The settlers in what was North Carolina’s western frontier were fed up with dishonest sheriffs, illegal fees and taxation. It was time to fight, and the resulting Battle of Alamance will be re-enacted May 19-20 at Alamance Battlefield State Historic Site. The fee is $2, under 12 are free.
Alamance Battleground will recapture the scene of the conflict that involved almost 2,000 backcountry farmers facing 1,000 royal militia at the Battle of Alamance of May 16, 1771. Known as Regulators because of a desire to regulate public officials, the colonists were poorly trained and outgunned. The Regulator uprising was crushed, but was a preamble to the Revolutionary War only five years later.
The weekend program at Alamance will feature a battle reenactment, military drills, artillery and musket drills, and an audience with Colonial Gov. William Tryon. There will be demonstrations from cooks, tradespeople and a colonial era surgeon. A special treat will be a presentation by Rednap Howell, poet, teacher, and satirist of Gov. Tryon. The Sons of the American Revolution will share a Patriots Day Commemoration Ceremony. There will be an Anglican Church service Sunday morning, denoting the powerful Church of England.
The Saturday program is 9 a.m.- 4 p.m.; the Sunday program is 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
For more information please call (336) 227-4785. Alamance Battleground is within the Division of State Historic Sites of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.