Colonel Robert Irwin (August 26, 1738-December 23, 1800) of Steele Creek Township,

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County () is a County (United States), county located in the southwestern region of the U.S. state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it th ...

was a long term North Carolina

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

. The first state senator ever elected from Mecklenburg County, he served as the

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

senator from Mecklenburg County in the years 1778-1783, and again, in the years 1787 and 1795, and, finally, from 1797 to 1800, dying in office. Prior to entering the senate, Irwin commanded the

Mecklenburg County Regiment The Mecklenburg County Regiment was authorized on May 31, 1775 by the Province of North Carolina Congress. From November 7, 1779 until the 3rd Quarter of 1780, it was called the 1st Mecklenburg County Regiment when a 2nd Mecklenburg County Regime ...

of the

Salisbury District Salisbury was a Districts of England, local government district in Wiltshire, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of Salisbury. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 and the Englis ...

, North Carolina militia, rising to the rank of a colonel and commandant of the 1st Mecklenburg County Regiment (Est. 1775, split into 1st & 2nd regiments 1780, and disestablished in 1783). He commanded the regiment while fighting strategically against

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

militia forces beside

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

patriot militia General

Thomas Sumter Thomas Sumter (August 14, 1734June 1, 1832) was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served in the Continental Army as a Brigadier general (United States), brigadier-general during the American Revolutionary War, Revolution ...

at the

Battle of Rocky Mount The Battle of Rocky Mount took place on August 1, 1780 as part of the American Revolutionary War. 600 Loyalists commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Turnbull occupying an outpost in northern South Carolina withstood an attack by 300 American ...

. Later, the two again fought to victory together against loyalist provisional units and militia (while heavily outnumbered) at the

Battle of Hanging Rock The Battle of Hanging Rock (August 6, 1780) took place during the American Revolutionary War between the American Patriots and the British. It was part of a campaign by militia General Thomas Sumter to harass or destroy British outposts in th ...

. Irwin is reportedSee Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence#Signers for a discussion of who is reported to have signed this document. There is no copy of the document and recollections were only compiled in 1819 to have been a signer of the

Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is a text published in 1819 with the now disputed claim that it was the first declaration of independence made in the Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolution. It was supposedly signed on May 20 ...

. Colonel Irwin was of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

faith.

Revolutionary War service

Robert Irwin held several positions in the North Carolina militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

: *Captain in the

of the North Carolina militia (1775, 1776-1777) *Captain in the 2nd Salisbury District Minutemen (1775-1776) *Lt. colonel in the Mecklenburg County Regiment of the North Carolina militia (1777-1778) *Colonel in the Mecklenburg County Regiment of the North Carolina militia (1778-1783) Notes:

External links

Patriot leaders

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Robert North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution North Carolina state senators 1738 births 1800 deaths People from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Members of the North Carolina Provincial Congresses

Revolutionary War service

See also

External links

References