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On June 20, 1780, at the Battle of Ramsour’s Mill, Col. Francis Locke and his Patriot force stormed the defenses of the Loyalist militia led by Maj. John Moore. Farmers, not soldiers, determined the outcome of most Revolutionary War battles fought in North Carolina, as most of the skirmishes and battles were fought between Loyalist and colonial militias. Few participants had ever received formal military training.

In hopes of supplementing Lord Cornwallis’s British force at Camden, S.C., Moore had gathered a force of 1,300 Loyalists near Derick Ramsour’s Mill in what is now Lincoln County. Knowing this, Patriot militias mobilized and began marching to the mill, launching their attack at dawn nearly a week later.

The fighting at Ramsour’s Mill soon degraded into little more than a killing field, primarily because of a lack of military discipline. Though the Loyalists outnumbered the Patriots almost 4-to-1, many of them ran from the field. Each side lost around 150 men, but the Patriots prevailed since they had uprooted the Loyalists from their position. The battle was indecisive at best, but was illustrative of how the Patriot militia played a significant role in the war throughout the South.

Other related resources:

• The American Revolution, the Reasons Behind the Revolutionary War and the Stamp Act on NCpedia
• The military collection of the State Archives
• A military history resource guide from the State Library
• Greene and Cornwallis: The Campaign in the Carolinas from North Carolina Historical Publications

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

A circa 1927 postcard of the Charlotte Speedway
from the UNC-Chapel Hill Library

On June 19, 1949, NASCAR held the first race in its top division at a ¾-mile dirt track at the Charlotte Speedway. Today nothing remains of that old track. Interstate 85 sits atop one of its banks, though a highway historical marker on Little Rock Road marks the place.

The race’s promoter, Bill France, intended that the race provide a test of driving skill in cars similar to those actually driven by fans. The crowd of more than 13,000 attendees confirmed France’s conviction that people would flock to see late-model sedans race. Glenn Dunnaway finished first; however, the victory did not stand. Officials conducting a post-race inspection found altered rear springs, disqualified Dunnaway and declared second-place finisher Jim Roper the winner. It was later revealed that the springs had been modified in a manner common to cars used to haul moonshine.

The success of the race led France to promote seven more “Strictly Stock” races that year, forming the foundation for what would become NASCAR. The original Charlotte Speedway would continue to be an important stop for the tour until construction of the larger, new track near Concord in 1960.

Other related resources:

• Auto racing, moonshine and NASCAR on NCpedia
• The holdings of the Department of Cultural Resources related to NASCAR
• Images of moonshining and liquor stills from the State Archives
• The Mountain Gateway Museum & Heritage Center in Old Fort, which has several exhibits related to moonshining
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame at the N.C. Museum of History, of which several NASCAR drivers are members

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

“Exhibit A,” a map used in the Tom Dula trial
now held by the State Archives

On June 18, 1866, the body of Laura Foster was found in a shallow grave in Wilkes County. She had last been seen on May 25 riding a horse down Stony Fork Road. Tom Dula, who had liaisons with both Foster and Ann Melton, was charged with her murder.  She had been stabbed in the chest and reportedly was pregnant at the time of her death. Dula, a Confederate veteran, was returned to North Carolina from Tennessee, where he had fled.

Ann Melton and Tom Dula were brought to trial for murder during the fall term of Wilkes County court, but a change of venue removed the trial to Iredell County. Dula was convicted but Ann Melton was found not guilty. The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned Dula’s conviction. He was tried again in January 1868 and was once again convicted. This time the verdict was sustained by the Supreme Court.

Dula was hanged in May 1868 in Statesville. The subject of mountain folk ballads sung even before his execution, Dula and Laura Foster were immortalized in the bestselling song, “The Legend of Tom Dooley,” recorded by the Kingston Trio in 1958.

Other related resources:

• The Ballad of Tom Dooley from NCpedia
• Wilkes County Criminal Action Papers: Tom Dula Case, a digitized version of many of the official court papers from Tom Dula trial, made available by the State Archives and State Library
• Highway marker about Tom Dula in Wilkes County
• A lesson plan on Tom Dula from the State Archives
• Performing Arts from the N.C. Arts Council

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

On June 17, 1742, William Hooper, one of North Carolina’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born. Hooper grew up in Boston and attended Harvard before moving to Wilmington and opening a law office there in 1764. Within a few years he was active in politics.

In 1774, Hooper wrote to a friend that the colonies’ independence would not be far off, and within a few weeks he was selected to play a central part in it. At the First Provincial Congress in North Carolina, Hooper was elected as one of the colony’s three delegates to the Continental Congress. He remained in Congress for the next few years. Although absent when the Declaration of Independence was voted on, he signed his name to the document on August 2. The next year he helped with devising the North Carolina state seal.

In April 1777, Hooper resigned from Congress and returned to Wilmington, which he represented in the General Assembly for several more years. When the British took Wilmington in January 1781, the family fled to Hillsborough.

Hooper died at age 48 in 1790. A 19-foot tall statue at the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park memorializes Hooper, whose remains were moved there in 1894.

For more, check out North Carolina Signers on Kindle from North Carolina Historical Publications.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

A group of men enjoying “Brad’s Drink” in Bradham’s Pharmacy in 1896. Image from the N.C. Museum of History

On June 16, 1903, the U.S. Patent Office registered the trademark of New Bern, pharmacist Caleb Bradham’s new soft drink, Pepsi-Cola. Fond of concocting fresh syrup flavors to mix with soda water at his drugstore’s soda fountain, Bradham had developed the formula for his new beverage in 1893. His friends initially dubbed it “Brad’s Drink.” But in August 1898, Bradham renamed his product “Pepsi-Cola” after two of its ingredients: pepsin, a digestive enzyme, and kola nut extract. Other ingredients were sugar, vanilla, and “rare oils.”

Working in his pharmacy’s back room, Bradham launched the Pepsi-Cola Company and incorporated it in 1902. He first applied to register “Pepsi-Cola” as a trademark on September 23 of that year. The application, approved in 1903, described his product as “flavoring syrup for soda water.” At first, he mixed the syrup and sold it exclusively to soda fountains. Then, realizing that a ready-to-drink beverage might appeal to more people, he began bottling and franchising Pepsi-Cola in 1905. On April 15, 1905, he applied for a second Pepsi-Cola trademark for a “tonic beverage.” Registered a year later, that trademark was renewed and is currently owned by the multinational corporation, PepsiCo, Inc., of Purchase, N.Y.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

A 1909 ad for Bull Durham tobacco

On June 15, 1988, Bull Durham premiered. The film, starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, was a blockbuster hit, grossing more than $50 million in North America alone. Sports Illustrated put it at the top of its list of the greatest sports movies of all time.

The film centers around the Bulls, Durham’s minor league baseball team. “Crash” Davis—played by Costner— is brought in to help prepare “Nuke” LaLoosh—played by Robbins—for the Major Leagues. Baseball groupie Annie Savoy—played by Sarandon—initially becomes involved with Nuke, but finds herself increasingly attracted to Crash.

The phrase “Bull Durham” has its origins in the post-Civil War era. Durham tobacco industrialist John R. Green based his tobacco advertising on a popular brand of mustard made in Durham, England, that featured the head of a Durham bull on its label. The tobacco was widely advertised and became one of the most recognized American products of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Bull Durham brought national attention to both the famous tobacco name and the Durham Bulls.

Read more in the Bull Durham Tobacco, Durham and Baseball articles on NCpedia.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

An image of Polk from the N.C. Museum of History

On June 14, 1864, Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk was killed at Pine Mountain, Ga.  While he was observing the Union’s position with Gens. Joseph E. Johnston and William J. Hardee, a shell fired by federal artillery struck Polk in the left arm, traveled through his body and exploded on a nearby tree. Nearly cut in half, he died instantly.

Born in 1806 in Raleigh, Leonidas Polk was the second cousin of James K. Polk, the eleventh President of the United States. Shortly after he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Polk resigned his commission to attend Virginia Theological Seminary. He became an Episcopal priest in 1831 and worked his way up in the church hierarchy to become Bishop of Louisiana in 1841.

Despite limited military experience, Polk was appointed a major general by his West Point classmate and Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, in 1861. This made him one of the most controversial leaders in the Confederate Army.  Nevertheless, in 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant general. His relationship with other officers was often strained, if not adversarial, but he was always loved by his men.  Polk often ministered to his troops, putting on his robes over his uniform.

Other related resources:

• Images of the Civil War from the State Archives
• The Civil War on NCpedia
• The North Civil War Experience from N.C. Historic Sites
• North Carolina and the Civil War from the N.C. Museum of History
• The North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee
• North Carolina as a Civil War Battleground from N.C. Historical Publications

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The USS North Carolina being christened on June 13, 1940. Image from the State Archives

On June 13, 1940, the USS North Carolina (BB-55) was launched at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, beginning a highly decorated career. Commissioned on April 9, 1941, the ship became the first of ten fast battleships to join the fleet in World War II. The North Carolina and her sister ship, Washington, comprised the North Carolina Class of battleship.

At the time of her commissioning, the North Carolina was considered the world’s greatest sea weapon.  Armed with nine 16-inch guns in three turrets and twenty 5-inch 38-caliber guns in 10 twin mounts, the North Carolina proved a formidable weapons platform.

The North Carolina in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1941. Image from the State Archives

During World War II, the North Carolina participated in every major naval offensive in the Pacific theater, including the Battles of Guadalcanal, Marshall Islands, Luzon, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, earning 15 battle stars along the way. In all, the USS North Carolina carried out nine shore bombardments, sank an enemy troopship, destroyed at least 24 enemy aircraft and assisted in shooting down many more. Although the Japanese claimed six times that the USS North Carolina had been sunk, she survived many close calls and near misses, and by war’s end, had only lost 10 men in action and had 67 wounded.

• The Battleship North Carolina Memorial, one of 27 state historic sites
• The Battleship’s Sea Stories blog, that tells the story of the ship’s crew
• Lessons plans from the Battleship
• Images of the ship from the State Archives
• USS North Carolina: Symbol of a Vanished Age from North Carolina Historical Publications

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

A group of men tour Seymour Johnson Air Force Base during World War II. Image from the N.C. Museum of History

On June 12, 1942, the U.S. Army Air Force took over Seymour Johnson Field for use as a training center. In 1941, the Works Progress Administration built a municipal airport south of Goldsboro; the dedication was held one week before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The field was named for Seymour Johnson, a Goldsboro native, U.S. Naval Academy graduate and test pilot for Grumman Aircraft who died in a crash shortly before the war.

Famed parachutist Tiny Broadwick talks with paratroopers at Seymour Johnson AFB in 1964. Image from the N.C. Museum of History

At the peak of its strength, the base hosted 27,000 troops. During the course of the war more than 250,000 troops trained there. The 326th Fighter Group arrived in 1943, and in 1944, basic training of F-4 pilots became the primary mission of the base. At the close of the war the base functioned as a separation center. In May 1946, it was deactivated.

In April 1956, the U.S. Air Force reopened the base following a successful campaign by Goldsboro community leaders. Today the base is home to the F-15 Strike Eagle. It is the only Air Force base named for a naval officer.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Eleanor Roosevelt at Penderlea. Image from the
Penderlea Homestead Museum

On June 11, 1935, Eleanor Roosevelt kicked up her heels with the homesteaders at Penderlea. The First Lady visited Pender County to check on the progress at one of her husband Franklin’s premier homestead sites. Hugh MacRae of Wilmington first had the idea, during the depths of the Depression, to create a model farm community at Penderlea on a grand scale. He had experimented with similar communities across southeastern North Carolina early in the 20th century.

The intention at Penderlea was to build the “best planned rural community in the world.” A tract of 10,000 acres was set aside, land was cleared and homes and a community center were built. MacRae disagreed with those in Washington as to how Penderlea should be managed, and, in May 1934, the entire program was federalized.

Though Roosevelt and his New Dealers were pursuing similar programs across the country, no other rural project was as large as Penderlea. The original goal of 500 20-acre farms was never met. A total of 142 units were leased but, by 1941, few of the original homesteaders remained. Memories of the experiment remain vivid at Penderlea where a large community building remains and a museum interprets that page in history.

Read more in the Penderlea and Penderlea Homestead articles on NCpedia.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

On June 10, 1946, Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion boxer, died at St. Agnes Hospital in Raleigh.

Johnson won the boxing title in 1908 in Australia. Immediately after his victory, the public cried for a “great white hope,” or in other words, a white man to defeat Johnson. In 1910, Jim Jeffries, the champion from 1899 to 1905, was coaxed out of retirement to fight Johnson. In what was one of the most publicized events in the history of sports, Johnson defeated Jeffries easily.  Upon the public outcry that Jeffries was past his prime, Jeffries responded that he couldn’t have beaten Johnson, even at his best. Johnson went on to successfully defend his belt for seven years.

For most of his life, Johnson was passionate about sports cars. Passing through North Carolina in 1946, his car struck a utility pole south of Franklinton. He was taken to the closest hospital that accepted black patients, St. Agnes, where he died of his injuries. Appropriately, the occupation listed on the 68-year-old’s death certificate was prize fighter.

Other related resources:

• Sports on NCpedia
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame at N.C. Museum of History

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

A circa 1900-1915 image from the N.C. Museum of History of the blockade runner Lillian being captured

On June 9, 1864, the SS Pevensey, a Confederate blockade runner was run aground at Pine Knoll Shores by the Union supply ship New Berne. At the time the ship’s crew was disoriented, thinking they were much closer to Cape Fear than they actually were.

To prevent Union capture of the supplies on board, the Pevensey’s crew exploded the ship’s boilers and then escaped to shore, where they were captured and taken to Fort Macon. One crew member was apprehended before even making it that far. The Pevensey, an iron-hulled sidewheel steamer, was typical of the type of vessel used to run the federal blockade during the Civil War. The ship had successfully run the blockade at Cape Fear four times before she was lost.

Though the Pevensey is less well preserved than other blockade runner wrecks in the Cape Fear region, people can actually see a portion it from the beach, making it a special curiosity. The wreck has captivated beachgoers for years, and is known locally as the “Iron Steamer.” It was studied extensively by the Office of State Archaeology in 2000.

Other related resources:

• The Civil War on NCpedia
• The North Civil War Experience from N.C. Historic Sites
• North Carolina and the Civil War from the N.C. Museum of History
• The North Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee
• The Civil War in Coastal North Carolina from N.C. Historical Publications

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

An image of the Hot Springs camp from Visit Madison County

On June 8, 1917, the first of 2,300 Germans arrived by train at Hot Springs to begin life in a World War I internment camp. Their civilian merchant ships had been docked in various American ports two months earlier when the United States entered the war. At that time, the government seized the German vessels and declared their officers and crews “alien enemies.”

Unable to return the men home while war was raging, the government leased the luxurious Mountain Park Hotel in Hot Springs to house them. Each of the hotel’s 200 steam-heated, electric-lighted bedrooms accommodated between three and five German officers, while rows of barracks and accessory buildings were constructed on the resort’s grounds and golf course to house crew members.

Artifacts from the Hot Springs detention camp held by the State Archives

When not farmed out for lumbering or road building projects, homesick internees inside the barbed wire-enclosed camp created a Bavarian village—including houses, a church and even a carousel—using driftwood from the French Broad River, tin cans, and other materials. They also crafted furniture, grew gardens and played sports. A German brass band provided concerts for the townspeople every Sunday afternoon. After living in the camp for 17 months, many internees developed close friendships with local families. Some returned to visit after the war ended.

Other related resources:

• The military collection of the State Archives
• Memories of World War I: North Carolina Doughboys on the Western Front and North Carolina and the Two World Wars from North Carolina Historical Publications
• Military history resource guide from the State Library
• Posters from World War I from the State Archives
• Saint Francis’s Satyr Butterfly, a poem on veterans by Jospeh Bathanti, North Carolina’s poet laureate
• Wildcats Never Quit, a resource on World War I from the State Archives, State Library and N.C. Museum of History
• World War I on NCpedia
• Veterans records from the State Archives
• An ibiblio archive of images and documents from the camp, courtesy of the Madison County Public Library

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Plaque at the entrance to God’s Acre. Image from State Archives

On June 7, 1771, the first burial in God’s Acre, the cemetery of the Salem Moravian Congregation, took place when the body of John Birkhead was laid to rest. God’s Acre is the common name for Moravian cemeteries, most of which are divided into large squares separated by pathways. The identical stones in the churchyard are all white marble and recumbent. Their uniformity, except for the names, is symbolic of the Moravian belief in the equality of all in the eyes of God. Men and women are buried on opposite sides of the main path in accordance with the 18th century choir system, as the Brethren and Sisters sat at worship.

Salem Congregation’s God’s Acre, in Winston-Salem, is the largest in North Carolina. It contains more than 6,000 graves.  It is used by the 13 Moravian churches that form the Congregation. Birkhead’s grave is in the second square on the right through the central arch of the cemetery. Amid the hustle and bustle of a busy city, God’s Acre provides a calming place in which to admire the quiet beauty and serenity of the humble surroundings.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.