.

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Battle of Charlotte – North Carolina State Historical Marker

On September 26th, 1780 the southern British army, commanded by Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis advanced on Charlotte, by way of South Tryon Street.  In the lead was Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton’s British Legion cavalry.  It was commanded by Major George Hanger because Tarleton was sick with the yellow fever.  They expected little or no resistance from the inhabitants.

The village consisted of “about twenty Houses built on two streets which cross each other at right angles in the intersection of which stands the Court-House.”   The court house was a log building supported on ten-foot brick pillars.  The space under the court house was used as an open market.  As the British Legion cavalry approached the Court House they were met with a volley of musket fire from a small force of American troops hidden on both sides of the street and under the courthouse.  These were the North Carolina militia cavalry under Colonel William Richardson Davie, the Mecklenburg County mounted militia under Captain Joseph Graham, and the Lincoln County mounted militia under Major Joseph Dickson.  They were defending their homes and determined to make the British army pay a high price for Charlotte Town.

The British Legion cavalry broke under the withering fire and retreated.  They charged again and were driven back by another volley.  Lord Cornwallis himself rode up, harangued the troops, and they advanced again.  By this time the British infantry was moving up on both sides to surround the Americans who fired a third volley and withdrew in good order.

The Americans retreated up North Tryon Street, followed by the British, until they reached a muddy branch, about where the Brookshire Expressway is today.  There they took a stand, forcing the British to halt, deploy in line and advance on them.  After two volleys the greatly outnumbered Americans withdrew in an orderly retreat.

Continuing up the Salisbury Road (North Tryon Street) they came to a small creek about three miles from town, near where Historic Rosedale stands today.  There the patriots again took a stand.  Again, this forced the British army to halt, deploy in line and advance on the Americans.  After two volleys, the Americans withdrew and began to retreat.

From this point on it was a running battle as both sides were mounted on swift horses.  The British cavalry caught up with the Americans near Sugar Creek Church where Captain Graham was so severely cut up by British sabers that he was left for dead.   At Sassafras Fields, near present day UNCC, several Americans were killed and wounded.  When the British reached Mallard Creek they found the main American army, under General William Lee Davidson, arrayed behind it.  Since it was late in the day, the British decided to call off the pursuit and returned to Charlotte.

Lord Cornwallis had expected to move quickly through Charlotte and on to Salisbury and Hillsboro, completing his conquest of the Carolinas.  This momentary delay in Charlotte caused him to stop here for a few days.  Sixteen days later, when he heard the news of British Colonel Ferguson’s defeat at King’s Mountain, he realized that his left flank lay open and exposed and decided to return to South Carolina.  The firm resolve and brave stand taken by the Mecklenburg militia prevented the immediate conquest of North Carolina and gave the Americans time to create the conditions that led to the eventual capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia.

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The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence

On May 20th, 1775, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, NC became the first political entity in the American colonies to declare themselves free and independent from the King and Parliament of Great Britain.  The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was signed by elected representatives in the county courthouse, a log building on brick pillars which stood in the middle of the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets.  This declaration preceded the US Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776 by more than a year.

The complete text of the Mecklenburg Declaration is on a plaque at this site.  Note especially the second and third sections of this declaration.

Mecklenburg Resolves Marker The Mecklenburg Resolves were adopted by the Committee of Safety on May 31, 1775, expanding and implementing the Declaration of May 20th. It was likely written by Dr. Ephraim Brevard, the secretary of the committee.  Here is the first resolve and an outline of the other 20:

Whereas, By an address presented to His Majesty by both Houses of Parliament in February last, the American Colonies are declared to be in a state of actual rebellion, we conceive that all laws and commissions confirmed by or derived from the authority of the King and Parliament are annulled and vacated, and the former civil constitution of these colonies for the present wholly suspended. To provide in some degree for the exigencies of this county in the present alarming period, we deem it proper and necessary to pass the following resolves, viz:

Then followed 20 resolves:

• The first three resolves remove all royal officers, suspend all royal laws and place all legislative and judicial powers in the Congress of each Province.
• Resolves 4-15 lay out laws governing the Militia and the courts of justice and is concerned mostly with debts, rents and taxes.
• Numbers 16 and 17 deal with the punishment of those who remain loyal to the King and Parliament.
• Number 18 says that these resolves are in force until the NC Provincial Congress says otherwise, or until Great Britain changes its attitude toward the Colonies.
• Number 19 says that the militia should arm themselves and be ready for action.
• And finally resolve number 20 directs Col. Thomas Polk and Dr. Joseph Kennedy to buy 300 pounds of gunpowder, 600 pounds of lead and 1,000 flints on behalf of the county.

Thomas Polk Park

This park commemorates Colonel Thomas Polk – early settler, surveyor, state legislator, Justice of the Peace, founder of Mecklenburg County and of Charlotte, and a Colonel in the American Continental Army, serving under General Washington, during the Revolution.  His house stood diagonally across the street from this park.  Two stones in this park give more details of Polk’s life and accomplishments.  Other stones tell the early history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County and are well worth reading.

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Cook’s Inn

While on a tour of the southern states in 1791, President George Washington spent the night of May 28th in Charlotte.  He was entertained by Col. Thomas Polk at his house at the square and it is likely that he stayed at Cook’s Inn which was across the street from this location.  The story is told that when the President departed the next morning he left behind a box of white wig powder.  For many years afterwards Mrs. Cook would put some of this powder on children’s hair telling them to always remember that they had President Washington’s powder on their hair.

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Captain Jack Homesite

James Jack was a Captain in the Mecklenburg Militia.  He lived here and ran the tavern owned by his father Patrick Jack.  When the Mecklenburg Declaration and the Mecklenburg Resolves were signed on May 20 and May 31, 1775, Captain Jack volunteered to ride to Philadelphia and present them to the Continental Congress then meeting there.  This was a long and difficult trip and was especially dangerous since the documents he was carrying would be considered treasonous by any British Government Official who found them in his possession.

A bronze statue of Captain James Jack, riding off to Philadelphia is located in the Trail of History in Little Sugar Creek Greenway, East of here.

First Presbyterian Church

In 1815 the Charlotte town commissioners set aside this plot of land for a town church.  The first building was started in 1818 and completed in 1823.  It was a non-denominational meeting house, known as the Town Church.  Itinerate preachers of many Christian denominations preached here from time to time, but most of them were Presbyterians and the Charlotte Presbyterian congregation dates from 1821.  In 1835 John Irwin paid off the mortgage and held the property in trust for the Presbyterian Church.  Finally in 1841 the congregation paid off a part of the remaining mortgage and received clear title to the property.  The burying ground behind the church, now known as Settler’s Cemetery, was also set aside by the city.  It has always been a municipal cemetery and never a part of First Presbyterian Church.

Settler’s Cemetery

In this cemetery lie the mortal remains of many of the founders and leading citizens of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.  It is a municipal cemetery and is not affiliated with the nearby First Presbyterian Church.  Use the bronze map at the entrance to find:

• The graves of Thomas Polk and his wife Susanna Spratt Polk
• The oldest grave in the Cemetery, Joel Baldwin, 1776
• Memorial to NC Governor Nathaniel Alexander
• Memorial to Major General George Graham

On the Fifth Street side of the Cemetery is a series of bronze markers giving a brief history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.  They are mounted on top of the retaining wall and are easy to read.  Reading some or all of these will give you a good overview of the history of this part of North Carolina.

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Line of the American Retreat Battle of Charlotte, September 26, 1780

Along North Tryon Street the American militia fought a delaying action against the entire Southern British Army.  Colonel William R. Davie commanded the North Carolina militia cavalry for several months before the British Army invaded North Carolina.  During that period his was one of the few organized groups keeping the British Army out of North Carolina.  Captain Joseph Graham commanded the Mecklenburg County mounted militia which was called out to oppose the British invasion of North Carolina.

In the Battle of Charlotte these two groups defended the Courthouse in the middle of Trade and Tryon Streets.   After firing three volleys to good effect, and causing the British Legion Cavalry to draw back and re-form, the Americans retreated up the Salisbury Road (today North Tryon Street) past this spot.  Farther up the road they stopped twice to form a defensive line, delaying the British advance each time.  By the time the British reached the main American force eight miles north of town, it was late in the day and they withdrew to Charlotte.  The Southern British Army occupied Charlotte for 16 days and then, after hearing of the American victory at King’s Mountain, retreated to South Carolina.

Queen Charlotte Statue

This delightful statue of Queen Charlotte in her garden with her dogs was privately funded.  Mecklenburg County was named in honor of Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz who was married to King George III shortly before the county was formed in 1763.  The city of Charlotte was named in her honor when it was established in 1768.

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Dr. Ephraim Brevard Lived near here in 1775

Near here was the home of Dr. Ephraim Brevard.  Although blind in one eye, he attended college in Princeton, New Jersey, trained as a doctor, and taught at Queen’s College where he was also a trustee.  He married Martha, the daughter of Thomas and Susanna Polk and had a hand in writing both the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the Mecklenburg Resolves.  He served as an officer and later as a surgeon during the Revolution and was captured at the fall of Charleston in 1780.  As an officer he could have signed a parole and been sent home, but he chose to stay on in Charleston to minister to the American prisoners.  In doing so, he contracted the same fever that killed so many of his fellow soldiers.  He returned to Mecklenburg where he died shortly after making his will.  His wife Martha had died while he was away at war, and his infant daughter, also Martha, was raised by her grandparents, Thomas and Susanna Polk.

As a side note, Ephraim Brevard’s sister Mary was married to Brigadier General William Lee Davidson who died at the battle of Cowan’s Ford and after whom Davidson College is named.

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Thomas Polk Homesite

Here stood the house of Colonel Thomas Polk – early settler, surveyor, state legislator, Justice of the Peace, founder of Mecklenburg County and of Charlotte, and a Colonel in the American Continental Army under General Washington during the Revolution.  When the British Army occupied Charlotte in the fall of 1780, Lieutenant General Charles, Lord Cornwallis used Polk’s house as his headquarters.  President George Washington visited Charlotte on May 28, 1791 and was entertained here.

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Nathanael Greene 1742-1786 – North Carolina Historical Marker

After the American defeat at the battle of Camden, Congress relieved Major General Horatio Gates of command.  General George Washington chose Major General Nathanael Greene to replace Gates as the commander in the south.  Greene reorganized the American Army and, although never winning an important battle, caused General Cornwallis to lead the British Army out of North Carolina to Virginia where they were eventually defeated at the Siege of Yorktown.  Meanwhile, Greene led the southern army on a campaign against the remaining British posts in South Carolina until only Charles Town, SC remained.  On December 14, 1782 the British abandoned Charles Town and sailed away to the West Indies and to Britain.