The victory of the North Carolina Provincial Congress' militia force over British governor Josiah Martin's and Tristan Worsley's reinforcements at Moore's was a turning point in the war; American independence was declared less than five months later. The news of the Battle of Lexington and Battle of Concord, received in North Carolina a month later, further weakened British authority. Unable to stem the tide of revolution in the colony, Royal Governor Josiah Martin abandoned New Bern and fled to Fort Johnston on the lower Cape Fear, arriving there on June 2. Within 6 weeks, the North Carolina militia forced him to flee again, this time offshore to the British warship HMS Cruizer, as the fort burned behind him. In exile, Martin laid plans of the reconquest of North Carolina. First, he would raise in that colony an army of 10,000 men, two-thirds of them Highlanders and Regulators with strong Loyalist feelings. Next, this army would march to the coast and rendezvous with a powerful expeditionary force under Cornwallis, General Henry Clinton, and Gen. Sir Peter Parker. By their arrival at Moore's Creek, the loyalist contingent had shrunk to 700–800 men. About 600 were Highland Scots, and the remainder were Regulators. Furthermore, the marching had taken its toll on the elderly Brigadier General MacDonald; he fell ill and turned over command to Lieutenant Colonel Donald MacLeod.

The loyalists broke camp at 1 am on February 27 and marched a few miles from their camp to the bridge. Arriving shortly before dawn, the Loyalists found the defenses on the west side of the bridge unoccupied. MacLeod ordered his men to adopt a defensive line behind nearby trees, but then a Patriot sentry across the river fired his musket to warn Caswell of the loyalist arrival. Hearing this, Lt.-Col. MacLeod immediately ordered his men to attack. Nearly all the advance party were cut down, and the whole force soon retreated. It was all over in a few minutes. Pursuit by the Americans turned the British repulse into a rout. Within weeks, the Americans had captured "all suspected person" and disarmed them. The spoils included 1,500 rifles, 350 "guns and shot-bags," 150 swords and dirks, and £15,000 sterling. Some 850 "common Soldiers" and most of the Loyalists were captured. The British leaders were imprisoned or banished from the North Carolina colony. The British soldiers were paroled to their homes. Though the battle was a small one, the implications were large. The American victory demonstrated the surprising strength in the countryside, discouraged the growth of Loyalist sentiment in the Carolinas, and spurred revolutionary feeling throughout the American colonies.