[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 76 (Wednesday, May 21, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                MECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

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                        HON. SUE WILKINS MYRICK

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2003

  Mrs. MYRICK. Mr. Speaker, two hundred and twenty-eight years ago on 
this date, May 20, 1775, the Scotch-Irish residents of Mecklenburg 
County, North Carolina declared themselves no longer subject to British 
rule. The day after the battle of Lexington, the Committee of 
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which was led by the Polk and 
Alexander families, drafted a document we refer to today as The 
Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. In short, this document 
declared that the citizens of Mecklenburg County had dissolved all ties 
with Great Britain, and declared itself free and its people 
independent. One of my staff members, Andy Polk, is a direct descendant 
of the Polk and Alexander families.
  As a member of Congress who represents much of Mecklenburg County, 
North Carolina, I must say that I am very proud to represent an area 
that is so rich in history and so dedicated to freedom. Ever since May 
20, 1775, the citizens of Mecklenburg County have been a freedom loving 
people who have laid down their lives so that others might experience 
the greatness of being a free people, who have the right to govern 
themselves as they see fit. Many of these men who signed the 
Mecklenburg Declaration went on to fight and die in the American 
Revolution to secure the liberties and freedoms we have today.
  I am happy to note that in honor of this date the great state of 
North Carolina has placed May 20, 1775 on its flag and on its seal to 
honor the men who signed the Mecklenburg Declaration. And to further 
honor them I ask that their names be placed in the Congressional 
Record. Such men should not ever be forgotten, lest we forget the 
freedom we hold so dear.
  Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence: General 
Thomas Polk, Robert Irwin, William Graham, Hezekiah Alexander, John 
Flennegin, John Queary, Matthew McClure, David Reese, Ephraim Brevard, 
Adam Alexander, Abraham Alexander, John Phifer, John Foard, Ezra 
Alexander, Waightstill Avery, John Davidson, Hezekiah J. Balch, James 
Harris, Richard Barry, Charles Alexander, Benjamin Patton, Richard 
Harris, Neil Morrison, William Kennon, Henry Downs, Zaccheus Wilson, 
and John McKnitt Alexander.

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