OK, an old Tarheel will wade in here with yet another origin of the name, with no more authentication than that my brother-in-law -- a reasonably good amateur folklorist -- told me.

He said the name came from the fact that when the first settlers hit the coast of North Carolina and started inland, they had to cross a number of slow-moving, silty rivers that criss-cross the coastal plain. In wading the rivers they had their boots covered with a black, tar-like silt -- hence the name applied to those who moved west in the state, but over the years became applied to any resident of the state.

As noted above, the term was used prior to the Civil War and prior to extensive logging (at least in western NC, where I'm from), so I find it a more believable explanation than those linking it to logging and battle prowess.

cheers,

david