Residual stresses were measured in n-type 4H-SiC epilayers having nitrogen-doping levels of 5 x 10(17), 5 x 10(18), and 2 x 10(19) cm(-3) and grown homoepitaxially on n-type 4H-SiC substrates having doping levels between 1.82 and 2.10 x 10(19) cm(-3) (rho = 0.010-0.01 Omega-cm). Radius of curvature measurement of the epilayer/substrate bicrystals indicates the existence of compressive stresses of magnitudes between 250 and 400 Mpa. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) examination of the epilayer/substrate bicrystals, after they were annealed at 1150degreesC in nitrogen for thirty minutes, revealed bands of stacking faults (SFs) confined within the epilayers that have doping levels of 5 x 10(17) cm(-3) and 5 x 10(18) cm(-3). The SFs, some as wide as 80 nm, give rise to a 3C-SiC like stacking sequence. The lowest doping level is approximately two orders of magnitude below the threshold value of 3 x 10(19) cm(-3) previously proposed for the onset of SF generation in thermally annealed epilayers. The residual stress in all the epilayers was above the critical stress for dislocation formation above 1000degreesC in 4H-SiC, thus the partial dislocations giving rise to SI's may be stress induced and can occur across a much wider range of doping levels than previously believed.