On April 12, 1776, 83 delegates to North Carolina’s Fourth Provincial Congress, meeting in Halifax, passed a unanimous resolution now known as the Halifax Resolves. The resolves advocated severing North Carolina’s ties with England and indicated support for independence for all American colonies.
North Carolina became the first colony to officially commit such intentions to paper, striking the first blow for an independent America.
On April 11, 1865, as part of Stoneman’s Raid, troops under the command of Colonel William J. Palmer split from the main force and engaged in a skirmish with Confederate forces at Shallow Ford. The ford is a landmark on the Yadkin River and is rich in history. In the mid-1700s immigrants used Shallow Ford as a crossing point on the river for the Great Wagon Road. That route, along an ancient Indian trading path, extended from Pennsylvania to Georgia.
On April 11, 1896, industrialist and Progressive Era governor Thomas Michael Holt died at age 64.
On April 11, 1900, Charles B. Aycock was unanimously nominated as the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina.
Aycock practiced law and co-founded the Daily Argus newspaper in Goldsboro, but it became clear that politics was his true passion. He distrusted the Republican Party, which supported African American involvement in government and endorsed the idea that politics should be reserved for the white race.
On April 10, 1952, the United States Army moved the Psychological Warfare Center and School from Fort Riley, Kansas, to Fort Bragg, where it remains to this day.
The term “psychological warfare” originated during World War II, although the practice has been around since human beings first engaged in conflict with each other. Alexander the Great, Ghengis Khan and other historic military leaders often spread exaggerated rumors of their own armies’ prowess and savagery to intimidate enemies.
On April 10, 1922, WBT in Charlotte received a broadcast license, becoming the first commercial radio station in North Carolina. Advances in radio took place in three North Carolina cities in 1922. In Raleigh, on the campus of what is now N.C. State University, engineers installed a transmitter and initiated experimental broadcasts in March 1922. Regular transmission began on October 16, the day before the State Fair.
On April 10, 1872, prominent botanist, author and Episcopal priest Moses A. Curtis died in Orange County.
Born in Massachusetts, Curtis attended Williams College before beginning his ministry in Wilmington. He soon moved to Raleigh to teach at what’s now St. Mary’s School and worked at a parish in Washington for a short time before coming to St. Matthew’s Church in Hillsborough in 1841. He would remain there for much of the rest of his life.
On April 9, 1896, the last large gold nugget was found at Reed Gold Mine, the focal point of the nation’s first gold rush. The discovery came 97 years after John Reed first found a large nugget on his land.