**New Bern, North Carolina: The Colonial Capital That Defied an Empire**
PEOPLE
Governor William Tryon
Royal Governor of North Carolina, Royal Governor of New York, British General
Governor Josiah Martin
Royal Governor of North Carolina, British Military Officer
Colonel James Moore
Continental Army Officer, Moore's Creek Campaign Commander
Richard Caswell
Continental Army Officer, First Governor of North Carolina, Moore's Creek Commander
KEY EVENTS
Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge — Loyalist Defeat
Feb 1776
North Carolina Authorizes Vote for Independence
Apr 1776
Governor Martin Flees New Bern
May 1775
North Carolina Adopts State Constitution
Dec 1776
Battle of Alamance — Regulator Movement Crushed
May 1771
Cornelius Harnett Captured by British Forces
Feb 1781
STORIES
MODERN VOICE
First in the Nation: The Halifax Resolves
North Carolina gets credit it rarely receives for a specific moment on April 12, 1776. On that day, the Fourth Provincial Congress passed the Halifax Resolves — the first official act by any colonial ...
HISTORICAL VOICE
The Governor Who Governed From a Warship
Josiah Martin did not want to leave New Bern. He believed, into the spring of 1775, that loyal North Carolinians would rally to the Crown if given time and leadership. He wrote letters to London expla...