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May 12, 1780 was a terrible day for the entire Southern Department of the Continental Army, including the NC Continental Line. Brigadier General James Hogun surrendered 814 NC Continentals on that fateful day, and most were placed on prison ships or sent to St. Augustine, FL. Many remained in captivity for over a year, with some still captive after two years. Over 1,200 NC Militiamen also surrendered that day, but most were quickly paroled and sent home to await their exchange.

For details of which NC units participated and which units were captured, click here.

With the NC Continental Line decimated, the few officers who were at home, either sick or recruiting, were now faced with the daunting task of recreating entire new regiments solely from raw recruits who did not really want to serve. It took well over a year to rebuild and retrain.

In the meantime, North Carolina commissioned its second Major General over all NC Militia - ex-Governor Richard Caswell - on April 10th. Major General Caswell had just started marching a farily sizeable Militia contingent southward when he learned of the Fall of Charleston. He quickly turned around and went back to Cross Creek. Others under his command turned around and went to Wilmington.