Chapter XXII: ```Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her; (3)

* "My Dear Son,--By a Gentleman Bound to Tar River, I now write to inform you, that after I parted with you at Halifax, Mr. Hewes & myself proceeded on our Journey as follows; Sunday evening we arrived at Petersburg in Virginia where we met the express with an account of a Battle between the King's Troops & the Bostonians. The next day we crossed James River & Lodged at Hanover Court House, where we had an Account of 1500 Men being under Arms to proceed to Williamsburg in Or der to Oblige Lord Dunmore to return some powder he had taken out of the Magazine & Lodged on Board of a Man of-AVar in James River. What was done in that matter we have not since Heard. The next day we were constantly meeting Armed men who had been to Escort the Delegates for Virginia, on their way towards this place. AVe Lodged that night at Port Royal and were only 2 or 3 Hours after the Virginia Gent". The next day we got down to Potomack side before the Boats returned that had carried the Virginians over. Here were part of the Militia of three Counties under Arms, & in the Uniforms of Hunting Shirts. They received us, and Conducted us on the return of the Boats, to the water's edge with all the Military Honors due to General Officers. We then crossed the River, and learned at the Ferry on Maryland side that a Company of Independents in Charles County had attended the Virginia Delegates from thence under Arms. We proceeded and overtook them at Port Tobacco, where, indeed, the Independents made a Most Glorious Appearance. Their Company consisted of 68 Men beside officers, all Genteelly drest in Scarlet & well equiped with Arms, & Warlike Implements, with drum & Fife. Sentinels were placed at the doors &. Occasionally relieved during the Time we stayed there. The next Morning we all set out together, & were Attended by the Independents to the Verge of their County, where they delivered us to another Company of Independents in Prince George's; they in like Manner to a Second, and that to a Third, which brot us thro' their County. We Lodged that night lit Marlborough the next day tho' we met with a Most Terrible Gust of Lightning, thunder, wind. Hail & rain, Arrived at Baltimore, at the entrance of which Town we were received by four Independent Companies who Conducted us with their Colours Flying, drums Beating and Fife's playing, to our lodgings at the Fountain Tavern (Grants). The next day we were prevailed on to stay at Baltimore, where Coll Washington, Accompanied by the rest of the Delegates, reviewed the Troops. They have four Companies of 08 men each, Comptent, who go throh their Exercises extremely Clever. They are raising, in that Town, three other Companies which they say will soon be full. We were very Genteelly entertained here in the Court House. The next day we Breakfasted at my old Master Cheynes & dined at Susquehannah; crossed the River and Lodged at the Ferry House. As I had in some Measure been the cause of the Virginia Gent" going round the Bay by recommending that road, and being the only person in Company acquainted with the road, I was Obliged to keep with them so that I did not call on any of my relations. I sent George to Jos. Dallants where he left the Letters I brot for our Friends, and was informed my Grand Mother* & all Friends were well except Mrs Dallam who had been poorly some Time--the next day we got to Wilmington where we fell in with Several of the Maryland Delegates, & came all into the City to Dinner, on the 9th Instant. Yesterday the Congress met Agreeable to Appointment, & this day it was Resolved that they enter upon the Consideration of American Grievances on Monday next. Here a Greater Martial Spirit prevails, if possible, than I have been describing in Virginia and Maryland. They have 28 Companies Compleat, which make near 2000 Men, who March out to the Common &. go thro' their Exercises twice a day regularly. Scarce any thing but Warlike Musick is to be heard in the Streets. There are several Companies of Quakers only, and many of them beside enrolled in other Companies promiscuously. 'Tis said they will, in a few days, have 3000 Men under Arms ready to defend their Liberties. They are raising Men in New York & all the Northern Governments. The Yorkers, I am told by their Delegates, are determined to Defend their Liberties, & since the action between the Kings Troops and the Provincials, scarcely a Tory is to be found amongst them. I herewith Inclose you a paper in which is a List of the Killed and Wounded of the Kings Troops. But 'tis said this is not Genuine, a much greater number being Actually Killed. On the side of the Bostonians 3 were Killed outright 4 are missing & I forget the number of Wounded; I think thirty odd. Thus you have the fullest Account I am able to give of these matters, and as the Acct is so long, 'twill not be in my power to Communicate the same, to any other of my Countrymen and friends but throh you. You may therefore remember me in the Strongest manner to Your Uncles, Capt Bright, and others of my particular Friends. Shew them this Letter, and tell them it will be a Reflection on their Country to be Behind their neighbours; that it is Indispensibly necessary for them to arm and form into a Company or Companies of Independents. When their Companies are full, 68 private Men each, to elect Officers, Viz a Capt. 2 Lieut* an Ensign & Subalterns, And to meet as often as possible Si go thro' the exercise. Recieve no man but such as can be depended on, at the same Time reject none who will not discredit the Company. If I live to return I shall most Chearfully Join any of my Countrymen even as a rank &. file man. And as in the Common cause I am here exposed to Danger, that or any other difficulties I shall not shun whilst I have any Blood in my Vins, But freely offer it in Support of the Liberties of my Country. Tell your Uncles (the Clk & Sheri ) it may not be prudent for them so far to engage yet awhile in any Company as to risk the loss of their offices. But you, my Dear Boy, must become a soldier & risk your life in Support of those invaluable Blessings which once lost, Posterity will never be able to regain it. Some men, I fear, will start objections to the enrolling of Companies & exercising the Men, &. will say it will be acting against Government. That may be answered "that it is not so." That we are only Qualifying ourselves and preparing to defend our Country & Support our Liberties. I can say no more at present. But that May God Almighty protect you all & his Blessing Attend your good endeavour, is the Ardent prayer of My Dear Child Your Affectionate Father.

* .. P.S.--only shew this letter to such as I have described above, &. dont let it be Copied. Consult Capt Bright &c.

* "Mr William Caswell."

[[[Biographical Sketch of Lillington.--Caswell's Letter to his Son.]]]

{586}the Creek, who, with the minute-men of Dobbs, Craven, Johnston, and Wake counties, and battalions from Wilmington and Newbern, in all about one thousand strong, were out in

[[[Peril of the Highlanders.--Preparations for Battle.--Lillinglon Hall.--Colonel John Lillington.]]]

{587}search of the Tory army. * The situation of M'Donald (who was now very ill) was perilous ill the extreme. The strong minute-men of the Neuse region, their officers wearing silver crescents upon their hats, inscribed with the stirring words, "Liberty or Death," were in front; and Colonel Moore, with his regulars, were close upon his rear. To fly was impossible; to fight was his only alternative.

Both parties were encamped in sight of each other during the night. A professed neutral informed Colonel Lillington of the intended movements of the enemy in the morning, and he and Caswell took measures accordingly. During the night, they cast up a breastwork, removed the planks from the bridge across Moore's Creek, and disposed their forces so as to command the passage and the roads on each side. The patriots lay upon their arms all night, ready, at a signal, to meet the foe. At early dawn, bagpipes were heard, and the notes of a bugle, ringing out upon the frosty air, called the eighteen hundred Loyalists to arms. In a few minutes they rushed forward to the attack, led on by Captain M'Leod,

* Colonel Lillington. with the Wilmington battalion of minute-men, arrived at the bridge about four hours before Caswell, with his larger foree, made his appearance. Caswell, who was the senior officer, took command of the whole patriot army.

[[[Battle at Moore's Creek.--Feat of Mrs. Slocum.--Effect of the Battle.--Humanity of the Whigs.--Governor Martin.]]]

{588}for General M'Donald was too ill to leave his tent. Finding a small intrenehment next the bridge quite empty, they concluded the Americans had abandoned the post. They had advanced to within thirty paces of the breast-work, when the Whigs, though unused to war, arose from their concealment, bravely confronted the foe, and for ten minutes the contest was fierce and bloody. Captain M'Leod was killed at the beginning of the battle. Captain John Campbell, the next in command, soon fell, mortally wounded. At that moment, Lieutenant Slocum, of the patriot army, with a small detachment, forded the stream, penetrated the swamp on its western bank, and fell with vigor upon the rear of the Loyalists. * The Scotchmen were routed and dispersed, and many of them were made prisoners. Among the latter were General M'Donald, and also the husband of Flora. The Loyalists lost seventy men in killed and wounded; the Americans had only two wounded, and one of them survived. ** Colonel Moore arrived soon after the engagement ended, and that evening the men of the united forces of the patriots slept soundly upon the field of their victory.

The effect of this defeat of the Loyalists was of vast importance to the Patriot cause in North Carolina. It exhibited the courage and skill of the defenders of liberty, and completely broke the spirit of the Loyalists. It prevented a general organization of the Tories, and their junction with the forces under Sir Henry Clinton, which arrived in the Cape Fear in May, upon which the royal power in the South depended for vitality. The opposers of that power were encouraged, and the timid and wavering were compelled to make a decision. The kindness extended to the prisoners and their families won the esteem of all, and many Loyalists were converted to the Republican faith by the noble conduct of the victors. ** The plans of the governor, and of Sir Henry Clinton and Lord William Campbell, were, for the time, completely frustrated, and Martin **** soon afterward abdicated government, and took

* Mrs. Ellett relates a noble instance of female heroism whieh this battle developed. The wife of Lieutenant Slocum, whose home was sixty miles distant from the scene of conflict, had dreamed, after her husband and his neighbors had departed with Caswell, that she saw him lying dead upon the ground. She awoke in great distress, arose, saddled a horse, and rode at full gallop in the direction the troops had taken. Through that thinly-settled and swampy country she pressed on, and at nine o'clock in the morning she heard the firing. As she came near the battle-ground, she saw a body lying in her husband's cloak, but it proved to be another man, who was wounded. She alighted, washed his face, bound up his wounds, and was administering comfort to another wounded man, when Caswell and her astonished husband came up. With true womanly feeling, she interceded for the life of the prisoner, attended to the wounded Loyalists through the day, and at midnight started for home. She did not tell her husband of her dream until his return. She rode one hundred and twenty-five miles in less than forty hours, and without one interval of rest! A mother's love, for she "wanted to see her child," impelled her to return with speed. The Carolinas were full of such heroic women as Mary Slocum when the storm of the Revolution swept over them.--See Mrs. Ellett's Domestic History of the Revolution, page 46; II omen of the Revolution, i., 317--321.

** The patriots captured thirteen wagons, three hundred and fifty guns and shot-bags, about one hundred and fifty swords and dirks, and fifteen hundred excellent rifles.--Gordon, ii., 37.

*** The Provincial Congress Issued a manifesto on the twenty-ninth of April, respecting the Loyalists, in the wounds whieh a separation from husbands, fathers, and the dearest relations has made. They are the rightful pensioners upon the charity and bounty of those who have aught to spare from their own necessities for the relief of their indigent fellow-creatures; to such we recommend them." Had such noble sentiments governed Cornwallis and his officers when they subdued the Carolinas, a few years later, they might have made their victory permanent. General M'Donald and his son, who held a colonel's commission, were granted liberal paroles of honor; and, during the summer, the general and twenty-five of his fellow-prisoners were exchanged at Philadelphia.

**** Governor Josiah Martin was a soldier by profession, and, in 1770, had risen to the rank of major in the British armv. When Tryon was transferred to New York in 1771, Martin was appointed governor of North Carolina, and was the last royal chief magistrate of that colony. He was a man of considerable ability, urbane in manners, and sincerely desirous of promoting the best interests of the colony. After going to New York with Sir Henry Clinton, when driven from the colony, he joined the army, under Cornwallis, and was in the battle near Camden, where Gates was defeated. He was with Cornwallis in Virginia, as late as March, 1781, when impaired health caused him to leave. He went to New York, spent a part of the summer at Rockaway, on Long Island, and then sailed for England. He died in London, in July, 1786. Samuel Martin, who fought a duel with the celebrated John Wilkes in 1763, was the governor's brother. His father was Colonel Samuel Martin, of Virginia, who lost a large estate by confiscation. Judge Martin, the historian of North Carolina, computes the population of that state, when Governor Martin fled and the royal power ended, at one hundred and fifty thousand, more than one fifth of whom were slaves.

[[[Organization of Civil Government.--Proclamation of Sir Henry Clinton.--Desolation of Howe's Plantation.]]]

{589}refuge on board the Bristol, the flag-ship of Sir Peter Parker. * Royal government in North Carolina now ceased forever, and a brighter era in the history of the state was opened.

The provincial council now labored vigorously in the elaboration of measures for the defense of the colony, and the maintenance of liberty. A strong military establishment was organized, and in eaeh district a brigadier general was appointed, with an efficient corps of field-officers. ** On the eighteenth of December[[1776]] a state government was formed under a Constitution, *** and, a few days afterward, a device for a great seal of the commonwealth was presented by a committee appointed for the purpose, and adopted. ****

In all their actions, the Carolinians exhibited the aspect of men determined to be free, and conscious that hope for reconciliation with the mother country was vain. A blow had been struck which marked out the bright line of future operations. There could no longer be hesitation, and the line between Whigs and Tories was as distinctly drawn as that of the twilight between the day and the night.

The siege of Charleston, and other events of the war which speedily followed the battle on Moore's Creek, will be detailed hereafter. From this time until the close of the Revolution, the military history of North Carolina is identified with that of the whole confederacy. From the time of the battle on Moore's Creek until Cornwallis and his army overran the Carolinas, there were no regularly organized bands of Loyalists in the "Old North State." Here let us close the chronicle for a day, and ride on toward the fertile region of the Allamanee, after glancing at noteworthy objects in Hillsborough.

I employed the first morning of the new year,[[Jan 1, 1849]] in visiting places of interest at Hillsborough, in company with the Reverend Dr. Wilson. The first object to which my attention was ealled was a small wooden building, represented in the engraving on the next page, situated opposite the hotel where I was lodged. Cornwallis used it for

* Gordon, ii., 36. 37; Foote, 143-145: Marlin, ii., 380-384. On the fifth of May, 1776, Sir Henry Clinton issued a proclamation from the Pallas sloop of war, which declared North Carolina in a state of rebellion, ordered all Congresses to be dissolved, and offered pardon to all penitents, exeept the arch-rebels Cornelius Harnett and Robert Howe. The people laughed at him. Fired with indignation, he vented his spite upon the property of Colonel Howe. On the twelfth, he sent Cornwallis and a marauding party of nine hundred men on shore, who ravaged Howe's plantation in Brunswick, treated some women at his house with brutality, burned some mills in the neighborhood, and then returned to the ships. Despairing of success in that quarter, Clinton sailed with the British fleet of thirty vessels for New York.

***The following gentlemen were appointed brigadiers: Richard Caswell, of Newbern; John Ashe, of Wilmington; Thomas Person,* of Hillsborough; Griffith Rutherford, of Salisbury; Edward Vail, of Edenton; and Allen Jones, of Halifax.

*** The following gentlemen were appointed state officers under the Republican Constitution: Richard Caswell., governor; James Glasgow, secretary of slate; Cornelius Harnett, Thomas Person, William Day, William Haywood, Edward Staricey, Joseph Leech, and Thomas Eaton, counselors of state.

**** The committee consisted of William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Thomas Burke. The seal then adopted continues to be that of the state. The two figures represent respectively Liberty and Plenty. Liberty holds the Constitution in one hand, and in the other a staff, with the cap of freedom, indicating the security of liberty by the Constitution. Clasped by one arm, Plenty holds a small bundle of wheat ears, and with the other supports an overflowing cornucopia, indieating the generous fertility of the soil of North Carolina.

* Thomas Person had been one of the leading Regulators, and exceedingly active against the royal government. He was for many years a member of the State Senate. Person Hall, of the university at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was so named to commemorate a munificent donation which he made to that institution.

[[[Localities at Hillsborough.--Departure for the Allamance.--Place of Pyle's Defeat]]]

{590}an office, hiring his tarryings in Hillsborough, after driving General Greene out of the state.

After sketching this, we visited the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court, and made the fac similes and extracts from its records, printed on pages 573--4. We next visited the head-quarters of Cornwallis, a large frame building situated in the rear of Morris's _Hillsborough House_, on King Street. Generals Gates and Greene also occupied it when they were in Hillsborough, and there a large number of the members of the Provincial Congress were generally lodged.

The old court-house, where the Regulators performed their lawless acts, is no longer in existence. I was informed by Major Taylor, an octogenarian on whom we called, that it was a brick edifice, and stood almost upon the exact site of the present court-house, which is a spacious brick building, with steeple and clock.

The successor of the first was a wooden structure, and being removed to make room for the present building, was converted into a place of meeting for a society of Baptists, who yet worship there.[[1849]] Upon the hill near the Episcopal church, and fronting King Street, is the spot "where the Regulators were hung.

The residence of Governor Tryon, while in Hillsborough was on Church Street, a little west of Masonic Hall. These compose the chief objects of historic interest at Hillsborough. The town has other associations connected with the Southern campaigns, but we will not anticipate the revealments of history by considering them now.

At one o'clock I exchanged adieus with the kind Dr. Wilson, crossed the Eno, and, pursuing the route traversed by Tryon on his march to the Allamance, crossed the rapid and now turbid Ha, ** just below the falls, at sunset. I think I never traveled a worse road than the one stretching between the Eno and the Haw. It passes over a continued series of red clay hills, which are heavily wooded with oaks, gums, black locusts, and chestnuts. Small streams course among these elevations; and in summer this region must be exceedingly picturesque. Now every tree and shrub was leafless, except the holly and the laurel, and nothing green appeared among the wide-reaching branches but the beautiful tufts of mistletoe which every where decked the great oaks with their delicate leaves and transparent berries. Two and a half miles beyond the Haw, and eighteen from Hillsborough, I passed the night at Foust's house of entertainment, and after an early breakfast, rode to the place where Colonel Pyle, a Tory officer, with a considerable body of Loyalists, was deceived and defeated by Lieutenant-colonel Henry Lee and his dragoons, with Colonel Pickens, in the spring of 1781. Dr. Holt, who lives a short distance from that locality, kindly accompanied me to the spot and pointed out the place where the battle occurred; where Colonel Pyle lay concealed in a pond, and where many of the slain were buried. The place of conflict is about half a mile north of the old Salisbury highway, upon a "plantation road," two miles east of the Allamance, in Orange county. Let us listen to the voices of history and tradition.

In February, 1781, General Greene, then in command of the American army at the South, accomplished a wonderful and successful retreat across North Carolina into Virginia, closely pursued by Lord Cornwallis. This memorable retreat we shall consider presently.

* This view is from the piazza of the Union Hotel. The building is of logs, covered with clap-boards. When James Monroe (afterward President of the United States) visited the Southern army in 1780, as military commissioner for Virginia, he used this building for his office while in Hillsborough.

** The Haw River (which derives its name from the abundance of hawthorns in that region) rises in Rockingham and Guilford counties, and in Chatham county unites with the Deep River, and forms the northwest branch of the Cape Fear.

[[[Cornwallis at Hillsborough.--Greene's Plans.--Expedition under Lieutenant Colonel Lee.--His Public-Life]]]

{591}When Cornwallis was certified that Greene had escaped across the Dan with all his force, baggage, and stores, he ordered a halt,[[Feb 14, 1781]] and, after refreshing his wearied troops, moved slowly back to Hillsborough, and there established his head-quarters.' His object was partially accomplished; he had not captured the "rebel army," but he had driven it from the Carolinas, and he now anticipated a general rising of the Tories, to assist him in crushing effectually the remaining Republicanism at the South. Although driven across the Dan, Greene had no idea of abandoning North Carolina to the quiet possession of the enemy.

In the fertile and friendly county of Halifax, in Virginia, his troops reposed for a few days, and then they were called again to the field of active exertion. He resolved to recruit his thinned battalions, and as soon as possible recross the Dan and confront Cornwallis.

Among the most active and efficient officers engaged in the Southern campaigns was Henry Lee, ** at this time lieutenant colonel, in command of a corps of choice cavalry. He was in Greene's camp when that general issued his orders to prepare for recrossing the Dan into the Carolinas. His patriot heart leaped for joy when the order was given, and he was much gratified when himself and General Pickens, who commanded a body of South Carolina militia, with Captain Oldham and two companies of Maryland veteran militia, were directed[[Feb 18, 1781]] to repass the Dan and reconnoitre the front of Cornwallis, for he burned to measure strength with the fiery Tarleton. They were sent by Greene to interrupt the intercourse of Cornwallis with the country surrounding his army at Hillsborough, and to suppress every attempt of the Loyalists to join him in force. This proved necessary, for the British commander issued a proclamation on the twentieth of February,[[1781]] inviting the Loyalists to join his standard at Hillsborough.

Lieutenant-colonel Lee crossed the Dan on the eighteenth, and was followed

* Cornwallis remained in Hillsborough about ten days. While a detachment of his army lay at the Red House, a short distance from the town, they occupied the Church of Hugh M'Aden, the first located missionary in North Carolina. Supposing M'Aden (then a short time in his grave) to have been a rebel, be-cause he was a Presbyterian, the British burned his library and papers. His early journal escaped the flames.--Fuote, 273.

** Henry Lee. was born at the family seat, in Stratford (see page 423), on the twenty-ninth of January, 1756. He was educated at Princeton College, where he graduated in 1773. Fond of active life, and imbued with a military spirit, he sought and obtained the command of a company, in Colonel Bland's regiment of Virginia volunteers, in 1776. He joined the Continental army in September, 1777. where he soon attracted the favorable notice of Washington. He was promoted to the rank of major, in command of a separate corps of cavalry. On the sixth of November, 1780, Congress promoted him to lieutenant eolonel, and ordered him to join the Southern army under General Greene, where his career was marked by great skill and bravery. His military exploits and the honors conferred upon him by Congress, are noticed in various places in this volume. In 1786, he was appointed a delegate to Congress, which position he held until the adoption of the Constitution. In 1791, he succeeded Beverly Randolph as governor of Virginia, and remained in office three years. He commanded the forces, by appointment of Washington, which were sent to quell the whisky insurrection in Pennsylvania. He was a member of Congress in 1799, and was chosen to pronounce a funeral oration at Washington, on the occasion of the death of the first president. He wrote his Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United States, in 1808. He was active in quelling a mob in Baltimore in 1814, and from wounds received at that time he never fairly recovered. Toward the close of 1817, he repaired to the West Indies for the benefit of his health, but without success. Returning, he stopped at Cumberland Island, near St. Mary's, in Georgia, to visit Mrs. Shaw, the daughter of General Greene, where he died on the twenty-fifth of March, 1818, at the age of sixty-two years. The names of Lee, Marion, Morgan, Sumter, and Pickens form a brilliant galaxy in the Southern firmament of our Revolutionary history.

[[[Pursuit of Tarleton.--Approach of Tories under Colonel Pyle.--Conception of a Plan to Ensnare them.]]]

{592}by Pickens and Oldham. He sent out his scouts, and early on the morning of the nineteenth he was informed by them that Tarleton and his legion were out toward the Haw reconnoitering, and offering protection to the Loyalists who were desirous of marching to Cornwallis's camp. Lee and Pickens pushed on to gain the great road leading from Hillsborough to the Haw. They ascertained that Tarleton had passed there the day before, and was probably then on the western side of the Haw. The next day[[Feb 21]] the Americans crossed the Haw, and were informed that the Loyalists between that and the Deep River were certainly assembling to join the earl. They also learned from a countryman (a sort of passive Tory named Ephraim Cooke) that Tarleton's force consisted of most of his cavalry, four hundred infantry, and two light field pieces; and that he was encamped about four miles distant with all the carelessness of confident security. Lee determined to surprise him, and placed his little army in battle order for a quick march. They reached the designated spot too late, for Tarleton had left and proceeded a few miles further, to the plantation of Colonel William O'Neil, whose memory, if common report speaks true, deserves a greater share of the odium of his countrymen than the most bitter Tory, for by his avaricious acts while claiming to be a Whig, he drove many of his neighbors to join the ranks of the Loyalists. * Two of Tarleton's officers, who were left behind, were captured.

Lee now resolved to employ stratagem. His legion greatly resembled that of Tarleton, and he made the country people believe that his was a detachment sent by Cornwallis to re-enforce that officer. The two prisoners were commanded to favor the deception, under penalty instant death. The legion took the van in the march,[[Feb. 25, 1781]] with Lieutenant-colonel Lee at the head, preceded, at the distance of a few hundred yards, by a scout. The officer of the van soon met two well-mounted young men, who, believing him to belong to a British re-enforcement, promptly answered an inquiry by saying that they were "rejoiced to fall in with him, they having been sent forward by Colonel Pyle, the commander of quite a large body of Loyalists, to find out Tarleton's camp, whither he was marching with his followers." A dragoon was immediately sent to Lee with this information, and was speedily followed by the young men, who mistook "Legion Harry" for Tarleton, and, with the greatest deference, informed him of the advance of Colonel Pyle. Lee dispatched his adjutant to General Pickens to request him to place his riflemen (among whom were those of Captain Graham, ** who had just joined him) on the left flank, in a place of concealment in the woods, while he himself should make an attempt to capture the deceived Loyalists. Lee also sent one of the duped young men, with the dragoon who escorted them, to proceed to Colonel Pyle with his compliments, and his request "that the colonel would be so good as to draw out his forces on the side of the road, so as to give convenient room for his (Lee's) much wearied troops to pass by without delay to their right position." The other young countryman was detained to accompany Lee himself, whom he supposed to be Tarleton. The van officer was ordered to halt as soon as he should perceive the Loyalists. This order was obeyed; and presently the young man who had been sent to Colonel Pyle, returned with that officer's assurance that he was "happy to comply with the request of Colonel Tarleton." It was the intention of Lee, when his force should obtain the requisite position to have the complete advantage of Colonel Pyle, to reveal his real name and character, demand the immediate surrender of the Tories, and give them their

* See Caruthers's Life of Caldwell, page 213.

** The father of the present Secretary of the Navy.

[[[Destruction of the Loyalists.--Escape of Colonel Pyle.--The Battle-ground.--Escape of Tarleton.]]]

{593}choice, to return quietly to their homes, after being disarmed, or to join the patriot army. Thus far every thing had worked favorably to Lee's humane design.

Lee's cavalry first approached the Loyalists, who, happily for the furtherance of the plan, were on the _right_ side of the road; consequently, the horsemen following Lee were obliged to countermarch and confront the Loyalists. As Lee approached Colonel Pyle, the Loyalists raised the shout, "God save the king!" He rode along the Tory column (who were also mounted, with their rifles on their backs), and, with gracious smiles, complimented them on their fine appearance and loyal conduct. As he approached Pyle and grasped his hand (the signal for his cavalry to draw when he should summon the Tories to surrender), the Loyalists on the left discovered Pickens's militia, and perceived that they were betrayed.

They immediately commenced firing upon the rear-guard of the American cavalry, commanded by Captain Eggleston. * That officer, as a matter of necessity, instantly turned upon the foe, and this movement was speedily followed by the whole column. A scene of dreadful slaughter followed, for the Loyalists, taken by surprise, could not bring their rifles to bear before Lee had struck the fatal blow. Colonel Pyle commanded four hundred Loyalists; ninety of them were killed in that brief moment, and a large portion of the remainder were wounded. A cry for mercy arose from the discomfited Tories, but the hand of mercy was stayed until the red arm of war had placed the Americans beyond danger. ** Colonel Pyle was badly wounded, and fled to the shelter of a small pond, which was environed and deeply shaded by a fringe of oaks, persimmons, hawthorns, crab-trees, and black jacks, trellised with the vines of the muscadine. Tradition says that he laid himself under the water, with nothing but his nose above it, until after dark, when he crawled out, made his way home, and recovered. The place of his concealment is yet known as "Pyle's Pond," of which the engraving is a correct view, as it appeared when I visited the spot in 1849.[[Jan 2]] It is on the verge of a cultivated field, of some six acres, half a mile northwest from the Salisbury road. Its dense fringe is gone, and nothing indicates its former concealment but numerous stumps of the ancient forest.

Lee and Pickens did not pursue the retreating Loyalists; but, anxious to overtake Tarleton, who was at Colonel O'Neil's, upon the Greensborough road, three miles northward, he resumed his march, notwithstanding it was almost sunset. He halted within a mile of O'Neil's, and encamped for the night, where they were joined by Colonel Preston and three hundred hardy mountaineers from Virginia, who had hastened to the support of Greene. At ten o'clock in the morning, the Americans formed for attack, when it was ascertained that Tarleton, alarmed by the exaggerated stories of some of the survivors of Pyle's corps, who made their way to his camp, had hastened to obey the orders of Cornwallis, just received, and was moving toward the Haw. The Americans pursued him as far as that river, when they halted, and Tarleton, after a narrow escape at the ford, returned in safety to Hillsborough. "Fortune, the capricious goddess," says Lee, "gave us Pyle, and saved Tarleton." ****

* Captain Eggleston was one of the most efficient cavalry officers in Lee's legion, during the campaigns further south the same year. We shall meet him hereafter.

** In this action the Americans did not lose a single man, and only one horse. The generally accurate and impartial Stedman, influenced, doubtless, by wrong information, called the event a "massacre;" says that "no quarter was granted" when asked; and that "between two and three hundred of them were inhumanly butchered while in the act of begging for mercy."--History of the American War, ii., 334.

*** About a quarter of a mile northwest from this pond, is the spot where the battle occurred. It was then heavily wooded; now it is a cleared field, on the plantation of Colonel Michael Holt. Mr. Holt planted an apple-tree upon the spot where fourteen of the slain were buried in one grave. Near by, a persimmon-tree indicates the place of burial of several others.

**** Memoirs, page 160.

[[[The Allamance.--Factory Labor.--Regulator Battle-ground.--Greensborough]]]

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