The North Carolina Historical Review Volume XXXI July, 1954 Number 3 LISTEN TO THE EAGLE SCREAM: ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF THE FOURTH OF JULY IN NORTH CAROLINA (1776-1876) By Fletcher M. Green Part I The day after the Continental Congress had agreed upon a declaration of independence, John Adams, writing to his beloved Abigail, predicted that "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of 1 America." "I am apt to believe [said he] that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of de- liverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore." But it was to be July 4—the day Congress adopted the Declaration drafted by Thomas Jefferson—not July 2 that was to be celebrated "as the great anniversary festival." And had Adams added dinners, orations, the drink- ing of toasts, the reading of the Declaration, an evening ball or dance, and the shooting of firecrackers to his list of the means by which the day was to be celebrated, his prophecy would have been more nearly accurate. Charles Warren, distinguished historian of the Supreme Court of the United States, writing in 1945, said: "It is a singular fact that the greatest event in American history—the 1 Charles Francis Adams (ed.), The Works of John Adams, Second Presi- dent of the United States: With a Life of the Author, Notes and Illustra- tions, 10 vols. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1850-1856), IX, 420. [295] 296 The North Carolina Historical Review Declaration of Independence—has been the subject of more incorrect popular belief, more bad memory on the part of participants, and more false history than any other occurrence 2 in our national life." Warren cleared up some of the miscon- ceptions concerning the date of the adoption and signing of the Declaration, the ringing of the Liberty Bell, the early celebration myth, and the poor memory of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and other participants in that historic event. 3 It is my purpose in this essay to discuss the celebration of Independence Day from 1776 to 1876 in North Carolina and incidentally in the South. Today little attention is paid to July Fourth by the people of North Carolina, but during the first century of our national existence it was almost univer- sally observed. A study of the orations and toasts delivered at those celebrations will throw light on public opinion and attitudes on the major problems, state, regional, and national, of the day and help to clear up some of the "false history" referred to by Charles Warren. The American states received official news of the Declara- tion of Independence from the Continental Congress in July, 1776, and joyously proclaimed it to the people. Some legisla- tures ordered the Declaration to be printed in the state gazettes and to be proclaimed in each county by the sheriff. Others held public meetings in the capital cities where the Declaration was read and celebrated by a dinner, a toast to each of the thirteen states, illuminations, and ceremony in which an effigy of George III was either burned or buried.4 In Georgia public officials, gentlemen, and the militia drank a toast "to the prosperity and perpetuity of the United Free and Independent States of America." And the President of the Council pronounced a funeral oration over King George in which he said: 2 Charles Warren, "Fourth of July Myths," The William and Mary Quar- terly: A Magazine of Early American History, Institutions and Culture, Third Series, II (July, 1945), 237. 3 Warren, "Fourth of July Myths," The William and Mary Quarterly, 237-272. 4 Charles D. Deshler, "How the Declaration Was Received in the Old Thirteen," Harper's New Monthly Magazine, LXXXV (July, 1892), 165-187. Listen to the Eagle Scream 297 For as much as George the Third, of Great Britain, hath most flagrantly violated his Coronation Oath, and trampled upon the Constitution of our Country, and the sacred rights of man- kind: We, therefore, commit his political existence to the ground—corruption to corruption—tyranny to the grave—and oppression to eternal infamy; in sure and certain hope that he will never obtain a resurrection to rule again over the United States of America. But, my friends and fellow citizens, let us not be sorry, as men without hope, for tyrants that thus de- part—rather let us remember that America is free and inde- pendent; and that she is, and will be, with the blessing of the Almighty, Great among the nations of the earth. 5 The North Carolina Council of Safety received news of the Declaration on July 22, 1776, and ordered "the committees of the respective Towns and Counties in this Colony on re- ceiving the Declaration, do cause the same to be proclaimed in the most public manner, in Order that the good people of 6 this Colony may be fully informed thereof." On July 25, the Council adopted a resolution requiring the people to take a loyalty oath in which they were to declare that they "do absolutely believe" in independence, recognize no English authority, and promise to obey the Continental Congress. At a meeting of the citizens of the town of Halifax on August 1, the Declaration was officially proclaimed to the state. On that day, "an immense concourse of people" and soldiers having gathered, Cornelius Harnett "read the Declaration to the mute and impassioned multitude with the solemnity of an appeal to Heaven." When he had finished, "the enthusiasm of the immense crowd broke into one swell of rejoicing and prayer." The soldiers seized Harnett and "bore him on their shoulders through the streets, applauding him as their cham- pion, and swearing allegiance to the instrument he had read."7 5 Charles Colcock Jones, Jr., History of Savannah, Georgia (Syracuse: D. Mason and Company, 1890), 234-235. 6 William L. Saunders (ed.), The Colonial Records of North Carolina, 10 vols. (Raleigh: P. M. Hale and Josephus Daniels, 1886-1890), X, 682-684. 7 The description of the celebration at Halifax is taken from Jo. Seawell Jones, A Defence of the Revolutionary History of the State of North Car- olina from the Aspersions of Mr. Jefferson (Raleigh: Turner and Hughes; Boston: Charles Bowen, 1834), 268-269. Jones says he received the account of this ceremony "from a pious elderly lady, who was present on the occasion." (' 298 The North Carolina Historical Review Celebrations of the Fourth in 1777 were few in number, but were widely scattered throughout the country. The day was observed by an unofficial celebration at Philadelphia, which included a dinner for members of Congress, state officials, and the officers of the army. A number of toasts were drunk to the Fourth, to liberty, and to the memory of fallen troops. Throughout the city bells were rung; ships in the harbor fired thirteen cannon each; there was a parade, fol- lowed by fireworks. And music was furnished by a Hessian 8 band that had been captured at Trenton. A similar celebra- tion was held in Boston. The most elaborate celebration held anywhere in the coun- try took place at Charleston, South Carolina. A newspaper reported it as follows: Friday last being the first anniversary of the glorious for- mation of the American empire . the same was commemorated by every demonstration of joy. Ringing of bells ushered in the day. At sunrise, American colors were displayed from all the forts and batteries, and vessels in the harbor. The Charleston regiment of militia, commanded by the Honorable Colonel Charles Pinckney, and the Charleston artillery company, com- manded by Captain Thomas Grimball, were assembled upon the parade, and reviewed by his excellency the President. ... At one o'clock in the several forts, beginning with Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island, discharged seventy-six pieces of cannon, alluding to the glorious year 1776, and the militia and artillery three general volleys. His Excellency the President then gave a most elegant entertainment in the council chamber, at which were present all the members of the Legislature then in town, all the public officers civil and military, the clergy, and many strangers of note to the amount of more than double the num- ber that ever observed the birthday of the present misguided and unfortunate King of Great Britain. After dinner the fol- lowing toasts were drank, viz: '1. The free, and independent, and sovereign States of America. 2. The great council of Ameri- ca—may wisdom preside in all its deliberations. 3. General Washington. 4. The American army and navy—may they be victorious and invincible. 5. The nations in friendship or al- liance with America. 6. The American ambassadors at foreign courts. 7. The Fourth of July, 1776. 8. The memory of the officers and soldiers who have bravely fallen in defense of Ameri- 8 Warren, "Fourth of July Myths," The William and Mary Quarterly, 254, Listen to the Eagle Scream 299 ca. 9. South Carolina. 10. May only those Americans enjoy free- dom who are ready to die for its defence. 11. Liberty triumphant. 12. Confusion, shame, and disgrace to our enemies—may the foes to America (slaves to tyranny) humble and fall before her. 13. May the rising States of America reach the summit of human power and grandeur, and enjoy every blessing.' Each toast was succeeded by a salute of thirteen guns, which were fired by Captain GrimbalFs company from their two field-pieces, with admirable regularity.