Why are people from North Carolina called 'Tarheels'?

Barrow boy

This has recently come up elsewhere in FunTrivia. A lot of replies were received and make quite interesting reading. The common thread is that the term Tarheel existed before the Civil War, probably as a nautical term, but that it was the Civil War which made the term famous - the soldiers from North Carolina fought as if they had tar on their heels in that they would not retreat easily. http://www.funtrivia.com/cgi-bin/details.cgi?Entry=8544 Jun 24 02, 12:05 PM

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