My ancestor, Captain Robert Messer, was one of the leaders of the Regulator Rebellion in eastern NC. They basically started the Revolutionary War a decade too soon. They had the British whupped at the Battle of Alamance, then ran out of bullets and powder. He was sentenced to be hung, drawn, and quartered at the Hillsborough Courthouse. His name is on a monument down there where he was hung with seven other Regulator leaders. His son, Christian Messer, moved up here and fought in the Revolution.
