CASWELL, RICHARD, a Delegate from North Carolina; born in Harford (now Baltimore)
County, Md., August 3, 1729; moved to North Carolina in 1746; appointed deputy
surveyor of the colony in 1750; clerk of the court of Orange County 1752-1754;
studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1754 and commenced practice in
Hillsboro, N.C.; member of the colonial house of delegates 1754-1771, and
served as speaker the last two years; commanded the right wing of Governor
Tryon's army at the Battle of Alamance in 1771; served in the Revolutionary
Army; Member of the Continental Congress 1774-1775; commanded the patriots at
the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, North Carolina, February 23, 1776; appointed
brigadier general of the New Bern District by the Provincial Congress in 1776;
delegate to the State constitutional convention and its president in 1776;
Governor of North Carolina 1776-1780; commanded the North Carolina troops at
the Battle of Camden in 1780; comptroller general in 1782; member of the State
senate 1782-1784 and served as speaker; again elected Governor in 1785 and
served until 1787; appointed delegate from North Carolina to the convention
that framed the Federal Constitution in 1787, but did not attend; member of the
State convention at Fayetteville, N.C., that adopted the Federal Constitution
in 1789; member and speaker of the State house of commons in 1789 and served
until his death in Fayetteville, N.C., November 10, 1789; interment in the
family cemetery on his estate near Kinston, Lenoir County, N.C.