Hyde County Regiment Explained

Unit Name:	Hyde County Regiment
Allegiance:	North Carolina
Type:	Militia
Branch:	North Carolina militia
Dates:	1775–1783
Battles:	Skirmish on Cape Hatteras, Battle of Guilford Courthouse
Notable Commanders:	Col. Rotheas Latham Col. Abraham Jones Col. William Russel Col. Burridge H. Selby

The Hyde County Regiment was a unit of the North Carolina militia that served during the American Revolution. Hyde County, formed in 1705, had a militia in colonial times that was used to defend the coast of the Province of North Carolina. The North Carolina General Assembly authorized the Hyde County Regiment on September 9, 1775, along with 34 other county regiments. The officers were appointed and commissioned by the Governor of North Carolina. The regiment was subordinated to the New Bern District Brigade of North Carolina militia on May 4, 1776. The regiment was disbanded at the end of the war.^{[1] [2]}

Officers

The following listings show the known commanders, officers, staff, and soldiers of the Wayne County regiment^[3]

• Colonel Rotheas Latham (1775–1779)^[4]
• Colonel Abraham Jones (1779–1783)
• Colonel William Russell (1779–1780)
• Colonel Burridge Hutchins Selby (1780–1783)

Rotheas Latham was born in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts in 1725. His parents were Thomas Latham and Deborah Hardin. He was a descendant of Pilgrim James Chilton. His family moved to Hyde County, North Carolina before 1750, where he was a prominent landowner and active in business and political affairs. He owned a mill and was appointed by Governor Arthur Dobbs to serve as justice of the peace in Hyde County. In 1773, he represented Hyde County in the North Carolina General Assembly in New Bern. On August 25, 1774, he again represented Hyde County in the Provincial Congress in New Bern. He represented Hyde County in the Provincial Congress of August 1775 in Hillsboro. He was appointed a colonel in the Hyde County Minutemen in 1775 and was also colonel of the unit when it became the Hyde County Regiment in September 1775. He again represented Hyde County in the Provincial Congress of April 1776 in Halifax. He was member of the North Carolina House of Commons in 1780 and 1781. He died in 1784 in Hyde County.^{[4] [5]}

William Russel served in the senate of the North Carolina Legislature from 1777 to 1783.^[6]

Known engagements

The Hyde County Regiment was involved in two known engagements: skirmish on Cape Hatteras on June 27, 1779 and the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781.^[1]

References

• Hyde County History, A Hyde County Bicentennial Project, 1976; Hyde County Historical Society; pp. 122–123. "The Swan Quarter Bicentennial Committee, with the assistance of the Hyde County Historical Society, compiled the following roster of individuals who participated in the Revolutionary War. The individuals on this list were verified as Hyde County residents by one or more of the following sources: Roster of Soldiers From North Carolina in the American Revolution; Some Colonial and Revolutionary Families of North Carolina, Vol. 1; Index to Hathaway's Register; "Hyde County Census 1786, 1790, 1800”; "Hyde County 1700 Wills and Deeds”; "1800 Wills”; "Marriage Bonds”; Bible Records."
• Hyde County History, A Hyde County Bicentennial Project, 1976; Hyde County Historical Society; pp. 123–125. "The following list of Soldiers in the Continental Line has been abstracted from the Roster of Soldiers From North Carolina in the American Revolution. These men were not designated as Hyde County, but were either Newbern Militia District or appeared without a District designation. Supportive data from Hyde County Court Records, Federal Census Records, Index to Hathaway's Register, and Estate Papers (State Department of Archives and History) strongly indicates these men were residents of Hyde County. However, we present this data hoping anyone having information to confirm or disprove these findings will share such with us."
• "High Tides", Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 1981; Hyde County Historical Society; p. 20. September 3, 1778, Halifax, NC; List of volunteers in the Continental Army, for nine months service.
• "High Tides", Vol. 2, No. 1, Spring 1981; Hyde County Historical Society; pp. 21–22. Hyde County Veterans of the American Revolution.
• NC Department of Archives and History; February 7, 1782, A list of Invalids above and below the age of fifty years.

See also

• for a description of the transcription effort by Will Graves
• Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War
• North Carolina State Navy
• List of North Carolina militia units in the American Revolution

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lewis, J.D.. Hyde County Regiment. The American Revolution in North Carolina. April 6, 2019.
2. Web site: Hyde County Militia. April 9, 2018., N. C. Department of Archives & History, Hyde County Miscellaneous Records (1735–1908), Militia Papers, 1755, 1853 and no date. C.R. 053.928.3; High Tides, Volume XV, Number 1, Spring, 1994, p. 41; "Henry Gibbs, Jur. Militia List of Arrowmaskeet, 1755."
3. Web site: Graves, William. Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters. February 16, 2019., various pension applications and rosters
4. Web site: Washington County Genealogical Society Journal. August 1, 1996. NCGenWeb Project. April 9, 2019.
5. Book: Historical Sketches of North Carolina: From 1584 to 1851. 212. Rotheas Latham.. Internet Archive. Lippincott, Grambo and Company. Wheeler, John Hill. 1851.
6. Web site: The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina. 1874. April 9, 2019.