Thomas Polk (c. 1732–January 25, 1794) was a
planter, military officer in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...
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 ...
from 1775 to 1781, and a politician who served in the
North Carolina House of Commons,
North Carolina Provincial Congress
The Provincial Congress of North Carolina was an extralegal representative assembly patterned after the colonial lower house that existed in North Carolina from 1774 to 1776. It led the transition from British provincial to U.S. state govern ...
, and
Council of State
A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
. Polk commanded the
4th North Carolina Regiment in the
Battle of Brandywine. In 1786, Polk was elected by the
North Carolina General Assembly
The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...
to the
Congress of the Confederation
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States from March 1, 1781, until March 3, 1789, during the Confederation ...
, but did not attend any of its sessions. Polk was a great-uncle of the 11th
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
,
James K. Polk.
Early life and War of the Regulation
Polk was born in
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
* Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberl ...
,
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...
around 1732 to William and Margaret Taylor Polk. His father was of Scotch-Irish descent, and had been born in the
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an Kingdom of England, English and later British colonization of the Americas, British colony in North America from 1634 until 1776, when the province was one of the Thirteen Colonies that joined in supporting the A ...
. In 1753, Polk moved to
Anson County, North Carolina
Anson County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,055. Its county seat is Wadesboro.
History
The area eventually comprising Anson County was originally occupied by Native Ameri ...
. In 1755, he married Susanna Spratt, with whom he would have eight children. In 1765, Polk participated in the War of Sugar Creek, in which local settlers took up arms against large private landholders who were speculating on real estate in the area of what is now
Charlotte. During that conflict, speculator Henry McCulloh attempted to have a large tract of land that had been granted to him by the
Crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
surveyed and subdivided. The settlers in Anson County objected, as McCulloh sought to interfere with what they considered their established rights in the land.
During the confrontation into the settlers and the land agents, McCulloh attempted to evict Polk from his home.
Polk and his supporters intimidated McCulloh's land officers and surveyors to the point that McCulloh allowed the rights to a portion of his lands to revert to the Crown by 1767. The settlers were not, however, ultimately successful, and many, including Polk himself, purchased land from McCulloh or were otherwise bribed into cooperation. Polk was also given a position as a commissioner for the new town of Charlotte due to McCulloh's influence, and served as McCulloh's land agent in the newly created
Mecklenburg County. Charlotte had been founded at the crossroad of a small trail with the Indian
Trading Path near where that great thoroughfare entered the lands occupied by the
Catawba people. Polk's homeplace sat near the center of that community.
Polk served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1766 to 1771. During the
War of the Regulation
The Regulator Movement in North Carolina, also known as the Regulator Insurrection, War of Regulation, and War of the Regulation, was an uprising in Provincial North Carolina from 1766 to 1771 in which citizens took up arms against colonial offi ...
, Polk was appointed a captain of militia by Governor
William Tryon
Lieutenant-General William Tryon (8 June 172927 January 1788) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of North Carolina from 1764 to 1771 and the governor of New York from 1771 to 1777. He also served durin ...
as part of the governor's strategy to recruit prominent
Presbyterians
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 ...
to his side against the Regulators, many of whom had backgrounds in Presbyterian congregations. Polk's position as an assemblyman allowed him to take advantage of financial rewards after the defeat of the Regulator movement. In 1772, Polk surveyed the border between North and South Carolina.
American Revolutionary War
Polk was among the residents and officials of Mecklenburg County who drafted and adopted the
Mecklenburg Resolves on May 31, 1775, which called for a reorganization of colonial government and declared laws enforced by the Crown null and void. Polk was then elected a member of the
Third North Carolina Provincial Congress, which established a government in the absence of Royal Governor
Josiah Martin
Josiah Martin (23 April 1737 – 13 April 1786) was a British Army officer and colonial official who served as the ninth and last governor of North Carolina from 1771 to 1776, and in exile until 1783.
Early life and career
Martin was born i ...
. In late 1775 Polk participated as a colonel of
Patriot militia in the
Snow Campaign, which sought to suppress
Loyalist
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 ...
recruiting in the
South Carolina Upcountry.
Polk was then appointed colonel of the
4th North Carolina Regiment of Continental Line and marched north in early 1777. Polk and his unit fought at the Battle of Brandywine and wintered at
Valley Forge
Valley Forge was the winter encampment of the Continental Army, under the command of George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. The Valley Forge encampment lasted six months, from December 19, 1777, to June 19, 1778. It was the t ...
with General
Washington's main army. In September 1777, with British forces about to occupy Philadelphia, Polk was assigned to escort a baggage train containing the city's bells, including the
Liberty Bell
The Liberty Bell, previously called the State House Bell or Old State House Bell, is an iconic symbol of American Revolution, American independence located in Philadelphia. Originally placed in the steeple of Pennsylvania State House, now know ...
, from
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
to safety in
Allentown.
By February 1778 Polk returned to North Carolina to recruit more soldiers for the Continental Army, but by June 26 he had resigned his commission, aggrieved at being passed over for promotion to brigadier general after the death of General
Francis Nash. He lost his command of the 4th North Carolina Regiment when, in a reduction of forces, it was combined with the
2nd North Carolina Regiment. In mid–1780 Polk again accepted a commission with the Continental Army, this time serving as
commissary
A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop.
In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...
general of purchases for both the state of North Carolina and the Continental Army in the
southern theater. When
Nathanael Greene
Major general (United States), Major General Nathanael Greene (August 7, 1742 – June 19, 1786) was an American military officer and planter who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War. He emerge ...
assumed command of the Continental Army in the southern theater, he met with Polk for an extended time on the general's first night in the army's camp in order to become familiar with the region's resources.
Polk also acted as commissary for the
Salisbury district, one of North Carolina's militia recruiting divisions, often using his personal assets and credit to provide supplies for the Patriot cause. When controversy arose over the propriety of his practices in obtaining supplies and credit, he again resigned, but continued to work with General Greene, who appointed him a brigadier general in early 1781. The North Carolina General Assembly refused to approve the commission and appointed him a "colonel commandant" instead. Polk declined the appointment, citing his age and family responsibilities.
Summary of service record:
* Colonel over the
Mecklenburg County Regiment of the North Carolina militia (1775)
* Colonel over the 2nd Battalion of Salisbury District Minutemen, North Carolina State troops (1775-1776)
* Colonel over the
4th North Carolina Regiment, Continental Line (1776-1778)
* Commissary General for the
North Carolina Line (1780)
Political life after the Revolution
In 1783 and 1784, Polk was elected to the North Carolina Council of State, which assisted the
governors
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
in performing their executive duties. In 1786, the General Assembly elected Polk as a delegate to the Third
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...
, by that time known as the Congress of the Confederation, but Polk did not attend any of that body's sessions. Polk's home accommodated President George Washington overnight during his 1791 tour of the southern states.
Death and legacy

Polk died at his Charlotte home on January 25, 1794, and was buried in what is now known as the
Old Settlers' Cemetery in
Charlotte.
Notable relatives
*Polk was a nephew of David Reese of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence
*Polk was a great-uncle of the 11th
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
,
James K. Polk.
*Polk's son
William Polk was also an officer during the American Revolution and would go on to be prominent citizen of the state.
Polk County, North Carolina is named for him.
*Polk's brother
Ezekiel Polk was also a soldier during the Revolution. He was the grandfather of James. K. Polk.
[
*Polk's grandson Leonidas Polk (son of William) was an Episcopal Bishop and a Confederate General During the American Civil War.][ Until 2023, ]Fort Johnson
Fort Polk, formerly Fort Johnson, is a United States Army installation located in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, about 10 miles (15 km) east of Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville and 30 miles (50 km) north of DeRid ...
in Louisiana was named Fort Polk for Leonidas.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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*, alternate version o
NCpedia
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Polk, Thomas
1730s births
1794 deaths
Continental Army officers from North Carolina
People from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
People from Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the A ...
Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
North Carolina militiamen in the American Revolution
Militia generals in the American Revolution
Members of the North Carolina Provincial Congresses
Military personnel from Pennsylvania
American people of Scotch-Irish descent