The Battle of Alamance, which took place on May 16, 1771, was the final battle of the Regulator Movement, a rebellion in colonial North Carolina over issues of taxation and local control. Named for nearby Great Alamance Creek, the battle took place in what was then Orange County and has since become Alamance County in the central Piedmont area, about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of present-day Burlington, North Carolina.
Illustration of the battle by J. Steeple Davis
The site of the Battle of Alamance, including red flags, to the right, marking militia positions and an 1880 commemorative monument, in the distance, to the far left.
Great Alamance Creek, also called Big Alamance Creek, is a 37-mile long creek that is a tributary of the Haw River. The creek's headwaters are in Guilford County, but it flows primarily through Alamance County, North Carolina. It is a major source of water for the cities of Burlington and Greensboro through the Lake Mackintosh Reservoir. It was called "Alamance" after an old local Native American word used to describe the blue-colored mud in the bottom of the creek.
Convergence of Great Alamance Creek and the Haw River in Swepsonville, North Carolina
