THE STATE
ily 27, 1935
ige Eight
GOVERNORS OF NORTH CAROLINA
No. 23-William Tryon
By W. J. Sadler
UJ
»\
phrase changed ih<
■ <»f tin* grcnf new
>ii( i n«'Ill which Inlet
THE :iiiiniiiislr;il ion of WiMiiiiu
Tryon. Iu’fknly-lhiril Governor of
\orlh Carolina, nliirli extended
over a period of six years, hardly
could he railed a success from any
viewpoint. Wliat niiglil he lermeil
* lie first hallle of the Aineriean
Revolution oeenrred in this slate»
do riii" his tenure of offiee.
hr-
IIIIIIIM rnlloil
lliaui Tryon
mr of Xorth
<»n had I -'on up
tin1 British Cr
Table ami ailing
<1 r iil'i] over lh'
affix»'
of dc
«Tiiiii*
i i
III”) Hoi'll Illllnill III I III- I'liV-
in 1 7*4. ami a lit lie more
r Inter llit* Stamp Ael. parsed
igli*h Parliament at the in*
the arrogant King George
pliu'i'l iuto effect in Xorth
price.* charged for the
re<jiiiri'<l to lie
< newspaper nml varion.* type*
uctil *, were exorbitant. They
from
.*«*•
cent* for nn driver-
in a newspaper t»i SI** for a
The
hich the la*
Wi
The First Uprising
•i organized uprising again*!
occurred in Wiluiing-
y colonial* vented their
hniiging in effigy Lord
he FSri t i.-lt authorities
• idem! rc.«pnn*iblc for
levy. A while later,
izon* alv» buried with
• a figure of J.iliertv.
against tin*
in fvle
•tailip .\e
viler*' ting
i'll *11 re b\*
, one .if
d
tii'l' loll
ich
ony
little
ine*
.W.
•ut hi
< * T
minted beetle given by the Governor, threw
'«n fo the meat inti* a stream ami poured out
Arthur the lieer and other beverage* which
* Albe- ha»l been |*rovide»l for the f«-».*t.
Armed Resistance
( 'itizons of Wilmington were so de¬
termined thill they would not submit
to the Stump Act that they railed upon
resident* of a numlier of «unrounding
counties to ai*l them in resisting its
npplieation. Arming thcui*clve* un¬
der the leadership of Colonel Hugh
Waddell, they prevented bv force the
landing of a consignment of stamp*
from
и
I lririr.li warship, the Diligence.
The English authorities finally wore
forced to repeal the Stamp Act. when
they realized that attempt** t*> enforce
it would lead to b|oo*l*h.*l. The act
was abolished about a year after it had
l*ecn placed into effect.
Tryon'* administration was Ix-sct
with «lillicnllies. Citizens of a num-
l"*r of middle counties of Xorth Cnr»*-
lina. tiring of excessive taxation, baml-
cd tlnunselve# into an organization
known a* the Regulator*. Thi* group
canoed Tryon and his officials much
trouble. fr«4juently resorting t«> vio¬
lence to attain their ends,
of tin- The activities of fh<< Regulators enn-
tiuued for several years, finally result-
orn r*~ ii*E ill "hat may he termed the first
provi- battle of the American Revolution
pled in again*! tlic tyranny ami oppression of
|*e<»plo. Great Rritain.
•J'’** _Jbnt incident occurred on May 1*5.
be
.
1771. M Great Alamance Creek, about
n* liinl nine mile» from what i* now the citv
(,,l te*‘l- of Rurliiigton, nml resulted in victory
•cn-ion, for the British militia which was per-
a bar- son a lly led by Tryon. The Regulator*.
lie Stamp Act
hi. X'cw llern.
although they numbered
some two thousand, were
poorly equipped and drilled,
while tlicil opponents were
well armed with artillery
as well a* small arms. About
thirty of the Regulator*
were killed and some two
hundred wounded. Tryon’»
loss wn* nine killed and
sixty-one wounded.
Following this occur¬
rence. Tryon insisted that
•lie Regulator» give up their arm» and
swear allegiance to the King. Select-
ing those he thought to lie lca«ler* of
the movement, he ordered their home»
burned and their farms laid waste, and
later, following trials, sentenced twelve
Regulators to death. Six were hanged,
and the others remained in prison un¬
til Tryon left the -tate
мине
time later,
after which time they were freed.
Famous Palace Erected
It was during Tryon’* administra¬
tion that the famous Palace, a state-
li»iii-i' as well os a home f*»r Governors
of the province, was erected in Xew
Bern at a cost of around
$75.0ПП.
"When finished." one historian say*,
"it was perhaps the handsomest state-
house then in America. Skilled work¬
men were brought from Philadelphia
nnd from London to rear it* walls and
finish it* rooms. . . . The erection of
so expensive a cnpitol out of the funds
of a people then too poor to pay their
tax* - was a wrong to tie colony! Many
of the men who voted the money for
the building lived to
м*е
the ncxtGov-
ernor driven from it* walls, and also
to see the costly structure accidentally
burned ill I 70S."
Made Governor of New York
Try on’s tenure <*f office a* Governor
<»f Xorth Carolina entne to a close dur¬
ing the -ummer of 1771. following six
years iif strife and turmoil. He was
named Governor of .Ww York by the
British King, and it hardly can l»>
said that the Carolina colonists wept
with sorrow when he departed.
