Mr. Feamster, a
native of Alamance County, North Carolina, was commissioned by the
Alamance Battleground Chapter of the North Carolina Society of the Sons
of the American Revolution to create a series of 4 limited edition
prints that depicted battles fought within Alamance County, North
Carolina. The "Battle of Alamance" was actually a precursor to the
American Revolutionary War while the other three battles were fought
after hostilities had broken out with the British.
The object of the
commission was to provide the public with a visual image of these
historic events. Since visual imagery is a powerful teaching tool,
these prints were considered excellent media by which to create
interest in the public, and to depict the historical events as they
actually occurred. The series includes :
Copies of these prints, signed and numbered
by the artist, may be purchased and are distributed exclusively through
the Almance Battleground Chapter, NCSSAR. The cost of each print is
$100.00. Shipping costs (to ship a print flat) are approximately
$24.00. To order a print, please contact:
Dr.
Samuel C. Powell
Powell
Enterprises
P.O.
Box 2104
Burlington,
NC 27216
Pyle's Defeat, February 24, 1781, was an attempt
by Light Horse Harry Lee, father of Robert E. Lee
of Civil War fame, to turn back a column of loyalists
marching from southern Alamance County to Hillsborough
to join the British army as fresh recruits. The
Tory loyalists were led by a local physician named
Dr. Pyle. Lord Cornwallis had requested that Tories
who had remained loyal to the crown would be rewarded,
and he wanted to establish a group of loyal citizenry.
Light Horse Harry Lee, from Virginia, and Andrew
Pickens, from South Carolina, determined that they
would not allow the men to join with Cornwallis'
forces and attacked the Tory column. Some 93 of
the Tory loyalists were killed in a skirmish that
was largely fought with swords at close quarters.
Light Horse Harry Lee lost one horse, and one man
wounded. The one-sided battle has been referred
to as Pyle's Hacking Match. Its effect was to deny
the British much-needed recruits. News of the slaughter
had a major negative effect on British recruiting
efforts thereafter. This battle occurred three weeks
prior to the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
The Battle of Alamance,
fought on May 16, 1771, occurred 10 years prior to
the local events of the American Revolution, and is
not generally considered part of the American Revolution
other than the similarity of their cause. The Regulator
War resulted as an armed protest against improper
government which manifested itself in the form of
irregularities with tax collection and an inability
to get land titles properly recorded. This struggle
was between Royal Governor Tryon, who had raised an
army of local militia from the colony of North Carolina,
and the Regulators, who had no recognized leader.
The battle effectively put down the Regulator movement
that had been fomenting for about 5 years. The event
that brought the governor to finally take action was
a series of riots conducted by the Regulators in Hillsborough;
they attacked Edmond Fanning, the Register of Deeds
for the royal Governor. During the melee, Fanning
was severely beaten and his house ransacked. The Regulators
also set prisoners of the crown free, and removed
appointed judges and officials from the court. After
the Battle of Alamance, some 8,000 Regulators signed
a pardon from the Royal Governor. Aproximately 8 men
on each side were killed during the battle, and many
more died later from wounds received during the battle.
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