Moores Creek National Battlefield in southeastern North Carolina preserves the site of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, fought on February 27, 1776, where about a thousand Patriots defeated roughly eight hundred Loyalists in an early and decisive Revolutionary War victory. After removing bridge planks and greasing the remaining beams, the Patriots forced the Loyalists into a vulnerable single-file crossing and cut them down with gunfire. The defeat shattered Loyalist hopes of restoring royal control in North Carolina, disrupted British invasion plans, and helped push the colony toward independence. The protected site also preserves traces of the 1776 road and the historic bridge area.