Although Jamestown, VA was the first permanent settlement in the British colonies in 1607, North Carolina has the distinction of being the location of the first attempt to settle in the British Americas 23 years earlier. That settlement on Roanoke Island failed but in 1653 a permanent village did succeed. A royal grant was given in 1663 for the Carolinas and South Carolina was carved out in 1711. Until 1790 North Carolina extended from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River.
As the colonial Americans became dissatisfied with rule of the distant British king in 1776, North Carolina was the first colony to permit their delegates to vote in favor of independence from the British crown. This spirit of resolve and independence was infused into its native sons and when the colonist in the Mexican province called Texas because disatisfied with the oppressive rule of the central Mexican government, sons of North Carolina volunteered to go to Texas' aid. Some went directly to Texas and others that had migrated to other nearby states redirected their migration to Texas.
These men helped draft the Texas Declaration of Independence, gave their lives at the Alamo and at Goliad while others revenged those deaths and brought independence to Texas at the Battle of San Jacinto. The Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper ran two articles in 2014 on Remember the Alamo and Tar Heels played big role in Texas history. Below are those men that heard the call for freedom and responded.
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Return to Early Texas History homepage or Texas 1836 hompage
4.22.2014