The Rowan County Committee of Safety was instrumental in banning trade with Britain and preparing for the American Revolution.
After December 1776 they came under the control of a more powerful central authority, the North Carolina Council of Safety.
The surviving records show that the committee met on the following dates: Other surviving records include: The instruction to the Salisbury jail keeper were from Griffith Rutherford and instructed the jailer: "John Auston, late of Tryon County, is charged of being an Enemy To Ammerican Liberty, & also Refuses to take the oath Proscribed by the Counsel of Safety of this Provance.
Griffith Rutherford was commander of the Rowan County Regiment and Salisbury District Brigade of the North Carolina Militia.
The Companies referred to in this census were most likely captains in the Rowan County Regiment of the North Carolina militia, which had just been established in August 1775.