Overview
Richard Caswell was a prominent North Carolina Patriot who served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, presided over the 1776 North Carolina Provincial Congress that drafted the state constitution, and became the first Governor of North Carolina. Caswell commanded North Carolina forces at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge and later led militia troops as a Major General. He led American forces during the defeat at the Battle of Camden. Afterward, Caswell also served in the North Carolina Senate and provided administrative support for Nathanael Greene’s Southern Campaign that pushed the British to Yorktown, where they surrendered in October 1781.
Personal Facts
- Born: August 3, 1729, in near Baltimore, Maryland.
- Parents: Richard Caswell (father) and Christian Dallam (mother).
- Spouse: Mary Mackilwean (1752), Sarah Heritage (1758).
- Died: November 10, 1789, in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
- Buried: Caswell Memorial Cemetery, Kinston, North Carolina.
- Part Of: American Revolutionary War, North Carolina Colony.
- Significance: Richard Caswell is important to American History for his role in the American Revolutionary War, helping establish the state of North Carolina, and serving as North Carolina’s first Governor.
Biographical Notes
Early Life
- Richard Caswell was born near Baltimore, Maryland, on August 3, 1729.
- He moved to Wake, North Carolina, at age 17.
- Caswell worked as a surveyor and later became a lawyer.
Early Political Career
Before the American Revolutionary War, he held key positions in the North Carolina government and the New Bern Militia.
- He served as Colonel of the New Bern Militia.
- He was Speaker of the North Carolina Assembly in 1770 and 1771.
Battle of Alamance
In 1771, the North Carolina Regulators clashed with Royal Governor William Tryon and his army at Alamance Creek, resulting in a decisive defeat for the Regulators. Caswell commanded the right wing of Tryon’s Army during the battle.
- On May 16, 1771, North Carolina Regulators clashed with the well-equipped troops of Governor Tryon at Alamance Creek, near Hillsborough, North Carolina.
- Although the Regulators outnumbered Tryon 2 to 1 (2,000 to 1,000), Tryon’s forces crushed the Regulators in a two-hour battle.
- This defeat led many frontier inhabitants to migrate further west, across the Appalachian Mountains, to the Watauga Colony in present-day Tennessee.
AHC Notes
- Regulator Movement — A movement in the Carolina Backcountry that was intended to bring law and order to the region, after thieves and gangs started threatening and harassing settlers on the frontier. The Regulators formed ranger units that defended the settlers from threats, while expanding political power in the colonial Assemblies. They often clashed with colonial officials and resisted British policies, which contributed to the Battle of Alamance.
Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge
On February 27, 1776, Caswell helped lead American forces to victory over Loyalists at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge.
- British troops sailed from Boston and England, intending to join a Loyalist army in North Carolina, under the command of General Donald MacDonald.
- However, MacDonald was engaged by American forces, led by Caswell and Colonel Alexander Lillington, at Moore’s Creek Bridge.
- The Americans had the advantage of entrenchments with artillery, and the Loyalists, with fewer than half of their men armed, were no match.
- The battle was brief, and the Loyalists suffered heavy casualties.
Following the victory, North Carolina was in control of the Patriots and instructed its delegates to the Second Continental Congress to support independence. In May, a British armada arrived off Cape Fear but was forced to sail south to Charleston due to the lack of support from Loyalists.
- After the victory at Moore’s Creek Bridge, the North Carolina Assembly promoted Caswell to the rank of Brigadier General.
Leadership in North Carolina
- Caswell served as a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776 and signed the Articles of Association.
- In 1776, he presided over the North Carolina Provincial Congress, which drafted North Carolina’s state constitution.
- He became North Carolina’s first Governor, serving from 1777 to 1780 and again from 1785 to 1787.
- Between his terms as governor, he served in the state Senate, usually as the presiding officer.
Southern Campaign
In 1780, he was promoted to Major General of the North Carolina Militia.
- Caswell led his troops in the Battle of Camden, where they broke and fled, contributing to the disastrous defeat.
- He struggled as a military leader during Nathanael Greene’s Southern Campaign.
- He was more effective as chairman of North Carolina’s Council Extraordinary, which acted as a board of war during Greene’s campaign.
Later Years and Death
- Caswell was chosen as a delegate to the Philadelphia Convention (1787) but declined the appointment.
- He opposed the ratification of the United States Constitution.
- Caswell suffered a stroke while presiding over the state senate and died on November 10, 1789.
Appendix
AHC Note — This narrative of the life of Richard Caswell is from the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. 3 (1943). Please note that text corrections and spacing have been added to improve readability.
Richard Caswell was a surveyor, lawyer, soldier, and politician who was born in Cecil County, Maryland. Due to the financial misfortunes of his father, a merchant, he was early thrown upon his own resources and, at the age of 17, relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he became a surveyor. He was also a lawyer, and, being a versatile man, a good speaker, and highly regarded, he held political offices at an early age.
He was the deputy surveyor of the colony, clerk of Orange County, and from 1754 to 1771, a member of the North Carolina Assembly. During this period of legislative service, he was very active, particularly in reforming the courts.
In the last two years, he was the speaker of the Assembly. During the insurrection of the Regulators in 1771, he served under Governor Tryon at the Battle of Alamance, commanding the right wing.
During the American Revolution, Caswell was prominent in various lines. He presided over the Provincial Congress and also over the convention which prepared the state constitution, being a member of the committee which framed that document. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776.
In the army, he was colonel of North Carolina Partisan Rangers from 1776 to 1777, and was Major General of the North Carolina Militia from 1780 to the end of the war.
His military opportunity came at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776. In this action, Caswell and Lillington, with about 1,100 men, repulsed a Loyalist army of about 1,600 led by the Scotch Highlander McDonald. The victory was complete and decisive. McDonald and about 900 of his army were taken prisoners, while the Americans seized money, arms, and ammunition. Due to the skill he had shown, Caswell received the thanks of Congress.
He was governor of North Carolina from 1776 to 1780, and helped in the organizing and equipping of troops. In 1777, he received a letter from Washington, urging strong measures in dealing with deserters. His popularity temporarily suffered after the defeat at the Battle of Camden (August 16, 1780). In this disastrous action, Caswell commanded the North Carolina Militia. When his men broke and fled, Caswell briefly tried to rally them, but fled from the battlefield. Afterward, he was superseded for a while by General William Smallwood in the command of the state militia.
His influence in the state was soon recovered. He held the offices of Speaker of the Senate, Comptroller-General, and Governor for a second time (1785–1787). While Governor, he was chosen as a delegate to the Federal Convention, but declined to serve. He showed his interest in its actions, however, by asking for information that might be of use to the Convention, and by correspondence with the delegates from North Carolina in regard to the proceedings. When the state convention met for ratification, Caswell sided with Anti-Federalists against the new Federal Constitution.
While holding his last political office as speaker of the Assembly, he was stricken with paralysis and died a few days later at Fayetteville, North Carolina.
