Following the Battle of Lexington in Massachusetts, 49 county residents gathered at the courthouse and issued the Tryon Resolves, a declaration of resistance to coercive actions by the British Empire against its North American colonies. Although not a statement of independence, the Tryon Resolves were among the earliest of many local colonial declarations which called for the redress of perceived wrongs inflicted on the colonies from the British Parliament and The Crown. The document was signed on August 14, 1775, predating the United States Declaration of Independence by almost 11 months.