A couple of weeks ago, I was privileged to speak at a ceremony honoring those who fought at the first major Southern engagement in the American War of Independence. Our commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge on Feb. 27 was part of a broader First in Freedom Festival, which I’m pleased to report attracted thousands of people to tours, presentations, reenactments, and other events throughout the greater Wilmington area.
“The first great British strategy to win the war, hatched in late 1775, was to invade and conquer North Carolina, severing the valuable Southern colonies from the rest of the emerging nation,” I told the audience assembled at the Moores Creek National Battlefield in Pender County.
“Among other elements, the British strategy required the Patriots of North Carolina to be distracted, to quake with fear, to falter, to stay home. That is not what happened. The Patriot militia mustered. Their leaders kept a level head, out-organized and outmaneuvered their adversaries, and emerged victorious at Moores Creek…