Edward Buncombe
Encyclopedia
Edward Buncombe was a plantation owner from the Province of North Carolina
who served as a colonel in the Continental Army
(the army of the Patriot
side) in the American Revolutionary War
. He is the namesake of Buncombe County
in western North Carolina. In 1820, his surname (in its status as the name of that county) became the source of the derogatory American slang term, "bunkum" and its shortened form, "bunk" in consequence of the U.S. representative for the county, Felix Walker
, invoking the county during a poorly received speech delivered on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
. In 1774, as the independence movement of the Thirteen Colonies gathered steam, he took a leading role in convening proindependence meetings, especially the First Provincial Congress
, which is reportedly the first assembly anywhere in the Thirteen Colonies
to defy a royal governor. He joined a local militia, the Tyrrell militia. The "Halifax Assembly" elected him colonel of the 5th North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army
on April 15, 1776 (three days after it had passed the historic Halifax Resolves
). He was wounded and captured on October 4, 1777 at the Battle of Germantown
, fought several miles outside of the rebel capital of Philadelphia, which the British had recently seized. The British army paroled him to that city. The following May of 1778, Col. Buncombe fell down some stairs while sleepwalking and his wounds reopened, causing him to bleed to death. He is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground
in Philadelphia.
Tax records of 1782 say that his estate included 2250 acres (9.1 km²) of land and 10 Negroes.
In 1791, the State of North Carolina created a new county from parts of two other counties and named it for Col. Buncombe. The present Buncombe County
is a combination of parts of the original one with parts of neighboring counties.
Province of North Carolina
The Province of North Carolina was originally part of the Province of Carolina in British America, which was chartered by eight Lords Proprietor. The province later became the U.S. states of North Carolina and Tennessee....
who served as a colonel in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
(the army of the Patriot
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
side) in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He is the namesake of Buncombe County
Buncombe County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 206,330 people, 85,776 households, and 55,668 families residing in the county. The population density was 314 people per square mile . There were 93,973 housing units at an average density of 143 per square mile...
in western North Carolina. In 1820, his surname (in its status as the name of that county) became the source of the derogatory American slang term, "bunkum" and its shortened form, "bunk" in consequence of the U.S. representative for the county, Felix Walker
Felix Walker (American politician)
Felix Walker was a Democratic-Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1817 and 1823.Walker was born near the Potomac River in what was then Hampshire County, Virginia, now part of West Virginia...
, invoking the county during a poorly received speech delivered on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Biography
Buncombe was born in 1742 on the West Indies island of St. Christopher (today St. Kitts). He grew up there and in England. He immigrated to North Carolina in 1768 and settled at a plantation he had inherited near the shore of Albemarle Sound on the Atlantic coast, in what is now Washington CountyWashington County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 13,723 people, 5,367 households, and 3,907 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile . There were 6,174 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...
. In 1774, as the independence movement of the Thirteen Colonies gathered steam, he took a leading role in convening proindependence meetings, especially the First Provincial Congress
North Carolina Provincial Congress
The North Carolina Provincial Congresses were extra-legal unicameral legislative bodies formed in 1774 through 1776 by the people of the Province of North Carolina, independent of the British colonial government.-First Provincial Congress:...
, which is reportedly the first assembly anywhere in the Thirteen Colonies
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...
to defy a royal governor. He joined a local militia, the Tyrrell militia. The "Halifax Assembly" elected him colonel of the 5th North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
on April 15, 1776 (three days after it had passed the historic Halifax Resolves
Halifax Resolves
The Halifax Resolves is the name later given to a resolution adopted by the Fourth Provincial Congress of the Province of North Carolina on April 12, 1776, during the American Revolution...
). He was wounded and captured on October 4, 1777 at the Battle of Germantown
Battle of Germantown
The Battle of Germantown, a battle in the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War, was fought on October 4, 1777, at Germantown, Pennsylvania between the British army led by Sir William Howe and the American army under George Washington...
, fought several miles outside of the rebel capital of Philadelphia, which the British had recently seized. The British army paroled him to that city. The following May of 1778, Col. Buncombe fell down some stairs while sleepwalking and his wounds reopened, causing him to bleed to death. He is buried in Christ Church Burial Ground
Christ Church, Philadelphia
Christ Church is an Episcopal church located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1695 by members of the Church of England, who built a small wooden church on the site by the next year. When the congregation outgrew this structure some twenty years later, they decided to erect a new...
in Philadelphia.
Tax records of 1782 say that his estate included 2250 acres (9.1 km²) of land and 10 Negroes.
In 1791, the State of North Carolina created a new county from parts of two other counties and named it for Col. Buncombe. The present Buncombe County
Buncombe County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 206,330 people, 85,776 households, and 55,668 families residing in the county. The population density was 314 people per square mile . There were 93,973 housing units at an average density of 143 per square mile...
is a combination of parts of the original one with parts of neighboring counties.
Further reading
- Ashe, Samuel. 1905. A Biographical History of North Carolina. Vol. I. p. 198.
- Powell, William S., editor. 1979. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, Volume 1. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press.