 Shortly after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War (April 1775), the members of the Watauga Association organized themselves into the extra-legal "Washington District", a region... "loyal to the united colonies..." They promptly formed a Committee of Safety to oversee it.In the Spring of 1776, the Washington District Committee of Safety drafted a petition asking the Colony of Virginia to annex the district.After Virginia's refusal, a similar petition was drafted (July 5, 1776) asking the North Carolina Assembly to annex the area.