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By April 1776, colonists in North America had been at war with Britain for a year. The 13 colonies had formed their own government in Philadelphia, yet had been unable to agree on whether to take the radical step of declaring independence.

The impasse began to break April 12, when the 83 representatives of North Carolina’s Fourth Provincial Congress unanimously agreed that their delegates in Philadelphia should vote for independence. The Halifax Resolves, named after the small town on the Roanoke River where the representatives met, made North Carolina the first colony to formally move toward independence from Britain.

On July 4, three months after the Halifax Resolves, the Second Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence.

By the time of North Carolina’s formal call for independence, Britain’s royal governor had already fled the colony. Patriots had defeated loyalist forces at the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, North Carolina’s first fighting of the Revolution.

Yet approving the Halifax Resolves was a huge step for colonial representatives, says Bob Rosser, a historian and coordinator for the NC250 Project at the John Locke Foundation. “They really were risking their lives,” he says. “If we’d lost, who knows what could have happened?”

When read aloud at the Second Continental Congress, the Halifax Resolves inspired other colonies to formally support independence. On June 7, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia proposed “that these united colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states,” authorizing the process of drafting the Declaration of Independence.

The Halifax Resolves’ role in U.S. independence is memorialized on the North Carolina state flag with a banner bearing the date April 12, 1776. This year, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, the town of Halifax and the Halifax State Historic Site will host celebrations in the days leading up to the anniversary of the historic vote. Festivities include historic reenactments, food and a parade.

“We’re very proud of our part in the Revolution,” says Lori Medlin, chief executive of the Halifax County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The bureau is a sponsor of the Prelude to Revolution: Halifax Resolves Days celebration.