Liberty Point Resolves
The Liberty Point Resolves, also known as "The Cumberland Association", was a resolution signed by fifty-five residents of Cumberland County, North Carolina, early in the American Revolution.
On June 20, 1775, these Patriots, who had formed themselves into a group known simply as "The Association", signed a document protesting the actions of Great Britain following the battles of Lexington and Concord. According to local tradition, the signers met at Lewis Barge's tavern in Cross Creek and later pinned the document to Liberty Point Tree. The signers expressed the hope that Great Britain and the colonies would be reconciled, but vowed that, if necessary, they would "go forth and be ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes to secure her freedom and safety". The resolves were thus not a declaration of independence—public advocation for separation from Great Britain would not become common until 1776.
The period of the American Revolution was a time of divided loyalties in Cumberland County, and a considerable portion of the population, especially the Highland Scots who had immigrated in 1739, were staunchly loyal to the British Crown. Among them was the famous Scottish heroine Flora MacDonald. The Liberty Point document followed the similar Mecklenburg Resolutions by just a month and preceded the United States Declaration of Independence by a little more than a year.
Two centuries following the events of Liberty Point Resolves, it was discovered that sixteen of the signers were forgotten. These names were later added to the back of the Liberty Point Resolves monument on February 17, 1976 to commemorate them.
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The brief document read:Robert Rowan, who apparently organized the group, signed first. The names of other signers include those of families who made a deep imprint on the Cape Fear region, from colonial times onward: Barge, Bowell, Evans, Elwell, Greer, Carver, Council, Gee, Blocker, Hollingsworth. The event is commemorated today by a memorial and plaque in downtown Fayetteville, near the corner of Bow and Person Streets.
Liberty Point Resolves Monument
In 1933, the Liberty Point Monument Association, headed by President Sewberry, planned for another celebration to mark the creation of a “boulder” memorial with thirty-nine of the signers’ names. To prepare for the funding of the granite memorial, the ladies of the association held several programs. In one event, each household decorated their house as a representation of a country and allowed visitors inside as part of a “Trip Around the World.” They also sold photographs of Liberty Point and donated their own money for funding. On a Monday afternoon during the first week of July, the monument was unveiled at the corner of Bow and Person streets. The monument itself was helped in its creation by “several small boys and girls, all lineal descendants of the Cumberland county” signers. Judge N. A. Sinclair introduced Judge George W. Connor, who spoke the address of dedication for the commemoration.Signers
- Robert Rowan
- Peter Messer
- Samuel Hollingsworth
- Lewis Bowell
- Maurice Nowlan
- Thomas Cabeen
- John Clendenin
- Theophilus Evans
- Daniel Douse
- William Carver
- Joseph De Lespine
- James Dick
- James Edmunds
- John Oliver
- John Stevenson
- John Carraway
- Micajah Farrell
- William Bathgate
- William Herrin
- John Wilson
- Charles Stevens
- David Evans
- Thomas Rea
- John Parker
- James Gee
- James Emmet
- Walter Murray
- Benjamin Elwell
- Aaron Vardey
- William Gillespy
- William White
- Onesiphorus West
- Philip Herrin
- Joseph Greer
- George Fletcher
- Robert Verner
- Thomas White
- James Pearl
- John Elwell
- John Jones
- Lewis Barge
- David Dunn
- Robert Council
- Martin Leonard
- Simon Banday
- James Giles
- Thomas Moody
- Robert Greer
- Robert Carver
- Arthur Council
- Joshua Hadley
- Samuel Carver
- David Shepherd
- William Blocker
- George Barns