The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge

Let's go back to Revolutionary War times with another iconic battle in the story of the patriots desire to be free!

This time, we’re in the area of Wilmington, North Carolina, in the early days of 1776. The battle of Moore's Creek Bridge involved only a few fatalities and a little bit of prisoner taking, but it was an example of how echoes of the revolution’s activity reverberated around the country, and it’s interesting to look at, from a historical perspective. You see the fervor of the revolution making its way from Revere and company, to a wider audience. 

The Dominoes Fall

In blog posts last year, we talked about the battles of Lexington and Concord as being instrumental in the revolutionary cause.

The battle of Moore's Creek Bridge in Carolina happened at least half a year after those iconic fights, and had an impact on how people felt ‘down south.’

News of those battles reached Carolina, and patriots started organizing militia, where eventually these colonists took on the British Army during an expedition of King George's forces in that area. 

The Highlands Charge

Historians depict this battle as a set of American Scots charging across a bridge in early morning and yelling Gaelic. With swords! It’s quite a mental picture. 

This leads to some amount of confusion, though, since it's been established and documented that many Scotsmen fought on the side of the patriots against the crown. In this case, though, the Scotch were actually on the side of the loyalists.

A Scotsman, A. MacLean, had recruited these loyal Scots throughout the country, and put them together in regiments and battalions where they could be useful to British interests.

So when you visualize this skirmish, remember that the Scotsmen were actually on the King’s side against the patriots, who were firing at them with small arms. Again, this wasn’t a bloodbath in the manner of the most notable battles, but it has its role in history. 

His Days Were Numbered

In the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge and other such conflicts, the royal side was managed by Josiah Martin, the governor of North Carolina. He ended up being the very last governor of that state under the British crown, as 1776 became the spark that the revolutionary powder keg needed.

The rest is mostly a matter of general history, where you only need to look around you to see that the Americans were successful in throwing off British tyranny for good!

That’s a little about a historic battle that has gone down in the realm of history – and one that historians sometimes cite when they talk about those long-gone days. Take a look at our products and the rest of the blog to understand more about how “going boom” honors American history and tradition.