In September of 1775, the Third Provincial Congress divided the state into six military districts. These districts were each comprised of a number of counties surrounding a significant town and corresponed with existing judicial districts: Edenton, Halifax, Hillsborough, New Bern, Salisbury, and Wilmington. Later, two additional districts were added, further dividing the mountainous western part of the state, which was later ceded to Tennessee.

At this point in time, the North Carolina legislators were not too keen on the idea of militias, which had been around since the colony was first founded over one hundred years earlier. Therefore, no militias were actually "authorized" - the Provincial Congress opted for Minute Men - a full time army paid for by the province. In September of 1775, six battalions of Minute Men were established - as Provincial Troops - for a trial period of six months.

However, most of the ardent leaders within each existing county took it upon themselves to start assembling their local militias - long before the Provincial Congress even got around to considering their official moves. In October of 1774, the Johnston County Militia was mustered and began training. In March of 1775, both the Brunswick County and the New Hanover County militias were organized. Most other counties followed suit and their militias were in place and operational prior to the Provincial Congress's choice for Minute Men.

As a result, the Province suffered considerable confusion when the legislation was issued in September of 1775. Two regiments of Provincial Troops (later to be put on the Continental Line), six battalions (brigades) of Minute Men, and thirty-five (35) counties began competing for able-bodied young men to fill their quotas. Some militia units simply rolled over and accepted being called Minute Men. The rest proudly trained as militiamen.

When the six-months were up, the Minute Men were disbanded. Legislators quickly realized that they were more expensive than Militia, which could be called up and sent home, thereby cutting costs - instead of paying for a standing army that got paid whether it fought or not. Furthermore, the handful of militia units that had gotten involved in the Province's few skirmishes and the major battle (Moore's Creek Bridge) during this six-month period had acquitted themselves rather well - so, what the heck's wrong with militia?

Well, confusion simply cannot walk away. Since some counties had previously had a Colonel in charge of Minute Men and another Colonel in charge of Militia - now what do they do with two (or more in some cases) Colonels? Tell one to go home? Of course not. Both - keep mustering your Militia as long as you're willing to. If not, then go home - or - turn it over to someone else to be another Colonel. From mid-1776 on, the various different Militia units within North Carolina came and went with the fortunes of battles - both within the province/state and when helping neighbors (SC, VA, and GA).

The North Carolina government did not require the militia units to keep any records, and consequently, very little extant information is available. Through some herioic efforts by numerous amateur and professional historians, there are lots of muster rolls and pension lists available in books and on the web. But, few are 100% complete. What is presented herein is the culmination of several years of research attempting to sort them all out. Errors will certainly continue, but hopefully over time as new information becomes available, the collective "we" will get things straightened out.