The 4th North Carolina Regiment was authorized March 26, 1776 and assigned to the Southen Department.

The 4th North Carolina Regiment was organized April 15, 1776 at Wilmington. It included eight companies from Salisbury, Edenton, and Wilmington Districts.

On February 5, 1777, it was removed from the Southern Department and reassigned to the Northern Department. On July 8, 1777, it was assigned to the NC Brigade, an element of the Northern Department.

June 1, 1778, it was removed from the Northern Department and reassigned to the Southern Department - stationed in Valley Forge, PA. The regiment was so depleted that it was sent home to recruit new men.

In the Fall of 1779, it was reorganized at Halifax, NC, with nine (9) companies.

On February 11, 1780, the 4th NC Regiment was assigned to Sumner's Brigade, an element of the Southern Department. At some point, this brigade was known as Armstrong's Brigade.

May 12, 1780, the 4th NC Regiment surrendered to the British Army at the Fall of Charlestown, SC.

Reconstituted from April to July of 1781, with detachments being hurriedly sent to South Carolina to support Maj. Gen. Nathanael Green. As men were recruited, they were assembled and marched southward, usually with no uniforms and with no arms or ammunition.

The regiment was furloughed on January 1, 1783 at James Island, South Carolina and officially disbanded on November 15, 1783.