AC O LONIALOFF I C E R ANDHIS TIME S.

A BIO GR A P HIC A L S KE TC H

H UGH A D D GE N . E LL W ,

NO R TH C A R O LI NA .

WITH NOTI C ES O F TH E F R E N C H A N D I NDI A N WA R I N TH E SOUTHERN C OLON IES ; TH E RESISTAN C E TO THE STAMP A CT I N NORTH CAROLI NA ( WITH CO P IES O F ORIGI N A L DO CUMENTS NEV ER B EFORE P UBLIS HED) ’ TH E REGULATORS WA R ; AND A N HIS TO R I C A L S K ETCH O F TH E FORMER TOWN O F B R NSWIC K ON TH E U ,

CA P E FEA R RIV ER .

BY

A LF R E D MO O R E W A DDE LL.

A G R LEI H ,

DWARDS B RO H TON . E UG , Publishers

1 890 . P Y B CO RIGHT 1 885 Y M . W A DD ELL . MEMORY

OOD I FTED FATH ER BORE WITH AD DED G G , , H ONORS TH E NAME ,

A W D DE LL,

TH E S E P AGES A R E REV ERENTLY D ED I CATED . ’ v n - [From Go . Tryo s Letter Book . $

N O . 59 .

LOR D H ILLSBOROUGH :

8 h n N N 2 t . EWBER , Ja uary , I 77 I

The death of Mr . Heron a nd Mr . Eustace ’ Mc C ulloh s resignation of his seat in Council making two vacancies in his Maj esty ’ s Coun I re co m cil of this Province , take the liberty to ’ * mend for t he King s nomination the three following gentlemen as properly qualified to : sit at that Board , viz Colonel Hugh Waddell ,

Mr . Marmaduke Jones , and Sir Nathaniel

D ukin fi eld . Colonel Waddell h a d the honor to see your

Lordship about two years since in England . He honorably distinguished himself last war while he commanded the provincials of this

Province against the Cherokee Indians , pos sesses an easy fortune , and is in much esteem as a gentleman of honor and spirit .

* B Y —I n a o f v n i n th e NOTE TH E AUTHOR . all c ses aca cy n n r n Cou cil , three ames were forwa ded from which a selectio w a s made . F P R E A C E .

0 s T any one in po session of material , how f ever small , which , i published , would prove to be of historical value, the exhortation of Car

“ b u i n fin ite s sima les t lyle , Were it t the frac

” tion of a product , produce it , may well be , addressed ; and to none with more propriety than to a North Carolinian . The meagreness of the early public records of North Carolina , and the carelessness with which the hi sto ry ' o f

u ' h the State has been written , have lo g een complained of by the historians of the United

States , and have caused almost every notable and creditable event in that history to be

n e le c bee n doubted or denied . Nor has this g t— lite ra ture fo r remedied by biographical , , ex

’ I ‘ ce pti ng Mc R ee s Life and Correspondence of

” ’ “ ames Iredell , Caruthers s Life of Cald

” ’ “ well , and Hubbard s Life of General Wil ” — liam R . Davie no volume aspiring to the title of a biography has ever been published of a North Carolinian , as such . The lives of 6 PREFACE .

— h n some natives of the State the t ree Preside ts , — Jackson , Polk and Johnson , for example have been written , but these lives were passed out

h er of the State , and were not identified with m history . We are al ost as destitute of that sort of literature concerning our distinguished dead as we are of statues or monuments t o their memory . The volumes of Colonial

O e r Records , recently btain d in England unde a n Act of the General Assembly , and now

being published under the intelligent super. l vision of Secretary of State Saunders , wil

- supply the long desired material , and will , doubtless , stimulate some student to the patri otic task of writing a history which will be worthy of the State .

This little book , which is intended for North

a nd to Carolina readers , cannot be expected have much circulation beyond the limits of the

State , is accurate , if nothing else ; and , while purporting to be merely a very imperfect d biographical sketch of General Hugh Wad ell ,

gives some information in regard to me n a n d PREFACE . 7 events I n the Colony between the years I 754

I and 773 which is not familiar to most readers . A sense of duty , stimulated by the expres sions of regret in which several writers have indulged , that no sketch of General Waddell had ever appeared , prompted me to undertak e f it , notwithstanding the di ficulties to be en countered . There was ample material for his biography ffi in his letters , papers , and o cial correspond

h a d ence , which been carefully preserved by his son , and which would have thrown light on the events occurring in the Province and elsewhere during the interesting period in which he lived , but the very means adopted to give value to this material resulted in a total loss of it . His son loaned it to Dr . Hugh

C o n Williamson , who had been a member of

t o gress before , at the time of, and subsequ ent the adoption of the Federal Constitution , and who was then (about the year 1 800) writing a history of North Carolina in New York ; but although the most strenuous efforts were made

’ to recover the papers after Dr . Williamson s 8 PREFACE .

I S I C o d death in 9 , they ul not be found , and all trace of them was lost . He not only failed to

ro mi e o preserve and return them , as he p s d t f do , but made very little use o them in his two queer and unsatisfactory volumes .

Dr . Williamson , although a man of culture

a n d and integrity , was very careless eccentric,

is as his whole career proves , and while his h tory contains some facts not elsewhere to be

found , and is marked in some passages by ,

O f vigor and elegance style , he betrays his

Keltic origin in the climax , and concludes his

i rre e work by a long , elaborate , and utterly l vant dissertation on fevers .

A LFRED MOORE WADD ELL .

W I LM I N TON N . C . G , ,

n 1 88 . Ja uary , 9 NTE T C O N S .

Preface I n troducto ry Letter of Tryo n to Lord Hillsborough

I CHAPTER . — 1 754 1 75 7

GENERAL HUGH WADDELL . — ’ Born i n Irel a n d His Father s Duel a n d Flight to America — Arriva l o f Y ou n g Waddell i n America E nters Military — Ser vice as Lieute n a n t i n I 754 M a kes Treaties with I n dian s — a nd Builds Fort Dobbs Military Service from 1 754 to — 1 758 A Vin dicatio n o f Colo n el James I n n es a nd the North Caroli n a Troops i n the Campaign o f 1 754 2 5

R I I CHAPTE .

1 —1 6 758 7 4 .

’ — Forbes s Expediti o n to Fort D u Quesn e Maj or Wa ddell C o m — ma nds the North Caroli n a Tm ops Sergean t Joh n Rogers Return of North Caroli n a Troops a n d Expedition Agai n st — — the Cherokees Waddell Promoted to Colo n elcy Peace — ’ — Declared E nd of D o b b s s Admi n i stratio n Notice o f th e Dobbs Family

CHAPTER H L

1 765 . — — Tryon Becomes Govern or H i s Character a nd Con duct The — Stamp Act Arrival o f Sloop o f War Dilige n ce at Bru n s ‘ — o n W n a nd wick Col el Waddell , ith Colo el Ashe others , Resists the La n di n g o f the Stamps 73 I O C O NT E NT S .

T CHAP ER IV .

1 68—1 1 7 77 .

’ — — The Regulators War Its O rigi n a n d Histo ry Gen eral Wad ’ dell s Co n n ectio n with it 1 3 0

CHAPTER V . — Th e Social Life of the Colon y M a rri a ge o f Gen eral Wa ddell — — — — H i s Civil Se rvic es F amily De a th Will Co n clusi o n o f Biogra phy 1 8 1

CHAPTER VI .

Historic a l Sketch of Former Town of B run swick Appen dix I NTR D C T Y O U O R .

The Ame rican Colo n ies i n the Early Part o f the Eightee n th — n T T a n a n d n n —Th e Ce tury heir r de , Populatio Gover me t — — Fren ch War Settlemen ts i n North Caroli n a Co n ditio n ’ of the Provi n ce a t the Begi n n i ng of D o bb s s Adm i n i stra n 1 tio n i 754.

The contest between European powers fo r i n i supremacy America , which began w th the

first settlements in the country , did not assume serious proportions until to wards the middle of the eighteenth century , when the increasing trade and population of the New World and the vast possibilities which its future promised , attracted the attention and excited the c upidity

. I of those powers In the year 755 , the strug gle between France and England , which , because of the exhaustion of both p arties , had temporarily ceased with the Treaty of Peace

- - 1 8 at Aix la Chapelle in 74 , was renewed by

France with increased vigor , not only in

Europe , but also in India and America . On

cl a imed th e this continent she l valleys of the

St . Lawrence and the Mississippi , and under took to hem in all the English settlements by a series of fortifications , and to deny to the settlers the right to cross the Alleghany Moun r tians . In purs uance of her purpose , afte I 2 I NTROD UCTORY . securing the Northern frontier by a chain of posts extending from Canada along the lakes and rivers to the back of those settlements , s h e had , as earl y as the month of January ,

1 I 753 , seized an English truck house n the

Twi tw ees g nation , and carried the traders as prisoners to Canada ; and in the latter part o f that year she built Fort Du Quesne on the h Ohio , and erected anot er fortification on the — headwaters of the Alabama river meantime practicing the shrewdest diplomacy I n concili ating and making treaties with a ll the Indian tribes from Canada to Louisiana . A new life seemed to be infused into the administration

n a n d b of Fre ch interests at home a road , while the condition of England was , for once in her

- history , well nigh pitiable . Imbecility marked

h e r . counsels , and disaster followed her arms ’ A fter the miserable failure of Braddock s ex pe d 1 ition against Fort Du Quesne in 755 , which even the butchery in which it ended could scarcely save from universal ridicule , and at t h e close of the year , when the alliance between

England and Prussia was made , there were ,

' * ' a b ut th ree ccording to a reliable authority ,

* ’ Newcastle s preparatio n s fo r the grea t struggle b efo re h i m f b ut may be guessed , rom the fact that there were three regime n ts fi t for se rvice i n E n gla n d at the begi n n i ng of 1 75 69 , ’

n 1 6 . Gree s Short History , page 7 I N T RODUCTORY . 1 3

regiments fit for service in England . The o tw o f llowing years , the first of the Seven Years ’ War— than which “ no war has had

s . greater re ults on the history of the world , or brought greater triumphs to England ” — were so freighted with disaster to her that universal gloom and despondency prevailed . She was ’ humiliated by Admiral B y n g s defeat by A d

Ga li s s o n ie re i n d miral the Me iterranean , by the shameful retreat of the Duke of Cumber land with an army of fifty thousand men before a French force on the Weser , and his agree ment by the Convention of Closter - Seven to nd disba his forces , and by similar events else W “ here , until even the impassive Chesterfield th e u says a thority above quoted , cried in despair , “ ’ We are no longer a nation . It was at this critical period that the genius e of the great st of English statesmen , William a I d Pitt , sserted itself, and mme iately a series of the most splendid tri umphs in English his . i “ tory began Freder ck the Great said , Eng l n I u ; b n o hn e I n la b o r bu t a d. H ee t a l ng , she has at last brought forth a man . Well might

1t he say , for Pitt was his mainstay through t to all his s ruggles , and the support he gave 1 4 I NTRODUCTORY

Prussia led to the creation of the Germa n Em d pire of to ay , j ust as his breaking down of the barriers which the French sought to estab lish in America laid the foundation of the

e . United Stat s In this way Pitt had , indeed , “ unconsciously changed the history of the ” world .

Previous to this time the American Colonies , in the South especially , had suffered from

I $ ndian wars , from pirates , and from the Span i a rds O , who ften threatened and sometimes attacked the coast towns . For a century Spain had maintained a sickly

S O f how authority in Florida , where she had e rected one or two forts which were occupied by a small force , but had made no attempt at any further occupation of the territory , or development of its resources . The j urisdiction over the West Indies was divided . France held Canada , Acadia (or

Nova Scotia) and Lo uisiana . In the two first n 1 amed the population was , in 754 , about s eventy thousand , and in the latter territory about ten thousand . The English held the t erritory on the Atlantic seaboard from Canada t o Georgia , and numbered at the same time a bout o n e million one hundred and sixty thou I NTRODUCTORY . I 5

* sand . They afterwards acquired Canada and

Nova Scotia . The governments i n the English Colonies differed in name more than in character . Some were called Provincial , some Proprietary , and some Charter governments , but all were ulti mately accountable to the Crown These Colonies soon became very valuable as sources of revenue to Great Britain . Before the middle O f the century they were consuming about one - fifth of the woollen manu factures of the mother country— which consti — tute d at that time her chief staple and more th an twice the value of these woollens in linen and calico , while the consumption of silk , furniture , trinkets , and East India goods was large . (In this connection it may be of inter

a s 1 1 6 n est to state that as early 7 , accordi g to a memorial of Mr . Beresford to the Commis si on e rs S of Trade and Plantations , ilk culture i n had been tried South Carolina , and the product had been sent to London where it was “ e x t ra o rdi manufactured , and proves to be of ” nary substance and lustre ) They sent her valuable cargoes , especially of tobacco , which n increased her shippi g , gave employment to

’ M on n . 20 tca lm a nd W ol e b n a . I f f , y Fra cis Parkm Vol , page , 1 6 I NTRODUCTORY .

her people , and aided materially in keeping the balance of trade in her favor as against

- i n . Holland , Portugal and Spa Except as a barrier against the French in Canada , the acquisition of Nova Scotia wa s not a valuable one to England , as the products of that terri r f tory did not add to the resou ces o the latter ,

o . like those of . the ther Colonies Massachusetts did a larger and a more varied

w a s trade than any of them , and the only Colony in which manufacture s were carried

. N on ,to any extent The other orthern Colo nies exported , principally , lumber , fish , live stock , and some naval stores , while the South ern Colonies shipped tobacco , rice , beef, pork , — provision s , naval stores and lumber the last

c t th e u lumber named produ going , as did and

o live stock of the Northern . Col nies , chiefly to ’ “ ' the West Indies . In Mr . Beresford s Me ” a .O t h e mori l , above alluded to , ccurs following “ There are also great quantities of cedar and cypress , far exceeding any Norway deals , being o free from knots , of curi us white color , great

. lengths , proper for flooring of , the most mag h n ifi ce n t buildings . T e cedar for some uses far exceeds any other sort of wood , and , at the request of so me n o bleme n and gentlemen of

. this nation , hath been brought into this king

1 8 INTRODUCTORY .

surrendered by her Trustees to the King , there were only two Proprietary Governments left n n l i n . P e s the country , viz , Maryland and y m vania , and so e of the Royal Governors were * anxious to see these surrendered . All the Southern Colonies were in a defence less condition , both as to their Western frontiers

- and their sea ports . The two Carolinas

’ nomzna l which were ly separated in September ,

1 2 0 7 , when Sir Francis Nicholson was com

‘ missioned roy a l Governor of S oa zlz Carolina although no boundary line had then been even commenced between them— and the Province o f Georgia were exposed to attacks from the French and Indians of the Mississippi river

1 settlements , who , before 73 5 , had built what was called the Alabama fort in the Creek m nation , and had fully garrisoned and ounted it with fourteen pieces of artillery , and later had attempted to build another fort nearer these English settlements . The Creeks were quite numerous and were among the most formidable O f the tribes of the

C hi c k a South , as were also the Choctaws and saws . The Cherokees , Catawbas , and other tribes occupied the territory between them and

* n l 2 . Vo . II . Di widdie Papers , page 73 I NTRODUCTORY . 1 9

the English settlements , and were not so war

i n n like disposition , although as cunni g and merciless when roused . In Florida th e Spaniards had now several strong garrisons , the chief of which was St .

Augustine , and they controlled the Indians of that territory . While they claimed j urisdiction over a much larger area than was in their actual possession , they were not as active and enterprising in pushing their claims , and in making alliances n with the India s as the French , who , after the Mississippi Company surrendered their coun try to the French King , migrated from Canada in considerable numbers to the valley of that river , and acquired complete control of all the

Indians in that region . In 1 74 1 an expedition was fitted out against

o f the Spaniards at Carthagena , on the coast

New Grenada , near the Isthmus of Darien , to which North Carolina contributed a force , under Captain James Innes , but , after a siege w which proved unsuccessful , the forces ere

’ ' re - embarked on Admiral Vernon s fleet and returned . In retaliation the Spaniards , several years after , made forays along the coast , attack ing different places , and amongst others the town of Brunswick on the Cape Fear river , eighteen miles below Wilmington . 2 0 INTRODUCTORY .

The population of these Provinces was sparse , a n d scattered chiefly along the coast belt , but notwithstanding the serio us inj ury to their p rosperity which external foes thus inflicted , and the additional embarrassments caused by t he corrupt and inefficient government from w hich some of them suffered , there was a steady i ncrease of population and trade .

In North Carolina , during the administra t n ion of Governor Gabriel Johnsto , who , at the t 1 2 ime of his death in 75 , had been Governor for eighteen years , the white population had

- increased more than three fold , and at the date above mentioned had reached forty - five thou

1 s and . The exports for the year 75 2 were t hree thousand and three hundred ba rrel s of

- pork and beef, seven hundred and sixty two t - housand staves , sixty one thousand five hun dred and eighty bushels of corn , one hundred

- hogsheads of tobacco , sixty one thousand five h - undred and twenty eight barrels of tar , twelve

fift -fi ve thousand and y barrels of pitch , ten t housand four h undred and twenty - nine bar

- rels of turpentine , and thirty thousand pounds

O f - deer skins , besides an unknown quantity of wheat , rice , potatoes , bacon , lard , indigo , tanned * leather , lumber and other articles .

* a r n l . 2 1 . t . . II . S os . I M i Vol , 5 9 ee p , Ch V , 7 I N T RODUCTORY 2 I

The currency , that perpetual source of t rouble , had , during the same period , steadily * risen tow ards its proper value . Immigration had set in from Scotland , Ireland and Ger many , and from Pennsylvania and Virginia ; and these settlers had located themselves from the coast to that part of the country of the Cherokees and Catawbas east of the Blue

c eill Ridge . Neill M N brought five or six hundred Scotch colonists , landing in Wil m i n t o n 1 g in 749 , and settling in Bladen ,

n a n d n 1 Cumberla d A son ; and again in 754 , a n d re annually thereafter , additions were

1 c eive d to this Colony from Scotland . In 753

’ t h e Um fa s F ra n/a m Moravians , known as the , made their settlement between the Dan and Y adkin , and the emigration from the North of n Ireland to Pennsylvania , and the ce to North C arolina , as well as directly to the latter , was a ctive about the same time . Although a boundary line had been co m m e n ce d between North and South Carolina a s had been done in 1 72 7 between Virginia and North Carolina , and had extended to a point on the Pee Dee river , which was extended 1 6 a few miles further in 7 4 , the territory west

* a n . . . Willi mso Vol I I , page 55 2 2 INTRODUCTORY of the Pee Dee was for many years debatable ground so far as j urisdiction was concerned , although it really belonged to the Catawba and

Cherokee Indians . These Catawbas and Chero kees were not hostile to the English settlers until tampered with by the French , but were rather friendly disposed to them . ’ About the beginning O f Dobb s s administra

1 tion in 754 , however , after the French had built Fort Du Quesne , and scattered their emissaries among them , they began to cause apprehension to the settlers on the Western

a n frontiers . In the same year attempted settlement in that part of the territory beyond

— 1 6 the Blue Ridge which was called in 77 , the

O f 1 8 of District Washington , in 7 4 the State

1 6 Franklin , and , finally , in 79 the State of

Tennessee , was defeated and the settlers were

. 1 6 driven out In 75 , Fort Loudon , named for

h - i n - the new Britis commander chief, the Earl n of Loudo , was built about thirty miles from the present city of Knoxville , and a small per

n zo/z zZ/z w a s f/z e ma ent settlement was made ,

‘ fi rs f A ng lo- A me r ica n setf/emem w esi of f/z e ' ’ l / A Z/og /za m es a z a soul/z of F oa my Ma ma.

o ndo n The Earl of L had not been able , for several reasons , to accomplish much , and he was succeeded in the command of the British INTRODUCTORY . 2 3

forces by General Abercrombie , who began and prosecuted a vigorous campaign again st

a e the French . He w s r pulsed at Ticonderoga b ut captured Cape Breton and afterwards Fort

Frontenac . At the latter place the great loss O f ammunition and provisions which the French

u s e had accumulated there for on the Ohio , caused the abandonment of Fort D u Q uesne when Forbes ’ s expedition approached that s 1 8 tronghold in 75 , and the communication between their Southern settlements and Canada

c o n being thus destroyed , their power on this

ti n e nt . was broken But , although North Caro lina had contributed to the expulsion of the

French from Fort Du Quesne , it was only to aggravate her own troubles , for it resulted in t ransferring French influence and intrigue to the Cherokees on her Western border and kindling anew their animosity , which had been quieted by treaties and acts of conciliation . The result was a series of outbreaks which lasted for more than two years , and which did not leave the settlers in North Carolina in a state of absolute security until the treaty of peace between France and England was made 6 1 6 . 1 in 7 3 Very soon after that event , in 7 5 , the first rumble of the earthquake which w a s to rend the British Empire and separate for 2 4 I NTRODUCTORY .

ever the Colonies from the mother country , was heard in the passage of the Stamp Act ; and te n years later the great convulsion occurred which established American Inde pen den ce .

The subj ect of the following sketch was ,

1 1 u from 755 to 773 , the most conspicuo s mili i n tary figure the Province of North Carolina , but although mentioned as such in all the histories , no connected account of his life and public services has ever been written .

2 6 A C OLO NI A L OFFICER

most eloquent man he ever heard , came with his parents to America from the North of Ire land not long before General Waddell came , and is believed to have been his near relative . A highly respected family O f the same name a re n o w residing at Lisburn . ’ General Waddell s father , who was a choleric

1 2 Irish gentleman , about the year 74 engaged i n a short - sword impromptu duel with another g entleman of like accommodating spirit and killed him ; and such events having at that t ime become so scandalously common in that country as to have caused the severest enact ments against the survivor , the duelist , after sending for a counsellor and mortgaging (as he supposed ) all his property to him , took his little boy , then seven or eight years old , and

e . scaped to America , going to Boston

Remaining there for several years , and until t h e duelling affair was pardoned or forgotten and in the meantime providing for the educa

’ t so n ion of his , he returned with him to Ireland , o nly to discover that the counsellor was dead a n d that the estate , supposed to have been mortgaged , had been conveyed absolutely and h a d passed into other hands . The authority fo r these facts , which is a family tradition , further says that the counsellor was a relative A N D H I S TIMES . 2 7

co n fidi n of the too g duelist , and that the latter was so utterly humiliated and overwhelmed by the double catastrophe that he took to his bed n and died . There is a Irish flavor about the tradition which gives it the stamp of truth . Among the friends of the elder Waddell in

co n sid Ireland was Arthur Dobbs , a man of era ble culture , who had been a member of the

1 1 su Irish Parliament , and who , in 74 , had g gested the expedition to discover a “ northwest ” h n passage , whic Captai Middleton undertook the next year . Partly because of his supposed

f be enterprising spirit , but chie ly , probably , — cause O f his super serviceable loyalty to the reigning family and his extravagant notions

1 of the kingly prerogative , Dobbs was , in 75 3 , appointed Governor of North Carolina , and qualified by taking the oaths of office at Newbern

1 on the first day of November , 754 . Whether he had been in the Province previous to his appointment as Governor , or not , does not

r 1 appear , but he had , as early as Janua y 4th ,

1 73 5 , received from Governor Gabriel Johnston a grant for acres on the “ Largest Branch ” ‘i‘ D u li n of Black River , in pp County ( com m o n l s e lle d y p Duplin ) , and had purchased lands in Anson County from M c C ulI o ch .

7“‘ li S o n amed i n ho n or o f Lord D u p p n . 2 8 A COLONIAL OFFICER

Before Governor DO bb s came over to assume i n his office , young Waddell had arrived the

Province , having , doubtless , been sent in

1 1 advance , and arriving in 753 or early in 754 . He was a Lieutenant in Colonel James Innes ’ regiment which went to Virginia in the spring — of 1 754 a full account of which will presently — * be given and was made a Captain there . This was during the administratio n of Matthew

Rowan , President of the Council , who was acting Governor until the arrival of Dobbs , and was the first appearance of Waddell in the history of the P rovi n ce flr

At the time Dobbs was appointed Governor , the Province was in a condition requiring more than ordinary ability in the Executive , and this ability the aged Governor sadly lacked .

When the Legislature assembled , six weeks after his qualification at Newbern , his first recommendation to the body was to fix a per manent and adequate revenue on the Crown to

* n b o f T . . . . Gover or Do bs to the Board rade Col Rec , vol V ,

2 n . I 6 . 79 ; Di widdie Papers , vol , 3 7 TH i s fi rst civil service was re n dered a fter his return from that i n n w a s i n a nd a exped tio , whe he appo ted served for sever l n o f n a n d o f mo ths as Clerk the Cou cil , this writer has two the origi n al orders of the Coun cil i n his han dwriti ng a n d with his n v 1 0th 1 sig ature attached , dated respecti ely December , 754, a n d n l o th 1 i n o f Ja uary , 755 , which are a good state preserva n tio . D A N H I S TIMES . 2 9

meet the expenses of government , and the next was to provide a proper salary for the

Governor . The latter suggestion did not seem to excite much enthusiasm among the mem bers of the Legislature , as no notice was taken of it ; but they promptly voted eight thousand pounds for the defence of the Province , laid tonnage duties , payable in powder and lead allowed bounties for facilitating enlistments , and considered and acted upon such other re co m men da ti o n s of the Governor as they deemed important , especially the reorganization of the Court system for the better prevention

O f — crimes , one of which the counterfeiting of — bills O f credit had become an alarming evil .

But , although Dobbs was not fully equal to all the requirements of his position , especially in some matters of civil administration , he was prompt and earnest in his efforts to render the Crown all the assistance in his power in the war with the French .

i n 1 Early April , 755 , in answer to the request

- of the ill fated Braddock , who had , not long before , arrived with his fine English troops at f Va . O Williamsburg , , he met some the other n Governors of the Provi ces at Alexandria , where the three celebrated expeditions against n Fort Du Quesne , Fro tenac and Crown Point 3 0 A COLONIAL OFF ICER

were agreed upon , neither of which was suc ce ssful , but the last named of which inspired

h a ckb ur Dr . S g to compose the tune of Yankee * Doodle . After his return from the meeting of the Governors , and during th e summer , Governor Dobbs visited the Western frontier of North Carolina— as the region around Salis bury was then called— to select sites for the erection of fortifications , and also made a tour along the seacoast to ascertain where he could

a dditl o n a l erect forts to those then completed , or in process of completion , at the mouth of the Cape Fear River , at Topsail Inlet , at Bear

O c ra co ke Inlet and at j Upon his return , and at the meeting of the Legislature at Newbern

2 fo rt the on the sth September , he set h; , condi tion of the Province , the increasing danger of French supremacy over all the territory west

A lle ha n ie s of the g from Canada to Louisiana , their growing influence over the Indians and

This is the ge n erally accepted origi n o f Y an kee Doodle ; n a nd a n n n o f n n but it is de ied , i teresti g history its origi is give “ ” f r i n n n o . Glea i gs the Curious , page 3 53 TTh e fort at the mouth o f the Cape Fear was n amed Fort n n f n n n Joh sto a ter Gover or Gabriel Joh sto , was authorized by o f 1 i n 1 8 n n n i n Act 745 , completed 74 , made a quara ti e statio 1 n n n 1 76 . Captai Joh Dalrymple was appoi ted its comma n der

n i n 1 . T O by Ge eral Braddock May , 755 he Fort at cracoke was n n amed Fort Gra ville . D A N H I S TIMES . 3 1 the necessity for renewed exertions to defeat their schemes . He earnestly appealed to them in the King ’ s name to grant as large a sum as possible , consistent with the resources of the

Province , to defend the frontier and to assist in offensive O perations against the enemy . He urged , in this connection , the erection of a fort between Third and Fourth Creeks near the

South Yadkin River , in Rowan County , which was regarded as nearly a central point 011 th e frontier between the Northern and Southern boundaries of the Province .

In response to this appeal , the Legislature appropriated ten thousand pounds for the erec th e a tion of fort at that point , and for r ising and equipping and paying three companies o f

fifty men each , exclusive of commissioned officers . And now the name O f Hugh Waddell began to be conspicuous in North Carolina annals .

He had already acquired some reputation , and had been promoted in the expedition of 1 754 — although not yet of age as appears , not only ’ from Governor Dobbs letter already cited , but ’ from the following passage in Williamson s History * in regard to the necessity which arose

I I a 86 Volume , p ge . 3 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER

: for treating with the Indians at that time , viz “ For this purpose , Hugh Waddell , of Rowan f County , an o ficer of great firmness and integ r C a ity , was commissioned to treat with the ” t a w b a and Cherokee Indians . Whether there is any other reason for giving Rowan County a s his residence at that time than is to be found in the fact that o ne of t h e first grants of hi m land to was located there , and that his military service at that time was rendered there , is unkno w n . There is a deed recorded in New

co n Hanover County for a lot in Wilmington , “ ve yed by Edward Moseley to his loving ” “ friend Hugh Waddell which is dated. Fort

th 1 6 1 i n Dobbs , March 9 , 7 , which both parties are described as of Rowan County , but , as

Moseley never lived in Rowan , it is evident that the place where the deed wa s ma de is given as their residence They were both on military duty there then , and most of the grants to Waddell up to that time were for lands in Anson County . The treaty referred to by Williamson was

1 6 made by Captain Waddell in 75 , about the time he built the fort authorized by the Assem

1 n bly in the fall of 75 5 above me tioned . It was a treaty offensive and defensive , and was executed o n behalf of the Catawbas by Ora

3 4 A C OLONIAL OFFICER while the workmen were engaged in building ’ the work , under Captain Waddell s direction , he was surprised at receiving an order from

Governor Dobbs to discharge them , for the reason that he , Dobbs , had received a message from Governor Lyttleton saying that the Indians desired that 110 fort should be built except by South Carolina . Dobbs instructed Captain Waddell at the same time to inquire into and ascertain the meaning of such c o n i d . n uct Where this Catawba Indian fort , tended for their protection , is built is not * k n own ; but the fort between the Third and

Fourth Creeks , in Rowan , authorized by the

1 Legislature in 75 5 , was built by Captain Waddell previou sly to his commenci ng the work for the Indian s and was named Fort

Dobbs . Whether he had any engineering skill or not does not appear , but very little , if any , was required in the works erected for defence against Indian attacks . In a letter to

o ndo n 1 0th 1 6 the Earl of L , of date July , 75 ,

O f Governor Dobbs , speaking the necessity for “ : a fort at Lookout Harbor , says As I have no engineer here , nor know how to get one , I

I i s n O ld F ort i n t supposed to have bee the same as , Mc $ n Dowel Cou ty . A N D HIS TIMES . 3 5

was obliged to act as engineer myself, and rub up my former knowledge in fortifications when

I was in the army , and have accordingly drawn ”

& c . up a plan , A very unique description of Fort Dobbs was given in the report of the Com missioners , Francis Brown and Richard Cas well , to the Legislature . They had been sent out to view the Western settlements , to examine localities suitable for additional forts , and to inspect Fort Dobbs , and in regard to the latter they reported as follo w s : “ And that they had likewise viewed the

State of Fort Dobbs , and found it to be a good a n d Substantial Building of the Dime n t i o n s followi n g (that is to say) The Oblong Square

fifty three feet by forty , the opposite Angles

Twenty four feet and Twenty - Two In height Twenty four and a half feet as by the Plan annexed Appears , The Thickness of the Walls which are made of Oak Logs regularly dimin i s h ed from sixteen Inches to Six , it contains m th ree floors , and there may be discharged fro each floor at one and the same time about one hundred Mu s ke tts the same is beautifully sit u a ted in the fork of Fourth Creek a Branch of the Yadkin River . And they also found under Command of Capt Hugh Wad'del Forty six Effective me n Offi cers and Soldiers as by the 3 6 A C OLONIA L OFFICER

List to the said Report Annexed Appears the same being sworn to by the said Capt in their Presence the said Officers and Soldiers Appear — ing well and in good Spirits Signed the 2 1 s t day of December 1 756 FRA NCIS B ROWN

R ICHAR D C ASWELL . Captain Waddell was twenty - o ne years old when this work was erected , and j udging by his rank and the importance of the business him n entrusted to , it is reaso able to suppose that he had already exhibited the qualities which afterwards made him the highest mili tary officer in the Provi n ce before -h e had

- attai ned the age of thirty fi ve . He remained O I I frontier duty during the

1 6 year 75 , and until the latter part of Novem

1 ber , 75 7 , when he took his seat for the first time in the General Assembly as a member from Rowan County , having been elected to fill a vacancy caused b y the expulsion from that body of a member from that County .

1 During 75 7 , in addition to commencing the fort for the Catawbas which Governor Lyttle

o f ton , South Carolina , interfered with , he was called upo n to make a very long and tedious march with his command over an exceedingly A N D H I S TIMES . 3 7

o udO n rough country to the relief of Fort L , L where Captain Paul De me rej w a s in great danger . This fort was built by Andrew Lewis

o n do n under orders from the Earl of L , Com

- i n - mander Chief, and was situated on the South ern bank of the Tennessee River , about thirty miles from the present city of Knoxville , and was the northernmost of a series of forts c o m me n ci n n g at Augusta , Georgia , and extendi g u p the Savannah River . Lewis informed Governor Dobbs that nego tia tio n s were going on between the French and

N a n to w ee s the Cherokees , and Savannahs , and that after the fort was built , and after Captain

Demere , who had been sent there with a garri

o f son two hundred men , had taken possession , the Cherokees expressed great dissatisfaction at the presence of so many armed men among them and desired that they should be sent back . Lewis said their intention was to take the fort and surrender it to the French . Upon this information Captain Waddell was sent out with rei nfo rce me n ts i

* T Lo nd o n n n . here was also a Fort at Wi chester , Virgi ia

i - n M s n n i n N . . T spelled De ie all . C histories He was Captai o f the South Caroli n a I n depen de n t Compan y after Captai n M a cK a e n n i n 1 60 a nd y . Comma ded at Fort Pri ce George 7 , w a s killed by the Cherokees . M a rti n . II 0 . i , vol , page 9 3 8 A C OLONI AL OFFICER

A i i exami n ation of a map of the country over which this march had to be made , will give som e idea of the kind of service required O f Provincial troops at that time The dis tance by the route taken w a s more than two hundred miles , the whole territory was covered by an unbroken forest , and nearl y h alf of it was a wilderness of mountain ranges higher than any on the continent east of the Rocky

Mountains . There were no roads except I n dian trails , and no inhabitants save the savage and treacherous red man .

1 D Again , during the year 75 7 , Governor obbs was asked to ren der aid to South Caroli n a where , as Governor Lyttleton informed him , the Indians , continually instigated by the

French , were becoming very troublesome and would soon , unless aid was extended , be beyond his power to control . The Legislature granted the aid asked , and it is probable that Captain Waddell was again ordered to march his co m mand to the relief of the sister Colony , but there is no record of the expedition .

011 He remained frontier duty , as already i n stated , until elected to the Assembly , which

0 11 2 8 th body he took his seat the November ,

1 011 75 7 , and the adj ournment of the Assembly he returned to his command , and soon after , A N D HIS TIMES . 3 9

i n M a 1 8 t h e y , 75 , was promoted to rank of \

Maj or , and assigned to the command of the three companies raised for the final expedition against Fort Du Quesne under General Forbes , a n account O f which w ill be given in the next chapter .

Before proceeding to an account of that expedition , however , it will be alike pertinent to the subj ect , and eminently due to the mem ory of another brave and faithful North Caro lina Colonial officer , to recite the facts in regard

1 to the campaign of 754 , with which he , and the soldiers under him , were connected , and concerning which there has been some my sti i fi c a t o n and much misrepresentation . The

1 88 publication , in 4, of the Dinwiddie P a ” pers by the Historical Society of Virginia , has thrown much light on the subj ect , although if both sides of the correspondence between Governor Dinwiddie and that officer could have

a nd been preserved published , the facts would be much clearer than they are .

1 At the beginning of the year 754 , while w Matthe Rowan , President of the Council , was acting Governor of North Carolina , and before m the arrival of Governor Dobbs , the Asse bly 40 A COLONIAL OFFICER

— had voted as they always did , though other *— Colonies failed a liberal sum of money in aid of Virginia to repel French invasion and maintain the right of Great Britain to the territory alo n g the Ohio a n d its tributa

’ h rsf l z me ries . T is was the fi in our Colonial history that troops were raised by a Colony ' ’ ' 10 se r ve on ls za e of z ls borde rs i n [ne eorn mon d e ence o a ll f f , and the spirit thereby manifested ’ exhibited itself afterwards i n the fi rst a rmea

A ct m resistance to the Stamp in A erica , and

‘ in the fi rsz D ecla ra ti on of Independence . On the 2 3 d O f March Governor Dinwiddie acknowledged the receipt of a letter from Presi i d o f . n dent Rowan , by the han s Mr Ashe , regard to the action of North Carolina , and expressed his pleasure thereat . He said his own Assembly were much divided , that a spirit of contention existed among them , and that they had voted only for the imme diate raising of 3 00 men to j oin and escort a

1 00 company of men , then on the Ohio , for the purpose of building a fort ; but he did not doubt that they would raise a much larger sum for the general defence . He said that as

“ E n n o t o n e r n xcept North Caroli a , of the othe Colo ies has ” n a n n n n gra ted y supplies . Gover or Di widdie to C . Ha bury , l oth 1 May , 754 .

4 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER

It would seem that Colonel Innes had alluded to his own age as a possible diffi culty in his way , and also to the expectations of the Vir

i n i a n s g in regard to the command of the troops , “ for Governor Dinwiddie says : Your age is nothing when you reflect on your regular ” “ : method of living . And again As for the expectations of the people here , I always have regard to merit , and I know yours , and you ” need not mind or fear any reflections . Colonel Innes reported in person to Gov e rn o r 1 th Dinwiddie promptly , and on the 5

April , took a letter from him to President

Rowan , from which it appears that there had been a full conference between them in regard to the North Carolina forces . “ Colonel Joshua Fry , an English gentle

a t man , bred was made Commander

- i n Chief O f the expedition . Lieutenant Colonel George Washington started from Alexandria on the 1 0th May with the first detachment of

1 0 -fi ve 5 men , and had arrived within seventy miles of the place selected for the erection of l the fort at the Forks of the Monongahe a , when he learned that a French force had come down o n the company building it and had captured it .

* /l[ on t l fn n o n 2 d b n a V l . 1 ea a W e o . lf , y Fra cis Parkm , I , 4 N D I A H S TIMES . 43

Washington then went into camp and awaited reinforcements . Colonel Fry was taken ill , and there was great delay in moving his command ’ to Washington s assistance . About the first

' th of June Colonel Fry died , and on the 4 Gov e rn or D inwiddie , writing to Washington , whom he had promoted to the Colonelcy of the Vir ’ ginia regiment in Fry s stead , informed him

O ld that Colonel James Innes , an experienced ffi o cer , is daily expected , who is appointed

- i n - Commander Chief of all the forces , which I am very sensible will be very agreeable to you ” and the other officers . On the same day he made out Colonel Innes ’ commission as Com

- - in . mander Chief, and his instructions On the 1 0th n , Washingto , acknowledging the receipt “ : of the letter to him , says I rej oice that I am likely to be happy under the command of a n experienced offi cer a n d man of sense . It is what I have ardently wished for ” On the 2 0th , Governor Dinwiddie , writing to the Gov cruor of New York , announced the arrival of the two companies from that Province , but complained bitterly that they were not only ” not Compleat in Numbers , as promised , but that many were too old to stand a march of two hundred miles that they had no blank ets , tents or provisions , and were burthened 44 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

— with thirty women and children a decidedly

F a l sta ffi a n c o mbi n a t1o n .

About the last of June , the North Carolina troops , which , upon the discovery that each O f the Colonies would have to support its o w n

i n 0 forces , had been reduced number from 75 ,

i 0 the force or ginally determined upon , to 45 , b egan to arrive at Winchester , having marched through the country instead of taking ship t o Din w id Hampton , as suggested by Governor die , and about the same time Colonel Wash i n gton was complaining to the Governor that his command had had no flour for six days , and could not hear of any on the way to them ; that they did not have provisions of any sort for two days ahead , and that they were in want of ammunition . Colonel Innes was also writing to Governor Dinwiddie about the wretched mismanagement of the expedition and the want of supplies of

1 1 th O f all sorts ; and , finally , on the July , he informed him that unless something was done he should disband the North Carolina regiment and let them go home . They were not only without supplies , but their pay was in arrears and they could not buy what they needed . Governor Dinwiddie declined to advance any “ money to them , saying , Our own regiment N D I A H S TIMES . 45

ca n has got all the money I spare , and repeat ing that each Colony must subsist its o w n forces . He said he and the Quartermaster and Commissary were i n advance to the North

’ ‘ ’ a na ex eezea a menl rom Carolina regiment , p p y f I ke produce of Me pork broag nl from N orZ/z

C a roli na , or purchased by Innes , and he advised the latter to consult Governor Dobbs as to “ what he should do for the future , and it is probable he will find some method of keeping your regiment together for eight months ” longer . After telling him to c a ll a council of O fficers to consult about building a log fort and magazine , and saying that he did not wish

&c . &c . him to proceed towards the Ohio , , , he “ a gain informs him as follows : I can give no o rders for entertaining your regiment , as this Dominion will maintain none but their own f ” orces . At the same time , as appears by D ’ Governor inwiddie s letter to Abercrombie , he was supplying the two independent companies from New York , and the independent company u from So th Carolina , with everything they needed , except their pay , which came out of “ the royal revenue , viz tents , blankets , ket n tles , k apsacks , spatterdashes , wagons and ” provisions , and the South Carolina company a had gone to the front and j oined W shington , 46 A COLONIAL OFFICER

o n d and the 3 of July had surrendered , with the force under him , at the Great Meadows , after a gallant engagement with much supe rior numbers .

Colonel Innes , who was at Winchester , where s the forces were to a semble , soon discovered a strong feeling among the Virginians against his appointment to the chief command , and a mutinous disposition soon developed itself among them , which he reported to the Gov ern o r , who said he was sorry for it , and added that they had been greatly fatigued and not “ properly paid , but as money is ordered for ” them I hope they will proceed with Spirit . The North Carolina troops were not recruited rapidly , and , from various causes , were slow in getting to Virginia . They were , doubtless , apprehensive of the very resu lt which hap pened . Knowing that their number had been l reduced from that original y intended , because of the difficulty of supporting such a force

O f beyond the limits the Province , where the only money they had would not pass current , they doubtless began the service with mi sgi v ings . Finding after they got to Virginia that they were in danger of starvation , and that the Virginians were mutinous about Colonel Innes ’ appointment , and that Governor Dinwiddie N D I A H S TIMES . 47 demanded that they should not receive more than eight pence a day , and that he had written to Colonel Innes they cannot have the impu ' dence to expect more than eight pence a day , as the other forces have , and if you cannot compel them to serve for it I think they had ” better be disbanded , and Governor Dinwiddie

i n a dva nce having expressed the opinion , of any knowledge on the subj ect , that their com

O f pany ficers were incompetent , and the situa tion having become well - nigh desperate under the pressure of such circumstances , Colonel

Innes disbanded them .

These are the facts in regard to this matter , as gathered from the correspondence of Gov ern or Dinwiddie himself, recently published , but they do not so appear upon the page of history . There the North Carolina troops are represented (as one writer puts it) as having “ disbanded themselves in a very disorderly “ manner , and to this unmilitary conduct and lack O f patriotism is attributed the fail ure of the proj ected expedition against the * O f French . None the reasons for their con

a re duct given , except such as make them appear i n an unfavorable light .

* ’ ’ ” S a rk s s n t n n Vo l . II 6 n . p Washi g o s Writi gs , , page 3 , ote 4 8 A COLONIAL OFFICER

n Colo el Innes was ordered. to build a fort on ’ W ills s Creek , afterwards called Fort Cumber

a . land , as rallying point , and did so He remained there i n command with about 400 m en , only forty of whom were North Caro

li ni a n s . The Virginia Assembly met on the 2 2 d day 2 th of August , and on the 7 passed a supply bill for 4 but the next day put a “ rider ” on it , to pay a private account , greatly to the D disgust of Governor inwiddie , who called it

a rider in a letter to Governor Hamilton , and said in a letter to Lord Fairfax , I imagine your Lordship , in your observation of the Par ’ li a men t s proceedings , does not remember any tack to a money bill since King William ’ s ” reign.

The Council rej ected the bill thus clogged , and as the H ouse stuck to their rider ” the Governor prorogued them until the 1 7th Octo

' ber . This refusal to vote money to support the troops , although ostensibly because of the “ ” failure of the rider , was really because Colonel Innes was occupying the position which the Assembly thought Washington ought to have , and , consequently , there was no attempt at a movement against the French . Colonel Innes became very restive under his

A COLONIAL OFFICER

of the Captains of the independent companies , who refused to recognize their superior rank . Governor Sharpe never had an opportunity to display his military skill that year , and the next year Braddock was sent out from Eng

o f land as commander the forces . Colonel Innes remained at Fort Cumberland making treaties with the Indians and organ izing the forces while completing the fort ;

2 th 1 and on the 4 June , 755 , was appointed “ Governor of Fort Cumberland ” by General

Braddock , and left in command there when d Braddock advance on his hapless march . And there he received the broken fugitives from th e fatal field , and there he was abandoned by D Colonel unbar , who succeeded Braddock in “ - the command , and who precipitately went into winter—quarters ” (in August) in Phila

00 delphia , leaving Innes with 4 sick and wounded , and a handful of Provincials to

- defend the frontier . And there this ill used but true and loyal soldier continued to do his duty to his King and country faithfully and in the face of all sorts of difficulties until the

1 6 spring of 75 , when he returned to North

Carolina o n le a ve of absence .

Sparks , in a note to his edition of Wash ’ i n to n s Vo l . g Writings ( II , page says D I A N H S TIMES . 5 1

C that olonel Innes was incompetent , and that ,

i n h a bi aside from his incompetency , he was an tant of North Carolina , and , as such , was unacceptable to the Virginia troops , and that Governor Dinwiddie was censured on the ground that he was partial to Innes because he and Innes were both natives of Scotland . The charge of incompetency was not supported by any evidence whatever , unless Colonel Innes ’ patient endurance of ungenerous treat ment , his urgent requests to be sent to the o front , and the commendation of Govern r Din

ondo n - i n widdie , and Lord L , the Commander

Chief, can be twisted into such evidence . He had served as a Captain in the expedition

1 0 against Carthagena in 74 , and was an inti ’ o f mate friend Washington s elder brother ,

Maj or Lawrence Washington , who was also a ’ Captain in Colonel Wm . Gooch s Virginia regiment in that affair . That he was not the equal of Washington may be cordially admitted , but it is to be remembered that , at that time , Washington himself had been the victim of two disasters the surrender at the Great Meadows and Brad ’ — dock s defeat and that no O pportunity had been presented for the exhibition of his great capacity ; and further , that , however absurd a 5 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER c omparison between him and Washington may

r S l tu a tiO n n o t now appea , the then did j ustify ’ m Mr . Sparks criticis , which is thus com me n ted upon because it was the basis upon which many , if not all , subsequent writers have

$ rested their discussion of the campaigns of

1 754 55 . Mr . Sparks was entirely j ustified , * n however , in characterizing as atural the asser tion of their “ rights ” in the affair by the

Virginians , for three years afterwards the

Virginia Assembly , being dissatisfied with the ’ manner i n which Forbes expedition was man “ aged , and with the partiality which they i ” magined was shown to Pennsylvania , passed

1 1 8 an act on the 4th of September , 75 , to with draw the first regiment (Washington ’ s) from the Regulars o n the 1 st December and station it on the frontiers of their own Colony - which would have amounted to a wit hdrawal of all t h e Virginia troops , as the time of enlistment ’ o f the seeona regiment expired on the 1 st of D ecember , while the first regiment was enlisted fo r the war .

The foregoing narrative of facts , which is now for the first time compiled , is given in j ustice to the memory of a good and true man ,

* S Vo l . I a 08 no . parks , I , p ge 3 , te A N D H I S TIMES . 53 who died a childless b enefa ctO r of the children

- i of his poorer fellow cit zens . And as a proper con cl usmn to it , the following biographical data are added :

James Innes was born , as is inferred from a

C a nnisb a clause in his will , at y , in Caithness which is in the extreme Northern part of Scot “ ’ ’ ”

O Gro a t s . land , near John house He prob ably came to the Province of North Carolina with Governor Gabriel Johnston , as he was . recommended for appointment to the Council

1 1 . in 73 4 , and was living in the Province in 73 5

He was a member of the Council from July ,

1 0 1 d 75 , to May , 759 , having previously serve as Captain in the expedition to Carthagena , ’ and having been one of Lord Granville s agents , H and Colonel of the New Hanover militia . e

th 1 died on the 5 of September , 759 , at Wil i n m ton . g By his will , which was made July h 1 t Va . 5 , 754 , at Winchester , , which was proved before Governor Dobbs at Newbern , October

th 1 9 , 759 , and is registered in New Hanover

County , Colonel Innes , after directing that a “ remittance may be made to Edinburg s ufficient to pay for a church bell for the Parish Church at ” C a n ni sba y , in Caithness , and a further remit

b e tance of one hundred pounds sterling , to put at interest for the poor of said Parish , gave 54 A COLONIAL OFFICER

” his plantation , Point Pleasant , near Wil mingtou , a considerable personal estate his library and one hundred pounds sterling for the use of a free school for the ben efit of the ” i youth of North Carol na , and appointed as “ trustees of the fund the C 011: (Colonel) O f

New Hanover regiment , the Parson of Wil u h mingto C urch , and the Vestry for the time '

. Tnzs wa s being , or the maj ority of them

’ tlze fi rst p rz z/a le bequest for educa tiona l purposes ' i n Me nzstor o N ortn C a roli na y f , and in the same year ( 1 754) the first appropriation by the

Legislature for a public seminary was made .

The Trustees , under his will , recovered very little of his property , the houses having been burned , but the Innes Academy was started

1 8 under an act of the Legislature of 7 3 , and was kept up for some time by private sub scription. ’ n 1 6 1 Colonel In es widow Jean , in 7 , married ’ Francis Corbin , Lord Granville s agent , a member of the Council , who was removed

1 therefrom in 760 . A N D H I S TIMES . 55

CH A PTE R II .

— 4 1 7 5 8 1 7 6 .

’ — Fo rb es Expedition to Fort D u Ques n e Maj or Waddell Com : — man ds the No rth Caroli n a Troops S e rge a n t Jo h n Rogers Return o f th e North Caro li n a Troops a n d Expedition — Agai n st th e Chero kees Wa ddell promoted to a Colo — — ’ ne l cy Peace Declared E nd of Dob bs Admi n istra tion f ’ Notice o Do bb s Family .

HE forces on Braddock ’ s expedition in

1 a 755 , numbered bout two thousand, one half of whom were Provincial troops , and of these North Carolina furnished less than one ’ hundred , under Dobbs son , Edward Brice

D . C obbs , as Maj or These North arolinians ’ were not engaged in Braddock s fight , but were with the reserve corps under Dunbar . The other half of Braddock ’ s army was composed of two regiments of British Regulars from Ire th 8th land , the 44 and 4 , numbering five hun dred men each , and commanded respectively by Sir Peter H a lket and Colonel Dunbar .

These regiments , which were said to be equal i n to any the British army , were accompanied by an artillery train and military supplies . The terrible disaster which befell the e x pe 56 A C OLONIAL OFFICER dition is familiar to every reader of American history , and a touching account of the discovery of the remains of Sir Peter H a lk et and his young son who fought by his side , when Forbes ’ expedition reached the battlefield three years afterwards , is given by Bancroft

1 8 The expedition of 75 , under General

Forbes , was more than three times as large as ’ Braddock s , and consisted of Highlanders , — 3 50 Royal Americans a Specially organized — corps about Pennsylvanians , Vir

i ni a n s 2 0 g , 5 Marylanders , and three companies of North Carolinians , with whom were some

Indians . Braddock ’ s expedition ended in an awful butchery and a disgraceful panic and flight of

W c the British Regulars , hi h the heroic conduct of Washington and his Provincials could not avail to arrest . ’ S ix Forbes expedition terminated , after months of terrible hardships , in the occupation of the smoking ruins of a fort from which the enemy had fled .

There is , to the reader of the present day , a

th e profound pathos in letters of Washington , written during the period covered by these two expeditions . The constant and numerous difficulties and

5 8 A C OLONIA L OFFICER nies authorized to be recruited by the act of

Assembly granting aid to the expedition , in ’ a n swer to Mr . Pitt s appeal to the Colonies . n He at o ce proceeded to organize , equip and h m prepare the troops for t eir long arch , and as soon as they were ready he set out with them for Virginia . There was n o complaint of delay in his

fre getting to the front , as there had been quently by Governor Dinwiddie in regard to the North Carolina forces in the two previou s expeditions O f 1 754 and 1 75 5 . He marched promptly to Virgin ia and went thence to th e front immediately . The writer of these pages now has a field return made ‘ by Maj or Wad d ll a e on that expedition . It is written on Sheet about eight inches in length by five

a inches in breadth , in very clear , legible hand , and although the pa pe r i s somewhat worn and in k discolored , the is comparatively fresh “ looking . It is headed : A Field Return of the North Carolina Detachment under the c o m

‘ H a n n o n 2 th mand of Maj or Waddell , Loyal fi 5

1 8 ; th e October 75 Besides officers , there are

- but twenty six men on the return , but imme

* n n i n Gover or Di widd e Spelled this n ame Loyal he n n i g . i s n It Loyal Ha n a . ' ' AND H I S TIMES . 59

di a te l y under it , and before his signature , ”

H u : . . Waddell Maj N C Troops , there is 2 6 6 an addition of the figures and 9 , and a

1 2 2 footing of , which was , doubtless , his effect ive force . The date and place of this field return fully corroborate the statement after wards made by Governor Dobbs th at Maj or “ Waddell had great honor done him , being employed on all reconnoitering parties ” on n this expeditio . One O f those minor events which so often shape history , but are lost sight of in general ’ results , occurred to Maj or Waddell s command — on this expedition ; but , although as has been the case with so many more important facts — in the history of North Carolina no credit has ever been given for it , it is nevertheless true that the North Carolina companies were in ’ the advance corps of Forbes s army , scouting , reco n n oiteri n g , clearing roads , building bridges and boats , and rendering the most valuable service ; and that to a Sergeant of Maj or W a d

’ ‘ n R o e rs dell s comma d , named John g fi General Forbes was indebted for the information which caused t he immediate advance and occupation

* A t T 1 6 I n f o f N e w n August erm , 7 5 , the erior Court Ha over n n W i i n Cou ty , of which Ge eral addell was a Mag strate , appo ted n r a n Joh Roge s Co stable . 60 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

of the fort . They had been in the advance corps from the beginning , and before Wash

c i n t o n a lica ti on g had , upon his own earnest pp fi been assigned to that command . This is evident , ’ from the fact that Maj or Waddell s field return , already mentioned , is dated at Loyal Hanna 2 on the sth October , while Colonel Washing ton did not reach th at point in the advance until the 3 o th .

Washington , who had saved the remnant of ’ Braddock s expedition three years before , although treated with great consideration and freely consulted by General Forbes , was greatly apprehensive that the persistent refusal to act upon his advice would defeat the purpose of b the expedition , as appears y his letter of Sep I temper st to Speaker Robinson , in which he “ said : Nothing now but a miracle can bring ” this campaign to a happy issue . When , m d finally , the accu ulating obstacles , elays and

Colo n el Stephe n gives me some room to apprehe n d that b o f n o n I r n t a ody light troops may soo move ” pray you i teres most Sin cerely with the Ge n eral to get my regime n t a n d myself n i n n a n n n to O a n i cluded the umb er . If y argume t is eeded bt i f I n I s a this avor , hope , without va ity , may be allowed to y , t n n a n d f n tha from lo g i timacy with these woods , reque t scout i n i n m e n n g them , my are at least as well acquai ted with all a n d ffi a n the passes di culties as y troops that will be employed . n n n 2 1 Washi gto to Colo el Bouquet , July . N D I A H S TIMES . 6 1 embarrassments culminated in a council of war , at which the alternative was presented of going into winter quarters or abandoning “ ” the expedition , a mere accident , as Sparks “ says , occurred , which brought hope out of ” despair . This mere accident , which all the historians mention , and to which Washington himself alludes as a Providential occurrence ,

' the c a but without mentioning any names , was p ture of an Indian from whom the true situation of affairs at Fort Du Quesne was learned . But although this mere accident , or , in other words , this event of absolutely vital importance to the success of this formidable expedition , which n established E glish supremacy in the South , is carefully recorded , the person who was so fortunate as to accomplish this mere accident

- is as carefully ignored , to wit , Sergeant John

Rogers of the North Carolina forces . It was

con a little thing to do , perhaps , but Forbes s idere d the importance of doing it so great that

O f he offered a reward fifty guineas , and another O fficer offered a reward of four hun dred guineas* to any one who would take an

i n fo r Indian prisoner , so that they might get

* n f h n n o Petitio o J o Rogers to th e Assembly . Colo ial Rec rds f N . . 8 o C . I . , Vol V , 3 4 6 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

’ mation of the enemy s movements . Rogers accomplished it at the hazard of his life , and from the prisoner captured by him it was ascertained that the garrison at Fort Du Quesne were only waiting the appearance of the British when they would withdraw , and thereupon the light troops made a forced march and the enemy burned and abandoned the fort . General Forbes died without paying or pro v idi n g for the payment of the reward to Rogers , but the Assembly of North Carolina allowed him twenty pounds for his gallantry . Maj or Waddell himself “ dressed and acted as an Indian on this expedition , according ’ Do bb s s to Governor statement , and a tradition in his family says that a large dog belongi n g to him was the first living creature that entered

Fort Du Ques n e after the French evacuated it .

a ll After the fall of the fort the troops , except enough to garrison it , returned to their homes , including the North Carolinians .

But the French , who retired from Fort Du

Quesne and moved farther southward , very s oon had an opportunity to retaliate , and form a n alliance with the very same Cherokees who

- had been C O operating with the English . This

re s ult was the of an unfortunate , and , as it A N D H I S . 6 TIMES 3 .

011 turned out , a cruel act the part of some

Virginians . The Cherokees had aided the British on every expedition against Fort Du Quesne , strictly adhering in this respect to their treaty obligations ; and it was on the return of th e w arriors from this final expedition that th e unfortunate occurrence referred to took place . They were passin g through the extreme fron

O f Vi r i n i a . a n d tier settlements g , finding some horses running wild in the woods— as was the — case everywhere o n the frontiers they took some of them to supply the places of those “ im they had lost on the expedition , never “ a i n i n H e w a t g g , as is said by , that they belonged to any individual in the Province . n t Thereupon some Virgi ians , without at empt ing any other process of redress , attacked them with arms and killed twelve or fourteen of the unsuspecting warriors and took others prisoners . The Cherokees were naturally incensed at such an ungrateful and cruel return from the people whose soil they had marched several h undred miles to defend , and w he n they reached their homes at once told what had happened . The result was an out 6 4 A COLONIAL OFFICER

burst of fury , especially among the young warriors who were kinsmen of the victims ; and the emissaries of the French , who were among them , added fuel to the flame of their r esentment by telling them that the British intended to kill all their warriors and to reduce all their women and children to Slavery . These emissaries roused their vengeance in every way and supplied them with arms and ammu

i do n n it o n . o n Fort L , on the Tennessee , where there was a garrison of 2 00 men under Cap D tains eme/re and Stuart , was one of the first obj ects of their vengeance , and hunting parties and stragglers from that post were attacked and killed . Descents were made upon the settlements and the inhabitants were murdered

o ndo n O ff and scalped . Fort L was cut from supplies and the garrison was in danger of >k i n s ta rv a t o . The news of the Cherokee outbreak soon S i pread and reached Fort Pr nce George , near the upper Savannah river , whose commanding

officer notified the Governor of South Carolina .

Governor Dobbs was also notified , and at once ordered Waddell , who had been promoted to the rank of Colonel , to take all the Provincial

* a . I . C rr , Coll , 444

66 A COLONIAL OFFICER visions of which required them to leave twenty u fo r hostages , to secure the delivery of twen ty - four Indians who had murdered the sam e number of whites since the former treaty . Governor Lyttleton very unwisely withdre w his forces , leaving only a small guard over the hostages , and the result was an attempt by the Indians to surprise the garrison and rescue 2 th the hostages on the 7 January , They failed , but they murdered some traders and held the fort under a close blockade for some time . Colonel Waddell ’ s force had been reduced after the treaty , but , upon a new outbreak of

re - D the Indians , he garrisoned Fort obbs and , under instructions , put five hundred militia

. on duty to protect the frontiers . He was attacked by the Indians at Fort Dobbs on the

2 th evening of the 7 February , the assault b u t being made by two parties , he repulsed

' them , killing ten or twelve , and lost only one boy killed and two men wounded , one of whom was sc a lped t He expected an attack the next

* i l ~ 1 n . II . C o . I . Will amso , Vol , 93 Carr , , 45

H i s n a nd T ame was Robert Campbell , he was allowed by the “ ” n . Assembly twe n ty pou n ds fo r prese n t Subsiste ce . Col 2 2 Rec . , Vol . VI , 4 . A N D H I S TIMES . 7

a night , but the Indi ns had enough of it and did not make another attempt . Whether Colonel Waddell was with the expedition of Colonel Montgomery and Maj or Grant which invaded the Cherokee country and fought an indecisive battle in the E tch o e settlement , near the present town of Franklin ,

2 th . on the 7 June , is uncertain The retreat of Montgomery to Fort Prince George caused

on do n the surrender of Fort L , which was fol lowed by treachery and murder by the Indians .

fa ll In the , however , Colonel Waddell was ordered to j oin Colonel Byrd , of Virginia , in striking the upper Cherokees , but the latter made peace and b e discharged his troops . Thus the first five years after his arrival in the Province were passed by Colonel Waddell chiefly in the field in active service against the

French and Indians . There is no record O f any special service rendered by him between the years 1 760 and

1 6 7 5 , except that which he performed durin g

O f the sessions the Assembly , of which body he was a prominent and useful member . As the population of the Province was steadily increasing , especially in the Western portion , and the Indian depredations were gradually u n ceasing , ntil the peace between Great Britai 6 8 A COLONIAL OFFICER and France in 1 763 p ut a stop to them entirely it is most probable that he w a s relieved from

a dva n active duty , and began to utilize the tages , which his experience and knowledge of the country gave him , by j udicious investments “ ” in lands , and the establishment of stores in various places in the back country , where the certainty of large profits awaited such

t . ven ures That he did this about that time , and that he was largely interested in the mer

ile i c a n t B ur w n C o . firm of John g , and r ealized handsome profits from the business , is

. 1 6 . known He married in 7 2, and Mr Bur gwin ’ s association with him in business was attributable to the fact that their wives were

- sisters and c o heiresses .

Governor Dobbs , who was about seventy years old when he was appointed Governor ,

i nfi rmiti es because of his age , his of tempera

a n d n ment , and his ultra loyalty unreaso able

n o t ideas in regard to prerogative , had only irritated and disgusted the people , but had worn out the patience of his best friends ; and ,

1 6 in October , 7 4 , Lieutenant Colonel William ’ Tryon , of the Queen s Guards , was sent over and qualified as Lieutenant Governor of the

Province at Wilmington . I n the following March , Governor Dobbs D I A N H S TIMES . 69

8 2 d died , in his year , and was buried on his

o n plantation Town Creek , below Wilmington .

O He had btained a leave of absence , and intended going to England when death over took him .

a a rl ‘ o f In letter to the E Halifax , dated 2 d 1 6 April , 7 5 , at Wilmington , Tryon writes as follow s '

Last Thursday Governor Dobbs retired from the strife and cares of this world . Two days before his death he was busily employed in packing up his books for his passage to

England . His physician had no other means to prevent his fatiguing himself than by telling him he had better prepare himself for a much ” longer voyage . The poor old man departed at a good time for himself, and , doubtless , at a convenient season for his lively and handsome young widow , who , not long afterwards , consoled

n ew herself with a and younger husband , who was also destined , but under very different auspices , to be Governor of North Carolina , namely, Abner Nash . Governor Dobbs was a widower when he came to North Carolina , and he came solely for the purpose of improving his fortunes and — providing for his near relatives obj ects i n the 70 A COLONIAL OFFICER

'pursuit of which he cannot be accused of a want of diligence . By his first marriage he had two sons and t w o h is daughters , none of whom , except younger son , accompanied him to this country . D His oldest son , Conway Richard obbs , became m High Sheriff of County Antrim , and the fa ily seat , called Castle Dobbs , is still in the pos *

o f . session his descendants His second son ,

Edward Brice Dobbs , was appointed Captain of the North Carolina company sent on Brad ’ dock s expedition was afterwards , in the New

York expedition , made a Maj or ; was a member

1 of the Council of North Carolina in 757 , and “ i ’ in 1 76 7 signed himself Captain n H . M . s ” 7th Regt of Foot or Royal Fusiliers . ’ Governor D obb s s second wife w a s Justina

D . avis , a daughter of John Davis , Esq , a planter living near Brunswick , on Cape Fear ’ Dobbs s River . They had no child , and after death she married Abner Nash , who was a — Maj or in the Revolution a brother of General

Francis Nash , who was killed at Germantown was afterwards Governor of North Carolina , and was the father of the late Chief Justice

Nash .

* i D n widdie Papers . A N D H I S TIMES .

When the trouble arose about the attach ment law of the Province , which , like the a ttachment laws of several other Provinces , gave a resident creditor advantage over a ll others by subj ecting the property of non - resi dent debtors to seizure for the satisfaction of ’ such resident creditor s claim , one of the lead ing cases arising under the act was that O f

1 Abner Nash against the Dobbs estate , in 773 , in which an attachment had been levied on ’ Do bb s s the interest of son , who lived in Ire land , to satisfy a legacy of left by ’ Dobb s s will to his widow . The case went before the Privy Council a n d the plaintiff gained it . Governor Dobbs also brought over with him

a i ht his nephew , Richard Sp g , who was made paymaster to the North Carolina forces in ’ B raddock s expedition , was Secretary of the

1 6 Province in 75 , and a member of the Council . He was the father of Richard Dobbs S pa igh t

1 2 who was Governor of North Carolina in 79 , and who was killed in a duel by John Stanly 1 80 2 in , and was the grandfather of the second

a i h t Richard Dobbs S p g , who was also Gov n 8 e r o r in 1 3 4 . ’ Thro ughout the whole of D o bbs s a dmi n i s 72 COLONIAL OFFICER

i stra ti o n , Colonel Waddell appears to have been the most prominent military figure in the Province , and to have enj oyed the respect and con fidence of both authorities and people in a high degree .

74 A COLONIAL OFFICER

i n the Western part of the Province , been annoyed , irritated and oppressed by the petty frauds and extortions practiced upon them by

- entry takers , deputy surveyors , land agents a n d fi a n d court of cers , by the failure , in many c ases , of their own Assembly to provide ade q uate remedies for these evils . The character O f Governor Tryon was totally d ifferent from that of Governor Dobbs . He was more adroit and conciliatory , and while c herishing high ideas of prerogative , was free from the little i n fi rmiti e s which age had o nly emphasized in Dobbs . He was pas

s i o n a te , but his passion was under control ; he — was young and vigorous , but beyond a desire “ ” t o m a n d m display so e pomp circu stance , — a n d to live luxuriously was not disposed to

harry or oppress the people . H i s appoint m f ent to the o fice of Governor was , however ,

m ade at an unfortunate time for himself. The ’ Stamp Act , a veritable Pandora s box , and the

m ost far - reaching legislative blunder in the

h n w as n istory of E gland , passed by Parliame t a n d received the Royal sanction about a fort ’ n Dobb s s ight before he qualified as successor ,

T S 2 2 d a n d fi he tamp Act was approved March , he quali ed

A pril 3 d . A N D H I S TIMES .

and the news of its passage , which had been anticipated , was not long in getting to America .

Before the passage of the Stamp Act , the

1 6 Parliament of Great Britain had , in 7 4 , for the first undertaken to appropriate the property of American subj ects to the purpose of increasing the revenues of the Crown by

' imposing a duty on sugar , coffee , wine and other articles of foreign growth imported into n the Colonies . Fi ding that there was still a

s deficit in the revenue , after the imposition of these duties on foreign imports , and in pur s ua n ce of a previously declared purpose , they

1 passed the Stamp Act in 765 .

This act , which has already been character i z ed as the most far - reaching legislative blun der in the history of England , was the pet proj ect of George Grenville , Chancellor of the

w h o Exchequer , had adopted the plan of taxa tion from Lord Bute , to whom it had been sug gested by Jenkinson .

a ct fift - fiv e The , which contained y sections , provided an elaborate system of stamp duties for the Colonies , and all offences against its provisions were made cognizable in the Courts

n o u ri e s of Admiralty , in which there were j , “ so that the Americans were not only to be

' 88 . B a n c ro ft V o l . 1 , V , 76 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

taxed by the British Parliament , but to have the taxes collected arbitrarily , under the decree of British Judges , without any trial by

In introducing the measure , Grenville made an adroit and plausible speech , as he had done when , unfolding the budget of the previous year , he gave notice of his intention to bring in the present bill ; but he did not find the same unanimity in favor of the latter , for while there was no debate and not one negative

1 6 on the passage of the bill of 7 4 , the Stamp Act was debated for some time with much

o n - animation , and , its final passage , forty two votes were recorded against it , to two hundred

- and ninety four in its favor .

The opponents of the bill , however , almost without exception , admitted the power of Par li a m e nt to pass the measure , although its con stitution a lity was as bitterly denied in the

Colonies as the inj ustice of its provisions , and the utter inability of the people to comply with them was earnestly asserted . The measure a was not only a new one , but thre tened ruin to the Colonies . It was an internal revenue l bi l , exclusively applicable to the Colonies; which were without representation in the body

* n n 1 6 Ba croft (quoti g Walpole) , Vol . V , 5 . A N D HIS TIMES . 77

it that enacted , and it clogged every trans action of a business nature requiring the use of paper , and taxed the privilege of publishing , advertising in , or reading newspapers, pam

hlet s . p and other publications The tax , too , was not O nly imposed upon a multiplicity of obj ects , but was very heavy on each . The cheapest stamp was one shilli n g . It taxed knowledge as well as business . The tax l on a college diploma was ten dol ars , and on an advertisement in a newspaper fifty cents . In the same proportion every written contract for the sale of property , every deed , every bill of sale , bond , note , bill of exchange , or other instrument used in business transactions , and each separate paper used in legal proceedings from the beginning of a suit to the end , had to pay a stamp tax . An amusing but fair illus t ra tio n of the effect of it was afforded when

2 I 1 6 Governor Tryon , on the st December , 7 5 , submitted to the Council the question whether he could issue writs of election for the new

Assembly on unstamped paper . There was already the impost duty on all the luxuries (including under this h ead such articles as coffee and sugar) ; there was the tax involved in the enforcement of the Navigation “ Act , which , Bancroft says , was the head 78 A COLONIAL OFFICE R spring that colored all the stream of American ” Independence , and these taxes were outside O f the taxes imposed by the Colonial Legisla tures for the purposes of local government .

So that , in the impoverished condition of the

l a n d n people , and amidst the tria s da gers h m t at surrounded the , it looked like the very wan-to n n e s s of tyranny to add a stamp tax to their burdens . It was , besides , as the Colo n i sts and some of the wiser English statesmen insisted , an unconstitutional measure . D aniel Dulaney , of Maryland , a lawyer whose ability in discussing the question pro fo un dl 1m re s sed y p the public mind , both in l Eng and and America , and whose opinions were thought to have moulded those of Mr .

Pitt , by whom they were publicly noticed with great honor , argued the rights of both parties with minute and elaborate learning , and his powerful reasoni n g strengthened the c o n vi c tion of his countrymen that in opposing the act they were but vindicating their rights and defending their liberties . George Washington , i n a letter to Francis Dandridge , in London 2 o th 1 6 dated Mount Vernon , September , 7 5 , “ says : The Stamp Act imposed o n the Colo nies by the Parliament of Great Britain , engrosses the conversation of the speculative A N D H I S TIMES . 79

O f o u n part the Colonists , who lo k upon this constitutional method O f taxation as a direful attack upon their liberties , and loudly exclaim ” against the violation ; and he proceeds t o Sh ow that , merely as a revenue scheme , the act and other ill -j u dged measures must prove dis

i I astrous to Great Brita n , nasmuch as they would necessarily lessen importations into the

Colonies , and thereby hurt her manufacturers , declaring at the same time that the Colonists would dispense with all luxuries and live on “ t o the necessaries which , he said , are mostly ” be had within ourselves . He also declared that the passage O f the a ct would inevitably close the Courts , as the Colonists could not possibly comply with its provisions , and that if such a result followed , the merchants of u Great Britain , trading to the Colonies , wo ld not be among the last to wish for a repeal of the How much these merchants of

Great Britain were interested in the matter , will appear from the following extract from William Cullen Bryant ’ s recently published Popular History of the United States z r

“ 1 6 1 It is said that between 7 5 and 775 , two

* ’ n n L . II . Washi gto s etters , Vol , 3 43 ” V I I I 1 L . ( O , 3 3 8 0 A COLONIAL OFFICER t hirds of the foreign commerce of Great Britain was that which she conducted with America . 1 00 1 60 Between 7 and 7 , the value of property in England increased fifty per cent . , and Pitt declared this was wholly due to the American ‘ 1 66 Colonies . Speaking in 7 , he said , The profit to Great Britain from the Colonies is two millions a year . This is the fund t hat c arried you triumphantly through the last war . ’ You owe this to America . Let it be remem bered that Great Britain supplied three millions of people in America with almost every manu fa ctured article which they needed ; that she received from her Colonies the tobacco , and much of the fish , indigo , rice , naval stores , and other productions which she required ; that w ith her growing strength in the West Indies , she used her Colonies on the main - land to feed her islands , and it will be understood that

English merchants , and those who had to deal w ith them in England , conceived high ideas of the wealth to be derived from America .

It will , therefore , at once be seen from this statement , which is amply verified by all the authorities , that the Stamp Act was stupid and suicidal legislation , which provoked resistance , as well for commercial as for political reasons both in Great Britain and in the Colonies . But the commercial reasons Were the least pow e rful in the Colonies . It was the attempt to

8 2 A COLONIA L OFFICER

a n knew what the popular sentiment was , d in order to ascertain what would be the probable action of the Assembly , he had an interview

e a n d with the Speaker , John Ash , asked him the question . ’ “ Ashe s reply was , that the act would be ” n d resisted to blood a death . Thereupon Tryon immediately issued a proclamation “< proroguing th e Assembly to meet at Newbern

o th . November 3 He did not really intend ,

re - however , that it should assemble at that time unless the storm blew over ; and after

n wards , finding matters growi g worse , he issued another procla ma ti o n j ' agai n p ro ro gui n g th e 1 2 n Assembly until March th , assigni g as a reason that there appeared to be n o imme di a te n e ces sity for their meeti n g in November . ’ This proroguing of the Assembly on the 1 8th

2 th May , and again October 5 , prevented the election of delegates from North Carolina to what is known in history as the Stamp Act — Congress a n explanation of the absence of such delegates which does not seem to have been known to the writers who have ign o ra n tly criticised the State for a want of spirit

* 1 8th 1 6 . May , 7 5 r 2 TO c to b e sth . A N D H I S TIMES . 83

h e . t at that time But , although Assembly was thus prevented from meeting and giving expression to the public feeling , the people d were not , and Colonel Hugh Wad ell , though ’ carrying the King s commission in his pocket , was one of the first to take the lead at VVil

A ct mingtou in denouncing the , and express ing a determination to resist it , in resolutions passed at public meetin gs held under the very h nose of t e Governor . These meetings were

1 6 held in the summer of 7 5 , and were a part of the proceedings then going 011 in all the

Colonies looking to the same end . But an event was soon to occur which— unknown to or ignored by some historians , and fixed at a wrong date by others— placed North Carolina at the head of the Colonies as offering the first ’ a rmea resistance to the operation of the Stamp

o Act in America . In the other C lonies the feeling of resistance was as strong , and th e demonstrations by the people were as earnest

h - effi i es but alt ough flags were half masted , g

m- m burned , processions formed , and sta p asters ’ no o en a r mea reszsfa nee 10 forced to resign , p , ’ ’ a n a rmea orce oeen rrea ex ce t on Me C a e f , p p

F e r a R i ver . This occurrence took place when the sloop 84 A COLONIAL OFFICER of war D iligence arrived at Fort Joh n ston (now Southport) at the mouth of the river with the

D il ence stamps . The arrival of the ig is , in all ’ the histories except Moore s , stated to have “ fi ” occurred in the rst of the year , or early ” — in the year 1 766 a n error arising from the fact that Tryon ’ s proclamation announcing 6 h her arrival was dated January t of that year . ’ Moore s history places her arrival on the 2 8th

1 6 . September , 7 5 The true date was Novem

2 8th 1 6 . ber , 7 5 * O n 1 6 v the th day of No ember , the people , under the lead of Colonel John Ashe and ’ others , went to Tryon s house and demanded

William Houston (not James Houston , as invariably stated in every published account of the affair) , who had been appointed stamp ’ master , and upon Tryon s refusal to surrender him they made preparations to burn the house . Tryon then requested Colonel Ashe to step in

- and talk with the stamp master , which he did , and Houston , realizing his danger if he refused

O the demand made upon him to resign his ffice , agreed to accompany Colonel Ashe to the street , and , escorted thence by a large crowd ,

- they went to the Court House and there , in

’

66 . T n t H o n . S n . 2 1 ryo s le ter to eymour Co way , Feb 9 , 7 8 A N D H I S TIMES . 5

O f the presence of the Mayor and public ficers , Houston took and subscribed the following oath

I do hereby promise that I never will receive any stamp - paper which may arrive from Europe , in consequence of any act lately n or passed in the Parliament of Great Britain , o ffi ci a te in any manner as stamp -master in the distribution of stamps within the Province of

North Carolina , either directly or indirectly . I do hereby notify all th e inhabitants of His ’ Maj esty s Province of North Carolina , that notwithstanding my having received informa tion of my being appointed to said o fli ce o f

- stamp master , I will not apply hereafter for any

- stamp paper , or to distribute the same until such time as it shall be agreeable to the i nh a bi tants of this Province . “ Hereby declaring that I do execute thes e presents of my own free will and accord , with out any equivocation or mental reservation

W hatever . “ In witness hereof, I have hereunto set my 1 6 1 6 . hand this th November , 7 5 “ WILLIAM H OUSTO N .

Upon the taking and signing the oath by

Houston , the crowd gave three cheers and then dispersed .

* ’ Tr n D 2 h o t e c 6t . y s dispa ch , . 8 6 A COLONIA L OFFICER

Twelve days afterward the D i lige nce arrived in the Cape Fear river with the stamps , and the welcome w hich awaited her c a ptai n must have astonished him . His name was Phipps ,

- S l and his vessel was a twenty gun oop of war , which was cruising off the coast of Virginia and the Carolinas . He brought the stamps from Virginia , whither they had been sent

n i i n o from Engla d , and , doubtless , ant c pated trouble whatever in delivering them to the

O f he Collector the port of Brunswick . T idea of resistance of any kind probably never occurred to him , and a suggestion of armed defiance on the part of the people o n shore would have seemed the wildest absurdity to a ’ — commander of one of His Maj esty s war ships . Comfortably pacing his deck as the gallant sloop , with colors flying and all her canvass set , glided curtseying across the bar like a

- fine lady entering a drawing room , the Captain was doubtless already enj oying in anticipation the sideboard and table refresh ments that awaited him in the hospitable mansion s of the u n Cape Fear planters , and eager to stand , g in hand , by one of the tall pines of Brunswick and watch the coming of the antlered monarch of the forest before the inspiring music of the hounds . 8 A N D H I S TIMES . 7

As the D iligence bowls along With a bone in her mouth across the ruffled bosom of the beautiful bay into which the river expands

O pposite Fort Johnston , a puff of white smoke leaps from her port quarter followed by a roar of salutation from one of her guns ; an answer

th e ing thunder of welcome comes from fort , and the proud ship walks the waters towards n the town of Bru swick , eight miles farther up the river towards Wilmington . An hour later h she sig ts the town , and a little while after

a wards , with graceful sweep and a rushing keel , she gradually puts her nose in the wind as if scenting trouble ; and then , at the shrill ’ sound of the boatswain s whistle , the growling chains release the anchor fromits long sus

a n d th e ‘ D il ence pense , ig rests opposite to the k Custom House of Brunswic , with her grin

- ning port holes O pen and all h er guns exposed . Then her rigging blocks chuckle as she lowers and clews her sails , and she rides at her moor ings beneath the flag of the Mistress of the

Seas . The Captain at once observes that the little town seems to be unusually lively and expect ant . He soon discovers the cause . A con s ide ra ble body of armed men occupy the streets and line the shore Presently he is informed 88 A C OLONIAL OFFI CER

that Colonel Hugh Waddell , an experienced soldier , who had been on the lookout for the

D i l ence ig with the militia of Brunswick County , had notified Colonel Ashe of New Hanover o f n his moveme ts , and these two gentlemen , with the armed militia of both counties , confronted him and informed him that they would resist the landing of the stamps and would fire on any one attemptin g it . ’ H ere was one of His Maj esty s twenty - gun sloops of war openly defied and threatened by British subj ects armed and drawn up in battle $ array Here was treason , open , flagrant and — in the broad light of day treason , armed and led by the most distinguished soldier o f the Province and the Speaker of the Assembly $ The Captain of the D iligence prudently con cluded that it would be folly to attempt to land the stamps in the face of such a threat , backed by such force , and promised a compliance with “ the demands of the people The Sons o f ” Liberty , as they were afterwards called , then

D il ence seized one of the boats of the ig , and leaving a guard at Brunswick marched with

o n it mounted a cart to Wilmington , where there was a triumphal procession through the

n of streets , and at ight a general illumination the town .

90 A C OLONIA L OFFICER

/ze one to distribute them , directed them to be kept on board that vessel The humiliation to which he had been subj ected in his own house in which Houston had taken refuge (of which fact he likewise avoided all mention) , was sufficiently galling , without adding an account of it , or of the armed defiance of one ’ of His Maj esty s men - o f- war by the same peo n ple . Besides , as appears from his co duct and his dispatch to Conway , he was anxious to smooth over the trouble and conciliate the

i people , whose good will he des red to cultivate ,

n whose conditio he knew to be depressed , and whose spirit he was obliged to respect . Indeed , the whole tone of the dispatch was deprecatory u and regretful , and j stifies the suspicion that Tryon sympathized with those who regarded the Stamp A c t as most unwise and oppressive legislation , although his position was such as to prevent him from O penly saying so . This dispatch which , like the others in his letter u book , has never been published p to the time when these pages are written , is here given in full , so far as it relates to the event above described . A N D H I S TIMES . 9 1

6 e c r 1 B RUNSWICK 2 D 765 . ’ ’ 772e R ig/i i H on ole H y Sey mour C onway ’ In O bedience to His Maj esty s commands communicated to me by the honor of your 1 2 letter of the th of July last , it is with con cern I acquaint you that the obstruction to the Stamp Act passed last session of Parliament has been as general in this province as in any ’ Colony on the continent , tho their irregular proceedings have been attended with 11 0 mis

o r . chief, are by any means formidable I am much of the O pinion that whatever measures are prescribed and enforced by his Maj esty ’ s authority to the more formidable Colonies to the Northward will meet with a ready acqui i n esence the Southern provinces , without the necessity of any military force . The first intelligence of the general alarm which was spread against the Stamp Act in this Colony was in October last , at a time I lay extremely ill of the fevers of this country , which with repeated relapses I have experienced these

five months past . I was very impatient to s eize the first opportunity to communicate my sentiments to the merchants of New Hanover and Brunswick Counties , who are the persons that carry on the commerce of Cape Fear River (and where I imagined the stamps would arrive) on the then situation of public affairs . On the 1 8th November near fifty of the above gentle men waited o n me to dinner when I urged to them the expediency of permitting the circu lation of the stamps , but as my health at that 9 2 A COLONI AL OFFICER time would not allow me to write down any speech I must beg leave to refer you , Sir , to the enclosed Carolina Gazette of the 2 7th Novr in which you will find nearly the substance of what I declared and proposed to the above gentlemen . Their answer and my reply are inclosed .

Two days before the above meeting , Mr . Houston the Distributor of the stamps was compelled in the Court House In Wilmington and i n the presence of the Mayor and some

Aldermen to resign his office . The stamps arrived the 2 8th of November last in his ’ D il ence Maj esty s Sloop , the ig Capt Phipps commander , but as there was no Distributor or other officer of the stamps in this country ’ after Mr . Houston s resignation the stamps still remain on board the said Ship . No ves sels have been cleared out since the first of November from this river or from any other in this province that I have received intelligence of. Some merchants from Wilmington applied to me for certificates for their ships , specifying h a d that no stamps were to be , which I declined ffi granting , referring them to the o cers of his ’ Maj esty s Customs . They have been as assidu ous i n obstructing the reception of the stamps as any of the inhabitants . No business is transacted in the Courts of ’ Judicature , tho the Courts have been regularly opened and all civil government is now at a stand . This stagnation O f all public business and commerce under the low circumstances of A N D H I S TIMES . 93 the inhabitants must be attended with fatal consequences to this colony , if it subsists but for a few months longer . There is little or no specie circulating i n the maritime Cou nties of h this province , and w at is in circulation in the back Counties is so very inconsiderable that the Attorney General assures me that the stamp duties on the instruments used in the five Superior Cou rts of this province would in

' one year require all the specie in the country ; the business which is likewise transacted in u the twenty nine inferior , or Co nty Courts , the many instruments which pass through the ’ Sheriffs hands and other civil O fficers ; those in the Land Office , and many other instruments used in transactions of public business were the reasons which induced me to believe the O peration in all its parts impracticable , and which likewise prompted me to make my pro po sa ls for the ease and convenience of the

People , and to endeavor to reconcile them to t his Act of Parliame n t . O n the 2 o th of last month I opened and pro a t claimed my commission Wilmington , when I consulted his Maj esty ’ s Council if any measures could be proposed to induce the people to receive the stamps . They were unanimously of opinion that nothing further could be done than what I have already O ffered . I have his Maj esty ’ s writs for a new election of Assembly , but shall not meet them till next April at Newbern I & c am , Sir W M TRYON 94 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

Not long after this event , and in pursuance of the same purposeof resisting the Stamp Act in every way— even to the point of arrest ing and pu n ishing the Captain of a war- vessel — himself, if necessary another very lively inci dent occurred 011 the Cape Fear which aston i s h ed and infuriated Tryon and his friends and added greatly to his already sore humilia tion ; but it was no more than might have been expected , after the resistance to the landing of the stamps and the previous exaction of the oath from Houston on the 1 6th November .

- o f Early in February , and while the men war Viper and D ilig ence were still lying in

O ff the river Brunswick , two merchant vessels ,

D obbs P a ti e nce . the and the , the one from St

Christophers and the other from Philadelphia , arrived . The Collector of the port , Colonel

Wm . Dry , upon examining their clearance papers , ascertained that there were no stamps attached to them , as required by the provisions of the Stamp Act , and , as was doubtless his duty , he took the papers and reported the facts

Vi er to the Captain of the , Captain Jacob

Lobb . Captain Lobb immediately seized the vessels , regardless of the assurances of their Captains that it was impossible for them to

l a w comply with the , for the reason that when A N D H I S TIMES . 95

they left Philadelphia and St . Christophers no stamps could be O btained . As soon as it became known that these vessels had been seized under such circumstances there was great excitement , and the news spread with such rapidity that very soon five hundred and eighty armed men , besides one hundred with out arms , were assembled and Colonel Hugh

Waddell was chosen as their commander . What followed is told in detail by Governor

Try o n i i n his dispatches to the home govern ment , and , as this narrative has never been published , it is here given , as taken from his letter- book now in the Executive Department

' at Raleigh . There are some facts which were suppressed by Tryon in this narrative , j ust as he suppressed all mention of the resistance to the landing of the stamps 011 the 2 8th Novem w ber , supplying the omission ith the general “ statement that as Houston had resigned , the ” stamps still remain on board the said ship ; but as the omissions in his account of the a m ffair are not i portant , the narrative is given

: as he wrote it , as follows 9 6 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

T/i e R i /i t H onora ble H en r Se mou r onwa g y y C y , ’ E s one o /zi s M a est s P r i nci a l Secre ta q , f j y p ri es of Sta te th B N 2 1 66 . RU SWICK , the 5 February , 7 I R A S a rtic ula I S , I wish to give you as p a relation for his Maj esty ’ s information as I possibly can of an ille bgal assembly of men in B run sw i c k 1 arms , assembled at on the 9th inst . I have collected all the letter correspond ence that has come to my knowledge , previous to the 1 9th inst . during the time the men remained in arms , as well as after they dis pe rsed . I I I this letter I shall chiefly confine myself to the narrations of the actions and conduct of the body assembled , desiring leave to refer you o to the letters as they occur in p int of order , and time .

The Seizures Capt . Lobb made of the Dobbs a n d Patience sloops , (as by his letter to the c ollector for takin g the papers and the A tto r ’ n ey General s O pinion taken thereon) was an affair I did not interfere with ; In the first instance I never was applied to , and in the second , I thought it rested with Capt . Lobb .

O n 1 6 . the th in the evening Mr Dry , the

Collector , waited on me with a letter he received dated from Wilmington the 1 5th of February 1 766 and at the same time informed me he had sent the subscribers word he should wait on t hem the next day . I strongly recommended him to put the papers belonging to the Patience Sloop on board the Viper (those of the Dobbs

98 A COLONI A L OFFICER receive from his Maj esty ’ s sloops consisted wholly in the protection of the Fort . That as

Capt . Dalrymple had but five men in garrison to defend eight eighteen pounders , eight nine pounders , and twenty three swivel guns all mounted and fit for service together with a a mu n itio n considerable quantity of , I wrote an “ order to Capt . Dalrymple to obey all orders he might receive from the Commanding Officer ” either of the Viper or Diligence sloops of war , and desired Capt . Phipps would send it to the b Fort . I made it so general ecause Capt . Phipps told me neither of the Sloops had a pilot then on board , and that it was uncertain which ship could first get down to the Fort distant four leagues from where the ships then lay O ff Brunswick ; Capt . Phipps after a s tay on shore of about ten minutes returned on board the Diligence . ’ h 1 On the 2 o t about 2 o clock at noon Capt . Lobb sent to desire I would meet him on board the Diligence , which request I immediately complied with a n d at the same time the Col lector Mr . Dry came on board . There were n then present , the Captai s Lobb and Phipps , i . M c Gw re Mr , Vice Judge of the Admiralty , the Collector , and myself. Capt . Lobb told me he had had a committee from the inhabitants d in arms on board his ship , that they emanded the possession of the sloops he had seized and that he was to give them his answer in the n afternoon . Mr . Dry the Collector i formed me that his desk was broke open on the 1 9th in A N D H I S TIMES . 99 the evening and the u n st a mpt papers belong ing to the Patience and Ruby sloops forcibly O f taken from him . He said he knew most the persons that came into his house at that time but he did not see who broke O pen the desk and took out the papers . Capt . Lobb seemed not satisfied with the legality of his seizure of the Ruby sloop (seized subsequent to the papers that were sent to the Attorney O 011 a n d General for his pinion , the Dobbs Patience) and declared he would return her to the master or owner ; but that he would insist on the papers belonging to the Patience being returned , which were taken from the Collectors desk , and that he would not give up the Sloop n Patie ce . I approved of these resolutions and desired that he would not in the conduct of this affair consider my family , myself or my h property , t at I was greatly solicitous for the honor of government and his Maj esty ’ s interest l in the present exigency , and particu arly recommended to him the protection of Fort

n . Joh ston I then returned on shore . In the evening Capt Phipps waited on me from on u board the Viper , and acq ainted me that all h a d was settled , that Capt Lobb given his consent for the owners to take possession of the Sloops Ruby and Patience , as the copy of

Capt Lobbs orders for that purpose will declare . This report was not consiste n t with the determinations I concluded Capt Lobb left the

Diligence in , when I met him according to his appointment but a few hours before . I o o A COLONIAL OFFICER

T0 be regular in point of time I must now speak of some further conduct of the imbabi tants in arms , who were continually coming into Brunswick from different counties . This same evening of the 2 o th inst . Mr . Penning ’ ton , his Maj esty s Comptroller came to let me know there had been a search after him , and as he guessed they wanted him to do some a c t that would be inconsistent with the duty of his O ffice , he came to acquaint me with this enquiry and search . I told him I had a bed at his ser vice and desired he would remain with m e . ’ 2 I 0 The next morning the st about eight clock , n I saw Mr . Pen ington going from my house

C 01 . with James Moore I called him back , and as Col Moore returned with him I desired to know if he had any business with Mr . Pen n i n gto n . He said the gentlemen assembled wanted to speak with him . I desired Col .

Moore would inform the gentlemen , Mr . Pen ’ n i n to n g , his Maj esty s Comptroller , I had occasion to employ on dispatches for his ’ Maj esty s service , therefore could not part with h im . Col Moore then went away and in five minutes afterwards I found the aven u es to my house again sh ut up by different parties of armed men Soon after the following note was sent and the answer annexed returned :

S I R “ The Gentlemen assembled for th e redress

of grievances desirous of seein g Mr . Pen n i n gto n to speak with him se n t Col Moore n to desire his attendance , and u derstand that

1 0 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICER and the dignity of the character I held in this province , could afford him . Mr . Harnett hoped

I would let him go , as the people were deter mined to take him out of the house if he should be longer detained ; an insult he said they : A 11 wished to avoid offering to me insult , I replied , that would not tend to any great con O sequence , after they had already ffered every O insult they could ffer , by investing my house , a n d making me in effect a prisoner before any re re grievance , or oppression , had been first p n sented to me . Mr . Pen ington grew very uneasy , said he would choose to go to the gen tl em e n ; I again repeated my offers of pro tec

n h e . tio , if chose to stay He declared , and desired I would remember , that whatever oath s m ight be imposed on him , he should consider them as acts of compulsion and not of free will ; and further added that he would rather res ign his office than do any act contrary to his duty .

If that was his determination , I told him , he had better resign before he left me . Mr .

H a rnett interposed , with saying he hoped he would not do that : I enforced the reco mmen dation for resignation . He consented , paper was brought , and his resignation executed , and received . I then said , Mr . Pennington , now sir , you may go ; Mr . Harnett went out with him ; the detachment retired to the town . Mr .

Pennington afterwards informed me , they got him in the midst of them when Mr . Ward , master of the Patience , asked him to enter his sloop . Mr . Pennington assured him he could A N D H I S TIMES . 3

not , as he had resigned his office . He was afterwards obliged to take an oath that he would never issue any stamped paper in this province . The above oath the Collector informed me he was obliged to take , as were all the clerks of the County Courts , and other i n h bi ta n s h a v in . a t re public officers The , g dressed after the manner described their gri e v auces complained of, left the town of Brunswick ’ about 1 o clock 011 the 2 I st . In the evening I went on board the Viper and acquainted Capt Lobb I apprehended the conditions he had determined to abide by when I left the Dili s gence , were different to the concession he had made to the committee appointed for the redress of grievances : That I left the Diligence in the full persuasion he was to demand a restitution of the papers or clearances of the Patience sloop , and not to give up the possession of that vessel : That I found he had given up the sloop Patience , and himself not in possession “ of the papers . He answered As to the papers , “ th em a n d he had attested copies of , as to

the sloop , he had done no more than what he had offered before this disturbance hap

pened at Brunswick . I could not help owning I thought the detaining the Patience became a point that concerned the honor of m govern ent , and that I found my situation 1 ve y unpleasant , as most of the people by going up to Wilmington m the sloops would ’ e i r ma n satisfied and report thro the province , they had O btained every point they came to 1 04 A C OLO NIA L OFFICER

redress , while at the same time I had the mor ’ t ifi ca ti o n to be informed his Maj esty s ordnance at Fort Johnston was Spiked . This is the sub o f stance what passed on board the Viper . On the 2 2 d Capt . Phipps accompanied me to Fort

Johnston , where I found Capt Dalrymple sick in bed , two men only in garrison , and all the cannon that were mounted , spiked with nails . I gave orders for the nails to be immediately o ut drilled , which will be executed without prej udice to the pieces . I returned to Bruns i n wick the evening , and the next morning sent 2 d my letter bearing date the 3 to Capt . Lobb to desire his reasons for spiki n g the cannon

& c . He returned me his reasons for this con duct by letter the 2 4th inst . ’ Capt Lobb s complaint relative to the pro visions for his Maj esty ’ s sloops being stopt at ’ Wilmington w ith the contractor s certificate o f the manner of this restraint a n d my letter to the Mayor of Wilmington to require his assist ance in furnishing the provision demanded , will c o rres o n be fully , I hope , understood by that p dence . By the best accounts I have received the number of this i n surrection amounted to 580 m 1 00 . men in ar s , and upwards of unarmed The Mayor and Corporation of Wilmington and most all of th e gen tlemen and planters O f u the co nties of Brunswick , New Hanover , u D plin , and Bladen , with some masters of vessels , composed this corps . I am informed and believe the maj ority O f this association

1 06 A C OLONIAL OFFICER mi ra lty as I am directed by the commissioners of the Customs , I am Sir ,

Your humble servant ,

JACOB LOBB .

William Dry , Esq .

( CO PY . ) C T O U E P T B N US OM H S , OR RU SWICK ,

1 6th January 1 766 . I R DEAR S ,

By instruction from the Surveyor General , I am ordered in case any of the Men of War Should make any seizures to receive the cause of seizure and her papers from them and to transmit them to you for your opinion which I am to be ruled by whether to prosecute or not . This therefore serves to enclose you the papers of two vessels , one from Philadelphia the other from St . Christophers which Capt . Lobb hath seized for not having S ta mpt Papers ’ as you ll see by his letter to me here enclosed .

The papers are in separate packets , the one p arcell are copies of the originals and the o thers are the original papers which Mr . Quince desired I might send as belonging to his vessel ; all which I must entreat the favor of you to look over and to return me your opin i on by this express which I send on pur pose . I beg the messenger may be dispatched . a m D I ear Sir ,

Your most obedient servant ,

WILLIAM DR Y .

Robert Jones Jun . Esq . A N D H I S TIMES . 1 0 7

(CO PY ) C C A N C H Y d 1 66 O E 3 February 7 . A I R D E R S , 1 6 I received yours of the th ult . pr . your messenger , have perused the papers sent therewith , from whence I have made a state of the case you desire to be advised about , as it occurs to me , and subj oined to it my opinion o u i n . full , both which y will receive enclosed As matters are circumstanced I think you s ought to proceed in pro ecuting both vessels , lest your neglect should be deemed a con n i va n ce at the opposition made to the Stamp O Act , which in an fficer of the Crown probably may be thought worthy of censure .

Pray let Mr . Quince have a sight of the i i him Case and my op n on , as by my letter to

I have referred him to you for that purpose . I was from home when the messenger came and did not return till last night which occa si on ed his tarrying .

I am ,

Dear Sir , Your most ob edt very hum : servant

R O E UN . OBERT J N S , J

P . S . The Act does not require that Reg i sters should be on S ta mpt paper . l H on b e . To the William Dry , Esq

( CO PY ) State of the case relative to the Sloops Dobbs and Patience , lately arrived in Cape Fear

River , the one from Philadelphia , the other from St . Christophers . 1 08 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

It is supposed that no S ta mpt Paper could be procured by the Officers of the Customs in the ports from whence the said vessels sailed , therefore the Captains obtained clear a n ce s &c . , certificates , on common paper and proceeded to Cape Fear , where they are seized ’ by Capt Lobb , Commander of His Maj esty s

Sloop Viper , who makes information to the n co m Collector of the Port , requiri g him to mence prosecutions against them .

1 . Quere Is failing to obtain Clearances &c . on sta mpt paper a proper cause for seizing the said vessels and to be considered as a neg lect of the duties required by the Acts of Trade sufficient to induce a Court of Admi ra lty to decree vessels and cargoes forfeited ? i 2 . Upon proof being made that it was m possible to obtain Clearances & C on S ta mpt Paper of the O ffi cers O f the customs in the ports from whence the said vessels sailed , will it not be a sufficient cause to induce the Court to decree in favor of the owners of the said ves sels

3 . If it is necessary to prosecute on Capt obb s L information , must the prosecution be commenced in the Court of Admiralty at Cape

Fear , or must the said vessels be sent to Hali fax i n order to be libelled ?

In answer to the first question . The Clear a n ce s &c being on common paper it is the same as if these vessels had sailed without clearances , a n d of course they are liable to be seized , and

1 1 0 A C OLONIAL OFFICER it is my opinion that it is the duty of the Col lector to prosecute on the informations received .

R OBERT J O N E S JUN .

( CO PY ) 1 9th February 1 766 . I R S , The Inhabitants dissatisfied with the par ti c ula r restrictions laid on the trade of this ' tO B run s river only , have determined to march wick in hopes of obtaining in a peaceable man ner , a redress of their grievances from the . ’ Commanding Officer of his Maj esty s ships , and have compelled us to conduct them ; We therefore think it our duty to acquaint your

Excellency , that we are fully determined to protect from insult your person and property , and that if it will be agreeable to your Excel le nc y , a guard of gentlemen shall be imme di a tely detached for that purpose . We have the honor to be with the greatest respect

Sir , Your Excellency ’ s most obedient Humble servants O A J H N SHE ,

. OY THOS L D ,

A LE x . LILLINGTON .

His Excellency William Tryon , Esq . ‘ A N D H I S TIMES . 1 1 1

COPY . )

1 1 BRUNSWICK 9th February 766 . Eleven at Night I R S , Between the hours of six and seven o ’ clock this evening , Mr . George Moore and Mr . Cor n eli u s Harnett waited on me at my house , and delivered to me a letter signed by three gen n tle me . The inclosed is a copy from the

a . . . origin l I told Mr Moore and Mr Harnett , that as I had no fears or apprehensions for my person or property , I wanted no guard , there fore desired the gentlemen might not come to give their protection where it was not n ec e s sary or required , and that I would send the gentlemen an answer in writing tomorrow morning . Mr . Moore and Mr . Harnett might stay about five or six minutes in my house ,

Instantly after their leaving me , I found my house surrounded with armed men to the number I estimate at one hundred and fifty . I had some altercation with some of the gen tl em e n who informed me their business was to see Capt Lobb whom they were informed was at my house ; Capt Paine then desired me to give my word and honor whether Capt Lobb was in my house or not . I positively refused to make any such declaration , but as they had force in their hands I said they might brake open my locks and force my doors . This they declared they had no intention of doing ; j ust after this and other discourse they got intelligence that Capt Lobb was not in my 1 1 2 A COLONIAL OFFICE R

house . The maj ority of the men in arms then went towards the town of Brunswick and left a number of men to watch the avenues of my house , therefore think it doubtful if I can get this letter safely conveyed .

I esteem it my duty , Sir , to inform you as o mc er Fort Johnston has but one , and five men i n O f garrison , the Fort will stand in need all the assistance the Viper and Diligence Sloops fi can give the Commanding Of cer there , should ’ any insult be offered to his Maj esty s fort O r stores , in which case it is my duty to request of you to repel force with force ; and to take on board his Maj esty ’ s Sloops so much of his ’ Maj esty s ordnance , stores and ammunition , out of the said fort as you shall think n eces sary for the benefit of the service .

I am Sir ,

Your most humble servant ,

M . (Signed) W TRYON . To the Commanding Officer either of the Viper

or Diligence Sloops of War .

(CO PY ) I R S , I have received your Excellency ’ s favor and am much concerned at the uneasiness this accident will have given you . I have been d isappointed in two attempts to see your Ex

- c ellen c . y to night , one very early tother late

I had immediately , upon h earing two hundred m e n were gone down , sent Lieut Calder with five men and spikes for the guns if Capt Dal rymple thought them necessary and to give

1 1 4 A C OLON IAL OFFICER

to the proper master , Mr . Horner , for which this shall be a sufficient warrant .

I am Sir ,

Your most humble servant ,

JACOB LOBB .

To William Dry , Esq .

Collector for Brunswick .

( CO PY)

V LO O I PER S P , CAPE FEAR , ’ 2 0 F e b y 1 766 . I R S , As there is perishable commodities on board Sl o u the oop Patience , detained by me , y may , if you think it consistent with your duty , deliver up the same with the Vessel and ca rgoe upon sufficient security for them .

I am Sir ,

Your very humble servant ,

JACOB LOBB .

0 Dr . T William y , Esq

Collector at Brunswick .

(CO PY)

B 2 d 1 66 . RUNSWICK , 3 February 7 I R S , '

I was yesterday with Capt . Phipps at Fort Johnston where I found twenty three swivel e guns , eight eighteen pounders and eight nin pou n ders spiked . I demanded of Capt . Dal r m le f y p , the Commanding O ficer , his authority r for spikin g the cannon . He produced you

. D order and said Lieut Calder of the iligence , A N D H I S TIMES . 1 1 5

in consequence of it , spiked the above cannon . As I understand your midshipman was yes terda y disappointed in getting copies of my instructions to Capt . Dalrymple , and your order to him , I insert them both , Vidt .

I R S , “ You will obey all orders you may receive either from the Commanding Officer of the ” Viper or Diligence Sloops of War .

&c . I am ,

W M . TRYON .

1 9 February 1 766 .

To Capt . Dalrymple .

I think its necessary at this time , you will render the guns at Fort Johnston unservice a able , as there is number of men which intend insulting his Maj esty ’ s ships in this

river . I am “ Your humble Servant , “ JACOB LOBB . I must observe that the reason you gave i n this order , is totally contrary to every senti ment I entertained , as I hope my letter of the 1 9th , delivered to you by Lieut . Calder will n j ustify , directed to the Commandi g Officer either of the Viper or Diligence Sloops of War , as w ell as my conversation on board the Dili gence on the 2 o th where you desired I would meet you . I never had a suspicion that it was in the power of the persons assembled in arms ’ to insult his Maj esty s Ships in this river . The obj ect of my consideration was the protection 1 1 6 A COLONIAL OFFICER

of the fort . I therefore wish to receive from you the reasons why you thought the spiking of the guns a necessary step to prevent his ’ Maj esty s ships from being insulted , or what other motives you had for ordering the guns to be spiked . This request I make that I may be furnished with the proper causes for such a proceeding , in order to transmit them to his Maj esty ’ s Principal Secretary of State with my other dispatches .

& c . I am , Sir ,

Your most humble servant ,

(Signed) W M . TRYON .

To Capt . Lobb .

( CO PY )

V P O O B N I ER S L P , RU SWICK , ’

2 th F eb r 1 66 . The 4 y , 7 I R S , I received your Excellency ’ s Letter of the

2 3 d inst . desiring me to give your Excellency my reasons for ordering the guns at Fort

Johnston to be spiked . Pursuant to your Ex ’ ll n c e e cy s letter of the 1 9th inst . signifying to me that as Fort Johnston had but one officer and five men in garrison and of its standing in need of all the assistance the Viper and Diligence could give the commanding officer there , should any insult be offered to his ’ Maj esty s fort , or stores , and likewise your ’ Excellency s request to repel force with force ,

th e . I , on information same evening from Lieut

“

Calder , corroborated by that of several other

1 1 8 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

virtue of necessity , and accepted the explana tion of the captains O f the two merchant ves sels in regard to the impossibility of procuring

. c or stamps , and released their vessels The respondence in relation to the seizure of the ’ boat , as, found in Tryon s dispatches , is as follows :

(COPY )

VI P E R ' S LO O P C P , A E FEAR , d 2 2 February 1 766 . I R S , I beg leave to acquaint your Excellency that by my order of the 5th inst . there was a demand for provisions given to the Contractor ’ s

. u se Agent , Mr William Dry , for the of the complement of men on board his Maj esty ’ s

Sloop under my command , which demand is not complied with , and I find by a certificate r from Mr . D y the provisions were denied being ’ brought to his Maj esty s Sloop by the I n h a bi tants of Wilmington . I must beg leave to acquaint your Excellency that there is no more bread on board than to serve the Sloop ’ s company tomorrow , and do request your Ex ’ cellen cy s advice . Inclosed your Excellency ’ will receive a copy of Mr . Dry s certificate . I am with respect , Your Excellency ’ s

Obedient humble servant ,

JACOB LOBB .

T0 His Excellency Governor Tryon . A N D HIS TIMES . 1 1 9

(COPY) These are to certify that there was a demand made to me by Capt . Jacob Lobb of his Maj esty ’ s Sloop Viper for a supply of provis ions for the said Sloop on the Fifth inst . and that there was a boat and hands sent by me to

Wilmington for the same , that the men belong ing to the boat were taken up and put into gaol , that the inhabitants and people of the province would not suffer any provi sions to be shipt on board the boat for the use of his ’ l Maj esty s S oop .

2 1 1 66 . Dated at Brunswick , February 7

M . W D R Y .

( COPY )

d 1 66 B RU NSWICK the 2 2 February 7 . I R S , In answer to your letter I c a n only observe that as you have thought it expedient to redress the grievances which were the pretended causes of the town of Wilmington ’ s withholding the ’ necessary provisions for his Maj esty s Sloops , I should imagine the contractor ’ s agent would meet with no obstruction at present i n obtain ing the necessary supply . If the provisions are not brought to the Viper tomorrow I desire you will inform me by a line .

& C . I am ,

W M . TRYON .

To Capt . Lobb . 1 2 0 A COLONIAL OFFICER

(CO PY )

V P LO O P B I ER S , RUNSWICK , ’ b 1 2 F e 66 . 4 y , 7 I R S , ’ I received your Excellency s letter of th e ’ s 2 2 d inst . signifying to me your Excellency desire of being acquainted if the provisions did not arrive the 2 3 d and in return beg leave to acquaint your Excellency they are not yet arrived . I am with respect ’ Your Excellency 5 Most obedient humble servant

JACOB LOBB .

To His Excellency Governor Tryon .

( CO PY )

1 B RUNSWICK the 2 4 February 766 .

MR . MAYOR .

Capt . Lobb having lodged a complaint with ’

2 2 d . me , dated the inst that the Contractor s ’ s boat , with provisions for the use of his Maj esty ships was detained at Wilmington and the

“ boatmen put into gaol by the inhabitants o f that town , I desire to know the proper causes for such conduct that I may transmit them to t his Maj esty . The Viper sloop is at presen without bread . I do therefore require your assistance that the contractor may be furnished with the necessary provisions as soon as pos

Sible .

81 C . I am Sir ,

W M . TRYON .

De . Moses John Rosset , Esq

1 2 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

’ t he Commanding Officers of the King s ships , your Excellency has no doubt been informed t n hat a supply of provisions has bee sent them , and your Excellency may be assured of the best endeavors of this Corporation to forward ’ his Maj esty s service . At the same time they ’ c an t help expressing their concern that your

Excellency should on every occasion , lay the w hole blame of every transaction to the oppo siti o n made to the Stamp Act on this Borough , when it is s o well known the whole county has b een equally concerned in it . I am further instructed by the corporation to ass ure your Excellency that his Maj esty has not a sett of more loyal subj ects i n any part of his dominions than the inhabitants of this borough .

I am with the greatest respect Sir , Your Excellency ’ s most obedient

And most humble servant ,

MOSES J N O . DE R OSSET .

The situation after all the excitement had p assed , is given by Governor Tryon in the two

o 011 d f llowing letters , the first addressed the 3 day of March to Conway , and the second , dated

A th : pril 5 , to the Lords of the Treasury N D I A H S TIMES . 1 2 3

N T C N OR H AROLI A , d Brunswick the 3 March 1 766 . T/ze R igb t H onora ble H enry Sey mou r C on w a E s y , q The dispatches I had the honor to direct to 2 th you on the 5 of last month , I laid before ’ his Maj esty s Council , as will be seen by the extract from the Council Journal . My pro cla mation of the 2 6th past I understand has given general satisfaction to the inhabitants co n cerned in the late disturbances from its mode ration . As I had no power to repress their tumults it was thought most expedient not to inflame grievances . The General Assembly I shall prorogue from time to time till I have the honor to receive his Maj esty ’ s further instructions . I find by the public papers that those Colo nies who have held Assemblies in the present times have entered warmly into disputes rela tive to the Stamp Act without doing any ’ business for his Maj esty s interests , or the benefit of th e Colonies . As I have therefore as yet had no disputes with the General As s embl y , I esteem it advisable to prevent , as much as possible , any breach in the Legisla ture , as by this caution I think I shall be best able to support the honor and dignity of gov ern me n t till I can be informed of the resolu tions taken by his Maj esty and his Parliament to terminate the present disturbances in these n eces provinces . If it should ever be found sary to send military force into this Colony , 1 2 4 A C OLO NIAL OFFICER the first week in October is the soonest they should arrive , if brought from a more north ward country . Were they to land in the heat of summer this climate would be as fatal to them as the climate of Pensacola has proved to the troops sent there . Capt Lobb has acquainted me he has received the 2 5th past t w enty two days provision from the Contractor . I have enclosed a copy of the Mayor of Wil ’ min gto n s letter in answer to mine put up with 2 th the dispatches of the 5 of February , directed to the Mayor . Capt Dalrymple has made his report to me that the cannon at Fort Johnston are almost all cleared of the spikes , and that without any

. . l prej udice to the guns Mr Rando ph , Sur ’ v e or y General of his Maj esty s Customs , who is now with me on his return from Charles

n . Town has , at my request , rei stated Mr Pen n i n gton in his office of Comptroller for this port . I must beg leave to mention Capt Phipps o u di s to y , Sir , who takes charge of these patches and to refer you to him for any further particulars relative to the disturbances here , he having been present and intimately a o in e d q u a t with every step that was taken . The Spirit and zeal he has shown while on this ’ station for his Maj esty s service , and the honor of his profession does him great credit . I have the honor to be with great respect

&C &C . and esteem ,

1 2 6 A COLONI A L OFFICER before the Stamp Act was appointed by Parlia i n i ment to take effect . I continue op nion that these Southern provinces will regulate their further obedience and conduct agreeable to the measures that are adopted by the more fo rmid able colonies to the Northward .

I am , my Lords , with all possible esteem

&c . and respect ,

The foregoing facts were well known , though only by tradition , before the discovery of ’ - Tryon s letter book in London in 1 848 .

e The events they describ were not , in the ordinary sense , great historical events , it is true , but they were highly creditable to the S actors in them , and how conclusively that the S pirit of Liberty manifested itself, to say the least , as boldly , intelligently and promptly among North Carolinians in the early days as elsewhere , and that they had as j ust an appreciation of their rights under the British constitution as the most enlightened subj ects of the Crown at home or in the other Colonies .

And yet the historians of the United States , while carefully noting similar events in the other Colonies , have , without an exception , omitted from their pages any mention of this

a first and only open , defi nt , armed resistance to the Stamp Act which occurred in America I A N D H S TIMES . I 2 7 j ust as for a long time they ignored the first

Declaration of Independence , which was pro claimed in Meckle n burg County in the same

State , and the first resolutions of a Provincial Congress directing the Delegates to the Con ti n e n t a l Congress to declare in favor of inde4

e n de n ce p , which were passed at Halifax on

1 2 1 6 n the th day of April , 77 , more tha a month before the celebrated resolutions of the Vir ginia Assembly o n the same subj ect . The blame for these oversights— for it is not to be presumed that the neglect was i n te n — ti o n a l rests primarily upon the people of

North Carolina , who have ever been indifferent , if not averse , to claiming their own from the

Muse of History .

— NOTE As several of our historian s have men tio n ed a cer n f i n n a n d n n tai duel ought by Capta Alex . Simpso Lieute a t T o f S Vi er homas Whitehurst the hip p , about the time of the Stamp - Act exciteme n t o n the Cape Fear ; a nd a s n o t o n e of n n the stateme ts give by these writers is correct , it may be well

t o n o f ff n . give a true versio the a air , as take from the records W i n i n 1 66 heeler , his history , says that February , 7 , a duel — occurred between these parties that Simpso n sympathized i n a n d W h i te c h u rs t f e w th the Colo ists , ( Whitehurst) avor d T n n S n w a s ryo ; that Whitehurst bei g killed , impso arrested ,

i f a nd a n n n tr ed be ore Ch . J . Berry cquitted that Tryo i si uated n n n o n o f n f co iva ce the part Judge Berry , summo ed him be ore n a nd i n f n n i n c o m the Cou cil , the Judge , a re zy of apprehe s o , 1 2 8 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

i A nd n m tt e d suicide . Wheeler quotes Marti as authority for n his stateme t . S n i n f n o f n hocco Jo es , his De e ce North Caroli a , says a n d fl e d n n S n n n E . impso was co dem ed , but escaped to gla d i n S n n o t Moore , his History , says that impso ( Whitehurst) a n d t n was killed , that Whi ehurst was co victed of murder , but that Judge Berry gra n ted him e n ough time be fore executio n ” “ n h i m t o a nd T n a n d to e able escape , that ryo was furious s o wrought upo n the fears o f Judge Berry that he committed suicide . I n fi n the rst place , the duel occurred at Bru swick , March

1 8th 1 6 a n d n o t S - n , 7 5 , was caused , by the tamp Act exciteme t , ’ w oma n n T n but by a , accordi g to ryo s report to the Board of ff i i n n n n T . I S o t rade t was a brutal a a r , which impso o ly

’ b h i s roke Whitehurst s thigh with shot , but broke his head with

o f n a n d a n o f the butt his pistol , breaki g the butt p the pistol i n n at the same time . S mpso himself was shot behi d the right

n o ut n . T n shoulder , the ball comi g u der his arm he wit esses b efore the coro n er ’ s j ury were midshi pme n James Brewster

a n d ri n n n f . James M o o ge . Simpso escaped the ight be ore n o 2 8th a n d T n I ro c l a Gover or D bbs died , March , ryo ssued a p matio n offeri n g {50 reward fo r his arrest ; a n d wrote to Gov e rn o r o f n n a s S n Fauquier Virgi ia , sayi g that , impso had some “ n n n i n mo ths previously married Miss A ie P erso , daughter f ” o . n n i n f Mrs Ramsburg , whose husba d keeps a taver Nor olk , a n d n n d . S r t o n as Mrs impso had etur ed Virgi ia , he suspecte — Simpso n had go n e there that the weak state o f his health ” a n d n n n n n n the da gerous co ditio of his wou d , stre gthe ed this

n a n d n o t n co j ecture , it was probable that he should u dertake a ’ lo n g voyage a nd he characterized Simpso n s co n duct as “ ” n . I n w a s n a n d w h y extraordi ary t certai ly extraordi ary , the n o r n s n n i seco ds wit esse permitted it is i comprehe s ble . Simp s o n f n f i O T a terwards surre dered himsel , was tr ed at ctober erm , 1 6 n f S i n o f 7 5 (a mo th be ore the stamp h p arrived) , was co victed

n a n d n i o n b o f ma slaughter , bra ded w th the letter M the all the t b o f n i n n a n d i — hum his left ha d , ope Court , d scharged as o f i i appears by the record the tr al , st ll preserved at the court i n n n i n ’ house Wilmi gto . The allegat o that Judge Berry s sui

1 3 0 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

C H A PTE R IV

— 7 1 7 6 8 1 7 1 .

’ — — The Regulators War Its O rigi n a nd History Ge n eral Wad ’ n n n dell s Co ectio with it .

HE Stamp Act was repealed in March ,

1 66 2 th r 7 , and on the 5 of June Governo Tryon issued a proclamation announcing the — fact , in which having learned some valuable lessons in the months preceding , and having

, determined to change his tactics and play a — conciliatory role h e severely denounced the extortion s which had been practiced in th e Western Counties by the officers of the Courts

o ffic e rs and others , and sternly forbade these to take more than th eir legal fees thereafter . He also indulged in a somewhat tender appeal to the people to render a cheerful obedience to the legislative authority of the mother C ountry . Immediately upon the appearance of this . m proclamation an amusing , and so ewhat dis

n o f n gusting , excha ge felicitatio s took place between the Mayor , Recorder and Aldermen h of Wilmington , and the Governor ; but eac A N D H I S TIMES . 1 3 1 party to this performance was conscious of the hollow insincerity of the proceedin g s , and each mistrusted the other . The Legislature , which

1 6 had not met since May , 7 5 , was called together in November , and , although they expressed their pleasure at and returned thanks for the repeal of the Stamp Act , and declared their o l yalty to the Crown , they did not humiliate themselves in any way . They did , however , foolishly appropriate a large amount to build a mansion for the Governor at Newbern ; but their excuse was that the Assembly had pre v i o u sl it y promised to do , in consideration of the repeal of an act to build at Tower Hill o n “ ” the Neuse . The cost of this palace , as it was called , and as it really was , was over — $ 75 O O O a n enormous sum for those times . Over the main entrance to it was a pompous

Latin inscription , said to have been written by

. . l Sir Wm Draper Genera Miranda , who

d 1 8 visited it with Ju ge Martin in 7 3 , said that his own country (South America) contained l no building equa to it . While this palace was in course of co n st ruc tion , and as if to aggravate the general complaint of extravagance in public expenditure , Tryon organized an escort to accompany him in person 1 3 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER ally run n ing the boundary line between the

Cherokee nation and the Province . The escort consisted of about a hundred men , selected from the Rowan and Mecklenburg regiments , the detachment from the former commanded by

Lieutenant Colonel Frohock , and from the latter by Lieutenant Colonel Moses Alexander , and

e the whole under Colonel Hugh Waddell . Th re were also an Adj utant General , an Aide , and

w . a Chaplain , all ith high rank and pay The expedition lasted nearly a month , beginning

1 th 1 6 on the 9 May , 7 7 , and it was because of

‘ his conduct on this expedition that Tryon received from the Cherokees the sou brique t of “ Wolf of Carolina .

Meanwhile the people , of the Western part m of the Colony especially , were growing ore restless under the continued exactions and extortions practiced upon them by local officers ; and , notwithstanding the repeal of the Stamp

di s Act , were , in the Eastern section , greatly satisfied with the Navigation Act a n d other embarrassments to their trade .

Even men of well known loyalty , like Hugh

Waddell , were severely tried by the course affairs were taki n g . The discontent in the

a u West was bec se of local grievances , that in

1 3 4 A C OLONIAL O FFICER any form of government and the destruction of social order . The name Regulator was adopted at a meeting held at Sandy Creek , in

R a what was then Orange , and is now ndolph

2 2 d O f 1 6 County , on the March , 7 7 , at which a written agreement was drawn up and an association was formed “ for regulating public ” grievances . This agreement contemplated no violence , and only bound the signers to pay no more taxes until satisfied they were agree able to law and were properly applied ; to pay no more than legal fees to any officer unless forced to do so ; to meet often for conference with their representatives in regard to amend ing the laws ; to elect better men to office , and to petition the authorities for redress .

But their leader , Herman Husbands , though uneducated , was a mischievous and turbulent demagogue and a canting hypocrite , who , under the garb of the Society of Friends

(Quakers) , from which he was expelled for

i i immorality , concealed an amb t ous and venom ous spirit . The Sandy Creek agreement was but the first s te pfi i n his programme . He set himself diligently to work to inflame the passions of the people , to exaggerate the evils of which they j ustly complained , and to incite them to violence . He passed most of his time A N D H I S TIMES . 1 3 5 in going about haranguing crowds of the ign o rant and untutored , and plied his vocation even on Sunday s .

He had a coadj utor in Edmund Fanning , who was Colonel of the militia of Orange and f n was a Court O ficer who , by his extortio s and offensive conduct generally , was the most obnoxious man in the Province . Fanning did all he could to aggravate the Regulators , and they repaid him with interest whenever they could . Without reciting every detail of the ’ progress of the Regulators outbreak , it will suffice to say that after various interviews between the agents of the Association and the m Governor , and after atters had well nigh

ustme n t reached a peaceable adj , Husbands , who dreaded nothing so much as the stopping

i n of his trade of demagogue and agitator , vented a new series of grievances against a new b set of alleged criminals , namely , the mem ers of the Assembly and the Treasurers of the

Province . Governor Tryon laid these new

e re grievances befor the Council , but they quested him to notify the Regulators that no change would be made in the propositions

n already submitted to them by the Gover or , which included a promise that the officers who had been guilty of extortion Should be prose 1 3 6 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

c u te d . Unfortunately for them the Regula

w h o tors were guided absolutely by Husbands , n exercised an unbounded influe ce over them , and consequently matters remained in the same condition until the arrest and trial of H u s bands for a riot at Hillsborough , where Gov ern o r Tryon , who had been inspecting the militia farther West , appeared at the head of eleven hundred men , while more than three times that number of Regulators were in the vicinity awaiting the result of the trial . While his own trial was pending , Husbands , accord ing to his own written statement , agreed with

Fanning , like a selfish and cowardly traitor , to abandon the cause of the Regulators pro v ided he was released . Fanning was indicted at the same term of the Court for extortion . Husbands was acquit ted , and Fanning , who was probably tried by the same j ury , was convicted in five cases , but was only fined a penny and costs in each case , because he pleaded a misconstruction of the statute regulating fees , and showed that he got the j udgment “ of the County Court in his favor before taking the fees .

He ought , doubtless , to have been severely punished , and the reputation of the Court suffered in the esteem of all fair- minded men

1 3 8 A COLONIAL OFFICER having petitioned the Governor for a new As se mbl y he granted it , and the new Assembly

1 6 . met in October , 7 9 The Regulators had elected enough members of this body to effect a C hange of about thirty votes . This body was s oon dissolved by the Governor . New organizations of the Regulators were f ormed , and they had extended over a wide area

1 by the beginning of the year 770 . In the r egion around Salisbury , as reported by Judge M oore , who held Court there in March , it was i mpossible to collect taxes or levy an ex e cu “ tion , which , as he said , were plain proofs , among others , that their designs have extended further than to promote public inquiry into ” - . A t th e conduct of public affairs Hillsboro , e in Sept mber , when the Court met , with Judge

Henderson presiding , the greatest outrage or s eries of outrages yet perpetrated by the Reg u la to rs took place They insulted and cruelly b eat some members of the bar , and going into

- the court house in a riotous manner , with H usbands at their head , they demanded of Judge Henderson that he should try their leaders , and should take the j ury from their number . The Judge adj ourned the Court and that night fled the town . They then held a mock D I A N H S TIMES . 1 3 9

m c ourt , and ade scandalous entries on the

1 2 docket . On the th of November they burned ’ 1 Judge Henderson s barn , and on the 4th his house . Again a new Assembly was called , and

1 0 . met at Newbern in December , 77 It pro v ided , from the first , for relief to the people by various acts , one of which was to refund the amount of taxes alleged to have been illegally collected since 1 768 . Threats having been made by the Regula tors that they would go to Newbern , where the

Legislature was in session , to prevent Fanning from being seated as a member , the Governor c alled out the militia , and the trenches were manned for the protection of the Legislature .

Afterwards , when Husbands , who was a member from Orange , was expelled for lying and for threatening the Assembly with the Regulators in case of his confi n ement by the

House , it was ascertained that the Regulators were actually preparing to j ustify these threats by marching to Newbern . t Again , when the Assembly was abou to adj ourn , news came that the Regulators were in large force at Cross Creek (now Fayette ville) and had declared their purpose to go to ’ “ ” New bern and burn the Governor s palace . Thereupon the Assembly voted the Governor 1 40 A COLONIAL OFFICER

mean s of defence . These threats were not carried into execution , but the disorders grew

o th er ud e s worse continually , and J g were beaten and Courts broke n up . It now became evident that but one course remained to be pursued towards the Regula if tors , government of any kind was to be maintained in North Carolina , and accordingly

ur ed b tne C ounci l t/ze C ourts the Governor , g y , , a nd tne Le isla ture g , made his preparations to march against the Regulators and put a n end to their outrages .

He assembled about eleven hundred men , composed of detachments from the counties in the East , and from Wake , and marched to

Orange . The Regulators numbered about two thousan d . They met near the banks of the Alamance . Notwithstanding the conduct of the Regulators in cruelly flogging two of the Governor ’ s officers (Captains Walker and

Ashe) , whom they had captured while on a S couting expedition , the course of the Gov u cr or , according to every account of the affair , exhibited the utmost aversion to shedding blood . Messengers had passed between the forces , seeking a reconciliation in vain . On

* n t a t th e en d of See o e this chapter .

1 4 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

Previous to Tryon ’ s expedition to the Ala mance in Waddell had been promoted to the rank of General , and was the ranking

s e x e officer of the Province , and the mo t p rie n c ed officer in it , although not yet thirty

fi ve years old . Preparatory to that expedition he had been sent to Salisbury to take command of a fo rce which was to c o - operate with th e ’ troops under Tryon s immediate command ,

* ’ — [TRY ON S LETTER B OO K . $ N o . 0 . 7 EA RL H ILLSBOROUG H . NEWBERN 1 2 April 1 77 1 96 96 i f X' ' 96 9t -3< 99

’ T n th e 1 8 r I n a he ext day , th [Ma ch$ summo ed His M j esty s n n to Cou cil , related to them some reaso s that prompted me ff a n d t o n n o er my service , ook their advice the expedie cy of n a n d n n raisi g forces to restore peace stability to gover me t . They approvi n g the measure I lost n o time i n se n di n g requisi tio n s t o a lmost e very Coun ty i n the provin ce for certai n quotas m e n &c . &c . &C . of , , , >i< ee 96 >l< 96 96 96

To forward this b usi n ess I wen t myself last week to Wil

” n n n n mi gtou whe I appoi ted Mr . Waddell Ge eral of all the n n n a n d t forces raised , or to be raised agai st the i surge ts , expec he will get seven hun dred m e n from the Western Cou n ties t o v n n ser e u der his immediate comma d , who will march them i n to the settleme n t o f the i n surge n ts by the way of Salisb ury while I b ri n g up the forces from the Southern a n d Eastern a n d n n o n parts , break i to their settleme ts the east side of n n I n n n n th O ra ge Cou ty . my excursio to Wilmi gto I had e satisfaction to fi n d the ge n tleme n a n d i n habitan ts o f Cape Fear n n a n d i n a n d ffi f u a imous spirited the cause , the o cers success ul ' ”f $e i n n recruiti g . D A N H I S TIMES . 1 43 who went from the low country and from Wake

County . He was waiting for the arrival of some ammunition wagons , which had to make

. C . the long j ourney from Charleston , S , before starting with his force .

When the wagons , four in number , reached ’ P hifer s Hill , near Concord , they were seized and the ammunition was destroyed by some daring young fellows calli n g themselve s ” s Black Boys , under the leadership of Jame

White , who was afterwards a brave officer in the Revolution . These young men sympathized with th e

Regulators who , as they had been led to believe , were merely resisting oppression , and were guilty of n o lawlessness or other crime . The loss of his ammunition was the first seriou s difficulty that General Waddell encountered , but when he started with three hundred and forty men to j oin Tryon , and had reached a point a few miles beyond the Yadkin river , he u discovered a large force , a m ch larger one

O wn than his , which had been gathered to oppose his march , and which was ready for a ’ fight The officers in General Waddell s co m mand were , Griffith Rutherford (afterwards a

ffi a t distinguished Revolutionary o cer , who t a i ned m the rank of Brigadier General) , Willia 1 44 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

Lindsay , Adlai Alexander , Thomas Neal F m rederick Ross , Robert Shaw , Sa uel Spencer , R obert Harris , Samuel Snead , and William

fific r . o e s Luckie These held a council of war , and drew up a paper which they signed , dated “ ’ ’ 1 0th General Waddell s Camp , Potts Creek ,

May , which reads as follows By a Council of officers of the Western detachment , considering the great superiority O f 1n s u r e n t s the g in number , and the resolution O f n o t a great part of their own men to fight , it was resolved that they should retreat across the Yadkin . It was also discovered that many of the detachment were communicating with the

Regulators , and thereupon General Waddell retreated . He then sent a dispatch to Tryon acquainting him with the situation of affairs , a n d Tryon , who was a fearless and skillful

O f ficer , immediately moved on the Regulators , “ ” c u 1 6 and the battle of Alamance , the th ’ - so . May , ended the called Regulators war General Waddell was not present at the

Alamance affair , and was doubtless glad of it , for , while his duty as an officer was plain , he , like Caswell , Ashe , Howe , and others , whose patriotism was displayed in the Revolution so s oon afterwards , was averse to shedding the

1 46 A COLONIAL OFFICER

’ /z T i ra . That , with two or three exceptions , there was not a ' man prominent for intellect or virtue in their organization .

u r t/z . F o That they were not republicans .

F ifi /c . That they were Tories in the Revo lu tio n ; and

O Si nt/i . That they were pposed by the promi d nent Whig lea ers of that day , including such ‘ Grifii th men as Rutherford , Willie Jones and others , who , after the Revolution , were sus pected of radicalism .

1 . . Proof of the first proposition will not be required by any one at all acquainted with the subj ect .

2 . The grievances complained of by the out o f Regulators were purely local , and arose

a n d the extortions malpractice of the sheriffs ,

- clerk s, registers of deeds and tax collectors . The O ffenders were their fellow - subj ects a n d

n o t neighbors , and the King and Parliament , to whom they declared their loyalty a n d devo tion in the strongest terms , and proved it by being Tories in the Revolution . The taxes against which they protested were not B ri tis/z taxes , illegally imposed , but taxes imposed by their own representatives in the Assembly representatives with whom , as declared in the

Sandy Creek Association , they proposed to A N D H I S TIMES . 1 47

confer , and whom they proposed to displace with better men if they did not do right . And if the original purposes of that Association — had been carried out in good faith if by co n c erted action they had persistently indicted offenders against the law , and had sued for the penalties provided by the statute (West minster I) , and had tested the legality of seizures and the like , instead of resorting to a “ ” higher law of their own , and enlisting and training men , and breaking up the Courts , and whipping Judges and attorneys , and attempting with armed force to overawe the

Legislature , and committing other similar out — rages they would have escaped the La tgfi h a t befel them , and would have appeared in history in a very different light . — 3 . The third proposition that with two or three exceptions , their organization embraced no man prominent for intellect or virtue

C annot be denied . The discussion of historical questions ought to be approached without prej udice or improper motives of any kind ; and , therefore , while it is natural and commendable in the descend ants O f the Regulators to seek to vindicate their conduct , the effort cannot be j ustified n either by distorti g facts , or by imputing false 1 48 A C OLONIAL OFFICER or unworthy motives to others It has been “ said that some of the gentry , as some of the Eastern men were invidiously called , had aided in suppressing the Regulators because of offended pride at not having been consulted upon or placed in C harge of the movement . There is no foundation whatever for this n stra ge assertion , and it must be attributed , like many of the so - called facts which filial piety has supplied i n regard to the Regula tors , to a loose tradition , based upon unj ust prej udices . The persons to whom allusion is ” made as the gentry , were , almost without exception , men who owed nothing to the acci

o f dents birth or fortune , but had earned posi tion s of respectability by their public services their superior intelligence and force of C har acter . Those who are unable or unwilling to recon “ — cile the conduct of these gentry wh o in 1 765 denounced and resisted with arms the Stamp Act and other legislation of Parliamen t hostile to America— with their subsequent suppression of the Regulators in 1 77 1 3confuse

ea Ch events which are unconnected with other , which arose from different causes and were based on different principles .

1 6 The men of 7 5 , as British subj ects , and

1 50 A COLONIAL OFFICER

— u to suppress a revolt , which altho gh based upon j ust provocation against i ndividuals in its incipiency— had assumed proportions and was contemplating purposes inconsistent with the preservation of the forms of government , or in other words , which meant naked anarchy The warmest apologist of the Regulators h a s never j ustified the lawless and cruel acts perpetrated by them— their gathering in arms to overawe the Legislature and rescue Hus

h a d bands , who been expelled from that body and afterwards imprisoned , and the various other acts leading up to the battle of Alamance . The author of the latest history of North * a roli11 a — C who , it is proper to say , is in no way related to the men of the s a me name from the Cape Fear country who figured in the troubles of those times , and is not amenable — to the charge of inherited prej udice speaking

: of these events , says

l These misguided peop e , however much j ustified in their original movements , had — become an intolerable nuisance a n impedi ment alike to legislation and the administra tion of public j ustice . Brutal mobs ranged unchallenged from where Raleigh now stands to Charlotte .

* n . Maj o r Joh W . Moore A N D H I S TIMES . 5 1

And again he says : It has been the habit in North Carolina to assail the motives of Governor Tryon for the ‘ military movements which he inaugurated in the month of March . Whatever may have a n d been his previous errors mistakes , there can be no rational denial of hi s eminent pru dence and propriety on this occasion . The ’ Judges of the Courts , His Maj esty s Council , and the House of Assembly all j oined in insist ing that he should raise the forces of the Prov ince and abate a nuisance that was maki n g North Carolina a stench in the nostrils of all civilized commun ities . Though the Regula tion was first planned i n resistance to the i meanest of tyrann es , it had become the enemy of all true liberty and order , and was only the tool of one base and designing man .

The conduct , therefore , of the gentry in resisting the usurpations of the King and

Parliament on the one hand , and in aiding to

011 put down lawlessness the other , commend them to the profound respect of the historian as men who had a j ust appreciation of true liberty ; and the stigma of being gentlemen , which is sought to be affixed to their names , and memory will serve the double purpose of C presenting them in their true haracter , and of verifyi n g the assertion that the best me n of the Province were all on one side , and that 1 5 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER

was the side of law and legitimate rule . A s — to the leaders of the Regulators in connection with the proposition that there were , with two or three exceptions , no prominent men among them— it is to be observed that the mere fact that Husbands was the ruling spirit among them is of itself almost conclusive evidence o f the truth of the assertion . As to his C haracter there is no difference of opinion , and as evi dence of it very different authorities are n o w given . Governor Tryon wrote to the Earl of Hills “ borough in 1 768 : Not a person of the char acter of a gentleman appeared among thes e insurgents . Herman Husbands appears to have planned their operations ; he is of a fac tious temper and has long since been expelled from the Society of the Quakers for the immo ” ra lity of his life .

Dr . Caruthers , the ablest apologist of the

Regulators , admits that Husbands was not at that time in membership with the Quakers ,

r although he had been ; and Dr . Wiley , anothe apologist , says Husbands was not a char ” acter worthy of much commendation . He was afterwards an active insurgent in the i n Whiskey Insurrection Pennsylvania , which

or w a s suppressed by Washington . The two

1 54 A C OLONIAL OFFICER s ympathy was not with them as Regulators for even Caruthers , his biographer , says that he d isapproved of and condemned their measures .

As a christian minister , he pitied them in d istre ss and danger and tried to mitigate their m punish ent , but it is unj ust to his memory to c onnect him any farther than this with the insurrection ; and it is equally unj ust to the Presbyterians of that day to fix upon them any part of the re s po n sibilily . Four ministers of that church in 1 768 wrote letters which Col . Osborn read to the troops when defending the

Government , and Tryon himself wrote to Lord “ 1 68 : Hillsborough in December , 7 His Maj ’ e sty s Presbyterian subj ects showed themselves very loyal on this service , and I have a pleasure in acknowledging the utility that the Presby t erian ministers ’ letters to their brethren had ” u pon the then face of public affairs .

n o 4 . That the Regulators were t republicans is evident , both from their acts and declarations . 'They declared in an address to the Governor “ and Council , as follows We assure you th at

' neither disloyalty to the best of Kings , nor dissatisfaction to the wholesomest constitution , nor yet dissatisfaction to the Legislature , gave rise to those commotions which now make so ” much noise . A N D H I S TIMES . 1 55

They declared their opposition to the Judges because they had not been appointed by the

n O f King , and , accordi g to the affidavit Robert “ n Lytle , they drank dam ation to King George ” t e e t n 1 a n d s uccess o M P r e der 0 . , in 77 In addition to this they “ eagerly took the oath n of allegiance after their defeat at Alama ce , and subsequently became active Tories (with very rare exceptions) in the Revolution .

5 . When the R evolutionary War broke out

t he n ew in North Carolina Governor , Martin relied for support almost entirely on the High landers and Regulators , and he was not dis appointed , for he found them zealous loyalists and cordial haters of the Whigs . The latter , when the Provincial Congress was called together by Samuel Johnston o n the 2 o th of

1 August , 775 , at Hillsborough , apprehended an attack from the Regulators . The fear was general among the members of that body that an attempt would be made to disperse them . If th e Regulators were republicans and friends

c a n of the cause , how this apprehension on the part of the Congress be accounted for ? One

Colson , who was , perhaps , the leader (and certainly was a prominent member) of the

Regulators after Husbands fled , surrendered himself to that Congress , and , according to a 1 56 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

letter written by Governor Johnston , with n every appeara ce of humility and contrition , even to the shedding of tears , has promised for the future to exert himself with as much assi d uit a s b e b a s nun y in favor of our measures , ” erto i n opposi tion to tb em .

sta tus Thus the of the Regulators is fixed , and , according to the evidence furnished by — these two incidents the apprehension of a n attack on the Congress and the surrender of Colson— they were necessarily either Tories or banditti . The history of individuals will not be traced .

h a n d 6t . S The ixth last proposition was , that they were opposed by the prominent Whig leaders of that day ; even by such men as

Griffith Rutherford and Willie Jones , who were considered ultra republican s after the

Revolution . No better test of popularity could be appealed to than was furnished by the men who , having

u b e opposed and suppressed the Reg lators , came afterwards favorite officers in the Revo l u tio n ; and it is only necessary to mention n m w some of their a es , ith the rank they attained , to prove it . (General Waddell died

o ut before the Revolution broke , and , there fore , is not included . ) John Ashe and Robert

1 58 A C OLO NIAL OF F ICER

after suppressing it , was cruel and heartless as well as contemptible and ridiculous . The execution of six prisoners at Hillsborough , including a wretched lunatic who was , tradi m tion says , made a aniac by personal wrongs of the most infamous C haracter perpetrated by

un n ec e s some official , was as cruel as it was sary . Tryon left North Carolina about a month a A after the b ttle of lamance , to become Gov e rn o r of New York , and about th e same time “ ” a letter , signed Atticus , appeared in the n ewspapers and was widely circulated through out the country . This letter was written by

Judge Maurice Moore , and added greatly to his reputation as a lawyer and w r1te r of bril ’ liant talents . As it not only depicted Tryon s character in vivid colors , but gave the best

w a s history of his administration , and written w h o by one . although appointed a Judge by

hi s him and required , in the discharge of official duties , to try such cases as were brought e befor him , had a very j ust estimate of the Governor ; and as it has not been published in

: fifty years , it is here given in full

To bis Ex cellenc VVi/li a m Tr on Es ui re : y y , q I am too well acquainted with your charac ter to suppose you can bear to be told of your A N D H I S . TIMES . 1 59

faults with temper . You are too much of the soldier , and too little of the philosopher , for i reprehension . W th this o pi n I O n of your Ex c ell en c v y , I ha e more reason to believe that this letter will be m c re serviceable to the prov N ew ince of York , than useful or entertaining to its governor . The beginning of your a d ministrati on ln this province was marked with oppression and distress to its inhabitants . c These , Sir , I do not place to your a count ; they are derived from higher authority than yours . You were , however , a dull , yet willing n u i str ment , in the hands of the British Min i st ry to promote the means of both . You called together some of the principal in h a bi d tants of your neighborhoo , and in a strange , - f S inverted , self af ecting peech , told them that you had left your native country , friends , and connexions , and taken upon yourself the gov e rn me n t of North Carolina with no other view than to serve it . In the next breath , Sir , you a n d advised them to submit to the Stamp Act , become slaves . How could you reconcile such baneful advice with such friendly professions ?

- But , Sir , self contradictions with you have not been confined to words only ; they have been equally extended to actions . On other occa sions you have played the governor with an air of greater dignity and importance than any of your predecessors ; on this , your Excellency was meanly content t o solicit$ the currency of stamped paper in private companies . But , alas $ ministerial approbation is the first wish 1 60 A COLONIAL OFFICER o f your heart ; it is the best sec urity you have for your offi ce . Engaged as you were in this d isgraceful negotiation , the more important d n uties of the governor were forgotte , or wil fully neglected . In murmuring , discontent , and public confusion , you left the colony com mitte d to your care , for near eighteen months together , without calling an assembly . The

Stamp Act repealed , you called one ; and a fatal one it was $ Under every influence your character afforded you , at this Assembly , was laid the foundation of all the mischief which h a s since befallen this unhappy province . A g rant w a s made to the crown of five thousand pounds , to erect a house for the residence of a governor ; and you , Sir , were solely intrusted with the management of it . The infant and impoverished state of this country could not afford to make such a grant , and it was your duty to have been acquainted with the circum stances o f the colony you governed . This trust proved equally fatal to the interest of the ’ p rovince and to your Excellency s honor . You made use of it , Sir , to gratify your vanity , at the expense of both . It at once afforded you a n opportunity of leaving an elegant monu ment of your taste in building behind you , and giving the ministry an instance of your great influence and address in your new gov

e rn me n t . You , therefore , regardless of every moral , as well as legal obligation , ch anged the

- plan of a province house to that of a palace , worthy the residence of a prince of the blood ,

1 6 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICE R

marched to perform it , in a time of profound i n peace , at the head of a company of militia , all the pomp of war , and returned with the honorable title , conferred on you by the Chero Grea t W ol o j Vo rtn C a rolz na kees , of f f This ’ a nd line of marked trees , your Excellency s prophetic title , cost the province a greater sum than two pence a head , on all the taxable per

i n . sons it for one year , would pay

Your next expedition , Sir , was a more important one . Four or five hundred ignorant people , who called themselves Regulators , took it into their head to quarrel with their re pre se n ta ti ve , a gentleman honored with your ’ Excellency s esteem . They foolishly charged him with every distress they felt ; and , in revenge , shot two or three musket balls through his house . They at the same time rescued a horse which had been seized for the public tax . These crimes were punishable in the courts o f m law , and at that ti e the criminals were amen able to legal process . Your Excellenc y and your confidential friends , it seems , were of a different opinion . All your duty could possi bly require of you on this occasion , if it required thi n a t i any g e all , was to direct a prosecut on against t h offe n ders . You should have care fully avoided becoming a party in the dispute .

But , Sir , your genius could not lie still ; you enlisted yourself a volunteer in this service and entered into a negotiation with the Regu a n d e n co u r lators , which at once disgraced you w h o aged them . They despised the governor A N D H I S TIM ES . 1 63 had degraded his own C haracter by taking part i in a pr vate quarrel , and insulted the man whom they considered as personally their enemy . The terms of accommodation your Excellency had offered them were treated with

. e contempt What they were , I nev r knew ; they could not have related to public O ffences ; these belong to another j urisdiction . All hopes of settling the mighty contest by treaty ceas ing , you prepared to decide it by means more a n agreeable to your martial disposition , appeal to the sword . You took the field in September , 1 68 7 , at the head of ten or twelve hundred men , a n d published an oral manifesto , the substance of which was , that you had taken up arms to protect a superior court of j ustice from insult . o u Permit me here to ask y , Sir , why you were apprehensive for the court ? Was the court apprehensive for itself Did the j udges , or the

- attorney general , address your Excellency for ? protection So far from it , Sir , if these gentle men are to be believed , they never entertained the least suspicion of any insult , unless it was that which they afterwards experienced from the undue influence you offered to extend to a n d them , the military display of drums , colors , and guards , with which they were surrounded n and disturbed . How fully has your co duct , n on a like occasion si ce , testified that you m acted in this instance fro passion , and not

‘ n $ 1 0 from pri ciple In September , 77 , the Regu lators forcibly obstructed the proceedings of o ffi Hillsborough Superior Court , obliged the 1 64 A COLONIAL OFFICER

cers to leave it , and blotted out the records . A n little before the next term , whe their contem pt of courts was sufficiently proved , you wrote an insolent letter to the j udges , and attorney general , commanding them to attend to it . ? Why did ~y o u not protect the court at this time

You will blush at the answer , Sir . The con duct of the Regulators , at the preceding term , made it more than probable that those gentle ~ n men would be i sulted at this , and you were not unwilling to sacrifice them to increase the guilt of your enemies . Your Excellency said that you had armed to protect a court . Had you said to revenge n the insult you and your frie ds had received , it would have been more generally credited in this country . The men , for the trial of whom u t the court was th s ex ravagantly protected , of u their own accord , squeezed thro gh a crowd of h soldiers , and surrendered t emselves , as if they were bound to do so by their recognizance .

Some of these people were convicted , fined , a n d n impriso ed , which put an end to a piece - u of knight errantry , eq ally aggravating to the populace and burthe n some to the country . On this occasion , Sir , you were alike successful in the diffu sion of a military Spirit thro u gh the colony and i n the warlike exhibition you set before the public ; you at once disposed the h vulgar to ostilities . and proved the legality of

a u . arming , in c ses of disp te , by example Thus warranted by precedent and tempered by sym n pathy , popular disco tent soon became resent

1 66 A COLO NI AL OFFICER indictments charged the crimes to have been n committed in Ora ge County , in a distinct district from that in which the court was held . The s uperior court law prohibits prosecution for capital offences in any other district than w o that in w hich they ere c mmitted . Wh at distinctions the gentlemen of the long robe might make on such a n occ a sion I d o not n n k ow , but it appears to me those indictme ts might as well have been found i n your Excel ’ le n c s y kitchen ; and give me leave to tell you , n Sir , that a man is not bound to a swer to a charge that a court has no authority to make , n o r doth the law punish a neglect to perform n that which it does not comma d . The riot act declared those only outlawed who refused d to answer to in ictments legally found . Those who had been capitally Charged were illegally n i dicted , and could not be outlaws ; yet your a Excellency proceeded gainst them as such .

I mean to expose your blunders , not to defend their conduct ; that was as insolent and daring as the desperate state your administration had red uced t hem to could possibly occasion . I am willing to give you full credit for every service you have rendered this country Your active and gallant behaviour , in extinguishing the

flame you yourself had kindled , does you great F O r r honor . once your milita y talents were useful to the province ; you bravely met in the

field , and vanquished , an host of scoundrels , whom you had made i n trepid by abuse . It fi seems dif cult to determine , Sir , whether your A N D H I S TIMES . 6 7

Excellency is more to be admired for your skill th e a in creating c use , or your bravery in sup pressing the effect . This single action wou ld have blotted out for ever half the evils of your $ administration ; but alas Sir , the conduct of

e n e l a l l v i c to1 w a s 1 the g a ter his y , mo e dis graceful to the hero who obtained it , than that o f the man before it had been to the governor . Why did you stain so great an action with the blood of a prisoner who was in a st a te of insanity ? The execution of James Few was inhuman ; that miserable wretch was entitled t o life till nature , or the laws of his country , d eprived him of it . The battle of the Alle mance was over ; the soldier was crowned with d s a n . uccess , the peace of the province restored There was no necessity for the infamous ex ample of an arbitrary execution , without j udge

o r . j ury I can freely forgive you , Sir , for killing Robert Thompson , at the beginning of a n d the battle ; he was your prisoner , was making his escape to fight against you . The

- n laws of self preservation sa ctified the action , and j ustly entitle your Excellency to an a c t of i ndemnity . The n sacrifice of Few , under the crimi al c n ircumstances , could neither ato e for his crime nor abate your rage ; this task was ve n reserved for his unhappy parents . Your e a n ce i i t m g , Sir , in this nstance , seems , oved i n a retrograde direction to that proposed in the second commandment against idolaters ; o u S C y visited the ins of the hild upon the father , 1 68 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

and , for want of the third and fourth genera n tion to exte d it to , collaterally divided it e between brothers and sisters . The h avy f a a fliction , with which the untimely de th of a f h s ufii cie n t son had burt ened his parents , was to have cooled the resentment of any man , whose heart was susceptible of the feelings o f humanity ; yours , I am afraid , is not a heart of that kind . If it is , why did you add to the distresses of that family ? Why refuse the petition of the town of Hillsborough in a s favor of them , and unrelentingly destroy , far as you could , the means of their future ? existence It was cruel , Sir , and unworthy a soldier .

Your conduct to others after your success , w a s whether it respected person or property , as lawless as it was unnecessarily expensive to th e colony . When your Excellency had exemplified the power of government in the O f death a hundred Regulators , the survivors . to a man , became proselytes to government ;

- they readily swallowed your new coined oath , O n to be bedient to the laws of the provi ce , and to pay the public taxes . It is a pity , Sir , that to in devising this oath , you had not attended the morals of those people You might easily n cr1m 1n a l n have restrai ed every inclinatio , and m have ade them good men , as well as good lle ma n ce h a d subj ects . The battle of the A equally disposed them to m O I a l a n d to political n conversion , there was no ecessity , Sir , when e the people were reduced to obedience , to ravag

d . the country , or to insult indivi uals

1 70 A COLONIAL OFFICER

i I believe , was writ ng an impudent letter to your lady , was sentenced , in one of these mili tary courts , to receive five hundred lashes , and received two hundred and fifty of them accord

. u ingly But , Sir , however exceptionable yo r a conduct may h ve been on this occasion , it bears little proportion to that which you adopted on the trial of the prisoners you had taken . These miserable wretches were to be tried for a crime made capital by a temporary ’ e act of Assembly of twelv months duration .

That act had , in great tenderness to his Maj ’ e S . sty subj ects , converted riots into treasons A rigorous and punctual execution of it was as unj ust as it was politically unnecessary The terror of the examples now proposed to be made under it was to expire , with the law , in less than nine months after . The suffer ings of these people could th erefore amount to little more than mere punish ment to them selves . Their offences were derived from public and from private impo s 1t 10n s ; and they n o t were the followers , the leaders , in the crimes they had committed . Never were criminals more j ustly entitled to every le n ity c o n the law could afford them ; but , Sir , no s ideration cou ld abate your zeal i n a cause you had transferred from yourself to your soy er i n e g . You shamefully exerted every influence of your character against the lives of these i people . As soon as you were told that an n d ulge n ce of one day had been gran ted by th e i court to two men to send for w tnesses , who A N D H I S TIMES . 1 7 1

actually established their innocence , and saved a n - - their lives , you sent aid de camp to the

- j udges and attorney general , to acquaint them that you were dissatisfied with th e inactivity of their conduct , and threatened to represent them unfavorably in England if they did not proceed with more Spirit and despatch . Had o the court submitted to influence , all testim ny on the part of the prisoners would have been excluded ; they must have been condemned , to a man . You said that your solicitude for th e condemnation of these people arose from your desire of manifesting the lenity of government in their pardon . How have your actions c o n tra di c ted your words $ Out of twelve that were m S i x n conde ned , the lives of o ly were spared .

Do you know , Sir , that your lenity on this occasion was less than that of the bloody Jeffries in 1 685 ? He condemned five hundred persons , but saved the lives of two h undred and seventy .

In the execution of the six devoted offenders , your Excellency was as Short of General Kirk in form , as you were of Judge Jeffries in lenity . That general honored the execution he had the charge of with play of pipes , sound of trumpets , and beat of drums ; you were con o f tent with the silent display colors only . The disgraceful part you acted in this cere mony , of pointing out the spot for erecting the gallows , and clearing the field around for ridi c u drawing up the army in form , has left a lous idea of your character behind you , which 1 72 A COLONIAL OFFICER bears a strong resemblance to that of a busy

- undertaker at a funera l . This s cene closed your Excellency ’ s administration in this coun I n 1t try , to the great j oy of every man , a few of your own contemptible tools only excepted . ’ Were I personally your Excellency s enemy ,

I would follow you into the shade of life , and Show you equally the obj e ct of pity and con tempt to th e wise and serious , and of j est and ridicule to the ludicrous and sarcastic . Truly pitiable , Sir , is the pale and trembling impa

i e n c e . t of your temper No character , however a n d distinguished for wisdom virtue , can sanc tify the least degree of contradiction to your political opinions . On such occasions , Sir , in a rage , you renounce the character of a gentle man , and precipitately mark the most exalted merit with every disgrace the haughty inso

- len ce of a governor can inflict upon it . To this unhappy temper , Sir , may be ascribed most of the absurdities of your administration in this country . It deprived you of every assistance me n of Spirit and abilities cou ld have o u given y , and left you , with all your passions and inexperience about you , to blunder through a the duties of your office , supported and p proved by the most profou n d ignorance and

abj ect servility . Your pride has as often exposed you to ridi

cule , as the rude petulance of your disposition

has to contempt . Your solicitude about the

H er x cellenc . title of E y for Mrs Tryon , and the arrogant reception you gave to a respect

1 74 A C OLONIAL OFFICER that as one method of converting the rebels he ffi O f u o sent out o cers with flags tr ce , l aded down with sermons to distribute amongthem with which sermons the rebels light their

- h m tobacco pipes , or expend t em in other eces “ : sary uses . Again he says Governor , now

General , Tryon , who is the pink of politeness , C and the quintescence of vanity , hose to dis ti n gui s h himself by petitioning that the Pro v in c i a ls under his command should occupy the outposts at Kingsbridge ; h e had his wish for a long time , by which we lost numbers of our

he . T best recruits man is generous , perfectly

-n good atured , and no doubt brave ; but weak and vain to an extreme degree . You should keep such people at home , they are excellent for a court parade . I wish Mrs . Tryon would ” send for him .

— NOTE The followi n g is the Act of the Legi slature i n regard

. I a n n to the Regulators t was exceedi gly harsh measure , but w a s o f n n a n d n o t it the Act North Caroli ia s themselves , of the i n r n o n a o . S Brit sh Crow Parliame t o far fr m bei g the l tter , as n n n w as a n d n n E . soo as it reached gla d it repudiated de ou ced , a nd a n f b n s o i s similar legisl tio was orever for idde ; that , as “ i n n o t B n a n t urged the text , it was ritish oppressio ag i s which the Regulators con te n ded

’ A n A ct or reventi n Tum ults a na R i otous A ssembli es or f p g , f the m ore speedy a nd efi ectua l p un i shi ng the R i oters a nd f or

restori n a nd r servi n the P ubli c P ea ce o tli i s P ro vi nce g p e g f ,

' Whereas o f late ma n y sedi ti o US R i o t s a n d tumults have been i n divers Parts o f this Provi n ce to the disturban ce o f the Public A N D H I S TIMES . 1 75

O r n o f o f usti c e a nd n n Peace , the bst uctio the Course J , te di g to

n n a n d n n a nd subvert the Co stitutio , the same are yet co ti ued ’ n n ff h i s n n fome ted by Perso s disa ected to Maj esty s gover me t . A nd whereas it hath been doubted b y some h o w far the Laws n o w i n Force are suffi cient to i n flict pun ishment adequate to such hei n ous O ffe n ces . n n n a nd Be it therefore e acted by the Gover or , Cou cill Assem a nd o f T a n n bly , by the Authority the same , hat if y Perso s to n o f t e n o b n n a n d the umber or m re , ei g u lawfully tumultuously a n d i s b n r otou ly assem led together , to the disturba ce of the a n f r fi D a o f r n Public Peace , at y time a te the rst y Februa y ext , a nd bei n g ope n ly required or comma n ded by a ny o n e o r more o f o r S f t o a n d Justices the Peace heri f disperse themselves , n S n peaceably to depart to their habitatio s , hall to the umber of t e n n n n n or more , otwithsta di g such Comma d or Request made remai n o r co n ti n ue together b y the space o f o n e Hour after n o r n n n such Comma d request , that their co ti ui g together to the n o f t e n a n a n d umber or more sh ll be adj udged Felo y , the ff n n a n d n o e ders therei each of them , shall be adj udged Felo s a n d Shall su ffer De a th as i n case of Felo n y a n d Shall be utterly h i s o r n a excluded from their clergy , if fou d guilty by verdict o r n f n n of a Jury shall co ess the same , upo his or their arraig n n o t n to n me t or will a swer directly the same , accordi g to the L n o r n o r b e aws of this Provi ce , shall sta d mute shall outlawed , a nd every such Justice o f the Peace a n d Sheri ff withi n th e O n a re limits f their respective Jurisdictio s , hereby authorized , impowered a nd required o n Notice o r K n owledge o f a n y such n f r a n d u law ul , iotous tumultuous Assembly to resort to the n a n d Place where such u lawful riotous , tumultuous Assembly n o f t e n a n d shall be , of Perso s to the Number or more there to

o r n . make , cause to be made such Request or Comma d A n d be it further e n acted by the authori ty aforesaid that i f n so n i a n d such Perso s u lawfully , r otously tumultuously assem o r t e n o f o r n bled or more them , after such Request Comma d made i n man n er aforesaid Shall con tin ue together a n d n o t dis n o n e n S a n d perse themselves withi Hour , that the it hall may be lawful to a n d fo r every Justice o f the Peace o r Sheri ff o f the Cou n ty where such Assembly shall be a n d also to a n d fo r such 1 76 A COLO NI AL OFFICER

P e rso n O r P erso ns as shall b e C ommanded to the aidi n g a nd ' a n a n s o f o r S i ff w h o a re ssisti g to y such Ju tice the Peace her , h a a n d e t o n ereby uthorized , impowered r quired comma d of ' ’ H i s Maj esty s Subj ects o f this Provi n ce o f A ge a n d Ability to b e n t o m n a n d a r n assisti g the therei , to seize pp ehe d such Per s n so n a nd o n n n o s u lawfully , riotously tumultu usly co ti ui g t f e o r o m n a ogether , a ter such R quest C ma d made as afores id a n d forthwith to carry the person s so apprehe n ded before o ne ’ -o r more of his M aj esty s Justices of the Peace o f the Coun ty w here such Person s shall be so a pprehe n ded i n O rder to their b ei n g proceeded a gai n st for such their O ffe n ces accordi n g t o A n d i f n n a n d Law . that the Perso s so u lawfully riotously tumultuously assembled o r a n y of them shall happe n to be

m o r i n n n n killed aimed hurt the dispersi g , seizi g or apprehe d i n n n o r n g or e deavori g to disperse , seize apprehe d them by Reaso n of their resista n ce that the n every such j ustice of the S ff n S ff a n d n n n Peace , heri u der heri all other Perso s bei g aidi g o r assisti n g to them or a n y o f them Shall be free discharged a nd n n fi n K n a n d S i dem i ed , as well agai st the i g , his Heirs uc c e s s o rs as agai n st all a n d every other Perso n a n d Person s of fo r a nd n n n n n o r n o f a n co cer i g the killi g , maimi g hurti g y such Perso n o r Perso n s so u n lawfully riotously a n d tumultuously a ssemb led . A n d be it further en acted by the authority aforesaid that i f a n n Te n n f y Perso s to the Number of or more , u law ully , riot o usly o r tumultuously assembled together t o the disturb a n ce o f t h e S n wf a n d a n y public Peace , hall u la ully with Force at time f fi D a o f n n S n a n a ter the rst y March ext , duri g the itti g of y of t h e o f udi c a tu re W n n a n n n t n Courts J ithi the Provi ce , with i te io t o o r n destruct disturb the proceedi gs of such Court , assault , o r n n n n beat wou d or ope ly threate to assault , beat or wou d a n O ffi o f i n y of the Judges , Justices or other cer such Court , dur g t h e n n n o f n co ti ua ce the term or shall assault , beat or wou d or n nto n n l ope ly threate assault , beat or wou d , or Shall u lawful y a n d n a n d a n S ff Un S i ff with force hi der destruct y heri , der her , Coro n er or Collector o f the public Taxes i n the disch a rge o r executio n o f h i s o r their offi ce o r shall u n l a wfully a n d with n d n Force demolish , pull dow or estroy or begi to demolish ,

1 78 A C OLONIAL OFFIC ER

seve n hu n dred a n d sixty eight i n tituled A n . Act fo r di vidi n g this Provi n ce i nto si x se veral districts a n d for esta blishin g a superior Court o f J ust1c e m each of the said districts a n d regu n n n a nd v n lati g the proceedi gs therei , for pro idi g a dequate salaries fo r the C h i e f J usti c e a nd the Associate Justices of the a s id superior Courts . Provided n everth eless that n o Perso n or Perso n s heretofore guilty o f a n y o f the Crimes or O ffe n ces i n this Act b e fo re m e n ti o n e d although co n victed thereof i n a differen t Cou n ty o r di strict from that wherei n such Offe n ce was committed shall be subj ect t o a n y other or greater pu n ishmen t tha n he or they n n n would or might have bee had this Act ever bee made . A n d to the e n d that the Justice o f the Provi n ce be n o t eluded n n O ff n by the resista ce or escape of such e ormous e ders , Be it n b f a n d f r further e acted y the Authority a oresaid , that from a te

in a n o f a n n n the pass g of this Act , if y Bill or Bills y i dictme t be fou n d or prese n tme n t or presen tmen ts made agai n st a n y Perso n or Perso n s for a n y of the Crimes or O ffen ces herei n be fore men tio n ed it sh a ll a n d may b e Lawful for the Judges or Justi ces o f the Supreme Court or Court o f O yer a n d Ter n n I n n n n n mi er , wherei such dictme t shall be fou d or prese tme t made a n d they are hereby impowered a n d required t o issue their proclamatio n t o be affi xed or put up at the Court House a n d each Church a n d Chappel of the Coun ty where the Crime w a s n n n n n committed , comma di g the Perso or Perso s agai st whom such Bill o f I n dictme n t is fou n d or prese n tme n t made t o surren der himsel f or themselves to the Sheriff of the Cou n ty n n A n d i n wherei such Court is held withi Sixty Days . case such Perso n or Perso n s do n o t surre n de r himself or themselves n o r o f ff n accordi gly , he they shall be deemed guilty the o e ce charged i n the I n dictme n t fou n d o r prese n tment made i n like ma n n er a s i f he or they had b ee n arraign ed a n d co n victed o o f L A n d a n d f thereof by due C urse aw , it shall may be law ul to a n d fo r a n y Perso n o r Perso n s to kill a n d destroy such O ff n a n d n n n O ff n e ders , such Perso or Perso s killi g such e der o r O ff n S f a n d n d n i fi e ders hall be ree discharged i em ed , as well n K i n a n d i n a n d agai st the g , his Heirs . successors , as aga st all very Perso n a n d Perso n s for a n d co n cern i n g the k illi n g a n d destroyi n g such O ffe n der o r O ffe nders a n d the la n ds a n d N D I A H S TIMES . 1 79 chattels o f such Offe n der o r O ffen ders shall b e forfeited to his h i s a n d t o S f Maj esty , Heirs successors , be sold by the heri f, fo r b n a the est Price that may be had , at public Ve due , fter n o tice by ad vertiseme n t t en Days a nd the Mo n ies arisi n g from T r n such sale , to be paid to the reasurer of the District whe ei the same shall be sold a nd applied towards de frayi n g th e c o n n n f n n ti ge t Charges o gover me t . A n d whereas by the late Riots a n d I n surrectio n s at the last Superior Court held fo r the district o f Hillsborough it may be j ustly apprehe n ded that some e n deavors will b e made to pro te ct those w h o have bee n guilty o f such R i ots a nd I n surrectio n s as well as those who m a y hereafter be guilty O f the Crimes a n d O ffe n ces herei n before men tion ed For Preve n tio n thereof a n d restori n g Peace a n d Stability to the regular gover n me n t o f this n n a Provi ce , Be it e cted by the Authority aforesaid , that the Govern or or Comman der i n Chief for the time bei n g is hereby fully authorized a nd empowered to order a n d comma n d that n ecessary draughts be made from the di fferen t Regiments of Militia i n this Provin ce to be u n der the Comm a n d o f such O ffi cer or O ffi cers a s he may thi n k proper t o appoi n t for that purpose at the Public E xp en c e to be by him employed i n Aid a n d n E n L ro Assista ce of the xecutio of this aw , as well as to p tee t the Sheriffs a n d Collectors of the public Reve n ue i n Di s o f a n charge their several duties , which draught or Det chme ts O fli c ers a nd S n a a f n of oldiers whe m de sh ll be ou d , provided a n d i n n n a nd a n d for , paid , the same ma er at the same rates subj ect to the same Rules a n d Discipli n e as directed i n case of a n I n surrection i n a nd by a n Act o f Assembly made i n the year o f o u r L O n e n n n a n d S ord thousa d seve hu dred ixty eight ,

n A n fo r n i i n o n . e titled , Act the establishi g a Milit a this Pr vi ce A n d fo r effectually carryi n g i nto execution the purposes n f S aforesaid , Be it e acted by the Authority a oresaid , that it hall a n d may be Lawful fo r the Gover n or a n d Comman der i n Chief for the time b ei n g to draw upo n both o r either o f the Publick Treasurers o f thi s Provi n ce by W arra n t from u n der his Han d a nd S fo r n o f a n n S eal , Payme t y such sums of Mo ey as hall or may be immediately n ecessary fo r the carryi n g o n a n d per formi n g o f such Service a nd the said Treasurers or either o f them are hereby directed a nd required to a n swer a n d pay such 1 80 C A OLONIAL . OFFICER

n f o ut o f n n n n a Warra ts as a oresaid the co ti ge t Fu d , which sh ll 1 h mn f A n b e a llowed n t eir settle e t o the Public ccou ts . A n d E n f i t be it further acted by the Authority a oresa d , hat if a ny n umber of M e n shall be fou n d embodied a n d i n a n armed a n d n n n a n F hostile Ma er to withsta d or oppose y military orces , r i n A c t a nd n n a n d aised Virtue of this . shall whe ope ly pub

n b a n lickly required , comma ded y y Justice of the Peace or S ff o f n n t o heri the Cou ty where the same shall happe , lay n a n d n a nd t n a n d i n dow their Arms surre der themselves , he such Case the said Perso n s s o u n lawfully assembled a n d with n n n a n d n S n d as T sta di g , opposi g resisti g hall be co sidere raitors n a n d may be treated accordi gly . A n d b e f E n h it urther acted by the Aut ority aforesaid , that the Justices o f every Superior Court Shall cause this Act to b e n D a a read at the Court House Door , the seco d y of e ch Court n a nd i n o r for their Cou ties , that the M ister , Clerk Reader of every Parish i n this Provi n ce shall read or cause the same to b e l o f read at every Church , Chappe or other Place Public n n i n n Worship withi their respective Parishes , o ce three Mo ths i d n S n n n at least mme iately after Divi e ervice , duri g the co ti u an ce of this Act . A n d b e n f it e acted , by the authority a oresaid that this act

n n a n d b e I n fo r o n e a nd n o n r shall co ti ue Force year lo ge . Re a d three ti mes i n ope n Assembly a n d R a tifi ed the 1 5 th

D f a n ua r 1 1 a y o J y 77 . ILLI A M T R O N W Y , H A S J A MES E LL, i Pres de n t . C R S RI H A D C A WE LL , S p e a k e n f n n f A true Copy o A Act passed last Sessio o Assembly .

ROBERT PALMER ,

Secretary .

1 8 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER some parts of the State had not totallydi sa p pea re d by the middle of it . Especially was this true of the Scotch element of the p o p ul a tion , who settled on and near the upper Cape

Fear river , and some of whose customs are Still preserved in a more O r less modified form

he by their descendants . T settlers who came to the Colony from Irelan d were themselves of

Scotch descent or birth , and were known as

- n Scotch Irish . The Rowans , whose ame was pronounced Roan , came originally from

Lanarkshire in Scotland , as did the ancestors of

General Waddell , and it was , doubtless , through the connection or association of these families and that of Dobbs that young Waddell was induced to come to North Carolina . The social life was a reflex of that in the old country , and to the miserable libels which

th e n under ame of history , have been pub li sh ed concerning the civilization of the Colony , it is only necessary to give for answer the names and attainments of some of the leading spirits who lived in it . From a glance at them it will plainly appear that , so far from being the rude— much less the ignorant and de — graded society sometimes represented , they

' were , in proportion to population , equal in social and intellectual culture to and as much A N D H I S TIM ES . 1 83 attached to the principles of enlightened liberty ' n as any pe ople o the continent . Many of them v were educated in E nglish uni ersities , or at

Edinboro or Dublin , and owned large estates

. where they dispensed a generous an d elegant hospitality . In the Northern end of the “ n Colo y , the Court end of the Province , in “ a n d Mc R ee around Edenton , there was , says

L i e a nd C orres onden ce o a mes [ redell in his f p fj , “ in proportion to its population , a greater number of men eminent for ability , virtue and erudition than in any other part of America , and he gives a lon g list of names with a brief biographical notice of each in proof of his

This list includes John Harvey , who was unquestionably a man of great intel l ectual endowments , and who , but for his death

1 in 775 , would have been a great leader among th e statesmen of th e Revolution ; Joseph

Hewes , one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence ; Samuel Johnston , a great lawyer , Governor of the State and the first Senator from North Carolina in 1 789 ; Colonel “ n John Dawson , a lawyer , whose mansio , Eden ” “ ” House , was the resort of a refined society , “ ” and the seat of a splendid hospitality , as

* Vol . I , 3 3 . 1 84 A COLONIAL OFFIC ER

r testified to by Mr . Ave y (who w as himself a

a ' gradu te of Princeton , was a signer of the

Mecklenburg Declaration , and Attorney Gene ral of the State) ; Colonel Edward Buncombe ,

n o f- an educated English ge tleman large wealth , who was Colonel of the 5th Regiment of North

o a n d Carolina Tr ops , killed at Germantown

1 777 ; Thomas Jones , a distinguished lawyer , who drafted the State C onstitution in 1 776 ;

Dukin field Sir Nathaniel , a member of the — Council and many others , professional men , merchants and planters , to whom is to be added James Iredell , the great lawyer , who was afterwards a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States .

In the Southern end of the Province , at

B runswick and Wilmington , and along th e

Cape Fear , there was an equally refined and cultivated society and some very remarkable

men . No better society existed in America and it is but simple truth to say that for clas

si ca l a cco m learning , wit , oratory , and varied pli shmen t s no gen eration of ' their successors

has equalled them . Their h ospitality was boundless and pro v erbi a l w a s , and of the manner in which it enj oyed there c a n be no counterpart in the

present age . Some of them had town resi

1 86 A COLONIAL OFFICER to their acquaintances when passing the compliments of the day . There are per sons still living who remember seeing these things i n their early youth . The writer of these lines himself re members seeing in his childhood the decaying remains of old “ chairs ” and family coaches , and knew at that time several old n egroes who had been body ser van ts i n their youth to the proprietors of these ancient vehicles . It is no wonder they some

- - times drove the coaches four i n hand . It was not only grand style , but the weight of the vehicle and the character of the roads made it necessary .

During the period embraced in these pages ,

- four wheeled pleasure vehicles were rare , and — even two wheeled ones were not common , e xcept among the town nabobs and well - to - do

/ . o r ch a ri o t s p lanters The coaches , , as a certain c lass of vehicles was called , were all imported f rom England , and the possession of such a m eans of locomotion was evidence of high social position . It was less than twe n ty years b efore the period named , that the first stage wa on 1 8 g in the Colonies , in 73 , was run from n Tre ton to New Brunswick , in New Jersey , twice a week , and the advertisement of it assured the public that it would be “ fitted up N D I A H S TIMES . 1 8 7 with benches and covered over so that passen gers may sit easy and

The inns , ordinaries , or taverns , as they were called before the word notel was borrowed from the French , were few and far between , W and ere of the most primitive kind , and the consequence was , that every man of substance kept open house and entertained any respect able traveller , as a matter of course , without charge . There was not enough travel to make it burdensome , and the occasional travellers were to their hosts what the newspapers of to - day are to their descendants ; and the inform ation imparted by them and the pleasure of m their co pany , if they were intelligent , sup plied the place o f the currency which was generally requisite to every traveller in other parts of the country when seeking “ enter ” ta i n me nt for man and beast . These mere travellers seldom passed through the back set tleme n t s , but only along or near the seacoast , as that was the most populous and wealthy region of the country , but if they did wander farther into the interior the hospitality was as cordial , if less elegant in its surroundings . This characteristic of the people of North

* E E n i n C en tur [Ma a z i ne fo r 1 88 . dward gglesto y g August , 5 1 88 A COLONIAL OFFICER

Carolina marks them as distinctly now as it

t o d m did then , but , thanks railroa s and odern

r civilization , they are not equired to manifest it in the same way As the Northern Colonies soon became po pu lous and their commercial and manufacturing

i interests became dom nant , there was a corre spo n di n g change in their social C ustoms ; but in the South , which has always been the land of the planter , the conditions , until a very recent period , were little varied , and the social life of the people remained much the same . It was , necessarily , for the most part , a simple and unpretending life , in which the cardinal l o virtues were cu tivated , and it was , in s me

su i eneri s. respects , g It bred pure women and brave men who did not measure the merits of others , or their own , by the extent of their worldly possessions , and did not recognize the golden C alf as an obj ect of worship .

It was a life given to hospitality , and , although marked by some features which appear rude and unattractive to modern eyes , was characterized by others which might be imitated with profit by the present generation .

re s ect fo r The p , authority , the deference paid

. to age , to parents , and to women , and the sense of personal honor among men which

1 90 A C OLONIAL OFFICER plot advances with rapid movement and with ” culminating force .

i Doubtless , dur ng the sessions of the Legis “ ” la tu re A Prince of Parthia was put on the boards by the amateurs of Wilmington and greeted with thunders of applause . There were , however , some professional actors of dis tinction who played there in those days . In an interesting letter to the Bishop of London ,

1 1 th 1 68 dated June , 7 , Governor Tryon speaks n of a talented you g actor , named Giffard , who applied to him for recommendation to the

Bishop for ordination orders , he having been invited by some principal ge ntlemen of the

Province to be inducted into a parish , and to ” set up a school for the education of youth . Tryon said the young m a n had assured him that it was no sudden caprice that induced him to make the application , but that it was the result of very mature deliberation that he was most wearied of the vague life of his present profession , and fully persuaded he could employ his talents to more benefit to society by going into holy o rders a n d super intending the education of th e y o u th in this ” Province . Tryon also expressed a doubt whether the Bishop would ch oose to take a

“ member of the theatre into the church , but ND A HIS TIMES . 1 9 1

’ th e o un testified to y g man s excellent conduct , and concluded his letter with the following

: remark If your Lordship grants Mr . Giffard his petition , you will take off the best player ” o n the American stage . Mr . Giffard took ’ Tryon s letter to London , going by way of

Providence , where he was under contract to play , but whether he succeeded in his wish to enter the ministry , or ever returned to North

n o t . Carolina or , we do not know The country which these North Carolin a Colonists inhabited was one of the most inviting regions for settlers in America . The climate was mild , the soil adapted to the production of every cereal and plant necessary or useful to man ; the forests vast , filled with game of every kind and fragrant with the odors of a thousand different kinds of herbs and flowers ; the rivers

O f were numerous , some them magnificent , and all teeming w ith fish and swarming with wild fowl . Thus all the conditions required for the most generous display of plantation hospitality

t he were present , or attainable with least effort , and the consequence was that a social life , in many respects the most charming and peculiar that has perhaps ever existed , was developed and contin ued to flourish until trampled out of existence by the iron h eel of w ar . 1 9 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

It was while enj oying the pleasures of this s ocial life during a n interval in his military service , and while attending the session of the

Assembly at Wilmington , that General Wad dell met the lady who became his wife . She was Mary Haynes , daughter of Captain

Roger Haynes , and granddaughter of Rev ’ Richard Marsden , the first Rector of St . James s

P l . arish , in Wi mington Of Captain Haynes v ery little is known beyond the fact that he was in the British service He lived at Castle

‘ V H a y n e s f about nine miles North of V ilmi n g

o n ton , the Northeast branch of Cape Fear which plantation adj oined the Hermitage — where Mr . Marsden lived and he had died previous to 1 75 3 . The marriage of General W addell took place at Castle Haynes some t ime i n the year 1 76 2 .

u o f ‘ C a ta i n The only other da ghter p Haynes ,

Margaret , was married some years previously

B u r w i n . to John g , Esq , who was , for a time , the Treasurer of the Southern part of the ’ Province . Not long after General Waddell s

r i m arriage he j oined Mr . B u gw n in business

B u r w i n in Wilmington , the firm being John g

C o . , with branch establishments in various

* T n H a ne a n d i his place is commo ly called Castle y , the Ra l n i road Statio there s so labelled .

1 94 A COL O NIAL OFFICER of the Justices who presided over the Inferior

m 1 6 Court of New Hanover County 7 4 , and in that year the County of , Brunswick w a s established out of the territory of New Han i n over and Bladen , which explains his being command of the Bruns wick militia in the ensuing year when the Stamp Act troubles occurred . The record does not Show his presence in the Court more than once or twice , nor does it Show that the sessions of that Court which met every three months , were inter rupted by the Stamp Act excitement ; but o n the record of the Super io r Court for April

1 66 : 7 , there is the following entry

n 1 66 The actio s for trial at April Term , 7 , were all con tinued over for October Term 011 ’ acc t of the Stamp Act .

In 1 768 he went on a visit to England and

f r Ireland , and while there sat o his portrait to

‘ a distinguished artist , who made a beautiful miniature likeness O f him on ivory . From

r this miniature , which is the only picture eve taken of him , the engraving in the front of this

’ f n a n d n n . T wit essed Webster s u eral he grave was ope ed , , ' n n ffi n upo removi g the decayed lid of the co , there lay the a n n n i n i n British hero , perfect for i sta t sight of all , but a ' — f n . ta tement mome nt there w a s o n ly a ha n dful o brow dust . S

M r n A . oo e . o H o n n D Too mer a nd H o . f j o . . I A N D H S TIMES . 1 95

volume is taken . It is believed to be the work of Gainesborough . m ' Until the passage of the Sta p Act , as has already appeared , General Waddell had been a staunch and steady friend of the government , and one of its well - tried and most faithful ser vants , notwithstanding th e annoying and irri tating acts of the unfortunate and unhappy

Governor Dobbs , but after that event there was an evident lack of zeal in his loyalty , although

i nd e en d e nce there was , as yet , no talk of p any where i n America . He was again a member

1 6 of the Assembly in 7 5 , when Governor Tryon prorogued the body to prevent them from sending delegates to the Stamp Act Con gress , but although prevented from acting in

v his legislati e capacity on the subj ect , he was , m as heretofore described , one of the ost active leaders of the popular movement against it , both in the meetings which passed resolutions in Wilmington and the armed resistance at 6 Brunswick . He was again a member in 1 76 ’ 1 1 a and in 77 , fter the Regulators war was

d ' i n over . He owne lands Rowan , Anson ,

a nd v Bladen New Hano er , but Bladen was the only County i n which he permanently resided . It seemed to have been no unusual thing in those days for a man to live in one county and 1 96 A C OLO NIAL OFFICER

e serve as a representative from anoth r , j ust as it is possible , though not usual now , for a mem ber of Congress to live in one district and be

' elected from another in the s a me S ta te . No record of any of the debates in the Colo

w a s s nial Assembly kept , and only the nece sary minutes of the sessions were preserved . From these General Waddell appears to have been recognized as a prominent member , as he was nearly always , put upon important committees ; but the probability is , that he was “ ” rather a business member than a speaker . It was the general suppositi on that he was a ’ member of th e Council either during D obb s s ’ m or Tryon s ad inistration , or both ; but the records only Show that he was recomme n ded

i n 1 6 2 to the Crown by Dobbs 7 , and Tryon in

1 1 . 77 , for that position

In his letter to Lord Hillsborough , dated

2 8th a n ua r -1 I Newbern , J y , 77 Tryon , after nom

i n a ti n H . g Colonel ugh Waddell , Mr Marma

D uk e n field duke Jones , and Sir Nathaniel , uses the following language :

Colo nel Waddell had the honor to see your ' d Lordship about two years since in Englan .

' He honorably distinguished himself l a st w a r while he commanded the Provincials of this

“ - n province against the Cherokee I dians , pos sesses an easy fortune , and is in much esteem

98 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

S at the mouth of the Cape Fear , to take hip for the voyage , when he was seized with the illness that resulted 111 hiS death . The same tradition says this illness was caused by sleep ing in damp Sheets . Whatever the cause the sickness was of long duration , for in his will ,

011 1 0 th which was made the day of November , “ 1 2 : 77 , he says I , Hugh Waddell , of the

County of Bladen , and Province of North Caro ”

& c . lina , being sick and weak , , and he did th not die until the 9 day of April following , nearly five month s afterward .

He was , at the time of his death , in the th 3 9 year of his age , and , therefore , the refer e n ce s to him in the various histories of the “ ” “ O ld State as the old General , the brave ” veteran , and the like , furnish a good illus t ra ti o n o f the natural but sometimes amusingly incorrect habit of designating persons of a long “ ” past generation as old , although it is readily a ccounted for in his case , by the fact that he m had been longer in the ilitary service , and was b etter known as a soldier than any person in the Province previous to the Revolution .

He was buried at Castle Haynes , which and she estate came to him through his wife , was buried there three or four years afterwards . i In his will , wh ch disposed of a large estate

a in lands in Row n , Bladen and New Hanover N D I A H S TIMES . 1 99

Counties , and in slaves , town lots , goods ”

81 0 &c . and profits in trade , plate , , , there is no mention made of any relative besides his “ wife and children , except his sister Han

o f nah , the County of Down in the North of ” u Ireland , to whom he beq eathed one hundred guineas . He had other relatives , more or less n near , residing in Irela d , however , and their descendants now reside in and about Lisburn , from which place he came . “ ” The blind preacher of Virginia , to whom reference has already been made as having come from the same part of Ireland about the same time , was near the same age as the Gen

i n eral , and the two well illustrated , though

b e different spheres , the race to which they

a ci le longed , which for piety and pugnacity isf pri nceps among the nations of the earth . Each C was an agent of ivilization , and both died with the consciousness of duty faithfully done , leaving to their posterity an honorable name and fame .

General Waddell , by his marriage , had three sons , Haynes , Hugh and John . They were sent to England to be educated after his death ,

a n and the oldest , Haynes , having contracted illness from hunting in the Fens of Lincoln

o n shire , died his return voyage to America in

1 8 . 7 4 , and was buried at sea He was not of 2 00 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

age , as appears by a recital in a deed from his brothers . S The two surviving ons , Hugh and John , divided one of the largest estates on the Cape u m Fear , and each by his subseq ent arriage received a large addition to his property . m Hugh arried , first , Miss Heron , by whom he had one daughter , Mrs . John Swann and next the daughter of Judge Alfred Moore , by whom he had a large family . John married the only daughter , and only child , of General Francis

Nash , who was killed at the battle of German town i n 1 777 . They both became planters on the Cape Fear and continued so all their lives .

1 8 2 Hugh died at Bellefont in 7 , and John at

Pittsboro in 18 3 0 . They took no part in pub lic affairs , but commanded the respect and good will of all who knew them by practicing the sweet charities of life . The former was uni ve rs a lly recognized as the Uncle Toby of his generation , and the latter as a model country gentleman . More than a year and a half had elapsed after the Regulators ’ war before General Wad dell was attacked - by the disease which finally d killed him , and uring that period the idea of separation from Great Britain took root in the Colonies and began to grow with great rapidity

2 0 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER

Chief from the outset . The State su ffered a great loss in his premature death at that c riti cal period . In reviewing his life and reflecting upon the events amidst which it was passed , one must be impressed with a se n se of the services ren dered to their country and toposterity by the men who then inhabited the Colonies . It is h ardly possible for us of the present generation to fully appreciate the n ature and importance of those services . How difficult , for instance would it be in these days of telegraphs , rail

- roads , breech loading arms , pontoon trains and the like , to appreciate thoroughly the trials and dangers accompanyin g the expedi tion from middle North Carolina through that terrible mountain wilderness to Tennessee , or that one to Pittsburg , Pennsylvania (Fort Du

Quesne) , on foot , without quartermaster or commissary stores , artillery or camp equipage ,

fli nt - and armed with lock muskets , which a heavy rain might render useless ; and this , too , through a hostile region swarming with merci less savages , from whom at every mountain pass or covert , at every hour , day or night , an attack might be expected $ The North Caro lina tro ops at Fort Londo n and Fort Du Quesne A N D H I S TIMES . 2 03 were actually farther from home than they

- would be to day if in Mexico or Europe . And if we turn from the physical trials by which they were beset , to the moral problems which confronted them , our respect and admi diffi ration for them is only increased . The c ultie s constantly arising in the administration of their local affairs , the perpetual conflicts with exacting and tyrannical Royal Govern ors , and the increasing encroachments by the Crown and Parliament of Great Britain upon their inherited and chartered rights as British n subj ects , which fi ally drove them into armed rebellion , were all met and overcome with the same heroic spirit .

It is an old story , and one that has often burned on eloquent lips and been pictured by the brush of the literary artist , but for the

‘ patriot and student of history it c a n never cease to have a profound interest , for it repro duces for his contemplation a n era full of valuable lessons . 2 04 - A COLO NIAL OFFICER

A C H PTE R VI .

S o f T w n o f n o n A Historical ketch the Former o Bru swick , the i Cape Fear R ver .

’ N Clarendon s History of the Rebellion , the following passage occurs :

There had been , some months before , a design O f of Prince Rupert upon the city Bristol , by correspondence with some of the chief i n h a bi tants of the city , who were weary of the tyranny of Parliament ; but it had been so u n skilfully or unhappily carried that when the Prince was near the town , with such a party of horse and foot as he made choice of, it was discovered , and many principal C itizens apprehended by

Nathaniel Fiennes , son of the Lord Say , and then Governor of that city for the Parliament . At this time special direction and order was “ sent thither that he should , with all severity and expedition , proceed against those conspira tors (as they called them) ; and , thereupon , by a sentence and j udgment of a council of war , Alderman Yeomans , who had been a n d High Sheriff of the city , of great reputa tion in it , and George Bouchier , another citizen u of principal acco nt , were (against all interposi tion his Maj esty could make) both

* l 8 n 1 V o . O E 8 . I , page 3 9 , xford ditio , 43

2 06 A COLONIAL OFFICER return of the expedition with a glowing a c

o f r o count the count y , Sir J hn Yeamans

' n 1 66 brought over a colony, and i 5 settled it u pon the site of the former one at the mouth W ilmi n of Town Creek , eight miles below g

o u . ton , the west bank of the river He received from the Lords Proprietors a grant for thirty u n two miles sq are , and was made the Gover or of the colony . He remained there six years ,

1 6 1 and , in 7 , was made Governor of Carteret ” County , as South Carolina was then called , to which place he went , taking his colony with him , and soon after founded Charleston , which was the name of the settlement he had left on

Town Creek .

While residing there , James Moore , the grandson of the rebel Roger Moore , who had also come to America to semek his fortune , married the daughter of Yea ans , thus uniting the blood of the English loyalist and Irish rebel , and afterwards was also Governor of South

Carolina . The younger son of Governor James Moore

Maurice Moore , having come with his brother ,

Colonel James Moore , to suppress the Indian

1 1 1 outbreaks in North Carolina in 7 , con

re - cluded that he would settle the Cape Fear , which had remained unoccupied ever since his N D I A H S TIMES . 2 0 7

’ grandfather s colony left it , and accordingly

1 2 1 2 he returned there about 7 3 , and in 7 5 laid out the town of Brunswick , about eight miles below the site of the original settlement , and

Sixteen miles belo w Wilmington . Two of his

a brothers , Roger and N thaniel , came with him , as did many others . How it was laid out is told in a n Act of the n Assembly of North Caroli a , passed at the

011 2 o th 1 session which began the April , 745 “ c (old style) . The A t was entitled An A ct to encourage persons to settle in the town of

Brunswick , on the Southwest side of Cape Fear ” River , and the preamble sets forth the fact that Maurice Moore , Esq . , then deceased , had given 3 2 0 acres of land on the Southwest Side of Cape Fear for a town called Brunswick (i n “ and that the Hon . Roger Moore , ” s E q , in order to make the town more regu it ' lar , had added another parcel of land to that a great part of said lands was laid out in lots of a half acre each , many of which were taken up and good houses built thereon ; and proper places were appointed by Maurice Moore

- - for a church , court house , burying place , market house , and other public buildings ; that con fusion had arisen about some of the titles to the unsold part , which it was desirable to 2 08 A COLONIAL OFFICER

d . A n settle , etc whereas , the trade of Cape

Fear River consists in naval stores , rice and lumber , commodities of great bulk and small v alue , all due encouragement ought to be given to large ships to come into the said river to take off the said commodities ; and as all large ships which come into the said river are o bliged to lie at Brunswick , and that town , for the want of a sufficient number of inhabitants , and by reason of the easy navigation thereto , is much exposed to the invasion of foreign m enemies in ti e of war , and pirates in time of m peace , therefore we pray your ost sacred ”

e &C . Maj esty that it may be nacted , The last lines of the above preamble set f orth facts , the truth of which was amply j us t ified by the depth of water marked 011 Wim b ’ le s map of the mouth of the Cape Fear , made i n 1 8 73 , and by the raids of the two pirates , w Richard Worley and Steed Bonnet , who ere captured and hanged by Governor Johnson and

William Rhett , in the year and these facts were further j ustified b y the attack of

* T n N ews - L etter o f 1 6 1 2 he Bosto July th , 7 4, says that his

’ “ ” a S S n a n d n M j esty s hip tatio , captured carried i to Charles t o n 1 0 a 3 pir tes , from whom they took as the Share of

‘ e f a ch o the captors .

2 1 0 A COLONIAL OFFICER

Ferry be kept for that river by Cornelius

Harnett , from the place designed for a town on the West side of the river to a place called

- the Haule over . And that he receive the sum S f of five hillings for a man and horse , and hal 11 0 a crown for each person , and that person to keep any Ferry within te n miles of the said places .

This ferry was reached from the North by the road which passed over the little bridge ’ n on Smith s Creek , and the ce due South along what is now Ma c R a e Street in Wilmington to

- the Haul over nearly opposite Brunswick . W ilmin This road to Brunswick , through g

a t ton , was that time the only route from the Northern part of the Province to South Caro lina The only two ferries on the lower Cape

Fear were this at Brunswick , and one where Wilmington now is ; and this latter was not directly across the river , but from about the foot of the present Dock street , past Point Peter , and four miles up the Northwest branch to ’ Ma c a i ne s L Bluff, where the Navassa Factory ’ now stands . The causeway across Eagles s

Island was begun by Colonel Wm . Dry in

1 6 December , 7 4 , and finished by Governor

1 1 A S Benj amin Smith in 79 , under Acts of

e mbl s y . The CorneliusHarnett named in the Act o f D I A N H S TIMES . 2 1 1

1 2 7 7, was the father of the distinguished man

e of that name , and was ither already a resi dent of Brunswick , or moved there soon after .

It was said that he kept the inn there , and e certain de ds corroborate the statement . His son was four years O ld when this order of the

General Court establishing the ferry was made , and he passed his youth and early manhood in

Brunswick , and very probably was one of those who helped to drive “off the Spaniards and blow

S 1 8 up one of their hips in 74 , as he was then

- twenty fi ve years old . His name is a house hold word on the Cape Fear , and his career is a part of the history of the Revolutionary period . He is regarded , however , as a Wil mingtou man , because he began to attain dis tinction after removing there , lived the greater part of his life there , and died there .

Indeed , that may be said of the maj ority of the great men of the lower Cape Fear during the Revolution , as at that time it was the only town in that section of the State ; but most of them had previously lived in Brunswick , or

D e c la its vicinity . Hooper , the signer of the

o f ration Independence , had not , as he did not come to North Carolina from Massachusetts

1 6 Ma c a i n e Mc Gui re until 7 4 ; but L and , each a of whom bec me Attorney General , and a 2 1 2 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

number of other distinguished men , moved to

Wilmington after Brunswick began to decay . Mc Gui re was a loyalist when the Revolution broke out , and went to England , but the others were all patriots , and some of them became leaders in that struggle . General Robert

Howe , one of the most illustrious of these leaders , always lived in or near Brunswick ;

w h o and so did General James Moore , com m a n ded the whole Southern Department , and his brother , Judge Maurice Moore , and the ’ latter s son , Judge Alfred Moore , afterwards a

Judge of the United States Supreme Court , and some of the distinguished m embers o f the

Ashe family , and Governor Benj . Smith and

Colonel Wm . Dry , and many others of note . When the character and fame of these men are considered , and the size of the town is remembered , it may be confidently asserted

011 c that no community , so small , the ontinent , ever contained at the same time so many men who afterwards became so distinguished as soldiers and j urists and statesmen . $ i And yet , alas except in the fa ntest and most confused way , not only the deeds , but the very names of these heroes and patriots

- have well nigh ceased to be remembered , and — th e the place of their abode once busy mart ,

2 1 4 A COLONIAL OFFICER years before thedefiant patriots stood re s1s t1ng the landing of the stamps . In diggm g away the earth for the co n struc tion of this work , the laborers found some old coin and other relics . When the fort , after a severe bombardment by the United States

fleet , was abandoned , before the fall of Wil mi n to n 1 86 o cc u g in 5 , the Northern soldiers

i t - pied , and the corner stone of the venerable sanctuary , which had been respected for more than a century , was dug out , and some of the tombs were broken into , probably in a fruitles s search for treasure . If the soldier who removed

- one particular grave stone could read Latin , and was not utterly insensible , he must have felt a little uncomfortable , especially if he observed that the occupant of that tomb was a youthful bride of seventeen , for on the slab was carved the old curse ,

Quisquis noc ma r mor sustuler i t ’ imus s nor um mor i a tu r Ult .

In its earliest days , the Legislature used sometimes to meet in Brunswick , and Governor

Gabriel Johnstone , of pleasant memory , upon

1 his arrival in October , 734 , took the oaths of offi ce there . In 1 748 the town was attacked by a squad N D I A H S TIMES . 2 1 5

ro n of Spanish privateers , who had entered the river and were plundering the country ; but the plucky inhabitants rallied to the defence o f h their property and w ipped off the invaders , after blowing up one of their ships and cap turin g some valuable property . This attack

8 1 8— a t occurred on the th November , 74 least — t h e vessel was blown up on that day and n amo g the articles captured was a painting , “ ” cce H omo an E , which had probably been stolen from some church or private residence somewhere on the coast . The captured prop e rt y was appropriated , by an Act of the Legis

l a ture C . , to the hurch of St Philip at Brunswick , and the church of St . James at Wilmington , “ ” and the Ecce H omo is still preserved i n the

- . n vestry room of St James . It is not a fi e work of art , but is an interesting memento of the gallant exploit of the men of Brunswick . The pirates continued their work up to a much * later date .

* There are sev eral privateers o n o u r coast from the West I n dies they have take n a n En glish Ship comi n g to Cape Fear a n d n r a nd n with dry goods , a othe small vessel , have tur ed the

a e a n d n o S t o n . s ilors ashor , we have loop cruise upo the coast T B a lti more a n S n he , C ptai Hood , which hould be statio ed at w a s i n S n S a n d h ith Cape Fear , called off pri g to Nova cotia , r n n i n i n n e to whe they retur W ter , they look i to Cape Fear a n d fi n n n o n n n stay some days , but di g balls or e tertai me ts ' 2 1 6 ' A C OLO NIAL OFFICER

It was at Brun s’wick’ that George III was proclaimed King in the presence of the Gov e rn o r (Dobbs) , the members of the Council , and a number of the principal inhabitants and planters . An account of the ceremony was given by Governor Dobbs in a letter to the

Secretary of the Board of Trade , under date of

th : February 9 , as follows I sent for such of the Council as were in a nd this neighborhood , next day , Friday , had his Maj esty proclaimed here by all the gentle t h e men near this place , militia drawn out and a triple discharge from Fort Johnston of twen t - i n y one guns , and from all the ships the river ; and at the same time sent o u t an express for the other Councillors in this neighborhood m m to eet me at Wil ington next day , Saturday th the 7 , where his Maj esty was again pro claimed by the corporation and gentlemen of the neighborhood , under a triple salute of

- twenty one guns , where we had an entertain ment prepared ; the militia were drawn out , ill umi and the evening concluded by bonfires , n ations , and a ball and supper with all una n imity and demonstrations of j oy .

a n d S n - n i n T n there , they sail away pe d the Wi ter Charles ow , ’ n n n n i n u der prete ce that they ca t clea at Cape Fear , although —D obbs to B oa rd o they may have all co n ve n ie n ces for i t . f

Tra d e O ctober 1 st 1 6 . , 3 , 75

* n V o l . I 2 0 . Colo ial Records , V , 5

2 1 8 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

It would be unfair to the Vestry , however , not

c o n to publish their side of the case , which is t a i n ed in the following suggestive letter , dated

2 th 1 6 1 Brunswick , 4 March , 7 , and addressed to the Rector : The Vestry have taken into consideration the difficulties you allege in officiating at the Blue Banks during the two hot and two cold months , and are content that you be permitted to exchange the Sundays in July and August , allotted for that Chapel , with Brunswick for other Sundays in a more moderate season , you giving d ue notice of such exchange ; and as to cold months , we know of none in this country to prevent one of your healthy constitution - : from riding twenty four miles indeed , a day n o w of bad weather may h appen and then , for which accident all reasonable allowance will

h a s . be made , as heretofore been made As to n the addition of salary which you i sist on , we cannot but O bserve that when you agreed to ' P a rish o n th serve the cure of this the 5 June , 1 8 1 00 75 , you thankfully accepted of £ a year , when your family was larger than it is now , and you willingly undertook harder duty than is now proposed to you .

But now , Sir , his Excellency the Governor rec o mmen and Vestry , having by their j oint 0 n dation of you , procured £5 sterli g a year , the generous bounty of the Society for the

Propagating the Gospel , you disdain to accept from our Parish £ 1 2 0 Proclamation money a A N D H I S TIMES . 2 1 9 year ; you discover difficulties in the exercise of your function which never before occurred , and you are pleased to insist on such a salary as they never have given , and such as many of this Parish , in the present distressed state a n d of their trade circumstances , cannot easily give you . If you are pleased to continue o n the terms we have now proposed , we shall be glad to contribute all in our power to make every part of your duty agreeable to you . We are , Rev .

Sir , your most humble servants .

It was several years before the church was

finished and dedicated , it seems , for the Rev .

John Barnett , writing to the Secretary of the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel , from

011 1 1 th 1 68 Brunswick the June , 7 , says that though he had apprehended great delay in the

C S O finishing the new hurch , it was then nearly completed as with great decency to admit of the performance of Divine worship in ” it , and proceeds to inform them that , with the assistance of the Rev . Mr . Wills , of Wil ’

h e . mingtou , had dedicated St Philip s ch urch “ O 11 Whit Tuesday . Being wholly unac ” 1 qua nted , he says , with a proper form or

I ' w ro te mode of dedication , to several clergy men for their advice , but not one could give a the least information . I then drew up form , 2 2 0 A C OLONIAL OFFICER which was approved by his Excellency and

C o u n c1l the and , indeed , gave an universal satisfaction . He also said that the people of the parish so violently opposed the presenta tion of the Crown to the Livin g that he thought he would have to leave . 2 o th 1 6 1 On the September , 7 , according to the Lon do n M ag a z i ne for December of that year , a fearful hurricane swept the coast , last ing from Monday the 2 o th to Friday the 2 4th but raging with most violence on Thursday ”

2 d . the 3 Many houses , says the account , “ were thrown down , and all the vessels , except

v . one , in Cape Fear ri er driven on shore It forced open a new channel for that river at a

- place called the Haul over , between the Cedar

“ House and the Bald H ea d f This new chan nel was found on soundings to be eighteen feet deep at high water , and is near half a mile ” W ide . The breach thus made across the sand - strip a between the ocean and the river , was fter — wards known as New Inlet , and was until recently closed by the United States Govern ment— as often used by vessels bound to and

* b b t n o n 2 2 d . . . . Vo l . Gov Do s says his happe ed the Col Rec ,

I 60 . V , 5

2 2 2 A COLONIAL OFFICER

this colony . The natural produce and staple commodities of this Province (for of m a n ufa c tures there are none) consist of naval stores , masts , yards , plank and ship timber , Indian corn , pease , rice , and of late flour , hemp , flax and flax seed , tobacco , bees and myrtle wax , ” and some indigo . He gives the number of ships annually coming to the port of Brun s

a t . wick ninety , with a tonnage of four thou sand eight hundred and thirty , most of them

e being small , and says that at that tim ( 1 76 1 ) there were only about fifty ships owned i n the colony . His description of the navigation of the Cape Fear Shows that the depth of water was greater than it ever w n i was after ards , u t l the closing of New Inlet recently , that Inlet not having broken through ,

2 2 d 1 6 1 as already said , until September , 7 “ Upo n this subj ect he says : But the C hief

d ra d - n a 11 t . river for avigation . e is C_ ape Fear

w a te r 'u o n river , there being eighteen feet p the n bar , avigable for large ships above Brunswick

fifteen miles up the r1ve r and. a s high a s Wil u u n mingto , after passing the flats po , which there is about eleven or twelve feet water (Since a new entrance has been opened by a hurricane o n the 2 2 d September last at a place

- called the Haul over , eight or ten miles above N D H I A S TIMES . 2 2 3

the former entrance) , and is navigable for small vessels for above one hundred miles

o n farther up the Northwest branch , and above

e sixty miles high r on the Northeast branch , i n which a rapid tide flows for near one hun dred miles , this being the only inlet for all the ” n Southern and Wester parts of this Province .

Governor Dobbs lived in Brunswick , and had a plantation on Town Creek , a few miles above the town , where he was buried . Gov e rn or Tryon also lived there , and owned two

h a houses in the town , one of w ich was p

ro a c h ed p by a fine cedar avenue , and was called R us se llbo ro : it was bough t by him from ’ D obb s s Governor son , and was the residence formerly occupied by Dobbs . I t contained

fift - fi ve o n y acres , and was adj oining the town the North side . The town was again visited by a hurri

o n th 1 6 cane the 7 September , 7 9 , which w nearly destroyed it , and hich did , on the th 9 , destroy Newbern , where six persons

. r t were drowned In t u h , the whole existence of the old town was marked by storms , natural and political ; and neal ly a century after it h had ceased to exist , and w en the silence and solitude which had so long enveloped it w a s n i broken for the first time , it was by the e g 2 2 4 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

’ n ee r s pick and spade in the construction of a

e military work for u s in a civil war .

a d Immediately North of Brunswick , and j oining the tract o u which the town was laid o ut , is the celebrated Orton plantation , which is at the Southern terminus of the rice lan ds of the Cape Fear river . It has always been r egarded as one of the most valuable planta t ions in that part of the State , and is a historic

“ place . Like most of the valuable lands on or near the Cape Fear , it was originally granted

' 1 2 n ( 7 5) to Colo el Maurice Moore , and was first s ettled by his brother Roger , commonly called “ ” King Roger , who owned immense tracts in that part of the country . The latter was also

- a much married man . One of his wives was

Catharine Rhett , and his daughter by her was t h e mother of Governor Benj amin Smith .

Governor Smith afterwards owned Orton , a nd his brother James owned the adj oining ” b e plantation , Kendall , which had also l onged to King Roger . James Smith was the f ather of the late Hon . R . Barnwell Rhett and h i s brothers , who took the name of Rhett and moved to South Carolina . The plantation “ ” n ext to Kendall was Lilliput , which was fi 1 . rst granted ( 72 5) to Hon Eleazar Allen , C hief Justice of North Carolina , who died in

1 8 73 , and whose tombstone , and that of his

2 2 6 A C OLONIAL OFFICER

it is the king of the American forests , I pre sume to send a . male panther under your ’ Lordship s patronage , to be presented for his ’ Maj esty s acceptance . He is six months O ld ; I have had him four months ; by constantly handling h e . is become perfectly tame and ' familiar . When full grown his coat will much resemble that of the lioness . Panthers have been killed (for it is very uncommon to catch them alive) te n feet in length from the nose to the end of the tail . I am very solicitous for his safe arrival , as I am ambitious that he may ’ be permitted to add to his Maj esty s c ollection of wild beasts . The Orton tract embraces several thousand n acres of pine lands in rear of the rice pla tation , which is a great deer walk , and includes

‘ s eve ra l mile s a very large pond of in length , — ’ which is filled with choice fi sh chie fly black

a nd a i ‘ bass the finest v riet es of perch . Part of the hunting ground and part of the pond are

' d - a bu t really attache to the Kendall tr ct , they

’ are generally spoke n of as bel onging to Orton . For more than a h u n dred years it h a s b e en the

’ resort of sportsmen and t h e Sc e n e of unbounded hospitality . Indeed , more than one hundred and fifty years ago I t had an established repu t a tio n for generous hospitality , and there is a

i n 1 record existence , dated 73 4 , which proves A N D H I S TIMES . 2 2 7

it . It is a pamphlet entitled A New Voyage to Georgia , written by a young English gen tl em a n who h a d visited the Cape Fear settle i ment , and gave his mpressions of it . It is published in the second volume of the “ Georgia ” Historical Collections , and , as it describes several interesting localities , a full extract is here given from it . Coming by land , with thirteen others , along the coast from South

: Carolina , this traveller says

’ We left Lockwo od s Folly about eight the next morning , and by two reached the town of C i n Brunswick , which is the hief town Cape

Fear , but with no more than two of the same horses which came With us out of South Caro lina . We dined there that afternoon . Mr .

Roger Moore , hearing we had come , was so kind as to send fresh horses for us to c ome up w e did to his house , which and were ki ndly C hie f e nt e ma n received by him , he being the g l i n o f b ric k . u all Cape Fear His ho se is built , and exceedingly pleasantly situated abo ut two miles from the town and about h alf a mile m from the river , though there is a creek co es close up to the door , between two beautiful meadows about three miles length . He has a prospect of the town of Brunswickn, and of another beautiful brick house , a buildi g about half a mile from him , belonging to Eleazer n Allen , Esq . , late Speaker to the Commo s 2 2 8 A COLONIAL OFFICER

House of Assembly , in the province of South

C arolina . There were several vessels lyi n g before the h town of Brunswick , but I s all forbear giving 2 o th a description of that place ; yet , on the of ’ J une we left Mr . Roger Moore s , accompanied by his brother , Nathaniel Moore , Esq . , to a plantation of his up the Northwest branch of

Cape Fear river . The river is wonderfully pleasant , being next to Savannah , the finest on all the continent .

We reached the Forks , as they call it , that same night , where the river divides into two very beautiful branches called the Northeast a n d Northwest , passing by several pretty plan

' t a ti o n s on both sides . We lodged that night ’ at one Mr . Jehu Davis s , and the next morn ing proceeded up the Northwest branch ; when W e got about two miles from thence we came to a beautiful plantation belonging to Captain ‘ a briel G fi who is a great merchant there , where S l s were two ships , two oop and a brigantine loading with lumber for the West Indies : it

- is about twenty two miles from the bar . When we came about four miles higher up we s a w an opening on the Northwest side of us which

is called Black River , on which there is a great

deal of very good meadow land , but there is

not any one settled on it . The next n ight we came to an other planta

tion belonging to Mr . Roger Moore , called the

* n a b urell This ame was G o .

2 3 0 A C OLONIAL OFFICER miles from Bru n swick It is likewise a very pleasant plantation on a bluff upwards of sixty feet high . He then describes— after saying that he had n ot so much as seen one foot of bad land — Since leavin g Brunswick a trip he took with

Mr . Moore and others to Waccamaw Lake , Which he said he had heard so much talk of m and desired very uch to see , and which , after “ seeing , he pronounces the pleasantest place ” that I ever saw in my life . The number of deer , wild turkeys , geese and ducks greatly “ h S s uffi astonis ed him , and he said they hot cient to serve forty men , though there was but ” six O f us . After staying a night at Newton b ut (now Wilmington) in a , and then visiting “ h the fi n e st Rocky Point , w ich is place in all n Cape Fear , where he was e tertained by

H rne O h n Colonel Maurice Moore , Captain y , J

Swann , Esq . , and others , he returned to Orton , and the next day left the Province by way of ’ I n Lockwood s Folly , regard to which place he

: records a sore disappointment , as follows

About two I arrived there with much diffi culty , it being a very hot day , and myself very faint and weak , when I called for a dram , and , to my great sorrow , found not one drop of rum , sugar or lime j uice in the house (a pretty A N D H I S TIMES . 2 3 1

place to stay all night indeed ) , so was obliged m to make use of y own bottle of shrub , which made me resolve never to trust the country again in a long j ourney .

It thus appears that as early as 1 73 4 there were comfortable and even elegant residences all along both branches of the Cape Fear for forty or fifty miles above Brunswick , and these were multiplied continually afterwards . A handsome brick building , such as this traveller found at Orton , was a great rarity at that early period , and necessarily a very costly one , as all the bricks were brought from England . It was an expensive investment in which none but rich me n could possibly indulge . The status of the men who owned those on Cape Fear has been well described by one ’i‘ whose unequalled knowledge of the “ old times and ” men of that region well qualified him fo r the

' task , and his description is here transcribed

They were no needy adventurers , driven by — necess i ty no unlettered boors ill at ease i n the haunts of civilization , and seeking their proper sphere amidst the barbarism of the t h savages . They were gen lemen of birt and education , bred in the refinements of polished m society , and bringing with them a ple for

* 1 8 . H o n . v George Da is , Chapel Hill Address , 55 A COLONIA L OFFICER

tunes , gentle manners , and cultivated minds . o f a n d Most of them united by the ties blood , all by those of friendship , they came as one household sufficient unto themselves , and reared their family altars in love and peace .

If history immortalizes those who , with n the can on and the bayonet , throu zgD h blood fo u n d and carnage , establish a dynasty or a o b state , surely something more than mere li vi o n is due to those who , forsaking all that is attractive to the civilized mind , lead a colony and plant it successfully in harmony and a n d peace , amid the dangers of the wilderness

- h under the war w oop of the savage .

It was long after the stranger ’ s visit in and after the death of these first settlers that the events which made Brunswick famous m occurred , but the same characteristics arked their successors , who , as long as the old town

co m lasted , maintained the reputation of the munity for a refined and generous hospitality . Memorable for some of the most dramatic scenes in the $early history of North Carolina as the region around Brunswick was— being the theatre of the first open armed resistance

m A ct 2 8th 1 6 to the Sta p on the November , 7 5 , and not far from the spot where the first V i c tory of the Revolution crowned the American ’ arms at Moore s Creek Bridge on the 2 7th

A PPE N DIX .

The following correspondence between Gov ern o r Martin , Captain Parry and the people , at the beginning of the American Revolution , is copied from the original documents recently procured by the Secretary of State at Raleigh from England . It occurred , as the date shows , on the very day of the battle of Moore ’ s Creek

2 th 1 6 Bridge , 7 February , 77 , but probably before intelligence of that event reached Wil mingtou . Cornelius Harnett was almost certainly the author of the letters on behalf of the people , and the calm courage which char a ct e ri z e s them , displayed as it was in the face of a threat to destroy the town , will send a thrill of a dmi ra t l o n through every generous soul who reads them :

To the Ma g1s tra t e s and Inhabitants of the Town of Wilmington : It is expected and hereby required that the Inhabitants of the Town of Wilmington do furnish for his Maj estie ’ s service One Thou sand barrels o f good flour on or before Satur day next , being the second day of March , which will be paid for at Market price .

Jo . M ARTI N . C ruiz e r o Slo p of War ,

h 1 6 . . 2 t Off Wilmington , Feb 7 , 77 6 X 2 3 APP ENDI .

C R UI Z E R W G R V , ILMIN TON I ER , ’

F eb 2 th 1 6 . y 7 , 77 His Maj estie ’ s ships not having received ro v I S l o n S p agreeable to their regular Demands , W ilmi n I shall , as soon as possible , be off g ’ S C rui z e r ton with his Maj estie s loop , and other armed vessels under my command to know the reason of their not being supplied . I expect to be supplied by six this Evening with the provisions I have now demanded of the contractor . If his Maj estie ’ s ships or Boats are in the least annoyed it will be my duty to O ppose it . ’ FRAN S PARRY . To the Magistrates and In habitants of Wil

mingtou .

The Inhabitants of Wilmington , by their i n i l l representatives Committee , answer to ’ your E x cellen c i e s demand of One Thousand ’ Barrels of flour for his Maj estie s service , beg leave to assure your Excellency that they have been always most cordially disposed to promote ’ h his Maj estie s real service , whic they think consistent only with the good of the whole British e mpire But the inhabitants are aston ’ i s h e d at the quantum of your Excellencie s i requisition , as they cannot conce ve what ser vice his Maj esty has I n this part of the world for so much flour . In the most quiet and peaceable Times , when the Ports were open a nd i m Trade flourished , it would have been

2 3 8 APPENDI X . selfish people are now surrounded by three armies above four times their Number , and the Town of Cross Creek , now in our hands , ’ will make some , tho a very inadequate com n a ti o n pe s for the destruction of Wilmington .

This , Sir , is no boast , and we would not treat your Excellency with so much disrespect as ’ to make use of Threats . The Acco t we have given you is sacredly true , and we have the c o n v m cm most g proof of it in our possession . h I ave the honor to be , by order of the Com mittee , ’ ’

O bt e rv t . Sir , You r Excellency s most S

’ h 1 W NGT N 2 t F eb 6 . ILMI O , 7 y , 77

The reasons why his Maj estie ’ s ships have not been supplied with the usual quantity of provision s is so O bvious that it cannot possibly have escaped the sagacity of Captain Parry . The trade of this colony hath been distressed ’ n by the King s ships , even co trary to the Acts of the British Parliament . The Military stores , the property of the People , have been seized with an avowed Intention to subj ugate them S to lavery , The fort which the People had built at a great E x pen ce for th e protection of their Trade made use of for a purpose the very a n d reverse , when they attempted to demolish it they have been fired upon by the ships of war . The slaves of the American Inhabitants have been pursued and many of them seized and APPENDI X . 2 3 9

1 inveigled from their duty , and the r live stock and other property killed and plundered , long before the Committee thought it necessary to deny the ships a supply of provisions ; a nd to

Crown all you , Sir , for the Second Time have brought up the C rui z e r and several Armed Vessels to cover the landing of an army Com o f posed highland banditti , most of whom are as destitute of Property as they are of Princi ple , and none of whom you will ever see , unless as fugitives imploring protection . Tho ’ you should come up before the Town you cannot expect any other answer than what 1 we now give you . We have not the least intentio n of opposing either your ships or Boats , unless you should attempt to inj ure us , and whenever you may think proper to treat the Inhabitants as h is ’ S Maj estie s officers did heretofore , we hall be happy to receive you in the manner which we always wish to receive those who have the ’ i e c m- honor to bear His Maj e st s o mission .

I am , by Order of the Committee , b O t S ervt . Sir , Your

To Capt . Parry .

To the Magistrates and Inhabitants of the Town of Wilmington : I have been much surprised to receive an answer to my requisition directed to The

Magistrates and Inhabitants of Wilmington , from a member of the la wfull Magistracy in 2 40 APPENDI X . the name and under the Traitorous Guize of a Combination unknown to the laws and C O I I s titu ti o n of this Country , as if the Magistrates ' and Inhabitants of Wilmington c h o se ra th e r to appear in the Garb of Rebellion than in the ’ character of his Maj estie s loyal a n d faithful subj ects . The quantity of flour that I required for his ’ i n Maj estie s service , I concluded , from the formation I h ad received , that the Town of Wilmington might have well supplied within the Time I appointed by my Note , and I should have been contented with the quantity that

. n o t was obtainable The requisition was made , to as the answer to it imports , for a prelude the destruction of that Town , which has not been in contemplation , but was intended as a

Test of the disposition of the Inhabitants , is whose sence , I am unwilling to believe , known to the little arbitrary Junto (stiling itself a Committee) which has presumed to an swer for the People in this and other I n stances . The revilings of Rebellion and the Gascon a di n gs of Rebels are below the contempt of the loyal and faithful People whom I have most j ustly stiled Friends of Government , and the forbearance of menaces I have little reason to consider as a mark of Respect from the Chair man o f a Combination founded in usurpation and Rebellion .

. M T . J O AR IN

2 4 2 APPENDI X .

’ 011 a his Maj estie s service the one hand , or

firm attachment to their Liberties on the other . And whilst they are conscious of no Acts b ut those which tended to assert the rights of Go and nature , they have reason to believe t “ v a n hey do not deser e the epithets of rebels t. traitors with which your Excellency hath S O liberally loaded them . Time alone must convince your Excellency that the committee cannot , for any interested purposes , descend to convey an untruth which candor would be ashamed of.

To the Magistrates and Inhabitants of Wil

mingto n . AS I am informed it is inconvenient to sup ’ p ly his Maj estie s Sloop C ruiz er with salt provisions , must beg you will send a few quar ters of good beef. ’ FRAN S PARRY . C r ui z e r , Wilmington River , ’ b h 1 F e 2 8t 6 . y , 77