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 DEFENCE 
 
 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 5TATE OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
DEFENCE 
 
 REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY 
 
 I 
 
 OF THE 
 
 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 FROM THE ASPERSIONS OF MR. JEFFERSON. 
 
 By JO. SEAWELL JONES, 
 
 OF SHOCCO, NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 Gloria est consentiens laus bonorum, incorrupta vox bene judicantium de excel- 
 lente virtute. — Cic. Tuscul. m. c. 2. 
 
 Hie simiolus persuaserat nonnullis invidis meis. — Cic. Fam. epist. 2. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CHARLES BOWEN 
 
 RALEIGH: 
 
 TURNER AND HUGHES. 
 
 1834. 
 

 Entered according to act of Congresg, in the year 1834, 
 by Charles Bowen, 
 Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE: 
 PRINTED BY CHARLES FOLSOM. 
 
TO 
 
 MAJOR WILLIAM GIBBS MCNEILL, U. S. A., ' 
 OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 Tremont House, February 1, 1834. 
 My Dear M'^Neill, 
 
 I dedicate to you this volume, written in the defence of 
 the State of North Carolina, a portion of the Union, to us 
 consecrated by the most endearing recollections of birth 
 and childhood. She is the mother country of your sires 
 as well as of yourself, and thus doubly deserves that devot- 
 ed affection, which it is your boast so long to have cher- 
 ished for her. In thus dedicating the work, I own, I am 
 anxious publicly to acknowledge my heavy obligations to 
 you, for a long, sincere, and social friendship, and to con- 
 gratulate my countrymen, that they are represented in the 
 polite society of Boston, by a gentleman, distinguished, not 
 only for his unwavering and honorable deportment in every 
 crisis, but for the highest professional attainments, and for 
 the space which he fills in the affectionate regard of so 
 many of the most eminent gentlemen of the eastern me- 
 tropolis of our country. 
 
 I shall embrace the present occasion to offer a few 
 remarks on the history of North Carolina, which could not 
 find an appropriate page in the body of the work, and 
 which would perhaps be considered as of rather too perso- 
 nal a nature, for a prefatory address to the reader. To you 
 1* 
 
VI DEDICATION. 
 
 as a friend and fellow-citizen, they may be properly address- 
 ed, and thus published to the people of the State. 
 
 Who, even in North Carolina, recurs to the characters of 
 our illustrious dead ? Of those who stood forth for their 
 country in the darkest hour of the war, and who fought 
 with a courage worthy of the glory of their cause? Of 
 Harvey, Johnston, Harnett, Hooper, Jones, and Iredell, in 
 the cabinet ; of Howe, Lillington, Ashe, Caswell, Moore, and 
 Rutherford, in the field 1 — men whose zeal but increased 
 with the thickness of the dangers that clouded the destiny 
 of the New World. Statesmen and festival orators, alike 
 with the school-boy declaimer, are mute as to their valor, 
 virtue, or fame. The character of Mr. Jefferson is a more 
 fruitful source of panegyric than that of Harnett, Hooper, 
 or Harvey, and the reputation of a zealous idolater a more 
 enviable prize than that of a defender of the State. I do 
 bewail this indifference to the superior claims of our own 
 sires ; for it is by appealing to their sacrifices and hardships 
 that public spirit is best kept alive, and a laudable pride to 
 elevate the character of our government is best sustained. 
 
 Extinguish this feeling of veneration for the character 
 of our ancestors, and you vitally assail the honor of the 
 State, corrupt and degrade the people, and by degrees 
 inure them to the control of a foreign demagogue. In the 
 winter of 1775 and 1776, when the armies and fleets of 
 Lord Dunmore infested the streets and harbour of Norfolk, 
 General Howe of North Carolina marched to its relief, and 
 repelled the invader. The soldiers of the State contributed 
 to the defence of Charleston against the armament of Sir 
 Peter Parker, in June 1776 ; and yet the descendants of 
 those heroes must appeal to the history of the adjacent 
 States, for bright examples of American valor. Is there 
 nothing in the victories achieved by Howe, Lillington, and 
 Caswell, or in the Mecklenburg Declaration of Indepen- 
 
DEDICATION. Vll 
 
 dence, the zeal of Hooper in the same cause, and the reso- 
 lution of the Congress of North Carolina in April 1776, to 
 arouse the enthusiasm of the people of the State 1 It is a 
 recollection of these honorable events in our history, that 
 warms the bosom of the patriot soldier in the midst of 
 great public distress, and that, even when the liberties of 
 the people are overwhelmed, will inspire him with a hope 
 of renown, in the regeneration of his country. The spirit 
 of Leonidas, after a slumber of ages, has marched trium- 
 phantly through Greece, and, sweeping, in its resistless 
 progress, the strongest bulwarks of Turkish despotism, has 
 established the foundations of a Greek Empire. Upon 
 what more durable basis does the government of England 
 stand than this feeling of national greatness? Proud of 
 the origin of his nation, of the victories that blaze on the 
 page of his country's history, of the extent of her empire, 
 and of the antiquity and splendor of her government, a 
 Briton clings to his country with filial affection, and woos 
 even death itself, to elevate and sustain her honor. Ex- 
 tinguish this spirit in the British nation, and old England, 
 proud as she is, with her centuries of glory, her noble 
 peerage, her splendid judiciary, the Gibraltar of her con- 
 stitutional liberty, and all her time-worn institutions, glides 
 from her lofty throne, and like an Alpine avalanche, that 
 buries every thing in its tremendous fall, melts away into 
 the stream, and hurries downward to the ocean of time. 
 
 It is because I believe that Mr. Jefferson contributed to 
 smother this public spirit in North Carolina, that I have 
 held up his name as deserving the execration of every 
 native citizen of the State. Mark the history of his in- 
 fluence among us. In 1801, the period of his boasted 
 victory, what was the condition of our State? Who were 
 her great men ? — who her political leaders ? Governor 
 Johnston, General Davie, James Iredell, Alfred Moore, 
 
Vlll DEDICATION. 
 
 Archibald Henderson, were among the signs of our political 
 zodiac, whose lustre was obscured by the ascent of this 
 most " malign influence." The virtue and ability of the 
 State, which had opposed the elevation of Mr. Jefferson, 
 were overlooked and thrust aside, to make way, let history 
 say for whom. From the moment of his triumph in the 
 elections of the State, the energies and resources of the 
 people were forgotten ; the talents of our country, as well 
 as its physical improvement, neglected ; and the aid of every 
 voice invoked, to swell the funeral cry of the characters of 
 our own forefathers. 
 
 It is said that " the brilliant thunderbolt is the child of 
 the storm," and that political convulsions fling out the 
 genius of a country, fined from the heat of the strife. But 
 you will search the history of the State in vain for any such 
 exhibitions from the crowded ranks of the Jeffersonian 
 cohort. Not an instance can be found ; and the fact is too 
 notorious in North Carolina to need any appeal to individuals 
 or circumstances. The influence of Mr. Jefferson and his 
 party, disguise it as you will, was a paralysis upon the very 
 vitals of the State. It cramped the nerves, stupefied the 
 brain, obscured the vision, and almost arrested the pulsation 
 of the heart. The brute part of our nature alone was left 
 unhurt and unscathed by the ravages of this most degrad- 
 ing leprosy. It was as if the angel of death had spread 
 his wings on the blast, and withered even the green sod 
 that decked the graves of our heroic fathers. 
 
 It is for the purpose of bringing to light '^ the proud 
 historic deeds " of our ancestors, that I have written this 
 book. I appeal from the living to the dead, to justify the 
 eulogy which it pronounces upon the character of the State. 
 I have hoped too that a recollection of their virtues might 
 inspire us with a zeal to transmit to another generation 
 the escutcheon of the State, bright as it was when it came 
 
DEDICATION. IX 
 
 from the hands of the heroes of Seventy-six. I invoke the 
 cooperation of the people of the State, in the regenera- 
 tion of our native country ; not only in the exposition of its 
 history, but in the improvement of its moral, intellectual, 
 and physical condition. 
 
 In the accomplishment' of such a duty, whilst I know, 
 my dear Sir, I have your best wishes as a friend, and your 
 warmest thanks as a native North-Carolinian, I must still 
 lament the absence of that professional skill, by the home 
 employment of which, our physical condition might be so 
 much improved. Wishing you, however, whether in North 
 Carolina or Massachusetts, that success in all your under- 
 takings, to which your merits so justly entitle you, 
 I have the honor to subscribe myself 
 
 your affectionate friend, 
 JO. SEAWELL JONES, 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 112, line 15, for law read lace 
 
 " 129, " 18, " Spurill " Spruill 
 
 " 220, " 1, '« AND " OF 
 
 « 249, " 3, " 11th of March " 2Cth of February* 
 
 " 325, " 24, " crevix (in afeio copies) " cervix 
 
 * The battle of Moore's Creek was fought on the 27th of February, 1776, and 
 the letter of Mr. Ashe, alluded to on page 249, was dated on the 11th of March ; 
 thus the error in the text. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 INTRODUCTION 1 
 
 PART I. 
 
 A History of the Administration of Josiah 
 Martin, the Last of the Royal Governors, 
 and the Downfall of the Royal Government 
 OF North Carolina. ..... 17 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Character of Governor Tryon . . .17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Administration of Governor Martin . 66 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Same 120 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Same 151 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Same 156 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Same 172 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The New Whig Government .... 193 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Same 317 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Same 229 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Same 239 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Same 251 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Same 265 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Constitution of North Carolina . . 272 
 
 PART II. 
 
 The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, 
 on the 20th of May, 1775 .... 294 
 
 PART III. 
 
 The Character of William Hooper . . . 309 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Military Organization of the State in 
 1775 and 1776 333 
 
 The Battle of Moore's Creek . . . 341 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 On the 20th of May, 1775, the people of the county of 
 Mecklenburg in North Carolina, in convention assembled, 
 declared themselves free and independent. They in the 
 most solemn and unanimous form abjured all allegiance 
 to the British king, and instituted a system of government 
 independent of the authority of the Royal Governor. 
 These remarkable proceedings are not recorded by any 
 of our early historians, and have lived only by memory 
 and tradition among the people of North Carolina. I own, 
 that it is surprising so important an event should have 
 escaped the vigilance of so many writers. The people of 
 North Carolina too were content that the matter should 
 sleep nearly half a century, and even then, that it should 
 be produced on the perishable pages of a newspaper. 
 On the 30th of April, 1819, the worthy editor of the 
 " Raleigh Register " introduced the subject to the notice 
 of his readers, acknowledging in an editorial article, that 
 it was not generally known to the world, but declaring 
 that he had it from most unquestionable authority, and 
 that he published it that it might go down to posterity. 
 This article was extensively copied in the papers of the 
 Union, and a copy of the " Essex Register " of Salem, 
 Massachusetts, being sent by the late John Adams to Mr. 
 1 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Jefferson, provoked the following letter, which, as 1 am 
 about to make it the subject of a critical examination, I 
 shall here insert at length. 
 
 "to JOHN ADAMS. 
 
 « Monticello, July 9, 1819. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I am in debt to you for your letters of May the 21st, 
 " 27th, and June the 22d. The first, delivered me by 
 " Mr. Greenwood, gave me the gratification of his ac- 
 " quaintance ; and a gratification it always is, to be made 
 " acquainted with gendemen of candor, worth, and infor- 
 '^ mation, as 1 found Mr. Greenwood to be. That on the 
 " subject of Mr. Samuel Adams Wells, shall not be 
 " forgotten in time and place, when it can be used to his 
 " advantage. 
 
 " But what has attracted my peculiar notice, is the 
 " paper from Mecklenburg county, of North Carolina, 
 " published in the ^ Essex Register, ' which you were so 
 " kind as to enclose in your last, of June the 22d. And 
 " you seem to think it genuine. I believe it spurious. 
 " I deem it to be a very unjustifiable quiz, like that of the 
 " volcano, so minutely related to us as having broken out 
 " in North Carolina, some half dozen years ago, in that 
 " part of the country, and perhaps in that very county of 
 " Mecklenburg, for I do not remember its precise locality. 
 " If this paper be really taken from the ' Raleigh Register,' 
 " as quoted, 1 wonder it should have escaped Ritchie, 
 " who culls what is good from every paper, as the bee 
 " from every flower j and the ' National Intelligencer,' too, 
 ^' which is edited by a North-Carolinian : and that the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 " fire should blaze out all at once in Essex, one thousand 
 " miles from where the spark is said to have fallen. But 
 " if really taken from the * Raleigh Register,' who is the 
 " narrator, and is the name subscribed real, or is it as 
 " fictitious as the paper itself? It appeals, too, to an origi- 
 " nal book, which is burnt, to Mr. Alexander, who is 
 " dead, to a joint letter from Caswell, Hughes, and 
 " Hooper, all dead, to a copy sent to the dead Caswell, 
 " and another sent to Doctor Williamson, now probably 
 " dead, whose memory did not recollect, in the history he 
 " has written of North Carolina, this gigantic step of its 
 " county of Mecklenburg. Horry, too, is silent in his 
 " history of Marion, whose scene of action was the coun- 
 " try bordering on Mecklenburg. Ramsay, Marshall, 
 " Jones, Gerardin, Wirt, historians of the adjacent States 
 " all silent. When Mr. Henry's resolutions, far short of 
 " independence, flew like lightning through every paper, 
 " and kindled both sides of the Atlantic, this flaming de- 
 " claration of the same date, of the independence of Meck- 
 " lenburg county, of North Carolina, absolving it from the 
 " British allegiance, and abjuring all political connexion 
 " with that nation, although sent to Congress, too, is never 
 " heard of. It is not known even a twelvemonth after, 
 " when a similar proposition is first made in that body. 
 " Armed with this bold example, would not you have ad- 
 " dressed our timid brethren in peals of thunder, on their 
 " tardy fears .'* Would not every advocate of indepen- 
 " dence have rung the glories of Mecklenburg county, in 
 " North Carolina, in the ears of the doubting Dickinson 
 " and others, who hung so heavily on us ? Yet the ex- 
 ample of independent Mecklenburg county, in North 
 *' Carolina, was never once quoted. The paper speaks, 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 " too, of the continued exertions of their delegation (Cas- 
 " well, Hooper, Hughes,) ' in the cause of liberty and 
 " independence.' Now you remember as well as I do, 
 " that we had not a greater tory in Congress than Hooper ; 
 " that Hughes was very wavering, sometimes firm, some- 
 " times feeble, according as the day was clear or cloudy ; 
 " that Caswell, indeed, was a good whig, and kept these 
 *' gendemen to the notch, while he was present ; but that 
 " he left us soon, and their line of conduct became then 
 " uncertain until Penn came, who fixed Hughes, and the 
 " vote of the State. I must not be understood as suggest- 
 " ing any doubtfulness in the State of North Carolina. 
 " No State was more fixed or forward. Nor do I affirm, 
 " positively, that this paper is a fabrication : because the 
 " proof of a negative can only be presumptive. But I 
 " shall believe it such until positive and solemn proof of its 
 "authenticity shall be produced. And if the name of 
 " McKnitt be real, and not a part of the fabrication, it 
 " needs a vindication by the production of such proof. 
 " For the present, I must be an unbeliever in the apocry- 
 " phal gospel. 
 
 " I am glad to learn that Mr. Ticknor has safely re- 
 " turned to his friends ; but should have been much more 
 " pleased had he accepted the Professorship in our Uni- 
 " versity, which we should have offered him in form. 
 " Mr. Bowditch, too, refuses us ; so fascinating is the 
 " vinculum of the dulce naiale solum. Our wish is to pro- 
 " cure natives, where they can be found, like these gen- 
 " tlemen, of the first order of acquirement in their re- 
 " spective lines ; but preferring foreigners of the first 
 " order to natives of the second, we shall certainly have 
 " to go, for several of our Professors, to countries more 
 " advanced in science than we are. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 " I set out within three or four days for my other home, 
 " the distance of which, and its cross mails, are great 
 " impediments to epistolary communications. I shall 
 " remain there about two months ; and there, here, and 
 " every where, I am and shall always be, affectionately 
 " and respectfully yours. 
 
 " Th : Jefferson." 
 
 It will be observed that Mr. Jefferson doubts not only - 
 the truth of the Mecklenburg Declaration, but the sincerity 
 of the publication in the " Essex Register," purporting 
 to be an extract from the Raleigh paper. He thinks it a 
 most unjustifiable quiz, and compares it to the volcano 
 which once broke out in the papers of North Caroli- 
 na. He thinks it absolutely false, because it escaped 
 the dim observation of his friend Mr. Ritchie, whose 
 curiosity in the history of North Carolina was never 
 before heard of or even suspected. His only interest in 
 the State is to be found on the subscription-list of the 
 " Enquirer," a paper which is but seldom adorned with any 
 thing relating to North Carolina, except the report of 
 political meetings, in which Virginia and her sons are 
 lauded. If the "Raleigh Register" had published an 
 article in favor of any of the various principles of the Vir- 
 ginia school of politics, it would have been found on the 
 front column of the next " Enquirer," with some word of 
 hurra for the old North State. But every thing apper- 
 taining to the dignity of the good old North State is care- 
 fully kept out of sight, and every political movement 
 contrary to the decree of the Richmond Junto, is hinted 
 at as Federalism, Monarchy, or Treason. For my own 
 part, I am willing, thus publicly, to lament the dominant 
 1* 
 
6 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 influence of the Virginia Republican parly over the state of 
 North Carolina. I do look upon it as the most fatal stroke 
 ever aimed at the dignity and honor of my own country, 
 and I would willingly lay the first stone of a Chinese wall 
 to divide for ever the physical and intellectual resources of 
 the two states. 
 
 Mr. Jefferson in his letter admits, that, if this Mecklen- 
 burg declaration of independence is true, it is entitled to 
 far greater applause than the celebrated resolutions of Mr. 
 Henry, " which flew like lightning through every paper, 
 and kindled both sides of the Atlantic." " Would not 
 *' every advocate of independence," he exclaims, " have 
 " sung the glories of Mecklenburg county, in the ears of 
 " the doubting Dickinson and others, who hung so heavily 
 " on us ! " I rejoice, that he gave this public and most ex- 
 plicit testimony, as to its importance, and shall claim for 
 the heroes of the 20ih of May, 1775, the high rank which 
 they deserve on the page of American history. 
 
 But the most astonishing part of this letter is its gross 
 abuse of the character of William Hooper, one of the 
 Signers of the National Declaration of Independence from 
 North Carolina. I cannot account for it in any way. 
 I have corresponded with every living contemporary of 
 Mr. Hooper, and invited a true opinion as to his charac- 
 ter, and in every instance have received in the most un- 
 qualified terms the most favorable notices of his political 
 standing. 1 have myself questioned every old man and old 
 woman from Cape Hatteras to the Blue Ridge, and have 
 never heard a single word which would support the shame- 
 ful calumny of ^' rank toryism." 
 
 During the session of the General Assembly of North 
 Carolina, in 1830 and 1831, this letter of Mr. Jefferson 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 attracted the notice of that body, and the Governor was 
 authorized to publish a pamphlet in defence of the State. 
 This paper appeared during the year 1831, and contained 
 numerous depositions of living men, as to the truth of the 
 Mecklenburg Declaration. Personal testimony, however, 
 is always weak, as the memory of man is fallible ; and 
 although a citizen of North Carolina, acquainted with the 
 high character of the deponents, may be entirely satisfied 
 with such testimony, yet a distant historian will demand 
 some contemporary record, as the best evidence in the 
 case. The State of North Carolina, then, and Thomas 
 Jefferson are at issue as to the truth of the asseverations 
 contained in this letter. I shall go into the investigation 
 of the merits of this controversy with no other view than 
 the defence of the State by the ascertainment and exhibi- 
 tion of truth, and shall feel myself at liberty to animad- 
 vert with the most perfect freedom where animadversion 
 is necessary. Disposed as I am to yield all due applause 
 to Mr. Jefferson for whatever services he may have ren- 
 dered to his country, I shall nevertheless studiously avoid 
 any of that idolatrous homage to his name, without which 
 I am aware my orthodoxy will he disputed. 
 
 If, therefore, in the course of my research, I shall find 
 deliberate error in his opinion, I shall not hesitate to cry 
 aloud and spare not, — for the matters touched on in his 
 letter are grave and important, and upon the truth of them 
 the honor of the State is at stake. ! am perfectly pre- 
 pared for the consequences of this course, and anticipate, 
 without the slightest apprehension, all those epithets which 
 it is usual to apply to every writer who assails the charac- 
 ter of the dead. I esteem the reputation of Mr. Hooper, 
 however, as sacred as the most slavish v^-orshipper of Mr. 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Jefferson can esteem that of his master, and am not willing 
 that North Carolina should submit to insult from any 
 quarter, whether consecrated by the solemnities of the 
 tomb or the idolatry of the people. I yield no faith what- 
 ever to the contents of the four volumes of his writings. 
 Private and political scandal, truth, religion, infideli- 
 ty, federalism, republicanism, and Jacobinism, are all 
 conglomerated there, — as if the Sage of Monticello had 
 devoted the whole evening of his life to the collection and 
 endorsement of principles of every kind, from the purest 
 tenet of religion to the most disgusting absurdity of the 
 basest and most abandoned profligacy. And yet, dispute 
 one word of the four volumes of this political Koran, or 
 doubt, for a moment, the immaculate purity of the charac- 
 ter of its author, and you have not only all the rabble of 
 the celestial empire, but all the great Images of the 
 Prophet, who have gone or are going into power, on the 
 strength of his name, roaring out Aristocracy, Federal- 
 ism, Nullification, or any other unpopular word, suited 
 to sustain them in their places. It may be confidently 
 asserted, that the whole range of history does not exhibit 
 an instance of baser subserviency, not only of many, as 
 individuals, but of the nation at large, — than the over- 
 powering influence of the mere name of Jefferson. Such 
 is its amazing power, that no party of the present day 
 aspires to popular favor through any other channel, and 
 National Republican, as well as Jackson, Bucktail, and 
 Anti-bucktail, all piously claim for their priesthood the 
 purest legitimacy of descent. The people have placed 
 him upon the throne of public opinion, and the statue of 
 Washington is burnt, broken, and scattered into fragments. 
 It is time to have done with this delusion. The lives of 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 the eminent and patriotic, whose biographies have not 
 been written, should be studied and examined with an 
 especial view to correct the errors, conspicuous from one 
 end to the other of " the writings of Jefferson." If the 
 pen of their calumniator is to perform this task, and his 
 works go down to posterity as truth, the patriots of our 
 revolution will be ranked by posterity, not as American 
 statesmen, but as traitors to their country. The names of 
 Washington, Hamilton, Richard Henry Lee, Marshall, 
 Story, Henry Lee, Bayard, and a host of others, com- 
 prising the talents civil and military of the whole Union, 
 are the companions of William Hooper in the almost 
 universal calumny of his pen. 
 
 This letter, then, assails the character of North Carolina, 
 by grossly abusing the reputation and fame of one of her 
 most distinguished and beloved sons, and by doubting in a 
 sneering and contemptuous manner, one of the most honor- 
 able events in her history. The disclaimer of '^any doubt- 
 fulness in the State of North Carolina," instead of soften- 
 ing the asperity of the charges, imparts a deeper malignity 
 and stamps its charitableness with duplicity. If William 
 Hooper was a tory, and North Carolina commissioned 
 him to sign, on her behalf, the national Declaration of 
 Independence, the State and the Delegate were alike 
 sinful. If the staunch whigs, Caswell and Penn, permitted 
 their associate to play the double part of a tory in Con- 
 gress and a whig at home, they, too, must share the load of 
 iniquity, and be condemned, notwithstanding the approba- 
 tion of Mr. Jefferson. The indiscriminate publication of 
 Mr. Jefferson's writings has been deprecated by many of 
 his friends, and even his most devoted servants are cautious 
 in subscribing to so voluminous a creed. In private 
 
1 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 moments devoted to the interchange of confidential opin- 
 ions, few politicians have ventured to support the propriety 
 of their publication, or the truth of their contents. On 
 two occasions already the veracity of their author has been 
 successfully questioned. The friend"^ of Bayard, and the 
 descendant of General Lee, have each controverted the 
 truth of his statements, and while the Journals of the 
 Senate of the United States will serve as an imperishable 
 monument of the innocence of the one, a volume dis- 
 tinguished for its ingenuity and severity will support the 
 abused reputation of the other. Ambitious of a similar 
 distinction, and possessing ample materials for such a task, 
 I shall endeavour, in this volume, to vindicate the charac- 
 ter of my native State from the sly insinuations and malig- 
 nant aspersion of his " philosophic pen." The labor is 
 simple and easy, — the reward, the gratification of my 
 own feelings in contributing an humble mite to uphold the 
 dignity of North Carolina and the fame of many of her 
 v/orthiest sons. In the performance of the duty thus 
 assumed, prudence would induce me to lament the posi- 
 tion of the parties. Throughout one of the most violent 
 party wars, that ever agitated our country, North Carolina 
 firmly supported those political principles, the success of 
 which lifted Mr. Jefferson above the heads of his asso- 
 ciates, and made his posthumous slanders respectable. 
 By his superior dexterity as a party leader, he contrived 
 to command the servitude of many of my fellow citizens, 
 
 * In the spring of 1830, Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, called upon Mr. 
 Livingston and General Smith, to say whether the charge of Mr. 
 Jefferson against Bayard was true, they having been cited by their 
 great master, as authority. Both gentlemen stoutly denied any 
 knowledge of the circumstance. 
 
INTRODUCTION. n 
 
 who were independent of every other power but the influ- 
 ence of his name, which gave them popularity and prefer- 
 ment. I may lament the wide difference of opinion which 
 exists between such of my fellow citizens and myself, but 
 I owe no respect to the idol whom they worshipped, nor 
 do I reverence his decrees. 
 
 My volume will be divided into three parts. The first 
 will comprise a compendious history of the Revolution in 
 North Carolina to the period of the national Declaration of 
 Independence. The second will be found to contain the 
 most indisputable evidence of the truth of the Mecklenburg 
 Declaration, as well as of the authenticity of the resolves 
 now denominated the Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. The third and last chapter will be devoted to 
 the defence of the character of William Hooper. He is 
 denounced by Mr. Jefferson as the rankest tory in the 
 Congress of Seventy-six. I shall contradict this naked 
 assertion by a short sketch of his political character, and 
 illustrate his patriotism by an exhibition of many of his 
 private letters, written during the term of his service in the 
 continental Congress. 
 
 The reader who shall follow me through my undertaking 
 will acknowledge the inutility of Mr. Jefferson's disclaimer, 
 that there was no doubtfulness in North Carolina. The 
 history of the State is unknown. The great events of her 
 annals are buried amidst the musty papers of her ancient 
 families, and are not celebrated by the " historians of the 
 adjacent States," because they were ignorant or careless of 
 their existence. The object of many of the writers on 
 American history, like that of Gerardin and Wirt, was to 
 exalt some particular character, by assuming for their 
 heroes the laurels which should have been awarded to the 
 
J 2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 merit of their contemporaries. Who ( ould have expected 
 the biographer of Patrick Henry, and the disciple of Mr. 
 Jefferson, while composing a work with a view of establish- 
 ing the Virginian origin of our national independence, to 
 have introduced his readers to such an event as that of the 
 Mecklenburg Declaration, or the resolution of the provincial 
 Congress of North Carolina, adopted on the 12th of April, 
 1776, instructing the delegates of the State in the conti- 
 nental Congress to declare " Independency." The know- 
 ledge of these facts would have rendered the work of Mr. 
 Wirt ridiculous, and that of Gerardin what it is, — a silly 
 and contemptible libel upon the character of history. 
 The letter of Mr. Jefferson reposes especial confidence in 
 the circumstance, that no mention of the Mecklenburg 
 declaration is made by Ramsay, Marshall, Jones, Gerardin, 
 or Wirt, — " historians of die adjacent States." Who is 
 or was Gerardin .f^ — "A man of letters," undoubtedly, 
 as he wrote the History of Virginia, before he had lived in 
 the country long enough to learn the fallibility of Mr. 
 Jefferson's testimony, and who gathered all he did write 
 from the oracle of Monticello. A French emigrant who 
 traversed the State of Virginia, as a pedagogue, and 
 who wrote his history for the low purpose of flattering the 
 vanity, and apologizing for the cowardice, of one of her 
 most distinguished sons. 
 
 What confidence is to be placed in the statements of 
 such a man ? Are historical facts involved in the annals 
 of another people to be doubted, because they are not 
 noticed in the productions of an author, who depended 
 upon another even for the plan of his operations, and who 
 was grossly ignorant even of the [)eople whose history he 
 had the impudence to write } Gerardin may have been 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 good authority on the language or ^^ frivolous amusements " 
 of France, but 1 shall presume to question his pages on 
 American history, whenever they are contradicted by any 
 other authority. Ignorant as he was of the early settle- 
 ment and traditions of the country, he was unfit for the 
 task he assumed, in the execution of which he lost the 
 respectable and independent character of an instructor, to 
 become the hireling scribbler of Mr. Jefferson. His whole 
 work is but the echo of his patron, and was no doubt com- 
 posed to cover the conspicuous sins of Governor Jefferson. 
 The object of Mr. Wirt, who derived his materials from 
 Mr. Jefferson, was to concentrate in Virginia, through the 
 instrumentality of his subject and his patron, the glory of 
 conceiving and establishing the independence of the coun- 
 try. Both of these historians of the adjacent state were 
 indebted to Mr. Jefferson for manuscript materials, and 
 issued their volumes under the sanction of his name. 
 Gerardin's work is especially recommended as containing 
 a faithful history of his administration as governor of Vir- 
 ginia, and the subsequent publication of his " Writings " 
 inconteslably establishes a most intimate agency even in the 
 composition of the " Life of Patrick Henry." ^ 
 
 The letter of Mr. Jefferson suggests against the Meck- 
 lenburg Declaration, that the memory of Dr. Williamson 
 did not recollect, in the history he had written of North 
 Carolina, this gigantic step of its county of Mecklenburg. 
 Observing the tenor of this remark, I do not hesitate to say, 
 that the pages of Williamson were never perused by the 
 Sage of Monticello, for any other purpose than the ascer- 
 tainment of the fact which he has stated. But if he had ever, 
 
 * See Writings of Jefferson, Vol. I. p. 95. 
 
 2 
 
14 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 at any period of his life, perused, even in the most negli- 
 gent manner, the pages of that author, I must charge him 
 with the grossest hypocrisy. The work of Williamson is 
 superior only to that of Gerardin, and absolutely inferior 
 to every other production on American history. The 
 Doctor never intended to write the history of North Caro- 
 lina, from the earliest periods to the administration of Mr. 
 Jefferson, or any other President, but left it at the sup- 
 pression of the Regulation, in 1771. The work is finished 
 off with a dissertation on the fevers which prevailed in 
 the State, during the residence of the author ; and a mere 
 notice of the administration of Governor Martin, the last 
 of the Royal governors, with an allusion in general terms 
 to the causes which drove him out of the state, — is the 
 only sketch of the revolution to be found in the two vol- 
 umes of Williamson. Would any reader of history consult 
 such a book to prove or condemn the truth of an event 
 which took place four years after the date of its conclu- 
 sion f The Mecklenburg Declaration was made on the 
 20th of May, 1775, and Williamson, concluding the de- 
 tails of his history at a period four years earlier, if he 
 recollected, did not think it prudent to anticipate it, in a 
 narrative, the composition of which he intended to bring 
 down to the year 1790. Ill health fortunately prevented 
 the continuation of a work, which reflected no lustre either 
 on the author or the subject. 
 
 The circumstance of Ramsay and Marshall composing 
 laborious treatises on the history of the Revolution, and 
 not recording this " gigantic step of the county of Meck- 
 lenburg," is no evidence that the step was never taken, 
 but only that the fact was not recorded in any of the his- 
 tories of the day. I am perfectly convinced that neither 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 of these distinguished writers was ever satisfied of the 
 truth of the fact ; but in North Carolina, we all know that 
 Williamson was in the possession of a copy of the pro- 
 ceedings of the people of Mecklenburg, for many years 
 before he died. Had he continued his work, the Meck- 
 lenburg Declaration would undoubtedly have occupied its 
 proper place in the annals of the state, and have been as 
 well known as any other event recorded by his pen. Nor 
 is the truth of the Mecklenburg Declaration to be ques- 
 tioned on the ground of the silence of contemporary authors. 
 Many of the proudest events of our history are but the 
 visions of pride or prejudice, if this principle is to be 
 adopted. Upon it each and every event of the revolutionary 
 history of North Carolina must be condemned as apocry- 
 phal. The native historians of the United States, whenever 
 they have touched upon the history of that state, have either 
 drawn from the records of the adjacent states, or the pages 
 of Tarleton's "Campaigns," v/hich enumeration affords 
 a fair estimate of their materials. If any fact of American 
 history is true, it is, that on the 1 2th of April, 1 776, the Con- 
 gress of North Carolina " empowered their delegates to de- 
 clare independency," and yet Horry, in his life of Marion, is 
 silent, Ramsay, Marshall, Jones, Gerardin, and Wirt, histo- 
 rians of the adjacent states, all are likewise silent. Nor did 
 even the memory of Doctor Williamson in the history, he 
 wrote of North Carolina, recollect this gigantic step of the 
 state. The reasons, upon which Mr. Jefferson doubts the 
 Mecklenburg Declaration, are shallow, and the language, 
 with which he chooses to express his suspicions, are indic- 
 ative of a jealous and malignant spirit. 
 
 A national declaration of independence was first recom- 
 mended by the Provincial Congress of North Carolina, 
 
16 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 and yet the state pride or ignorance of the historians of 
 he adjacent states has attributed this high honor to 
 Virginia. Prudence should have induced Mr. Wirt, be- 
 fore he bad assumed for his hero and his patron yll the 
 merit of inducing a national declaration, to examine 
 other sources of information than the manuscript furnished 
 by Mr. Jefferson. It is the duty, and the most sacred 
 duty, of the historian to preserve the integrity of history. 
 His sins, though they may be concealed for the present 
 by the influence of great names, will be exposed by the revo- 
 lution of time. The papers in the State department of North 
 Carolina would have taught the panegyrist of Virginia 
 the weakness of her claims to the honor of conceiving the 
 independence of the country, and have afforded hitn an op- 
 portunity of exhibiting an instance of the truth and can- 
 dor of history. In the archives of the state and the desks of 
 ancient families are now buried the story of the rise and pro- 
 gress of the state of North Carolina. Ignorance and 
 wickedness may misrepresent with impunity the character 
 of her history, if efforts are not made to break away the 
 darkness which surrounds it ; and such are the induce- 
 ments to this publication. 
 
PART I. 
 
 A HISTORY OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF JOSIAH MARTIN, THE 
 LAST OF THE ROYAL GOVERNORS, AND THE DOWNFALL OF 
 THE ROYAL GOVERNMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 In the course of the First Part of this volume, I shall in- 
 vite the attention of the reader to many events, which are 
 not to be found in the works of any of the " historians 
 of the adjacent states," but which depend for their truth 
 upon the more substantial evidence of contemporary author- 
 ity. I shall be obliged frequently to refer to private papers, 
 which I have been permitted to examine by the courtesy 
 of friends, and hope that my effort to vindicate our com- 
 mon country will be a sufficient apology for the free and 
 copious extracts, which I shall take the liberty to introduce. 
 
 From the 3rd of April, 1765, to the 1st of July, 1771, 
 North Carolina was governed by William Tryon. Dur- 
 ing the whole term of his administration the public mind 
 was successively agitated by the passage of the Stamp 
 Act and the ravages of a civil war, known in the annals of 
 the state under the name of the Regulation. In the 
 course of that extraordinary rebellion, the public ear was 
 2* 
 
13 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 accustomed to the sound of war, and the military genius of 
 the people encouraged and exercised. It prepared the 
 young and ambitious for more important events, and was 
 the school, in which many of those of whom I shall write, 
 acquired the elements of a military education. Whilst 
 public opinion was thus forming, Josiah Martin arrived in 
 New Berne, and on the llih of August, 1771, assumed 
 the government of the province. It is from this period, 
 that I shall commence a history of the Revolution in 
 North Carolina, which I shall bring down to the 4th of 
 July, 1776. The rise of the Revolution, the most instruc- 
 tive portion of our history, will be sketched, and the pro- 
 gress of the war detailed to a day illustrious as the birth- 
 day of our national independence. 
 
 The administration of Governor Tryon is an important 
 period in the history of the state ; and his private charac- 
 ter is so much identified v/ith many of the remarkable 
 events of that day, that I shall pause for a few moments 
 to canvass his merits as a civil and military officer. I 
 shall subject him to a most rigid scrutiny, nor shall even 
 the lovely and accomplished females of his family, his lady 
 and her sister, Miss Esther Wake, escape that vigilant ob- 
 servation, which a faithful historian on all such occasions 
 will always exercise. The proverbial influence of the 
 fair sex, in matters of state, was well sustained by these two 
 noble ladies ; and the enthusiastic gallantry of a warm-heart- 
 ed people estimated the character of their Governor, by 
 the grace, beauty, and accomplishment, that adorned the 
 domestic circle of his palace. 
 
 For the first two years of Tryon's administration, his 
 head-quarters were on the Cape Fear, and during this 
 time too the people of the province were engaged in a 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. J 9 
 
 violent opposition to the Stamp Act. It is in moments of 
 peril, that the real character of a governor is best exhib- 
 ited, and I shall select this as one of ihe two periods of his 
 government, the discussion of which will best illustrate 
 his merits as a civil and military officer. It was on the 
 lOlh of March, I 764,* that Parliament resolved to raise a 
 revenue in the colonies, and during the same year Tryon 
 was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of North Carolina. 
 It seemed as if the Bedford ministry had appointed him 
 the Governor of the province to second, with the energy 
 of a military officer, the dangerous project of imposing 
 and collecting a system of colonial taxes. In these prim- 
 itive resolutions, the propriety and mere abstract right 
 of charging stamps were avowed in a distinct, substantive 
 resolve, and were not incorporated into the act, which sub- 
 sequently passed both Houses of Parliament, and on the 
 5th of the succeeding April received the assent of the 
 King. The passage of this act aroused the suspicions of 
 the colonies, and we find the popular House of the Assem- 
 bly of North Carolina, on the 31st of October, 1764, some 
 months before Tryon's assumption of the government, en- 
 gaged in a quarrel with Governor Dobbs on its injustice 
 and unconstitutionality. In their address of that date they 
 say, " We observe our commerce circumscribed in its most 
 beneficial branches, diverted from its natural channel, 
 and burthened with new taxes and impositions laid on us 
 without our privity or consent, and against what we es- 
 teem our inherent right and exclusive privilege of impos- 
 ing our own taxes." 
 
 * Force's National Calendar, p. 13. 
 
20 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 To which Governor Dobbs replied ; " As to the 
 other paragraphs of your address, as they have no 
 reference to or are consistent with what I had recom- 
 mended to you for your consideration, I shall return 
 you no answer, but must only observe, that I know of no 
 heavy tax attending the exports of this province, and 
 therefore your complaint and excuse for not securing 
 your navigation is without foundation." * 
 
 In these disputes Tryon did not feel bound to take an 
 active part ; but the death of Governor Dobbs, on the 28th 
 of March, 1765, left him at the head of the government, 
 and no alternative but the support of the policy of the 
 ministry. Independent of this quarrel on the subject 
 of the legislation of Parliament, he inherited others of a 
 still more serious nature from his predecessor. Ever since 
 the great Enfield riot, which took place in the year 1759, 
 the peace of the province had been disturbed by the 
 ravages of mo65, and Tryon might well lament the difficul- 
 ties of his situation in the general storm, which was gather- 
 ing around him. The imbecility of Dobbs had encourag- 
 ed the factious and discontented ; and when his successor 
 endeavoured to sustain the law against their disorders, he 
 found them ready to resist with arms the very authority 
 of the government. The oppressive taxes growing out of 
 the French war, and the knavery of the officers of the law, 
 were the subjects of their complaints, and out of this state 
 of things grew the Regulation. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Tryon having been inaugurated 
 Commander-in-chief of the province on the 3rd of April, 
 1765, met his first Assembly one month after the com- 
 
 * Journal of the Assembly, 1764. 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 21 
 
 mencement of his power. The public mind was much 
 disturbed by rumors and reports from the North, that the 
 Stamp Act had been passed by Parliament. This intel- 
 ligence reached Wilmington shortly after the meeting of 
 the Assembly ; and such was the violence exhibited by the 
 Members of the popular House, that Governor Tryon sud- 
 denly prorogued the legislative body, on the 18th of the 
 same month, in which it had assembled. The popular 
 House had bui just replied to the opening speech of the 
 Governor, and adopted the usual preliminary steps of le- 
 gislation. Such was the excitement produced by the in- 
 telligence, that the Governor apprehended an overt act of 
 treason ; and, to arrest the disease in its incipient stage, he 
 prorogued the Assembly. That Governor Tryon was 
 much alarmed is most obvious from the fact, that he was 
 afraid to meet another Assembly during the existence of 
 the Stamp law. He was famed as an officer of undaunt- 
 ed courage, a gentleman of rank and honor, and miiy have 
 recognised, in the violent zeal of the members of the popu- 
 lar House, an admonition not to be slighted, because it was 
 the impulse of freedom. The Speaker of the popular 
 House, John Ashe, pledged himself that he would resist 
 the iniquitous law, and informed the Governor, that the 
 people would support him in the holy cause. But for the 
 prorogation of this Assembly, the attitude of the popular 
 party represented by the popular House, would not have 
 been less treasonable in the eyes of royally, than was the 
 Mecklenburg Convention. 
 
 The attitude, which the popular House would have 
 taken, had the Governor permitted it to organize itself on 
 the 30th of November, the day to which it was prorogued, 
 would not have been less exceptionable. The elements 
 
22 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 of revolution inherent in every community had been agita- 
 ted, and were in motion, under the banner of chivalry and 
 liberty. The Wliig party had strengthened by the death of 
 Governor Dol)bs. Many of his coadjutors had been for 
 years wearied with the insincere characters they were 
 obliged to sustain to uphold an officer, to whom they were 
 indebted for patronage and personal kindness. Colonel 
 Waddell, who had liitherto belonged to the government par- 
 ty, was now zealous in the cause of the people, and even 
 the relatives of the late Governor abandoned the princi- 
 ples of their patron and embraced the orthodox faith of 
 the day. It is difficult at this period to say to what ex- 
 tent the denunciadons of the whig party, which had grown 
 up under the heaviness of the French war, and the do- 
 mestic oppressions of the Courts and land agents, were car- 
 ried. The royal party upbraided their conduct as treason, 
 and contended that such language as prevailed was a vio- 
 lation of the oath of allegiance, a point of honor upon 
 which, in every age, tyrants and slaves are tenacious. 
 The people of the counties of Orange, Anson, Mecklen- 
 burg, and Granville, who had loudly complained against 
 previous oppressions, now demanded of their fellow-citi- 
 zens an acknowledgment of the truth of their predictions. 
 They loudly called for immediate action ; and, if that sec- 
 tion of the state could have presented a single advocate of 
 the Stamp Act, more respectable than a profligate and 
 skulking attorney, or a menial slave of power, there would 
 have been an overt act of war. 
 
 At the instance of the House of Representatives of 
 Massachusetts, a General Congress of the Provinces con- 
 vened in New York in the month of October. New- 
 Hampshire, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and Georgia 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 33 
 
 were not represented in that body. North Carolina had 
 no opportunity of electing delegates. The rash proro- 
 gation of the Assembly, and the refusal of the Governor 
 to convene any other session, were the obvious causes of 
 her not appearing on that occasion. The proposition of 
 Massachusetts was to appoint committees from the popular 
 Houses of each provincial legislative body, and a delegate 
 coming with credentials directly from the people would 
 not probably have been acknowledged. In November, 
 1766, in the first Assembly which met after the prorogation, 
 the popular House regretted the long chasm in legislative 
 action, because the province had not been able to act in 
 concert with the sister colonies. This long chasm in 
 legislation, however, was beneficial to the people in a pe- 
 cuniary point of view. The Assembly had been prorogued 
 before any of the usual tax-bills were proposed, and the 
 Governor wisely determined to play tlie part of an econo- 
 mist in the midst of so much trouble. The Courts and 
 officers, too, were honest and gentle through fear, and not 
 an agent could be found to do the duty of his office. 
 
 In the course of the summer, great riots occurred in the 
 county of Mecklenburg in consequence of an effort by " an 
 agent of an agent " of a Mr. Selwyn, who had by some 
 legerdemain acquired sufficient title to certain lands in that 
 county to appoint an agent. This is one of the very few 
 disturbances which occurred in the province during the 
 years 1765 and 1766, which had no connexion with 
 the Stamp Act. It is not possible to distinguish the different 
 and distinct causes operating to excite the public mind 
 during this period. The old Whig party was more violent 
 under additional oppression, and the converts to their 
 cause soon embraced the opinions and joined in the pro- 
 
24 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 ceedings, which they once affected to despise as treason- 
 able. An amalgamation of all parties was brouo;ht about 
 by the passage of that fortunate bill The people of 
 North Carolina were never before so unanimous. The 
 people of the United States were not so unanimous on the 
 question of independence, as they were on the propriety of 
 resisting the Stamp Act, nor are we ever likely again to 
 exhibit in our history, the grand spectacle of an entirely 
 united people. There was not even a " doubling Dick- 
 inson " to be found, whose doubtfulness could be suggest- 
 ed wiih any shade of truth by the meanest authority of that 
 day. All joined in giving a solemn assurance to the moth- 
 er country, that the colonies would not be forcibly tax- 
 ed, an assurance which was nobly, though not unanimous- 
 ly, enforced, and which achieved the freedom of America. 
 During the year 1765 meetings were held in various sec- 
 lions of the province to consult for the public good. In 
 New Berne, Richard Cogdell, and on the Cape Fear, 
 John Ashe, John Walker, and Colonel Hugh Waddell 
 were the principal leaders. This last gentleman first 
 discovered the approach of the Stamp ship, and to him 
 we are indebted for a vigorous opposition to her approach- 
 es. He was an officer of great reputation during the 
 French war, and commanded a regiment of Southern 
 soldiers at the defeat of General Braddock. During the 
 life of Governor Dobbs he was a zealous supporter of the 
 measures of his government, and had thus become some- 
 what unpopular among the Whigs of that day. On the 
 death of his old friend, however, he deserted the govern- 
 ment party and became one of the most active opponents 
 of the Stamp Act and other measures, opposition to 
 which was the test of sound principles. On gaining in- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 25 
 
 formation of the approach of the Stamp ship. Colonel 
 Waddell commenced collecting armed men, and despatch- 
 ing messengers to disseminate the intelligence. In a few 
 days Colonel John Ashe, whose Carolina feeling was pro- 
 verbial, had embodied a company of the Militia of New 
 Hanover, and held himself ready for battle. The Procla- 
 mation of Governor Tyron on the 6th of January, announc- ; / | 
 ed the arrival of the Stamp ship and instructed all persons 
 authorized to distribute stamps, to make application to/ 
 the commander of the ship 
 
 The officer of the ship had not been an anxious appli- 
 cant for the privilege of holding the stamps. Before the 
 last word of the Governor's Proclamation was echoed 
 back, by the few nameless tools that waited around the 
 mushroom table of his patronage, the companies of 
 Colonels Ashe and Waddell were watching the movements 
 of the ship from the town of Brunswick. The timid 
 officer of the suspicious craft prudently submitted to the 
 terms of his besiegers, and promised to observe a holyday 
 of several days, to determine on a subsequent course. 
 The two popular leaders then started off for Wilmington, 
 which was the head- quarters of the Governor. A Mr. 
 James Houston, who was the intended Stamp-master, was 
 an inmate of the Governor's house. Colonel Ashe on 
 his arrival gathered together a large concourse of people, 
 and in a tumultuous manner proceeded to the Governor's 
 residence in quest of the Stamp-master. He was sent 
 for to come to the door, when the Governor refused to 
 allow the claims of such a body to an audience with 
 Houston, and adhered to his resolution, until a threat to 
 burn the house was nearly executed. The official dignity 
 of Governor Tryon shrunk into submission before the in- 
 3 
 
26 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 trepidity of Colonel Ashe. His blustering exhortations, 
 and pompous threats of the vengeance of the King, were 
 without power or effect among the people, when under 
 the command of an officer distinguished for his defence of 
 their rights in every crisis. The fiery impetuosity of the 
 Colonel, aided by the enthusiasm of the whole people, 
 soon brought the Stamp-master to the test of loyalty. 
 The favorite of the government was led out of the em- 
 braces of the subdued Governor, and conducted to the 
 market, where in the presence of the people he swore a 
 solemn oath never to perform the duties of his office. 
 
 Such are the details of an event highly honorable to the 
 spirit of the people of North Carolina. But for the vig- 
 ilance of Colonel Waddell, the Stamp ship might have 
 landed a few cases of its odious freight, before the people 
 could have collected for resistance. A few of the stamps 
 might have been distributed and for the sake of a loyal 
 name, been used too, by some worthless lacquey of the 
 Governor of a province. But the patriotism of Waddell 
 gave notice of their arrival ; and ere the Governor's Proc- 
 lamation announced the event, the two champions of the 
 people were ready in the field. It is with feelings of pride 
 and pleasure, that I recount the deeds of so worthy a son 
 of North Carolina as Colonel Ashe. His name is one of 
 the oldest and proudest in the annals of the state, and is 
 still illustrious by the beauty and worth that adorn it. 
 Love of the people was not then what it is now, the con- 
 stant song of unprincipled demagogues. It was a virtue 
 which but few possessed, and still fewer openly avowed. 
 The terror of the Governor's displeasure extinguished the 
 dimmest spark in the bosom of a Councillor, while the more 
 dreaded frowns of Majesty itself were threatened on every 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 27 
 
 popular recusant. All of these pompous denunciations 
 were laid in store for Colonel Ashe by the mercenary 
 party of the Government. Amidst the enthusiastic love 
 of his countrymen, however, they did not even quicken the 
 natural sensitiveness of his mind. The banks of the 
 Cape Fear have been prolific in great names. One of 
 the companions of Colonel Ashe deserves to share with 
 him every tribute of reverence, which posterity may pay. 
 Maurice Moore was early distinguished by his zeal in the 
 cause of the people. He was, however, more of a student 
 than a soldier, and had already acquired at the bar of the 
 province, the reputation of an eloquent advocate and an 
 honest attorney. Of Colonels Waddell and Ashe and Mr. 
 Moore there can be no question but that Governor Tryon 
 had great and serious apprehension. Colonel Ashe was 
 irresistible among the people, and was a host within him- 
 self. Colonel Waddell delighted in war, for it was his pro- 
 fession ; and he commanded the sympathies of the people 
 of Brunswick. He could march them to battle against 
 the Stamp Act ; he might do so against the Governor. 
 Maurice Moore was a man of weight and consideration in 
 the community in which he lived, as well as at the Bar. 
 He would indeed have been an ornament to any society ; 
 and although he lived at a period when personal courage 
 and influence outshone the lustre of a great mind, still he 
 grew into the affections of the people, and was one of 
 their most influential leaders. These three names are still 
 conspicuous in North Carolina for exalted worth, and still 
 retain that confidence and affection of the people, which 
 formerly distinguished their ancestors. 
 
 Notwithstanding the repeated provocations of these 
 three citizens, offered as it were, in defiance and in derision 
 
28 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 of the authority of the Governor, this threatened re- 
 sentment expired with the repeal of the Stamp Act. To 
 such men Tryon could condescend to explain the motives 
 of his conduct, and to implore their forbearance as the 
 only means of preserving peace and order. The flatter- 
 ing compliment of a request to aid him in the trying 
 duties of his station was lavished, and vainly lavished, on 
 each ; nor could they be persuaded to accept even the 
 friendship of his Excellency, when it might induce an ob- 
 ligation of support. Such temptations could not fascinate 
 the minds of such men from the exercise of their most 
 sacred right, and the performance of their most sacred 
 duty. They despised the officer, who could hope to 
 seduce them by corruption, veiled under the offices of 
 friendship ; and insulted with less reluctance the authority, 
 to which they had proved, by example, they were physical- 
 ly superior. The power of the government without the 
 indispensable nourishment of the usual aid billsj had 
 dwindled into subordination to the active influence of the 
 popular leaders, and the pride of the haughty Tryon was 
 limited to the preservation of the empty pageant of official 
 dignity. Finding himself vanquished on all sides, and the 
 government, which he filled, on the eve of dissolution, he 
 adopted the desperate resolution of reducing the power of 
 Colonel Ashe, by mixing familiarly with the people in the 
 hope that his condescension would turn their minds, and 
 enable him to supplant his adversary in their confidence 
 and love. 
 
 The efforts of the Governor personally to conciliate the 
 people, were not more successful than would have been 
 the employment of a regiment of soldiers. The art of 
 pleasing the people is the same faculty that immortalized 
 the Gracchi of Ronje, and the resfless ambition of Gover- 
 
tJOVERNOR TRYON. 29 
 
 nor Tryon was not content with a less considerable char- 
 acter for example in his new vocation. Feasts and routs 
 were prepared for the people, to illustrate his liberality 
 and condescension ; but on all such occasions he impru- 
 dently or ignorantly neglected to lay aside the unpopular 
 accompaniments of his office, so strongly indicative of 
 arrogance and pride. He was an easy victim in the hands 
 of Colonel Ashe in such a contest. The Colonel himself, 
 being an officer of the militia, was not without the disad- 
 vantage of official insignia. Possessing an elegant and 
 noble figure, well fitted to exhibit to effect the gorgeous 
 uniform of his rank, his friends and companions boasted 
 that he outshone the Governor himself. In the month of 
 February of the year sixty-six^ a period when this ridicu- 
 lous rivalry was at its height, a large muster of the militia 
 of New Hanover was held in Wilmington. The Gover- 
 nor had prepared a plentiful repast for the people, and, 
 according to the accounts of that day, had barbecued a 
 bull, and placed it on the table as one dish. The supe- 
 rior influence of Colonel Ashe over any other individual 
 of that section of the state is well exhibited in the disposi- 
 tion, which the people under his influence made of the 
 sumptuous repast. The appearance of the Governor all 
 will admit, must have been more interesting to the mass of 
 the people with the parade that encircled his person. 
 When the feast was announced as ready, the people rush- 
 ed in a body to the table, and in a tumultuous manner 
 upset the barrels of liquors which had been provided, and 
 seizing the bull, they hurled tlie barbecued monster mto 
 the river. The mortification of the Governor was too 
 intense to await the slow cure of time, and he retired to 
 bis house dejected and discomfited. The whole day "was 
 3 ^ 
 
30 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 one continued scene of riot and tumult. Tiyon, amidst 
 this confusion and strife, was prudently lounging in his 
 parlour, while his parasites and minions were reciting, or 
 rather clamoring in interrupted accents, the recollected 
 portions of the ''Riot Act.'' How contemptible must 
 have appeared at this time the pompous airs which his 
 Excellency always assumed. Never was the contempt of 
 a people for an individual adorned with the attributes of 
 power more conspicuously exhibited, nor so degrading a 
 punishment prescribed for the insolence of authority. The 
 supremacy of Colonel Ashe could no longer be question- 
 ed, and although William Tryon was the King's governor, 
 the people more willingly acknowledged the authority, as 
 well as the merit, of another. 
 
 Some time during the fall of the year 1765, a duel was 
 fought on the banks of the Cape Fear, between a captain 
 and his lieutenant, in which the former fell. He was a rela- 
 tive of Lady Tryon's, and the Governor exerted all his influ- 
 ence to ensure the conviction of the survivor. The cause of 
 the duel was remotely connected with the exciting topics of 
 the day, and the sympathy of the people was aroused in fa- 
 vor of the lieutenant whom Tryon had thrown into prison. 
 He was tried, convicted, and condemned ; but the mercy 
 of Chief Justice Berry postponed the period for his execu- 
 tion to a distant day. By the connivance and assistance 
 of the people he made his escape, fled to England, was 
 pardoned, and restored to the bosom of his family. The 
 disappointment of Tryon in the gratification of his revenge 
 sought relief in suspicions of Judge Berry, whom he ac- 
 cused of an agency in the escape of the lieutenant. The 
 insinuations of the Governor, although they deeply and 
 incurably wounded the feelings of the amiable Judge, 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. $1 
 
 were not believed ; for the executive could not conceal, 
 under a zeal for the prosecution of an offender, the dis- 
 honorable feelings which prompted his hatred of the 
 presiding officer of the courl. The honesty of Judge 
 Berry was, however, lifted above his reach. He shortly 
 after the trial was summoned from Edenton circuit to 
 attend the Council board. The blustering and super- 
 cilious manner of Tryon had not been more repulsive 
 to the people than to tlie Chief Justice ; nor was the 
 latter, by any selfish relaxation of the Governor's usual stiff- 
 ness, duped into an obedience to his wishes. Such was the 
 arrangement of the powers of the provincial government, 
 that, although the Chief Justice was independent of the 
 will of the Executive, yet the character of the former was 
 at the mercy of the latter, who by complaints and charges 
 preferred in a sly and secret manner, could reduce to dis- 
 grace the most unexceptionable judge. Such were the 
 apprehensions of Judge Berry, whose popularity was 
 already an object of suspicion in England. The decided 
 stand he took with the popular party in the administration 
 of Governor Dobbs had been managed by his enemies at 
 court to disparage his character. He knew that Tryon 
 had an opportunity, by connecting him with the distur- 
 bances which had occurred in the Province, to subject 
 him to a disgraceful censure from the King, and to effect 
 his recall. The notorious duplicity of the Governor in 
 framing a complaint, he well knew, would not hesitate to 
 attribute to his influence all the opposition of the people, 
 nor to disguise the real cause of the confidence and re- 
 spect he personally and officially enjoyed. Writhing under 
 the agony of these melancholy anticipations, his amiable 
 but sensitive mind shrunk into a fit of despair, in the mad- 
 ness of which he terminated his existence. 
 
32 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 Such was the lamented end of a life devoted to the 
 study of the law and to the cultivation of a pure naoral 
 character. Combining with the reputation of an upright 
 judge that of an amiable, hospitable, and generous citizen, 
 he enjoyed that reverence and love which his excellence 
 so signally deserved. His superior merit had been sent 
 to a wrong mart. Tn the province of North Carolina the 
 mild exertions of his power, as Chief Justice, but excited 
 the malice of the Governor, by rendering more conspicuous 
 the inconsistency of his own acts ; nor would envy permit 
 him to enjoy without reproach that devotion of the people, 
 which was but the natural consequence of his virtuous and 
 upright conduct. His death was deeply deplored by the 
 people of the province, who reasonably expected as his 
 successor some minion of Tryon's, ambitious only of his 
 master's favor, and ready to forget both the dignity of 
 law and the rights of man. It is said of Tryon, that 
 already tired of the superior popularity of Judge Berry, 
 he now received the intelligence of his melancholy fate 
 with secret pleasure and an ostentatious indifference. On 
 such occasions the feelings exhibited will best illustrate 
 the real character of a man. His courtiers may have 
 complimented his indifference as firmness or stoical phi- 
 losophy. I shall not condescend to analyse the darkness 
 of his motives, or to investigate the causes which might 
 extenuate the enormity of his conduct. The vanity of 
 Tryon should ere this have been humbled by defeat and 
 shame. The rapid progress of successful opposition to 
 the stamp law throughout the province should have tamed 
 the turbulence of his spirit, and have softened his heart to 
 the complaints of the people. He well knew that the 
 great cause of their murmurs was his constant prorogation 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 33 
 
 or dissolution of the Assembly, and that one session would 
 test the stren<i;th of the people and the weakness of the 
 royal party. The sedition at Wilmington drew much of 
 its violence from this cause ; and on that day Colonel Ashe, 
 irritated by the conduct of the Governor, suggested to 
 him *' that he was afraid to convene the Assembly." Act- 
 ing under the fear or excitement of this remark, Tryon 
 issued a proclamation on the 26th of February, proro-u' 
 guing the Assembly, which was not to have convened unlUV 
 the 22d of April, to the last of October. On the 13ih bS 
 June the Governor received official intelligence of the ' . 
 act of the preceding March, repealing the Stamp Act, andj 
 on the succeeding 25th issued a proclamation in the name^ 
 of the King. The proclamation embraced two distinct 
 positions, both alike calculated to captivate the enthusiasm 
 of the people. It prohibited, and censured as illegal and 
 disgraceful, the practice which had prevailed of charging 
 excessive fees; and in the second place, announced the 
 repeal of the Stamp Act. Such an opportunity was joy- 
 fully embraced by Tryon to conciliate a people, of whose 
 violence he had witnessed sufficient to learn the danger 
 of their opposition or resentment. 
 
 On the next day after the appearance of the proclama- 
 tion, the authorities of the Borough of Wilmington address- 
 ed Governor Tryon with congratulations on the repeal of 
 the Stamp Act, and lamented the many misrepresentations 
 of their conduct which had reached the ear of his Excel- 
 lency. The Governor could not comprehend tlie mean- 
 ing of this latter allusion, and replied toihem, that the only 
 exceptionable conduct of which they had been guilty, had 
 come directly under his own personal observation. The 
 mayor of the borough, assisted by many of the most re- 
 
34 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 spectable citizens, complained in a letter they addressed to 
 him of the injustice of his insinuation, and declared that 
 the commotions which had existed, arose from *' a convic- 
 tion, that moderation ceased to be a virtue, when the 
 liberty of the British subject was in danger." This cor- 
 respondence which was terminated to the satisfaction of 
 the Governor, was, to speak with candor, more seditious 
 than the commotions which had occurred, and which had 
 undoubtedly come under the personal observation of 
 Tryon. The address, in the first instance, expressed 
 great affection for the effort which Parliament had made 
 to preserve the liberty of the people by relieving them 
 from oppression which they could not bear, and the com- 
 mentary to be found in the second letter, " on the virtue 
 of moderation,^'' was not entirely consistent with the pre- 
 scribed loyalty of one of the people. 
 
 The other portion of our history, by the discussion of 
 which I propose to illustrate the character of Tryon, is 
 the history of the Regulation, — a maiden subject for the 
 pen of controversy, — and one upon which I shall be 
 found to differ from all the historians and pamphleteers of 
 the day. 
 
 In writing the history of that period of time involved in 
 commotion on the passage of the Stamp Act, I have almost 
 buried that of the Regulation under its incumbent and 
 more general importance. I shall now invite the attention 
 and consideration of tlje reader to a series of historical 
 papers which will be found to be extracts from the rare 
 and curious volume of Herman Husband. Such, indeed, 
 I conceiv^e to be the most impartial mode of introducing 
 the reader to a knowledge of that rebellion, clouded as it 
 has been by the heavy pages of Williamson and Martin, 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 35 
 
 and the more ignorant disquisitions of untutored and igno- 
 rant scribblers. These papers are the more valuable 
 because they were published in the midst of the strife, 
 before the fatal battle of AUemance, and in the face of the 
 individuals whose crimes and misdeeds are exposed. Of 
 their author, Herman Husband, I must say a few words 
 before I commence the task of transcribing his exposition 
 of the causes of the Regulation. He was undoubtedly a 
 man of a turbulent and seditious character, but he lived in 
 a country where the exercise of those qualities were not 
 only excusable, but frequently indispensable, as a means of 
 redress for outrage and wrong. Possessed, too, as he 
 undoubtedly was, of the craft and cunning of a Jesuit, as 
 well as a quick and ready perception of the state of the 
 community in which he lived, he induced the discontented 
 and oppressed to unite in a general and systematic opposi- 
 tion to the operations of the provincial government. 
 
 A single incident will serve to illustrate the character of 
 this singular individual. The violence of his enemies on 
 one occasion succeeded in imprisoning him in the town of 
 Hillsborough, and the conditions of his release were, that 
 he should never give his opinion of the laws, "nor frequent 
 assembling himself among the people, nor show any jeal- 
 ousies of the officers taking extraordinary fees, and other 
 similar promises." The immortal truth of Hooker, that 
 " whoso goeth about to persuade the people they are not 
 as well governed as they might be, will surely find atten- 
 tive listeners," was not more applicable to Husband than 
 to others of that day, who labored to dethrone the sove- 
 reign, to whom they had sworn allegiance. The promises 
 extorted as the condition of his release, indicate alike the 
 nature of his genius and the degree of tyranny he was 
 
36 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 endeavouring to demolish. In viewing the events of that 
 day, I shall not scruple to describe the character of Hus- 
 band, as superior to that of the miserable pettifogger whose 
 knavery suggested the conditions of his liberty. He 
 wanted the advantages of education which had been vainly 
 lavished on his adversary, if one of the objects of educa- 
 tion is to refine and purify the mind ; nor had he an op- 
 portunity of neglecting to acquire those accomplishments 
 which are offered in the ranks of a polished society. The 
 character of Husband I admit to have been that of a dem- 
 agogue, not however more base or servile, than many still 
 patronized by the suffrages of the people of my native 
 State. 
 
 The pages of Husband's book disclose the first effort in 
 Orange county to organize as a party the disaffected 
 portion of the people. Such an attempt was indispensa- 
 ble to preserve the party which had, before the passage of 
 the Stamp Act, opposed the exactions of the officers of the 
 government, the ranks of which had been crowded by the 
 unanimous opposition of the people to that and other 
 measures, and which was now reduced to its original 
 resources by the repeal of that law. In the month of 
 August, 1766, and at an inferior court of the county of 
 Orange, a paper addressed to the Representatives and 
 Magistrates of the county was presented and read. This 
 paper, I am of opinion, is the first written complaint 
 against those extortions, which formed so important an ele- 
 ment in the disturbances of that day, and which covered 
 the Courts and the Bar with reproach and shame. It is 
 extracted from the 9th page of Husband's book. 
 
 " Whereas that great good may come of this great 
 designed evil, the Stamp Law, while the sons of Lib- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 37 
 
 erty wlihstand the Lords of Parliament in behalf of true 
 Liberty ; let not officers under them carry on unjust 
 oppression in our Province, in order thereto, as there are 
 many evils of that nature complained of in this county 
 of Orange, in private amongst the inhabitants. There- 
 fore, let us remove them, or if there is no cause, let us 
 remove the jealousies out of our minds. Honest rulers 
 in power will be glad to see us examine this matter 
 freely. And certainly there are more honest men 
 among us than rogues, yet rogues are harboured among 
 us sometimes almost publicly. Every honest man is 
 willing to give part of his substance to support rulers 
 and laws to save the other part from rogues, and it is 
 his duty as well as right to see and examine whether 
 such rulers abuse such trust. Otherwise that part so 
 given may do more hurt than good. Even if we were 
 all rogues, in that case we could not subsist ; but would 
 be obliged to frame laws to make ourselves honest. 
 And the same reason holds good against the reason of a 
 Mason club. Thus though it (meaning justice) must be 
 desired by all men, or the greatest number of men ; yet, 
 when grievances of such public nature are not redress- 
 ed, the reason is, every body's business is nobody's. 
 Therefore the following proposal is offered to the pub- 
 lic, to wit; Let each neighbourhood throughout the 
 county meet together and appoint one or more men to 
 attend a general meeting, on the Monday before next 
 November court, at a suitable place, where there is no 
 liquor (at Maddock's Mills if no objection), at which 
 meeting let it be judiciously inquired into, whether the 
 Freemen of this county labor under any abuses of power 
 or not, and let the same be notified in writing, if any ia 
 4 
 
38 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 found, and the matter freely conversed upon, and pro- 
 per measures used for amendment. This method will 
 certainly cause the wicked men in power to tremble, and 
 there is no damage can attend such a meeting, nor noth- 
 ing hinder it but a cowardly, dastardly spirit, which if it 
 does at this time while Liberty prevails, we must mutter 
 and grumble under any abuses of power, until such a 
 noble spirit prevails in our posterity ; for this is a maxim, 
 that while men are men, though you should see all those 
 Sons of Liberty (who have just now redeemed us from 
 tyranny) sit in offices and vested in power, they would 
 soon corrupt again and oppress, if they were not called 
 upon to give an account of their stewardship." 
 
 The sentiments and principles of this address may not 
 be despised even in this age of the American republic. 
 To give an account of their stewardship is considered as 
 the primal duty of every servant of the people returning 
 from the labors of legislation. But I would suggest 
 that the sentiments and principles of the address support 
 the position I have assumed, that the Regulation, although 
 overthrown by the balde of Allemance, was nevertheless 
 connected with the Revolution at that early day. 
 
 Historians commence the narrative of the Revolution 
 with the opposition to the Stamp Act, and point to the 
 spirit of that day as the same that immortalized the heights 
 of Bunker's Hill, and the Plains of Guilford. I may, with 
 equal propriety, date the origin of the Revolution in North 
 Carolina from the birth of that spirit of opposition, which, ex- 
 isting anterior to the Stamp Act, was strengthened and forti- 
 fied by its tyranny, and which first tore away the magic veil 
 that covered the monstrous deformity of British allegiance. 
 To agitate the question of resistance to the oppression of 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 39 
 
 government, to induce the people to reflect on the policy 
 of such n step, to accustom them to the ground of rebellion, 
 and to lead them, step by step, to the dark council of the 
 agitators and leaders, is frequently the most heroic and per- 
 ilous adventure in the history of a revolution. Such was 
 the effect of the Stamp Act in Massachusetts and the other 
 states. The odious principles of that measure provoked 
 the people to the contemplation of more important and 
 efficient means of resistance than were inherent in their 
 Provincial government and in a later period of history, the 
 battle of Lexington but struck out the spark that blazed 
 from the battle-field to Georgia. To have commenced 
 the war is one of the worthiest laurels achieved during 
 its progress, scarcely inferior to that worn with the 
 assent of a whole people, by the immortal hero whose 
 genius consummated the glory of that struggle. 
 
 The imputations against the Regulation, which prevail 
 in North Carolina, are, that it was nothing more than a 
 compact of turbulent and seditious men, united upon no 
 definite principle, but acting only from the impulse of a 
 factious spirit. The concluding sentence of the address 
 refutes and contradicts this prejudiced and too common 
 opinion. Without a cause of action, and without concert, 
 when in their first declaration they point to oppressions, 
 which had notoriously existed for years, and propose a 
 plan of cooperation ; in the same instrument they applaud 
 the opposition to the Stamp Act, and dignify the principal 
 movers of that opposition with the honorable title of'- Sons 
 of Liberty." Does this support the character which 
 Williamson and Martin have bestowed on the Regulators, 
 or the still more rancorous abuse which pride and igno- 
 rance have lavished on that undefended party ? One in- 
 
40 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 ference is plainly deducible from the address. If the 
 Regulation was, as has been represented, a profligate 
 and seditious junto, without merit or virtue, the party op- 
 posed to the Stainp Act in North Carolina, which willing- 
 ly united with the Regulators, and even joined them in 
 the mobs and routs of that day, was alike profligate and 
 seditious. The only difference, which ingenuity can de- 
 tect, is, that the Regulators were contending for a thor- 
 ough reformation of the government, in all its branches, 
 and the opponents of the Stamp Act directed their efforts 
 entirely against its operation. 
 
 The object of the proposed meeting at Maddock's Mill 
 was sufficiently described in the address, and was approv- 
 ed at the time by the leading men of the Governor's party* 
 There was one individual, however, Edmund Fanning, 
 a representative from Orange, whose antipathy to an in- 
 vestigation of the conduct of the officers of the court was 
 founded on a conviction of his own misdeeds and crimes^ 
 This singular man, so indifferent to the voice of reason or 
 honor, as to become conspicuous on that account alone, 
 denounced the proposed meeting as an insurrection. At 
 a meeting of the neighbourhood of Deep River, the repre- 
 sentatives, vestry-men, and other officers were requested 
 to attend the meeting at Maddock's Mill, and to give 
 such information as they could, " so far as they valued 
 " the good will of every honest freeholder, and the execu- 
 " ting public offices pleasant and delightsome." The 
 meeting of the delegates of the jieople assembled at Mad- 
 dock's Mill on the 10th of October, 1766, and, while 
 they were awaiting the arrival of the representatives, James 
 Watson, the colleague of Fanning, arrived, and brought the 
 denunciation of that prudent officer. The meeting, bow- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 41 
 
 ever, proceeded to the business of the day, and after a 
 free discussion of the distressed state of the county of 
 Orange, adopted the following paper, which was approv- 
 ed and signed by Watson. 
 
 " It was the judgment of the said meeting, that by 
 reason of the extent of the county, no one man in it in a 
 general way was known to above one tenth man of the 
 inhabitants, for which reason such a meeting for a pub- 
 lic and free conference, yearly, and as often as the case 
 may require, was absolutely necessary, in order to reap 
 the benefit designed us in that part of our constitution 
 of choosing representatives, and knowing for what 
 uses our money is called for. We also conceive such a 
 representative would find himself at an infinite loss to 
 answer the design of his constituents, if deprived of con- 
 sulting their minds in matters of weight and moment. 
 
 " And whereas, at the said meeting, none of them ap- 
 peared, (though we think properly acquainted with our ap- 
 pointment and request), yet, as the thing is somewhat new 
 in this country (though practised in older governments,) 
 they might not have duly considered the reasonableness 
 of our requests. We therefore conclude that if they 
 hereafter are inclinable to answer it, that we will attend 
 them at some other time and place, on their giving us 
 proper notice. It is also our judgment, that on further 
 mature deliberation, the inhabitants of the county will 
 more generally see the necessity of such a conference, 
 and the number increase in favor of it to be continued 
 yearly. A copy of this was given to Mr. Watson, on his 
 approbation of it, and he promised to present each of our 
 representatives with proper transcripts, which we doubt 
 not the least he complied with. But however," continues 
 4* 
 
42 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 the simple narrative of Husband, " instead of complying 
 will) our so reasonable proposals, Colonel Fanning, at 
 the following court or at a general muster, read a long 
 piece of writing in public and among our Justices in re- 
 pugnance to our request, vaunting himself greatly in 
 his performance, telling them he had served us with 
 copies thereof, and signified it would silence us. But 
 as to what it contained, 1 cannot inform the public, as 
 we, nor any of us, that ever I could find, ever saw it." 
 
 Sucl) seem to have been the efforts of the Regulators 
 to break down the domestic tyranny, which had been 
 generated by the corrupt government of the provincial 
 Governors. Starting from the heavy requisitions of Gov- 
 ernor Dobbs, and the avarice of the attorneys and 
 agents of the later years of his administration, the Regu- 
 lation had matured thus far in the fall of the year 
 1766. The advantages of a concert were soon ex- 
 perienced in the greater facility, which such a body 
 possessed of indicting the officers, and other extortion- 
 ers, and in the expenses attending such prosecutions 
 being liberally paid by a general subscription. At the 
 meeting at Maddock's Mill, the sum of fifty pounds was 
 subscribed for such a purpose ; and although no particular 
 officer was specified as the object of prosecution, yet the 
 circumstance justly awakened the suspicions of Fanning. 
 Living, as he did, in the constant and acknowledged com- 
 mission of crime, his guilty and jealous mind was eager to 
 examine the bearing of every penal statute, and every 
 meditated prosecution, under an apprehension that it 
 might have been agitated for his own sins. 
 
 At last I have to notice the session of an Assembly, a 
 portion of the government which the fear and policy of 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 43 
 
 Tryon had nearly exlingiiished. For more than eighteen 
 months the Province had been without an Assembly ; and 
 this stroke of policy, so obviously the result of apprehen- 
 sion, embittered and aggravated the previous jealousies of 
 the people. The members met in New Berne on the 3d 
 of November, and the session was commenced by a quarrel 
 with the Governor on account of the long chasm in the 
 legislation of the Province which his fears had produced. 
 The courage of Tryon seems to have slumbered during 
 this controversy. The reproaches of the popular House 
 were bitter and open, and the insinuations disrespectful 
 and insulting. Tlie Governor was rebuked for having en- 
 couraged the application of the abusive terms of "rebels" 
 and "traitors "to the peopl*^ of the Province, a charge, 
 which he warmly pronounced without foundation. He de- 
 clared himself a perfect stranger to the insinuations, which 
 the answer of the House contained, and avowed a willing- 
 ness to forget every transaction, which ingenuity could tor- 
 ture into an insult. The charge of cowardice against Tryon, 
 which is supported by various events in the history of his 
 administration, may be qualified in this case, by one or two 
 powerful considerations. The sedition at Wilmington had 
 taught him the popular lesson of conciliation, as well as the 
 reality of popular power. He found himself now surround- 
 ed by many of the same men vested with the dignity and 
 power of representatives, and still burning with resent- 
 ment against him as the author of those calumnies with 
 which they had been assailed. The prudence of Tryon 
 plainly saw the danger of provoking or irritating the 
 opposition of such men, and the necessity of healing the 
 wounds which he had inflicted. The other consideration 
 was undoubtedly a great inducement to forbearance, and 
 
44 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 indeed, to such a man asTryon, of humiliation. He had 
 fallen in love with the idea of erecting a splendid palace, 
 to accomplish which, he wooed the members, with all the 
 submission of a devoted lover. He lost his dignity in the 
 effoits which he thus frequently made to accomplish his 
 darling scheme, and may have forgotten his honor in the 
 madness of his zeal and enthusiasm. 
 
 It was in the various political mancEuvres, necessary to 
 procure an appropriation of funds for the erection of this pa- 
 lace, that the genius of Lady Tyron, and her lovely sister, 
 rose superior to the official consequence of the Governor. 
 The sum of five thousand pounds was readily voted by the 
 Assembly of 1766 ; but when it subsequently appeared, 
 that this sum was only sufficient for the mere beginning of 
 the edifice, and that ten thousand more were necessary to 
 complete it, the liberality of the legislature was exhausted. 
 After a great deal of management, however, the second 
 appropriation bill was passed, and its success has been 
 justly attributed more to the brilliant society of the two 
 ladies than to the policy of the Governor. To have taxed 
 a Province, exhausted by the scourge of war and anar- 
 chy, with a burthen of fifteen thousand pounds, exhibits 
 a greater degree of indifi^erence to the distresses of the 
 people, than can be reconciled with patriotism or human- 
 ity. The dinners of his Excellency must have been 
 princely indeed, and the society of the ladies, — the only 
 sovereign apology, — extremely delightful, to have wrung 
 from the parsimony of the Assembly so heavy an appro- 
 priation. I shall anticipate one event in the annals of the 
 state, to illustrate the universal esteem and admiration, in 
 which these two ladies were held. The Assembly of 1770 
 created a new county in the centre of the state, and 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 45 
 
 adorned it with the name of Wake, in compliment to the 
 beauty of Miss Esther. At a still latter j3eriod of 
 our history, when the Royal government had been 
 annihilated, the Assembly carefully and justly substituted 
 the names of distinguished Americans, for tliose of Tryon, 
 Dobbs, and others, which had designated several of the 
 counties of the state. While the motion to change the 
 name of Tryon county was under consideration, a propo- 
 sition was made by some over-zealous patriot, to expunge 
 the name of Wake. The title of Tryon was expunged, 
 but the ungallant proposition to obliterate the recollection 
 of a beautiful woman was rejected by acclamation. The 
 city of Raleigh, the capital of the state, as if to crown the 
 majesty of beauty, was, at a still latter period, loca- 
 ted in the county of Wake, an appropriate name for 
 a city, built on a territory consecrated to the genius of 
 beauty and virtue. 
 
 In this preliminary view of the character of Governor 
 Tryon, 1 have not space for a regular, detailed history of 
 his administration. I must leave the palace, and its fair in- 
 mates, and invite the attention of the reader to the battle of 
 Aliemance, a victory which extinguished the rebellion of 
 the Regulators. 
 
 In the year 1771, after the adjournment of the Assem- 
 bly, it was perceptible to all, that the calamity of a civil 
 war was inevitable. In the month of March the Governor 
 commenced the organization of an army, and by the ad- 
 vice of the Council, was determined to lead it in person 
 to the territory of the rebels. In the mean time a plan of 
 peace and reconciliation had been adopted by the contend- 
 ing parties in the county of Orange, which might have sav- 
 ed the Province from the ravages of war, but for the simul- 
 taneous hostile movement of the Governor in the town 
 
46 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 of New Berne. A court of Oyer and Terminer was held 
 in that place, under the Jate act of the Assembly, and bills 
 of indictment were found against a large number of the 
 Regulators, for destroying the house of Fanning on the 
 previous 25ih of September. The court adopted an as- 
 sociation paper, which was signed by the Governor, and 
 other distinguished officers, pledging themselves to support 
 the government in restoring peace, and enforcing a due 
 execution of the laws. This was viewed by the people of 
 Orange, without regard to party, as a veto on the plan of 
 pacification, and the parties now reverted to their for- 
 mer opinions and deeds. During the latter part of April, 
 Governor Tryon having collected an army of three hun- 
 dred men, and appointed different posts of rendezvous on 
 his way, marched from New Berne, accompanied by several 
 members of the council, and other influential characters. 
 
 On arriving on the banks of the river Enoe, he found 
 himself at the head of a formidable and efficient force, 
 under the command of the militia officers of the sev- 
 eral counties. A detachment from the county of New 
 Hanover, under the command of Colonel John Ashe, 
 another from Onslow under Colonel Richard Caswell, 
 another from the county of Carteret, under Colonel Craig, 
 another from Johnston, under Colonel William Thompson, 
 another from Beaufort, under Colonel Needham Bryan, and 
 one from Wake, under Colonel John Hinton, had joined his 
 standard, before he reached the encampment on Enoe. 
 The infantry of the arniy with which he started from 
 New Berne, was commanded by Colonel Joseph Leech, 
 the artillery by Captain Moore, and a company of rang- 
 ers by Captain Neale. The Camp was only a few miles 
 from Hillsboro', and before the army had progressed any 
 farther on its march, a prodigious reinforcement, under the 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 47 
 
 management of Edmund Fanning, a notable attoj-ney of the 
 town, arrived. Tradition informs us, thai this singular re- 
 inforcement was composed of clerks, constables, coro- 
 ners, broken down sheriffs, and other such materials, and 
 this statement is supported by the fact, that two of the prin- 
 cipal objects of the Governor were, to protect the election 
 of a member for Orange in the place of Husband, and to 
 assist the sheriff in levying the taxes, affairs in which the 
 agency of Fanning might be indispensable. 
 
 Colonel Waddell, with a small detachment, had been in 
 that section of the state for some time, and, having espous- 
 ed, with tnuch zeal, the cause of the government, was an 
 object of great hatred to the Regulators. They contriv- 
 ed to entangle him in a skirmish, and with a superior 
 force to surround his small army. The Colonel himself, 
 with a few followers, escaped to Salisbury, and from thence 
 an exfjress was received by Tryon, while on the banks of 
 the Enoe, containing an account of his discomfiture. 
 He stated, that there existed a constant intercourse be- 
 tween the detachment and tlie Regulators, and that, in 
 such a situation, flight was his only opportunity of escape. 
 Before the encampment was struck, the Governor received 
 intelligence, that the enemy was on the march to meet 
 him ; and, apprehensive that his passage of Haw River 
 might be obstructed, he moved on in haste to the scene of 
 action. A volunteer company of light-horse, under the 
 command of Captain Bullock, was the only addition to 
 his army he received, and with his whole force he cross- 
 ed Haw River on the 13ih of May. On the evening of 
 the following day, he pitched his camp on the banks of the 
 Allemance, a small stream, distinguished in history by the 
 extraordinary nature of the approaching conflict. 
 
48 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 I have conducted the King's forces, near the field of 
 battle, and have now to return to the Regulators, describe 
 the industry of their leaders, and the concentration of their 
 forces. In my future details on this subject, I shall dis- 
 tinguish the army of Tryon by the name of the "King's 
 Forces," an appellation more familiar to the people of 
 North Carolina, and one which was claimed as an honorable 
 title by the officers of that army, until none were so poor 
 as to do homage to the King. Tlie counties of Orange, 
 Anson, Granville, Guilford, and the adjacent western sec- 
 tion of the state contributed to the ai'my of the Regidators. 
 The restless genius of Husband pervaded the whole party. 
 He encouraged the timid to the field, with the hope of ex- 
 torting by fear from Tryon a redress of their complaints, 
 and inflamed the more courageous with the expectation 
 of plunder or renown. He ransacked every house, and 
 warned every man to arms, to repel the invader of their 
 rights, and their plantations. The people flocked to his 
 standard in numbers, and swelled his ranks to an unwieldy 
 and unmanageable crowd. Many came unarmed and join- 
 ed the ranks under an expectation, that there would be no 
 bloodshed, but that so large a force would bring the Gover- 
 nor to the terms they might propose. Such indeed was the 
 prevailing sentiment among the Regulators, and had been 
 urged by Husband, as an inducement to join his standard. 
 With all the duplicity of a demagogue, he varied his argu- 
 ments, to suit the temper and situation of each individual 
 whom he solicited. To all he might urge the wrongs and 
 extortions they had suffered, but not to all could he urge 
 war. His army thus constituted, may be computed at 
 two thousand men, not more than half of which number 
 could have been armed even widi the semblance of a 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 49 
 
 deadly weapon. Once widiin bis ranks terror was exert- 
 ed to retain them, and to force them to the field. If each 
 soldier of that army had gone to the banks of the Alle- 
 mance with the feelings, and the passions of their leader, 
 and with the charged musket on his shoulder, the King's 
 forces might have been celebrated for a dexterous retreat, 
 and not a clumsy and unsoldierlike victory. But (ew 
 went to that battle with the motives of Husband. Re- 
 venge was the nutriment of his valor ; and with a mind 
 phrenzied by the disgrace of an expulsion from the As- 
 sembly, and the loathsome confinement of a dungeon, he 
 hurried to the battle, with all the fury and madness of de- 
 spair. With five hundred men thus animated and well 
 armed, " the great wolf of North Carolina " might have 
 been conspicuous only, in the annals of the state, as the 
 last of the Royal Governors. 
 
 The Regulators, without the advantage of discipline or 
 the use of decent arms or military stores, must have present- 
 ed the appearance of one of the militia musters of the coun- 
 ty of Orange, at the present day. Should the experiment 
 of raising an army of two thousand men out of that and the 
 adjacent counties be made at this time, it would require 
 twelve months and a large expenditure of funds, to give 
 it the itnposing appearance of a well regulated and disci- 
 plined army. History may relate the miracle that was 
 wrought in those days, by the collection of an army of 
 two thousand well armed soldiers in the short space of two 
 or three months 5 but the curiosity of criticism may ven- 
 ture to contrast the possibility of such a thing in the pres- 
 ent more enlightened and prosperous age. At a sliort 
 notice a mob of four or five thousand may be collected, 
 and this vast crowd may comprise a hundred well armed 
 men, deprived of the power to act, by the irregularities of 
 5 
 
50 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 their comrades ; but a hundred skilful police officers will 
 disperse them with less bloodshed than the army of a 
 royal governor. Laurels acquired in such an action might 
 adorn the brows of a pack of constables headed by a pet- 
 tifogger, but disgrace the magnificence of a military expe- 
 dition headed by the chief magistrate of a government. 
 
 The forces of the Regulators, under the command of 
 Husband, and Captains Hunter and Butler, advanced 
 towards the Allemance and encamped within a few miles 
 of the station occupied by Tryon. The fact that a large 
 number joined the standard with no suspicion of a battle is 
 obvious from the proposition which was submitted to the 
 Governor, on the 15th of May, the day before the battle, 
 to return to their homes, if he would redress their griev- 
 ances. This pacific plan was by no means agreeable 
 either to'Husband or Tryon, both of whom were intent on 
 batde. It was on the J 5th that Colonel Ashe and Cap- 
 tain John Walker were, while on a scouting party, appre- 
 hended by the Regulators, " tugged up to trees and 
 severely flogged." * The apprehension for the safety of 
 these two officers, and the uncivil, not to say rude conduct 
 of the enemy, created great alarm in the Governor's 
 camp ; and much difficulty was found in detaining Colonel 
 Edmund Fanning, Esq., who had once experienced a 
 similar incivility. The whipping of these two officers was 
 one of the exi)edients of Husband to destroy entirely all 
 hopes of an amicable adjustment, as well as to gratify his 
 inimical feelings towards Colonel Ashe, with whom he 
 had a rencontre some time before in Hillsboro'. 
 
 On the night of ihe 15ih the camp of Tryon was rigidly 
 guarded, and the whole adjacent country filled with small 
 detachments as sentry guards. The cavalry kept their 
 * Martin, Vol. H. p. 278. 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 51 
 
 horses saddled throughout die night and every other pre- 
 caution against surprise was adopted ; but the slumbers of 
 Colonel Fanning were interrupted by apprehensions and 
 dreams of the punishment of Colonel Ashe. At daybreak 
 on the 1 6th of IVlay, the King's forces were on their march, 
 having left their camp standing, under a strong guard com- 
 manded by Colonel Bryan of Johnston. Tiie two armies 
 approached aboui mid-day and halted within half a mile 
 of each other. The King's forces were drawn up in two 
 lines a hundred yards apart, with the artillery in the 
 centre. Colonel Leech, with the detachments of Craven 
 and Beaufort, commanded the right wing of the front line, 
 and Colonel Thompson with those of Carteret and Orange 
 the left. Tlie detachment of New Hanover and three 
 companies from Dobbs, under the command of Colonel 
 Caswell, formed the right wing of the second line ; and 
 Colonel Craig with the troops from Onslow and Johnston 
 completed the main body of the King's forces. Colonel 
 Hinton with the company from Wake and a troop of light- 
 horse from Duplin reinforced the rear guard, and the ran- 
 gers covered the flanks on both sides. 
 
 The Governor's person was guarded by the cavalry of 
 Captain Bullock, and Colonel Caswell was instructed, 
 in case of an attack on the left wing, to form an angle 
 from his lines and cover the left flank. The Regulators 
 were not thus skilfully arranged, nor had they the materials 
 for such an arrangement. A large proportion were un- 
 armed, and those who bore arms were unprepared for more 
 than one discharge of musquetry. I discredltthe compu- 
 tation of Williamson, who says, they were about three 
 thousand, and deny the possibility of arming so numerous 
 an army at that early day. Taking even my statement 
 as the more correct, that their whole force was two thou- 
 
52 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 sand, the same impossibility of procuring arms and ammu- 
 nition in a country literally destitute of the conveniences of 
 life for such an arn>y, presents itself. There could not 
 have been more than one thousand men under arms, and 
 the dexterity of these was incommoded by the unwieldy 
 and idle crowd around them. The Governor replied to 
 the demand (which had been made the day before) to 
 redress their grievances, by a positive assurance that noth- 
 ing but unconditional submission would be acknowledged 
 as terms of peace, and allowed them one iiour to weigh 
 the important and momentous crisis. Husband listened 
 with impatience to his proposal and bade the messenger 
 return and tell the Governor that he defied him to battle. 
 This violent language did not meet the unanimous accord- 
 ance of the army, and a second reading of the proposition 
 was called for by those who were not disposed or prepared 
 for batde. The paper was again read, and at its conclu- 
 sion, Husband again bade the messenger return and carry 
 his defiance to the ears of his master. The two armies ap- 
 proached within a hundred yards of each other, when two 
 of Tryon's men, a civil and military officer, advanced 
 towards the Regulators, and read in a loud voice a procla- 
 mation or riot act, commanding them to disperse in one 
 hour. Unfortunately the Governor's proclamations had 
 been issued on so many occasions to no purpose, and had 
 so often denounced their leaders, that they now refused to 
 hear it, and shouted, '• BatUe, battle," as a more congenial 
 sound than a vain and pompous harangue. The Regula- 
 tors had determined to put Colonel Ashe and Captain 
 Walker in front of their lines, unless Tryon would ex- 
 change for them seven prisoners he had taken. While 
 the parley was going on for that purpose, the impatience of 
 the armies was so great, that the leaders made a simulta- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 53 
 
 neoLis moveinent, and led on to batde. The two armies 
 marched with the most profound silence, and, such was the 
 indisposition of either side to fight, that the ranks passed 
 each other and were then compelled by a short retreat to 
 regain their respective places. At the distance of twenty- 
 five yards apart the contending parties stood and occupied 
 the solemn hour before battle with a verbal quarrel, each 
 party uttering the most violent imprecations and bandying 
 the most abusive epithets.^ The Regulators shook their 
 clenched hands at the Governor and Mr. Fanning, and 
 walked up to the artillery with open bosoms, defying them 
 to fire. The King's forces occupied the road, and the 
 Regulators the woods; and, each party making an effort to 
 obtain a contiguous and more advantageous position, a 
 bloodless meeting took place. Colonel Ashe and Captain 
 Walker were demanded by an adjutant, who reported that 
 the Governor would wait no longer, but should instantly 
 fire on them if they did not submit. They were now face 
 to face, each man engaged in a loud and clamorous quar- 
 rel with the nearest enemy, on the grievances of the peo- 
 ple and the virtues of Fanning. It was in vain that the 
 Governor roared out the word of command, directing his 
 men to fire, each loyal soldier was too busily engaged 
 either in an argument or a fist fight, to heed the haughty 
 and dictatorial decree. 
 
 History records the circumstance, that it was only by a 
 simple but violent speech of Tryon (" Fire, fire on them or 
 on me ")f that the King's forces could be induced to obey. 
 On the discharge of the first gun the batde became gen- 
 eral ; and, each man fighting without regard to order or 
 
 • Martin, Vol. II. p. 281. t Id. p. 282. 
 
 5^- 
 
54 
 
 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 command, a tumult ensued which may well be compared 
 with the mobs of Manchester or Bristol. Such was the 
 disorder of the action, that the artillery was idle for the 
 first hour during which time the conflict was equal and 
 well sustained. When the artillery, however, was brought 
 to bear, the contest ceased on both sides as if by magic ; 
 and the Regulators (who were without even a swivel), as 
 they recovered from their panic, fled in dismay and con- 
 fusion ; and were pursued in a similar state of disorder by 
 the King's forces. " The loss of the Governor was nine 
 killed and sixty-one wounded ; that of the rebels twenty 
 killed and a number wounded." ^ The reader may be 
 curious to know the fate of Mr. Fanning in this perilous 
 engagement. The moment before the battle commenced, 
 on catching a glimpse of Colonel Ashe and Captain Wal- 
 ker, a recollection of the peculiar manner in which those 
 gentlemen, as well as himself, had been treated, so shock- 
 ed the natural sensitiveness of his mind, that he was ob- 
 liged to make a precipitate retreat to the camp. 
 
 On the evening of the day, and after the overthrow of 
 the Regulators was ascertained to be complete, the wicked 
 and blood-thirsty genius of Tryon, mortified at the small 
 number of slain, directed the execution of James Few, a 
 religious maniac, whom he had taken prisoner. Such an 
 inhuman and unsoldierlike act of barbarity, is without a 
 parallel in the history of our country, and exhibits, in a 
 manner not to be mistaken, his utter destitution of every 
 principle of virtue or courage. The battle was over and 
 tlie base laurel which such a victory gained, was stained, 
 foul as it was, by this most unfeeling and fiendish act, from 
 which an American savage would turn with disgust, a can- 
 
 * Such is the computation of Martin. 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. ^ 
 
 nibal revolt with horror. And, as if to crown the cruelty 
 and loathsomeness of this act, the low tyrant penetrated 
 into the private history of his victim, and visited upon the 
 parents and relatives (by the destruction of their estates) 
 the misfortunes, and not the crimes, of the brother and the 
 child. This single act, if the whole previous tenor of 
 Tryon's life had been covered with the mantle of virtue 
 and generosity, would have sullied for ever its purity, and 
 justified the unqualified execration of history. It would 
 have tarnished the character of Caligula, and have adorn- 
 ed the brutal massacres of General Nat Turner. 
 
 Thus terminated the batde of Allemance, one of the 
 most singular struggles in the annals of the state, but 
 which has been magnified, by the pride and ignorance of 
 Tryon's party, into a bloody and violent contest and an 
 honorable and glorious victory. Its only importance in his- 
 tory is, that it prostrated the Regulators, who now eagerly 
 look the various oaths of allegiance, which the political 
 pedantry of Tryon suggested. The country was not de- 
 populated by the number of slain, nor did even the subse- 
 quent executions of the Governor produce a thinness of 
 the population or a stagnation of industry and enterprise. 
 It simply annihilated the Regulation, without bloodshed or 
 honor, and thus its consequences are told. 
 
 Tryon at the head of his army marched through the 
 country with a civil and military officer in front, who read 
 a proclamation to every unfortunate traveller, granting par- 
 don to all excepting a few of the most conspicuous leaders. 
 A reward of land and money was offered for Husband, 
 dead or alive, and a special Court of Oyer and Terminer 
 was ordered, for the trial of the twelve prisoners taken in 
 the battle. They were convicted of high treason and sen- 
 tenced to death. The execution of six of them was 
 
56 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 respited, and the Governor himself condescended to per- 
 form the unpleasant and menial duty of preparing for the 
 execution of the others. After the gratification which such 
 a spectacle doubdess afforded him, he left the army, and 
 returned to New Berne, whence he sailed for New York, 
 to the government of which province he had been re- 
 cently appointed. 
 
 I have written this view of the character of Governor 
 Tryon, to elucidate the subsequent history of the adminis- 
 tration of Josiah Mardn, and the downfall of the royal 
 government. To the latter subject, indeed, it is a proper 
 incident ; for during his administration the political signs of 
 the times were strongly indicative of the downfall of the 
 government. The following document giving a general 
 history of his administration is from the pen of Maurice 
 Moore, one of the judges of the Superior Court during 
 the government of Tryon. He has been already men- 
 tioned in these pages in the discussion of the Stamp Act. 
 He was appointed to the office of judge by Tryon, and yet 
 the severity of the document indicates the most decided 
 political hostility. I willinglj^ subscribe to the correctness 
 of his view of the character of Governor Tryon ; although 
 1 cannot see why Lady Tryon should not have been enti- 
 tled Her Excellency, as tradition ascribes to her much of 
 the success of many of his political manoeuvres. Maurice 
 Moore was a Regulator ; and, as he gave as a judge much 
 support to the Governor, I suppose he did so on the score 
 of admiration for " Her " and not His Excellency. 
 The document had an extensive circulation during the 
 years 1771, 1772, and 1773, and was copied generally 
 by the Whig papers of the country. It was some years 
 since republished in the Appendix to the first volume of 
 Martin's " History of North Carolina." 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 57 
 
 *' To his Excellency William Trijon, Esquire. 
 
 " 1 am too well acquainted with your character to suppose you 
 can bear to be told of your faults with temper. You are too much 
 of the soldier, and too little of the philosopher, for reprehension. 
 With this opinion of your Excellency, I have more reason to believe 
 that this letter will be more serviceable to the province of New 
 York, than useful or entertaining to its governor. The beginning 
 of your administration in this province was marked with oppression 
 and distress to its inhabitants. These, Sir, I do not place to your 
 account; they are derived from higher authority than yours. You 
 were, however, a dull, yet willing instrument, in the hands of the 
 British Ministry, to promote the means of both. You called together 
 some of the principal inhabitants of your neighbourhood, and in a 
 istrange, inverted, self-affecting speech, told them that you had left 
 your native country, friends, and connexions, and taken upon your- 
 self the government of North Carolina with no other view than to 
 serve it. In the next breath, Sir, you advised them to submit to 
 the Stamp Act, and become slaves. How could you reconcile such 
 baneful advice with such friendly professions ? But, Sir, self-contra- 
 dictions with you have not been confined to words only ) they have 
 been equally extended to actions. On other occasions you have 
 played the governor with an air of greater digyity and importance 
 than any of your predecessors ; on this, your Excellency was meanly 
 content to solicit the currency of stamped paper in private companies. 
 But, alas ! ministerial approbation is the first wish of your heart; it 
 is the best security you have for your office. Engaged as you were 
 in this disgraceful negotiation, the more important duties of the 
 governor were forgotten, or wilfully neglected. In murmuring, dis- 
 content, and public confusion, you left the colony committed to your 
 care, for near eighteen months together, without calling an assem- 
 bly. 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 has since 
 befallen this unhappy province. A grant was made to the crown of 
 five thousand pounds, to erect a house for the residence of a gover- 
 nor ; 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 circumstances of the colony you governed. This trust 
 
58 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 proved equally fatal to the interest of the province] and to your Ex- 
 cellency's honor. You made use of it, Sir, to gratify your vanity, 
 at the expense of both. It at once afforded you an opportunity of 
 leaving an elegant monument of your taste in building behind you, 
 and giving the ministry an instance of your great influence and 
 address in your new government. You, therefore, regardless of 
 every moral, as well as legal obligation, changed the plan of a prov- 
 ince-house for that of a palace, worthy the residence of a prince of 
 the blood, and augmented the expense to fifteen thousand pounds. 
 Here, Sir, you betrayed your trust, disgracefully to the governor, 
 and dishonorably to the man. This liberal and ingenious stroke in 
 politics may, for all I know, have promoted you to the government 
 of New York. Promotions may have been the reward of such sort 
 of merit. Be this as it may, you reduced the next Assembly you 
 met to the unjust alternative of granting ten thousand pounds more, 
 or sinking the five thousand they had already granted. They chose 
 the former. It was most pleasing to the governor, but directly con- 
 trary to the sense of their constituents. This public imposition upon 
 a people, who, from poverty, were hardly able to pay the necessary 
 expenses of government, occasioned general discontent, which your 
 ^3:cellencyj with \yonderful ^ddress^ improved into a civil war. 
 
 '' In a colony without money, and among a people, almost desper- 
 ate with distress, public profusion should have been carefully avoid- 
 ed ; but unfortunately for the country, you were bred a soldier, and 
 have a natural, as well as acquired fondness for military parade. 
 You were intrusted to run a Cherokee boundary about ninety miles 
 in length ; this little service at once afforded you an opportunity of 
 exercising your military talents, and making a splendid exhibition 
 of yourself to the Indians. To a gentleman of your Excellency's 
 turn of mind, this was no unpleasing prospect ; you marched to per- 
 form it, in a time of profound peace, at the head of a company of 
 militia, in all the pomp of war, and returned with the honorable title, 
 conferred on you by the Cherokees, of Great Wolf of JVorih Caro- 
 lina. This line of marked trees, and your Excellency's prophetic 
 title, cost the province a greater sum than two pence a head, on all 
 the taxable persons in 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 representative, a gentle- 
 man honored with your Excellency's esteem. They foolishly charg- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 5g 
 
 ed 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 of law, and at that time the 
 criminals were amenable to legal process. Your Excellency and 
 your confidential friends, it seems, were of a different opinion. All 
 your duty could possibly require of you on this occasion, if it requir- 
 ed any thing at all, was to direct a prosecution against the offenders. 
 You should have carefully avoided becoming a party in the dispute. 
 But, Sir, your genius could not lie still ; you enlisted yourself a vol- 
 unteer in this service, and entered into a negotiation with the Regu- 
 lators, which at once disgraced you and encouraged them. They 
 despised the governor who had degraded his own character by tak- 
 ing part in a private quarrel, and insulted the man whom they con- 
 sidered as personally their enemy. The terms of accommodation 
 your Excellency had offered them were treated with contempt. 
 What they were, I never knew ; they could not have related to pub- 
 lic offences; these belong to another jurisdiction. All hopes of 
 settling the mighty contest by treaty ceasing, you prepared to de- 
 cide it by means more agreeable to your martial disposition, an ap- 
 peal to the sword. You took the field in September, 1768, at the 
 head of ten or twelve hundred men, and published an oral mani- 
 festo, the substance of which was, that you had taken up arms to 
 protect a superior court of justice from insult. Permit me here to 
 ask you. Sir, why you were apprehensive for the court ? Was the 
 court apprehensive for itself? Did the judges, or the attorney- 
 general, address your Excellency for protection ? So far from it, Sir, 
 if these gentlemen are to be believed, they never entertained the 
 least suspicion of any insult, unless it was that, which they after- 
 wards experienced from the undue influence you offered to extend 
 to them, and the railitaiy display of drums, colors, and guards, with 
 which they were suri'ounded and disturbed. How fully has your 
 conduct, on a like occasion since, testified, that you acted in this 
 instance from passion, and not from principle ! In September, 1770, 
 the Regulators forcibly obstructed the proceedings of Hillsborough 
 Superior Court, obliged the officers to leave it, and blotted out the 
 records. A little before the next term, when their contempt of 
 courts was sufficiently proved, you wrote an insolent letter to the 
 judges, and attorney-general, commanding them to attend to it. 
 Why did you not protect the court at this time ? You will blush at 
 
60 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 the answer, Sir. The conduct of the Regulators, at the preceding 
 term, made it more than probable that those gentlemen would be 
 insulted 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 the insult you and your friends had receiv- 
 ed, it would have been more generally credited in this country. The 
 men, for the trial of whom the court was thus extravagantly pro- 
 tected, of their own accord, squeezed through a crowd of soldiers, 
 and surrendered themselves, as if they were bound to do so by 
 their recognizance. 
 
 " Some of these people were convicted, fined, and imprisoned ; 
 which put an end to a piece of knight-errantry, equally aggravating 
 to the populace and burthensome to the country. On this occasion, 
 Sir, you were alike successful in the diffusion of a military spirit 
 through the colony and in the warlike exhibition you set before the 
 public ; you at once disposed the vulgar to hostilities, and proved the 
 legality of arming, in cases of dispute, by example. Thus warranted 
 by precedent and tempered by sympathy, popular discontent soon 
 became resentment and opposition ; revenge superseded justice, and 
 force the laws of the country ; courts of law were treated with con- 
 tempt, and government itself set at defiance. For upwards of two 
 months was the frontier part of the country left in a state of perfect 
 anarchy. Your Excellency then thought fit to consult the represen- 
 tatives of the people, who presented you a bill which you passed 
 into a law. The design of this act was to punish past riots in a new 
 jurisdiction, to create new offences and to secure the collection of 
 the public tax; which, ever since the province had been saddled 
 with a palace, the Regulators had refused to pay. The jurisdiction 
 for holding pleas of all capital offences was, by a former law, con- 
 fined to the particular district in which they were committed. This 
 act did not change that jurisdiction ; yet your Excellency, in the 
 fulness of your power, established a new one for the trial of such 
 crimes in a different district. Whether you did this through ignor- 
 ance or design can only be determined in your own breast ; it was 
 equally violative of a sacred right, every British subject is entitled 
 to, of being tried by his neighbours, and a positive law of the prov- 
 ince you yourself had ratified. In this foreign jurisdiction, bills of 
 indictment were preferred, and found, as well for felonies as riots 
 against a number of Regulators ; they refused to surrender them- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 61 
 
 selves within the time limited by the riot act, and your Excellency 
 opened your third campaign. These indictments charged the crimes 
 to have been committed in Orange county, in a distinct district from 
 that in which the court was held. The superior court law prohibits 
 prosecution for capital offences in any other district, than that in 
 which they were committed. What distinctions the gentlemen of 
 the long robe might make on such an occasion I do not know, but it 
 appears to me those indictments might as well have been found in 
 your Excellency's kitchen ; and give me leave to tell you. Sir, that 
 a man is not bound to answer to a charge that a court has no author- 
 ity to make, nor doth the law punish a neglect to perform that, 
 which it does not command. The riot act declared those only out- 
 lawed who refused to answer to indictments legally found. Those 
 who had been capitally charged were illegally indicted, and could 
 not be outlaws; yet- your Excellency proceeded against them as 
 such. I mean to expose your blunders, not to defend their con- 
 duct ; that was as insolent and daring as the desperate state your 
 administration had reduced them 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 honor. For 
 once your military talents were useful to the province ; you bravely 
 met in the field, and vanquished, an host of scoundrels, whom you 
 had made intrepid by abuse. It seems difHcult to determine. Sir, 
 whether your Excellency is more to be admired for your skill in 
 creating the cause, or your bravery in suppressing the effect. This 
 single action would have blotted out for ever half the evils of your 
 administration ; but alas, Sir ! the conduct of the general after his 
 victory, was more disgraceful to the hero who obtained it, than that 
 of 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 state of 
 insanity ? The execution of James Few was inhuman ; that miser- 
 able wretch has entitled to life till nature, or the laws of his country, 
 deprived him of it. The battle of the Allemance was over; the sol- 
 dier was crowned with success, and the peace of the province restor- 
 ed. There was no necessity for the infamous example of an arbi- 
 trary execution, without judge or jury. I can freely forgive you, 
 Sir, for killing Robert Thompson, at the beginning of the battle ; he 
 was your prisoner, and was making his escape to fight against you. 
 The laws of self-preservation sanctified the action, and justly entitle 
 your Excellency to an act of indemnity. 
 
 6 
 
62 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 " The sacrifice of Few, under its criminal circumstances, could 
 neither atone for his crime nor abate your rage; this task was 
 reserved for his unhappy parents. Your vengeance, Sir, in this 
 instance, it seems, moved in a retrograde direction to that proposed 
 in the second commandment against idolaters ; you visited the sins 
 of the child upon the father, and, for want of the third and fourth 
 generation to extend it to, collaterally divided it between brothers 
 and sisters. The heavy affliction, with which the untimely death of 
 a son had burthened his parents, was sufficient to have cooled the 
 resentment of any man, whose heart was susceptible of the feelings 
 of 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 favor of them, and unrelent- 
 ingly destroy, as far as you could, the means of their future exist- 
 ence .? It was cruel, Sir, and unworthy a soldier. 
 
 " Your conduct to others after your success, whether it respected 
 person or property, was as lawless as it was unnecessarily expensive 
 to the colony. When your Excellency had exemplified the power of 
 government in the death of a hundred Regulators, the survivors, to 
 a man, became proselytes to government; they readily swallowed 
 your new-coined oath, to be obedient to the laws of the province, 
 and to pay the public taxes. It is a pity. Sir, that, in devising this 
 oath, you had not attended to the morals of those people. You might 
 easily have restrained every criminal inclination, and have made 
 them good men, as well as good subjects. The battle of the Alle- 
 mance had equally disposed them to moral and to political conver- 
 sion ; there was no necessity. Sir, when the people were reduced to 
 obedience, to ravage the country, or to insult individuals. 
 
 " Had your Excellency nothing else in view than to enforce a sub- 
 mission to the laws of the country, you might safely have disbanded 
 the army within ten days after your victory ; in that time the chiefs 
 of the Regulators were run away, and their deluded followers had 
 returned to their homes. Such a measure would have saved the 
 province twenty thousand pounds at least. But, Sir, you had farther 
 employment for the army ; you were, by an extraordinary bustle in 
 administering oaths, and disarming the country, to give a serious 
 appearance of rebellion to the outrage of a mob ; you were to aggra- 
 vate the importance of your own services by changing a general 
 dislike of your administration into disaffection to his Majesty's per- 
 son and government, and the riotous conduct that dislike had occa- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 63 
 
 sioned into premeditated rebellion. This scheme, Sir, is really an 
 ingenious one ; if it succeeds, you may possibly be rewarded for 
 your services with the honor of knighthood. 
 
 " From the 16th of May to the 16th of June, you were busied in 
 securing the allegiance of rioters, and levying contributions of beef 
 and flour. You occasionally amused yourself with burning a few 
 houses, treading down corn, insulting the suspected, and holding 
 courts-martial. These courts took cognizance of civil as well as 
 military offences, and even extended their jurisdiction to ill-breeding 
 and want of good manners. One Johnston, who was a reputed 
 Regulator, but whose greatest crime, 1 believe, was writing an impu- 
 dent letter to your lady, was sentenced, in one of these military 
 courts, to receive five hundred lashes, and received two hundred and 
 fifty of them accordingly. But, Sir, however exceptionable your 
 conduct may have 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 act of Assembly, of twelve months' duration. That 
 act had, in great tenderness to his Majesty's subjects, converted 
 riots into treasons. A rigorous and punctual execution of it was as 
 unjust, as it was politically unnecessary. The terror of the exam- 
 ples now proposed to be made under it was to expire, with the law, 
 in less than nine months after. The sufferings of these people could 
 therefore amount to little more than mere punishment to themselves. 
 Their offences were derived from public and from private imposi- 
 tions ; and they were the followers, not the leaders, in the crimes 
 tliey had committed. Never were criminals more justly entitled to 
 every lenity the law could afford them ; but. Sir, no consideration 
 could abate your zeal in a cause you had transferred from yourself 
 to your sovereign. You shamefully exerted every influence of your 
 character against the lives of these people. As soon as you were 
 told that an indulgence of one day had been granted by the court to 
 two men to send for witnesses, who actually established their inno- 
 cence, and saved their lives, you sent an aid-de-^camp to the judges 
 and attorney-general, to acquaint them that you were dissatified with 
 the inactivity of their conduct, and threatened to represent them 
 unfavorably in England, if they did not proceed with more spirit and 
 despatch. Had the court submitted to influence, all testimony on 
 the part of the prisoners would have been excluded ; they must 
 have b§en condemned, to a man. You said that your solicitude for 
 
64 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 the condemnation of these people arose from your desire of mani- 
 festing the lenity of government in their pardon. How have your 
 actions contradicted your words ! Out of twelve that were condemn- 
 ed, the lives of six only were spared. Do you know, Sir, that your 
 lenity on this occasion was less than that of the bloody Jeffries in 
 1685 ? He condemned five hundred persons, but saved the lives of 
 two hundred 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 content with the silent display of colors only. The disgrace- 
 ful part you acted in this ceremony, of pointing out the spot for 
 erecting the gallows, and clearing the field around for drawing up 
 the army in form, has left a ridiculous idea of your character behind 
 you, which bears a strong resemblance to that of a busy undertaker 
 at a funeral. This scene closed your Excellency's administration in 
 this country, to the great joy of every man in it, 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 object of pity and 
 contempt to the wise and serious, and of jest and ridicule to the 
 ludicrous and sarcastic. Truly pitiable, Sir, is the pale and trembling 
 impatience of your temper. No character, however distinguished 
 for wisdom and virtue, can sanctify the least degree of contradiction 
 to your political opinions. On such occasions, Sir, in a rage, you 
 renounce the character of a gentleman, and precipitately mark the 
 most exalted merit with every disgrace the haughty insolence of a 
 governor can inflict upon it. To this unhappy temper. Sir, may be 
 ascribed most of the absurdities of your administration in this coun- 
 try. It deprived you of every assistance men of spirit and abilities 
 could have given you, and left you, with all your passions and inex- 
 perience about you, to blunder through the duties of your office, 
 supported and approved by the most profound ignorance and abject 
 servility. 
 
 " Your pride has as often exposed you to ridicule, as the rude 
 petulance of your disposition has to contempt. Your solicitude 
 about the title of Her Excellency for Mrs. Tryon, and the arrogant 
 reception you gave to a respectable company at an entertainment of 
 your own making, seated with your lady by your side on elbow- 
 
GOVERNOR TRYON. 65 
 
 chairs, in the middle of the ball-room, bespeak a littleness of mind, 
 which, believe me, Sir, when blended with the dignity and impor- 
 tance of your office, renders you truly ridiculous. 
 
 " High stations have often proved fatal to those who have been 
 promoted to them ; yours, Sir, has proved so to you. Had you been 
 contented to pass through life in a subordinate military character ; 
 with the private virtues you have, you might have lived serviceable 
 to your country, and reputable to yourself) but, Sir, when, with 
 every disqualifying circumstance, you took upon you the govern- 
 ment of a province, though you gratified your ambition, you made a 
 sacrifice of yourself. 
 
 " Yours, &c. 
 
 "ATTICUS." 
 
 Note to Chapter First. 
 
 The most indispensable duty of a writer of history is to give au- 
 thority for what he states ; but I have been compelled in the first 
 chapter to omit it. The pages of Martin would sustain all I have 
 written ; but then he gives no particular reference to any authority 
 whatever, except a general enumeration at the close of each chap- 
 ter. I examined Martin's " History of the Revolution,^' during the 
 last summer, with the Council Journal before me, and found him 
 generally accurate. Indeed, he actually copied in his text the very 
 language of all the manuscript he consulted ; and yet he is some- 
 times in error, as in the case of the death of Judge Berry, whom he 
 represents as living during the Wilmington sedition in the month of 
 February, whereas he committed suicide on the first of January, 
 1766. The remote cause of his death was a duel, but not the one 
 stated by Martin. The proceedings of the Assembly of 17C5 have 
 been taken out of the office of the Secretary of State by some Gothic 
 plunderer ; and, as the most rigid scrutiny should be instituted for 
 their recovery, I can only say, that Judge Martin seems to have 
 once examined them, and that that circumstance will serve to note 
 a period when they did exist. 
 
 I have a letter from Colonel John Ashe to John Harvey, dated 
 the 3d of August, 1765, in which the excitement of that period is 
 noticed and a mention made of the sudden prorogation of the 
 Assembly. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 JosiAH Martin had attained to the rank of Major in 
 the British army, when he was appointed Governor of 
 North Carolina. The Royal government, besides the ex- 
 ecutive officer and the Assembly, comprised a Council, 
 the members of which were recommended by the Gov- 
 erilor, and appointed by the King. It may be proper 
 at this time, to enumerate the members of that body, dur- 
 ing the administration of Martin. They constituted the 
 Upper House of the Legislature, and were dignified with 
 the title of " The Honorable The Council. " The Presi- 
 dent of the Council was the one first named in the King's 
 instructions, and was, in the absence of a Lieutenant-Gov- 
 ernor, the second officer of the government. The great 
 error in the constitution of the Council, was its depend- 
 ence on the executive, by virtue of his recommendatory 
 power in the appointment of its members. Intended as a 
 check on the other departments of the government, it thus 
 became but the tool of the Governor, and soon lost the 
 confidence of the people. I have attentively examined 
 the Council Journal of Tryon and Martin, and have observ- 
 ed but few instances of difference of opinion, between the 
 Governor and Council. The Council always advised as 
 they supposed the Governor desired, and acted even in 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 67 
 
 their legislative capacity, as the merest servants of his 
 will. 
 
 The Council. 
 James Hasell, Sir Nathaniel Duckinfield, Bart. 
 
 Lewis Henry De Rossett, John Sampson, 
 Alexander McCulloh, William Dry, 
 Samuel Cornell, Martin Howard, 
 
 Marmaduke Jones, Samuel Strudwick, 
 
 John Rutherford, Thomas MeGuire. 
 
 By their advice, the Goveinor convened, prorogued, 
 and dissolved the Assembly, and, while they were 
 in a legislative capacity, he exercised alone the pre- 
 rogative of a veto. And yet even an act of the pop- 
 ular House, that was fortunate enough to pass the or- 
 deal of a subservient Council, and escape the supercilious 
 veto of the Governor, was after all liable to the Royal dis- 
 sent. The voice of the people was indeed effectually 
 smothered in the intricate arrangement of such a govern- 
 ment. But the physical power was at last in their body. 
 The abstract right of rebellion, resistance, or nullification, 
 may be denied them, but their will is in the end the 
 source of force and of power. 
 
 In the course of this chapter, I shall discuss the various 
 quarrels between the Governor, and the popular House, 
 which distracted his administration to the last ; and I deem it 
 necessary here to remark, that I have examined the manu- 
 script volumes of the proceedings of the Assembly, in the 
 office of the Secretary of State. I am so much indebted to 
 those massive volumes, as well as to the Council Journal, * 
 that I here in the beginning acknowledge the obligation. 
 
 * There is no way of citing these books, there being no figures to 
 the pages. I have quoted by dates in the text, which will serve the 
 purpose of reference. 
 
68 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 This, together with other incidental matter, will bring 
 the history of Martin's administration down to the 1st of 
 April, 1774. 
 
 The battle of Allemance was fought on the 1 6th of May ; 
 and although this victory suppressed the rebellion of the 
 Regulation, yet it did not destroy the existence of that party, 
 which will still occasionally appear as one element, in the 
 general dissatisfaction of the people. Their leaders after 
 their defeat, had fled beyond the reach of the vengeance 
 of Tryon, and the people had returned to their homes, 
 and the peaceable cuhivation of their farms. The re- 
 spectability of their numbers, as well as the violent strife of 
 the late contest, had impressed the government with some 
 degree of respect for their complaints. The first official 
 duty of Governor Martin was to notice the Regulators, 
 and to denounce in a proclamation the frauds and extor- 
 tions of the officers of the Province. The conduct of his 
 Excellency was mild and conciliatory, and even this lauda- 
 ble humanity alienated the affections of many of the 
 most eminent adherents of his predecessor. The vio- 
 lence of the Regulation had engendered irreconcilable 
 difficulties among the xanks of the people, and generated 
 a spirit of persecution, more injurious than even the rav- 
 ages of the rival armies. The proclamation of the Gover- 
 nor extinguished this licentious spirit, and extended an as- 
 surance of the protection of the law to all who should be 
 oppressed by the extortions of its officers. 
 
 The meagre page of Williamson imputes the vulgar feel- 
 ings of envy and jealousy to Governor JMartin, as the mo- 
 tives of his clemency, and accuses him of censuring the 
 administration of Governor Tryon, as a means of securing 
 the loyalty of the Regulators.* The popularity or 
 
 * Williamson's North Carolina, Vol. II., p. 163. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 69 
 
 power of Tryon was well illustrated by the magnifi- 
 cence of his palace, the devotion of the popular House 
 of the Assembly, and the submissive obedience of the 
 people in the eastern section of the State. For more than 
 five years, he was supported by the coordinate branches 
 of the government in a career of extravagance and ex- 
 tortion, which would, even at the present day, provoke the 
 resistance of the people, and the wnsdom and humanity, 
 and not the vulgar ambition, of Governor Martin was ex- 
 hibited in a condemnation of his course. A story was in- 
 dustriously circulated among the Regulators, that their 
 complaints and sufferings had reached the Throne, and 
 that Tryon had been removed from the enjoyment of the 
 luxury of his splendid palace, as a mark of royal censure ; 
 and this fiction, confirmed by the conduct of Martin, pro- 
 duced a singular revolution of parties throughout the Prov- 
 ince. From the most inveterate hatred and opposition, 
 the Regulators were converted to an enthusiastic support 
 of the Provincial government, and, " with alt the zeal, 
 which new and fiery converts (eel^'^ embraced the standard 
 of the King. 
 
 Such were the propitious omens that distinguished the 
 entrance of Governor Martin on the duties of his office. 
 On the 19th of November, the Assembly in its second 
 session, met, for the first time, the newly appointed Gover- 
 nor, and reciprocated the con,2;ratulations and compliments, 
 which adorned his first official speech.* Richard Caswell, 
 who had been elected speaker of the popular House at 
 its former session, was again at his post, and in that situa- 
 
 * Journal of the 2nd session of the Assembly of 1770 and 1771 ' 
 in the office of the Secretary of State at Raleigh. 
 
70 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 ation was as much an object of public attention, as the chief 
 magistrate hitnself. One of the generals of Governor 
 Tryon, in the war of the Regulation, he had been distin- 
 guished by the personal friendship and confidence of his su- 
 perior, and enjoyed all the advantages and distinctions in- 
 cident to such an honor. In the same body was John Ashe, 
 who was likewise one of the generals of Tryon, and whose 
 wounds* in the battle of Allemance, though not so fatal, were 
 more numerous, than those of any of the heroes of that day. 
 He had played a conspicuous part in the opposition to the 
 Stamp Act, and was the leader of the people against Gover- 
 nor Tryon in the celebrated Wilmington sedition, on the oc- 
 casion of the arrival of the Stamp ship in January, 1766. 
 Hugh Waddell, too, was a member of the popular House 
 of this Assembly, and was a coadjutor * of John Ashe 
 in the Wilmington sedition, as well as in the Regulation. 
 He was the most distinguished soldier of the Province, 
 and had acquired great reputation as a skilful and brave 
 commander in the great French war. Cornelius Harnett, 
 " the Samuel Adams of North Carolina," represented the 
 town of Wilmington, Samuel Johnston the county of Chow- 
 an, Willie Jones the town of Halifax, Joseph Hewes the 
 town of Edenton, Abner Nash the county of Halifax, and 
 John Harvey the county of Perquimons.f These, too, 
 with the exception of the latter gendeman, had strictly 
 adhered to the party of Tryon during the Regulation, and 
 publicly lamented his removal to New York, as a calamity 
 to the Province, over which he had so long presided. 
 Such being the character of the popular House, a pru- 
 
 * Martin's History of North Carolina, Vol. II. pp. 210, 211. 
 t Journal of the Assembly of 1770 and 1771, 2nd session. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 71 
 
 dent politician would observe the danger of any other 
 course, than an unqualified approval of the administration 
 of Tryon j and the speech of Governor Martin accordingly 
 alluded to " the lustre of his predecessor's character," and 
 solicited " the generous and loyal support which had been 
 yielded to that gentleman." The Regulators, however, 
 were not without a representation, even in this session of 
 the Assembly. Herman Husband, their chief and general, 
 had been elected a member at the last election, and serv- 
 ed a part of the session ; but on his defeat at Allemance, 
 he had fled beyond the limits of the Province, and was at 
 this time the subject of a Proclamation of outlawry. 
 Thomas Person, however, was still a member of the 
 House from Granville. In the sagacity and intrepidity of 
 this extraordinary man, the principles of liberty, and not 
 the principles of a party, found a fearless and efficient 
 advocate. He was the champion of the whig principles 
 of North Carolina, from the passage of the Stamp Act to 
 the terminaton of the Revolution, and adhered to the cause 
 of the people in every emergency. He was a leading 
 Regulator; and, although overcome* by the defeat of his 
 party at Allemance, and personally insulted by the minions 
 and understrappers of Tryon, he still maintained the consis- 
 tency and dignity of his character, more by his own ener- 
 gy and the love of the people, than by the favor or mer- 
 cy of his opponents. Associated with him as a member 
 of the House, was Maurice Moore, one of the Judges of 
 the Superior Court of the Province, a citizen, who was 
 remarkable for his love of learning and liberty, and who 
 was known to have sympathized with the Regulators. 
 
 * I do not mean to say that he was at the battle of Allemance. 
 
72 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 In the great riot at Hillsborough, in September, 1770, when 
 Martin Howard was driven from the Bench, and Ed- 
 mund Fanning personally chastised, the rioters respected 
 the character of Judge Moore, and this is not the only- 
 evidence of his sympathy with the party of Thomas Per- 
 son. Husband, in his History of the Regulation, publishes 
 a letter from Judge Moore to Fanning, in which he de- 
 nies the charge that he had encouraged the rebellion, al- 
 though the author had prefaced the letter with a decla- 
 ration, that he had encouraged it, and that the Tryon 
 party were endeavouring to frighten him out of his pur- 
 pose. The number of members of the House favorable 
 to the Regulation was too few to constitute a regular party, 
 and the prudence of the two leaders was exercised in 
 preserving those that remained from the persecution of 
 their enemies. In the course of these observations, I 
 have intentionally omitted the names of two of the most 
 decided Whigs of the House, men whose chivalry will be 
 celebrated in another portion of this volume, and whose 
 patriotism was then, as afterwards in 1775, prover- 
 bial. Thomas Polk and Abraham Alexander repre- 
 sented the county of Mecklenburg, in the popular house of 
 this Assembly. The first conceived the independence of 
 his country, and first avowed the propriety of dissolving 
 the political bonds, which connected us with the mother 
 country, of abjuring all political connexion with a nation 
 that had wantonly trampled on our rights and liberties, 
 and inhumanly shed the innocent blood of Americans at 
 Lexington. The other citizen and patriot presided over 
 the deliberations of the Convention, which, on the 20th 
 of May, 1775, proclaimed these opinions as the sense 
 of the people of Mecklenburg. Such names could not be 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 73 
 
 enumerated in a computation of the strength of the Whig 
 party in any other State, although even these are not no- 
 ticed by any of " the historians of the adjacent States." 
 
 I now propose to submit a few observations, on the 
 proceedings of the popular House of the Assembly, whereof 
 those, whom I have mentioned, were leading members. 
 The veil of oblivion, in accordance with the recommenda- 
 tion of Governor Martin, was drawn over the past unhappy 
 troubles, and all the animosities and distinctions, which 
 they created. The indomitable spirit of Thomas Person 
 would, however, occasionally exhibit itself, whenever the 
 interest or character of the Regulators was in danger. 
 Maurice Moore, whom I have mentioned as Judge, as 
 well as a member of the House, petitioned for leave of 
 absence to attend his court at Wilmington, when Thomas 
 Person objected to it, and with a few of his personal friends 
 succeeded in detaining his old coadjutor as a member of the 
 House. Person seemed to have been under an apprehen- 
 sion, that a loss of the presence and influence of Judge 
 Moore would leave him in the hands of his enemies, 
 and enable them to visit on his head some of the worn- 
 out denunciations of Governor Tryon. The House re- 
 solved, however, to record the names of those who voted 
 against the leave of absence to Judge Moore ; and it stands 
 recorded on the Journal of the second session of the popu- 
 lar House of the Assembly of 1770 and 1771, that Thomas 
 Person, Griffith Rutherford, William Moore, Thomas Neil), 
 James Picket, Robert Lanier, and Isaac Brooks were the 
 nays on that simple question. On the 28th of November, 
 Judge Moore introduced a bill in favor of the Regulators, 
 which proposed a general pardon of all who had been 
 concerned in said rebellion, and to prevent vexatious suits 
 7 
 
74 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 and prosecutions ; and the favorable reception of the bill 
 by the House may be considered the final termination of 
 that protracted controversy. 
 
 There was one question mooted during this session of 
 the Assembly, the discussion of which fortunately separated 
 Richard Caswell, Thomas Person, and the popular House, 
 as a distinct party from the Governor and his friends. 
 The people of the Province had, for many years, suffered 
 the most intolerable oppression on account of the entire 
 absence of a sound circulating medium ; and this public 
 grievance, together with the oppressions of the officers of 
 the government, was the subject of the complaints of the 
 Regulators. A statement of the public funds being exhib- 
 ited by Mr. Burgwin, it appeared that the public officers 
 had collected a larger amount for the redemption of the bills 
 issued by the Assemblies of 1748 and 1754, than even 
 their nominal value, and that there w^as still a balance in 
 favor of the people of more than four thousand pounds. 
 With this statement before them, the popular House pass- 
 ed a bill discontinuing the poll tax, and the duty on liquors, 
 which had been laid to raise a fund for the assumption of 
 the ^^ paper ^^ issued, and directed, in the same bill, the 
 immediate redemption of the ^^ paper, ^'' which was still in 
 circulation. 
 
 The fact that so large an amount of money had been 
 collected under the pretence of redeeming the '^ paper ^^ is- 
 sued, seemed to have been for the first time disclosed. 
 The bill to discontinue these illegal taxes was introduced 
 by Samuel Johnston of Edenton, and was immediately 
 and unanimously passed. The Council, too, (not how- 
 ever without a division) passed the bill ; but when the 
 House presented it for the assent of the Governor, he re- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 75 
 
 jected it. This seeming inattention to the distresses of the 
 people was noticed by the House in the more official form 
 of a resolution, declaring, that the aforesaid taxes and du- 
 ties had served the purposes for which they were imposed, 
 and ought to be discontinued. The Governor dissolved the 
 Assembly on the 23d of December, the day on which the 
 resolution of the House had been adopted, and, on the 
 29th of January succeeding, issued a proclamation, in the 
 peroration of which he charged the officers to disobey the 
 instructions of the popular House, and to execute the acts 
 of 1748 and 1754, until they should be repealed formally 
 and according to law. The party distinctions, drawn by the 
 agitation of this question, lasted during the continuance 
 of the government, and, under the guidance of Johnston, 
 Caswell, Person, and their coadjutors, soon acquired 
 strength and boldness sufficient to assail the existence of 
 the Royal government. 
 
 (1772.) The year 1772 was spent by Governor 
 Martin in visiting the different sections of the Province ; 
 and, if these gubernatorial tours had been prompted by a 
 better motive than a love of pomp and the gratification 
 of a vulgar pride, the ignorance, which he subsequently 
 displayed of the spirit of the people over whom he was 
 placed, might have been less conspicuous. The year roll- 
 ed over without a meeting of the Assembly ; and the only 
 political event, which occurred in the Province, was the 
 election of members to the popular House. Such was 
 the triumph of the Whig party, that in many of the counties 
 there was no opposition to the election of the old leaders, 
 nor could the Governor be said to possess a party, power- 
 ful enough to affect either an election before the people, or 
 the passage of a bill before the Assembly. Fully aware 
 
76 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 of the gloomy prospect before him, -— the friends of Tryon 
 incensed at his abundant censure of the policy of that offi- 
 cer's administration, and Thomas Person and Maurice 
 Moore, the two idolaters of liberty, too pure to be gained, 
 either by his flatteries or his bribes, — Martin, with the ad- 
 vice of the Council, avoided the violence of the storm by an 
 extension of the period for the meeting of the Assembly. 
 The writs of election were returnable on the 1 1th of May, 
 and, only a few days before the time for its meeting, the 
 Assembly was prorogued to the lOth of December. 
 
 In the mean time, his Excellency had executed a com- 
 mission of the King by the appointment of commissioners 
 to run the southward boundary line of the Province, which 
 measure had been expressly forbidden by the popular 
 House, and a committee, consisting of Cornelius Harnett, 
 Robert Howe, and Maurice Moore, appointed to prepare an 
 address to his Majesty on the ruinous consequences of such 
 a step. The reply of Martin to the refusal of the House to 
 make the appropriation necessary for the execution of the 
 commission, expressed a deep regret, lest the King should 
 be displeased that his royal and solemn determination 
 should be disregarded, and promised to lay faithfully be- 
 fore his Royal Majesty the representations of the House. 
 This latter clause, especially as his own influence at court 
 which was represented, in the message of refusal, as being 
 beyond all calculation, was earnestly invoked, was construed 
 by the House as a promise not to proceed to the execu- 
 tion of the commission, until their representations received 
 the consideration of the Throne. This course, so well calcu- 
 lated to harass the already excited feelings of the leading 
 men of every party, was viewed by the friends of Gover- 
 nor Tryon, as an insidious effort of Martin to disparage 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 77 
 
 the reputation of their old general. The boundary line 
 proposed to be run was the conception of Lord Charles 
 Montague, * who, in 1768, proposed it to Tryon, as 
 the permanent boundary of the two Carolinas. Tryon 
 not only condemned it as ruinous to his own Province, but 
 wrote to the Secretary of State, setting forth his objec- 
 tions at large. In the year 1770, however, Lord Mon- 
 tague contrived to obtain the commission, which Gover- 
 nor Martin was so eager to execute, and which Governor 
 Tryon had so frequently, and indeed so justly, condemn- 
 ed, as a calamity to the Province. It was a gross de- 
 ception of the House to assure them that their representa- 
 tions should reach the Throne, and an unauthorized stretch 
 of power to proceed to execute such a commission, before 
 those representations had received the King's disallowance. 
 The Province was condemned unheard, not only by the 
 ministers at home, but by its own chief magistrate. Thus 
 the prospects of the Governor grew darker and darker, as 
 the period for the meeting of the Assembly approached. 
 Starting, as it were, from the unbroken phalanx, which 
 seemed already arrayed, he again shrunk from the contest, 
 and prorogued the Assembly to the 6th of January, 1773. 
 (1773.) The new Assembly did not, however, convene 
 in New Berne until the 25th of January, and the popular 
 House illustrated its political character by the election of 
 John Harvey, one of the most distinguished Whigs of the 
 Province, to the ofRce of Speaker. I can but admire the 
 quaint, and yet dignified manner, in which the popular 
 House was at that period organized. The first step after 
 the qualification of the members (which was always done 
 
 * Council Journal of Tryon, in 1768. 
 7* 
 
78 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 in the presence of two of the Council, appointed on that 
 duty by the Governor,) was to depute two of the members 
 to wait on his Excellency, and inform him, that they had 
 qualified, and awaited his commands. The.next step was 
 a verbal message from the Governor, by his private Secre- 
 tary, requiring their immediate attendance in the palace. 
 The whole body then proceeded to the palace, and en- 
 joyed a most fashionable call of a few moinents, after 
 which the Governor would direct them to return, and 
 make choice of a Speaker. The next step was, " Mr. 
 Richard Caswell proposed and set up John Harvey, Es- 
 quire, who was unanimously chosen Speaker, and placed 
 in the chair accordingly." Two members again visited the 
 palace, and desired to know when they should wait on his 
 Excellency, to present their Speaker, and always received 
 in reply, that he would send a message when he would 
 receive them. 
 
 In a few moments (as in the present case with Mr. Big- 
 gleston), the private Secretary arrived, requiring their im- 
 mediate attendance in the palace. The House then pro- 
 ceeded as directed, and formally presented their Speaker, 
 " whom His Excellency was pleased to approve." " Then 
 Mr. Speaker requested His Excellency to confirm the 
 rights and privileges of the House, that no mistake or 
 error of his might be imputed to the House ; to which 
 His Excellency was pleased to answer, he would support 
 the House in all their just rights and privileges, and then 
 made a speech to his Majesty's Council and the House." 
 On the return of the members, the Speaker informed them 
 that His Excellency had made a speech to the Council 
 and the House, a copy of which, to prevent mistakes, he 
 had procured, and begged leave to lay before them. The 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 79 
 
 speech was then read, and a committee appointed to prepare 
 an address in answer, and then, and then only, the House 
 proceeded to the despatch of public business. How com- 
 pletely have, not only the principles, but the empty and inno- 
 cent forms of the British Government shrunk before the 
 renovating spirit of our great revolution ! Ever changing 
 as it is, the lapse of a century may leave for the curiosity of 
 the antiquarian, the habits and opinions of those whose old 
 age is associated with the recollections of our childhood. 
 The most heroic deeds, the consequence of which would be 
 felt for ages in any other clime, are acted only to be forgot- 
 ten, and like the fashions of legislation, or of dress, yield 
 to the new and startling things that flash around us. 
 
 To the new Assembly, the organization of which I have 
 thus detailed, many of those whose names I have enume- 
 rated as leading members of the House in 1771, were 
 returned. Tliomas Polk and Abraham Alexander were 
 not members of this Assembly, the first having been em- 
 ployed in the service of die Governor, and the latter not 
 having solicited the suffrages of the people. The county of 
 Mecklenburg was, in this Assembly, represented by Martin 
 Phifer and John Davidson ; and at this period, too, Wil- 
 liam Hooper made his appearance as a member from the 
 rotten borough of Campbelton. The character of this 
 eminent patriot seemed to have been well appreciated, 
 even at this early day. He was, in conjunction with Cas- 
 well and Howe of Brunswick, appointed on a committee to 
 prepare the answer of the House to the speech of the Gov- 
 ernor, and was the chairman of the committee on the Court 
 system, the most important station, next to the Speak- 
 er's chair, to wliich a member could be called. On the 
 28th of January he introduced a bill for the relief of in- 
 
80 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 solvent debtors, in which he proposed to qualify the law 
 for the imprisonment of their persons. During the whole 
 session he was considered one of the leading members, 
 and esteemed as a valuable acquisition to the Whig party in 
 the House. 
 
 The great power entrusted to the Royal Governors by 
 the authority of the King, and the exercise of which so fre- 
 quently trammelled the legislation of the popular House, was 
 a source of incessant and angry contention. The right of 
 an absolute veto on the acts of the Assembly was a power 
 sufficiently vexatious, and, combined with that of pro- 
 roguing or dissolving at pleasure the whole Assembly, 
 made him virtually the sovereign of the Province. In 
 this Assembly, as in all others for the previous twenty 
 years, opposition to such a right was the test of " loyalty to 
 the people " ; and by various means the leading Whigs of 
 the State had, during that time, striven to fortify the Assem- 
 bly and the courts against the encroachment of this para- 
 lytic power. A bill was introduced by Robert Howe of 
 Brunswick, aimed at this prerogative of the Governor, and 
 which proposed to establish triennial Assemblies, and to 
 regulate elections. The proposition of course stood no 
 chance of becoming a law, whilst the Governor retained 
 the right of a veto, although such was the ardent and 
 unanimous desire of the people of the Province. But, if the 
 too frequent exercise of these high powers restrained the 
 action of the popular House, the Governor not unfrequently 
 found the refusal of the assent of that body, in cases where 
 it was indispensable, such as appropriations, a source of 
 great mortification, and sometimes of official degradation. 
 On the 17th of February, "a claim upon the public, for 
 one hundred and seventy-two pounds, ten shillings, being 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 81 
 
 presented to the House in behalf of Thomas Polk, for 
 services, said to be done this colony, as surveyor, in run- 
 ning the dividing line between North and South Carolina, 
 the House, having taken the same into consideration, 
 Resolved, That, as the last Assembly so fully expressed 
 the sense they had of the injury that would accrue to this 
 colony, should the line then proposed to be run be carried 
 into execution, and as this House are actuated by the 
 same sentiments, they cannot by any means consider any 
 persons employed in that service, as the servants of this 
 community, and consequently cannot think them entided to 
 any allowance from this colony for lending aid to execute 
 a measure so detrimental to its interest." '^ This extract 
 will explain, not only the inflexibility of the House, but the 
 cunning of the Governor. In executing the commission 
 he had appointed a man, distinguished for his great popu- 
 larity, both in the House and among the people, and hoped, 
 by thrusting his claims forward, to obtain an acknowledg- 
 ment of the claims of the other commissioners, through the 
 influence of the name of Thomas Polk. The House, how- 
 ever, sustained the ground taken by their predecessors ; nor 
 did even Mr. Polk escape without the reprimand contained 
 in the last clause of the extract. At a later period of the ses- 
 sion, the Governor, by a message, insisted on the allowance 
 of the claims of the commissioners, and promised his in- 
 fluence at court, which he had been persuaded was immense, 
 to procure an abandonment of the boundaries established 
 in the commission. The House, however, still maintained 
 its purpose, and the Governor was left to his own resources 
 to compensate (if he did compensate) the board of com- 
 
 * Journal of the Assembly of 1773, February I7th. 
 
82 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 missioners. In this he learnt a salutary lesson, that the voice 
 of those over whom he presided must be respected, and 
 that arbitrary power must, with its own means, support its 
 own high-handed acts. 
 
 On the 27th of February, Governor Martin intrc^duced 
 to the notice of the House the pecuniary losses of the ce- 
 lebrated Edmund Fanning, a name remarkable in the 
 annals of the State, for all the vices that degrade the most 
 abandoned and profligate minion. To his wicked abuse 
 of the responsible office of Recorder of Deeds for the coun- 
 ty of Orange, a station which he held during the whole 
 period of the administration of Governor Tryon, the war 
 of the Regulation was more than to any other cause indebt- 
 ed for its origin. By the success of his viciods designs, 
 nearly all the estates of Orange were loaded with doubts 
 as to their titles, with exorbitant fees for recording the 
 new and unnecessary deeds, and high taxes to support a 
 government which protected his wickedness. Amidst the 
 ravages of the Regulation, as might have been expected, 
 neither his person nor his property was respected ; and,., 
 after the battle of Allemance, he commenced suits against 
 divers persons '' for the great injuries done his property 
 during that unhappy rebellion." Governor Martin, whose- 
 clemency towards the Regulators 1 h^ve already remarked, 
 fearing (to use his own language) lest those suits might have 
 a tendency to keep alive the dissension, did recommend 
 it to that gentleman to withdraw his prosecutions, and to 
 expect reparation from the equity of the legislature. Such,, 
 however, was the odium of his name, that Mr. Fanning's. 
 claim was peremptorily refused, and the Governor ifl formed 
 that it it was inconsistent with the dignity of the House to> 
 give such importance to Mr. Fanning's private losses, as 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 83 
 
 to make them the subject of public deliberation. His 
 name, I am of opinion, is not again associated with the 
 events of our history, save in the confiscation act of 1777. 
 In the course of this session, the vexed question of a 
 Court law was agitated, and a bill, framed upon liberal 
 principles, adopted by the popular House. No subject in 
 the whole political history of North Carolina was ever the 
 source of more contention, than the Court system under 
 the Royal Governors. For more than twenty years be- 
 fore the Revolution, the popular House and the Governors 
 were divided on the details of a bill to establish Courts of 
 Law. The courts, when established, were limited to the 
 existence of a few years, at the expiration of which time 
 the violence of the strife again commenced. The con- 
 troversy harassed the declining years of Governor Dobbs 
 in 1762, was again renewe in 1768, and was, now 
 for the last time, the source of contention between the 
 people and the Royal Governor. The essence of this 
 controversy was the independence of the Associate Judges, 
 and the right of attaching the property of non-residents, 
 which was claimed by the House as an indispensable pow- 
 er. The latter subject was at diis time, however, the 
 most prominent in the dispute, and continued to be so dur- 
 ing the existence of the royal government. In the latter 
 part of this period, the Province was without courts, and 
 the people depended on tribunals of Oyer and Terminer, 
 and an Inferior Court palsied by the restrictions of the Go- 
 vernor and Council, for the peace of the community, and 
 the adjudication of their causes. Wearied with this state 
 of anarchy and confusion, they gladly embraced the cause 
 of the Revolution, and carried into its support and defence 
 much of the enthusiasm and zeal, which they acquired in 
 the violent contentions on the Court-law controversy. 
 
S4 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 There was, however, one bill framed in the House, by 
 a committee under instructions, which, after some little dis- 
 pute between the House and the Council, was passed by 
 the assent of the Governor. It contained a clause sus- 
 pending its effect until the King's pleasure was known, 
 and, as it was disallowed by his Majesty, deserves only to 
 be mentioned, as a means of illustrating the position of the 
 parties in the famous attachment controversy. The in- 
 structions of the House, upon which the bill was framed, 
 exhibit a disposition to abridge the power of the officers 
 of the court not responsible to the people, and to increase 
 the jurisdiction of those who were more dependent on 
 their will. In the contest, the House endeavoured to im- 
 pair the influence of the executive, by taking from the 
 Superior Court the mass of petty business, which crowded 
 its docket, and to give to the Inferior Courts, not only 
 that species of business, but exclusive jurisdistion in all 
 administration and testamentary matters. The Judges of 
 the Superior Court, bting the Chief Justice, appointed by 
 the Crown, and two Associates, appointed virtually by the 
 Governor, were more liable to be the favorites of His Ex- 
 cellency, and his faithful Council, than the Judges of the 
 Inferior tribunals, who were, of necessity, directly from 
 the people. The bill contemplated three distinct tribunals, 
 the Superior and County Courts, and the jurisdiction of an 
 Esquire out of court to the value of five pounds. It vest- 
 ed the appointment of the clerks of the Superior Courts, a 
 power which had been exercised by the clerk of the Crown, 
 in the Chief Justice, and prohibited the clerks of the pleas 
 from selling the clerkship of the Inferior Courts. The 
 Council sought to insert divers amendments, when the bill 
 was before them, and, among them, one softening the rigor 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 85 
 
 of the attachment process, which, in North Carolina, 
 as in the other Provinces, prevailed in all its severity. 
 It was the only one of the amendments, which met the ap- 
 probation of the House, and its success, no doubt, embold- 
 ened the Council to undertake, subsequently, its absolute 
 overthrow. The bill with its suspending clause became a 
 law, and enacted that with reference to '' attachments, 
 where the defendants resided in Europe, proceedings 
 should be stayed before plea, one year." 
 
 Martin Howard, the Chief Justice, assisted by Maurice 
 Moore and Richard Henderson, Associate Justices, presid- 
 ed on the Bench of the Superior Court, which was to ex- 
 pire by limitation at the close of the present session of the 
 Assembly ; and the House, foreseeing the disastrous state 
 of things, which the entire absence of all courts would cre- 
 ate, passed separate bills to renew and continue the acts 
 of 176S, which established the existing tribunals. The 
 Council, however, sought this, the first opportunity, to urge 
 the entire abandonment of the attachment process, and, 
 borrowing the very language of the King's instructions in 
 the phraseology of their amendment, proposed an excep- 
 tion of" the estates of such persons as had never resided 
 in the Province, from the process of attachment, other- 
 wise than according to the laws and statutes of England, 
 and that every clause and section in the before recited 
 act, contrary thereto, should thenceforth be repealed." 
 This is the point upon which the angry dispute arose, and 
 upon which the proposed measure failed. 
 
 In the various messages which passed between the Coun- 
 cil and the House, on this amendment, the former body 
 declared, that its only object was to preserve the equality 
 of the laws of the colony and the mother country, and that 
 
86 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 therefore their amendment was so framed as to give to citi- 
 zens of the Province the benefit of attachments, as they 
 existed in England, and that what that right was, the courts 
 of law could decide. In responding to this argument, the 
 House declared that the right of attachment existed in 
 England only as a franchise or privilege, and belonged 
 only to a few of the oldest towns, and of course could not 
 by any analogy be applied to the Province by the courts of 
 law. They pronounced it a right, the existence of which 
 was essential to the security of the property and the com- 
 mercial prosperity of the Province, and one which they 
 could not surrender. The right would, indeed, seem to 
 have been indispensable to the security of all contracts 
 with non-residents, who, from the absence of their persons, 
 left no other security than their property in the Province, 
 upon the faith of which they had obtained credit. It was 
 on the 2d of March, that the House addressed an ar- 
 gumentative message to the Council, contending with great 
 ability for the right of attachment, and concluding with 
 the following temperate and dignified appeal ; " The 
 House bears the fullest testimony to the necessity of 
 courts of law, and the disadvantages, which must arise 
 from a failure of the due distinction of justice on the cri- 
 minal and civil side, are too obvious to be mentioned. 
 They doubt not but your House equally feel for the honor 
 and interest of this Province, and, conscious of the bene- 
 fits, that have been derived to us from the right we 
 have hitherto had of attaching the effects of foreigners, 
 that you will not part with a provision, founded on the 
 principles of mutual, reciprocal justice, the privation of 
 which must necessarily destroy that confidence and cre- 
 dit to foreigners and our neighbour colonists, upon which 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 87 
 
 the trade and prosperity of this Province essentially de- 
 pend. '* — Journal of the House, 1773. 
 
 The Council rejected the Superior Court bill, and af- 
 ter an unavailing attempt to insert their amendment in the 
 Inferior Court act, concluded to pass the latter, as the only 
 means of preserving the peace of the Province. Governor 
 Martin, on the instructions of the King, refused his as- 
 sent even to that, and thus destroyed the last hope of sus- 
 taining the administration of the law. On the 6th of 
 March, the House came to the unanimous resolution, that 
 the right of attaching the effects of foreigners had proved 
 highly beneficial to the people of the Province, and that 
 they could not relinquish it without abandoning the inter- 
 est of their constituents, and the peace and happiness of 
 the colony. A variety of causes occurred, during the first 
 days of March, to harass the mind of the Governor, and, 
 combined with the above resolution, provoked, on the 
 day of its passage, the prorogation of the Assembly. 
 The distresses of Mr. Fanning, and the exciting topic of 
 the Southern boundary, had been again introduced by His 
 Excellency ; and the positive refusal of the House to ap- 
 prove of either inflicted (to use his own language) " those 
 painful sensations, that must sting every honest mind, for 
 he saw himself the purchaser of a benefit to the public / 11^ 
 at the price of doing an essential although an undesign- ' ' "' 
 ed wrong." 
 
 The instructions, which the House, on the day of its pro- 
 rogation, gave their committee of correspondence, to serve 
 also as instructions to Henry Eustace McCulloh, the agent 
 of the Province, resident in London, were principally found- 
 ed on the attachment and Southern boundary controversy. 
 
88 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Mr. McCuUoh was instructed to lay before the Throne 
 the principles upon which the House had acted in these 
 two cases, and to endeavour to procure the Royal assent 
 to the act with the suspending clause. The Speaker 
 with the House waited on His Excellency at the palace, 
 at six o'clock, on the 6ih of March, and, after presenting 
 a large number of bills, for his assent, the whole Assembly 
 was prorogued for three days. Accordingly on the 9ih, 
 the Council being in session, the following events took 
 place, which I shall extract from the Council Journal of 
 that date. 
 
 " His Excellency acquainted the Council, that, having on Saturday 
 prorogued the Assembly to this present Tuesday in order to give 
 them a fair opportunity to reconsider the state of the colony and to 
 proceed to the despatch of public business, he was this morning 
 informed by their clerk that there were not members enough in 
 town to make a House. His Excellency communicated to the 
 board the Royal instructions which constitute fifteen a Quorum, 
 and advised with them whether he should send a message to the 
 Speaker to acquaint the House therewith, and that he was ready 
 to proceed to business with that number ; to this they unanimously 
 agreed, and the following message was sent, — viz. 
 
 " ' Mr. Speaker of the House of Assembly, 
 
 " ' Having received information this morning by the clerk of the 
 Assembly, that there were not members in town sufficient to make a 
 House, I am to inform you that, by His Majesty's Royal instruc- 
 tions to me, fifteen members of the House of Assembly make a 
 Quorum, and that I am ready to proceed upon the public business 
 with such Quorum.' 
 
 " To which message his Excellency, receiving an immediate an- 
 swer, was pleased to communicate the same to the Council, viz. 
 
 « * Sir, 
 " ' In answer to your Excellency's message I am to inform you, 
 that it is the opinion of the members of the Assembly now in town, 
 that it is not consistent with the duty they owe their constituents 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 89 
 
 to proceed to make a House, unless there be a majority of. the 
 Representatives of the people to constitute the same. 
 
 " ' I am, &c. 
 
 " ' To his Excellency, ^/-c. JOHN HARVEY. 
 
 « ' .Ve?o Berne, 9th March, 1773.' 
 
 " His Excellency then proposed to send another message to the 
 Speaker to know if he had any expectation of more members ar- 
 riving this day, which being approved by the Council was thus 
 expressed. 
 
 " ' Mr. Speaker of the House of Assembly, 
 
 " ' I desire to know whether you have or have not expectation or 
 assurance that more members of the House of Assembly than are 
 now in town will appear this day to carry on the public business 
 of the country. ' JO. MARTIN.' 
 
 " Soon after his Excellency imparted to the Council the Speaker's 
 answer to the above message, viz. 
 « « Sir, 
 
 " ' I am to inform you that 1 have not the least expectation of the 
 arrival of any members, and most of those who are now in Town 
 are preparing to return home. 
 
 " ' I am, &c. 
 
 ''' To his Excellency, ^c. JOHN HARVEY, Speaker.' 
 
 " The Council then came to the resolution, that, as the House 
 had deserted their duty and flagrantly insulted the dignity and author- 
 ity of government after the invitation of the Governor to return to 
 their business, His Excellency had no alternative left but to dis- 
 solve the Assembly, v/hich was accordingly done, and a new one 
 called on the succeeding 1st of May." 
 
 The dissolution of the Assembly left the Province with- 
 out any other form of government than an irresponsible 
 executive and his faithful Council. They endeavoured to 
 supply the place of the courts of justice by commis.sioners 
 of Oyer and Terminer, and even this step contributed to 
 strengthen the opposition to the Governor. It was viewed 
 as an effort on his part to show the people, that the courts 
 could be continued and the whole administration of the gov- 
 ernment sustained without the aid of their Representatives. 
 
90 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Throughout the whole controversy the Council had acted 
 on the authority of the King^s instructions, which the Gov- 
 ernor had laid before them, and which contained a posi- 
 tive prohibition as to attachments on the property of non- 
 residents. I shall here introduce those instructions, and 
 although I may justify the conduct of his Excellency, as 
 founded on the orders of his master, yet I cannot acquit 
 the Council of the charge of submissively following the will 
 of the Governor in a cause, so vitally affecting the interest 
 and happiness of the people of the province. 
 
 ^ " Additional instructions to our trusty and well be- 
 " George R. > ]oved Josiah Martin, Esq., our Captain General and 
 
 ^ Governor in Chief in and over our Province of North 
 Carolina in America. Given at our Court at St. James', the fourth 
 day of February, 1772, in the twelfth of our reign. 
 
 " Whereas, laws have been passed in some of our colonies and 
 plantations in America, by which the lands, tenements, goods, chat- 
 tels, rights, and credits of persons, who have never resided within 
 the colonies where such laws have been passed, have been made 
 liable to be attached for the recovery of debts, in a manner different 
 from that allowed by the law of England in like cases ; and whereas 
 it hath been represented unto us that such laws may have the con- 
 sequence to prejudice and obstruct the commerce between this king- 
 dom and our said colonies, and to affect public credit. It is there- 
 fore our will and pleasure that you do not on any pretence whatever 
 give your assent to, or pass any bill or bills in our province under 
 your government, by which the lands, tenements, goods, chattels, 
 rights, and credits of persons who have never resided within our 
 said Province shall be made liable to be attached by the recovery of 
 debts due from such persons otherwise than is allowed by law in 
 cases of a like nature within our kingdom of Great Britain, until 
 you shall first have transmitted to us, by one of our principal secre- 
 taries of state, the drafts of each bill or bills, and shall have received 
 our royal pleasure thereupon, unless you take care in the passing of 
 such bill or bills, that a clause or clauses be inserted therein sus- 
 pending and deferring the execution thereof, until our royal will and 
 pleasure shall be known thereupon. G. R." — Memoir of Josiah 
 Qiiincy, Jnn., p. 118, 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 91 
 
 The volume from which I liave drawn the above state- 
 paper contains several pages on North Carolina, written 
 during the year 1773, and as I am anxious in the defence 
 of the State to cite the highest authority in her favor, I 
 embrace the opportunity to extract so much of the journal 
 of the distinguished subject of that Memoir as relates to 
 my native stale. It will be found to be a flattering com- 
 pliment to many of her most distinguished sons, and will 
 be read with pleasure by many of their descendants, as 
 the worthiest testimony to the patriotism and virtue of their 
 forefathers. 
 
 " Lodged the last night in Brunswick, N. C, at the house of 
 William Hill, Esq., a most sensible, polite gentleman, and though a 
 crown officer, a man replete with sentiments of general liberty, and 
 warmly attached to the cause of American freedom. 
 
 " March 27th (1773.) Breakfasted with Colonel Dry, the colle^c- 
 tor of the customs, and one of the Council, who furnished me with 
 the following instructions given Governor Martin, and, as Col. Dry 
 told me Governor Martin said, to all the colony governors likewise." 
 (^Then follows the paper just cited.) 
 
 " March 27th. Colonel Dry is a friend to the Regulators, and 
 seemingly warm against the measures of British and Continental 
 administrations. He gave me an entire different account of things 
 from what I had heard from others. I am now left to form my own 
 opinion, and am preparing for a water tour to Fort Johnston. 
 Yesterday was a most delightful day. — Fort Johnston is a delight- 
 ful situation. 
 
 " March 28th. I go to church this day at Brunswick, — hear W. 
 Hill read prayers, — dine with Colonel Dry, — proceed to-morrow 
 to Wilmington, and dine with Dr. Cobham with a select party. 
 Colonel Dry's mansion is justly called the house of universal hos- 
 pitality . 
 
 " March 29th. Dine at Dr. Thomas Cobham's, in company with 
 Harnett, Hooper, Burgwin, Dr. Tucker, &c., in Wilmington; lodg- 
 ed also at Dr. Cobham's, who has treated me with great politeness, 
 though an utter stranger, and one to whom I had no letters. Spent 
 the evening with the best company of the place. 
 
92 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 " March 30th. Dined with about twenty at Mr. William Hooper's, 
 — find him apparently in the Whig interest, — has taken their side 
 in the House, — is caressed by the Whigs, and is now passing his 
 election through the influence of that party. Spent the night at 
 Mr. Harnett's, — the Samuel Adams of North Carolina (except in 
 point of fortune). Robert Howe, Esq., Harnett and myself made 
 the social triumvirate of the evening. The plan of continental cor- 
 respondence highly relished, much wished for, and resolved upon as 
 proper to be pursued. 
 
 " April 1st. Set out from Mr. Harnett's for Newbern. 
 
 " April 2d. Reached Newbern about eleven o'clock, A. M. Wait- 
 ed upon Judge Howard and spent about an hour with him. Did not 
 present the rest of my letters, because of the fine weather for trav- 
 elling, and no court of any kind sitting or even in being in the 
 province. Judge Howard waited upon me in the evening with 
 recommendatory letters to Colonel Palmer of Bath, and Colonel 
 Richard Buncombe of Tyrrell county. 
 
 " April 4th. Reached Bath in the evening, did not deliver my 
 letters, but proceeded next morning to Mr. Wingfield's parish, where 
 I spent the Sabbath. 
 
 " April 5th. Breakfasted with Colonel Buncombe,* who waited 
 upon me to Edenton Sound, and gave me letters to his friends there. 
 Spent this and the next day in crossing Albemarle Sound and in 
 dining and conversing in company with the most celebrated lawyers 
 of Edenton, From them I learned that Dr. Samuel Cooper of Boston 
 was generally (they said universally) esteemed the author of ' Leoni- 
 das,' who, together with ' Mucius Scaevola,' was burnt in effigy under 
 the gallows by the common hangman. There being no courts of any 
 kind in this province, and no laws in force by which any could be 
 held, I found little inclination or incitement to stay long in Edenton, 
 though a pleasant town. Accordingly, a guide offering his directions 
 about evening, I left the place and proceeded just into the bounds 
 of Virginia, where I lodged the night. The soils and climates of the 
 Carolinas diffbr, but not so much as their inhabitants. The number 
 
 * I have heard an anecdote in North Carolina highly illustrative of 
 the hospitality of Colonel Buncombe, which I shall take the liberty 
 to record. On the arch of the outer gate of his mansion was in- 
 scribed the following distich : 
 
 " Welcome all 
 To Buncombe Hall." 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 93 
 
 of negroes and slaves is much less in North than in South Carolina. 
 Their staple commodity is not so valuable, not being in so great 
 demand as the rice, indigo, «fcc., of the South. Hence labor becomes 
 more necessary, and he who has an interest of his own to serve is a 
 laborer in the field. Husbandmen and agriculture increase in num- 
 ber and improvement. Industry is up in the woods at tar, pitch, 
 and turpentine ; in the fields, ploughing, planting, clearing, or 
 fencing the land. Herds and flocks become more numerous. You 
 see husbandmen, yeomen, and white laborers scattered through the 
 country, instead of herds of negroes and slaves. Healthful counte- 
 nances and numerous families become more common, as you advance 
 north. Property is much more equally diffused in one province than 
 in the other, and this may account for some, if not for all the differ- 
 ences of character in the inhabitants. However, in one respect 1 
 find a pretty near resemblance between the two colonies ; I mean the 
 state of religion. It is certainly high time to repeal the laws rela- 
 tive to religion, and the observation of the Sabbath, or to see them 
 better executed. Avowed impunity to all offenders is one sign at 
 least, that the laws want amendment or abrogation. Alike as the 
 Carolinas are in this respect, they certainly vary much as to their 
 general sentiments, opinions, and judgments. The staple commodi- 
 ties of North Carolina are all kinds of naval stores, Indian corn, 
 hemp, flaxseed, some tobacco, which they generally send into Vir- 
 ginia, &c. The culture of wheat and rice is making quick pro- 
 gress, as a spirit of agriculture is rising fast. The favorite liquors 
 of the Carolinas are Claret and Port wines, in preference to Madeira 
 or Lisbon. The commerce of North Carolina is much diffiised 
 through the several parts of the province. They in some respects 
 may be said to have no metropolis, though Newberne is called the 
 capital, as there is the seat of government. It is made a question 
 which carries on the most trade, whether Edenton, Newberne, Wil- 
 mington, or Brunswick. It seems to be one of the two first. There 
 is very little intercourse between the northern and southern prov- 
 inces of Carolina. The present state of North Carolina is really 
 curious ; there are but five provincial laws in force through the col- 
 ony, and no courts at all in being. No one can recover a debt, 
 except before a single magistrate, where the sums are within his 
 jurisdiction, and offenders escape with impunity. The people are 
 in great consternation about the matter ; what will be the conse- 
 quence is problematical."^^ #ewoiro/^/o5«aA Q^uincy, Juji,, pp. 117- 
 123. 
 
94 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 The object of the distinguished tourist seems to have 
 been the ascertainment of the views of the leading charac- 
 ters of the South on the project of a continental union. 
 The high praise which he awards to many of our eminent 
 citizens, and particularly the compliment to Mr. Harnett, I 
 could not but record in the pages of a volume dedicated to 
 the service and defence of the State. I cannot but regret 
 that he should have passed so rapidly through New Berne, 
 a city which was then, as it is now, distinguished for the 
 patriotism and hospitality of its inhabitants. 
 
 In the course of the summer of this year a large colony 
 of Scotch emigrants arrived in Wilmington, and proceeded 
 up the Cape Fear River to Cross Creek, the present town 
 of Fayetteville. That section of North Carolina from its 
 earliest setdement to the present time has been in the pos- 
 session of a Scotch population, presenting within itself all 
 the varieties of weahh, comfortableness, and absolute pov- 
 erty. They preserve the " clannish " spirit of their nation, 
 and move in concert, in political affairs, more than any 
 portion of the population of the State. I have frequently 
 heard, even in North Carolina, imputations against the 
 patriotism of diese people during the great struggle for 
 freedom, towards which my narrative is approaching; and 
 although I am aware of the great degree of truth which 
 belongs to such accusations, I cannot subscribe to the 
 voice of indiscriminate denunciation. It was during the 
 month of November, 1747, that a considerable colony of 
 the adherents of the Pretender arrived in the Stale, and 
 formed a settlement on the banks of the Cape Fear, as far 
 up as Cross Creek. Many of these colonists were among 
 the most faithful Whigs, and served in every capacity dur- 
 ing the war. The colony which arrived during the sum- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 95 
 
 riier of this year were attracted to the settlement of Cross 
 Creek by no other motive than the company of their coun- 
 trymen. The exiled adherents of the Pretender had no 
 new-born zeal in the cause of the House of Hanover, and 
 the little respect for British sovereignty which they retain- 
 ed was buried by the multitude of sympathies and local 
 attachments which so long a residence had inspired. The 
 purity of their American character was sullied, and their 
 principles affected, by the admission of this new colony so 
 recently from the mother country, and the Wiiigs were con- 
 demned on account of the large number of Tories found in 
 their society. Nor was each and every one of the new 
 colonists of the royal party. Many of them were soldiers, 
 and a (ew of them officers in the state army, the organi- 
 zation of which I shall detail in the course of this part of 
 my volume. 
 
 There were now three questions of absorbing interest to 
 the people of North Carolina which were unconnected 
 with the general causes of dissatisfaction prevailing in all the 
 Colonies, and which incensed them more against the pro- 
 vincial government than against that of the mother country. 
 The court controversy, the repeal of the acts of 1748 and 
 1754, laying a poll tax and a duty on liquors, and the South- 
 ern boundary question, were still the leading matters of 
 public deliberation. The very recollection of this last 
 inflamed the people against the Governor, and the most 
 prudent men of the Province saw with indignation the 
 immense loss sustained by the adoption of the boun- 
 dary line run by the commissioners. In the new Assembly 
 which convened during this year, and which was prorogued 
 after a session of only 'seventeen days, the court system 
 occupied nearly the whole period of public discussion. 
 
95 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 The project of a continental correspondence was sanc- 
 tioned, and a committee elected, but the all important 
 question was, the salvation of the people from the jaws of 
 foreign speculators, by guarding and preserving inviolably 
 the right of attachment. The Assembly convened in New 
 Berne on the 4th of December, and " Mr. John Camp- 
 bell of Bertie proposed and set up Colonel John Harvey 
 who was unanimously chosen Speaker, and placed in 
 the chair accordingly." The speech of Governor Mar- 
 tin was devoted exclusively to the court system. He 
 candidly disclosed the only principles upon which he 
 could assent to the court law, and declared that the limi- 
 tation of the original jurisdiction of the Superior Courts, 
 and the extension of that of the Inferior Courts of justice, 
 designed by the act of the last Assembly, were deemed 
 totally inadmissible. He introduced to the notice of the 
 House the propriety of making the necessary appropriation 
 to defray the charges incident to the Courts of Oyer and 
 Terminer, and especially to make provision for the judges, 
 suitable to their eminent services. Maurice Moore and 
 Richard Caswell had been appointed by his Excellency to 
 preside as Associates to Chief Justice Howard, and I need 
 not suggest the obvious policy of their appointment. He 
 knew full well the unpopularity of Martin Howard ; and, 
 apprehending the failure of an appropriation bill on that 
 account, he sought to achieve the success of his plans 
 throudi the influence of the names of Moore and Caswell. 
 In the answer of the House, however, not only were the 
 appropriations refused, but by the unanimous vote of the 
 House, of which both Moore and Caswell were members, 
 the right of the Governor to issue commissions of Oyer and 
 Terminer and general gaol delivery, without the aid of 
 
 i 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 97 
 
 the Assembly, was peremptorily denied. In the same pa- 
 per His Excellency was informed that the mode of issuing 
 attachments which he had recommended, was such as they 
 could not adopt, and would not, if adopted, prove an ade- 
 quate remedy for the mischiefs intended to be obviated. 
 Such were the respective positions of the popular 
 House and the Governor on the 9th of December. 
 We perceive at once the absolute impossibility of estab- 
 lishing courts of law, and the almost inevitable destruc- 
 tion of the then existing government. Even without the 
 cooperation or sympathy of the other Colonies on other 
 points of more general (but not of deeper) interest, that 
 government must have fallen. If it had not been anni- 
 hilated by force, it would have withered away for the want 
 of the nourishment of courts of law. 
 
 On the 6th of December, the Speaker acquainted the 
 House that he had received sundry letters and resolutions 
 from the Provinces of Massachusetts Bay, Virginia, Rhode 
 Island, Connecticut, and the counties on the Delaware, 
 proposing to establish in each Province a committee of 
 correspondence. The prudence and experience of Mr. 
 Harvey, induced him to keep the reception of these docu- 
 ments concealed from the members of the House gen- 
 erally, as well as from the people at large. In the Spring 
 of 1765, while the popular House was agitating the Stamp 
 Act, and on the eve of electing delegates to the New York 
 Congress, Governor Tryon prorogued the Assembly, and 
 thus prevented the action of the Representatives of the 
 people. For nearly two years he refrained from the con- 
 vocation of an Assembly, and, although no one apprehend- 
 ed so high-handed a step from Governor Martin, yet he 
 might by a prorogation or dissolution have in this case 
 9 
 
98 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 arrested immediate action. On the 8th, however, the 
 committee appointed to consider the documents laid be- 
 fore the House submitted a report, giving a full and hearty 
 response to the patriotic resolutions before them, pledging 
 their united efforts and most strenuous endeavours to 
 preserve the just rights and liberties of the American 
 Colonies which appeared of late to have been so systemat- 
 ically invaded." 
 
 John Harvey, Edward Vail, 
 
 Robert Howe, John Ashe, 
 
 Cornelius Harnett, Joseph Hewes, 
 
 William Hooper, Samuel Johnston, 
 
 Richard Caswell, 
 
 were appointed a committee of correspondence ; and to 
 those who are at all acquainted with the history of the 
 State, 1 need not say that the cause of American liberty 
 was entrusted to able and patriotic hands. This committee 
 was instructed " to obtain the earliest and most authentic 
 intelligence of all such acts and resolutions of the British 
 Parliament, or the proceedings of the administration, as 
 might relate to or affect the British Colonies in America, 
 and to keep up and maintain a correspondence and com- 
 munication with our sister Colonies respecting these im- 
 portant considerations, and the result of such of their pro- 
 ceedings from time to time to lay before this House." 
 They were further instructed immediately to inform them- 
 selves, particularly, of the principles and authority on which 
 was constituted a court of enquiry said to have been lately 
 held in Rhode Island, with powers to transmit persons 
 accused of offences committed in America to places be- 
 yond the seas to be tried. This latter circumstance, which 
 they were so especially instructed to investigate, deserves 
 
 i 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 99 
 
 to be more particularly mentioned. In the month of June, 
 1 772, the sloop of war Gaspee, which had for some time 
 cruised in and about the waters of Rhode Island, was 
 attacked and destroyed by the people of that Province, 
 headed by John Brown. Commissioners had been ap- 
 pointed by the Crown, vested with powers to transmit such 
 persons as might be accused of an agency in this battle, to 
 be tried before the authorities of the mother country. It 
 was the principles of this commission, which the committee 
 were so especially charged to investigate, and which had 
 produced much alarm, not only in North Carolina, but in 
 all the sister Colonies. 
 
 These instructions, however, were somewhat of a party 
 movement in the political affairs of the Province. Mar- 
 tin Howard, the Chief Justice and one of the Councillors, 
 was appointed to his office in North Carolina, because he 
 could not hold one which he had filled in Rhode Island. On 
 the 27th of August, 1765, during the excitement which pre- 
 vailed throughout the country on the Stamp Act, the bouse 
 of this notable man was destroyed, and his person much 
 abused by the patriotic inhabitants of Newport, in which 
 place he had been, as in North Carolina, long remarka- 
 ble for his corrupt and wicked designs. He fled from the 
 storms of Rhode Island, and sought " peace and quiet " 
 in the arms of the Ministry, and, on the suicide of the la- 
 mented Chief Justice Berry, was appointed to fill his place 
 on the Judicial Bench of the Province. His profliga- 
 cy was, however, brought to a wrong mart ; during the 
 five years he received a salary as Chief Justice from the 
 hands of the Assembly, his character and sometimes " his 
 person " (as during the Regulation) was the subject of unri • 
 vailed abuse. So profound was the hatred of the members 
 
100 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 of the popular House towards this eminent vagrant, that in 
 framing the instructions, they thus censured a board of com- 
 missioners, which Howard was known to have approved, 
 and indeed to have recommended in some instances in 
 North Carolina. 
 
 Amidst the general contention for the honor of having 
 struck the first blow against British tyranny, the modest 
 pretensions of the State of Rhode Island have been over- 
 looked, and the destruction of the armed sloop forgotten, 
 amidst the clang of the arms of Lexington, and the more 
 clamorous war of words, which raged in Virginia. The 
 deed itself should not be forgotten, nor should the name of 
 John Brown, the leader of the people on that occasion, be 
 passed over in silence, by the historians of the Revolution. 
 The great events of the history of Rhode Island, like those 
 of the history of North Carolina, have been buried by the 
 ignorance of "^/le historians of the adjacent States.^^ 
 
 Notwithstanding the dispute between the House and 
 the Governor, which I have detailed, the Council and that 
 body, at a later period of the session, exchanged messages 
 of great length and no little ability. In the course of the 
 argument, the Council arraigned the House for supporting^ 
 with so much zeal, a mode of proceeding by attachment, 
 unknown both to the common and statute law of the mother 
 country, forgetting that, at a previous session, they had sug- 
 gested a mode of proceeding by attachment according to 
 the laws and usages of England. The House replied to 
 this argument in a message of great length, dated the 20th 
 of December, in the following language. 
 
 '' We observe with surprise, that a doctrine maintained by a for- 
 mer House of Assembly is now adopted by you, and that you dis- 
 close it as your opinion, that attachments are not known to the 
 common or statute law of England. What then did government 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 101 
 
 tender to this people in lieu of their former mode, when it proiFer- 
 ed to the last Assembly, a mode of attachment agreeable to the 
 laws of England. This House, upon all occasions, will avow 
 the necessity of attachments in the manner as lately enjoyed, in 
 point of expedience as well as of right." 
 
 The opposition to the government exhibited itself in the 
 popular House by a unanimous vote, that the acts of 1748 
 and 1754, laying a poll tax and a duty on liquors, ought to 
 be discontinued, and a committee with Robert Howe at the 
 head was appointed to bring in a bill to that effect. On oc- 
 casions like this, the assent of the Governor being indispen- 
 sable to the repeal of the law, his will became important, 
 and respectable even in the eyes of John Harvey. But on 
 other occasions, and such a one I am now about to detail, 
 the sanction of the House was indispensable to sustain the 
 acts of His Excellency. While on his tour of observation 
 in 1772, the elegant civilities of the good people of Tar- 
 borough, so pleasing to the vanity of his mind, induced 
 him to grant a charter to that town, vesting its inhabitants 
 with the privilege of sending a member to the Assembly. 
 The House refused to admit Henry Erwin (the member 
 who appeared according to the election held under a writ 
 from the clerk of the Crown), and asserted that the char- 
 ter was void in that particular, as being against a statute of 
 the Province, These numerous causes combining to harass 
 the peace and prosperity of the Governor's administration, 
 he, on the 21st, suddenly prorogued the Assembly to the 1st 
 of March. As soon as the House received his message 
 requiring their presence at the palace, apprehending either 
 a dissolution or a prorogation, they appointed a committee, 
 of which John Harvey was the head, to prepare an ad- 
 dress to the King, beseeching him to withdraw his Royal 
 instructions to the Governor, so far as attachments were 
 9* 
 
102 '^^^ ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 concerned, and it was unanimously resolved to address 
 Governor Tryon, and ioiplore, 
 
 " That he would be pleased to convey the same [the address to the 
 Kingl to our most gracious Sovereign, support our earnest solicita- 
 tions with his interest and influence, and that he would accept of 
 this important trust as a testimony of the great affection this colo- 
 ny bore him, and the entire confidence they reposed in him." 
 
 Thus low had Governor Martin sunk in the estimation of 
 the public. His predecessor and wonted rival, although the 
 Governor of a distant Province, was solicited to aid and 
 support the fallen fortunes of the people over whom he had 
 presided for nearly two years. If he envied Tryon, as say 
 many of his contemporaries, the proceedings of the House 
 were mortifying indeed, and the palace had lost its splen- 
 dor and its glory, when its inmate had become the mere 
 shadow or puppet of a government. 
 
 The resolutions of Virginia suggesting the appointment 
 of committees of correspondence, were adopted on the 12th 
 of March, 1773, and the project was essentially an improve- 
 ment on the internal committees of Massachusetts. In the 
 95th pageof the first volume of the Writings of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son, the respective claims of Virginia and Massachusetts to 
 the honor of proposing these national committees, are dis- 
 cussed in a letter to Mr. Samuel Adams Wells, and the dis- 
 pute is compromised by the admission of Mr. Jefferson, that 
 Massachusetts preceded Virginia in the institution of her in- 
 ternal committees, which were appointed by the people of 
 each town of the Province, but that Virginia was foremost 
 in the suggestion of the institution of provincial committees. 
 This claim may be just, but the pen of Mr Jefferson has 
 exaggerated its importance. 
 
 I have no claims to advance on the part of North Caro- 
 lina to the honor in dispute, and have perhaps no business 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 103 
 
 in discussing the differences of other states in this volume ; 
 but I cannot refrain from a few remarks on the claims of 
 Virginia to originality in her scheme of a continental cor- 
 respondence. The Congress of Albany which assembled in 
 June, 1754, was undoubtedly the original idea of a continen- 
 tal union, and may be fairly considered the remote cause 
 of our present union. If the private character of many of 
 its members may be considered as a test of its political 
 creed, it is fortunate, that its deliberations were attended 
 with no permanent results. Dr. Franklin adorned that 
 body, but Martin Howard and Thomas Hutchinson, the 
 most inveterate enemies of American freedom, were its 
 principal leaders. The Congress which assembled in New 
 York in 1765, to discuss the Stamp Act, was essentially 
 the child of Massachusetts, and its conception a much bold- 
 er and more perilous stroke in the cause of the Revolution, 
 than the appointment of a committee of correspondence. 
 It sprang from the heart of the Whig party, and, adorned 
 as it was by the patriotism and talent of the Provinces 
 represented, it was unfortunate that its deliberations were 
 not continued by annual sessions. In the year 176S, during 
 the month of November, while the Assembly of North Caro- 
 lina was in session, the Speaker laid before the House a 
 communication from the House of Representatives of Mas- 
 sachusetts, of date the 11th of February preceding, on the 
 subject of several acts of Parliament, imposing duties and 
 taxes on the Colonies. This communication is remarkable 
 for the temperate and modest manner, in which the en- 
 croachments of Parliament are recited and discussed, and 
 forms a singular contrast with a similar state-paper, which 
 was received by the same officer on the 2nd of November, 
 1769, from the House of Burgesses of Virginia, of date the 
 9th of the preceding month of May. 
 
104 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 The Speaker of the Assembly of North Carolina was 
 undoubtedly indebted to the House of Representatives of 
 Massachusetts, for the communication from Virginia, al- 
 though the document itself would not support such an in- 
 ference. In this case at least, Virginia was the imitator 
 of Massachusetts, and yet her message to North Carolina, 
 which was received one year after that of Massachusetts, 
 made no allusion to it as its authority. The paper from 
 Massachusetts modestly disclaims any " ambition of taking 
 the lead, or of dictating to the other assemblies;" the 
 one from Virginia " hoped that they had expressed them- 
 selves on the occasion with a firmness that became free- 
 men ; and that they had made known their proceedings 
 on this subject with a view that the representatives of 
 the people of North Carolina, being acquainted with 
 them, might go hand in hand in opposition to measures, 
 which had an immediate tendency to enslave them." 
 We had received that intelligence twelve months before. 
 The transition from such legislation to the institution of 
 Provincial committees of correspondence, seems to be 
 but a natural result; and, when it is remembered that 
 every Assembly appointed committees to correspond with 
 their agents in London, the proposition loses all claims to 
 originality or even to novelty. The Speaker of the As- 
 sembly of North Carolina transmitted to many Provincial 
 Assemblies messages on these subjects, assuring them of 
 the hearty cooperation of the people of the Province. 
 
 (1774.) In detailing the events of the year 1774, I shall 
 resume the discussion of the Attachment controversy, which 
 now agitated for the last time the Provincial Assembly of 
 North Carolina. The legislative body, which had been 
 prorogued to the 1st of March, organized on the 2nd of 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 105 
 
 that month, and commenced the controversy in their an- 
 swer to the official speech of the Governor. I must applaud 
 the prudence and liberality which distinguished the speech of 
 His Excellency. He lamented the disastrous state of the 
 colony, and the utter impossibility of his reconciling the at- 
 tachment clause with the Royal instructions. He hoped that 
 the members had consulted their constituents, during the 
 recess, and explained to them the repugnant nature of his 
 instructions. Urging the abandonment of the " attach- 
 ment process " upon such grounds, he concluded his speech 
 with a solemn assurance of his readiness to cooperate with 
 the Assembly, in any legal effort to relieve the people from 
 impending anarchy and revolution. Messrs. Hooper, 
 Samuel Johnston, Caswell, Howe of Brunswick, Harnett, 
 Edwards of New Berne, Allen, Jones, Hewes, and Ashe^ 
 were the committee to prepare the answer of the House ; 
 and on the 5th of March, Mr. Harnett reported an ad- 
 dress founded on instructions from a committee of the 
 whole House. I now quote the language of the ad- 
 dress. 
 
 " We came to the last session of this Assembly, fully possessed of 
 the sentiments of our constituents ; we have, however, appealed to 
 them again, consulted them, stated to them candidly the point for 
 which we contended ; we have also informed them, how far his Ma- 
 jesty is disposed to indulge our wishes. These facts we have re- 
 presented to them fairly, disdaining any equivocation or reserve 
 that might leave them ignorant of the conduct we had pursued, or 
 the real motives that influenced us. And we have the heartfelt 
 satisfaction to inform your Excellency, that they have expressed 
 their warmest approbation of our past proceedings, and have given 
 us positive instructions to persist in our endeavours to obtain the 
 process of Foreign Attachment upon the most liberal and ample foot- 
 ing." 
 
 In this decided language did the House reject the con- 
 ciliatory speech of Governor Martin. In his speech at the 
 
106 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 period of the prorogation of the Assembly, he had exhorted 
 them to return to their constituents, and consult with them on 
 the state of the Province; and thus the House reported the 
 result of their consultations. On the presentment of the ad- 
 dress by the Speaker, the Governor delivered a long speech 
 in reply, in which he seemed to feel sensitively the trium- 
 phant tone of the House. 
 
 " You have told me with, perhaps, just exultation," (he commenced,) 
 ** that your constituents have approved your past conduct, and in- 
 structed you to persist in your endeavours to obtain the process of 
 foreign attachment ; but if that means, Gentlemen, that the present 
 distressed state of this colony is to be continued, because I have it 
 not in my power to comply exactly with your wishes relative to a 
 certain mode of proceeding against absconding debtors, that, as far 
 as I have been able to learn, has been in some very material points 
 peculiar to this Province, and is at this day held by many to have 
 been unguarded and too open and applicable to fraudulent and op- 
 pressive purposes, I can no more enter into the policy of such a 
 plan of conduct, that is in my opinion without example, than I can 
 help dreading the people will soon feel they make infinitely too 
 dear a sacrifice in relinquishing all legal security of their most 
 valuable rights and privileges." (9th March.) 
 
 Bills to establish Superior and Inferior Courts of law 
 were framed by the Committee appointed for that purpose, 
 and readily passed their regular readings in that body. 
 When the Superior Court bill, however, which contained a 
 full acknowledgment of the attachment process, came to 
 its third reading before the Council, that body proposed 
 " as a temporary relief to the Province," that the process of 
 attachment, and the repeal of the Fee bill of 1748, should 
 be presented in bills distinct from those establishing courts 
 of law. The House refused, by large majorities, on both 
 the items of the amendment of the Council, to assume such 
 a principle ; and now the fact was notorious, that, without 
 the process of attachment, no bill to establish courts of law 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 107 
 
 could pass. Each party now perceived the vanity of all 
 hopes of a reconciliation on this disputed point ; and, as the 
 Council had heretofore acted on the Royal instructions with 
 a view of shielding the Governor, we perceive that body, 
 on the 14th of March, abandoning that ground, and leav- 
 ing His Excellency to support as well as to obey the or- 
 ders of his sovereign. On that day, the Council, in a mild 
 and dignified message, recommended the Superior Court 
 bill, as a fit subject for reconsideration, and expressed a 
 sincere hope, that something might be done to save the 
 existence of the law. In accepting this friendly recom- 
 mendation, the House proposed an immaterial alteration 
 in the attachment clause of the original bill, requiring 
 
 " Due proof upon oath, before the attachment should issue, that 
 the debtor had absconded with an intention of avoiding the pay- 
 ment of the claims, so far as his intentions may be judged from 
 the following circumstances, which shall be considered the due 
 proofs hereby required." 
 
 These circumstances were, 
 
 " That the defendant resided out of the Province or never was 
 in it, and that he fails or neglects to discharge his debts, contracts, 
 or agreements, or when he has removed himself out of his county 
 privately, or absconds, or conceals himself from the ordinary process 
 of law, as the plaintiff suspects, to avoid the payment of the debt." 
 
 The process of attachment would seem to be sufficient- 
 ly guarded by the rigor of this clause ; and yet, so cautious 
 and perhaps overbearing was the House in this dispute, 
 that the following sections of the proposed bill were adopt- 
 ed by that body. 
 
 " And also in any other circumstances that may occur, and can be 
 deemed, by the magistrate granting the attachment, the due proof 
 hereby required. Provided, also, that no attachment shall be grant- 
 ed, except when the cause of action (by the most liberal construc- 
 tion in favor of the plaintiff, inhabitant of the Province) can be 
 
108 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 construed to arise within the colony ; and, before the defendant shall 
 be suffered to plead, he or his attorney shall give bail to a new suit 
 or action, if the plaintiff judges it necessary." (Tuesday, 15th 
 March.) 
 
 The House, by these amendments yielded nothing save 
 the explanations of the latter clause, which were too in- 
 definite in their phraseology to admit a construction more 
 favorable to foreign creditors. The Council had endeav- 
 oured to strike out a clause limiting the original jurisdic- 
 tion of the Superior Court, which the House declared 
 a valuable and indispensable limitation, and positively re- 
 fused to concur in such an amendment. 
 
 With all its faults, however, the Council passed the bill, 
 and, on the 17th of March, it was finally passed by both 
 Houses of the Assembly. On the 19th of March, the 
 popular House, before waiting on His Excellency to pre- 
 sent the Superior Court bill, — " Resolved, that the 
 House and the Council had pursued every measure in 
 their power to relieve the Colony from the distressed situa- 
 tion to which it had been reduced for want of Court laws." 
 
 The Governor, however, rejected the bill, and, com- 
 plaining of the unhappy predicament in which he was placed, 
 urged the Royal instructions as his only justification. At 
 the distance of more than half a century, and with an 
 abundance of abhorrence for the character of Josiah Mar- 
 tin, I can commiserate the situation of the man, as well as 
 lament the distresses of the people over whom he pre- 
 sided. For more than a year they had been without 
 even the semblance of a judicial tribunal to check the 
 growing progress of crime, or to sustain the obligation of 
 private contracts. The violence of this Attachment con- 
 troversy had not only prostrated the courts, but vexed the 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 109 
 
 public mind with the degrading idea that the Ministry 
 sought to insult die Province, by taking from it a 
 right enjoyed by her sister colonies. Disobedience 
 to his instructions, would have been sufficient cause 
 of displeasure to the King or Ministry, and would 
 have effected the removal of Martin. In those days, when 
 loyahy to the King was a virtue, his conduct would 
 have found a ready excuse in the positive language of the 
 Royal instructions, which would have been reverenced 
 as the supreme law of the land. It is due to Martin to 
 say, that the instrucdons were repugnant to his own opinion, 
 and tliat his sense of duty to his sovereign was stronger 
 than his love of the people. 
 
 The bill to establish Inferior Courts of Pleas, and Quar- 
 ter Sessions, after many unavailing messages between the 
 Council and the House, was, together with the one to estab- 
 lish courts of Oyer and Terminer, enacted by tlie assent of 
 the Governor. On the first of these two measures, the 
 attachment question was agitated, and, with its enactment, 
 expired. 
 
 In giving his assent to these bills, the Governor deliver- 
 ed a long speech, in which he bewailed the impossibility 
 of erecting a higher tribunal than the Inferior Court ; and 
 he embraced the opportunity, " as he spake to the country 
 through the popular House," to explain the reasons of his 
 uniform conduct on the Superior Court bill. I do not pre^ 
 tend to understand the secret motives of Governor Martin, 
 but I may venture to suggest a few circumstances whick 
 may explain the mildness of his official speeches, during 
 this and the preceding session. I have observed him, on 
 two occasions, employing in his service two of the principal 
 leaders of the opposition, and have suggested the motive of 
 10 
 
110 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 thus conferring his rewards, to have been a desire to gain 
 their influence and friendship. The amiable tone of his 
 speeches may have been the result of fear or of policy. 
 He may have vainly hoped to distract the ranks of 
 the Whigs by conciliation, and, like Tryon, by a system of 
 courtesies and private civilities within the recesses of the pa- 
 lace, to have won the affections of a majority of the mem- 
 bers. The progress of this history will, however, exhibit 
 the futility of his designs, and the lapse of a few months, 
 the overthrow of his government. 
 
 The Assembly was, on the 25th of March, prorogued to 
 the 25th of May, and in a few days afterwards was dissolved 
 by proclamation. The dissolution may be ascribed to the 
 angry feelings excited in the mind of the Governor by sev- 
 eral acts of the popular House a few days before its pro- 
 rogation. The House appointed a committee to address 
 the Throne, praying that the instructions to the Governor 
 might be withdrawn, and appointed Alexander Elmsly and 
 Thomas Barker agents to attend to the execution of their 
 resolves. The appointment of these two gentlemen as 
 agents for the House, in so important a crisis, appears to 
 have been a censure on the integrity of a Mr. Henry Eus- 
 tace McCulloh, who had for some years filled the sta- 
 tion of agent for the Province. He attributed the origin of 
 the instructions to Lords Hillsboro' and Hertfort, both 
 members of the Privy Council, and friends of the Dobbs 
 family, the founder of which, Arthur Dobbs, had succeeded 
 Governor Gabriel Johnston as Governor of North Car- 
 olina. An attachment was depending in our courts 
 during the administration of Tryon against the Dobbs 
 estate ; and by the influence of the two noble friends of 
 that family the instructions were framed to meet that 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. HI 
 
 particular case. This is the explanation of Mr. McCul- 
 loh, as will be seen by a letter of Alexander Elmsly, 
 which I shall presently introduce. There is not much de- 
 pendence to be placed in the statements of Mr. McCulloh, 
 as his integrity on this as well as on other occasions 
 was questioned. He submitted to the degradation of a 
 bribe while a member of the Council, and received a thou- 
 sand acres of land for his vote in favor of the Tuscarora 
 grant of lands to William Williams and Thomas Pugh and 
 Robert Jones. The real motive of Governor Martin in 
 dissolving the Assembly, however, is better displayed in the 
 Proclamation which he issued for that purpose, of date the 
 30lh of March. The resolution of the House, declaring 
 the repeal of the acts of 1748 and 1754, is alleged in the 
 Council Journal as the real cause ; and, as this is the last 
 time those acts were before the Assembly, I shall extract 
 the Proclamation, as well to illustrate the excited feelings 
 of the Governor, as to conclude the subject. 
 
 " By His Excellency Jo. Martin, &c., &c. 
 
 "A PROCLAMATION. 
 
 " Whereas the Assembly of this Province having, by their 
 resolves of the 24th of this instant March, assumed to 
 themselves a power unconstitutional, repugnant to the 
 lav^rs, and derogatory to the honor and good faith of 
 the Province, by attempting to abrogate an act of the 
 General Assembly upon which the public credit essentially 
 depends, it becomes necessary for His Majesty's service to 
 dissolve the said Assembly of this Province. I do therefore, 
 with the advice and consent of His Majesty's Council, and 
 by virtue of the powers and authorities in me vested by His 
 
112 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Majesty, dissolve the said Assembly, and it is hereby dis- 
 solved accordingly. 
 
 " Given under my hand, &ic. 
 
 " Jo. Martin. 
 " Dated 30th of March, 1774. 
 
 " God save the King." 
 
 In concluding this chapter, and with it the discussion of 
 the court law and attachment controversy, I submit the 
 following letter from Alexander Elmsly, which will be 
 found to be an admirable commentary on the history of 
 that most important and harassing dispute* 
 
 " London, 17th May, 1774. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I have your several favors covering your order on Bridgen & 
 Waller, and ordering a suit of law for a friend of Mrs. Johnston's. 
 With respect to the first, all the purpose it has answered is, a new 
 order to Mrs. Strudwick to pay you that money. This manoeuvre 
 you can easily see through; it is not so easily reconciled, however, 
 to the principles which these gentlemen make profession of, and for 
 want of which your neighbour C. Pollock has in my hearing been 
 80 often the subject of their abuse. The fact is, they acknowledge 
 the receipt of the money, and are ready to account for it ; but Strud- 
 wick is largely in their debt, and they think this a good opportunity 
 to reduce the amount. If this expedient miscarries, you must write 
 to them to pay peremptorily, and I doubt not the money will be forth- 
 coming, as the Scots say. By this ship the lace is sent to Mrs. 
 Aitcheson's care, who will contrive it to you instead of £7 75.; 
 however, Mr. Palmer, Mrs Do., and my Rib, after consultation, are 
 of opinion unanimously that Miss Cathcart has a right to wear a suit 
 of lace worth at least one half a guinea a yard, and so the whole to- 
 gether, i. e. the lace and something else, the name of which I have 
 forgot, costs you £10 1^. ; £9 to Bridgen &, Waller, lace merchants, 
 for the materials, and £1 Is. to a milliner for putting them together. 
 
 " I think your Assembly to blame and your Governor also, and am 
 gure r m not mistaken ; these are my reasons ; Governor Dobbs in his 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. US 
 
 last will gave a legacy of £2000 to his wife, and, mier alios, appointed 
 his sons, Conway and Richard, executors. Conway I verily believe 
 received moneys belonging to the testator, both here and in Ireland. 
 Richard I sincerely believe never received a shilling here, there, or 
 anywhere else ; but having, as well as the other, effects in your Prov- 
 ince, an attachment was issued against them at the suit of Mr, Nash, 
 and, before defence could be made, the plaintiffs had judgment; the 
 defendant soon after, however, procured an injunction, which your 
 Court of Chancery thought proper to make perpetual. From this 
 decree Mr. Nash appealed, and last Thursday the decree was 
 reversed by the Privy Council, because of your attachment law, 
 which they said they could not get over, although Sir Jonathan 
 Welmot, late Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, thought it so hard 
 a case upon young Dobbs, that he gave it as his opinion, no act of 
 Assembly ought to have the force of a law till revised and ratified in 
 England. 
 
 '* My next reason is within your own recollection. P. Larkin of 
 London became bankrupt, having effects in North Carolina ; Alder- 
 man Rossiter and a Mr. Pritchard of this place attached, as did a 
 Captain Richardson of your Province, but who was of Jamaica at 
 the time of bankruptcy, although an inhabitant of England when 
 the debt was contracted ; the attachments of the two Englishmen 
 were defeated, the American had his money, and this expressly 
 agreeable to the determinations of the judges here. 
 
 " My other reason affects myself. When Bogle & Scot stopt pay- 
 ment, their creditors were called together to fix upon a plan for liqui- 
 dating their affairs. The single question was, whether the commission 
 of bankrupt should be sued out against them, or whether trustees 
 should be named, to take the management of their affairs into their 
 hands. Every creditor present, except myself, was for appointing 
 trustees, because by that means the expense of a commission would 
 be avoided in the first place, the disgrace of it in the next ; and in 
 the third place, which was of more importance, many of their credi- 
 tors were possessed with bills and bonds with security, and were 
 also creditors on open account, and, in case of a commission taking 
 place, would have a right to receive of the security, and afterwards 
 divide against the bankrupt's estate, as if nothing had been received 
 on the bonds and bills, till they should have received their whole 
 debt ; by which means their simple contract debts without security 
 would be in fact covered by the security on the specialty debts. This 
 reason had determined all the creditors present not to sue out a 
 10* 
 
114 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 commission of bankrupt ; but six weeks having elapsed from the 
 time of their stopping payment, and it appearing that the greatest 
 part of their effects were abroad in America, and consequently sub- 
 ject to your attachment laws, which would take place of an assign- 
 ment to trustees, and which we had no other way of avoiding but 
 by taking out a commission, we were obliged to come to a calcula- 
 tion, whether the open account creditors world lose more by letting 
 such as were creditors both by bonds with security, and open ac- 
 count also, have their full debts paid, or by running the risk of such 
 creditors as were not present having, during the six weeks, ordered 
 attachments in America; and upon finding that all the Scotch and 
 many considerable English creditors had not attended the meeting, 
 although advertised, and suspecting the reason of it, upon my pro- 
 posal it was unanimously agreed to make bankrupts of Bogle <&- Scot, 
 although by that means sundry creditors are certain of having their 
 full dividend, who otherwise would not have received above 17 or 
 18s. in the pound ; but as their debts were not near so considerable 
 as those of the absent creditors, whom we supposed absent because 
 they had taken steps to secure their debts otherwise, of two evils we 
 chose the least. 
 
 " With respect to attachments in England, I am able perfectly to 
 inform you of the nature of them, having, since my arrival in Lon- 
 don, defended no less than seven of them, not as an attorney, but as 
 the agent of a gentleman in Scotland, pro hue vice. 1st. It is only 
 in the city (not one half) of London, in Bristol, and I believe York, 
 or some other old town, that attachments lie by custom. I know not 
 the custom of the two last places ; but in London the practice is, that 
 no attachment takes place except where the cause of action arises 
 within the city ; that if affidavit of the debt is not made by the plain- 
 tiff upon suing out the attachment, it may be set aside on entering 
 common bail in the office ; and in no case can the garnishee be com- 
 pelled to answer, unless he voluntarily, to oblige the plaintiff as his 
 friend, comes into court and discloses the amount of the effects in 
 his hands ; but if the plaintiff can prove that, at the time of laying 
 the attachment, the garnishee was either indebted to the defendant 
 or had effects of his in his possession, he is admitted to do it, and 
 such proof is as good as the garnishee's confession. 
 
 " These are the principles of the attachments in London, you 
 may depend on it, and it was upon them that the last instruction to 
 your Governor was founded ; of this I am certain, because old Mr. 
 AflcCulloh in the absence of his son called upon me as soon as he 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 115 
 
 received his despatches respecting this matter, and requested my 
 advice on the subject. 1 readily took a slip of paper and drew up a 
 sketch of an instruction which he showed to Mr. Jackson, counsel to 
 the Board of Trade, and which he afterwards told was perfectly ap- 
 proved of; and we never doubted that it would be sent out to the 
 Governor, in statu quo, nor knew 1 any thing to the contrary, till I 
 read your Journals, and found that Jackson, as I suppose, of his own 
 head, had added that the plaintiff should swear that the defendant's 
 absconding was in order to avoid payment of his debt. This he now 
 confesses and justifies upon the rule of the Court of Chancery in 
 England, which has adopted that form in certain proceedings against 
 absentees; but he says, as I do, that it was sufficient for your Gov- 
 ernor to have attended to the substance of his instruction, in which 
 case he ought to have dispensed with these words, for which the 
 Board would have been obliged to him. 
 
 As to the Assembly, I think them wrong in contending for an at- 
 tachment law in the same extent as before What we want here is 
 principally that we and you should be on a footing, that if one of our 
 merchants fails, his English and American creditors should receive 
 the same dividend ; whereas, as things stood under the late law, the 
 American creditor, who could find effects in that country, had his 
 whole debt, when the English creditor often got little or nothing. 
 We also want that even an European creditor should not have power 
 to attach in America, because by this means, unless the debtor is 
 made bankrupt, it often happens that the creditors who are mer- 
 chants, and have correspondents abroad, have greatly the advantage 
 of other people ; and it was to avoid this inconvenience that the ex- 
 pedient of obliging the plaintiff to swear that the cause of action 
 arose in the province was thought of. 
 
 " H. McCulloh tells me that there is a new instruction gone out 
 or made out. From what he mentions, it differs only from the last in 
 admitting an attachment where the cause of action may happen to 
 arise in Virginia or South Carolina, and striking out the clause that 
 obliged the plaintiff to swear that the defendant had absconded in 
 order to avoid payment of his debt. If this is the case, I think it a 
 foolish affair, and that it may be of some more service to Virginia, 
 than before, and that is all the difference ; for as to the other cir- 
 cumstance it is nothing, had your Governor rightly understood 
 the matter, being mere form only, and which he surely ought to 
 have dispensed with. 
 
1 16 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 " Before I finish the business, give me leave to mention to you, 
 that it was my idea w^hen I came to Carolina, that there was nothing 
 in your laws to warrant an attachment against the estate of a person 
 who had not some time or other been resident amongst you ; an 
 original attachment certainly could not lie against him, because he 
 neither conceals, absconds, nor absents himself, which the form of 
 your attachment makes a siiie qud non. An attachment on mesne 
 process, I think, ought not to affect such a debtor, because your sher- 
 iffs are on all returns to set forth the truth of the case, which is here 
 that the defendant is no inhabitant, in which case no attachment can 
 issue. What inclined me to think in this manner was the practice in 
 Virginia, where the laws were the same with yours in respect to 
 attachments, but where there is a particular act of Assembly respect- 
 ing persons never resident in the colony, which, if I have not forgot, 
 puts all creditors on a footing. This law you have not, nor any 
 tiling like it, the construction you put on the court acts supplying 
 the place of it. I am told, your agent wrote out, that your Gov- 
 ernor would receive an authority to consent to an enlargement to 
 the jurisdiction of the county courts. I know not what foundation 
 he had for writing so, because it was easy to see at the office what 
 instruction had gone out ; and I am well assured, that, had it not been 
 for your being in possession of a larger jurisdiction for some years 
 past, the county courts would have been put on the same footing 
 as in England. I believe the truth is, no inquiry was ever made by 
 the young gentleman after his return to England, trusting to the 
 exertions of his father in his absence, who had labored this point 
 with Mr. Jackson, and not having in express terms a denial, took it, 
 I believe, for granted, that he would recommend the matter to the 
 Board, and advised his son accordingly. This inclined him to hazard 
 the flattering letter wrote to the committee, and which I am told was 
 one reason, amongst others, for suffering his act of Assembly to ex- 
 pire. Betwixt you and me, the old man is the best agent of the two. 
 As this office is now vacant, and ii is impi ssible that your Province 
 in its infant, unsettled state can be without an agent in England, 
 I would have you seriously think of your old friend here. The grand 
 difficulty will lie with the Council ; but if ways and means could be 
 fallen upon to interest the Governor, I have no doubt a majority of 
 that board might be easily secured to vote as he might direct them. 
 The grand objection that lay in our way formerly is now no more, 
 (the opposition from the southern men j ) as the seat of government 
 is out of the question, it is become indifferent to them whether the 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 117 
 
 agents are from the south or the north. If you think this business 
 practicable, perhaps it may contribute somewhat to the carrying it 
 into execution should Mr. Barker write to the Chief Justice Cornell, 
 and some other principal or popular characters, which shall be done 
 if on reconnoitring the ground you think well of it. American af- 
 fairs have engrossed all the serious part of the attention of Parliament 
 this session ; the result of wSiich is, that four acts of Parliament 
 have passed respecting that part of the world, I had almost said of 
 the British dominions. By the first the harbour of Boston is shut up 
 till a compensation is made to their India Company for their tea, 
 and till the inhabitants discover an inclination to submit to the 
 revenue laws, after which the King, by and with the advice of the 
 Privy Council, is empowered to suspend the effect of the act. 
 
 " This law we imagine will save the Bostonians the trouble of 
 entering into new agreements against importing goods, as being out 
 of their power while the act continues in force. But we are not 
 certain that it will be followed by the same effect in the other prin- 
 cipal ports, they being left open, though not less criminal, except in 
 point of overt acts, than Boston But I suppose the administration 
 thought the whole too much to encounter at one time, 
 
 ^' The next act is for taking away the charter of the Massachu- 
 setts Bay ; hereafter the Council are to be appointed by the King, as 
 in the southern Provinces, and in certain cases the Governor is to 
 act without their consent and concurrence. The town meetings, 
 except for the purpose of elections, are declared unlawful, and some 
 other new regulations established. 
 
 " The third act enables the governors in case of an indictment 
 preferred against any officer of the Crown, either civil or military, 
 for any thing by him done in the execution of his office, to suspend 
 the proceedings against him in America, and to send him home for 
 trial in England. This law, I am told, the officers of the army in- 
 sisted on for fear of being prosecuted by the civil power, either as 
 principals or accessories to the death of any person killed in the 
 field of battle, in case things should come to that extremity. 
 
 " The fourth and last law respects quartering the soldiery. I have 
 not seen it, but suppose it is calculated to obviate in future the 
 construction put upon the old one, by the people of Boston, in their 
 town meetings, viz. that Castle William, situated three miles out of 
 town, should be taken to be barracks in the town, and of course ex- 
 cluded the pretensions of the army to quarters in the town, even 
 thougli the purpose of sending soldiers should be merely on account 
 
118 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 of the commotions and disturbances in the town. Lord Chatham 
 has never appeared in his place in the House of Lords during this 
 winter, Canibden and Rockingham, assisted by the Duke of Rich- 
 mond and some others out of place, form the present opposition, and 
 of course voted against these measures. The Duke of Richmond, 
 in particular, I am told, spoke against them with great acrimony, 
 wishing that the Americans might rebel openly ; but they were 
 always outvoted five to one in the lower House. Lord North is 
 as absolute as ever Pitt was, and most people think as deservedly; 
 even Barre voted against the Americans on the Boston Port Bill, and 
 made a long speech on the occasion ; as did Lord George Sackville 
 on all of them ; and yet these are two of our staunchest patriots, in 
 other words, strongest opponents of the ministry. With respect to 
 the sentiments of the public in general, they are not favorable to the 
 Americans; most people think it unreasonable, that they should 
 be taxed without their consent ; but they think it also dangerous 
 to allow the sovereign to have more parliaments than one, at 
 least independent of that one, and think as I always did, and said, 
 that the king of England, as king, can have no subjects that are not 
 under the control of the Parliament of Great Britain ; but then, on 
 the other hand, nineteen in twenty of all the sensible people in the 
 kingdom think, and think very seriously, that, as the inhabitants of 
 the colonies are no longer an assemblage of needy vagrants, but are 
 become a numerous body, respectable for their importance in the 
 state, and bidding fiair in a little time to equal in point of numbers 
 those of the mother country, which decline in proportion as they 
 increase, the ministry ought either to waive all pretensions to 
 taxing them, or to admit a reasonable number of the Representatives 
 for the Americans. Were the people on your side of the water to 
 put matters on this issue, they would find many more friends in 
 England ; but, as things stand at present, when this is urged for you, 
 the ready answer is, that you declare you will not be represented, 
 ad quod non potest responderi. 
 
 " Saxby, the Receiver of South Carolina, has resigned, and Irwine, 
 who gave him some trouble about your office, is appointed in his 
 room. James Murray, would you think it? has accepted of Iiwine's 
 place in the customs of Boston ; it is that of an inspector, worth very 
 little to a young man, and still less to an old one. who has filled the 
 most respectable place in a Province. I fancy the old man is in 
 necessity, else he would not have encountered so much drudgery at 
 his time of day. I saw Col. Lawrence lately ; he talks of returning 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 119 
 
 soon, but says he shall first pay me two or three hundred pounds for 
 you. 
 
 " Having now, my dear friend, pretty fully gratified your curi- 
 osity respecting every thing that may either concern yourself or 
 the public, you will give me leave to add a few lines concerning 
 myself. 
 
 " When I left my power of attachment with you, I told you that 
 Andrew Millar and I had agreed, that all money you or he might 
 receive of mine should lie in his hands for three years, he paying rae 
 interest at the rate of five per cent, for two years and a half only. 
 I had a letter from him lately, in which he appears perfectly to recol- 
 lect this, but seems to have forgot that the money was to be remitted 
 at the Virginia exchange, making an allowance of twenty-five per 
 cent, to bring the product into Virginia money ; he charges thirty- 
 three and a half. When you see him I shall be obliged to you to 
 put him in mind of this matter. I do not want the money, but the 
 sooner his mistake is pointed out to him, the more probable it is that 
 he will recollect himself and correct it; perhaps if it is hinted to 
 him, that as he was to have the money six months for nothing, and 
 was afterwards to pay but five per cent, instead of six, it is to be 
 supposed some equivalent or other must have been stipulated in 
 return, he may call to mind our agreement; but I would not have 
 any bickering about the business. 
 
 " The other thing respecting myself is only a repetition of part 
 of one of my late letters. Mr. McCulloh has often been talking to 
 rae of buying the 1000 acres of land he got for his vote in Coun- 
 cil from Pugh &. Williams. I have never listened to him ; but if 
 I thought it good land, and that 2000 or 3000 acres more could be 
 had contiguous to it at an easy rate, I believe I should be tempted to 
 treat with him. Will you then inform yourself what sort of land 
 his is, and at what price the above addition may be made to it, and 
 advise me accordingly. I have now three boys to provide for ; one 
 of them shall take one of your girls oflf your hands, if she cannot 
 dispose of herself better. 1 am with compliments, for self and com- 
 pany, to all your family, 
 
 "Dear sir, your aflTectionate, 
 
 «' ALEXANDER ELMSLY. 
 " The King of France died last week of the sraall-pox, aged 64." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 The situation of the Province, after the dissolution of 
 the Assembly, was but little superior to an acknowledged 
 state of anarchy. It was a vain attempt to supply the 
 place of the Superior Court by the establishment of courts 
 of Oyer and Terminer. Without those tribunals die ser- 
 vices of Chief Justice Howard were unemployed, and this 
 de^^irable result was achieved by the dexterity of Maurice 
 Moore. "^ While the courts of Oyer and Termiuer and 
 General Gaol Delivery were holding in Wilmington, he 
 excepted to the commissions of the judges upon reasons 
 which he sustained. He first alleged, that the province 
 law which created the court, gave to the chief justice the 
 power of oyer and terminer and general goal delivery, but 
 that the clause which empowered the associates to act in his 
 absence gave them only the powers of judges of oyer and 
 terminer, and therefore that the commissions exceeded 
 the Governor's powers. His second exception was, that 
 the commission was to try for the " district of Wilming' 
 ton,^^ when no such district had been made by the law. 
 Mr. Moore succeeded in suppressing the court, by the 
 voice of the associates who took an advisari and adjourned 
 
 * A letter from William Hooper to Judge Iredell, August 5, 1774. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 121 
 
 This was during the month of June, 1774, after which 
 period I find no notices of the courts of Oyer and 
 Terminer, or of the judicial dignity of Howard. Such 
 was the untimely, and yet merited fate, of the only hope of 
 the Royal judges of North Carolina. 1 say the merited 
 fate, hecause the chief justice was notoriously destitute, 
 not only of the common virtues of humanity, but of all 
 sympathy whatever with the community in which he lived. 
 He openly confessed himself inimical to the people, and 
 his letters show a degree of malignity,^ unworthy of a 
 judge or of a private citizen. 
 
 These distracting questions, which I have discussed so 
 much in detail, operated to draw into the Whig party, with 
 singular unanimity, the profession of the law ; a class of 
 mankind, who are, as a general rule, usually in favor of 
 " the powers that be." The court-law controversy was the 
 most prominent cause of dissatisfaction to the people at 
 large, and transcended in its immediate appeal to their 
 personal comforts and rights, the abstract question of Brit- 
 ish allegiance. To the people of Boston the latter subject 
 was the more interesting, as they suffered from the aggres- 
 sions of the mother country ; but to the people of North 
 Carolina, whose fellow-citizens were never butchered, and 
 whose ports were never closed by a military force, these 
 important usurpations were thrown into the shade by the 
 greater danger of domestic trouble. The opposition to 
 the ministry in North Carolina was embittered, not by 
 personal sufferings, but by a deep sympathy with the peo- 
 ple of Massachusetts, who were complimented in all the 
 public meetings throughout the Province, and who were 
 
 * A letter of his to Judge Iredell, of date May 20, 1773, is before me. 
 li 
 
122 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 assured of their readiness to aid them, in any general 
 scheme of protection or resistance. 
 
 I have said, that one happy effect of the destruction of 
 the courts, was the adoption of the Whig cause by the pro- 
 fessors of the law. I must illustrate this by an appeal to 
 circumstances and individuals. Isaac Edwards, a lawyer 
 of New Berne, and who had formerly been private secre- 
 tary to Governor Tryon, in a letter to Judge Williams of 
 Granville, dated on the 20th of July, 1773, uses the fol- 
 lowing Whig language. 
 
 " What are you all doing in these times ? I suppose you, who have 
 money enough, are amusing yourself by the improvements of your 
 plantations, to which you have now leisure to attend ; but what do 
 other people, whose barns are less plenteously stored and coffers not 
 so sufficiently replenished, do ? If I may judge of them by myself, 
 the prospect before them is not the most flattering, nor is the plenti- 
 ful harvest, which must at some time come, I fear so near at hand 
 as we wish it. The mother country has not of late discovered any 
 great desire to promote the wish of her children, much less to miti- 
 gate or relax the mandates of her sovereign and supreme power ; and, 
 if I judge aright, her children in this our dear country have too sa- 
 cred a regard to what they esteem their undoubted birthright, tamely 
 to surrender it to the command of any tribunal under heaven. What 
 is to become of us requires deeper penetration than mine to discover ; 
 but I am apprehensive it will be some time before matters are accom- 
 modated to our wishes ; terms of peace on the one hand being expect- 
 ed, if not exacted, or perhaps I may reverse it, and say exacted if not 
 expected, which on constitutional principles cannot, I apprehend, be 
 relinquished. As yet nothing is known certainly about it. We have 
 nothing scarcely stirring among us, every thing is still, and I am 
 happy to find that in our neighbourhood the distresses of the times 
 are as little felt as can possibly be expected, in any place under a 
 suspension of judicial proceedings." 
 
 (April, 1774.) My narrative is approaching that inter- 
 esting period of our history, when the people moved in a 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 123 
 
 body towards the organization of the Continental Congress. 
 In most of the Provinces the people were driven to this 
 step by the continued and insolent aggressions of the Brit- 
 ish ministry and parliament ; but in North Carolina a 
 combination of causes, independent of that general princi- 
 ple, operated to produce dissatisfaction towards the au- 
 thority of the mother country. The elements of that 
 combination I have exhibited, in the violence of the court- 
 law controversy, the party bickerings on the repeal of the 
 acts of 1748 and 1754, and other legislative disputes. In 
 as short a space as possible, I now propose to examine 
 the origin and the progress of the first Provincial Congress 
 of North Carolina. The people had been, for ten years, 
 protesting and complaining against the unconstitutional 
 legislation of the mother country, and their protests and 
 complaints had been couched in the submissive and obed- 
 ient language of faithful subjects. The age for such 
 things had passed away ; and now the fire that had been 
 so long smothered, by the recollection of a common origin 
 and kindred ties and sympathies, burst forth, and spread 
 in one unextinguishable flame, over the whole country, 
 from Maine to Georgia. The war of words was over, and 
 that of life and death had come. 
 
 There were five characters of that day, whose extraor- 
 dinary services in the cause of the first Provincial Con- 
 gress deserve to be particularly noticed. John Harvey, 
 William Hooper, Willie Jones, Samuel Johnston, and 
 James Iredell, were the principal pioneers in that great 
 and perilous undertaking. If I may judge from their 
 letters, they were, as early as the 1st of April, 1774, con- 
 templating the organization of a Provincial Congress or 
 Assembly, directly from the people, and independent of 
 
124 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 the authority of the Governor. The proposition to organ- 
 ize a Continental by the immediate agency of a Provincial 
 Congress, was first made to our committee of correspond- 
 ence by the committee of Massachusetts, about the 1st of 
 June ; and, nearly two months anterior to that date, I find 
 the following letter from Samuel Johnston to William 
 Hooper. 
 
 " My Dear Sir, 
 
 " Colonel Harvey and myself lodged last night with Colo- 
 nel Buncombe, and as we sat up very late the conversation turned 
 on continental and provincial affairs. Colonel Harvey said during 
 the night, that Mr. Biggleston told him, the governor did not intend 
 to convene another Assembly until he saw some chance of a better 
 one than the last ; and that he told the secretary, that then the peo- 
 ple would convene one themselves. He was in a very violent mood, 
 and declared he was for assembling a convention independent of the 
 governor, and urged upon us to cooperate with him. He says, he 
 will lead the way, and will issue handbills under his own name, and 
 that the committee of correspondence ought to go to work at once. 
 As for my own part, I do not know what better can be done. With- 
 out courts to sustain the property and to exercise the talents of the 
 country, and the people alarmed and dissatisfied, we must do some- 
 thing to save ourselves. Colonel Harvey said, he had mentioned 
 the matter only to Willie Jones of Halifax, whom we had met the 
 day before, and that he thought well of it, and promised to exert 
 himself in its favor. I beg your friendly counsel and advice on the 
 subject, and hope you will speak of it to Mr. Harnett and Colonel 
 Ashe, or any other such men. Colonel Harvey left us this morning, 
 and I shall follow him in the course of a few days as far as Edenton, 
 where if there is any thing important stirring, you shall hear from 
 me again. My best respects to your family, and believe me 
 " Your obedient servant, 
 
 " Samuel Johnston, 
 
 « April 5, 1774." 
 
 I have never been able to find any letter from Mr. 
 Hooper to Mr. Johnston, purporting to be an answer to 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 125 
 
 the one above, although I shall in the third part of this 
 volume introduce one of far superior merit, which he wrote 
 to James Iredell on the 26th of April, 1774. In this letter 
 he openly avows the propriety, as well as the probability, 
 of our independence. I look upon this letter as not infe- 
 rior to any event in the history of the country ; and, in the 
 boldness and originality of its views, I say that it is a doc- 
 ument without a rival at the period of its date. It takes 
 precedence of the Mecklenburg Declaration, as that does 
 of the national declaration of independence. It distinctly 
 says, " With you I anticipate the important share which 
 " the colonies must soon have in regulating the political 
 " balance. They are striding fast to independence, and 
 " will ere long build an empire on the ruins of Britain, 
 " will adopt its constitution purged of its impurities, and, 
 " from an experience of its defects, will guard against 
 " those evils which have wasted its vigor and brought it to 
 " an untimely end." 
 
 It will be seen, too, from the above extract, that James 
 Iredell was not an indifferent spectator of the great strug- 
 gle, then pending before the people, and that he had even 
 anticipated Mr. Hooper in the patriotic reflections of this 
 letter. Though but a mere youth at this period of our 
 history, I find him one of the most ardent supporters of 
 the Whig cause, and engaged in an extensive correspond- 
 ence on the injuries of his country. He used his pen with 
 great industry, and with still greater ability. I have 
 many of his papers now before me, and observe, through- 
 out all of them, the same zeal and devotion to the great 
 American cause. In his correspondence with Mr. Hoop- 
 er during the year 1774, the wrongs of the colonies are 
 discussed at large, and in the letters of neither do I dis- 
 11* 
 
126 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 cover even the hope of a reconciliation expressed. The 
 sufferings of the people of Boston are always alluded to 
 by Mr. Hooper ; and, in one of his letters^ to his friend 
 Jredell, he says, " The people of Cape Fear have sent a 
 vessel loaded with provisions for the support of Boston. 
 The subscription in a few days amounted to £800, and 
 in all other respects they discover a very proper resent- 
 ment for the injuries done to that people." 
 
 These observations and letters will illustrate the state of 
 the public mind, during the spring and summer of the 
 year 1774. The people were well prepared for immedi- 
 ate action, and when the project of a Provincial and Conti- 
 nental Congress was published abroad, they embraced it 
 with enthusiasm and zeal. About the 1st of July, handbills 
 inviting the people to elect delegates to a convention to be 
 held in New Berne, on the 25ih of August, were generally 
 circulated throughout the Province, and the objects of the 
 said convention were stated to be, to express the sentiments 
 of the people " on acts lately passed by the Parliament of 
 Great Britain, and to appoint delegates to represent the 
 Province in a Continental Congress." The handbills ad- 
 vised the people to invest the deputies, whom they might 
 send to New Berne, " with powers obligatory on the 
 future conduct of the inhabitants." 
 
 By the 1st of August a large majority of the counties 
 had held elections, and vested the high powers recom- 
 mended, in their long-tried and faithful leaders. Governor 
 Martin pretended to doubt the success of the plan, until 
 he perceived its overwhelming popularity ; and it was not 
 until the 12th of August that he condescended to take 
 
 * August 5, 1774. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. ] 37 
 
 official cognizance of such proceedings. On that day 
 his Excellency addressed the honorable members of the 
 Council as follows : 
 
 " Gentlemen of His Majesty's Council, 
 
 " I have heard with the greatest concern, and have read in public 
 newspapers and handbills, of invitations to the people in the seve- 
 ral counties and towns of this Province, to meet together to express 
 their sentiments on acts lately passed by the Parliament of Great 
 Britain ; and to appoint deputies to attend on their behalf, with 
 powers obligatory on the future conduct of the inhabitants of this 
 Province, at a meeting that I understand is to be held here on the 
 25th instant. I also find, that meetings of the freeholders and in- 
 habitants have accordingly been already held in some places, at 
 which resolves have been entered into, derogatory to the dignity of 
 his Majesty and his Parliament, and tending to excite clamor and 
 discontent among the King's subjects in this Province." 
 
 Under these circumstances, he considered it his indis- 
 pensable duty to advise with them as to the measures most 
 proper to be taken to discourage these assemblies, so in- 
 consistent with the peace and good order of the govern- 
 ment. To this appeal, the Council replied, that they would 
 maturely weigh the matters of his speech, until the next 
 day, when they would deliver their advice. On the next 
 day, in accordance with the advice of the Council, the 
 Governor issued a proclamation, in which he condemned 
 the assemblies and elections of the people, as highly illegal, 
 and warned all officers of the King, both civil and military, 
 to do all to the utmost of their power to prevent such illegal 
 meetings, and more particularly the meeting of certain 
 Deputies on the 25th instant. This step however was of 
 no avail. The Council Journal of this year (from which I 
 am now drawing my matter) states, that on the 25th of 
 August, the Governor signified to the Council, that that 
 
128 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 was the day appointed for the meeting of certain Deputies 
 from the several counties and towns of the Province, and 
 that many of them had actually arrived. He then desired 
 to know if they could advise any further measures than those 
 he had taken, and " they were unanimously of opinion, that 
 no other steps could properly be taken at this conjuncture." 
 Neidier the Proclamation, nor the less official menaces 
 of Governor Martin, could prevent the assembling of the 
 deputies. On the 25th of August, 1774, they punctually 
 met in New Berne, and elected Colonel John Harvey 
 Moderator, and Andrew Knox Clerk of their body. The 
 Congress being thus in session, the curiosity of the reader 
 is aroused to learn the names and characters of those, who 
 thus led the way, in the first effort to organize a delibera- 
 tive Assembly independent of the authority of the existing 
 government. They were the pioneers in our glorious 
 Revolution, and the organization of this Congress was their 
 first overt act. I shall introduce them to the reader by a 
 record of their names, and a few observations on the 
 characters of some of the most distinguished. 
 
 PROVINCIAL CONGRESS OF AUGUST, 1774. 
 
 Counties. 
 
 Anson, 
 
 Beaufort, 
 
 Bladen, 
 
 Bute, 
 
 Brunswick, 
 
 Bertie, 
 
 Samuel Spencer 
 
 William Thomas 
 C Roger Ormond 
 \ Thomas Respiss 
 C William Salter 
 I Walter Sibron 
 
 William Person 
 
 Green Hill 
 
 Robert Howe 
 John Campbell 
 
 Craven, 
 
 Carteret, 
 Currituck, 
 
 Chowan, 
 
 f James Cook, 
 j LeiTiuel Hatch, 
 ) Joseph Leech 
 (^Richard Cogdell 
 ^ Wm Thompson 
 \ Solomon Perkins 
 < Nathan Joyce 
 \ Samuel Jarvis 
 f Samuel Johnston 
 I Thomas Oldham 
 ^ Thomas Benbury 
 I Thomas Jones 
 l^ Thomas Hunter 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 129 
 
 Counties. 
 
 Chatham County, not represented. 
 ( Richard Caswell 
 j Will. McKennie 
 j George Miller 
 [ Sitnon Bright 
 r Thomas Gray 
 J Thomas Hicks 
 [ James Kenan 
 1^ William Dickson 
 
 none. 
 C Thomas Person 
 / Memucan Hunt 
 
 Dohhs, 
 
 Duplin, 
 
 Edgecombe, 
 
 Granville, 
 
 Guilford, 
 
 Hyde, 
 
 Hertford, 
 
 Halifax, 
 
 Johnston, 
 
 Mecklenburg, 
 Martin, 
 
 JV. Hanover, 
 
 JV. Hampton, 
 
 Orange, 
 
 Onslow, 
 
 none. 
 
 ^ Rothias Latham 
 
 "l Samuel Smith 
 none. 
 
 Nicholas Long 
 Willie Jones 
 Needham Bryan 
 Benj. Williams 
 Benjamin Patten 
 E. Smithwick 
 
 C John Ashe 
 
 I William Hooper 
 Allen Jones 
 Thomas Hart 
 William Gray 
 
 f John Harvey 
 
 I Benjamin Harvey 
 
 Perquimons, ^ Thomas Harvey 
 1 Andrew Knox 
 
 Pasquotank, 
 Pitt, 
 
 Rowan, 
 
 Surry, 
 Tryon, 
 
 Tyrrell, 
 
 Wake, 
 
 JVew Berne, 
 
 Edenton, 
 
 Wilmington, 
 
 Bath, 
 
 Halifax Toicn 
 
 Hillsborovgh, 
 
 Salisbury, none. 
 
 Brunsioick Toion, none 
 
 Campbelton, none. 
 
 I^J. Whidbee, Jun. 
 f Joseph Jones 
 •{ Edward Everigin 
 (^Joseph Reading 
 I John Simpson 
 I Edward Salter 
 ( William Kenon 
 ■^ Moses Winslow 
 1^ Samuel Young 
 none 
 David Jenkins 
 Robert Alexander 
 Joseph Spurill 
 Jeremiah Eraser 
 
 none 
 Abner Nash 
 Isaac Edwards 
 Joseph Hewes 
 Francis Clayton 
 William Brown 
 John Geddy 
 none. 
 
 The Moderator, John Harvey, whose name occurs so 
 often and so honorably in the history of North Carolina, 
 was a native of the Albermarle Shore, and a citizen of the 
 county of Perquimons. Endowed by nature with a vigor- 
 ous mind, and having embraced the most liberal oppor- 
 tunities for its cultivation, he added the ornaments of 
 education to those more indispensable and hereditary 
 qualifications of a polished gentleman, which eminently dis- 
 tinguished his character. After having for many years 
 served as a member of the Assembly from Perquimons, 
 he was, in 1766, elected Speaker of the popular House, 
 
 * My notices of the Provincial Congress are from the MSS. in 
 the State Department of North Carolina. 
 
130 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 a station which he filled, with but one interruption, to the 
 close of the Royal government. The great influence ex- 
 ercised by Samuel Swann, who had filled the Speaker's 
 chair for nearly twenty years, had given that station a 
 dignity scarcely inferior to that of the executive, and much 
 superior to that of a councillor. The Speaker of the 
 popular House, after the days of Mr. Swann, was looked 
 upon as the leader of the Whig party, and the hereditary de- 
 fender of the rights of the people. John Ashe, the hero of the 
 Wilmington sedition, succeeded Swann in 1762, and John 
 Harvey succeeded him in 1766. Throughout the turbu- 
 lent period of the years 1767, 1768, and 1769, he pre- 
 sided over the deliberations of the House, and received 
 the unanimous thanks of that body at the close of each 
 session. The powerful influence of Tryon had paralyzed 
 the Whig party, and made his hereditary office a sinecure ; 
 and in the Assembly of 1770, Harvey was succeeded by 
 Richard Caswell, a gendeman more acceptable to Tryon, 
 as a personal and political friend. In the Assembly of 
 1773, however, he was again elected Speaker at the 
 instance of Caswell, and here he found the office one of 
 dignity and importance. The House, from this period to 
 the flight of Governor Martin (and the consequent disso- 
 lution of the Royal government), was, strictly speaking, ar- 
 rayed as a party against the government; and, during the 
 whole of this dme, Mr. Harvey was the acknowledged lead- 
 er of the opposition. He conducted the Whigs through the 
 great controversy on the court law, and the attachment 
 clause, and the various other disputes with the Executive 
 and Council. I have stated that he was chosen Modera- 
 tor of the first Independent Provincial Congress, a station 
 which he filled with great honor to himself, and advantage 
 to the cause of his country, until his death. He was re- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 13| 
 
 markable for great decision of character and firmness in 
 his political principles, and demeaned himself towards his 
 opponents, and more particularly the Governor, with a 
 haughty reserve, which showed the bitterness of his oppo- 
 sition. Harvey's Neck, a point of land on Albemarle 
 Sound, at the mouth of the Perquimons River, was the 
 seat of this remarkable and illustrious family, which, for 
 many years before the Revolution, was celebrated for its 
 dignity, antiquity, and wealth. The changes of half a 
 century have left nothing but a few venerable and respect- 
 ed tombs, to attest the magnificent hospitality and grandeur 
 of the House of Harvey. 
 
 Of William Hooper, one of the Deputies from New 
 Hanover, I propose not now to speak. I shall dedicate 
 to his character the concluding chapter of my work, and 
 shall then, too, notice the characters of his colleagues, 
 John Penn of Granville and Joseph Hewes of Edenton, 
 who were members of the Provincial as well as the Con- 
 tinental Congress. 
 
 Richard Caswell of Dobbs was one of the leading men 
 of the Congress, both as an efiiicient business-man, and as a 
 strenuous supporter of the principles which they convened 
 to uphold. The character of none of the patriots of 1776 is 
 so well known, as that of Caswell. The various servi- 
 ces of his active life cannot be even recounted in a work 
 like this. I must content myself with a notice of a few 
 of the prominent events of his career, and leave the 
 pleasure of a more copious detail to the industry and zeal 
 of some future biographer. 
 
 I find him in 1765 an active opponent of the Stamp 
 Act, and eagerly disposed to take the field in opposition 
 to the measures of the government. In a few succeed- 
 ing years, however, he attached himself to the party of 
 
132 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Tryon, and opposed, with all his power the movements of 
 the Regulators. This singular position, of opposition to 
 the government in 1765 and of warm attachment to it in 
 1768 and 1769, is not more unaccountable or con- 
 tradictory, than the movements of the leading politicians 
 of the day. 
 
 After the excitement of the Stamp Act had subsided, 
 the failure of Tryon to supersede the popular leaders In 
 the affections of the people, taught him a lesson of prudence. 
 Finding it impossible to win the people, he determined to 
 win their leaders; and, for this purpose, he condescended 
 to employ the lucrative offices of his government, as well 
 as the elegant hospitality of his palace. In the midst of 
 such civilities as the latter, adorned by the presence of his 
 lovely and accomplished lady, he fascinated the mind of 
 the ambitious Caswell, and won him over to his confidence 
 and support. In 1770, he is observed in the Speaker's 
 chair of the House, a distinction which he acquired much 
 to the satisfaction of Tryon, who considered it as an evi- 
 dence of the strength of his party. 
 
 In the batde of Allemance, he was one of the most effi- 
 cient generals of the Governor's army, and commanded 
 the right wing of the second line in that famous engage- 
 ment. When, however, Tryon had ceased to govern the 
 Colony, and his place was filled by another, Caswell re- 
 turned to the support of the rights of the people, and in a 
 few years became one of the leading Whigs of the Province. 
 He was, during the session of this, the first Provincial 
 Congress, appointed, in conjunction with Messrs. Hooper, 
 and Hewes, to represent North Carolina in the Continen- 
 tal Congress, a situation which he held until the 8th of 
 September, 1775, when he was chosen one of the 
 Treasurers of the Province. Still continuing a member 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 133 
 
 of the Provincial Congress, he was elected its President, 
 at a period when the present constitution of the State was 
 adopted ; and, by an ordinance of the same Convention, he 
 was elected the first Governor of the state of North Caroli- 
 na. He carried the State through the stormy period of his 
 administration with signal success, and, after the expiration 
 of that official service, he was actively engaged in the 
 conduct of the war. The voice of an enemy is good au- 
 thority in his favor, and the pages of Tarleton's Campaigns, 
 written by that energetic enemy of American freedom, 
 will attest both his industry and his courage. In 1785 
 he was again elected Governor of the State, an office 
 for which, by the superior energy of his character, he 
 seemed admirably fitted. Having filled that station 
 during the regular constitutional period of his election, he 
 was shortly afterwards returned to the State Senate, and 
 was struck dead with an apoplexy, while officiating as its 
 Speaker. To no single individual is North Carolina more 
 indebted than to Governor Richard Caswell. He con- 
 tributed to her service not only his prayers and other 
 exercises of his mind, but personal influence and bodily 
 labor. He not only commanded armies and planned 
 batdes, but fought with his own hand ; and it is for this con- 
 stant devotion and sacrifice, that his character is cherished 
 as sacred by the people of North Carolina. A history of 
 his life would be a history of the revolution and of the 
 constitution, and presents one of the fairest subjects for an 
 historical memoir in the annals of the State. 
 
 Samuel Johnston, one of the deputies from Chowan, 
 was eminently distinguished for the amiable virtues of pri- 
 vate life, as well as his zeal in the cause of American 
 freedom. He had been for many years one of the leading 
 12 
 
134 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Whigs of the Province, and of the popular House of the 
 Assembly, and now headed the delegation from the patri- 
 otic county of Chowan. After the death of John Harvey, 
 he succeeded him in the trying and hazardous duties of 
 Moderator of the Provincial Congress, and manfully ful- 
 filled all the obligations which descended to him from his 
 predecessor. He was a gentleman of rank and education, 
 and his private papers exhibit an extensive and learned 
 correspondence, on the various rights of the Colonies, and 
 the equally various aggressions of the Ministry. In his 
 correspondence with Alexander Elmsly, in J 773, 1774, 
 and 1775, he appears to great advantage, not only as 
 a statesman and lawyer, but as an American patriot, and 
 one who had carefully weighed the chances of the then 
 approaching contest. Like nearly all the men of educa- 
 tion and rank at that day, he found much to dislike in the 
 present Constitution of the State ; and in the spring of 
 1776, while that instrument was the subject of con- 
 sultation, he urged his objections boldly, and, in one or two 
 instances, with success. In the old draft of the Constitu- 
 tion which was before the Committee of the Congress 
 of April, 1776, there was a clause " empowering the 
 inhabitants to elect the Justices of the County Court." 
 The influence of Samuel Johnston, was arrayed against 
 this project, and it was struck out of the original draft. 
 It is well known that a draft of the Constitution was not 
 presented to the consideration of the Congress of the 
 spring of 1776, on account of a division in the Com- 
 mittee, and that this instrument does not appear the sub- 
 ject of a debate or discussion until the Convention of 1776, 
 by which body it was adopted. But even before its 
 adoption, or before it was reported to the House from the 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 135 
 
 select Con)mittee, the clause on the popular election * of 
 the Judges of the County Court was reinstated. Samuel 
 Johnston, although not a member of the Convention, was 
 in Halifax ; and, by the exercise of his influence, he again 
 succeeded in subduing what he considered the evil 
 spirit of democracy. His views on the subject of the 
 Constitution were, that the departure from the principles 
 of the British government was too great, and that the un- 
 bridled will of the people was as dangerous a machine of 
 tyranny, as an irresponsible Monarch. Nor was he alone 
 in this opinion. Nearly all the intelligence to be found in 
 the Convention of 1776 was of this persuasion; and such 
 was the violence of the contest on this great principle, that 
 there was, even at that early day, a violent and dom- 
 inant democratic party, arrayed against the advocates 
 of a splendid government. 
 
 This dominant democratic party, however, did not in- 
 sult the rights or the dignity of courts of justice. Their 
 intemperate zeal was checked by the prudence and con- 
 trolling services of Caswell, who was essentially their 
 leader, and to whose forbearance we owe much of the 
 respectability of our present constitution. I am not aware 
 that Samuel Johnston ever surrendered the political prin- 
 ciples of his early life. The weakness of the State Gov- 
 ernments was the principal inducement for the present Con- 
 stitution of the United States, and, when that instrument 
 was presented for the approbation of the States, the aris- 
 tocratic party revived all its strength in its support. In 
 this cause, viz. the support of the Constitution of the Uni- 
 ted States, Mr. Johnston took a most active and influ- 
 
 * Letter of Johnston to Iredell. 
 
136 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 ential part, and contributed, nnore than any other citizen of 
 the State, to procure its adoption. He was President of 
 both the Conventions, which assembled to discuss its mer- 
 its, and even while he filled this responsible station, he 
 was the Governor of the State. In the close of the year 
 1789, when the Constitution was adopted, he was elected 
 the first Senator to Congress from North Carolina, a sta- 
 tion in which he nobly sustained the great reputation he 
 had acquired in the former service of his country. Hav- 
 ing filled nearly every office of distinction, within the gift 
 of the people, he died in 1816, blessed with the affections 
 of his fellow citizens, and with the remembrance of a well- 
 spent life. 
 
 General Thomas Person, was a Deputy from the coun- 
 ty of Granville, to the first Provincial Congress. 1 la- 
 ment the want of tinje and space to expatiate on the life 
 of this extraordinary man. There is no name in our his- 
 tory more remarkable for its continued opposition to the 
 oppressions of the Royal government, and the undeviating 
 support of the privileges of the people. He was oppos- 
 ed to the Stamp Act, was a violent Regulator, and, al- 
 though his estate was ravaged* and his dwelling plundered 
 by the emissaries of Tryon, he subdued his feelings so 
 far as to forgive their robberies, when he had subsequent- 
 ly the power to punish ihem. He was a genuine Whig, 
 — not only opposed to the encroachments of the Bri- 
 tish Parliament, but to the high-handed extortion and 
 corruption of the administration of Governor Tryon. He 
 was elected one of the members of the Provincial Coun- 
 
 *The desk which the emissaries of Tryon broke open, while 
 ravaging his estate, is still in the Person family, and bears still the 
 mark of the hatchet that was used. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 137 
 
 cil when that body was first instituted, after the flight of 
 Governor Martin, and at a subsequent period of our histo- 
 ry, was complimented by the erection of the County of 
 Person. In his declining years he displayed a munificent 
 spirit in the endowment of our University, with funds for 
 the erection of a College Chapel, a structure which still 
 bears the name of Person Hall, and which sufficiently at- 
 tests his laudable zeal in the cause of education. 
 
 There were four members of this first Provincial Con- 
 gress, all bearing the same name, and all distinguislied for 
 their patriotism and zeal in the cause of their country, 
 Willie Jones, of Halifax, Thomas Jones, of Chowan, Allen 
 Jones, of North Hampton, and Joseph Jones, of Pasquotank, 
 deserve to be noticed as a numerous but able representation 
 of that celebrated Whig family. The early and continu- 
 ed support which they yielded to the rights of the people, as 
 well as the remarkable coincidence of their names, have 
 distinguished them as a patriotic band ; and I am not 
 aware that the whole history of the State presents a sin- 
 gle example, to impeach the Whig character of that ex- 
 tensive name. As the Revolution advanced, the accession 
 of the name to its cause continues, until the adoption of 
 the State Constitution, when the patience of computation 
 is exhausted, by the immense crowd which are presented 
 for the applause of posterity. The dissimilar characters 
 of the two brothers, Willie and Allen Jones, as well as 
 their respective merits, entide ihem to a longer notice than 
 I have space to give. Observing that they were both em- 
 inently distinguished for their patriotism, during the pro- 
 gress of the war, I approach the position of these two 
 men during the contest on the Constitution of the United 
 States. To Willie Jones, that instrument was indebted for 
 12* 
 
138 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 its signal rejection in the Convention at Hillsborough in 
 1788 ; and to Allen Jones it was indebted for a warm and 
 most decided support. The first maintained a sullen si- 
 lence during the debates of that Convention, and sought 
 the private caucusses and meetings of the members, as a 
 theatre for his vehement denunciations of the Constitution, 
 as the charter of a consolidated government. The latter, 
 on every occasion, lauded it as a wise and prudent com- 
 promise, intended to rear up a splendid and respectable 
 government, on the dishonored fragments of the old Con- 
 federacy, and the abridged sovereignty of the States. 
 Both were faithful to their earliest principles. In 1776, 
 while the State Constitution was discussed in private let- 
 ters, and in public harangues, they divided on the same 
 principles; and, while Willie Jones strenuously insisted on 
 our present Constitution, as the essence of democracy, his 
 brother declared it an unfit system of goverment, and was 
 the advocate of a powerful government, representing entire- 
 ly the intelligence, virtue, and wealth of the State. The 
 superiority of Willie Jones over every other individual of 
 the State in 1788, is best illustrated by the rejection of the 
 Constitution of the United States, by a majority of one 
 hundred in the Convention of that year. He was a schol- 
 ar, as well as an efficient business-man, and, in the language 
 of one of his contemporaries, "could draw a bill in better 
 language, than any other man of his day." He died at 
 his seat near Raleigh, and his remains still sleep in the 
 garden of his former mansion.* 
 
 Thomas Jones, of Chowan, was a lawyer of some dis- 
 tinction in those days, and carried the skill and prudence 
 
 * Now the property of the Hon. Henry Seawell. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. I39 
 
 of his profession to the American cause. Between this 
 man and Willie Jones rests the honor of having written the 
 Constitution of North Carolina. I speak upon the author- 
 ity of a deceased friend,* when I ascribe the distinction to 
 Thomas Jones, although I do not deny the claim of the 
 other. They were most undoubtedly the framers of the 
 instrument ; and it bears in so many instances the stamp of 
 the peculiar services of Willie Jones, that I cannot give 
 up the conclusion, which I formed some years since, that 
 he had a material agency in its composition, as well as its 
 adoption. 
 
 Of Joseph Jones, of Pasquotank, apart from the purity 
 of his private character and the undoubted patriotism of 
 his whole life, I have not much to say. One thing, how- 
 ever, deserves to be mentioned, highly illustrative of his 
 public spirit and enterprise. He, together with Benjamin 
 Jones, conceived tlie project of the Dismal Swamp Canal, 
 a work which, after a revolution of more than a half a 
 century, successfully unites the waters of Virginia and 
 North Carolina, and pours into the mart of Norfolk the 
 rich products of the Albemarle and Roanoke. In North 
 Carolina, he is remembered for his long and perilous ser- 
 vice in the cause of her independence, more than for the 
 success of his enterprise. In Virginia a debt of gratitude 
 is due his memory, for the resuscitation of one of her an- 
 cient boroughs, and the new spirit of rivalry and enter- 
 prise, that broke forth in the jealous rival of the city of 
 Norfolk. 
 
 I must here terminate my sketches of the eminent men 
 of that Congress, and proceed to an examination of their 
 proceedings. On the 25ih of August, 1774, they assem- 
 
 The late Judge Murphy. 
 
140 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 bled and organized, and, on the 26th, it was resolved, that 
 three delegates be appointed to attend the General Con- 
 gress at Philadelphia in September. On Saturday the 
 27th, they adopted a variety of resolutions on the general 
 state of America, and a few only of local interest. They 
 commenced by the most solemn vows of loyalty for the 
 House of Hanover, and then, in the second Resolve, George 
 the Third is formally recognised as the Sovereign of the 
 Province, and His Majesty assured of their willingness to 
 support his succession, as by law established, against the 
 open or private attempts of any person or persons whatev- 
 er. After these submissive resolutions, the Congress pro- 
 ceeded to avow their rights, in a language which seemed 
 to mock the loyalty of the first two, by its violence and 
 total inconsistency. They claim the rights of English- 
 men, without abridgment, and swear they will sustain them 
 to the utmost of their power. They define those rights to 
 be, that no subject shall be taxed but by his own consent, 
 or that of his legal representative, and denounce in un- 
 measured terms every policy that assails this most sacred 
 right; and yet such had been the policy of the sovereign, 
 whose authority they had sworn to maintain and defend.* 
 In every age and every clime, people, no matter how 
 much excited, are slow to embrace the idea of a revolu- 
 tion, and are wont prudently to survey the violence of the 
 waves, before they plunge into the whirlpool. They hesi- 
 tate on the threshold, and even after they have by their 
 own acts fairly entered, they deny the charge of rebellion 
 or revolution, as a reflection on their honor and patriotism. 
 The Congress, proceeding in the exposition of their rights, 
 condemned the several acts of Parliament, imposing du- 
 ties on the imports of the Colonies, as highly illegal and 
 
 * MS. Journal. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 141 
 
 oppressive, and declared that the exportation of tea to 
 Boston was a trick to give effect to those abominable acts, 
 and thereby establish a precedent highly dishonorable to 
 America. I shall extract at length one of the resolutions. 
 
 " Resolved, That the inhabitants of Massachusetts Province have 
 distinguished themselves in a manly support of the rights of Amer- 
 ica in general, and that the cause in which they now suffer is the 
 cause of every honest American, who deserves the blessings which 
 the Constitution holds forth to them. That the grievances, under 
 which the town of Boston labors at present, are the effect of a re- 
 sentment, levelled at them, for having stood foremost in an opposition 
 to measures, which must eventually have involved all British Amei' 
 ica in a state of abject dependence and servitude." 
 
 The Boston Port Bill was then censured, as an outrage 
 on the liberty of a British subject, and a violation " of the 
 chartered rights granted them by their Majesties, King 
 William and Queen Mary, and as tending to lessen that sa- 
 cred confidence which ought to be placed in the acts of 
 Kings." The trial by juries of the vicinage, was pro- 
 nounced the only lawful inquest that could pass upon 
 the life of a British subject ; and the sending of persons 
 beyond the seas to be tried in certain criminal cases, as 
 had been proposed in Massachusetts, was said to be fraught 
 with the highest injustice, and likely to produce frequent 
 bloodshed of the inhabitants. 
 
 They declared they would not, after the first day of Jan- 
 uary, 1775, import from any quarter of the globe any East 
 India Goods or British Manufactures, nor would they pur- 
 chase such articles so imported from any persons, except 
 such as were then in the country, or might arrive on or be- 
 fore the aforesaid 1st of January. They declared that, 
 unless American grievances were redressed before the 
 1st of October, 1775, they would not export any tobacco, 
 
142 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 pitch, tar, turpentine, or any other articles whatever, 
 to Great Britain. Tliey resolved not to use, nor suffer to 
 be used in their families, any East India Tea, after the 
 10th day of September, and declared all persons not com- 
 plying with that resolution, enemies to their country. 
 Their complaints, it will be seen, are- generally borrowed 
 from the distresses of Boston, and show the closeness of 
 the various sympathies and ties, which, at so early a period, 
 united the American people. 
 
 One of the most important resolutions adopted by the 
 Congress was, that the people of the Province would 
 break off all trade or commerce of any kind, with 
 any city or town, or with any individual in such city 
 or town, that should refuse, decline, or neglect to 
 adopt or carry into execution, such general plan as should 
 be agreed to in the Continental Congress. The resolve on 
 the propriety of the Continental Congress is as follows. 
 
 "Resolved, That we approve of the proposal of a General Con- 
 gress to be held in the city of Philadelphia, on the 20th of Sep- 
 tember next, then and there to deliberate upon the present state of 
 British America, and to take such measures as they may deem pru- 
 dent, to effect the purpose of describing with certainty the rights of 
 Americans, repairing the breaches made in those rights, and for 
 guarding them for the future, from any such violations done under 
 the sanction of public authority. 
 
 " Resolved, That William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard 
 Caswell, Esquires, and every of them, be deputies to attend such 
 Congress ; and they are hereby invested with such powers as may 
 make any act done by them, obligatory in honor upon every inhab- 
 itant of the Province, who is not an alien to his country's good and 
 an apostate to the liberties of America." 
 
 I invite the attention of the reader to the latter resolve, 
 as highly illustrative of the great degree of confidence re- 
 posed in the three delegates by the whole Congress. The 
 unlimited discretion, with which these gentlemen were in- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. J43 
 
 vested, will likewise show ihe eagerness of the people of 
 Nortl) Carolina to cooperate in the scheme of general 
 revolution. 
 
 I here extract two other resolutions, expressive of the 
 opinion of the Congress on the policy of the Ministry, 
 and which seem to conclude their deliherations on Con- 
 tinental affairs. 
 
 " Resolved, That we view the attempts made by the Ministers 
 upon the Town of Boston, as a prelude to a general attack upon the 
 rights of the other Colonies, and that upon the success of this depends, 
 in a great measure, the happiness of America, in its present race 
 and in posterity ; and that therefore it becomes our duty to con- 
 tribute, in proportion to our abilities, to ease the burthen imposed 
 upon that Town, for their virtuous opposition to the Revenue Acts, 
 that they may be enabled to persist in a prudent and manly oppo- 
 sition to the schemes of Parliament, and render its dangerous de- 
 signs abortive. 
 
 " Resolved, That Liberty is the spirit of the British Constitution, 
 and that it is the duty, and will be the endeavour of us all, to transmit 
 this happy Constitution to our posterity in a state, if possible, bet- 
 ter than we found it ; and that to suffer it to undergo a change, which 
 may impair that invaluable blessing, would be to disgrace those an- 
 cestors, who, at the expense of their blood, purchased those privi- 
 leges, which their degenerate posterity are too weak or too wicked 
 to maintain inviolate." 
 
 This last spirited resolve, founded on the distresses of 
 Boston, reflects the highest honor on the patriotism and 
 virtue of our ancestors, and deserves to be cherished as a 
 venerable monument of the pfiiladelphian character of 
 the old American Colonies. The people of North Caro- 
 lina, as has been before mentioned, suffered nothing from 
 the aggressions of the Ministry, except a denial of their 
 rights, and appealed to the outrages committed on their 
 brethren of Boston as ihe source of their discontent, and 
 as a ground of rebellion. 
 
 The Congress, as was usual in all the Provinces, gave 
 
144 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 written instructions to their delegates ; and, as similar in- 
 structions have in several instances been published, to show 
 the Whig spirit of those days, I shall present an exact 
 transcript of those given to the North Carolina delegation. 
 
 " Resolved, That the following be instructions for the deputies, 
 appointed to meet in General Congress on the part of this Colony, 
 to wit : 
 
 " That they express our sincere attachment to our most gracious 
 Sovereign, George the Third, and our determined resolution to sup- 
 port his lawful authority in this Province ; at the same time, that 
 we cannot depart from a steady adherence to the first law of nature, 
 a firm and resolute defence of our persons and properties, against 
 all unconstitutional encroachments whatsoever. 
 
 " That they assert our right to all the privileges of British subjects, 
 particularly that of paying no taxes or duties but with our own con- 
 sent, and that the legislature of the Province have the exclusive 
 power of making laws to regulate our internal polity, subject to his 
 Majesty's disallowance. 
 
 *' That, should the British Parliament continue to exercise the 
 power of laying taxes and duties on the Colonies, and making laws 
 to bind them in all cases whatsoever, such laws must be highly un- 
 constitutional and oppressive to the inhabitants of British America, 
 who have not, and from their local circumstances cannot have, a 
 fair and equal representation in the British Parliament j and that 
 these disadvantages must be greatly enhanced by the misrepresen- 
 tations of designing men, inimical to the Colonies, the influence of 
 whose reports cannot be guarded against, by reason of the distance 
 of America from them, or, as has been unhappily experienced in the 
 case of the town of Boston, where the ears of the administration 
 have been shut against every attempt to vindicate a people, who 
 claimed only the right of being heard in their own defence. 
 
 " That, therefore, until we obtain an explicit declaration and ac- 
 knowledgment of our rights, we agree to stop all imports from Great 
 Britain, after the first day of January, 1775, and that we will not ex- 
 port any of our commodities to Great Britain after the first day of 
 October, 1775. 
 
 " That they concur with the deputies or delegates from the oth- 
 er colonies in such regulations, addresses, or remonstrances, as may 
 be deemed most probable to restore a lasting harmony, and good un- 
 derstanding with Great Britain, a circumstance we most sincerely 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 145 
 
 and ardently desire, and that they agree with the majority of them 
 in all necessary measures for promoting a redress of such griev- 
 ances, as may come under their consideration." 
 
 Such are the instructions of the Congress to the dele- 
 gates, and they are marked by the same inconsistency which 
 was observed in their first deliberative effort. The King 
 was the lawful sovereign, and they were determined to 
 support his authority ; but they cannot depart from a steady 
 adherence to a principle which they have long loved, viz. 
 that of resisting encroachments on their rights against any 
 authority whatever. 
 
 The most important local subject which was discussed 
 during this Congress, was the non-importation of slaves 
 from the coast of Africa. In one of their resolves I ob- 
 serve it positively interdicted, — not in a spirit of hostility 
 to the commerce of England, or with a view to derive an 
 exclusive benefit from such a trade, — but in the unequiv- 
 ocal language of the resolve, " That they will not import 
 any slave or slaves, nor purchase any slave or slaves im- 
 ported or brought into this Province by others, from any 
 part of the world, after the first day of November next." 
 If I considered such a proposition as a fit one for discus- 
 sion in this volume, I should embrace the opportunity to 
 suggest a dissentient opinion, to the expediency of this 
 step of our forefathers. The wise framers of the Con- 
 stitution of the Union did not appreciate such a step as 
 an instantaneous termination of the slave-trade, and un- 
 derstood too well the rights of the people, and the extent 
 of our commerce, to assail so vitally the existence 
 of so extensive a trade. The ships of New England 
 were profitably employed in such a commerce, and 
 the Southern States acknowledge the benefit and favor of 
 their agency, in the extent and rate of their purchases. 
 13 
 
146 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 The morality of that age had not been attuned, like that 
 of the present day, by the exciting harangues and pub- 
 lications of fanatics and demagogues ; but the right of prop- 
 erty was respected, and the stability and peace of the 
 community considered, as not an indifferent point in the 
 civil duties of a good citizen. The importation of barba- 
 rians from the deserts of Africa, to the genial, fruitful, 
 and Christian clime of North America, and their gradual 
 regeneration, was considered as a requital for many of the 
 horrors of slavery, which now figure in the visionary 
 schemes of agitators and emancipators. The prejudices 
 of birth may be invincible ; but I shall be slow to acknowl- 
 edge the consequent purity of all men, who deny the le- 
 gal existence of such a relation as master and slave, and 
 whose only anticipated delight seems to be, the destruction 
 of our property, or the massacre of our people. 
 
 In this Congress the principle of voting by counties and 
 towns was adopted, as the most suitable method of decid- 
 ing all differences which might arise in their deliberations. 
 This singular mode seems to have been adopted on ac- 
 count of the irregular numbers of deputies, which, from 
 peculiar reasons, each county would sometimes appoint. 
 In many of the small counties, four and frequently five or 
 six aspiring men were candidates for the suffrages of the 
 people ; and, in all such cases, prudence suggested the 
 propriety of tying them more closely to the Whig cause, 
 by a general election. Even the small boroughs conclud- 
 ed to send a more numerous deputation ; nor was this an 
 impediment to the despatch of public business, or an ex- 
 pensive grievance to the Province, as each county or town 
 commanded but one vote, and paid the expenses of its 
 own members. The system of voting by counties was 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 147 
 
 of great service in preventing long and distracting debates, 
 and destroyed the influence of such members as were se- 
 cretly indisposed to the general cause. The execution of 
 the Resolves of the Congress was entrusted to a County 
 Committee, which the deputies of each county and town 
 were instructed to have elected ; and here the admirers of 
 an absolute democracy may find a noble and worthy exam- 
 ple for their respect and admiration. These County Com- 
 mittees soon sprang into existence at the recommendation 
 of the deputies, and proved the most active instruments 
 engaged in the revolution of the country. The number 
 five, proposed by the Congress, was not respected in many 
 of the counties ; and this disobedience was atoned for, by 
 a most rigorous execution of the duties of their oflice. 
 When the freeholders of the county of Bute assembled at 
 the old Court House, on Shocco, for the purpose of elect- 
 ing the Committee, a variety of propositions were submit- 
 ted as to the proper number of persons to compose it ; 
 and, amidst the debate, Benjamin Ward, a much respected 
 Esquire of the county, suggested that one should be se- 
 lected from each Kin, — to use his own homely expres- 
 sion. He supported his proposition with success, and 
 accordingly one Committee-man was elected from each 
 family, which had the desired effect of uniting all the 
 relatives to the Whig cause. The rigid scrutiny of these 
 County Committees soon detected all suspicious persons. 
 They extorted oaths of loyalty to the American cause, 
 and the signal punishment which they dealt out to all hap- 
 less recusants, made the doubtful sincere and zealous, and 
 the refractory and decided Tories, silent and indifferent. 
 The only two acts of the Congress which remain for me 
 to notice, are the resolution making a provision for the 
 
148 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 future existence of the body, and the last act of thanks to 
 their able and fearless Moderator. With regard to the 
 first, it was agreed that the Moderator, or in case of his 
 death, Samuel Johnston, might at any time call them to- 
 gether, at such place as he might deem proper, and, 
 in case of the death or absence of any deputies, it was 
 recommended that others should be elected. I shall ex- 
 tract the vote of thanks to Colonel Harvey, as a duty which 
 history and posterity alike owe his fame. 
 
 "Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be given 
 " to the Honorable John Harvey, Esquire, Moderator, for 
 " his faithful exercise of that office, and the service he has 
 " thereby rendered this Province and the freedom of 
 " America in general." 
 
 The duty which Colonel Harvey had performed, in call- 
 ing together this Congress without authority from any quar- 
 ter, either the Governor or the people, was a perilous step, 
 and one which might have cost him his life or estate, had 
 the authority of the Royal government been sufficiently 
 strong. He had affixed his name to many of the hand- 
 bills and advertisements, which called upon the people to 
 elect delegates, and which provoked a Proclamation from 
 Governor Martin. He did not shun the dangerous distinc- 
 tion of presiding over the first Independent Provincial 
 Congress, although it was denounced by the Governor as a 
 treasonable assemblage ; and it will be seen, at a subse- 
 quent period, that he did not hesitate to issue his proclama- 
 tion convening the Congress, on the same day with that of 
 the Provincial Assembly. 
 
 After the adjournment of the Provincial Congress, Gov- 
 ernor Martin visited New-York, for the benefit of his 
 health, and perhaps for the benefit of his government* 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 149 
 
 The tumulfs that raged around him, at New Berne, and 
 which threatened to overthrow his power, were, by his own 
 confessions, beyond liis control ; but the prudent counsel 
 and great influence of Governor Tryon, who still govern- 
 ed New-York, might restore peace and authority to the 
 Governor of North Carolina. He was desirous, too, of 
 being in the vicinity of the Continental Congress, that he 
 might observe the conduct of the more contiguous Royal 
 governors, and thus regulate his own government. Dur- 
 ing his absence the administration of the government de- 
 volved upon James Hasell, the President of the Council, 
 a gentleman even of less energy and popularity than Gov- 
 ernor Martin. In the course of this temporary govern- 
 ment, the only matters worthy of notice, in which Presi- 
 dent Hasell acted a part, occurred on the 8th of October, 
 in the proceedings of a meeting of the Council. The 
 excited state of the public mind forbade the meeting of 
 the Assembly, and accordingly it was by advice prorogued 
 until the 24th of November. His Honor was pleased to 
 communicate to the Board His Majesty's order in coun- 
 cil under the Royal sign manual, dated the 1st of June 
 preceding, signifying and declaring the Royal disapproba- 
 tion and disallowance of several acts of Assembly, and, 
 among many others, an Act for the Relief of Insolvent 
 Debtors. This act I noticed in my remarks on the first 
 Assembly of 1773, as having been introduced by William 
 Hooper. It was now repealed by the Royal disallowance, 
 but was revived in 1777, by the Assembly of the State, and 
 is still referred to in practice, when the debtor refuses to 
 take the benefit of a later statute. An act too, which had 
 been extorted by the popular House from Governor Mar- 
 tin, for the more speedy recovery of all debts and de- 
 13* 
 
150 GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 mands under five pounds, as well as the fee bill, was re- 
 jected by the same authority, and these vetos of the King 
 were not of a character to conciliate the angry feelings of 
 the people. In the mean time, the Continental Congress 
 had, on the 5th of September, assembled, and found its 
 body filled by delegates from all the Provinces except 
 Georgia. The proceedings of this Congress, as applied 
 to the history of North Carolina, I shall notice in the Third 
 Part of the volume ; in this place I shall only observe the 
 nature of the celebrated association, which was there form- 
 ed, and which was circulated and adopted throughout the 
 country. By the sacred ties of virtue, honor, and love of 
 country, they bound themselves and their constituents not 
 to import, after the first day of December, 1774, from 
 Great Britain, or Ireland, any goods whatever, or from any 
 other place any goods thus imported. A resolution of 
 non-importation, after the 10th of September, 1775, was 
 adopted, which should be repealed by the intermediate re- 
 peal of the offensive acts of Parliament. Copies of this 
 association were carried into each Province by the dele- 
 gates, and laid before the Provincial Congress for their ap- 
 probation. It served to test the loyalty of many pretended 
 Whigs, and to direct the attention and sympathies of the 
 people to a scheme of union and united action. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 (continued.) 
 
 (1775.) This year is full of important events, and 
 during its course, the downfall of the Royal government 
 occurred. The political leaders of the day now threw 
 aside all disguise, and announced to the people the ap- 
 proach of a civil and foreign war, for the preservation of 
 the inherent rights of British subjects. It is pleasing to the 
 historian to arrive at such a period in his narrative, when 
 all hope or even anxiety for a compromise has been ex- 
 tinguished, and all artificial and equivocal homage to the 
 Throne, disavowed in the gallantry and enthusiasm of an 
 injured people. In the revolution of the year 1775, the 
 people of North Carolina, enamoured with the idea of inde- 
 pendence, overthrew the Royal government, and abjured 
 all allegiance to their hereditary sovereign. 
 
 Governor Martin, after having enjoyed an interview with 
 Governor Tryon, previous to his departure for England, 
 returned to his own government in the month of January. 
 On the 10th of February he issued a proclamation against 
 the legality of a purchase of territory effected by Rich- 
 ard Henderson (formerly one of the Royal Judges), John 
 Williams, and others, from the Cherokee Indians. The 
 purchase included lands in the present State of Kentucky, 
 and was alleged to be in violation of the Royal proclama- 
 tion of date the 7th of October, 1763, as well as an act 
 
152 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 of the Provincial Assembly. I have in my possession (by 
 the courtesy and kindness of the late Chief Justice) the 
 papers and letters of his father during his travels and resi- 
 dence in the wilderness. They constitute a mass of rich 
 material for the early history of Kentucky, as well as the 
 best evidence of the enterprise and sagacity of their au- 
 thor. 
 
 In the provisions of the bill, restricting the trade of the 
 Colonies to Great Britain, Ireland, and the British West In- 
 dies, which was passed by Parliament in the month of Feb- 
 ruary, 1775, North Carolina and New-York were except- 
 ed. "The historians of the adjacent States " have ob- 
 served this exception with a suspicious curiosity, and 1 
 here introduce at length, and without curtailment, the fol- 
 lowing letter from Alexander Elmsly to Governor Samuel 
 Johnston, which will be found to explain the true reason of 
 the exception. Mr. Elmsly, as I have before stated, was 
 one of the agents of the popular House resident in London. 
 
 " London, April 7th, 1775. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " Tours by Capt. Scott came to hand in due season, as did the 
 money for Mr. Barker, which is at his credit. Your Bill £100, 
 order Mr. Ferrear, was this day paid. 
 
 " I am happy to hear of your having a little boy ; he is about ten 
 months younger than my little fellow, who came to supply his sis- 
 ter's place, as did yours. You must take great care of him, and if 
 you can rear him to the age of four or five years, and afterwards 
 trust me with him, they shall be brought up together, as if they were 
 both of the same stock. You must keep him out of the sun in sum- 
 mer, and yet keep him out of doors as much as possible ; there is no 
 other way of raising children in your climate. Could you strike 
 the months of June, July, and August, out of your calendar, you 
 would be immortal ; but as it stands, you are little better than birds 
 of passage. 
 
 " Your politics are past my expectations, and out of my reach. 
 I thought incorporating you would not only have remedied the dis- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 153 
 
 order, but have given additional vigor to the Constitution; but, ex- 
 cepting our friend Mr. Barker, nobody either here or there is of the 
 same opinion; therefore I shall suppose for the present, that he and 
 I are mistaken, and wait with resignation the event of the measures 
 adopted on both sides of the water. 
 
 " On our side they are as follows : — 
 
 «<lmo. The House of Commons have voted by resolve, that if you 
 will tax yourselves for the purpose of supporting your own estab- 
 lishments, and also contribute a certain sum for the general safety, 
 the amount of which to be satisfactory to the King and Parliament, 
 and to be at their disposal, then the Parliament will desist from lay- 
 ing any further taxes for the present. This, they say, is holding out 
 to you the olive branch ; I say it is a dirty, disgracing, degrading ex- 
 pedient, compared to mine ; but it is so much akin to a similar one 
 proposed in the House of Lords by Lord Chatham, and approved of 
 by Franklin and the other Americans here, that I must suppose my- 
 self again mistaken. 
 
 2do. A bill has received the Royal assent for preventing the four 
 New England Colonies from fishing, after the 25th of June next, and 
 another has been read three times, in the House of Commons, for 
 restraining the trade of all the associated Colonies to Great Britain 
 and the British West Indies ; out of this restraint, however. New 
 York and North Carolina are excepted ; the former because their 
 Assembly did not recognise the new laws, the latter for reasons not 
 generally known ; they are, however, one or all of the following : 
 1st. Mr. Barker and myself, instead of the petition you sent us 
 (which contained besides strange inaccuracies, indirect reflections on 
 the Parliament, or the Ministry at least), drew up a memorial in more 
 decent terms, which we left a rough draught of with Mr. Pownal, 
 the Secretary, for his inspection, previous to its being presented to 
 the Board. This was about the 10th of February ; in two or three 
 days we called to know his sentiments on it ; he told us he had pe- 
 rused it, approved of it, and pressed us much and repeatedly to 
 have it lodged as soon as possible, which was done the next day. 
 Two or three days after, Lord North moved for the restraining bill in 
 the House of Commons, and North Carolina was and still is left out. 
 The next reason is, we have as yet received no account of your As- 
 sembly, or rather the members of it, having ratified the new laws, 
 nor have you been charged with any excesses in the execution of 
 them. The last, and perhaps the best reason is. Governor Tryon 
 (who returns to New York immediately) is much your friend, and 
 
154 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 I doubt not has exerted himself in your behalf accordingly. Wheth- 
 er you will thank us for this distinction, or not, whether it will not 
 be considered as opprobrious instead of honorable, whether Mr, B. 
 and myself will be censured, or not, as having been in all proba- 
 bility instrumental in bringing it about, I do not pretend to say. 
 But in our defence, or rather in mine, for it was with much reluc- 
 tance he consented to suppress the petition, you will take notice, 
 that when your Memorial was presented, we had no idea that such 
 restraining bill was intended ; on the other hand, should this exemp- 
 tion be received favorably, give us no credit for it, for, had it not been 
 for a tenderness we had for the reputation of your Assembly, as 
 having been long members of it, your Petition, exceptionable as it 
 is, should have been presented. I do not know whether you ever 
 perused it, but my objections to it were, first that a memorial from 
 us was as good as it, and next that you generally address the King 
 as the people of New England do each other, in the third person; for 
 instance, you say, in more places than one, ' Your Majesty in his 
 great goodness, in his great wisdom,' &c. instead of ' your goodness,' 
 &c. ; this might have passed from a poor ignorant criminal, begging 
 his life, but surely better things would have been expected from 
 your Assembly. Besides this objection, there was another. You say 
 you have been taught to expect redress from the Throne alone, i. e. 
 you expect none from the Ministry or the Parliament. How far you 
 are well grounded, I do not know ; but as I well know that none of 
 these petitions ever reach the Throne, but through the hands of the 
 Ministry, to whom they are left as an ordinary piece of business, 
 I thought, and I still think, it would have been preposterous to have 
 presented a petition, which, amongst other things, sets forth that the 
 petitioner, from past experience, did not doubt of having his petition 
 rejected. This objection, however, alone, would not have had much 
 weight, at least not enough to have prevented our presenting the 
 Petition ; but, on account of both together, it was agreed to suppress 
 it, and to substitute a Memorial in its room, and keep the whole a 
 secret ; and I am not sure whether Mr. Barker would not be dissat- 
 isfied, if he knew that this matter had been communicated even to 
 you ; therefore pray say nothing about it. With respect to the suc- 
 cess of your Memorial, we can at present form no judgment of it, 
 but are told that by next packet the matter will be settled, and if no 
 bad news arrives from Carolina in the mean time, we hope it will be 
 in part settled to your satisfaction. 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 155 
 
 *' You ask Mr. Barker to let you know who it was that first moved, 
 here, against your Court laws. Neither he nor I know certainly ; but 
 when old Mr. McCulloh, as your agent, first received an account 
 of your Court Bill miscarrying, on account of an instruction to your 
 Governor against attachments, he hinted that Lord Hillsborough, 
 then Secretary of State for America, and Lord Hertford, then and 
 now Lord Chamberlain, and both Members of the Privy Council, and 
 North of Ireland men, and friends and neighbours of your Dobbi's, 
 might probably, at their solicitation, have been the means of send- 
 ing out the instruction. You know Nash had an attachment depend- 
 ing against their estate ; this is only conjecture, but I think it prob- 
 able ; because, had the measure originated amongst the merchants, 
 we certainly should have heard of it long ago; as you say, however, 
 it is not of much consequence now, as the new laws have taken 
 place, whether the old ones are restored or not. 
 
 " Old Franklin is gone to Philadelphia, some people say to second 
 Lord North's plan of your taxing yourselves; but I know nothing of 
 the matter. 
 
 " There is an account received that the transports are sailed from 
 Cork, and next week the Generals Howe, Burgoyne, and Clin- 
 ton follow them from hence in a man of war ; some of these troops 
 are destined for New York, and two companies with a sloop are to 
 be sent to Georgia. 
 
 " Should your Assemblies refuse to adopt Lord North's plan, and 
 our Parliament persevere, you will have another new set of laws 
 soon established. They say your seaports are to be turned into gar- 
 rison towns, and the people of the country left at liberty to form any 
 establishment they think proper. Should this regulation take place, 
 I hope you will have no occasion to turn soldier. Your Governor, I 
 suppose, will take up his residence amongst the musquetoes at Brea- 
 cok, and you will be a Congress or Committee man, instead of a 
 military man. 1 like neither character, but hope you will never have 
 occasion to take upon you the latter especially. 
 
 '' Mrs. Elmsly joins me in compliments and best wishes to you and 
 yours. 
 
 " I am, dear Sir, 
 
 " Your afile. friend and h'ble serv't, 
 ALEX'R. ELMSLY." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 I SHALL now sketch the conduct of his Excellency and 
 the Council, anterior to the meeting of the Second Provin- 
 cial Congress, on the 3d of April. On the 11th of Feb- 
 ruary John Harvey issued a proclamation, or notice, re- 
 questing the people of the counties and towns to elect 
 deputies to represent them in a Provincial Congress, on 
 Monday, the 3d of April. These papers were industri- 
 ously circulated, and the elections were quietly proceed- 
 ing in many of the counties and towns, when, on the 1st of 
 March, the Governor informed the Council Board, that he 
 had observed lliese notices dated " Perquimons County," 
 and signed "John Harvey," and, considering such proceed- 
 ings highly derogatory to the dignity of the Legislature, 
 appointed to meet on the same day, and in every light 
 illegal, and inconsistent with good order and government, 
 recommended the matter to the consideration of his coun- 
 cillors ; when they, conceiving the highest detestation of 
 such proceedings, were unanimous in advising his Excel- 
 lency to issue a proclamation, forbidding such illegal meet- 
 ing, in the following words : 
 
 " North Carolina, ss. 
 " By His Excellency Josiah Martin, Esq. &c. 
 
 «'A PROCLAMATION. 
 " Whereas, an advertisement is printed in the public newspapers, 
 and also industriously circulated about this Colony in handbills, dat- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. I57 
 
 ed Perquimons county, the eleventh day of February, 1775, request- 
 ing the counties and towns thereof to elect delegates, to represent 
 them in convention at the town of New Berne, on Monday the third 
 day of April next, and signed John Harvey, Moderator. And where- 
 as the name and authority of such an officer, and such a meeting, 
 is unknown to the laws and Constitution, and such an invitation to 
 the people may tend to ensnare the unwary and ignorant among His 
 Majesty's loyal and faithful subjects in this Province, to partake in 
 the guilt of such unlawful proceeding ; and whereas, the Assembly 
 of this Province, duly elected, is the only true and lawful represen- 
 tation of the people, and is competent to every legal act that rep- 
 resentatives of the people can do ; and as an attempt to excite the 
 people to choose another body of representatives, to meet at the time 
 and place appointed for the meeting of the Assembly, is to betray 
 them into a violation of the Constitution, in points wherein they are 
 most materially concerned to support it, — a contempt of that branch 
 of the Legislature which represents the people, — and highly deroga- 
 tory to its power, rights, and privileges ; I have thought proper, by 
 and with the advice and consent of His Majesty's Council of this 
 Province, to issue this Proclamation, and 1 do hereby exhort the 
 many good people of this Province, who have, to their honor, hitherto 
 prudently withstood the insidious attempts of evil-minded and de- 
 signing men, that they do on this occasion steadfastly persevere in 
 such loyal and dutiful conduct, and continue to resist and treat 
 with just indignation all measures so subversive of order and govern- 
 ment, and so inconsistent with the allegiance they owe to his Ma- 
 jesty, and that they do not subject themselves to the restraints of 
 tyrannical and arbitrary Committees, which have already in many in- 
 stances proceeded to the extravagance of forcing His Majesty's sub- 
 jects, contrary to their consciences, to submit to their unreasonable 
 and chimerical resolves, doing thereby the most cruel and unpar- 
 alleled violence to their liberties, under the pretence of relieving 
 them from imaginary grievances. And I do hereby further exhort 
 all His Majesty's subjects in this Province, as they value their dear- 
 est rights, under the present happy Constitution, and as they would 
 testify their duty and allegiance to the best of Kings, that they for- 
 bear to meet to choose persons, to represent them in convention pur- 
 suant to the advertisement herein before recited. And I also do 
 most earnestly recommend to them to renounce, disclaim, and dis- 
 courage all such meetings, cabals, and illegal proceedings, which 
 artful and designing men shall attempt to engage them in, and which 
 
 14 
 
168 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 can only tend to introduce disorder and anarchy, to the destruction 
 of the real interest and happiness of the people, and to involve this 
 Province in confusion, disgrace, and ruin. 
 
 " Given under my hand, &c., A. D. 1775, March 1st. 
 (Signed) " JO. MARTIN. 
 
 " God save the King." 
 
 This frothy Proclamation was, however, of no avail, 
 and the zeal of the Whigs only increased when they per- 
 ceived the discomfiture of the angry Governor. The 
 Royal government was tottering to its base, and the in- 
 temperate language of Governor Martin, as well as the 
 firm and decided stand of the Whig leader, was an omin- 
 ous sign of its fall. Finding that his violent Proclamation 
 could not intimidate the people, and that the delegates 
 were in many instances likewise members of the Assem- 
 bly, on the 2d of April he convoked the Council, and ac- 
 quainted them that he had received his Majesty's com- 
 mand to use his utmost endeavours to prevent the appoint- 
 ment of delegates to the Continental Congress, and that 
 as a Provincial Congress was to assemble in New Berne 
 on the next day, for that illegal purpose, he desired to be 
 advised as to the measures proper to be taken to prevent 
 the organization of that unlawful assembly. The Council 
 declared that his Excellency had no other means than to 
 issue a Proclamation ; and accordingly another vehement 
 document appeared on the morning of the 3d of April, 
 denouncing ihe proposed Convention, and calling upon the 
 members, in the King's name, to desist from the election 
 of delegates to the Continental Congress, and to withdraw 
 themselves from the aforesaid Convention, on pain of his 
 Majesty's high displeasure. The Provincial Congress con- 
 vened on the 3d of April, and Colonel John Harvey filled the 
 chair of that body. The Congress did nothing more than 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 159 
 
 organize on the first day ; and, vesting their Moderator with 
 the power of controlling the periods of meeting, they ad- 
 journed, nnd on the next day assumed the shape of a Pro- 
 vincial Assembly, and waited on his Excellency for the des- 
 patch of public business. I shall first notice the proceed- 
 ings of the Congress, which, like the Assembly, continued 
 in session only a few days. The most important business 
 presented for their consideration was the proceedings of 
 the Continental Congress, and as Messrs. Hooper, Cas- 
 well, and Hewes were all present as members of the Con- 
 gress, they proceeded, on the 5th of April, to lay before 
 their constituents the association entered into at Philadelphia 
 on the 20th of October, 1774. Richard Caswell present- 
 ed it, signed by the members of the Continental Congress, 
 and, after it was read, a resolution was adopted by the 
 Congress, approving of the said association, and firmly 
 pledging themselves to adhere to its provisions, and to re- 
 commend its adoption to their constituents. It was then 
 signed by all the deputies of the Convention, except 
 Thomas Macknight of Currituck, who was, on a succeed- 
 ing day, denounced in the following bitter terms, — 
 
 " Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Convention, that, from 
 the disingenuous and equivocal behaviour of Thomas Macknight, it 
 is manifest his intentions are inimical to the cause of American lib- 
 erty, and we do hold him up as a proper object of contempt to this 
 Continent, and recommend that every person break off all connec- 
 tion and have no future commercial intercourse or dealing with him. 
 Resolved, That the above Resolve be published in the Gazettes of 
 this and the neighboring Colonies." 
 
 The conduct of the delegates to the Continental Con- 
 gress was not only highly approved, but the Moderator re- 
 quested, in a set speech, to return them the thanks of the 
 Convention and the Colony. After this ceremony was over, 
 
160 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Colonel Harvey, as one of the members from Perquimons, 
 rose in his seat, and, in another set speech, returned them 
 the thanks of the people of Perquimons, which had been 
 voted on the 11th day of March, at a meeting of the peo- 
 ple of that county. But the best evidence of the entire 
 approbation of the Whig party which the delegates to the 
 Continental Congress received, was their re-appointment 
 with the same discretionary powers. In the warm lan- 
 guage of that day, they were most heartily beloved, and, 
 in every section of the Province, their names were pro- 
 verbial for patriotism and devotion to the Whig principles 
 of their countrymen. 
 
 The following general declaration of rights was adopted 
 before the adjournment of the Convention. 
 
 •* Resolved, That His Majesty's subjects have an undoubted right at 
 any time to meet and petition the Throne for a redress of grievances, 
 and that such right includes a further right of appointing delegates 
 for such purpose, and therefore that the Governor's Proclamation is- 
 sued to forbid this meeting, and his Proclamation afterwards com- 
 manding this meeting to disperse, are illegal, and an infringement 
 of our just rights, and therefore ought to be disregarded as wanton 
 and arbitrary exertions of power." 
 
 In this Provincial Congress, there appeared several 
 counties and towns which were not represented in the 
 first, and nearly all of them returned an increased number 
 of deputies. From the county of Guilford, which did 
 not appear in the first, Alexander Martin, afterwards Gov- 
 ernor of the State, appeared ; Parker Quince represented 
 the borough of Brunswick ; Cornelius Harnett, Wilming- 
 ton ; and John Hinton, one of the commanders in the 
 batde of Allemance, Michael Rogers, and Tignal Jones, 
 appeared as deputies from the county of Wake. The 
 Convention or Congress (for they are terms indifferently 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. lg| 
 
 used in their own proceedings), after having provided for 
 a future meeting, adjourned on the 7th of April. The 
 Provincial Assembly met on the 4lh of April, and the 
 popular House elected John Harvey their Speaker. This 
 body consisting, with but few exceptions, of the delegates 
 to the Congress, sat for only four days, when it was dis- 
 solved by Proclamation. There is something farcical in 
 the conduct of these two bodies. The Congress would 
 be in session, when Mr. Biggleston, the Governor's Sec- 
 retary, would arrive ; and then Mr. Moderator Harvey 
 would turn himself into Mr. Speaker Harvey, and pro- 
 ceed to the despatch of public business. The Assembly, 
 too, occasionally forgot its duty, and trespassed on the 
 business of the Congress. On the 7tli of April, I find 
 them engaged in passing resolutions in favor of the Con- 
 tinental Congress, and complimenting Hooper, Caswell, 
 and Hewes ; and they would undoubtedly have continued 
 their deliberations on Continental affairs, had not the Gov- 
 ernor dissolved them on the next day. The court law 
 and attachment controversy were now forgotten, and, in 
 the elegant language of the play-bills, were " laid aside to 
 make room fo?- forthcoming novelties,''^ As this is the last 
 Assembly that ever convened under the Royal government, 
 I shall lay before my readers the speech of Governor 
 Martin, and the answer or address of the popular House. 
 They are important papers, and will better illustrate the 
 history of the times than any disquisition of mine. 
 
 The last Speech of Josiah Martin, the last Royal 
 Governor. 
 
 ■^' Gentlemen of His Majesty's Honorable Council^ 
 
 " Mr. Speaker and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, 
 " I have met you in General Assembly, in hopes that, dismissing 
 every cause of private dissension from your minds, you will calmly, 
 unitedly, and faithfully apply yourselves to the discharge of the high 
 14^- 
 
1(52 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 and important office of legislation, in which you bear so great a 
 share, according to the Constitution of this country, that calls upon 
 you for relief at this time, in a most peculiar and pressing manner. 
 " I look, Gentlemen, with the extremest horror and concern to the 
 consequences of the violent and unjustifiable proceedings in some 
 of His Majesty's Colonies of this Continent, where in many places 
 the innocent, unwary, and ignorant part of the people have been 
 cruelly betrayed into measures highly inconsistent with their duty 
 and allegiance to our most Gracious Sovereign and the State, that 
 tends immediately to involve them in the most embarrassing diffi- 
 culties and distresses, and which, if pursued, must inevitably pre- 
 cipitate these Colonies from their present unparalleled state of pros- 
 perity, into a train of miseries most dreadful to contemplate, whence 
 ages of time will not redeem them to their now envied felicity. 
 You, Gentlemen, are bound by your duty to the King, to the State, 
 and to this people, as well as I by mine, to obviate the contagion of 
 these evil examples in this country, and to defend it if possible from 
 the ruin and destruction to which they plainly lead. I see with in- 
 finite concern, the unhappy influence they have already had among 
 us. The meetings to which the people have been excited, the ap- 
 pointment of Committees, the violence these little, unrestrained, and 
 arbitrary tribunals have done to the rights of His Majesty's subjects, 
 the flagrant and unpardonable insults they have offijred to the high- 
 est authorities of the State, by some of their acts which have been 
 made public, and the stop that has been put in some of the counties 
 to the regular course of justice, in imitation of the unwarrantable 
 measures taken in other Colonies, but too plainly evince their bane- 
 ful progress here, and loudly demand the most effectual exertion of 
 your restraining and correcting powers. You are now. Gentlemen 
 of the Assembly, by your duty to yourselves, and to your constit- 
 uents, most peculiarly called upon to oppose a meeting of delegates 
 which the people have been invited to choose, and who are appointed 
 to assemble at this very time and place, in the face of the Legisla- 
 ture. This illegal meeting, pursuant to my duty to the King and 
 the Constitution of this country, and from a regard to your digni- 
 ty and the just rights of the people, I have counteracted, and 1 shall 
 continue to resist it by every means in my power. What can this 
 mean, Gentlemen ? — Are you not the only lawful representatives of 
 the people in this country, and competent to every legal purpose ? 
 Will you then submit to see your constituents misled to violate their 
 dearest privileges, by wounding your dignity and setting up repre- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 163 
 
 sentatives derogatory to your just power and authority ? This, Gen- 
 tlemen, is an insult to you, of so violent a nature, that it appears to 
 me to demand your every possible discouragement ; for its evident 
 tendency is to create a belief in the people that they are capable 
 of electing representatives of superior powers to the members of 
 your House, which, if it can possibly obtain, must lead to obvious 
 consequences, to the destruction of the essence, if not the very be- 
 ing of an Assembly in this Province, and finally to the utter disso- 
 lution and overthrow of itt! established happy Constitution. This, 
 Gentlemen, among others I have before mentioned, is one of the 
 fatal expedients employed in some of the other Colonies, under the 
 influence of factious and wicked men, intent upon promoting their 
 own horrid purposes, at the hazard of their country's ruin. I hope 
 they have been adopted here more from a spirit of imitation than 
 ill principles, and that you, clearly discerning the mischiefs with 
 which they are pregnant, will heartily concur with me in opposing 
 dawnings of so dangerous a system. 
 
 " As an object of the greatest consequence to all the Colonies, I 
 would recommend it to your first attention to employ your utmost 
 care and assiduity, to remove those false impressions by which the 
 engines of sedition have labored to effect, but too successfully, a 
 most unnatural division between the parent State and these Col- 
 onies, which under her protecting, indulgent, fostering care, have 
 attained to a degree of prosperity beyond all example. The basest 
 arts have been practised upon the innocent people, and they have 
 been blindly led to partake in guilt to which their hearts are confes- 
 sedly averse ; and thus step by step they will be seduced from their 
 duty, and all the bonds of civil society will be destroyed, unless 
 timely remedies are applied. This, Gentlemen, is a melancholy 
 prospect, that must seriously alarm every good subject, every hu- 
 mane, every honest man ; and it will be your duty as guardians of 
 the constitutional rights of the people, rigorously to oppose pro- 
 ceedings so manifestly subversive of their freedom and happiness. 
 Be it your care then, Gentlemen, to undeceive the people, to lead 
 them back, from the dangerous precipice to which an ill spirit of fac- 
 tion is urging them, to the paths of their duty 3 set before them the 
 sacred tie of allegiance by which as subjects they are bound to the 
 State ; inform them of the reciprocal benefits which their strict ob- 
 Bervance thereof entitles them to, and warn them of the danger to 
 which they must expose their lives and properties, and all that they 
 hold dear by revolting from it. 
 
164 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 " The frequent occasions you have had in your several capacities 
 as members of the legislature, and magistrates, most solemnly to 
 swear this allegiance, which is an implied duty upon every subject 
 of every State, when it is not professed and declared, must have 
 brought it home to your own consideration, and you are therefore 
 certainly well qualified to explain the obligatory nature and impor- 
 tance of it to the people. They will naturally look up to you for 
 a rule of conduct in these wild and distempered times ; and I have 
 no doubt that, taught by your example, they will immediately re- 
 turn to their duty and obedience to the laws, and gladly free them- 
 selves from that tyranny which ill-directed zeal and lawless ambi- 
 tion, by all the arts of misrepresentation and delusion, are court- 
 ing tliem to submit to. I have the high satisfaction to tell you, Gen- 
 tlemen, that I have already received signal proofs of the loyalty and 
 duty of a great number of the good people of this Province, and I 
 have the fullest assurance that many more will follow their lauda- 
 ble example. These, Gentlemen, are favorable presages upon which 
 I congratulate you, and which I persuade myself your prudent con- 
 duct will improve to the honor and advantage of your country. 
 
 " The state of the Colonies is at this time the subject of the delib- 
 erations of the Grand Council of the Nation, from whose wisdom 
 and justice they have every thing to expect consistent with the 
 principles of the British Constitution, and the general welfare of 
 the empire, while they continue in the duty they owe to it. The 
 confessed generous character of Britain, and the magnanimity of 
 our most gracious Sovereign, who through tlie whole course of his 
 reign has uniformly made the happiness of his people the object of 
 all his views, and the rule of all his actions, ensures it to them. 
 On this great arbiter of British rights, it therefore becomes you to 
 rely with the fullest confidence, and to deserve, by a dutiful be- 
 haviour, its favorable regard. If a precedent could be wanting, as I 
 cannot suppose it is, to induce to such a right conduct, one of the 
 most respectable of the Colonies affords it to you, and you will see 
 without question, how highly improper it will be at such a conjunc- 
 ture, to countenance any measures of a contrary nature. If the 
 people of this Colony have any representations to make to the su- 
 preme powers of the State, you are the only legal and proper chan- 
 nel of their application, and through you they may be assured of 
 every attention to their dutiful petitions. You, Gentlemen, I dare 
 say, esteem too highly the rights of the people committed to 
 your guardianship, and know too well the limits of your own 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 165 
 
 power, to consign them to any other hands, that must not only be 
 disqualified to serve the people, but will infallibly divest you of that 
 dignity and consequence which belong to you, as their lawful rep- 
 resentatives. 
 
 " Let me hope, Gentlemen, that, laying aside all passion and pre- 
 judice, you will calmly and with one accord, pursue such a line of 
 conduct in these points of general concern to America, as may be 
 most likely to heal the unhappy differences now subsisting between 
 Great Britain and her Colonies. Consider how great an opportuni- 
 ty you now have to serve, — to save your country, to manifest 
 your loyalty to the best of Kings, and to demonstrate your attach- 
 ment to the British Constitution, — the most free, the most glorious, 
 and happiest political system in the whole world. If you consult, 
 but for a moment, your own interest and welfare, and the happiness 
 of this people, I cannot be disappointed in any hopes that you will 
 avail yourselves of the occasion. Be it your glory. Gentlemen, to 
 record to latest posterity, that, at a time when the monster sedition 
 dared to rear his impious head in America, the people of North Car- 
 olina, inspired with a just sense of their duty to their King and 
 Country, and animated by the example of its Legislature, stood 
 among the foremost of His Majesty's subjects to resist his baneful 
 snares, and to repel the fell invader of their happiness. Thus, Gen- 
 tlemen, you may redeem your sinking country to posterity, — thus 
 jou will acquire to yourselves immortal honor and renown ; while 
 a contrary conduct must inevitably plunge this once happy land in 
 horrors beyond all imagination ; whence nothing can recover it but 
 the generous hand of Britain, interposed to save you from your own 
 destruction. Thus, Gentlemen, I have set before you, upon princi- 
 ples of your duty to the Constitution, and the welfare of your coun- 
 try, the necessity of discouraging, to the utmost of your power, the 
 illegal meetings into which the innocent people have been betrayed, 
 and the unlawful establishments and appointments they have been 
 led to give their sanction to. I have also stated to you the more 
 especial obligation you lie under to prevent that meeting to which 
 the people have been invited to send deputies here at this time, 
 and I have fully admonisjjed you of the ruinous consequences of a 
 different conduct. In addition to these powerful motives, Gentle- 
 men, I am authorized to say, that the unwarrantable measure of 
 appointing delegates to attend a Cono;ress at Philadelphia, now in 
 agitation, will be highly offensive to the King, and this, I cannot 
 doubt, will be reason with you of the greatest force, to oppose so dan- 
 gerous a step. 
 
166 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 " Your next attention, Gentlemen, is due to the particular state of 
 this country, that calls for your strictest regard. 
 
 " The exhausted state of the Public Treasury, — the large demands 
 upon it that remain unsatisfied, — the dues of public officers that are 
 unpaid, call loudly for your attention to the ill condition of Public 
 Credit, and the Finances of this country ; and I trust you will not 
 fail to pay that regard which is due to points of so great importance. 
 I heartily wish, with regard to matters of finance and mode of tax- 
 ation, as well as to the regulation of the Treasury, to draw your 
 attention to the admirable system of New York and Maryland, in 
 which last colony public credit is established upon the firmest ba- 
 sis ; but the example of every other Colony with regard to the lat- 
 ter article, — I am sorry to say it, — is better than has been as yet 
 adopted here. 
 
 " You have now, Gentlemen, fair opportunity to restore to this 
 Province, by a law for the permanent establishment of Courts, that 
 great store of political blessings arising from a due and regular ad- 
 ministration of justice, of which I have long lamented to see it de- 
 prived. I have received His Majesty's determination upon the pro- 
 posed regulations with regard to proceedings by attachments, which 
 have been the apparent cause of this misfortune. This I shall com- 
 municate to you in the course of your session, and I hope it will 
 obviate all the difliculties that have occurred on this subject. When 
 the establishment of courts shall come under your consideration, 
 you cannot fail to see the necessity of making provision for the 
 judges, and the propriety of that provision being adequate and hon- 
 orable and suitable to officers of so high dignity and importance. 
 " Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, — 
 
 *' I cannot doubt that you will see the same necessity for support- 
 ing the usual establishment of Fort Johnston, founded upon the 
 same principles of public utility, that have induced you to maintam 
 it during so long a series of years. 
 
 *' Gentlemen of His Majesty's Honorable Council, 
 
 " Mr. Speaker, and Gentlemen of the House of Assembly, — 
 
 " I am sensible that the advanced season of the year requires your 
 attendance on your domestic affairs, and I shall therefore be glad to 
 find that your unanimity in the conduct of the very important busi- 
 ness you are now met upon, affords me opportunity to conclude you 
 speedily and happily. On my part, I do assure you, nothing shall be 
 wanting to promote these good end^. JO. MARTIN. 
 
 " JVeio Berne, 4th ^pril, 1775." 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 167 
 
 " On motion, Resolved, That Mr. Howe, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Johnston, 
 Mr. Hewes, and Mr. Macknight, be appointed a Committee to pre- 
 pare an Address in answer to his Excellency the Governor's Speech, 
 and report the same to this House for approbation, 6th April." 
 
 On Friday, the 7ih of April, the House met according 
 to adjournment. Mr. Howe from the above Committee 
 reported the following Address in answer. 
 
 To His Excellency Josiah Martin, Esq.^ Captain General, S^c. S^c. 
 Sir, 
 
 We, His Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects, the members 
 of the Assembly of North Carolma, have taken into consideration 
 your Excellency's Speech at the opening of this session. We met 
 in General Assembly, with minds superior to private dissension, 
 determined calmly, unitedly, and faithfully to discharge the sacred 
 trust reposed in us by our constituents. Actuated by sentiments 
 like these, it behooves us to declare that the Assembly of this 
 Colony have the highest sense of their allegiance to the King of 
 Great Britain, to whom alone, as our Constitutional Sovereign, we 
 acknowledge allegiance to be due, and to whom we so cheerfully 
 and repeatedly have sworn it, that to remind us of the oath was un- 
 necessary. This allegiance all past Assemblies have upon every 
 occasion amply expressed, and we, the present representatives of the 
 people, shall be always ready by our actions with pleasure to tes- 
 tify ; sensible, however, that the same Constitution which establish- 
 ed that allegiance, and enjoined the oath in consequence of it, 
 hath bound Majesty under as solemn obligations to protect subjects 
 inviolate in all their just rights and privileges, wisely intending by 
 reciprocal dependence to secure the happiness of both. 
 
 We contemplate with a degree of horror the unhappy state of 
 America, involved in the most embarrassing difficulties and distress- 
 es, by a number of unconstitutional invasions of their just rights and 
 privileges, by which the inhabitants of the Continent in general and 
 of this Province in particular, have been precipitated into measures, 
 extraordinary perhaps in their nature, but warranted by necessity j 
 from whence, among many other measures, the appointment of com- 
 mittees in the several counties and towns took its birth, to prevent, 
 as much as in them lay, the operation of such unconstitutional en- 
 croachments } and the Assembly remains unconvinced of any steps 
 taken by those committees, but such as they were compelled to take 
 for that salutary purpose. 
 
158 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 It is not to be controverted that His Majesty's subjects have a right 
 to petition for redress of grievances, or to remonstrate against them; 
 and, as it is only by a meeting of the people that their sense respect- 
 ing such petition and remonstrance can be obtained, that the right 
 of assembling is as undoubted ; to attempt, therefore, under the mask 
 of authority, to prevent or forbid a meeting of the people for such 
 purposes, or to interrupt their proceedings when met, would be a 
 vain effort unduly to exercise power in direct opposition to the Con- 
 stitution. 
 
 Far be it from us then. Sir, even to wish to prevent the operation 
 of the Convention now held in New Berne, or to agree with your 
 Excellency in bestowing upon them the injurious epithet of an ille- 
 gal meeting. They are, Sir, the respectable representatives of the 
 people, appointed for a special and important purpose ; to which, 
 though our constituents might have thought us adequate, yet, as our 
 meeting depended upon the pleasure of the Crown, they would have 
 been unwise to have trusted to so precarious a contingence, espe- 
 cially as the frequent and unexpected prorogation of the Assembly, 
 one of them in particular, as if all respect and attention to the con- 
 venience of their representatives had been lost, was proclaimed but 
 two or three days before the time which had been appointed for its 
 meeting, gave the people not the least reason to expect that their 
 Assembly would have been permitted to sit, till it was too late to ap- 
 point delegates to attend the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, 
 a measure which they joined the rest of America in thinking es- 
 sential to its interest. 
 
 The House, Sir, neither know nor believe that any base arts 
 have been practised upon the people, in order to lead them from 
 their duty ; but we know with certainty that the steps they have 
 taken, proceeded from a full conviction that the Parliament of Great 
 Britain had, by a variety of unconstitutional proceedings, made those 
 steps absolutely necessary. We think it therefore a duty we owe 
 the people to assert, that their conduct has not been owing to base 
 arts practised upon them by wicked and designing men, and have 
 it much to lament that your Excellency should add your sanction to 
 such n-roundless imputations ; as it has a manifest tendency to weaken 
 the influence which the united petition of His Majesty's American 
 subjects might otherwise have, upon their Sovereign, for the redress 
 of those grievances of which they so justly complain. 
 
 We should feel inexpressible concern at the information given U8 
 by your Excellency, of your being authorized to say that the ap- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 169 
 
 pointment of delegates to attend the Congress at Philadelphia, now 
 in agitation, will be highly offensive to the King, had we not re- 
 cently been informed from the best authority, that His Majesty has 
 been pleased to receive very graciously the united petition of his 
 American subjects, addressed to him by the Continental delegates 
 lately convened at Philadelphia. We have not, therefore, the least 
 reason to suppose that a similar application to the Throne will give 
 offence to His Majesty, or prevent his receiving a petition for the 
 redress of grievances which his American subjects have a right to 
 present, either separately or unitedly. 
 
 " We shall always receive v/ith pleasure the information of any 
 marks of loyalty to the King given to your Excellency by the inhab- 
 itants of this Colony, but are greatly concerned lest the manner, in 
 which you have thought proper to convey that information, should 
 excite a belief, that a great number of the people of this Province 
 are disaffected to their Sovereign ; to prevent which it is incumbent 
 upon us, in this manner, solemnly to testify to the world, that His 
 Majesty has no subjects more faithful than the inhabitants of North 
 Carolina, or more ready, at the expense of their lives and fortunes, 
 to protect and support his person, crown, and dignity. If, however, 
 by the signal proofs your Excellency speaks of, you mean those ad- 
 dresses lately published in the North Carolina Gazette, and said to 
 be presented to you, the Assembly can receive no pleasure from 
 your congratulations thereupon, but what results from the considera- 
 tion, that so few have been found in so populous a Province, weak 
 enough to be seduced from their duty, and prevailed upon, "ij/ 
 the base arts of wicked and designing men,^' to adopt principles so 
 contrary to the sense of all America, and so destructive of those 
 just rights and privileges it was their duty to maintain. 
 
 " We take this opportunity, Sir, the first that has been given us, to 
 express the warm attachment we have to our sister Colonies in gen- 
 eral, and the heartfelt compassion we entertain for the deplorable 
 state of the town of Boston in particular, and also to declare the 
 fixed and determined resolution of this Colony to unite with the 
 other Colonies in every effort to retain those just rights and liberties, 
 which, as subjects to a British King, we possess, and which it is our 
 absolute and indispensable duty to hand down to posterity, unim- 
 paired. 
 
 " The exhausted state of the public funds, of which your Excellency 
 complains, we contemplate with great concern; alleviated, however, 
 by the reflection that it has not been owing to any misconduct in 
 15 
 
170 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 the Assembly. We were withheld from passing any Inferior Court 
 law, but upon such terms as our duty rendered it impossible to ac- 
 cept, by which means no list of taxables could be taken for the year 
 one thousand seven hundred and seventy -three, and consequently no 
 money collected to defray the charges of government for that year ; 
 and as your Excellency did not think proper to meet the Assembly at 
 their usual time of meeting in the fall, no act could be passed to de- 
 fray the expenses of the year one thousand seven hundred and seven- 
 ty-four. The treasury, by these means deprived of two years' col- 
 lection of taxes, must consequently be unable to answer the great 
 demands upon it, till an act of Assembly can be passed to enable it 
 to discharge them. 
 
 " The House, convinced of the necessity of Courts of Justice, 
 would willingly adopt any plan for the establishment of them, which 
 in their opinion is consistent with the circumstances of this Colony ; 
 and for independent Judges of capacity and integrity they would with 
 the greatest pleasure very liberally provide. 
 
 " We are sorry, Sir, the impoverished state of the public finances 
 will not permit us to provide for the usual establishment of Fort 
 Johnston. 
 
 " The advanced season of the year, which of all other times made 
 it most inconvenient for us to attend to public business, will, your 
 Excellency may assure yourself, induce us to forward it with all 
 possible expedition. 
 
 -' JOHN HARVEY, Speaker. 
 
 «« April 1th, 1775." 
 
 «' Resolved, That the House do highly approve of the proceedings of 
 the Continental Congress lately held at Philadelphia, and that they 
 are determined, as members of the community in general, that they 
 will strictly adhere to the said resolutions, and will use what in- 
 fluence they have, to induce the same observance in every individ- 
 ual of this Colony. 
 
 " This House having received information that William Hooper, 
 Joseph Hewes, and Richard Caswell, Esquires, were appointed by 
 the Convention held at New Berne, as delegates to attend the meet- 
 ing of the Continental Congress soon to be held at Philadelphia, 
 
 " Resolved, That the House approve of the choice made by the 
 said Convention. 
 
 " Resolved, That the thanks of the House be given to William 
 Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Caswell, Esquires, for the 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 171 
 
 faithful and judicious discharge of the important trust reposed in 
 them as delegates for this Colony at the late Continental Congress." 
 
 On the 8th of April the Assembly was dissolved by 
 Proclamation, and thus ceased for ever all legislative ac- 
 tion under the Royal government. 
 
 The two state-papers, which I have extracted so much 
 at length, are written with much force, and are far supe- 
 rior to the other public documents of that day in force of 
 language and decision of principles. I have often read 
 the latter of these two with both pride and pleasure, as 
 one of the best illustrations of the political creed of the 
 patriots of the revolution, and as a document every way 
 worthy of the distinguished name by which it is signed. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 (1775.) After the dissolution of the Assembly, Gov- 
 ernor Martin found himself surrounded by only a few of 
 his most faithful councillors. The power of the Whig 
 leaders had reduced his government to this lank and lean 
 condition, and, without a military force to sustain it, its 
 total and speedy overthrow was inevitable. With his 
 Council Journal before me, I can accurately trace the signs 
 of a fatal decay, progressing rapidly to the last agony of 
 its existence on the 24th of April. On the 11th of that 
 month, the Governor advised v/ith the Council as to 
 the expediency of issuing writs for the election of a new 
 Assembly ; but the councillors proposed to delay it " until 
 the end of June." On the 12th, he laid before the 
 Council the proceedings of the Provincial Congress, signed 
 by John Harvey, wherein, to use his own language, 
 " were certain resolves highly derogatory to the honor and 
 dignity of His Majesty's government, and utterly subver- 
 sive of the established constitution." He therefore submit- 
 ted to their consideration the propriety of expressing their 
 indignation at such unlawful and dangerous proceedings, 
 by striking Mr. John Harvey out of the commission of 
 peace for the county of Perquimons, to which proposition 
 the Council assented. On the 14th, he advised with them 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 173 
 
 as to the maintenance of Fort Johnston, and his authority 
 to do so was sustained by the voice of the Council. John 
 McNair and John Hogg were then appointed Justices of 
 the peace for the county of Orange, and the name of 
 Isaac Marion was corrected on the commission of the peace 
 for the county of Brunswick. 
 
 In the mean time His Excellency had been busily en- 
 gaged in endeavouring to fortify his palace and to raise a 
 military force among the Cross Creek Highlanders and 
 the Regulators, the latter of whom he terrified by a repre- 
 sentation that they were still liable to be punished for their 
 former rebellion. The people of New Berne watched 
 with much uneasiness the range of cannon planted before 
 the palace, and the committees of the adjacent counties, by 
 intercepting the emissaries of the Governor, gave them 
 intelligence of his efforts to raise a military body-guard. 
 Governor Martin, on the 16th of March, anticipating the 
 present state of affairs, had written to General Gage, at 
 Boston, soliciting a supply of ammunition and arms ; and 
 by the vigilance of the delegation in the Continental Con- 
 gress this letter too had been intercepted, and was now 
 before the Whig authorities of New Berne. These hos- 
 tile preparations on the part of His Excellency provoked, 
 on the 24th of April, an open rupture between him and the 
 people. Alexander Gaston, Richard Cogdell, and other 
 leading Whigs on that day interposed, and, while the Gov- 
 ernor and Council were in session in the chamber of the 
 palace, forcibly seized and carried off the artillery which 
 had been planted for its defence. I shall extract the 
 account of the last Council session. 
 15* 
 
174 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 " At a Council held at New Berne the 24th day of April, 1775, 
 Present, his Excellency the Governor, 
 
 " The C James Hasell, Martin Howard, ^ Egguij-eg 
 
 Hon. I Samuel Strudwick, Samuel Cornell, 5 ^ 
 
 " Ordered, a new commission of peace for the county of Pitt, 
 wherein the names of John Simpson, Robert Salter, Robert Lanier, 
 Daniel Charles Forbes, Saxon Pearce, and Peter Reeves are to be 
 omitted." — Council Jotirnal. 
 
 Such were the doings of the Governor and Council, 
 when they perceived from the palace windows, the suc- 
 cessful incursions of the Whigs. The Council Journal 
 thus abruptly stops, and as abruptly terminates the record 
 of the Royal government of North Carolina. Governor 
 Martin apprehending further violence from the Whig 
 leaders, on the evening of the same day, fled from the 
 palace, and, accompanied by a few of his more faithful 
 councillors, retreated to Fort Johnston on the banks of the 
 Cape-Fear. In the course of his retreat, he visited the 
 house of Farquard Campbell, a Scotch gentleman of 
 Cumberland, who concealed his friendship for the Gov- 
 ernor under much apparent zeal in the American cause. 
 He was a powerful leader among the Highlanders, and, 
 during this visit of the Governor, gave him many assu- 
 rances of the loyalty of the Scotch population. 
 
 Governor Martin, however, did not find Fort Johnston 
 a much safer position for his head-quarters, than the pal- 
 ace at New Berne. He relied upon the general coopera- 
 tion of the Scotch and the presence of the sloop-of-war 
 Cruiser, to maintain his authority and to awe the Whigs 
 into submission. The people of the Cape-Fear, how- 
 ever, were not to be intimidated by the compactness of 
 his Highland clans, or the guns of his ship of war. They 
 watched with vigilance the movements of His Excellency ; 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. I75 
 
 and, detecting him in schemes of extensive fortifications, 
 and in an effort to encourage the slaves to arm against 
 their masters, they determined to disarm the fort and to 
 secure themselves from the future machinations of the 
 flying Governor. Colonel John Ashe stepped forward to 
 achieve this hazardous undertaking. He resigned his 
 commission of colonel of the militia of New Hanover, 
 which he held under the Royal government, and accepted 
 the same rank at the election of the people. Thus armed 
 with what he considered the proper authority, he collected 
 a body of troops, and on the 17th of July marched to- 
 wards Fort Johnston. Governor Martin, finding himself 
 thus rigorously pursued, removed his military stores, as 
 well as the head-quarters of his government, on board the 
 ship of war, and gave up the fort to the ravages of his 
 enemy. The flight of His Excellency from the palace at 
 New Berne, I have ventured to mark as the closing 
 scene of the Royal government. The election of John 
 Ashe, by the voice of the people, to the rank of colonel of 
 the milida, may be fairly designated as the first instance 
 of the acceptance of a military commission under the 
 authority of the people. That extraordinary man, who 
 seemed to seek the most conspicuous and dangerous post 
 in the service of his country, now led the way in the 
 career of revolution ; and, His Excellency being forced 
 from the shores of the Cape-Fear, the high-sounding 
 and insolent proclamations are no longer dated, " The Pal- 
 ace,^'' but " On board his Majesty's ship of war, Cruiser." 
 During the spring of the year 1775, the attention of all 
 the Colonies was directed towards Boston, a town which 
 seemed to be the object of the devoted vengeance of the 
 Ministry. I have illustrated the feelings and sympathies 
 
176 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 of the people of North Carolina, on the distresses of that 
 town, by various extracts from the Journal of the Pro- 
 vincial Congress. Individual opinions may be adduced to 
 justify the resolves of the Congress, and to show the ex- 
 tent of the sympathetic cord of union and brotherly love, 
 that stretched across the Thirteen Colonies. At several 
 detached meetings of the people of Mecklenburg in the 
 spring of the year 1775, the universal voice of the people 
 seemed to be, " that the cause of Boston was the cause of 
 all ; that their destinies were indissolubly connected with 
 those of their Eastern fellow-citizens, and that they must 
 either submit to all the impositions which an unprincipled, 
 and to them an unrepresentative Parliament, might impose, 
 or support their brethren, who were doomed to sustain 
 the first shock of that power, which, if successful there, 
 would ultimately overwhelm all in the common calamity." 
 — Raleigh Register, April 30, 1819. 
 
 Out of these feelings and opinions grew the Mecklen- 
 burg Declaration of Independence, an event which will be 
 noticed here only as one of the deeds of the people of the 
 Province during the year 1775. The Convention, which 
 assembled in Charlotte on the 19th of May, and which 
 declared independence on the succeeding 20th, was con- 
 voked by Thomas Polk, who afterwards performed the 
 duty of a herald in the proclamation of its proceedings. 
 The subject of independence was discussed during the 
 two days of its session, and was at last unanimously 
 declared. The news of the battle of Lexino;ton arrived 
 by express during the session of the Convention, and, this 
 intelligence inflaming the minds of the people, the univer- 
 sal voice was for independence. The Declaration was 
 embraced in a series of resolves, which were signed by 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. I77 
 
 Abraham Alexander, Chairman, and John McKnitt Alex- 
 ander, Clerk ; and thus were forwarded to Philadelphia 
 by Captain James Jack, whose certificate will be exhibited 
 in the Second Part of this volume. I shall in the course 
 of the present chapter introduce a Proclamation of Gov- 
 ernor Martin's, dated on the 8th of August, 1775, in which 
 the Mecklenburg Convention is denounced, and this state- 
 paper, written and published at the time, incontestably 
 establishes the authenticity of the Mecklenburg Declara- 
 tion of Independence. 
 
 While these scenes were acting in the western seclion 
 of the Province, the people of the east were engaged in 
 schemes, though not so important, yet equally as violent. 
 The committee of Wilmington, in some of their published 
 resolves, openly accused the Governor of attempting an 
 insurrection among the slaves, and charged him with being 
 an enemy to the country and the Province, and forbade 
 all persons from any intercourse with the floating head- 
 quarters of his government. The charge of attempting a 
 slave insurrection may be supported by other circum- 
 stances, than those connected with his efforts in the vicinity 
 of the ship Cruiser, A slave of Thomas Respiss, of 
 Bath, disclosed to his master a well-concerted scheme of 
 insurrection, which had been engendered by the wicked 
 agency of a Yankee Captain by the name of Johnston,* 
 who had visited North Carolina in a traffic for naval 
 stores, and who seemed to think it not inconsistent with 
 the duties of an honest trader, to reap the benefit of his 
 skill either in a bargain or a general massacre. These con- 
 curring events induced Governor Martin, who saw the 
 evil tendency of such impressions on the strength of his 
 
 * Letter of Mr. Respiss, and Martin's History, Volume. II. p. 353. 
 
178 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 Scotch party, to undertake a defence ; and accordingly, in 
 a letter to Lewis Henry De Rossett, dated on the 24th of 
 June, he declared he had never entertained such a thought, 
 and " that nothing could justify such a ntieasure but the ac- 
 tual and designed rebellion of the King's subjects, and the 
 failure of all other means to maintain his government." 
 The committee of Wilmington on the receipt of this letter 
 repeated their denunciation of Martin as an enemy to 
 the country, and enjoined it on all the good people to 
 regard him as such, and to refrain from all communica- 
 tion with him or any of his abettors. The committee of 
 New Berne, too, came to similar resolutions, and strictly 
 prohibited all persons from removing from Core Sound, 
 or any other place where the Governor might be, under 
 the heaviest penalties. Such was the vigilance of these 
 committees in guarding the interest and prosperity of the 
 country, and which, it will be seen, so much excited the 
 rage of His Excellency, in the Proclamation which will be 
 presently exhibited. 
 
 The flame kindled at the battle of Lexington con- 
 tinued to rage through North Carolina, and, one month 
 after the Mecklenburg Declaration, appears as the induce- 
 ment of the celebrated Cumberland association. These 
 associations prevailed throughout the Province during the 
 year 1775, and were usually signed by the people of the 
 county in which they were instituted. They fully attest 
 the patriotism of the people of North Carolina, and will 
 be extracted in these pages to support the admission 
 of Mr. Jefferson, that " no State was more fixed or 
 forward." 
 
 " The Association, June 20, 1775. 
 " The actual commencement of hostilities against the continent 
 by the British Troops, in the bloody scene on the 19th of Aprillast, 
 near Boston, the increase of arbitrary impositions from a wicked 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 179 
 
 and despotic Ministry, and the dread of instigated insurrections in 
 the colonies, are causes sufficient to drive an oppressed people to 
 the use of arms. We therefore, the subscribers of Cumberland 
 county, holding ourselves bound by that most sacred of all obliga- 
 tions, the duty of good citizens towards an injured country, and 
 thoroughly convinced that, under our distressed circumstances, we 
 shall be justified in resisting force by force, do unite ourselves un- 
 der every tie of religion and honor, and associate as a band in her 
 defence against every foe, hereby solemnly engaging, that, when- 
 ever our Continental or Provincial Councils shall decree it necessary, 
 we will go forth, and be ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes, 
 to secure her freedom and safety. This obligation to continue in 
 full force, until a reconciliation shall take place between Great Brit- 
 ain and America^ upon constitutional principles, an event we most 
 ardently desire ; and we will hold all those persons inimical to the 
 liberty of the Colonies, who shall refuse to subscribe to this associa- 
 tion ; and we will, in all things, follow the advice of our general 
 committee respecting the purposes aforesaid, the preservation of 
 peace, and good order, and the safety of individual and private 
 projjerty." * 
 
 This paper is the composition of Robert Rowan, 
 whose name is first on a long list of signatures. It is a 
 spirited production, and, on the subject of the great 
 American principle, inferior only to the Mecklenburg 
 Declaration. The people of North Carolina were not 
 addicted to an extravagant exercise of the prudence and 
 caution of disguised patriotism. They did not stand 
 back and await the crisis of the contest. Convinced of 
 the justice of their cause, they fully committed them- 
 selves in the very beginning of the struggle, and bound 
 themselves, whenever their Continental or Provincial 
 Councils should decree it necessary, to go forth and sacri- 
 fice their lives and fortunes for the freedom of the country. 
 
 • The copy of this Association was found among the papers of 
 Rowan, and the same is now in the possession of Major T. I. Robe- 
 son of Cumberland County. 
 
ISO THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 The Continental Congress had assembled in Philadel- 
 phia on the 10th of May, and it was during the session 
 of diis Congress, on the 14th of June, that George 
 Washington was elected Commander-in-chief of the for- 
 ces of the United Colonies. The important nature of its 
 proceedings, as well as the flight of Governor Martin, in- 
 duced the political leaders to undertake the organization 
 of a form of government; and accordingly, on the 10th 
 of July, a general order or letter was issued from Eden- 
 ton, the residence of Samuel Johnston, and now the 
 head-quarters of the Whig party. The death of John 
 Harvey, which took place on the 3d of June (I believe), 
 was deeply deplored throughout the colony ; and I find 
 it mentioned in many of the private letters of that day, 
 in terms of the deepest and most sincere regret. Mr. 
 Hewes in a letter to Mr. Johnston, dated on the 8th of July, 
 1775, says, " Since my last, by Mr. Underbill, I am fa- 
 vored with yours of the Uth of June. The death of our 
 old friend. Colonel Harvey, has given me real uneasiness. 
 He will be much missed. I wish to God he could have 
 been spared, and that the Governor and Judge Howard 
 had been called in his stead." The Provincial Congress 
 had requested Sam.uel Johnston, in the event of the death 
 of Colonel Harvey, to assemble a new convention ; and 
 accordingly, the following general request was issued. 
 
 'To the Committee of ' Tryon' County. 
 
 " Edenton, 10th July, 1775. 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " In pursuance of the trust which devolves on me by the much 
 
 lamented death of our late worthy Moderator, 1 am to request the 
 
 favor of you to summon the Freeholders of the county of Tryon, 
 
 to meet at such convenient time and place as you may appoint, to 
 
 choose and elect proper persons to serve as Delegates in a Pro- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 181 
 
 vincial Convention, to be held at Hillsborough, on the twenti- 
 eth day of August next; and as affairs of the last importance to 
 this province will be submitted to their deliberation, I would re- 
 commend that the number of Delegates for each county should not 
 be less than five. 
 
 '■'■ I am, with great respect, gentlemen, 
 
 your most obedient servant. 
 
 '' SAMUEL JOHNSTON." 
 
 In the progress of the election in Try on, the views 
 and principles of the people of that county were de- 
 veloped io the adoption of an Association, which was 
 submitted to the inhabitants, as a test of patriotism. It 
 was adopted and signed by the county committeej on 
 the 14th of August, and ordered to "be signed by each 
 and every freeholder of the county of Tryon." It was 
 discovered during the last year, among the papers of 
 General William Graham of Rutherford, and was first 
 published in the " North Carolina Spectator " of May the 
 llth. I here extract it, as a paper highly illustrative of 
 the Whig principles of the day, as well as of the sympa- 
 thy of North Carolina with the distresses of the people 
 of Boston. 
 
 "AN ASSOCIATION. 
 " The unprecedented, barbarous, and bloody actions, committed by 
 the British Troops on our American brethren, near Boston, on the 
 19th of April and 20th of May last, together with the hostile opera- 
 tions and treacherous designs now carrying on-, by the tools of Min- 
 isterial vengeance and despotism, for the subjugating all British 
 America, suggest to us the painful necessity of having recourse to 
 arms, for the preservation of those rights and liberties, which the 
 principles of our Constitution and the laws of God, nature, and na- 
 tions have made it our duty to defend. We, therefore, the subscri- 
 bers, freeholders and inhabitants of Tryon County, do hereby faith- 
 fully unite ourselves under the most sacred ties of religion, honor, 
 and love to our country, firmly to resist force by force, in defence of 
 our natural freedom and constitutional rights against all invasions ; 
 
 16 
 
182 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 and, at the same time, do solemnly engage to take up arms, and risk 
 our lives and fortunes in maintaining the freedom of our country, 
 whenever the wisdom and counsel of the Continental Congress, or 
 our Provincial Convention, shall declare it necessary ; and this en- 
 gagement we will continue in and hold sacred, till a reconciliation 
 shall take place between Great Britain and America on constitutional 
 principles, which we most ardently desire ; and we do firmly agree 
 to hold all such persons inimical to the liberties of America, who 
 shall refuse to subscribe to this association. 
 
 " Signed by — 
 John Walker, Charles McLean, Andreio JVeel, Thomas Beatty, James 
 Cohurn, Frederick Hambright, Andrew Hampton, Benjamin Har- 
 din, George Pearis, William Graham, Robert Keandey, David Jenk- 
 ins, Thomas Espey, Perygren Mackness, James McAfee, William 
 Thomason, Jacob Forny, Davis Whiteside, John Beeman, John 
 Morris, Joseph Harden, John Robinson, Valentine Mauny, George 
 Blacke, James Logan, James Baird, Christan Carpinter, Abel Beat- 
 ty, Joab Turner, Jonathan Price, James Miller ^ Peter Sedes, William 
 Wliiteside, John Dellinger, George Dellinger, Samuel Karhender, 
 Jacob Mooney, Jr., John Wells, Jacob Castner, Robert Hulclip, James 
 Buckhanan, Moses Moore, Joseph Kmjkendall, Adam Sims, Richard 
 Waffer, Samuel Smith, Joseph Keel, Samuel Lofton.'' 
 
 I shall now introduce the Proclamation of Governor Mar- 
 tin, dated on board the Sloop of war Cruiser, which, as 
 I have before stated, will be found to sustain the truth of 
 the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. The 
 angry tone of this document, and the many proceedings 
 of the Whigs which it details and censures, is the best evi- 
 dence of their industry and zeal, and I incorporate it into 
 my narrative as a singular record of many of the im- 
 portant events of the year 1775. It seems to have been 
 more immediately provoked by the circular letter of 
 Samuel Johnston, requesting the election of Deputies to 
 the Provincial Congress ; and His Excellency embraced 
 the occasion to denounce " the evil, pernicious, and trai- 
 torous councils of the well known leaders." A copy of 
 it was sent by the Governor to the Moderator of the Con- 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 183 
 
 gress, which was laid before that body at Hillsborough, and 
 this same copy I found among the papers of Mr. Johnston. 
 When it was laid before the Congress, it was 
 
 " Resolved unanimously; That the said paper is a false, scandalous, 
 scurrilous, malicious, and seditious libel; tending to disunite the 
 good people of this Province, and to stir up tumults and insurrec- 
 tions, dangerous to the peace of His Majesty's government, and 
 the safety of the inhabitants, and highly injurious to the character 
 of several gentlemen of acknowledged virtue and loyalty, — and 
 further, that the said paper be burnt by the common hangman." 
 
 This latter order was never executed. The style and 
 language of the resolution of the Congress corresponded 
 with that of the Proclamation, in the vehemence of its 
 censure and denunciation. 
 
 "North Carolina ss. 
 " Btj His Excellency Josiah Martin, Esq., His Majesty's Captain Gene- 
 ral, Governor, and Commander-in-chief in and over the said Prov- 
 ince, 
 
 «A PROCLAMATION. 
 
 « Whereas I have seen a publication in the Cape Fear Mercury, 
 which appears to be proceedings of a general meeting of people, 
 styling themselves Committees of the district of Wilmington, sio-ned 
 * Richard Quince, Senior, Chairman,' in which the well known and 
 incontestable facts set forth in my Proclamation, bearing date the 
 16th day of June last, are most daringly and impudently contra- 
 dicted, and the basest and most scandalous falsehoods are asserted 
 evidently calculated to impose upon and mislead the people of this 
 Province, and to alienate their affections from His Majesty and his 
 governments, and concluding, in the true spirit of licentiousness 
 and malignity, that characterizes the productions of these seditious 
 combinations, with a Resolve declaring me an enemy to the in- 
 terests of this Province in particular, and of America in general, 
 an impotent and stale device, that the malice and falsehood of these 
 unprincipled censors have suggested, and which is their last con- 
 temptible artifice, constantly resorted to and employed to calumniate 
 and traduce every man in every rank and station of life, who op- 
 poses their infamous and traitorous proceedings : 
 
184 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 " And whereas by the evil, pernicious, and traitorous councils, and 
 influence of the well known leaders of these seditious Committees, a 
 body of men was assembled in arms at Wilmington, on the 16th or 
 17th day of July last, for the purpose, as was professed in a letter 
 sent me on the night of the 18th of the same month (signed The 
 People), by a certain John Ashe (who presumed insidiously to' 
 employ the more respectable name of the people, to cover his owri 
 flagitious designs), of removing the King's artillery from Fort 
 Johnston, under pretence of preserving and securing the same for 
 the use and service of His Majesty ; and prefacing this declaration; 
 with sundry complaints of violence and misbehaviour on the part 
 of John Collet, Esq., Governor and Captain of the said Fort John- 
 ston, many of which it was in my power, and would have been my 
 duty to have redressed if they had been represented to me ;. which, 
 letter, signed The People, I thought it proper to answer, and to 
 dissuade the deluded multitude from involving themselves in the 
 criminal enterprise of removing the King's artillery, which had 
 been dismounted by my authority, and not by Captain Collet's, as- 
 had been pretended in order to deceive the people into a violence 
 so dangerous and unwarrantable ; and I am to lament that my said 
 letter in answer to The People produced no other or better effect 
 than to prevent the execution of their criminal intention of remov- 
 ing the King's artillery, which was all that their letter to me 
 avowed ; — and that they proceeded, under the lead of the said Johnr 
 Ashe and other evil-minded conspirators against the peace and 
 welfare of this Province, to the said Fort Johnston, and wantonly 
 in the dead hour of the night set on fire and reduced to ashes the 
 houses and buildings within His Majesty's said fort, that had been 
 evacuated and disarmed and was entirely defenceless ; — and that 
 they returned next day, and completed before my face the destruc- 
 tion of the wooden defences of the fort to which the fire of the night 
 had not extended, burning the houses and desolating every thing 
 in the neighbourhood of the place, with a degree of wanton bar- 
 barity that would disgrace human nature in the most savage state, 
 and was an overt act of high treason against His Majesty, which 
 justified my immediate vengeance, restrained by pity for the innocent? 
 misguided, and deluded people, whom I considered as the blind in- 
 struments of their atrocious leaders ; who, defeated in the still more fla- 
 gitious designs they meditated (of which I have the fullest evidence), 
 and already involved in guilt of the blackest die themselves, it 
 might be presumed, urged on the people to every enormity that 
 
V 
 
 GOVERNOR MARTIN. 185 
 
 might make them appear principals in their own treasons instead of 
 blind instruments thereof, and by extending the guilt among many, 
 screen themselves from the penalties which they had wantonly 
 incurred ; — nothing doubting at the same time that cool and sober 
 reflection would justly turn the resentment and indignation of the 
 people against the wicked contrivers and promoters of the violences, 
 into which they had been betrayed to the disgrace of their country 
 and humanity ; and that they would expiate their own guilt by 
 delivering up their leaders to receive the condign punishment that 
 the laws inflict on such atrocious offenders ; — but having seen 
 with astonishment a publication in the Cape Fear Mercury of the 
 28th day of last month, in which a set of people, styling themselves 
 a Committee for the town of Wilmington and county of New 
 Hanover, have, to obviate the just effects that I expected from the 
 return of reason and reflection to the people, most falsely, sedi- 
 tiously, and traitorously asserted, * that Captain Collet was, under 
 my auspices, preparing Fort Johnston for the reception of a pre- 
 sumed reinforcement, which was to be employed in reducing the 
 good people of this Province to a slavish submission to the will of 
 a wicked and tyrannic minister, and for this diabolical purpose had 
 collected several abandoned profligates, whose crimes had rendered 
 them unworthy civil society,' &c., intending, by various false pre- 
 tences therein set forth, to justify the enormities into which they 
 had plunged the innocent people ; who, I am confident, were for 
 the most part strangers to all the ostensible motives to the outrages 
 they were hurried on to commit, and which, according to the ac- 
 knowledgments of this despicable seditious meeting, had no better 
 foundation than resentment to Captain Collet, an individual, 
 whose offences the law's power, and that which I derive from 
 His Majesty, were competent to correct in a legal way ; — and seeing 
 that the said Committee, as it is called, have artfully by insidious 
 compliments and flattery, and by their contemptible applause of 
 the outrages and violences perpetrated in and about Fort Johnston, 
 endeavoured to reconcile the minds of the people to treason and 
 rebellion, in order to avert from their own heads the just wrath, 
 with which a due sense of those crimes would naturally in- 
 spire the people against the infamous persons, who had basely 
 betrayed them into oflfences of so dangerous and heinous a nature : 
 " And whereas I have also seen a most infamous publication in 
 the Cape Fear Mercury, importing to be resolves of a set of people 
 styling themselves a Committee for the County of Mecklenburg, 
 
 ]6* 
 
IQQ THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 most traitorously declaring the entire dissolution of the laws, 
 government, and constitution of this country, and setting up a 
 system of rule and regulation repugnant to the laws and sub- 
 versive of His Majesty's government ; and another publication 
 in the said Cape Fear Mercury of the 14th of last month, addressed, 
 ' To the Committees of the several Towns and Counties of North 
 Carolina appointed for the purpose of carrying into execution the 
 resolves of the Continental Congress,' bearing date at Philadelphia, 
 June 19th, 1775, and signed William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and 
 Richard Caswell ; the preposterous enormity of which cannot be 
 adequately described and abhorred. It marks the assembly, from 
 whose members it comes, to be the genuine source of those foul 
 streams of sedition, which, through the channels of committees 
 have overflowed this once happy land, and at this moment threaten 
 it with every species of misery, ruin, and destruction. This pub- 
 lication begins with a recital of the most unparalleled falsehoods 
 that ever disgraced a sheet of paper ; witness the infamous misrep- 
 resentation of the affair of Lexington, (which must be also wilful,) 
 and the notoriously false position, that Britain cannot support her 
 navy without the aid of North Carolina commodities, calculated 
 to gull the people into a surrender of all the benefits of commerce, 
 to the idle and absurd speculations and decrees of the effectlessly 
 omnipotent Congress at Philadelphia. it proceeds, from these 
 false and infamous assertions and forgeries, to excite the people of 
 North Carolina to usurp the prerogatives of the Crown, by forming 
 a militia and appointing officers thereto, and finally, to take up arms 
 against the King and his government, impudently reprehending the 
 people of this Colony for their inactivity in treason and rebellion ; — 
 and concluding the most contradictory, insidious, and nonsensical 
 jargon of exhortation to the people, affronting to and inconsistent 
 with reason and common sense, to exert themselves for the pre- 
 servation of Britain, to strengthen the hands of civil government, 
 to preserve the liberty of the Constitution, to look up to the reign- 
 ing monarch of Britain as their lawful and rightful sovereign, and 
 to dare every difliiculty and danger, in support of his person, crown, 
 and dignity ; after monstrously, in the same breath, urging the peo- 
 ple to the distress and ruin of Britain, to the subversion of all 
 civil government, to open rebellion against the King and his 
 authority ; and in the most pointed terms prompting them to arms 
 and resistance ; thus insidiously attempting to reconcile allegiance 
 and revolt, and inviting the people to actual rebellion under the 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 187 
 
 mask and guise and profession of duty and respect; a shallow 
 concealment of horrid treason, that I have no doubt every honest 
 man will explode and treat with its merited contempt and abhor- 
 rence ; while no man can wonder at the absurdity of this address, 
 as it must invariably attend every like attempt to reconcile things 
 in reason and nature inconsistent. The treasonable proceedings 
 of an infamous committee at New Berne at the head of a body of 
 armed men in seizing and carrying off six pieces of artillery, the 
 property of the King, that lay behind the palace at that place ; 
 repeated insults and violences offered to His Majesty's subjects by 
 these little tyrannical and arbitrary combinations, and among others 
 to some of my own servants, who have been stopped, when em- 
 ployed on my own business, and forcibly detained and searched ; 
 the unremitted assiduity of those engineers of sedition to sow dis- 
 content and disaffection, and the base artifices they employ to 
 alienate and prejudice the minds of His Majesty's subjects by con- 
 fidently and traitorously propagating the most base, scandalous, mon- 
 strous falsehoods of the King's religious and political principles, and 
 of ill designs of His Majesty's ministers ; daring thus to defame and 
 traduce even the sacred character of the best of princes, whose emi- 
 nent and distinguished virtues by universal acknowledgment irra- 
 diate, with unexampled lustre, his imperial diadem; and whose 
 piety and strict and inviolable regard to the happy Constitution 
 of his kingdoms in Church and State, and to the welfare and happi- 
 ness of all his people, stand confessed and admired throughout the 
 world, and confound and reprobate the infamous, traitorous, and 
 flagitious falsehood and forgeries, to which faction hath, upon every 
 occasion, resorted, to prop and support the most unprincipled and 
 unnatural rebellion, that was ever excited in any part of the 
 world upon which the light of civilization had once dawned ; — 
 the dangerous, unconstitutional, and illegal measure, to which the 
 people are invited by an advertisement I have seen, signed ' Samuel 
 Johnston,' of electing Delegates to meet in Convention on the 
 20thiust.,at Hillsborough, that is subversive of the whole Consti- 
 tution of this country, and evidently calculated to seduce and 
 alienate His Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects in the interior 
 and western counties of this Province ; whose steadfast duty to 
 their King and Country hath hitherto resisted all the black 
 artifices of falsehood, sedition, and treason, and hath already, on my 
 representation, received the King's most gracious approbation and 
 acceptance ; which I am authorized and have now the high satisfac- 
 
188 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 tion to signify to His Majesty's subjects throughout this Province 
 and particularly to those in the counties of Dobbs, Cumberland, 
 Anson, Orange, Guilford, Chatham, Rowan, and Surry, who have 
 given me more especial and public testimonials of their loyalty, 
 fidelity, and duty, and to give them assurance of His Majesty's 
 most firm support ; which I am confident will not only confirm the 
 good dispositions of this faithful people, and strengthen them to 
 baffle and defeat every effort of sedition and treason, but prompt 
 them also to resist their first approaches by withstanding the now 
 meditated insidious attempt of the intended provincial Convention 
 to steal in upon them the spirit, and erect among them the standard 
 of rebellion, under the cloak and pretence of meeting for solemn 
 deliberation on the public welfare ; — and I have no doubt that they 
 will convince the traitorous contrivers and abetters of this plot, of 
 the vainness of their treacherous devices to sow sedition and dis- 
 affection in that land of loyalty, by indignantly spurning from them 
 the said intended Congress or Provincial Convention, and not suf- 
 fering its corrupted breath to pollute the air of their country, now 
 the pure region of good faith and incorruptible loyalty, to whose 
 virtuous inhabitants, I trust, is yet reserved the glorious achieve- 
 ment of crushing unnatural rebellion, of delivering their country 
 from lawless power and wide-spreading anarchy; of restoring and 
 preserving in it the free and happy constitution of Britain, with all 
 that train of envied rights and blessings, which belong to that great 
 and admired system of true and genuine liberty, now most alarm- 
 ingly threatened with overthrow, by rebellious, republican, and 
 tyrannical factions throughout America. 
 
 " To the end, therefore, that the people of this Province at large 
 may be acquainted with the enormities, violences, and disorders 
 herein before recited, which manifestly tend to the destruction of 
 their peace and welfare, and to the utter subversion of His Majes- 
 ty's government, and the laws and constitution of this Country ; 
 and that I may faithfully discharge my duty to the King and his 
 Majesty's people in this Province (whose welfare and prosperity 
 have ever been my constant study), and in order fully to forewarn 
 the people of the dangers and calamities to which the men, who 
 have set themselves up for leaders in sedition and treason, are court- 
 ing them, to support them in their flagitious enormities, or to screen 
 themselves from the penalties to which they know they are become 
 liable, by extending their crime among numbers of their innocent 
 fellow subjects, for whom I have every tender feeling of pity and 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. ] 89 
 
 compassion and forgiveness ; I have thought it proper to issue this 
 Proclamation, hereby to exhort His Majesty's subjects, the people 
 of this Province, as they tender the invaluable rights and privi- 
 leges of British subjects, that they seriously reflect upon and con- 
 sider the outrages and violences, into which the innocent inhabitants 
 of many parts of this Province and in the counties of Duplin, New 
 Hanover, Craven, and Brunswick, in particular, have been betrayed 
 by seditious artifices of certain traitorous persons who have pre- 
 sumed to take the lead among them ; and to attend to the obvious 
 and ruinous consequences of following the wicked and flagitious 
 councils of men, who, intent only upon romantic schemes and their 
 own mistaken interest and aggrandizement, are cajoling the people, 
 by the most false assertions and insinuations of oppression on the 
 part of His Majesty and his government, to become instruments to 
 their base views of establishing themselves in tyranny over them, 
 treacherously aiming, by specious pretences of regard to their 
 rights and liberties (that have never been invaded or intended to be 
 invaded), to delude the people to work their own destruction, in 
 order to gratify for a moment their own lust of power and lawless 
 ambition ; that would undoubtedly carry them, if they could pos- 
 sibly succeed, to reduce the people, upon whom they now call and 
 rely for support in their criminal designs, to the most slavish sub- 
 mission to that very arbitrary power, to which they would now 
 climb upon the shoulders and by the assistance of the people. 
 
 «' Let the people but consider coolly and dispassionately the cause 
 in which their infamous leaders would engage them, they will see 
 it, from the beginning of the discontents in America, founded in 
 erroneous principles, and to this day supported by every art of false- 
 hood and misrepresentation; their best colored and most specious 
 arguments, fraught with sophistry and illusion, have shrunk back from 
 the light of truth, and vanished, confounded of right reason : yet 
 still unabashed, the tools of sedition have impudently and unremit- 
 tingly imposed falsehood upon falsehood on the innocent people, ex- 
 travagantly profaning even the most sacred name of the Almighty 
 to promote their flagitious purpose of exciting rebellion, until they 
 have shaken the allegiance and duty of great numbers and actually 
 involved some of the people in the most horrid crimes against their 
 sovereign and the laws and constitution of their country. And I do 
 hereby most especially admonish His Majesty's faithful subjects in 
 this Colony, that the holding what is called a Provincial convention, 
 at Hillsborough, in the heart of this Province, is calculated to extend 
 
190 THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
 
 more widely the traitorous and rebellious designs of the enemies of 
 His Majesty and his government and the constitution of this Pro- 
 vince ; and particularly to influence, intimidate, and seduce His 
 Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects in that neighbourhood from 
 their duty to their King and Country, which they have hitherto 
 so faithfully maintained ; for the furtherance of which purposes, a 
 certain Richard Caswell, one of the three persons deputed by a former 
 illegal Convention in this Colony to attend a Congress no less illegal 
 at Philadelphia, is sent an emissary from that Assembly that hath al- 
 ready denounced ruin and destruction to America, to forward and 
 superintend this meeting at Hillsborough, and to inflame it with 
 the fatal example of said Philadelphia Congress ; a part which he 
 has entered upon with the most active zeal, after having often de- 
 clared his principles averse to the cause in which he is engaged, 
 thus exhibiting himself to the world a monstrous engine of double 
 treason against his own conscience, his King, and country. And 
 whereas I consider this a most open and daring attempt to stir up 
 unnatural rebellion in this Colony against His Majesty and his gov- 
 vernment, I do hereby advise, forewarn, and exhort all his Majesty's 
 subjects within this Province to forbear making any choice of dele- 
 gates to represent them in the proposed Convention at Hillsborough, 
 as they would avoid the guilt of giving sanction to an illegal as- 
 sembly, acting upon principles subversive of the happy Constitution 
 of their country, and that they, hy every means in their j^owcr, ojjposc 
 that dangerous and unconstitutional assembly, and resist its baneful 
 influence. And whereas, in order to encourage the people to pro- 
 ceed in the treasons to which they have been blindly influenced 
 and misled by the persons, who have set themselves up for leaders 
 among them, it has been represented, in order to inflame and ren- 
 der the people desperate, that they have offended past forgiveness, 
 and that, having no mercy to hope from the King, their better 
 chance is to prosecute their treasons to open rebellion and resistance 
 of His Majesty and his government; I think it proper, in tenderness 
 and pity to the poor, misguided multitude, and to obviate this abomi- 
 nable design of engaging them more deeply in transgression, hereby to 
 offer, promise, and declare to all, each, and every of them, His Majestrfs 
 most gracious pardon for all violences done and committed to the date 
 hereof, on their return to their duty to the King and obedience to lauful 
 government, and renouncing their seditious and treasonable proceed- 
 ings : and I hereby offer ample reward and recompense to the peoples 
 or any of them, icho shall yield and deliver up to me the feio principal 
 
GOVERNOR MARTIN. 191 
 
 persons loho seduced them to the treasonable outrages herein before 
 mentioned, to be dealt icith according to law. 
 
 " And whereas the people in many places have been seduced to the 
 choice and appointment of military officers among themselves, 
 which is an usurpation and invasion of his Majesty's just and law- 
 ful prerogative, and whereas no person whatever is entitled to hold, 
 exercise, or enjoy any commission or authority over the militia of 
 this Colony, but such as are commissioned by His Majesty or his 
 Governor of this Province, and whereas a certain John Ashe, 
 herein before named, who lately resigned to me his commission of 
 colonel in the militia of the County of New Hanover, has presumed 
 to influence and conduct a body of armed men of the said county 
 and of other adjacent counties to the most daring and treasonable 
 outrages, and a certain Robert Howes, alias Howe, hath also pre- 
 sumed, without commission from me or any lawful authority, to 
 take upon himself the style and title of Colonel, and to advertise 
 and summon the militia of the County of Brunswick to meet in 
 order to be trained to arms; I do hereby forewarn the people 
 against any and every such election of officers to which they are or 
 may be invited, and caution them against any obedience and regard 
 to any persons who have been or may be so appointed and chosen^ 
 hereby declaring every such election illegal, unconstitutional, and 
 null and void to all intents and purposes; and that the said John 
 Ashe and Robert Hoives, alias Hoioe, before mentioned, and both of 
 them, and every other person and persons, tcho hath or have presumed 
 to arraij the militia and to assemble men in arms ivitliin this Province, 
 without any commission or authority, have invaded His Majesty^ s just 
 royal prerogative and violated the laics of their country, to tchich 
 they loill be ansicerabl e for the same. 
 
 " And whereas it is out of doubt that a majority of the people of 
 this Colony, left to follow the impulses of their own hearts and un- 
 derstanding, are loyal and faithful subjects to His Majesty and true 
 and firm friends to the constitution and laws of their country; and 
 ichereas it appears that the assembling a convention at Hillsborough 
 roill bring the affairs of this country to a crisis, which will make it 
 necessary for every man to assert his principles, — / do hereby conjure 
 the good people of this Province, as they tender and regard the blessings 
 of British subjects, that they do firmly persist and persevere in their 
 duty and allegiance to His Majesty, hereby assuring them in the King's 
 name and by His Majesty' s author ity , of his firm and determined resolu- 
 tion to maintainhis faithful subjects in the full and free enjoyment of all 
 
192 GOVERNOR MARTIN. 
 
 their religions and civil rights, liberties, and privileges, and of His 
 Majesty's utmost encouragement to them in the defence and support 
 thereof against all enemies, rebels, and traitors whatsoever. And I do 
 hereby strictly require and command all His Majesty's justices of 
 the peace, sheriffs, and other officers, and all His Majesty's liege 
 subjects to exert themselves in the discovery of all seditions, trea- 
 sons, and traitorous conspiracies, and in bringing to justice the princi- 
 pals and accomplices tlierein ; and I do further strictly enjoin them 
 to give all and all manner of aid, countenance, assistance, and 
 protection to all His Majesty's loyal and faithful people. And all 
 persons are hereby required to take notice and govern themselves 
 accordingly. 
 
 '' Given under my hand and the great seal of the said Province, 
 on board His Majesty's ship Cruiser, in Cape Fear River, 
 this 8th day of August, anno Domini 1775, and in the 15th 
 year of His Majesty's reign. 
 
 '' God save the King. 
 
 (Signed) "JO. MARTIN. 
 
 " By His Excellency's command, 
 
 J. BiGGLESTON, D. Secretary.''^ 
 
 This proclamation is the dying effort of Governor Mar- 
 tin, and it is ahuost as long, and quite as furious, as a certain 
 other proclamation of a more recent date. It does am- 
 ple justice to the Whig leaders, who are so vehemently 
 denounced, and is at the present time valuable only as an 
 historical document establishing the truth of the Mecklen- 
 burg Declaration of Independence. 
 
 - I 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The furious proclamation of Governor Martin was of 
 no avail ; and on the 20th of August, 1775, the members 
 of the Provincial Congress, in accordance with the sum- 
 mons of Samuel Johnston, assembled in Hillsborough. 
 On the 21st, the members convened in the church, and at 
 the nomination of Richard Caswell, Samuel Johnston was 
 chosen President, Andrew Knox, Secretary, James Glas- 
 gow, Assistant, and Francis Lynaugh and Evan Swann, 
 Door-keepers. In those days, there lived in the town of 
 Hillsborough, a divine, by the name of George Mecklejohn, 
 a high churchman in his religion, and a high Tory 'n his 
 politics. The Congress, for the want of a more suitable 
 chaplain, adopted this unwilling minister, and he was ac- 
 cordingly introduced by Colonel Francis Nash, and then 
 *' he opened the Congress by reading prayers." On the 
 same day, the conduct of John Coulson, an individual of 
 considerable influence in the county of Anson, was dis- 
 cussed, and a numerous committee, headed by Samuel 
 Spencer, appointed to report upon his offences. On the 
 next day, the committee reported through Mr. Harnett 
 the following confession. 
 
 " I, John Coulson, do from the fullest conviction solemnly and 
 sincerely declare, that 1 have been pursuing measures destructive 
 
 17 
 
194 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 of the liberties of America in general, and highly injurious to the 
 peace of this Colony; and, truly conscious of the heinousness of my 
 guilt, do now publicly confess the same, and do solemnly and sin- 
 cerely promise, that I will for the future support and defend, to the 
 utmost of my power, the constitutional rights and liberties of Amer- 
 ica; and, in order to make atonement for my past guilt, that I 
 will make use of every effort in my power to reclaim those per- 
 sons whom I have seduced from their duty, and also to induce all 
 other persons over whom I have influence to aid, support, and de- 
 fend the just rights of America. In witness whereof, I have here- 
 unto set my hand, this the 22d day of August, 1775. 
 
 "JOHN COULSON." 
 
 I have given this confession in full as a sample of 
 many others of a similar character, which are to be found 
 in the proceedings of the Provincial Congresses. The 
 alternative to confess and submit, or to go to prison, was 
 invariably presented to all apprehended Tories ; and this 
 penitential confession of Mr. Coulson was not more de- 
 grading than many others, which were extorted from the 
 guilty timidity of the loyalists. 
 
 One of the most important objects, which the Congress 
 seemed to have in view, was the reconciliation of the 
 Regulators, and the satisfaction of the Highland clans of 
 Cumberland. The lenity of Governor Martin towards 
 the former, and his intrigues with the Scotch, were now 
 rewarded with the support of these two parties ; and all 
 the endeavours of the Whigs to win them from his confi- 
 dence and interest were exhausted, and exhausted in 
 vain. The Congress by a formal resolution contradicted the 
 report that the Regulators were still amenable to punish- 
 ment, and declared that they should be protected by 
 every means, from any injury to their persons or property. 
 A numerous committee was appointed to confer " with 
 such of the inhabitants as might entertain any religious or 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 195 
 
 political scruples, with respect to associating with the 
 common cause of America." But all these efforts were 
 unavailing. The Highland clans, with many honorable 
 exceptions however, continued their devotion to the Roy- 
 al cause, and many even of the Regulators forgot the 
 glory of " the Sons of Liberty " and the principles of 
 their murdered ancestors. The Highlanders contrived to 
 keep not only in the Whig party, but even in the Provin- 
 cial Congress, many of their coadjutors, who disguised 
 their loyalty under excessive zeal in the American cause ; 
 and the proceedings of this very Convention were 
 adorned by the genius of Farquard Campbell, a high 
 Tory, but a gendeman of wealth, education, and, I have 
 heard, of rank. I shall anticipate the career of this man, 
 to illustrate the character of a disguised Tory, a common 
 hero in the history of every country, and one, which is 
 as frequently the result of prudence as of vice and trea- 
 son. 
 
 Farquard Campbell was a member of a previous 
 Congress, and passed the many ordeals or tests which the 
 vigilance of the Whig committee instituted, and before 
 which my readers may remember a Mr. Macknight of 
 Currituck shrunk, and gave up the American cause. 
 When this Congress assembled, however, the fact, that 
 Farquard had been visited by Governor Martin on his 
 flight from the palace, was well known ; and now we 
 observe the jealousy of the Whigs aroused, by the receipt 
 of a letter from Mr. Biggleston, the Governor's Secre- 
 tary, asking the favor of the Congress, to give safe con- 
 duct to His Excellency's coach and horses, to the house 
 of Farquard Campbell in Cumberland. On the receipt 
 of this letter, the President laid it before the Congress 
 
196 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 and Farquard rose in bis seat and " said he was amazed 
 that Mr. Bigglestone should have made such a pro- 
 posal widiout his privity or consent, and implored the 
 House not to permit such a disposition of the coach and 
 horses." On this positive disclaimer, a resolution was 
 passed acquitting him of the accusations of the Governor 
 and his party, and declaring their conviction of his hon- 
 esty of purpose, and of his devotion to the American 
 cause. The character of Farquard, however, never re- 
 covered from this shock, and, although he continued by 
 these positive assurances to postpone the day of retribu- 
 tion, yet the revolution of a year will disclose his down- 
 fall, and with it the fate and character of his country- 
 men. He signed the test submitted to the members of 
 this Congress, and, on the 12th of April, 1776, voted to 
 authorize the delegates in the Continental Congress to 
 declare independence. He took every stand in favor of 
 the American cause, except a military commission, and 
 was generally among the leading members of the Con- 
 gress in debates and common committees. Still Far- 
 quard was an object of suspicion, and was strictly and 
 jealously watched. I see by the letters of Judge John 
 Williams * that he was suspected of a secret correspon- 
 dence with Governor Martin, during the whole time of 
 his service in the Provincial Congress, and that the hope 
 of the Whigs, to operate through him on the Highlanders, 
 was the principal reason of their toleration. As the Amer- 
 ican cause advanced, however, his part became more 
 difficult to act ; and after the national Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, and the consequent reorganization of the Whig 
 
 * Letter of Judge Williams to William Johnston, January 10th, 
 
 1777, 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 197 
 
 party, his fale was fixed. He was seized by Colonel 
 Ebenezer Folsome at his own house, while entertaining a 
 party of Highland Royalists, and borne ofl^ to Halifax to 
 be tried. This took place during the fall of 177G ; and 
 thus closed the political life of Farquard Campbell. He 
 is mentioned in the Confiscation of 1777, for the last time 
 in the Revolutionary annals of the State. The charac- 
 ter of this man lost all its dignity in a vain and heartless 
 effort to evade that decision, which he was, as a citizen of 
 the State, bound to make with promptness and sincerity. 
 Not that the character of a loyalist is so odious, when 
 the prejudices of birth operate to make him so ; but the 
 circumstance, that he was ashamed of his real opinion, 
 is the best evidence of profligacy of principle in private 
 as well as public life. 
 
 With all their violence the Whig leaders were yet 
 prudent politicians, and during the session of this Congress 
 they left no effort untried, to carry along with them the 
 unanimous voice of the people. They not only appointed 
 spirited and well selected committees, to confer with and 
 explain to the people the nature of the controversy with 
 the mother country, and to advise and urge them to de- 
 fend those rights which they derived from God and the 
 Constitution ; but, in their public resolutions and other 
 state-papers, they avoided any expressions calculated to 
 offend the feelings of the loyalists, and of course to 
 render a more perfect union impossible. The Test sub- 
 mitted to the members on the 23d of August, and which 
 was signed by the whole Congress, could not have re- 
 ceived the hearty assent of either a violent Whig or an 
 independent Tory ; and accordingly we find the names of 
 Thomas Polk, Samuel Johnston, and other Whigs at- 
 17* 
 
198 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 tached to the same political creed with that of Farquard 
 Campbell. They professed allegiance to the King, but 
 denied his authority to impose taxes, and swore to sup- 
 port the Whig authorities of the Continental and Provin- 
 cial Congress. The Tory in the sincerity of his heart 
 may have responded only to the profession of allegiance, 
 and the Whig may have reciprocated the duplicity of 
 his conduct, by an exclusive prayer for the great Amer- 
 ican cause. The toleration of Farquard Campbell, the 
 mild nature of the Test, and every other effort at con- 
 ciliation but postponed the crisis. The calamity of a civil 
 and intestine war, w^iich had been invoked by the wicked 
 genius of the routed Governor, could not be averted, either 
 by the expostulations of friendship, or the solemn obliga- 
 tions of social, kindred, and national ties. 
 
 On the 24th of August the Congress declared unani- 
 mously, that the people of North Carolina would pay 
 their due proportion of the expense incurred in training 
 a Continental army, and connected both with this and 
 its preamble was a resolution appointing 
 
 The President 
 (Samuel Johnston), 
 WilHam Hooper, 
 Joseph Hewes, 
 Richard Caswell, 
 Samuel Spencer, 
 Thomas Respiss, 
 Walter Gibson, 
 William Gray, 
 Robert Plowe, 
 Thomas Eaton, 
 James Coor, 
 John Easton, 
 James White, 
 Thomas Jones, 
 
 Richard Kennon, 
 Thomas Gray, 
 Henry Irwin, 
 John Penn, 
 Alexander Martin, 
 Joseph Hancock, 
 Matthias Brickie, 
 John Webb, 
 William Bryant, 
 Thomas Polk, 
 Whitwell Hill, 
 Samuel Ashe, 
 Allen Jones, 
 Henry Rhodes, 
 Thomas Burke, 
 
 Dempsy Burgess, 
 Robert Salter, 
 Matthew Locke, 
 Joseph Williams, 
 Peter Wynn, 
 William Kennon, 
 Joel Lane, 
 William Brown, 
 James Davis, 
 Archibald Maclaine, 
 Maurice Moore, 
 James Hepburn, 
 Willie Jones, 
 Francis Nash, and 
 Hugh Montgomery, 
 
 Alexander McAllister, Benjamin Harvey, 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 199 
 
 a committee to prepare a plan for the regulation of the 
 internal peace, order, and safety of the Province.* 
 
 To this important committee was entrusted the duty 
 of proposing a system of government, which would sup- 
 ply the want of an executive officer arising from the 
 absence of Governor Martin, and of submitting other sub- 
 ordinate plans of government ; such as the institution 
 of committees of safety, the definition of the powers of 
 all committees, the qualification of all electors, the mode 
 to be observed in calling Conventions or Congresses, " and 
 every other civil power necessary to be formed in order 
 to relieve the Province in the present unhappy state, to 
 which the administration has reduced it." 
 
 It was the most important committee ever yet ap- 
 pointed by popular authority, and achieved one of the 
 most difficult and trying ends of the Revolution. It sub- 
 stituted a regular government, resting entirely on popular 
 authority, for that of the Royal government, and annihi- 
 lated every vestige of the power of Josiah Martin. Noth- 
 ing but the idle and vain theory of Allegiance to the 
 Throne was left, to remind the people of the recent origin 
 of their power ; and even this solitary star of the Kingly 
 government was dimmed by the bright and rapid ascen- 
 sion of the renown of Washington. 
 
 It is difficult to give a succinct account of the com- 
 plicated scheme of government, which this committee re- 
 commended, and this Congress adopted. The county 
 committees, which had been in existence not quite a year, 
 had grown too powerful to be quietly abrogated ; and ac- 
 cordingly the Congress had to be content with the regu- 
 
 * I quote the dates in the text from the MS. Journal of the 
 proceedings of the Congress. 
 
200 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 lation of their numbers, a definition of their powers, and 
 the erection of two liigher authorities. The violence, 
 imprudence, and sometimes the inhumanity of some of 
 these county committees, had disgusted many of the Whig 
 leaders, who were really disposed to use gender argu- 
 ments than tar and feathers, in endeavouring to convert the 
 loyalists ; and accordingly we find, in the new scheme of 
 government, all their decisions are submitted to the adju- 
 dication of two superior departments. The Provincial 
 Council was now the Supreme Executive of the govern- 
 ment, during the recess of the Congress, and consisted of 
 thirteen members, two from each of the six military dis- 
 tricts, nominated by the delegates of the district, and 
 elected by the Congress, and one elected for the Province 
 at large. This body had the authority of issuing military 
 commissions, of filling vacancies, and of granting certifi- 
 cates, wliich were ordered to run in the following form. 
 
 " JVorth Carolina, in Provincial Council, day of 1775. 
 
 " This is to certify that was appointed 
 
 in the regiment of foot, 
 
 of the American army of this Province, commanded by Colonel 
 
 this, the day of 1775." 
 
 Immediately subordinate to the Provincial Council, were 
 the District Committees of Safety, which consisted of 
 thirteen, and these too were nominated by the delegates 
 of each district, and elected finally by the Congress. 
 Under the immediate control of the Council, this body had 
 the power to direct the operations of the militia, and such 
 other forces as might be employed for the defence of the 
 Province within their jurisdiction, to receive information, 
 and censure and punish delinquents, either in the first in- 
 stance, or as a superintending power over the town and 
 county committees. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 201 
 
 The next order of government was the town and 
 county corainittees, and the only alteration made in their 
 arrangements., was the qualification of a freehold for the 
 members, and the limitation of their number to twenty-one. 
 There were now a Provincial Council of thirteen, six com- 
 mittees of safety of thirteen each, thirty-six county com- 
 mittees of twenty-one each, thr^ town committees of 
 fifteen each, and six borough committees of seven, mak- 
 ing an aggregate of nine hundred and thirty-four civil 
 officers, vested with power by the authority of the people. 
 
 To the supreme direction and control of the military 
 establishment, entrusted by the Congress to the Provin- 
 cial Council, was added the wholesome and salutary power 
 of a veto on the popular election of officers. This pre- 
 rogative was conferred, to frustrate the designs of the 
 Highlanders and other Tories, who, in their respective 
 counties, had elected officers of a doubtful character ; and 
 without some such general power in one of the Whig de- 
 partments of the government, the integrity, even of the 
 military establishment, might have been sullied. In the 
 county of Cumberland, for instance, the officers of inde- 
 pendent companies, as well as committee-men, must have 
 been, in a general election upon the principle of universal 
 suffrage, elected from the Highland clans ; as the Scotch 
 population outnumbered every other class, and voted to- 
 getlier on all occasions. How common is it in North 
 Carolina, where the right of suffrage is still in one depart- 
 ment of the government restricted, to hear it said, that the 
 people at large achieved the liberty of the state, and that 
 therefore universal suffrage ought to prevail ! But if the 
 proceedings of the Convention or Congress will be admitted 
 as evidence, it will be found that the freeholders were not 
 
202 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 only the principal operatives in the Revolution, but that they 
 were exceedingly jealous of the integrity of those, who 
 had not an interest in the soil. In forming the system of 
 government, which 1 am now discussing, they absolutely 
 disfranchised a large class of voters, whose weight had 
 been felt in the Royal governnient, by leaving out the 
 word " inhabitants," * and using only that of " freehold- 
 ers," in the clause regulating elections. The original 
 Whig party of North Carolina comprised the wealth, the 
 virtue, and the intelligence of the Province ; and from 
 this source alone, moved the Revolution. The restriction 
 of the right of suffrage materially assisted the Whig party 
 of Cumberland, by throwing out of the polls the poor 
 and unmanageable herd of Highlanders, who were gene- 
 rally guided by some wealthy Tory of their clan ; and the 
 prospect of this benefit was undoubtedly one of the princi- 
 pal inducements to its rigorous adoption. There was, 
 however, one exception to this rule. In the counties of 
 Bute, Granville, Wake, Chatham, Orange, Guilford, Row- 
 an, Surry, and Mecklenburg, in which the lands of Lord 
 Granville were situated, all householders, who had improv- 
 ed lands in possession, except such as held lands by lease 
 for years, or at will from or under any freeholder, were 
 enfranchised and placed on an equality with the freehold- 
 ers of other counties. Thus cautious were the founders 
 of our civil liberties, in guarding and preserving the dignity 
 of the polls. 
 
 As this is the last occasion I shall have in the course of 
 
 * Under the Royal government, a large class of people voted, 
 who were not freeholders, under the name of " inhabitants " ; and 
 one of the charges against Governor Dobbs, in 17G0, was the exten- 
 sion of the right of suffrage. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 203 
 
 this volume, to notice the county committees, I shall here 
 describe them somewhat in detail, and endeavour to illus- 
 trate incidentally the scheme of the new government. The 
 vehement and ridiculous Proclamation of Governor Mar- 
 tin denounced them, as " the genuine sources of sedi- 
 tion ; " and if the word '-sedition" alluded to the suc- 
 cessful resistance of the people to His Excellency's meas- 
 ures, the compliment was well bestowed, and well deserv- 
 ed. They were appointed in North Carolina, for the first 
 time, in October, 1774; and, although the Provincial 
 Congress had recommended the number five, I find that 
 in many of the counties the advice was not respected, and 
 a larger number of the most respectable freeholders were 
 elected on the county committee. In Bute, the recom- 
 mendation of Benjamin Ward to select one from each 
 kin was adopted ; and nearly every gentleman, of any note, 
 now living in any of the counties, originally included in 
 Old Bute, is a descendant of one of these founders of our 
 Revolution. In that county there were no Tories, except- 
 ing a few vagrant Scotch merchants or traders ; and even 
 the number of suspected Whigs was so small, that, before 
 the heat of the contest came on, the people were as nearly 
 unanimous as a community can be. 
 
 The freeholders, the only electors in the Province, 
 voted for a general ticket of twenty-one ; and the elected 
 committee-men assembled on the first day of the County 
 Court, and organized by the appointment of a chairman 
 and a clerk. The third Tuesday of October was the 
 general day of election for members of Congress, commit- 
 tee-men, and all other ofilcers ; and, with the adoption of 
 this rule, the number of members of Congress from each 
 county was limited to five. When the committee pro- 
 
204 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 ceeded to business, it acted on parliamentary rules, and 
 questions of the greatest importance were frequently de- 
 bated with ability and decorum. Before these petty par- 
 liaments, were brought by force all Tories and suspected 
 persons ; and, although Congress had especially forbidden 
 the infliction of corporal punishment, the common remedy 
 of the whipping-post was esteemed, in many instances, 
 justifiable and highly indispensable. They exercised, 
 rigidly, a political censorship, and did not hesitate to sub- 
 ject to the penance of a dungeon, all persons convicted of 
 disrespectful language towards the American cause. Orders 
 were issued to ravage the estates of the most violent and 
 obnoxious Tories, and appropriate the plunder to the com- 
 mon treasury. But against this warfare of the Whigs, the 
 loyalists were prepared to wage an equally well regulated 
 system of rapine and plunder. The Tories of Cumber- 
 land, superior to the Whigs in number, committed depre- 
 dations on their estates, and carried off from their fields 
 the slaves and cattle of the plantations. But they wanted 
 the regular organization of their adversaries, and the en- 
 thusiasm of an injured but free people, to make the con- 
 test equal or doubtful. 
 
 The county committee held four regular sessions dur- 
 ing the year ; but from the great facility of collecting 
 together, and the general disposition for consultation for 
 the general good, during times of danger and distress, 
 they were in the habit of meeting at short notices, for the 
 transaction of any urgent business. They executed all or- 
 ders from the Council and Committee of Safety, attended 
 to the observance of the Continental association, and all 
 the resolves, orders, and directions of the Provincial and 
 Continental Congress. They exercised a judicial author- 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 205 
 
 ity, in the arrest of debtors, who were suspected of an in- 
 tention to abscond, and denied justice to all, who should 
 dare to commence an action at law, without their especial 
 permission. These high powers, some of which, such as 
 the latter, were actually entrusted to them by the Congress, 
 were generally used as means of favor to the Whigs, and of 
 distress and punishment to the Loyalists. The advancement 
 of the great American cause, and not justice, was the motto 
 of tlie county committees ; and in all their adjudications, 
 either on the rights of persons or of property, a refusal to 
 repeat and subscribe the test, was the best evidence of 
 guilt or wrong. They elected out of their number seven 
 members, to act as a committee of secrecy, intelligence, 
 and observation, and authorized them to correspond with 
 the Council, committees of safety, and committees of the 
 neighbouring colonies. To this committee they gave the 
 power of arresting all Tories and suspected persons, and 
 to punish them or send them up to the Council or Com- 
 mittee of Safety for further trial. 
 
 The county committee not unfrequently usurped the 
 powers of the county court, and subjected the gravity and 
 reason of the law to the control of the popular will. 
 This conflicting jurisdiction, however, did not " uproot the 
 foundations of civil society," as predicted by Governor 
 Martin ; for the notable Esquires of the court were gene- 
 rally the leading members of the county committees. 
 They esteemed it their highest duty to serve the American 
 cause, and proclaimed, by their conduct, that they thought 
 the subscription to the test a higher and more solemn ob- 
 ligation, than the oath of allegiance, or of duty, as an 
 Esquire. 
 
 18 
 
206 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The commitlees, as I have before said, had been in 
 existence for nearly a year, before the adoption of the 
 system I have here described. The Congress, proceed- 
 ing to the election of a Provincial Council, made choice 
 of the following members. 
 
 PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. 
 
 Samuel Johnston, Province at large. 
 
 Cornelius Harnett, ) Wilmington 
 Samuel Ashe, 5 District. 
 
 Thomas Jones, ) Edenton 
 Whitmell Hill, J District. 
 Abner Nash, > JVew Berne 
 
 James Coor, 3 District. 
 
 Thomas Person, ") Hillsboro' 
 John Kinchin, > District. 
 
 Willie Jones, ) Halifax 
 
 Thomas Eaton, 5 District, 
 Samuel Spencer, | Salisbury 
 Waightstill Avery, 3 District. 
 
 I now propose to say a few words on the characters of the 
 individual members of this Council, excepting those whom 
 I noticed in my sketches of the first Provincial Congress. 
 The characters of Samuel Johnston, Thomas Person, 
 Thomas Jones, and Willie Jones were there briefly notic- 
 ed ; and, observing this Council as, at this period, the high- 
 est and most efficient authority in the Province, the curi- 
 osity of the reader may be aroused to know something of 
 them, as private as well as public men. 
 
 Cornelius Harnett, "the Samuel Adams of North Caro- 
 lina," was distinguished as a gentleman of great acquire- 
 ments as a scholar, as well as a citizen of great wealth and 
 usefulness. He heartily espoused the cause of his coun- 
 try, in the very commencement of her difficulties, and 
 sacrificed, in her cause, his vast fortune and his life. He 
 was elected the President of the Council by the voice of 
 its members, and in this capacity he served the common 
 cause with great fidelity, during the existence of that 
 body. The office of President of the Council was the 
 most arduous and dangerous post, to which a citizen could 
 be called, and, representing the executive officer of gov- 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 207 
 
 ernment, was exposed to all the abuse and insolence of 
 the proclamations of the British authorities. The great 
 energy of his character, however, supported him through 
 the difficuhies of his station, and gave him the confidence 
 and love of his countrymen. 
 
 Some years previous to the breaking out of the war, 
 there existed on the Cape Fear an association, or club of 
 gentlemen, well disposed towards the American cause ; 
 and among its leading members was Harnett, who coope- 
 rated with John Ashe, in all his schemes of resistance. 
 To this junto we are indebted for many of the most emi- 
 nent Whigs of that section of the State, who studied, as it 
 were, under their guidance ; and from the high compli- 
 ment to Harnett, by Mr. Quincy, we may conclude he 
 was considered at its head, during the year 1773. His 
 reputation, as a Whig leader, had not been confined to the 
 Cape Fear, or even to the Province ; and one of the first 
 steps of the British General Clinton, on his arrival in 
 North Carolina during the spring of 1776, was by a pub- 
 lic proclamation to except him, together with Robert Howe, 
 out of the benefit of a general pardon. In the course of 
 his service to his country, he fell into the hands of the 
 enemy, and died in captivity. 
 
 Samuel Ashe, the other member of the Council for the 
 Wilmington district, was an early and efficient Whig, 
 and, like his brother, John Ashe, a native North Caroli- 
 nian, and a gentleman of high and elegant breeding. It is 
 the most pleasing duty I have to perform in the composi- 
 tion of this work, to celebrate the characters of such men, 
 and to illustrate the dignity of the history of the State, by 
 an exhibition of the patriotic services of eminent native 
 citizens. The two brothers, John and Samuel Ashe, 
 
208 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 are fair subjects for the pen of eulogy, and I shall trespass 
 on the patience of the reader by a short notice of their 
 family, of their characters, and of the services of Samuel 
 Ashe. If called upon to point to her treasures, North 
 Carolina may borrow from the same mother two of her 
 brightest jewels for such an exhibition, and proudly wake 
 up from her slumber, to assume the station and rank, 
 which the founders of her hberty originally gave her. 
 
 John Babtista Ashe, the founder of the family in North 
 Carolina, was the friend of the Earl of Craven, one of the 
 Lords Proprietors of the Province, and on that account 
 perhaps visited the shores of the new world. He is ob- 
 served as distinguished in the political history of the Prov- 
 ince about the year 1727 ; and his name is sometimes 
 found attached to the old statutes under the proprietary 
 government. I am not able to date the exact period of 
 his arrival in North Carolina ; but the banks of the Cape 
 Fear have been distinguished, for more than a hundred 
 years, as the residence of the family. He was one of 
 the leading men of his day, and remarkable for the supe- 
 rior accomplishments of a liberal education. 
 
 His two sons, John and Samuel Ashe, inherited the 
 high and distinguishing qualities of their father, and 
 came into life at a period when the passions of their coun- 
 trymen were aroused in the ardent pursuit of liberty and 
 national independence. In the midst of political convul- 
 sions, individuals distinguished for energy and decision of 
 character, for patriotism and private worth, and for hered- 
 itary respectability of character, rise up naturally superior 
 to the mass around them. A virtuous people will gather 
 around them, and seek the counsels of their better judg- 
 ment, and confer upon them the honors of power, as the 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 209 
 
 surest means of public safety. The recollection of the tal- 
 ents and virtues of the father inspires a deeper veneration 
 and contributes to nerve the mind of the hero, as well as to 
 animate the bosom of the people. I have noted the election 
 of John Ashe as Speaker of the popular House in 1764 
 and 1765, and have celebrated his conduct during the ex" 
 citement of the Stamp Act. The proclamation of Governor 
 Martin is the best evidence of the vehemence of his zeal, 
 in the earliest period of the war ; and the sacking or burn- 
 ing of Fort Johnston, a military movement but a few 
 months subsequent to the battle of Lexington, fully attests 
 his personal intrepidity. When I survey the various and 
 trying services he rendered the cause of his country, at 
 the darkest period of its political existence, the many 
 deeds of valor which he himself accomplished, and the 
 heavy responsibilities which he assumed, I cannot refrain 
 from pronouncing him the most chivalrous hero of our 
 revolution. Quick and sensitive in his feelings, and ar- 
 dently attached to the cause and the hope of national 
 freedom, while others stood watching the probable issue 
 of the contest, he struck the blow or applied the match, 
 and with himself carried his countrymen, on the stormy 
 field of intestine and foreign war. In the course of the 
 war, he was betrayed into the hands of the enemy by his 
 confidential servant ; and, after a long and rigid confine- 
 ment, was seized with the small-pox, and then discharged 
 on parole. With a constitution, shattered by hardship and 
 disease, he returned to his family, and died shortly after- 
 wards, at the house of Colonel John Sampson of Samp- 
 son county. 
 
 The character of Samuel Ashe differed from that of 
 his brother, more in the absence of a violent enthusiasm 
 18* 
 
210 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 than in any other quality. He is not found so often in 
 the heat and management of the battle, as in the council 
 chamber, and excelled his brother, in the public estima- 
 tion, as a politician. Though not so much of a warrior, 
 yet he was the better statesman ; and, in the various civil 
 stations which he filled during his life, he acquired the 
 high reputation which he left behind him. At this early 
 period of our history, we find him elected one of the 
 Provincial Council, the highest civil authority in the Prov- 
 ince ; and in the succeeding spring, when that body was 
 dissolved and a Provincial Council of Safety instituted, he 
 was again elected to a seat in the highest branch of the 
 new government. He was not, however, entirely without 
 distinction in the military operations of the State. In the 
 apprehension of Tories, one of the most hazardous spe- 
 cies of warfare, he acquired great reputation as a bold 
 and vigilant Whig ; and I find by the journal of the Coun- 
 cil of Safety, that he contrived by menaces and persua- 
 sions to convert many of the Loyalists of Bladen to the 
 Whig interest. In this, however, the character of the 
 politician may have done more than that of the warrior. 
 The glory of a statesman is to achieve his end by the 
 gentle means of counsel and concihation, and to leave to 
 the General the service and honor of his country, when 
 these noble means shall have failed. Samuel Ashe, how- 
 ever, gave to the military service of the State two of her 
 bravest and most efficient officers, in the persons of his 
 two sons. Colonels John Babtista and Samuel Ashe. The 
 former, the elder of the two, entered the army as Cap- 
 tain in Colonel Alexander Lillington's regiment, on the 
 17th of April, 1776, and continued in actual service 
 throughout the war. He commanded a division of North 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 211 
 
 Carolina troops, at the battle of Eutavv Springs, and at this 
 period of his service I find him enjoying the rank of 
 Lieutenant-Colonel. The younger son, the present Colonel 
 Samuel Ashe of Cape Fear, entered the army at the age 
 of seventeen, as a Lieutenant in the spring of the year 
 1779. In April, 1780, he joined the army at Charleston, 
 and was made a prisoner on the capture of that city in the 
 month of May of that year. He was subjected to a 
 long and painful captivity of nearly fifteen months, and 
 was then shipped with his companions to old Jamestown 
 in Virginia, where they were exchanged and ordered to 
 join General Lafayette. He remained but a short time 
 with him before he was attached to the army of General 
 Greene, in which he continued until the termination of the 
 war. I have not esteemed these few remarks inapplicable 
 to the character of Samual Ashe, the member of the 
 Council. To have contributed two such sons to the sup- 
 port of his country, and to have been himself one of the 
 first movers of the war of Independence, is the lot of 
 but few of the heroes in that struggle. In the course 
 of his eventful life, Samuel Ashe filled the highest office 
 of the State under the present Constitution, and died in 
 the full enjoyment of the confidence and love of the 
 people, whom he had so long and so faithfully served.* 
 
 * The Ashe family contributed more to the success of the Revo- 
 lution than any other in the State. Colonel John Ashe's second 
 son, Captain Samuel Ashe, served two campaigns in the Northern 
 States, with the rank of Captain in the Light Horse ; and, although 
 he resigned this commission, yet he continued to serve in the mili- 
 tia expeditions of the State during the war. So that there were 
 five officers of that family, all actively engaged in the war. General 
 John Ashe, and his son Captain Samuel Ashe, Governor Samuel 
 Ashe, and his sons. Colonels John Babtista and Samuel Ashe. If I 
 
212 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Whitmell Hill, one of the members of the Council for 
 the Edenton District, was an accomplished and well-bred 
 gentleman, as well as an early and ardent supporter of 
 the American cause. On the dissolution of the Council 
 he still retained his popularity, and was elected one of the 
 Council of Safety. After the organization of the govern- 
 ment under the present Constitution, he was elected a 
 member of the Senate, and, in 1778, was chosen one of 
 the members of the Continental Congress, a station which 
 he filled with great honor to himself for the space of three 
 years. Tradition is my only authority in the description 
 of his character; — high-minded and honest as a public 
 servant, amiable and affectionate in his domestic relations, 
 a hospitable gendeman, and an uncompromising and zeal- 
 ous Whig. An extensive posterity at this time supports 
 the honor and credit of his name. 
 
 Abner Nash, of the New Berne District, was likewise 
 one of the old stock of gendemen, as well as a zealous 
 Whig. He resided on the Pembroke estate in the vicinity 
 of New Berne, and was celebrated for the elegance and 
 frankness of his hospitality. He was elected first Speak- 
 er of the Senate under the Constitution, and, after the 
 expiration of Caswell's term, Governor of the State- 
 In 1781, however, he was defeated in a contest for that 
 office by Thomas Burke, one of the most energetic and 
 vigilant men of that day. The cause of Burke's oppo- 
 sition was the disordered state of the public finances, 
 which, he alleged, grew out of the carelessness of the exe- 
 cutive. The character of Abner Nash, however, was not 
 
 could go at length into a detailed history of the war, these names 
 would again occur often and honorably towards its close ; but my 
 narrative will only reach the 4th of July, 177G. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 213 
 
 tarnished by the defeat. He may have lost the reputa- 
 tion of a skilful financier ; but the purity of his political 
 character was never suspected. In 1782, immediately 
 after his defeat, he was elected a member of Congress, 
 by the Assembly of the State, and in this capacity he 
 served his country faithfully and honorably for four years. 
 Associated with him as a member of the Council was 
 James Coor, a bold and efficient Whig, who served the 
 State with great fidelity, in every situation in which he 
 was placed. 
 
 Thomas Eaton of the Halifax District was a gentleman 
 of large fortune and extensive popularity, and, as such, 
 carried into the Council much weight and consideration. 
 In the course of the war he rose to the rank of a gene- 
 ral of the militia, and experienced much service in its 
 conduct, both as a civil and military officer. A numerous 
 and respectable posterity is not the least benefit a patriot 
 can bestow on his country ; and for this, the memory of 
 General Eaton deserves to be cherished, as a faithful 
 public servant. 
 
 John Kinchen, who was the associate of Thomas Per- 
 son for the Hillsborough District, was a genuine Whig, and 
 one who shrunk from no duty, however perilous, to which 
 he was called. He was one of those bold spirits, who 
 volunteered to perform the most hazardous deeds, and 
 who contributed the actual service of his body to the good 
 of the state. 
 
 Waightstill Avery and Samuel Spencer, of the Salis- 
 bury District, were two of the earliest and most decided 
 Whigs of the State. They were both lawyers and men 
 of an ardent temperament of mind. The former was a 
 signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, 
 and will be noticed in the second part of this volume ; the 
 
214 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 latter was distinguished afterwards as a Judge, and as one 
 of the ablest opponents of the adoption of the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States. 
 
 I have exhausted the patience of the reader, by the 
 tediousness of my details of the principles of the Whig 
 government. The Congress, which I left in session, to 
 discuss the new Whig government, must still be neglected, 
 to make room for at least the names of the members of 
 the District Committees of Safety. 
 
 Frederick Jones. 
 Sampson Mosely. 
 Archibald Maclaine. 
 Richard Quince. 
 Thomas Davis. 
 
 Luke Sumner. 
 William Gray. 
 John Johnston. 
 Thomas Benbury. 
 Gideon Lamb. 
 
 William Taylor. 
 Joseph Taylor. 
 Samuel Smith. 
 John Atkinson. 
 John Buttler. 
 
 Alexander Gaston. 
 Richard Cogdell. 
 John Easton. 
 Major Groom. 
 Roger Ormond. 
 
 Griffith Rutherford. 
 John Brevard. 
 
 Wilmington District. 
 
 William Gray. Alexander McAllister. 
 
 Henry Rhodes. George Mylne. 
 
 Thomas Routledge. John Smith. 
 James Kenan. Benjamin Stone. 
 
 Edenton District. 
 
 Joseph Jones. 
 Miles Harvey. 
 Laurence Baker. 
 Kennith McKenzie. 
 
 Stevens Lee. 
 Charles Blount. 
 Isaac Gregory. 
 Day Ridley. 
 
 Hillsborough District. 
 William Johnston. Ambrose Ramsay. 
 
 John Hinton. 
 Joel Lane. 
 Michael Rogers. 
 
 Mial Scurloch. 
 John Thompson. 
 John Lark. 
 
 New Berne District. 
 Edward Salter. Benjamin Williams. 
 
 George Burrovt'. 
 William Thompson. 
 William Tisdale. 
 
 Richard Ellis. 
 William Brown. 
 James Glasgow. 
 
 Salisbury District. 
 John Crawford. James Auld. 
 
 Hezekiah Alexander. Benjamin Patten. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 215 
 
 William Hill. Charles Galloway. Robert Ewert. 
 
 John Hamilton. William Dent. Maxwell Chambers. 
 
 Halifax District. 
 
 Allen Jones. William Eaton. William Haywood. 
 
 Rev. Henry Patillo. Drury Lee. Duncan Lamon. 
 
 James Leslie. John Norwood. William Bellamy. 
 
 John Bradford. James Mills. John Webb. 
 David Sumner. 
 
 A mere record of their names is the only tribute, which 
 time and space will permit me to pay to the memory of 
 the members of the Committees of Safety. They have 
 left but few records behind them, to attest their industry or 
 zeal, as a body ; but the proceedings of the Council, which 
 I shall presently notice, will sufficiently illustrate the na- 
 ture of their proceedings. I observe among them the 
 ancestors of many of our worthiest and most distinguished 
 citizens. The names of Richard Cogdell and Alexan- 
 der Gaston, * of New Berne, are still cherished by their 
 descendants, and their reputation is siill sustained by two of 
 the most learned and eloquent Jurists f of the State. The 
 
 * Alexander Gaston was shot by a party of Tories, in the year 
 1781, as he was leaving in a boat one of the wharves of New Berne. 
 The circumstances of his death were most distressing, being killed, 
 as it were, in the very presence of his family. He was a good and 
 brave man, and died in the defence of that cause, of which his son 
 is still an ardent and eloquent supporter. Richard Cogdell too was 
 shot at by the Tories, or British soldiers, while standing in his door, 
 and the same door, pierced by the ball of the musket, is still swinging 
 on its hinges, in the house of Wright Stanly, Esquire, of New Berne* 
 
 The reader will also observe the name of John Buttler on the list 
 of the Hillsborough Committee. He was one of the outlawed Regu- 
 lators, and adhering to the principles of his party, had now become 
 an outlawed Whig. He was one of the Captains of Husband, at the 
 Battle of Allemance,and his example alone is a sufficient vindication 
 of the integrity of the Regulation. 
 
 t William Gaston and George E. Badger, Esquires. 
 
216 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 late John Stanly, so celebrated for his great dexterity as an 
 advocate at the bar, and as a debater in Congress, and in 
 the legislature of the State, was the grandson of Richard 
 Cogdell. Mr. Stanly was indeed a most extraordinary 
 man ; — the generous and hospitable friend, the brave, en- 
 thusiastic, and eloquent defender of North Carolina, the 
 high-minded, honest, and independent politician ; 
 
 " the best of the good ; — 
 
 So simple in heart, so sublime in the rest, 
 With all that Demosthenes wanted, endued j 
 His victor or rival in all he possessed," 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 In resuming the discussion of the proceedings of the 
 Provincial Congress, 1 shall invite the attention of the 
 reader to the military organization of the Province, which 
 was one of the most important duties performed by that 
 body, and the strictness of which is no indifferent testi- 
 mony to the character of the people of North Carolina. 
 When this convention adjourned, every military officer 
 was appointed, and a thorough discipline instituted, and 
 ordered, for the government and direction of the army. 
 This was in September, 1775. Truly " no State was 
 more fixed or forward." 
 
 On the 1st of September, the Congress took into con- 
 sideration the arrangement of the military troops ordered 
 in the Province, as part of, and on the same establish- 
 ment with, the Continental army, and the appointment of 
 officers to command the said troops. They divided the 
 army thus proposed to be raised into two regiments, con- 
 sisting of five hundred men, and ordered that four hundred 
 of the first regiment should be stationed in the District of 
 Wilmington, and that the remaining one hundred of the first, 
 and the whole of the second regiment, should be equally 
 distributed, to the Districts of New Berne, Salisbury, and 
 Edenton.* 
 
 Journal of the Congress, printed, p. 17. MS. date September 5. 
 19 
 
218 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Proceeding to the election of officers, they chose the 
 following gentlemen. 
 
 Officers or the First Regiment. 
 
 James Moore, Colonel. 
 Francis Nash, Lt.-Colonel. 
 
 Thomas Clark, Major. 
 William Williams, Adjutant. 
 
 William Davis. 
 Thomas Allen. 
 Alfred Moore. 
 Caleb Grainger. 
 
 John Lillington. 
 Joshua Bowman. 
 Laurence Thompson. 
 Thomas Hogg. 
 
 Neill McAllister. 
 Maurice Moore, Jr. 
 John Taylor. 
 Howell Tatum. 
 
 Captains. 
 
 William Picket. 
 Robert Rowan. 
 John Walker. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 William Berryhill. 
 Hector McNeill. 
 Absalom Tatum. 
 
 Ensigns. 
 James Childs. 
 Henry Niell. 
 Berryman Turner. 
 
 Henry Dickson. 
 George Davidson. 
 William Green. 
 
 Hezeklah Rice. 
 William Brandon. 
 William Hill. 
 
 George Graham. 
 Robert Rolston. 
 Henry Pope. 
 
 Officers of the Second Regiment. 
 Robert Howe, Colonel. John Patten, Major. 
 
 Alexander Martin, Lt.-Colonel. Dr. John White, 1st Capt. ^ Adj. 
 
 Captains. 
 John Armstrong. 
 
 James Blount. 
 Hardy Murphrey. 
 Simon Bright. 
 
 John Grainger. 
 Clement Hall. 
 William Fenner. 
 Benjamin Williams. 
 
 Henry Vipon. 
 
 Henry Irvin Toole. 
 Michael Payne. 
 
 Lieutenants. 
 
 Robert Smith. 
 Edward Vail, Jr. 
 John Williams. 
 
 Ensigns. 
 Whitmell Pugh. 
 
 Charles Crawford. 
 Nathan Keais, 
 John Walker. 
 
 John Herritage. 
 Joseph Tate. 
 James Gee. 
 
 John Oliver. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 219 
 
 Philip Low. William Gardner. Benjamin Cleveland. 
 
 James Cook. William Caswell. Joseph Clinch. 
 
 John Woodhouse. 
 
 Dr. Isaac Guion, Chirurgeon to the First Regiment. 
 Dr. William Partun, Chirurgeon to the Second. 
 
 But independent of these two regiments, which consti- 
 tuted but a small portion of the military force of the Prov- 
 ince, the Congress ordered the enlistment of six battalions 
 of minute-men (one for each of the Districts), each battal- 
 ion to consist of two companies of fifty men, and the field- 
 officers to be recommended by the members from the 
 several districts, and to be finally appointed by the Con- 
 gress. The minute-men, when enlisted, were authorized 
 to elect their Captains, Lieutenants, and Ensigns, and these 
 officers, when elected, appointed their respective noncom- 
 missioned officers. When these battalions were thus reg- 
 ularly organized, they were reviewed by the County 
 Committee, and, if approved by that sovereign power, 
 certificates were granted to the Captains, and the date of 
 these certificates determined the priority and rank of the 
 Captains of the respective battalions. The details of the 
 plan for the government of these companies would weary 
 the patience of the reader, and, with a simple statement of 
 the pay of the officers and soldiers, I shall record the names 
 of the field-officers, elected by the Congress. A Colonel's 
 pay was 14s. 3c?., per day, a Lieutenant Colonel's, 1 Is, 
 5c?., a Major's, 9s. 6d., a Captain's, 5*. 8c?., a Lieuten- 
 ant's, 35. 9c?., an Ensign's, 2s. lOc?., a Sergeant's, 2s. 2d., 
 a Corporal's, a Drummer's, or a Fifer's, 2s., a Private's, 
 Is. 10c?., and the Commissary was allowed 8c?. per day 
 for victualling each and every man."'^ 
 
 ^ Journal of the Congress, printed, p. 25. MS. date September 7. 
 
220 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 FlELD-OmCERS AND MiNUTE-MEX. 
 
 Edward Vail, Col. ") 
 Andrew Knox, Lt.-Col. S 
 Caleb Nash, Major. ' 
 Thomas Wade, Col. 
 Adley Osborne, Lt.-Col. 
 Joseph Harden, Major. 
 Richard Caswell, Col. 
 William Bryan, Lt.-Col. 
 James Gorham, jl/ajor. 
 
 Edenton 
 District. 
 
 I Salisbu- 
 > ry 
 I District. 
 ) Kew 
 ' Berne 
 ) District. 
 
 Nicholas Long, Col. 
 Henry Irwin, Lt.-Col. 
 Jethro Sumner, Major. 
 James Thackson, Col. 
 John Williams, Lt.-Col. 
 James Moore, Major. 
 Alex. Lillington, Col. 
 Robert Ellis, if.- CoL 
 Samuel Swann, Major. 
 
 ' Halifax 
 ' District. 
 
 Hillsbo- 
 rovgh 
 
 District. 
 
 Wilming- 
 ton 
 
 District. 
 
 Besides these battalions of minute-men, the Congress 
 proceeded to institute a regular organization of the 
 militia by the election of field-officers for each of the 
 counties, and by the issuing of commissions to the officers 
 elected. To the County Committees was entrusted the 
 appointment of all subordinate officers, and this latter 
 class were to be commissioned by the Provincial Council. 
 The militia was organized upon the same act of Assembly, 
 upon which it was based during the existence of the Royal 
 government, and the Committees of Safety were em- 
 powered to order them out upon any sudden emergency, 
 when the Council should not be in session. The field- 
 officers of the militia were appointed on the 9th of Sep- 
 tember. A simple enumeration of names is a tedious 
 task for the historian as well as the reader ; but these mi- 
 litia officers were active and energetic in the prosecution 
 of the war, and deserve a more extended notice, than the 
 objects of this volume will permit. I shall, in an Appendix, 
 present a general view of the military organization of the 
 forces of the State, which will be found to contain a full 
 and accurate list of the names of the several officers of 
 the militia. 
 
 We now have three distinct and somewhat indepen- 
 dent departments in the army of North Carolina. The 
 two regiments organized on the Continental establishment 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 221 
 
 commanded by Colonels Howe and Moore, the six battal- 
 ions of minute-men, and the forces of the militia. The 
 troops of the two Continental regiments were denomi- 
 nated the Regulars, and their officers ranked above those 
 of the minute-men, as those of the minute-men did above 
 those of the militia. But a Colonel of the minute-men 
 ranked above a Lieutenant-Colonel of the regulars, as did 
 a Colonel of the militia above a Lieutenant-Colonel in 
 the minute service. The minute-men were enlisted for 
 six months ; and a confinement for twenty-four hours, and 
 a fine of fourteen days' pay, was prescribed by the Con- 
 gress, as the highest punishment to which they could be 
 subjected. The decisions of all courts-martial were lia- 
 ble to be reversed by the Council, to which body the con- 
 victed might appeal ; and this feature in the military poli- 
 cy of the Province was, perhaps, its greatest weakness. 
 The greatest security for the good discipline of an army 
 is the arbitrary rule of war, that there is no appeal from 
 the decree of the Commander-in-chief. 
 
 In the two continental regiments there were sixty-seven 
 commissioned officers, one hundred and ninety-eight in 
 the minute service, and twelve hundred and twenty- four 
 in the militia, making an aggregate of fourteen hundred 
 and eighty-nine military officers, commissioned by liie 
 authority of the Provincial Congress, at this early period 
 of the struggle. But few of these commissions were re- 
 signed, and the many appointments, that were now made, 
 doubtless strengthened the integrity of the Whig party, 
 by binding more closely to their interest the relatives and 
 friends of the officers. At this time, too. Governor Mar- 
 tin, who still hovered on the shores of the Cape Fear, in 
 his floating palace, was busily engaged in endeavouring to 
 19* 
 
222 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 encourage the lukewarm Whigs, to adopt the Roya. 
 cause ; and one of his many expedients was, to enclose to 
 such as he might suspect, military commissions and such 
 other honors, as were calculated to effect his purpose. 
 I have seen one of these vagrant commissions, issued by- 
 Martin, of date the 14th of December, 1775, to a gentle- 
 man who, in the latter part of this war, was said to have 
 been a staunch Whig. But the possession of them was 
 always looked upon as the premonitory symptom of tergi- 
 versation and treason. 
 
 Among other important objects of consideration, which 
 came before this Congress, that of the public funds de- 
 serves to be attentively examined. Richard Caswell was 
 chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and in 
 his reports assumed the principle, that the people repre- 
 sented in the Congress constituted the State, and not the 
 Whig party. In previous Congresses, the assessment of 
 taxes on the people generally, was not resorted to as a 
 means of public credit, nor did those bodies pretend to a 
 representation of any other class, than those friendly to 
 the American cause. While Governor Martin continued 
 in the palace, surrounded by his Council, the shadow of a 
 government was before the people ; and the humble right 
 to assemble, to petition and remonstrate, was the essential 
 principle of the first Provincial Congress. After his ex- 
 pulsion from the head-quarters of his government, the dis- 
 persion of his councillors, and the total annihilation of his 
 authority, the Whig party began to feel its strength and 
 importance, and now to usurp or assume the power of 
 controling and directing the State. 
 
 On the 29th of August, Mr. Caswell submitted a re- 
 port on the state of the public funds, embracing two points, 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 223 
 
 which will serve to exhibit the resources, which were in- 
 herited from the Royal government. The first was, that 
 there was a large amount of public money in the hands 
 of sundry sheriffs, which had been collected under the 
 existence of the late government, and the payment of 
 which he recommended should be immediately enforced. 
 The other point was, that considerable sums had been 
 collected by the officers of the late government, under 
 the famous acts of 1748 and 1754, laying certain duties 
 for the redemption of the old bills ; and these he recom- 
 mended should be returned to the persons from whom 
 they were collected, or else allowed in any subsequent 
 payment of taxes. The popular House of the Assembly 
 had repealed the abovementioned acts, as far as they 
 could, by their own votes, in two several sessions; and 
 this report of Caswell's, by ordering the return of the 
 taxes collected under their operation, virtually assumed 
 the principle that the Congress was the legitimate des- 
 cendant of that department of the Royal government. 
 
 On the 7th of September, the chairman of the Com- 
 mittee of Ways and Means reported, that it was expedient 
 to issue, on the faith of the Province, a sum not exceed- 
 ing $125,000, in bills of credit, and with the report sub- 
 mitted the form of these bills, which was as follows : 
 " North Carolina Currency. 
 
 « No. 178. Three Dollars. 
 " This bill entitles the bearer to receive three Spanish milled 
 dollars, or the value thereof in gold and silver, according to a reso- 
 lution of the Provincial Congress, held at Hillsborough, August 21st, 
 1775." 
 
 1 have in my possession the bill above described. It is 
 adorned in the margin with a Masonic Emblem, and 
 signed by Richard Caswell, Samuel Johnston, Andrew 
 
224 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Knox, and Richard Cogdell, who were authorized to su- 
 perintend tlie stamping of the plate, and to sign them and 
 deliver them over to the two Treasurers of the State. 
 For the redemption of the bills thus issued, a poll-tax 
 of two shillings was laid, to commence from the year 1777, 
 and to continue nine years ; and whosoever refused to 
 receive these public bills of credit, thus secured, was de- 
 nounced by a resolution of the Congress as an enemy to 
 his country. Death was prescribed as the penalty for 
 counterfeiting ; but the wisdom of the House forbade the 
 Committees of Safety, before whom the accused was 
 first to be tried, the infliction of the punishment, and 
 instructed them in the event of his conviction before them, 
 to remand him to prison, " until a convenient power should 
 be established for hearing and determining the matter, 
 agreeably to the constitutional mode heretofore used in all 
 capital cases." 
 
 The salutary rule of exacting bond, with good and 
 sufficient security (in the sum of £10,000), was ap- 
 plied in this case ; and the four gentlemen appointed to 
 superintend the emission of the bills accordingly entered 
 into proper bonds, and took a most solemn oath (pre- 
 scribed by the Congress) faithfully to execute the high 
 and honorable duty entrusted to them. On the 8th of 
 September, Samuel Johnston was elected treasurer for the 
 Northern, and Richard Caswell for the Southern District ; 
 and these two gentlemen again entered into bonds of 
 £50,000 each, proclamation money, to the Provincial 
 Council, for the faithful performance of the duties of their 
 offices. On the election of Mr. Caswell as treasurer, 
 he resigned his seat in the Continental Congress, and was 
 succeeded by John Penn, one of the members from tlie 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 225 
 
 county of Granville. Mr. Penn was, as even Mr. Jeffer- 
 son admits, a staunch Whig. He was also a man of ster- 
 ling integrity as a private citizen, and well deserved the 
 honor which was now conferred upon him. The delega- 
 tion from North Carolina in the Continental Congress, as 
 iiow^ organized, continued the same, until the period of the 
 National Declaration of Independence. 
 
 On the 4th of September, the Congress resolved itself 
 into a committee of the whole, the Rev. Mr. Patillo in 
 the chair, to lake into consideration a paper, purporting 
 to be a confederation of the United Colonies, and, after 
 much debate, determined to instruct their delegates not 
 to consent to any plan of confederation, and that the then 
 association ought to be further relied on, as a means of ad- 
 justing the difficulties with the parent State. There were 
 many objections to a change of the principles of the union 
 of the colonies, which had been adopted by the associa- 
 tion, for any other system, although it might be even a 
 more perfect union. The stability of the Whig party in 
 North Carolina depended, in a great measure, on the cir- 
 cumstance that the paper called the "Association," had 
 been extensively circulated among the people, and, like the 
 Cumberland or Tryon Association, signed by them individ- 
 ually. In the counties more or less affected with Troyism, 
 this had proved a most salutary practice, and had contri- 
 buted to forestall the machinations and intrigues of Gov- 
 ernor Martin and his party. The public mind was settled 
 on the principles of the identical Association, and the 
 wisdom of the Congress prudently determined there to 
 let it rest. 
 
 On the 2d of September, the ceremony of returning the 
 thanks of the Convention to the dele^iates in the Continen- 
 
226 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 tal Congress, for their patriotic and faithful discharge of 
 the important trust reposed in them, was performed by the 
 President ; and I here record the two addresses, on the 
 occasion, not only as elegant compositions of the kind, but 
 as the highest evidence of the patriotism of the delegates. 
 The President rose in his seat and addressed them 
 as follows : 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 " The honorable and patriotic conduct you have pursued in the 
 discharge of the high and important trust, unanimously committed 
 to you, with the most unlimited confidence, by the late convention 
 of this Province, has justified and done honor to their choice, and 
 now calls forth the grateful thanks, of your fellow citizens, which 
 thanks, in order that the most honorable testimony of your conduct 
 may be transmitted to posterity, the Congress have commanded me 
 to deliver in this place. 
 
 *' I do accordingly with the greatest pleasure return you the thanks 
 of this Congress in behalf of their constituents, for the manly, spir- 
 ited, and patriotic discharge of your duty, as delegates representing 
 this Province in the grand Continental Congress at Philadelphia." 
 
 To which the delegates returned the following answer : 
 
 *' We, the Delegates of this Province, to whom our fellow citizens 
 thought fit to consign, with the most unlimited confidence, the great 
 and important charge of representing them in the late Continental 
 Congress, beg leave to express our most sincere thanks for the honor- 
 able testimony, which through you they have thought fit to ren- 
 der, of our services in that capacity. With hearts warmed with a 
 zealous love of liberty and desirous of a reconciliation with the 
 parent state, upon terms just and constitutional, we flattered our- 
 selves that the integrity of our motives would plead an excuse for 
 our want of abilities, and that in the candor and charity of our 
 constituents, our well-meant, however feeble, endeavours would 
 find their apology. Our expectations are more than answered ; and 
 this public approbation of our conduct, the greatest reward a sub- 
 ject can receive or a people bestow, will stimulate us, whether in 
 private or public life our lot shall be cast, to imitate the virtues of 
 our patriotic fellow citizens, and to be distinguished by our useful- 
 ness in society, as we have this day been by the honors with which 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 227 
 
 they have marked our former endeavours. While our hearts over- 
 flow with gratitude to this respectable Assembly, we cannot omit to 
 offer our best acknowledgments to you, honored Sir, for the polite 
 manner in which you have been pleased to convey to us the sense 
 of this House, and to congratulate them, that their councils are con- 
 ducted under the auspices of a character so justly esteemed, and 
 which adds dignity to the seat in which it presides." 
 
 Immediately after the delivery of these speeches, which, 
 the reader will observe, was before the resignation of 
 Caswell, Messrs. Hooper, Caswell, and Hewes were re- 
 elected delegates, and invested with the same powers, 
 which were conferred on them at their first appointment. 
 
 It was during the session of this Congress, on the 8th of 
 September, that the " Address to the Inhabitants of the 
 British Empire," a paper of much celebrity in its day, was 
 unanimously adopted and published as the declaration of 
 the people of the Province. It was the composition of 
 William Hooper, who reported it as the chairman of a 
 committee, consisting of Maurice Moore, Robert Howe, 
 Richard Caswell, and Joseph Hewes. After reciting the 
 rights of the Colonies, and disclaiming all idea or desire 
 of independence, or a total separation from the mother 
 country, the paper proceeds as follows : 
 
 *• We again declare, and we invoke that Almighty Being who 
 searches the recesses of the human heart, and knows our most secret 
 intentions, that it is our most earnest wish and prayer to be restored 
 with the other United Colonies, to the state in which we and they were 
 placed before the year 1763, disposed to glance over any regulations 
 which Britain had made previous to this, and which seem to be inju- 
 rious and oppressive to these Colonies, hoping that, at some future 
 day, she will benignly interpose and remove from us every cause of 
 complaint. Whenever we have departed from the forms of the Con- 
 stitution, our own safety and self-preservation have dictated the 
 expedient ; and if, in any instance, we have assumed powers which 
 the laws invest in the sovereign or his representatives, it has only 
 been in defence of our persons, properties, and those rights, which 
 
228 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 God and the Constitution have made unalienably ours. As soon as 
 the causes of our fears and apprehensions are removed, with joy will 
 we return these powers to their regular channels, and such institu- 
 tions, formed from mere necessity, shall end with that necessity 
 which created them." 
 
 This address was extensively circulated throughout the 
 Province, and, containing many expressions of devotion to 
 the House of Hanover, was not without effect on the un- 
 decided portion of the people. It penetrated every hut 
 of the Highlanders, and was read by the leading Whigs, 
 to their doubting and more timid neighbours, as containing 
 nothing to which a loyal and honest British subject could 
 object. All these state-papers were composed under the 
 supervision of committees, and the import of each word 
 carefully weighed, before it was laid before the Congress. 
 In this, a proper degree of respect for the opinions and 
 rights of the loyalists is strictly maintained, and, at the same 
 time, the parts which I have extracted distinctly disclose 
 the only means of adjusting the controversy, viz. the res- 
 toration of the United Colonies " to the state in which 
 they were placed before the year 1763." 
 
 On Sunday, the 10th of September, the Congress pro- 
 ceeded to take into consideration the encouragement of 
 manufactures, and resolved to bestow bounties on the 
 manufacture of gunpowder, saltpetre, and all other "en- 
 ablements unto the military establishment." Cotton and 
 woolen cards, pins, iron, steel, paper, and a variety of 
 other articles were encouraged ; and, after the perform- 
 ance of the duty of returning thanks to the President for 
 his able and impartial discharge of the duties of his sta- 
 tion, the Congress adjourned. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 (continued.) 
 
 The Continental Congress assembled on the 13th of 
 September, and in this body the Province of Georgia ap- 
 peared, and thus completed the list of the Thirteen United 
 Colonies. The affairs of North Carolina were frequently 
 before the Congress, and her exception out of the operation 
 of the act of Parliament, restraining the trade of the col- 
 onies, was first acted on, and her people implored to for- 
 bear from the advantages which were thus offered. I have 
 already explained the true reason of that exception, by the 
 introduction of a letter of Alexander Elmsly, the agent 
 of the popular House of the Assembly at London. In 
 North Carolina, the benefits of the act were of course un- 
 avoidable. It was an act of oppression, out of which she 
 was excepted, and the process of ^' forbearing to avail 
 themselves of its advantages," was an extremity, to which 
 neither patriotism nor prudence should have induced her 
 people to go. The path of duty was, to embrace both 
 that and every other opportunity, to grow in prosperity 
 and strength, that she might be the better prepared for 
 the struggle, which she plainly saw so rapidly approach- 
 ing. It was spurned as a bribe, and she exercised it as 
 a right. 
 
 The Continental Congress, however, as if to honor 
 North Carolina by similar privileges, directed her to ex- 
 20 
 
230 ^HE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 port to the Island of Bermuda, sixteen thousand bushels of 
 corn, and four hundred and sixty-eight bushels of peas 
 and beans. In connexion with Maryland and Virginia, 
 she was likewise permitted to export her produce to any 
 part of the world, except Great Britain and her domin- 
 ions, and to import salt; and these previleges too she 
 accepted, and exercised, not as a bribe, but as a right. 
 The emissions of bills of credit, by the Congress, to the 
 amount of three millions of dollars, was the most sub- 
 stantial favor rendered to North Carolina ; and the support 
 which that amount afforded to the American cause, was 
 better culculated to attach the sympathies of the people 
 to the Continental Congress, than the superfluous con- 
 ferring of indisputable and undoubted privileges. 
 
 The two regiments, commanded by Colonels Howe and 
 Moore, were received by the Congress on the Continental 
 establishment, and ordered to the defence of North Caro- 
 lina and the adjacent States. The efforts of the Congress 
 to advance the Whig interest of North Carolina were 
 exerted with great advantage, by the employment of two 
 Presbyterian ministers of Philadelphia, to visit their less 
 faithful brethren in the South, and to endeavour to per- 
 suade them to abandon the cause of the Royal government. 
 Some time previous to this, the ministers of that denomi- 
 nation in Philadelphia, who belonged to the Whig party, 
 appealed to the patriotism of their brethren in North 
 Carolina, by the publication of a letter of advice and ex- 
 postulation ; and failing in that means of conversion, they 
 now determined, under the sanction of the Continental 
 Congress, to visit them in person. The Presbyterians of 
 North Carolina, who were loyalists, were generally of the 
 Highland clans ; and many of the staunchest Whigs^ in the 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 231 
 
 western part of the State, were pious adherents of that 
 extensive and respectable denomination. 
 
 I shall now proceed to notice the proceedings of the 
 Provincial Council, and shall, in as short a space as pos- 
 sible, conduct the reader to the period of its existence. 
 In the course of my details, I shall wander several 
 months in the year 1776 ; but shall return to record 
 some of the events, which took place towards the close of 
 the year 1775. 
 
 The Provincial Council held its first session on the 
 18th day of October, 1775, in the Court-House of the 
 county of Johnston. Cornelius Harnett, Esquire, of Wil- 
 mington, was elected President, and James Green, Jun., 
 appointed clerk. The principal business before them 
 was entirely of a warlike nature. The vigilant County 
 Committees seem to have aroused the whole population 
 of the Province, and to have infused into the minds of 
 the young and the aged, the desire of war. The jour- 
 nal of this, unlike that of the Royal Council, presents a 
 series of petitions and demands not for land warrants 
 or pecuniary claims, but for ammunition, fire-arms, 
 swords, and other warlike inriplements. Appointments 
 of paymasters and appropriations for military service had 
 become more the fashion of the day, than the appoint- 
 rnent of trustees and appropriations for land surveys. 
 It is difficult to estimate the military spirit of that day. 
 The numerous applications for military commissions which 
 were every day laid before the Council, and the constant 
 appeals to their encouragement and patronage, by volun^ 
 teer bands of Whigs under the command of some ardent 
 spirit, soon gave the Council the opportunity to exercise 
 their authority in the usual objects of government, as well 
 
232 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 as in the organization of a military force. It was essen- 
 tially the supreme authority of the Province, and was 
 advancing daily in the acquisition of strength, until its 
 dissolution by the Provincial Congress of the succeeding 
 spring. 
 
 The power and authority of this executive of the new 
 government, — neither correctly defined, nor accurately 
 understood, — executed whatever in its opinion was of ser- 
 vice to the common cause, and approved of the apprehen- 
 sion and confinement of Tories, as one of the most useful 
 occupations of the guardians of the people. They acted as 
 supervisors of the political principles of the province, and 
 chastised the obstinate or persuaded the timid into a support 
 of the American cause. It is impossible, in a work like 
 this, to record even an analysis of the copious proceed- 
 ings of the Council, or to give a more accurate definition 
 of their powers, than is conveyed in the appellation of 
 the Executive of the acts of the Provincial Congress and 
 of their own determinations. They corresponded with the 
 Committees of Correspondence, conferred with the District 
 Committees of Safety, with the County Committees, and 
 with all other persons favorably disposed towards the com- 
 mon cause, and executed or not at their pleasure the de- 
 signs of their several bodies. 
 
 On the 22d of October, 1775, intelligence of serious 
 discontents among the people of the County of New 
 Hanover was received, and this calamity was charitably 
 ascribed to the misrepresentations of the Governor's party. 
 The people had assembled in a large body, and publicly 
 protested against the proceedings of the late Congress 
 as beyond the limit of a peaceable mode of redress, and 
 as of a character decidedly revolutionary, or rebellious. 
 
THE NliW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 233 
 
 The Council highly disapproved of such conduct as tend- 
 ing to create dissensions to the prejudice of American 
 liberty, and instructed John Ashe, Samuel Ashe, and Mr. 
 President Harnett, to explain the proceedings of the Con- 
 gress to the people, and to endeavour by argument and 
 persuasion to maintain that harmony, so essential to the 
 preservation of the rights of the Province. These em- 
 issaries of freedom soon contrived to restore order, and 
 to infuse zeal, wherever they went ; and the discontented 
 people of New Hanover soon yielded to the influence of 
 their three leaders, and returned to the support of the 
 common cause. 
 
 The second Provincial Council was held again at the 
 Court-House of Johnston on the 18th of December, 1775, 
 and Cornelius Harnett, as President, was again at his post. 
 On the second day of its session, the Sheriff of Halifax, 
 Mr. Branch, presented himself to the Council, and prayed 
 condign punishment on two Tories, whom he had caught 
 in the course of his official excursions. Walter Lamb 
 and George Massinbird were the names of the two per- 
 sons in his custody, and the "judgment of the Council 
 was, that Mr. Branch should keep in his custody the said 
 Lamb, and remand him for trial before the Committee of 
 Safety for Halifax district." The other, George Massin- 
 bird, played the penitent, and, after taking an oath satisfac- 
 tory to the Council, was discharged. The Council during 
 its second session discovered the cause of the great discon- 
 tents in the Cape Fear country, in the influence and indus- 
 try of Governor Martin and the officers of the Cruiser, 
 who, by proclamations and spies, contrived to disseminate 
 their odious doctrines, and, by promises of high favor 
 and offices, had produced dissatisfaction even among the 
 20* 
 
234 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Whigs. The Provincial Congress had been represented 
 as an assemblage of turbulent agitators, intent on public 
 plunder, and regardless or insensible of the rights of man. 
 The County Committees, those engines of revolution, 
 were censured as a tyrannical, self-constituted junto, com- 
 posed of violent and unprincipled men, whose only object, 
 in the overthrow of the government, was to usurp the ab- 
 solute authority of tyrants. Such were the schemes of 
 Governor Martin, concerted in the state-room of a ship of 
 war, and circulated among the people of the surrounding 
 country. His floating residence was however guarded by 
 a detachment of Whigs, and his Excellency, now restrict- 
 ed in his movements to dangerous aquatic excursions, was 
 unable to effect any material changes in public opinion, 
 without the agency of spies and secret communications. 
 The Council recommended to the Committees of Wil- 
 mington and Brunswick, and to the commanding officers 
 of the detachment, to cut off all manner of personal com- 
 munication between the ship and the shore, and that all 
 letters to or from " Governor Martin, or the ship of war," 
 should be opened, and their contents observed. Obedi- 
 ence to this efficient advice, and a determination to cut off 
 all supplies of provisions from the shore, soon exhausted 
 the strength of the Governor and his fleet, and thus 
 healed in a measure the dissensions of the people. The 
 prejudice against the measures concerted for the defence 
 of American freedom was dispelled, and the people of New 
 Hanover returned in a body to the support of the cause 
 of the Provincial Congress, and the cause of the people. 
 
 On the 21st of December, the Council, in anticipation 
 of an invasion, appointed Committees in each district to 
 attend to the state of the arms and other warlike imple- 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 335 
 
 ments, and with authority to purchase up all such materials. 
 On the same day it was resolved to raise two battalions 
 of minute men in the district of Salisbury, and the follow- 
 ing officers were appointed to the command of them. 
 
 Griffith Rutherford, Colonel ^ 
 
 John Phifer, Lieut.- Colonel > of the First Battalion, 
 
 John Paisly, Major ) 
 
 Thomas Polk, Colonel ^ 
 
 Adam Alexander, Lieut. -Colonel >of the Second Battalion. 
 
 Charles Maclaine, Major ) 
 
 It will be seen from such proceedings how vigilant was 
 the Council in guarding, not only the integrity of the 
 Whig party, but the safety of the people, from invasion 
 and domestic war. Their vigilance appears on every 
 page of their journal ; but nowhere so conspicuously as 
 on the 24th of December, the last day of their session. 
 
 They recommended to the several town and county 
 committees in the Province to furnish the captains of all 
 military companies with copies of the Test, that it be 
 presented to the men under their command for their ap- 
 probation, and that a list of all such as shall refuse or 
 neglect to sign the same, should be forwarded to the 
 Council at their next meeting. It was then resolved, that 
 no person should be entitled to any benefit or relief 
 against any debtor as directed by the Provincial Con- 
 gress, unless such person should at least ten days 
 previously to application have subscribed the Continental 
 Association and the Test, as recommended by the Pro- 
 vincial Congress. The Whig party, thus rigidly disciplin- 
 ed, speedily subdued their weaker and less numerous ene- 
 my, and was soon prepared to insult the majesty of the 
 Throne. An invariable enforcement of the decrees of 
 their constituted authorities inspired a spirit of confidence 
 
236 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 among their friends, and of despair among their ene- 
 mies ; and to both of these circumstances must we attrib- 
 ute the many chivalrous deeds, which distinguished that 
 age. In every section of the Province, the fury of the 
 contest was raging, and public duty and public virtue 
 persuaded the Whigs to a violent abuse of the persons of 
 the Tories, and not unfrequently to the commission of a 
 bloodier tragedy. The inducements to abandon the Tory 
 party at this day were too numerous and too lucrative to 
 be resisted, except by those who were attached to old 
 England by the most endearing recollections j and accord- 
 ingly we find the spirit of Toryism more submissive, at 
 this, than at a more subsequent and doubtful period of the 
 contest. The King had no army in North Carolina, the 
 Governor for the want of protection had absconded from 
 his palace, and the authority of Mr. President Harnett 
 and his Council was physically supreme. Under these 
 circumstances, the Highlanders from Scotland were almost 
 alone in their devotion to the authority of the Governor, 
 and even many of these found it convenient (to escape 
 their debts, as their countrymen said), to espouse the 
 Whig cause, and to sustain it throughout the war. 
 
 The third Provincial Council assembled in New Berne, 
 by request of the President, on the 28th of February, 
 1776. The Continental Congress having recommended 
 to the southern colonies to appoint committees to meet 
 at Charleston, to ascertain the means of defence against 
 invasion, President Harnett had called together the 
 Council at an earlier period than was proposed, to des- 
 patch the proper number of delegates. Abner Nash and 
 John Kinchen were appointed on the part of North Car- 
 olina, and instructed to repair to Charleston without delay. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 237 
 
 I shall extract from the Journal of this session one 
 incident, which will show the nature of the business prin- 
 cipally transacted by the Council. — March 2d, 1776. 
 William Bourk, being charged with being inimical to the 
 liberties of America, was brought before this Council, 
 when Mr. John Strange appeared as a witness, who, first 
 being sworn, 
 
 " Deposeth, and saith that last night, he heard the said Williani 
 Bourk express himself in the following manner, viz. ' That we 
 should all be subdued by the month of May by the King's troops, 
 that General Gage deserved to be damned because he had not let the 
 guards out to Bunker Hill, and it would have settled the dispute at 
 that time. That there were forty-seven thousand troops expected 
 soon to America, and it would be in vain to pretend to defend our- 
 selves against them.' All which the said William Bourk acknowl- 
 edged, and further said, ' he wished the time would happen this in- 
 stant, but was sure the Americans would be subdued by the month 
 of August ' ; whereupon it was Resolved, That the said Williani 
 Bourk be sent to the Town of Halifax and committed to close gaol, 
 there to remain until further orders." 
 
 It had been proposed by the Continental Congress, 
 that the Committee of Safety of Virginia and the Pro- 
 vincial Council of North Carolina should meet together 
 and confer on their mutual interest ; and Thomas Jones, 
 Samuel Johnston, and Thomas Person were appointed 
 to represent the Council on such an occasion. This was 
 another mode of communication between the Colonies, 
 which contributed its share to unite the sympathies of the 
 Whigs in every section of the country, and which paved 
 the way to such an unanimous action among them, on 
 other succeeding and more important points. In this 
 Council, it was resolved to disarm all suspected persons ; 
 and this hazardous duty was entrusted to the county com- 
 mittees. The execution of such a task was of course 
 
238 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 attended with much strife and bloodshed, and not to be 
 justified on any other principles than those of war. It was 
 the signal for rapine and plunder, as well as for arms ; and 
 many a loyal and dutiful subject of the King surrendered 
 his principles, rather than his property, and became a 
 loud and clamorous Whig. It was a glorious field for the 
 display of personal courage, and for the achievement of 
 daring deeds. In these petty battles, the magnanimity 
 and gallantry of the gentleman of honor were often in- 
 voked for the protection of beauty and timid virtue ; and 
 many a damsel was shielded from violence by the chivalry 
 of a single officer of generosity and valor."^ 
 
 * The reader is again reminded, that in discussing the proceed- 
 ings of the Congress or the Council, the dates in the text are cita- 
 tions of authorities from the rnanuscript Journals in the State De-. 
 partment of North Carolina, 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 (continued.) 
 
 During the latter part of the year 1775, a numerous 
 Colony of Scotch Highlanders, coming directly from the 
 mother country, reinforced the party of Governor Martin 
 on the shores of the Cape Fear. The heads of these clans, 
 having suffered by their faithful adherence to the cause 
 of the Pretender, and, while in Scotland, having lived in 
 continued awe of the reigning sovereign, had now fled or 
 migrated to North Carolina, in search of that profound 
 peace, which the extent and solitude of her forests seemed 
 to ensure. Their guilty apprehensions and alarms were 
 subjected to the cunning and craft of Governor Martin, 
 who preyed upon their feelings by threats of punishment for 
 their former transgressions, and by misrepresentations of 
 the character and strength of the Whigs. This argument 
 he had used with success in his intrigues with the more 
 ignorant of the Regulators of Orange, Anson, and Guil- 
 ford ; and these people, thus operated on by the same feel- 
 ing with the Highlanders, associated and cooperated with 
 them, and now began to prepare to fight under their lead- 
 ers. The banks of the Cape Fear and the valleys of its 
 remote sources, the Deep and Haw rivers flowing through 
 the present counties of Moore, Orange, Chatham, Guil- 
 ford, and Randolph, comprising the very heart of the 
 
240 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Province, were overrun with this species of population ; 
 and the residence of Governor Martin, at the mouth of 
 the river, enabled him to encourage them by the success 
 of his intrigues and the constant assurance of succour and 
 reward from the Throne. Confidence was inspired by 
 the hourly expectation of Sir Henry Clinton at Wilming- 
 ton with a powerful naval and military armament ; and 
 rumors were also afloat that Sir Peter Parker and Lord 
 Cornwallis had sailed from Portsmouth, at the head of a 
 large and well disciplined army, intended for the subjuga- 
 tion of the Southern Provinces. Thus were the Tories 
 animated and encouraged by hopes of foreign aid, to as- 
 sist in the conquest of a land, which they had adopted 
 as a home for themselves and their posterity. 
 
 But while the southern part of North Carolina was 
 thus disturbed, the shores of the Albemarle contiguous to 
 Virginia were threatened with an invasion from Lord 
 Dunmore, whose emissaries were discovered in the vicinity 
 of Edenton, endeavouring to enlist the negroes and the 
 few Tories residing in that section of the Province. The 
 efforts of his Lordship had deen instigated by Sir Henry 
 Clinton, who was loitering on his way towards the head- 
 quarters of Governor Martin, where he had determined 
 to await the arrival of the armament of Sir Peter Par- 
 ker. It was one part of his military policy to attack the 
 Province, both at the north and the south ; and from the 
 cooperation of Dunmore in the first, and the Highland 
 Tories in the second, victory was confidently expected. 
 But Colonel Robert Howe was at his post at Edenton, in 
 which place a detachment of his regiment was stationed. 
 On November 7lh, Lord Dunmore issued a proclama- 
 tion from Norfolk, at which place he had collected a 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 241 
 
 large army of the lower order of whites and negroes, in 
 which he proclaimed martial law * and offered freedom 
 to the indented apprentices and slaves of the country. 
 Thus abetted, he acquired an entire ascendancy in the 
 vicinity of that ancient Borough, and the intelligence of 
 his strength and growing influence extended into the 
 territory of the adjacent State. Colonel Howe at the 
 head of his troops marched into Virginia about the 
 1st of December, and joined Colonel Woodford of 
 Williamsburg, at the head of about two hundred minute- 
 men and a detachment of regulars, at the Great Bridge 
 about the time of the battle at that place, on the 9th of 
 December. His Lordship, on gaining intelligence of their 
 approach, established himself on a piece of high land sur- 
 rounded by a marsh, on the north side of the Elizabeth 
 River at the Great Bridge, which the two armies were 
 obliged to cross, to reach Norfolk. The Provincial 
 army encamped within gun shot of this post, and, although 
 without artillery, prepared to maintain their stand. 
 While the opposing armies were thus arrayed, eager and 
 anxious for battle, on the 9th of December, Captain 
 Fordyce, the commanding officer of Lord Dunmore's 
 post, advanced to storm the works of the Provincials. 
 Between day-break and sun-rise at the head of sixty 
 grenadiers, he advanced with fixed bayonets, on the nar- 
 row causeway leading from the post, and sustained with 
 wonderful intrepidity the heavy front and flank fire of the 
 American army. The victory was fiercely disputed by 
 Captain Fordyce and his grenadiers, who were slaugh- 
 tered to a man immediately before the breastwork of the 
 
 * Marshall, Vol. I. p. 68. I quote from the abridged Ij^ife of 
 Washington. 
 
 21 
 
242 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Provincials. On the night of the 10th, the British post was 
 abandoned, and the Provincial Army, under the exclusive 
 command * of Colonel Howe, marched to Norfolk, and 
 there forced Lord Dunmore, after the fashion of the 
 North Carolina Royal Governor, to take refuge in a ship 
 of war. 
 
 (1776.) Colonel Howe fixed himself in the abandoned 
 quarters of his routed rival, and vigilantly watched the 
 movements of the ships of war, that floated directly off the 
 town. He occasionally amused the soldiers by firing 
 into the vessels from the houses nearest the water, and 
 Lord Dunmore, irritated by this harassing system of war- 
 fare, on the 1st of January, 1776, landed a detachment 
 of troops under a heavy cannonade, and set fire to the 
 buildings on the wharves. The Provincial troops, en- 
 tertaining strong prejudices against the station, in conse- 
 quence of the reputed influence of Lord Dunmore 
 among a majority of the people, made no effort to extin- 
 guish the flames, and the best authority of the day records 
 the circumstance, that the fire "continued for several 
 weeks." f 
 
 In the midst of these troubles. Colonel Howe waited 
 on the proper authority of Virginia, and urged the pro- 
 priety of burning down the remaining part of the city of 
 Norfolk ; and, although this was one of those " ill-judged 
 measures of which the consequences are felt long after 
 the motives are forgotten," t. still it is my duty to illus- 
 trate the conduct of Colonel Howe, by an examination of 
 the reasons which justified him in suggesting, and the Con- 
 vention of Virginia in ordering, the destruction of the town. 
 
 * Maiiphall's Life of Washington, Vol. I. p. 69. t Ibid. t Ibid. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 243 
 
 The strong hold which Dunmore had contrived to get 
 on the sympathies of the lower order of the people in 
 that part of the State, and the perfect facility of enlisting 
 negroes as soldiers, rendered the constant presence of an 
 efficient military force indispensable for the safety of the 
 Whig cause. The convenient quarters afforded him in 
 elegant edifices of the Borough, as well as its great con- 
 venience as a military and naval depot, rendered it equally 
 indispensable, that it should be destroyed, if this strong 
 military force could not be maintained. The advanta- 
 ges derived by the common enemy of the country from 
 the possession of the Borough, aided and abetted by the 
 sympathies of so many of the people, were too great to 
 save tiie remainder of a small town, which had been 
 already on fire '' for several weeks " ; and Colonel Howe 
 and the Virginia Convention prudently determined to lay 
 waste the strong-hold of Dunmore, as one of the greatest 
 services thej^ could render the American cause. 
 
 The courage and sagacity of Colonel Howe have never 
 been questioned, and are well sustained by this single 
 " ill-judged measure," of which the motives seem to be 
 forgotten, long after its consequences have ceased to be 
 felt. His troops alone protected the town, and kept 
 in subjection the Tories and negroes of the surrounding 
 country ; and, as his own country was now actually invad- 
 ed by a foreign arn)y, a higher obligation than he could 
 possibly owe Virginia, would soon call him away to the 
 defence of his own fireside. Colonel Woodford, accord- 
 ing to Mr. Wirt, proceeded to Norfolk under Colonel 
 Howe, who brought with him from North Carolina five 
 or six hundred men, and into whose hands was committed 
 the preservation of Virginia, and the defeat of the schemes 
 
244 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 of Lord Dunmore. Thus situated, compelled himself to 
 return to the Cape Fear, and seeing no prospect of 
 leaving behind him an efficient military force for the per- 
 manent security of the advantage he had gained, Colonel 
 Howe determined to leave to Lord Dunmore nothing but 
 the ashes of his former magnificent head-quarters. Thus 
 w^ere the black and white adherents of the Royal cause 
 in Virginia intimidated and subdued, and the threatened 
 invasion of the Albemarle shores by Lord Dunmore 
 averted. Howe carried the war into the enemy's camp, 
 and, before even his schemes of invasion and warfare 
 were concerted, was thundering at the gates of Norfolk. 
 
 In North Carolina, tradition bestows on Colonel Howe 
 and his troops the chief merit of having gained the ad- 
 vantages over Lord Dunmore which I have described ; 
 and the Convention of Virginia and the Congress of 
 North Carolina both justify and support his claims to 
 such a distinction. The pages of Wirt and Marshall 
 allude to him in distant and not the most respectful 
 terms ; * but the voice of history is often but the echo of 
 pride and prejudice, and I shall here present a contempo- 
 rary record of the high opinion of his services, taken from 
 the Journal of the Congress of North Carolina in April, 
 1776. On the 27th of April, it was resolved that the 
 thanks of the Congress should be returned to Brigadier- 
 General Howe, for his manly, generous, and warlike con- 
 duct, and more especially for the reputation which our 
 Provincial troops acquired under him at the conflagra- 
 tion of Norfolk. Accordingly on the 2d of May, Gen- 
 eral Howe being present in the Congress, the President 
 rose in his seat and thus addressed him. 
 
 * Wirt's Life of Patrick Henry, pp. 188, 196, 197. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 245 
 
 " Brigadier General Howe, 
 " Sir, 
 " I am commanded by the Congress to return you their thanks for 
 your manly, generous, and warlike conduct in these unhappy times> 
 more especially for the reputation our troops acquired under your 
 command. I now with infinite pleasure to myself, in compliance 
 with that command, return you the thanks of this House, for 
 the important services rendered by you to the common cause, and 
 in particular for your manly and ofRcerlike exertions, during the 
 whole of the late important and critical campaign." 
 
 To which the General returned the following answer : 
 
 " Mr. President. 
 " As I have no wish so ardent, no ambition so strong, as that of 
 serving the noble cause to which I have devoted myself, how happy 
 must it make me, when, to the pleasing consciousness of having 
 endeavoured to do my duty, you so politely add the approbation 
 of my country. It is an heartfelt and honorable testimony, that 
 my efforts have not been wholly unsuccessful ; and my felicity upon 
 this occasion can only be increased by considering, that I have this 
 public opportunity of expressing the obligations I feel to be due to 
 those officers and men of every corps under my command, whose 
 ready acceptance and whose spirited execution of the orders issued, 
 have obtained me the distinguishing honors of this day. Permit me. 
 Sir, through you to assure the honorable Convention, that I have the 
 most grateful sense of their favor, and that I conceive the best re- 
 turn I can make is with zeal and activity to pursue the dictates of my 
 duty, in which resolution I cannot but persevere, as the good of my 
 country is the end I aim at, and its applause the consequence and 
 reward of promoting it. Accept, Sir, ray thanks for the manner in 
 which you have so obligingly conveyed to me the sense of your 
 honorable House." 
 
 I must now return to the military operations in the 
 southern part of North Carolina, and observe the warlike 
 preparations of the Whigs and Highland Tories imme- 
 diately preceding the celebrated battle of Moore's Creek. 
 With a view of cooperating with Sir Henry Clinton as 
 soon as he should arrive, Governor Martin had not only 
 employed energetic emissaries to arouse the Tory popu- 
 21* 
 
246 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 lation to arms, but had issued a commission of Briga- 
 dier-General to Donald McDonald, the most influential 
 chief of the Highlanders, which he accompanied with a 
 Proclamation, commanding all the King's subjects to rally 
 around the standard of the new Scotch general. The 
 paper was without a date, and the period of its publica- 
 tion left to the discretion of McDonald. On the 1st of 
 February the Royal standard was erected at Cross Creek, 
 the proclamation published, and fifteen hundred men mus- 
 tered under the command of General McDonald. 
 
 In the midst of these preparations of the Tories, Colo- 
 nel Moore, at the head of his Continental Regiment, and 
 a detachment of the New Hanover Militia, marched to- 
 wards Cross Creek (now Fayetteville), and pitched his 
 camp on Rock Fish River, about twelve miles south 
 of the head-quarters of McDonald. He fortified his 
 camp, established a system of running scouts and spies, 
 and thus prevented all communication between the Tories 
 and the head-quarters of Governor Martin. In the mean 
 time the Whigs of Wilmington and Brunswick were ac- 
 tive and vigilant ; and, intent on the same general object 
 of preventing the junction of the two forces. Colonels 
 Caswell and Alexander Lillington had established them- 
 selves on the bank of Moore's Creek near its entrance 
 into South River in New Hanover. This army com- 
 prised about a thousand men, consisting of the militia 
 companies, and two volunteer corps, under the command 
 of Colonel Lillington, which were said to have been the 
 best disciplined soldiers in the Province. A rigid espi- 
 onage was established throughout all the adjacent country, 
 and every opportunity of intercourse between Governor 
 Martin and General McDonald effectually destroyed. 
 
 • ? 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 247 
 
 The first movement of General McDonald was towards 
 Colonel Moore. Halting within a few miles of his camp, 
 he addressed him a letter (dated on the 20th of February), 
 accompanying the Proclamation of the Governor and his 
 own Manifesto, in which he urged the Colonel to espouse 
 the cause of his Sovereign and the Constitution. It was 
 a decided but friendly letter, and commenced by bewail- 
 ing the difficulty of his situation ; urged on by his duty to 
 the King to the necessity of shedding blood, and yet hu- 
 manely disposed to avoid, if possible, so fatal a catas- 
 trophe. He offered to the Colonel, his officers, and his 
 men, in the name of the King, a free pardon and indem- 
 nity for all past transgressions, if they would lay down 
 their arms and take the oath of allegiance, and implored 
 them to accept these terms, — " otherwise, he should 
 consider them as traitors to the Constitution, and take the 
 necessary steps to conquer and subdue them." 
 
 Colonel Moore availed himself of a privilege of several 
 days to consider [ind weigh in his mind the contents of 
 the letter ; and embraced this opportunity of gaining a 
 thorough insight into the arrangement and strength of the 
 enemy's army. He delayed an answer until he could 
 no longer do so, and then he replied in a letter, * that he 
 and his followers were engaged in a cause, the most 
 glorious and honorable in the world, — the defence of 
 the rights of mankind, and that they needed no pardon. 
 He inclosed the General a copy of the Test required by 
 the Provincial Congress, and invited him and his officers 
 to sign it, and then to lay down their arms ; otherwise, he 
 might expect that treatment with which he had been pleas- 
 ed to threaten him and his followers. 
 
 * I have seen these letters in print as well as manuscript. 
 
248 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 But while this parley was going on between the two 
 belligerents, intelligence was received at the camp of 
 McDonald of the arrival of Sir Henry Clinton and Lord 
 William Campbell at the head-quarters of Governor 
 Martin, with a considerable force intended for the reduc- 
 tion of North Carolina. The Scotch General was now 
 intent on joining the army of Clinton, and endeavoured in 
 every way to avoid an engagement with Colonel Moore, 
 whose ranks had been daily swelled by the arrival of nu- 
 merous bodies of militia. McDonald at last sagaciously 
 determined to shun at every hazard an engagement with 
 his adversary, and accordingly decamped at midnight, and 
 by rapid marches contrived to elude the vigilant pursuit 
 of Colonel Moore. The retreating army crossed the 
 Cape Fear, and directed its course towards Wilmington, 
 intending to leave that place to the south, and approach 
 the British station, which was near the mouth of the river, 
 by clinging to the seashore, and thus escaping the Pro- 
 vincial troops in and about the town of Brunswick. 
 
 On the night of the second day's march. General 
 McDonald pitched his camp on the banks of South River ; 
 and, crossing from Bladen into New Hanover County on 
 the next day, he suddenly came upon the encampments 
 of Colonels Lillington and Caswell, upon the east side of 
 Moore's Creek, a small stream that flows from north to 
 south, and empties into the South River about twenty miles 
 above Wilmington. The situation of the Scotch General, 
 with the army of Colonel Moore in rapid pursuit and the 
 forces of Colonels Lillington and Caswell in front, was 
 too critical for delay ; and, although he himself was con- 
 fined with sickness, an engagement was determined on 
 under the immediate command of Colonel McLeod. 
 
TEH NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 249 
 
 The camps of the belligerents were divided only by the 
 small stream, which was crossed by a bridge ; and, on the 
 night of the 11th of March before the battle, the camp of 
 Colonel Lillington was visited by one Felix Kenan,* an 
 irresolute character, who had not the independence to be 
 a Tory or the honesty to be a Whig, and from this in- 
 dividual the intelligence was received, that an attack was 
 to be made early the ensuing morning. Colonel Lilling- 
 ton drew up his forces across a peninsula, formed by the 
 creek, which commanded both the road and the bridge ; 
 and, owing to this arrangement of his troops, which was 
 singularly advantageous, Colonel Caswell was, for want 
 of room, compelled to form in his rear. In the course of 
 the night preceding the battle. Colonel Lillington ordered 
 the planks to be taken from the bridge, and, keeping his 
 men constantly under arms, awaited the approach of the 
 enemy. 
 
 At break of day the forces of the Scotch General were 
 in motion, and with a steady march approached the verge 
 of the stream, when the fire on both sides commenced, 
 and Colonel McLeod charging furiously on the bridge, 
 fell in the very commencement of the engagement. 
 His officers following on, the bridge again proved a fatal 
 spot. Their ranks were thrown into confusion not only 
 by the death of their officers, but by the absence of 
 the planks of the bridge ; and Colonel Lillington, availing 
 himself of this discomfiture, charged across the stream 
 and engaged the very heart of the enemy's ranks. The 
 contest was even now fiercely waged. Many of the 
 Scotch fought around the camp of their sick General 
 with wonderful intrepidity, and yielded him up a prisoner, 
 
 * This fact I obtained from a letter of Governor Ashe. 
 
250 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 only after every means of defence was exhausted. In the 
 mean time Colonel Caswell, who had occupied the rear 
 ground of Colonel Lillington, having crossed the creek, 
 charged heavily on tlie ranks of the enemy, and with his 
 aid the whole Royal army was routed, and the men flying 
 in every direction were pursued, and many of them made 
 prisoners. Thus terminated the batde of Moore's Creek, 
 one of the most fortunate victories in the annals of the 
 Revolution. The predictions and the hopes of Governor 
 Martin were disappointed; the unanimity of the Scotch 
 population was broken ; the Tories were disheartened, 
 and the Whigs inspired with confidence and enthusiasm. 
 To Colonel Lillington I have ascribed the honors of the 
 day, and have done so upon the evidence of the few 
 living Patriarchs of North Carolina. He v^^as the junior 
 of Colonel Caswell in rank, but from the position of the 
 latter it was impossible for him to share in the earlier 
 labor of the day. Colonel Lillington was a native of 
 North Carolina, and deserves to be remembered as one 
 of the earliest and most efficient Whigs of that day."'^ 
 
 * I must here acknowledge the heavy obligations which I owe 
 to Colonel Samuel Ashe of Cape Fear. I am more indebted to him 
 than to any other individual in the State for the most authentic 
 and important historical details. He is now far advanced in life, 
 but stiU retains the possession of a most vigorous mind. 
 
CHAPTER XI, 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 (continued.) 
 
 The Provincial Congress, at the summons of Samuel 
 Johnston, assembled at Halifax on the 4lh of April, and 
 this body was distinguished by the presence of those 
 to whom I have often alluded, as the leaders of the Whig 
 party. The important question of Independence was 
 moved, discussed, and unanimously approved by this 
 Congress, and this circumstance alone will perpetuate its 
 fame. On Monday the 8th of April, 1776, Cornelius 
 Harnett, Governor Burke, Allen Jones, Thomas Jones, 
 Governor Nash, Mr. Kinchin, and General Thomas 
 Person were appointed a committee to take into consid- 
 eration the usurpations and violences committed by the 
 King and Parliament of Britain ; and, on the succeeding 
 12th, Mr. Harnett submitted the following report, which 
 I am justified in pronouncing his own composition. 
 
 " Report on the Subject of Independence. 
 
 " It appears to your committee, that, pursuant to the plan concert- 
 ed by the British Ministry for subjugating America, the King and 
 Parliament of Great Britain have usurped a power over the persons 
 and properties of the people unlimited and uncontrolled, and, dis- 
 regarding their humble petitions for peace, liberty, and safety, have 
 made divers legislative acts, denouncing war, famine, and every 
 species of calamity against the continent in general. The British 
 fleets and armies have been, and still are, daily employed in de- 
 stroying the people and committing the most horrid devastations 
 
252 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 on the country. The Governors in different colonies have declared 
 protection to slaves, who should imbrue their hands in the blood 
 of their masters. The ships belonging to America are declared 
 prizes of war, and many of them have been violently seized and 
 confiscated. In consequence of all which, multitudes of the peo- 
 ple have been destroyed, or from easy circumstances reduced to the 
 most lamentable distress. 
 
 " And whereas, the moderation hitherto manifested by the United 
 Colonies, and their sincere desire to be reconciled to the mother 
 country on constitutional principles, have procured no mitigation 
 of the aforesaid wrongs and usurpations, and no hopes remain of 
 obtaining redress by those means alone which have been hitherto 
 tried, — your Committee are of opinion, that the House should en- 
 ter into the following Resolve, to wit : 
 
 " Resolved, That the Delegates for this Colony in the Contin- 
 ental Congress be impowered to concur with the Delegates of the 
 other Colonies in declaring Independence, and forming foreign alli- 
 ances, reserving to this Colony the sole and exclusive right of form- 
 ing a Constitution and laws for this Colony and of appointing 
 Delegates from time to time (under the direction of a general rep- 
 resentation thereof) to meet the Delegates of the other Colonies, 
 for such purposes as shall be hereafter pointed out." {Journal of 
 the Congress, pp. 11, 12.) 
 
 These proceedings were on the 12th of April, and 
 the resolution which was proposed was on that day 
 unanimously adopted. It preceded the recommendation 
 of the Virginia Convention on the same subject by more 
 than a month, and is the first open and public declaration 
 for independence, by the proper authority of any one of 
 the colonies, on record. It has, however, escaped the 
 observation of the " historians of the adjacent States ; " 
 and even Mr. Wirt, who was in the confidence of the 
 author of the National Declaration of Independence, and 
 whose details upon the history of that important instru- 
 ment are copious, seems to have forgotten, if he ever 
 knew, the real origin of the action of the Continental 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 253 
 
 Congress. This resolution of the Provincial was for- 
 warded on to the Continental Congress,* and has been 
 within a few years observed among the state papers at 
 Washington City. It was noticed by Mr. Pitkin in his 
 very able and useful work, and the proceedings of the 
 Congress, in which it was adopted, were republished by 
 the Assembly of North Carolina, a few years since, when 
 the letter of Mr. Jefferson was before that body. In 
 point of composition, the report may be compared with 
 any of the public documents of that day, and will cer- 
 tainly lose nothing by the strictest comparison with that 
 before the Virginia Convention on the succeeding 15th of 
 May. 
 
 In the course of my details of the history of the State, 
 I have often alluded to the constant vigilance of the 
 Whigs over their internal and more deadly enemies, the 
 Tories ; and now, during the session of this Congress, a 
 public Manifesto or Declaration was published, explain- 
 ing and justifying the severity of their conduct. It as- 
 sumed the ground, that the Tories had been conquered 
 at the battle of Moore's Creek, and set forth the reasons 
 of their future policy, in the high and imperative tone of 
 a victorious party. It was adopted on the 29th of April, 
 and stands recorded on the Journal of the Congress, 
 under that date. I have only room for the few conclud- 
 ing paragraphs, which are here submitted to illustrate the 
 liberal and generous feelings of the higher orders of the 
 Whigs. 
 
 " We have their security in contemplation, not to make them 
 miserable. In our power, their errors claim our pity, their situation 
 
 * It was presented to the Continental Congress on the 27th of 
 May, 1776. 
 
 22 
 
254 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 disarms our resentment. We shall hail their reformation with in- 
 creasing pleasure, and receive them among us with open arms. 
 Sincere contrition and repentance shall atone for their past conduct. 
 Members of the same political body with ourselves, we feel the con- 
 vulsion which such a severance occasions ; and shall bless the day, 
 which shall restore them to us, friends of liberty, to the cause of 
 America, the cause of God and mankind. 
 
 '' We war not with the helpless females, whom they have left be- 
 hind them ; we sympathize in their sorrow, and wish to pour the balm 
 of pity into the wounds which a separation from husbands, fathers, 
 and the dearest relations has made. They are the rightful pension- 
 ers 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. 
 
 " May the humanity and compassion, which mark the cause we 
 are engaged in, influence them to such a conduct as may call forth 
 our utmost tenderness to their friends, whom we have in our power. 
 Much depends upon the future demeanor of the friends of the In- 
 surgents who are left among us, as to the treatment our prisoners 
 may experience. Let them consider these as hostages for their own 
 good behaviour, and by their own merits make kind offices to their 
 friends a tribute of duty as well as humanity from us, who have 
 them in our power." 
 
 The humanity of the Congress was exhibited by a 
 grant of the most liberal parole of honor to General 
 McDonald and his son, who held a Colonel's commis- 
 sion in the Tory army ; and both of these officers are 
 complimented for their candor in the very language of 
 the resolution. The Whigs were the undoubted victors 
 of the field, but they did not sully the laurels which they 
 had gained, by a brutal or ignominious imprisonment of 
 the person of the conquered General.* 
 
 On the 22d of April the Congress resolved to emit 
 $250*000 in bills of credit, and adopted the following 
 form as the impression of the currency. 
 
 * The battle of Moore's Creek was fought on the 27th of Feb- 
 ruary, 1776. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 255 
 
 " North Carolina Currency. 
 
 Dollars; by authority of Congress, at Halifax, on 
 
 the day of April, 1776." 
 
 These bills were signed by William Haywood, John 
 Webb, William Williams, and David Sumner ; and the 
 most solemn oath and bond was exacted as an assurance of 
 the due execution of the duties of the commission. The 
 efforts of the Congress to escape the dexterity of the coun- 
 terfeiters, were of but little avail ; and their Provincial 
 bills of credit could only be distinguished from the coun- 
 terfeits by their inferiority in the mere style of mechan- 
 ical execution. The immediate wants of the new govern- 
 ment were, however, as well supplied with the one as 
 the other. The slow process of redemption, the indifferent 
 quality of the paper on which they were executed, and 
 their reduced value, gradually exhausted the stock on hand, 
 and saved the state the expense of a heavy assumption. 
 
 One of the most important subjects before the Congress 
 was the defence of the Cape Fear from the military and 
 naval armament, hovering on the coast, and threatening to 
 invade the very heart of the State. The signal defeat of 
 the Tories, at Moore's Creek, had broken up the original 
 plans of Governor Martin ; and now we find the Congress 
 preparing, not only to sustain the advantages they had 
 gained, but, if possible, to defeat the disciplined forces 
 from the mother country. Two battalions, comprising 
 fifteen hundred troops, were ordered to be immediately 
 marched to Wilmington, under the command of Colonels 
 Thomas Owen * of Bladen, and Thomas Eaton f of 
 Bute, the former of whom, at the head of a considerable 
 force, was ranging in the vicinity of Wilmington. Colonel 
 Owen had been promoted to his present rank from that of 
 
 * May 3d. t May 13th. 
 
25G THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 a Major in the militia, to which he had been nominated 
 by the preceding Congress, and was, like Colonel Lilling- 
 ton, remarkable for his great industry in enlisting soldiers 
 and filling up the ranks of the army. 
 
 The seaport towns were authorized to arm one or more 
 vessels at the public expense, and a committee appointed 
 to frame a form of commission of marque and reprisals. 
 Provisions and funds were ordered to be immediately 
 sent to General Moore, who was in command at Wilming- 
 ton, and Colonel Long was appointed to receive General 
 Lee, who had been appointed to the command of the 
 Southern forces by the Continental Congress, and who 
 was daily expected in Halifax on his way to the Cape 
 Fear. The whole military discipline of the State was 
 improved, and the following officers were promoted * to 
 the rank of Brigadier-Generals in their several districts : 
 
 John Ashe, for the Wilmington District ; 
 
 Allen Jones, for the Halifax District ; 
 
 Edward Vail, for the Edenton District ; 
 
 Griffith Rutherford, for the Salisbury District ; 
 
 Thomas Person, for the Hillsborough District ; 
 
 William Bryan, for the New Berne District. 
 The Brigadier-Generals of Halifax, Edenton, New 
 Berne, and Wilmington, were instructed to hasten on the 
 reinforcements ordered for General Moore at Wilmington ; 
 and, whenever they should arrive, General John Ashe 
 was ordered to the immediate command of the several 
 detachments. In the Appendix T shall notice the various 
 other changes made by this Congress, in the military dis- 
 cipline of the State. 
 
 Anticipating a tedious and doubtful campaign on the 
 
 * May 5th. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 257 
 
 Cape Fear, the Congress ordered the emission of a larger 
 amount in bills of credit, than the 250,000 dollars (or 
 £100,000) already voted, and concluded to increase the 
 sum to £500,000, including the former emission ; and here 
 I will note the fact that the State had now emitted bills 
 of credit to the amount of one million three hundred 
 and seventy-five thousand dollars, since the flight of the 
 Royal Governor on the 24th of April, 1775. The credit 
 of the State was pledged for the redemption of this 
 amount ; and. although the currency thus created was rot- 
 ten to the very core, yet it was the best that the exi- 
 gencies of the day would allow, or the ability of the 
 Congress could suggest. 
 
 Before this Congress, was debated the project of a civil 
 constitution, the form of which, was the first rough 
 draught of the present constitution of the State. I shall, 
 in a separate chapter, enter at large into an examination 
 of the history of the constitution, and shall here only 
 submit a iew general observations to illustrate the pro- 
 ceedings of the Congress. The idea of a constitution 
 seemed to follow that of Independence ; and accordingly, 
 the day succeeding the adoption of the resolution in favor 
 of a Declaration, a committee was appointed to prepare 
 a temporary civil constitution.^ On Saturday, the 27th 
 of April, certain resolutions, which the committee recom- 
 mended as the foundation of a constitution, were debated, 
 and on the succeeding 30th, in consequence of some 
 important considerations, the project of a constitution was 
 abandoned, and a new committee appointed " to form a 
 temporary form of government until the end of the next 
 Congress." f 
 
 * April 13th. t Journal of the Congress. 
 
 22* 
 
258 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 On the 1 1th of May, this new committee reported a 
 series of resolutions, proposing to abolish the Provincial 
 Council and the District Committees of Safety, and to 
 erect in their stead a State Council of Safety. The 
 powers proposed to be bestowed upon the new Council 
 were of the same order with those entrusted to its pre- 
 decessor, but the new project was adopted as the simplest 
 form of government. But the whole proceeding was of 
 a party nature ; for there were, even at this early period 
 of the existence of the Whig government, two rival fac- 
 tions, contending for supremacy and power ; and I shall, 
 in the chapter on the Constitution, freely and impartially 
 discuss their conduct, not more as an historian than as a 
 politician. In electing the members of the Council of 
 Safety, the Congress selected one for the State at large, 
 and each District two, thus composing a body of thirteen. 
 They were, 
 
 Willie Jones, for the State. 
 
 Cornelius Harnett, ) Wilmington 
 Samuel Ashe, 5 District. 
 
 James Coor, > New Berne 
 
 John Simpson, ) District. 
 
 Thomas Jones, 7 Edcnton 
 
 Whitmell Hill, > District. 
 
 In the deliberations of the Council of Safety each 
 District was entitled to one vote, and this mode of de- 
 termining questions seems to have been more generally 
 adopted in North Carolina than any other State. The 
 Congress, the old Council, and now the Council of Safety, 
 all voted upon the principle that the territory of the State, 
 and not the people, was the essence of representation. 
 
 It is impossible, and would be uninteresting, to give a 
 more minute detail of the proceedings of this Congress. 
 The procurement of gunpowder and other muniments of 
 
 ■) Wilmington Thomas Eaton, > Halifax 
 
 5 District. Joseph John Williams, 5 District 
 
 Thomas Person, ) Hillsboro* 
 
 John Rand, 5 District. 
 
 Hezekiah Alexander, > Salisbury 
 William Sharpe, 5 District. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 359 
 
 war, the judgment and punishment of Tories, and an 
 immense quantity of private business, occupied the time 
 and consideration of the members, and extended the 
 session to the 14th of May. On that day the Congress 
 adjourned, after a session of five weeks, leaving behind 
 but little unfinished business save the project of a civil 
 constitution. 
 
 But in the mean time, the military and naval armament 
 under the command of Sir Peter Parker, had arrived in 
 the Cape Fear ; ^ and this important intelligence reached 
 Halifax during the session of the Congress. The whole 
 Royal force in the Colony was now under the Immediate 
 command of Major General Clinton, who had been a 
 companion of Governor Martin's, on board the ship of 
 war Cruizer, for more than a month, awaiting the arrival 
 of the armament which had been detained in Ireland, 
 receiving the troops ordered to America. General Clin- 
 ton had travelled from New York along the seaport towns 
 to Cape Fear, and had spent some time with Lord Dun- 
 more, Governor of Virginia, in the midst of his engage- 
 ment with General Howe of North Carolina. He had 
 had time and opportunity to learn and observe the actual 
 condition of the Colony, the opinions of the people, and 
 the military policy of the Congress, and to have bene- 
 fited by the conversation and experience of Governor 
 Martin. His head-quarters were, however, so closely 
 besieged by the Provincial troops, that the land forces 
 were detained on board the fleet, which was anchored 
 off the plantation of General Howe, near Fort Johnston. 
 
 * The first vessels of this armament arrived off Cape Fear on the 
 18th of April. The whole force of Sir Peter comprised thirty-six 
 ships. 
 
260 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The recollection of the lion-hearted proprietor, and the 
 defeat of Lord Dunmore, probably induced the exception 
 in the following proclamiition, which I consider the high- 
 est compliment that could have been rendered to the 
 valor and patriotism of Harnett and Howe. 
 
 «' By Major Gcnci al Clinton, Comviandcr of his Majcslijs Forces in 
 the Souther a Provinces in North America, 
 '• A Proclamation. 
 " Whereas the most unprovoked and wicked rebellion has for some 
 time past prevailed, and doth now exist within his Majesty's pro- 
 vince of North Carolina, and the inhabitants (forgetting their alle- 
 giance to their Sovereign, and denying the authority of the laws and 
 statutes of the realm,) have, in a succession of crimes, proceeded 
 to the total subversion of all lawful authority, usurping the poAvers 
 of government, and erecting a tyranny in the hands of Congresses 
 and Committees of various denominations, utterly unknown and 
 repugnant to the British Constitution ; and divers people, in avowed 
 defiance to all legal authority, are now actually in arms, waging 
 unnatural war against their King; and whereas all attempts to re- 
 claim the infatuated and misguided multitude to a sense of their 
 error have unhappily proved ineffectual : — I have it in command to 
 proceed forthwith against all such men, or bodies of men, in arms, 
 and against all Congresses and Committees thus unlawfully estab- 
 lished, as against open enemies to the State. But, considering it a 
 duty inseparable from the principle of humanity, first of all to fore- 
 warn the deluded People of the miseries ever attendant upon civil 
 war, I do most earnestly entreat, and exhort them, as they tender, 
 their own happiness, and that of their posterity, to appease the 
 vengeance of an injured and justly incensed nation, by a return to 
 their duty, to our common Sovereign, and to the blessings of a free 
 government, as established by law ; hereby offering in his Majesty's 
 name, free pardon to all such as shall lay down their arms, and sub- 
 mit to the laws, excepting only from the benefit of such pardon, 
 Cornelius Harnett and Robert Howe, And I do hereby require, 
 that the Provincial Congress, and all Committees of Safety, and 
 other unlawful associations, be dissolved, and the judges allowed 
 to hold their courts according to the laws and Constitution of this 
 Province ; of which all persons are required to take notice, as they 
 will answer the contrary at their utmost peril. 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 261 
 
 " Given on board the Pallas transport, in Cape Fear River, in the 
 Province of North Carohna, the 5th day of May, 177G, and in 
 
 the ICth year of His Majesty's Reign. 
 
 " H. CLINTON. 
 " By Command of General Clinton. 
 
 " Richard Reavk, Secretary. 
 
 " To the Magistrates of the Province of North Carolina, to be by 
 
 them made public." 
 
 Intent upon revenging on General Howe, the defeat of 
 Lord Dunmore, General Clinton determined to ravage 
 his plantation ; and accordingly, in the afternoon of the 
 12th of May, he landed a body of nine hundred troops, 
 assisted in command by Lord Cornvvallis."^ The sentry 
 guard, that had been posted to watch the movements of 
 the fleet, collected their horses and drove off the cattle ; 
 and, while the enemy was marching over the causeway 
 from the river to the dwelling-house, a portion of the 
 sentry guard maintained a steady fire, killing one man, 
 wounding several others, and taking a sergeant of the 
 thirty-third regiment prisoner.f The two British generals 
 surrounded the mansion, and murdered three women 
 whom they found concealed in the chambers of the 
 house. Having thus satiated and glutted his revenge, 
 the victorious Clinton advanced towards Ostin's Mills, 
 at which place a heavy quantity of military stores and 
 provisions was deposited, under the guard of Major 
 Davis, at the head of a detachment of militia. Timely 
 intelligence of his approach however was received, and 
 the stores and provisions were quietly moved off, and 
 the mills and the empty out-houses left at the mercy of 
 the invaders. The establishment was fired, and the two 
 Generals returned to their fleet with no other advantage 
 than " three horses and two cows." J 
 
 * Martin, Vol. II, p. 390. f Ibid. p. 391. 
 
 t Ibid. The British authorities say, " with twenty bullocks." 
 
262 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The battle of Moore's Creek had not only abridged 
 the ranks, but extinguished the enthusiasm of the Loyal- 
 ists. The concerted schemes of Governor Martin could 
 not be executed even by the disciplined army, surround- 
 ed as he was by Generals Moore and Ashe, two of the 
 most vigilant officers of the Province. Colonels Owen 
 and Lillington, too, were in the vicinity of Wilmington, 
 watching the movements of the enemy, and guarding the 
 Tories from the dangerous company of Governor Martin. 
 General Clinton thus found himself most effectually sur- 
 rounded, and even the energy of his splendid army 
 paralyzed, by the industry, vigilance, and courage of his 
 undisciplined rivals. Unacquainted with the country, and 
 not confident of the ability of Governor Martin to manage 
 a military campaign, he seemed afraid to undertake a 
 more extensive operation than the sacking of a private 
 mansion, and the brutal murder of defenceless women. 
 General Howe was not on the field, nor in the immediate 
 vicinity of his plantation, when Clinton and Cornwallis 
 made the attack. He was in the more northern section 
 of the State, filling up the ranks of his regiment, and pre- 
 paring for the northern campaign in the Continental 
 service. 
 
 The vigilance of the Provincial forces prevented all 
 communication between the Loyalists and the fleet, and 
 thus soon reduced the army of Clinton to distress for want 
 of provisions. The vanity of Martin had induced him 
 to misrepresent the real state of affairs, and to exagger- 
 ate his own power and popularity. The friendly assistance 
 which he had promised from the people of the country, 
 never arrived, and the troops were for several days sup- 
 plied with no other food, than that of horse-flesh. The 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 263 
 
 project of subduing North Carolina, and of restoring 
 Governor Martin to his authority and his palace, was 
 abandoned ; and on the 1st of June, 1776, the armament 
 left the shores of the Cape Fear and of the State. Thus 
 failed the campaign of General Clinton, and with it even 
 the hopes of the Tories of North Carolina. Defeated by 
 General Howe in his efforts to give Lord Dunmore a 
 hold on the Albemarle shore, his allies among the people 
 entirely routed by Lillington at Moore's creek, and now 
 himself discomfited and distressed at the head of a nu- 
 merous and disciplined army, he left the Cape Fear for 
 Charleston. 
 
 The fleet anchored off the coast of South Carolina 
 early in the month of June,* and in a few days General 
 Lee, at the head of the North Carolina and Virginia 
 troops, arrived in Charleston. It had been the good for- 
 tune of General Lee to meet General Clinton in New 
 York, Virginia, and North Carolina, and to observe the 
 scheme of his operations. He now commanded a large 
 detachment of the troops of North Carolina, and among 
 them the Company of General John Ashe ; and these sol- 
 diers were inspired with additional zeal from the recollec- 
 tion that they were warring against their old enemy,f whom 
 they had so recently discomfited in their own country. 
 Thus animated they contributed much to the defeat of 
 the armament before Charleston, and to the total and 
 complete overthrow of the efforts of the Ministry to sub- 
 jugate the Southern country. 
 
 There was one branch of the schemes of Governor 
 Martin and General Clinton, which, although not connect- 
 
 * The fleet sailed from the Cape Fear on the 1st of June, arrived 
 off Charleston on the 4th, and entered the harbour on the 7th. 
 t Governor Martin was on board the fleet of Sir Peter Parker. 
 
264 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 ed immediately with North Carolina, yet deserves to be 
 mentioned as illustrative of the character of General 
 Griffith Rutherford, one of the bravest officers in the ar- 
 my of the State. In connexion with the Governor of East 
 Florida, a plan had been formed to engage the Indians 
 in the war against the Southern States ; and the plot so 
 far succeeded, that, on the very day the British fleet at- 
 tacked the fort of Charleston, the Cherokees made war 
 upon the frontier settlements of South Carolina. With 
 a view to conquer these blood-thirsty savages. General 
 Rutherford, in the early part of July, crossed the moun- 
 tains,^ at the head of a body of nineteen hundred men, 
 and penetrated into the present State of Tennessee, then 
 a portion of North Carolina. After various successful 
 skirmishes, he succeeded in reducing them ; and, ranging 
 through their settlements, he laid waste their plantations 
 and villages, and thus effectually restored peace and 
 safety to the frontiers. Griffith Rutherford was one of 
 the most decided and energetic Whigs of that day, and 
 was perhaps the most conspicuous and serviceable officer 
 in the western section of the State. The present county 
 of Rudierford was thus named in honor of him ; and the 
 old people of the State speak of him in the most enthusi- 
 astic terms, as a brave and honorable man. 
 
 * Martin, Vol. II, p. 393. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT, 
 (continued.) 
 
 In the preceding chapter I have conducted the reader 
 to the period of the conchision of this history, viz. the 
 4th of July, 1776. The expedition of General Ruther- 
 ford filled up the month of July ; and I shall now return 
 to notice the progress of the Council of Safety, the new 
 executive of the Province, and in the course of this duty 
 I shall introduce a few interesting extracts from their 
 Journal, on the important subject of Independence. This 
 body met for the first time in Wilmington, on the 5th of 
 June, and again elected Cornelius Harnett, President, 
 James Glascow and James Green, Jr., Secretaries. On 
 the 6th of June, 
 
 " General Ashe informed the Council, that there were a number 
 of outlying malcontents in the county of Bladen, who were de- 
 sirous of returning home and submitting to the Council ; and it was 
 agreed, that all such persons concerned in the late insurrection, that 
 should take an oath before the Chairman of the County or Town 
 Committee, to submit to such order and regulation as might be 
 made by the government of the Colony, and that, when required, 
 they would take up arms in defence thereof, might return to the 
 peaceable enjoyment of their habitations." 
 
 The party warfare, between the Tories and the Whigs, 
 was waged with the most deadly ferocity in both North 
 and South Carolina. After the defeat of McDonald, the 
 loyalists found no mercy at the hands of their victors, ex- 
 cept in the clemency of the Congress or the Council. 
 23 
 
266 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The leading and most respectable Whigs were divided in 
 opinion as to the propriety of so rigorous a punishment ; 
 but the militia companies, when once under arms, sought 
 no other warfare than the absolute subjugation of their 
 traitorous neighbours. In a contest like that of the revo- 
 lution of North Carolina, where the people had called for 
 a Declaration of Independence, and where the stake in 
 question was the freedom of America, I can readily 
 justify the severity and even the ferocity of the civil war. 
 The Whigs, however, did nothing more than retaliate, on 
 their rivals, the many high-handed outrages committed on 
 them. While the royal power was supported by the 
 presence and authority of a Governor, and even after the 
 flight of Martin, and while the invincible armament was 
 expected in the Cape Fear, they committed similar ex- 
 cesses under the high hope and expectation of a speedy 
 and complete trium.ph. 
 
 In concluding the subject of the Tory war, I shall 
 pause for a few moments to notice the character and ser- 
 vices of Colonel Ebenezer Folsome, the most violent Whig 
 partizan in North Carolina, or perhaps even in the United 
 Colonies. He lived in Cumberland, in the very midst of 
 the Tories. At an early period of the struggle he had 
 collected together a body of horsemen, and commenced 
 on his own responsibility a regular Feudal war, ravaging 
 the plantations of the loyalists, and frequently, perhaps, 
 gratifying his own private revenge. The last Congress 
 had elected him Colonel of the militia of Cumberland, 
 and about the 1st of June I find him at the head of a 
 hundred horsemen and a detachment of infantry, ranging 
 through the upper counties of the Cape Fear, and carry- 
 ing the war to the very fire-sides of the Tories. He soon 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 267 
 
 became a favorite with the Council of Safety and the 
 adjacent County Committee, on account of his strict and 
 willing obedience of their orders ; and accordingly we find, 
 that he is always employed on the most dangerous ad- 
 ventures. The name of John Piles is equally famous in 
 North Carolina as a violent and powerful Tory, command- 
 ing the sympathies of a number of the Scotch and other 
 loyalists. On the 15th of June, Colonel Folsome agreed 
 with the Council to catch or conquer the Tory leader and 
 all his family ; and accordingly selected a strong guard 
 from his cavalry, and ranged through the present counties 
 of Chatham, Moore, and Cumberland. He ultimately 
 succeeded in meeting him at the house of Farquard 
 Campbell, where he seemed to be enjoying, not only the 
 hospitality, but the political confidence of his host. The 
 Colonel seized John Piles and his son, and bore them 
 off in triumph ; and in the lapse of a few months we find 
 him again at the same house, seizing and carrying off the 
 hospitable Farquard* himself. In such adventures he was 
 the most successful hero of whom I have heard, in my 
 various researches into the Tory war. The great number 
 of loyalists in Cumberland had prevented the operations 
 of the old County Committee ; and, that efficient depart- 
 ment of the Whig government having dwindled away, 
 Colonel Folsome found himself at the head of affairs, 
 and woe unto that man who should doubt for a moment 
 the integrity of the great American cause, or the suprema- 
 cy of the Congress and Council. He however abused 
 his trust, and was, during the succeeding year, tried for 
 the common crime of usurpation and abuse of power, 
 
 * Letter of Samuel Ashe to John Williams, of date the 12th of 
 January, 1777. 
 
268 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The question of a National Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence, which had been first urged by North Carolina, and 
 afterwards by Virginia, was introduced into the Continental 
 Congress on the 27th of May, and finally consummated on 
 the 4ih of July, 1776. In my sketch of the character of 
 William Hooper, I shall notice the proceedings of that 
 body ; in this place I shall only observe, that, during the 
 agitation of that question, the people of North Carolina 
 were eagerly watching the signs of the times, and praying 
 for the success of that great and glorious measure. They 
 had, at various periods, in separate conventions, urged it 
 upon the consideration of their fellow-citizens. The 
 people of Mecklenburg had declared themselves free ; and, 
 on the preceding 12th of April, the Provincial Congress 
 had repeated and ratified their decree. 
 
 On the 22d of July the news of the Declaration of In- 
 dependence reached Halifax ; and, the Council of Safety 
 being in session in that place, the following resolution was 
 unanimously adopted. 
 
 " Resolved, that the Committees of the respective 
 counties and towns in this state, on receiving the Declara- 
 tion of Independence, do cause the same to be proclaimed 
 in the most public manner, in order that the good people 
 of this colony may be fully informed thereof." 
 
 On the 25th of July the Council proceeded to change 
 the test oath ; and the preamble of the resolution states, 
 that the Colonies were now free and independent States, 
 and that all allegiance to the British Crown was for ever 
 at an end. On the 27th of the same month the Council 
 set apart Thursday, the first of August, as a day for 
 proclaiming the Declaration at the Court House in Halifax; 
 and the freeholders and inhabitants of the county were 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 269 
 
 requested to give their attendance at the time and place. 
 On the appointed day an immense concourse of people 
 assembled at Halifax to witness the interesting ceremony 
 of a public proclamation of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence. The Provincial troops and militia companies 
 were all drawn up in full array, to witness the scene and 
 to swear by their united acclamations to consummate the 
 deed. At mid-day Cornelius Harnett ascended a rostrum 
 which had been erected in front of the Court House, 
 and even as he opened the scroll, upon which was written 
 the immortal words of the Declaration, the enthusiasm of 
 the immense crowd broke forth in one loud swell of re- 
 joicing and prayer. The reader proceeded to his task, 
 and read the Declaration to the mute and impassioned 
 multitude with the solemnity of an appeal to Heaven. 
 When he had finished, all the people shouted with joy, 
 and the cannon, sounding from fort to fort, proclaimed 
 the glorious tidings, tljat all the Thirteen Colonies were 
 now free and independent States. The soldiers seized 
 Mr. Harnett, and bore him on their shoulders through the 
 streets of the town, applauding him as (heir champion, and 
 swearing allegiance to the instrument he had read.* 
 
 The resolution of the Council of Safety, ordering the 
 several Committees to have the Declaration proclaimed to 
 the people in the most public manner, was not observed 
 in Cumberland ; and, on the 6th of August, Colonel Fol- 
 some and Colonel David Smith were authorized to call a 
 
 * I received the account of this ceremony from a pious and 
 elderly lady, who was present on the occasion, and whose friend- 
 ship and acquaintance I esteem the more, because it descended to 
 me as an inheritance. In this place it may not be amiss to say, 
 that 1 have always found the details of elderly ladies, on matters of 
 history, more correct than those of old men. 
 
 23* 
 
270 THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 
 
 general meeting of the inhabitants and to execute the 
 order. I have never heard any account of the ceremony 
 which Colonel Folsome undoubtedly instituted. The 
 doctrine of treason, too, as expounded by the Congress, 
 was ordered to be proclaimed to the people of Cumber- 
 land, and to the regiment stationed at Cross Creek. 
 
 1 have now arrived at the most interesting period of 
 our history. In the revolution of North Carolina, the 
 reader will observe three bold and energetic popular 
 movements, all progressing towards a National Declara- 
 tion of Independence. On the 26th of April, 1774, Wil- 
 liam Hooper, in a letter to James Iredell, openly avowed 
 that things were verging towards Independence. On the 
 20th of May, 1775, the people of Mecklenburg declared 
 themselves independent; and on the 12th of April. 1776, 
 the Provincial Congress instructed their delegates in the 
 Continental Congress to concur in a National Declaration. 
 These are the grand events in the history of a State, 
 which, according to Mr. Jefferson, sent a rank Tory to 
 sign, on her behalf, the Declaration of Independence. I 
 need not his confession, that she was not doubtful, " that 
 no state was more fixed or forward," to defend North 
 Carolina from the malignant aspersions of his pen. I 
 spurn his compliments as worthless, and his praise as a 
 corrupt and corrupting gift. They are the conceptions 
 of a wicked and profligate mind, and are served up but to 
 gild the nauseating pill of an unprincipled political em- 
 piric. 
 
 I appeal to the events of the revolution in North Caro- 
 lina, and not to Mr. Jefferson's disclaimer, to attest the 
 genuineness of the Whig principles of her illustrious dead. 
 Virginia, although aided by his important services, wailed 
 
THE NEW WHIG GOVERNMENT. 271 
 
 for the example of North Carolina, to urge her on to the 
 great crisis of Independence ; and, long before the Sage 
 of Monticello had fixed his heart upon the national free- 
 dom of America, the question of Independence had been 
 mooted, discussed, and approved, by the almost unanimous 
 voice of the Whigs of the State.* 
 
 * The Provincial Congress of August and September, 1775, 
 adopted a scheme of bounties for the protection of the manufactures 
 of the State, which bounties were to be conferred by the Provincial 
 Council. Accordingly, on the 12th of September, 1776, while the 
 Council of Safety was in session, George Wolfendon, James Morgan, 
 and James Gibson offered to the Council sundry pieces of linen, 
 claiming the several bounties, pursuant to the resolve of the Con- 
 gress. The Board, after due examination, found it impossible to 
 come to any decision as to the relative value or excellence of the 
 pieces presented, and accordingly the following resolve was adopted : 
 " Resolved, That the Treasurers, or either of them, pay unto the 
 said Wolfendon, Morgan, and Gibson, the sum of twenty-three 
 pounds fifteen shillings each, it being their equal part of the several 
 bounties allowed by the Congress." 
 
 While on the subject of manufactures I will record in this note, 
 that, about the year 1824, an ingenious lady, of Franklin counlVj 
 wove on her own loom a shirt icithout seams. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 The first step towards the formation of the Constitu- 
 tion of North Carolina was made on the I3lh of April, 
 1776 ; and this seems to have been the result of the 
 deliberation of the Convention on the subject of Indepen- 
 dence. The idea oi a Constitution naturally followed that 
 of National Independence ; and, the Congress of North 
 Carolina having recommended a Declaration to that 
 effect on the i2th, the adoption of the principles of a 
 solid, well-regulated government, formed the next most 
 important subject for their consideration. Accordingly 
 on the 1 3th, Samuel Johnston, the President of the Con- 
 gress, Abner Nash, Cornelius Harnett, Thomas Jones, 
 Green Hill, Governor Burke, Allen Jones, Mr. Locke, 
 Mr. Blount, Mr. Rand, John Johnston, Samuel Ashe, 
 Mr. Kinchin, Samuel Spencer, Mr. Haywood, Mr. 
 Richardson, Mr. Bradford, Mr. Ramsay, and Thomas 
 Person, were appointed a Committee * to prepare a civil 
 Constitution. To this committee John Penn and William 
 Hooper were added ; and before this body, thus complet- 
 ed, was fought one of the most desperate party batdes 
 to be recorded in the civil history of the State. The 
 transidon from a monarchical to a republican form of 
 government was almost too gradual and easy to be per- 
 
 ^ On the 13th of April, 177Q.— MS. Journal. 
 
THE CONSTITUTION OF NORTH CAROLINA. 273 
 
 ceived, but the project of a total abandonment of the 
 conservative principles of the British Constitution, pro- 
 duced one of those violent political throes, which have 
 so often stained with blood the career of revolutions. 
 The Whig party of North Carolina was, at this crisis, 
 convulsed by this distracting question. The most im- 
 portant characters of the Provincial Congress were divid- 
 ed in opinion as to the principles of the new government j 
 and each obstinately conceived the safety, welfare, and 
 honor of the State, to depend upon the success of his 
 favorite schemes. 
 
 From the members of the committee, I select the 
 names of Samuel Johnston and Allen Jones, as the lead- 
 ers of the conservative party. They had made immense 
 sacrifices in the cause of the revolution. Samuel Johns- 
 ton had succeeded John Harvey, in the control of the 
 Whig party. He had published under his own name 
 an order for the election of the Congress of August, 
 1775 ; and had thrown himself forward in every crisis, 
 as the civil head of the State. He had shrunk from no 
 responsibility however heavy, from the performance of 
 no duty however perilous, in the cause of the American 
 revolution. His mind, his body, and his purse were at 
 the service of his country ; and these resources he poured 
 forth with all the profusion of a spendthrift. It is impos- 
 sible to doubt the patriotism of such a man. 
 
 But when the reckless proposition to abolish even the 
 very elements of the British Constitution, and to substitute 
 in their stead the incoherent principles of a democracy, 
 was gravely urged by a majority of the committee, he 
 shrunk from it as from the most deadly contagion. He 
 was an ardent lover of freedom and of the national 
 
274 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Independence of America, but he was no believer in the 
 infallibility of the popular voice. He had seen the rights 
 of the Colonies violated, not so much the rights of persons 
 but the right of property, and against this usurpation he 
 had zealously warred. The vagrant principle of universal 
 suffrage, the popular election of Judges, and the despica- 
 ble dependence of authority upon the will of the people 
 at large, were never heard of in the revolution of North 
 Carolina, undl the demagogues of the Whig party started 
 on their career of popularity. 
 
 But Governor Johnston was not a man of that pliable 
 and irresolute character, that bends to every passing gale. 
 He did not surrender the honest convictions of his mind 
 to the mere majority of individuals, nor compromise the 
 splendid uniformity of his political character to propitiate 
 the clamor of the soldiery. He was the honest advocate 
 of a government of energy and of power, erected upon the 
 most solid foundations. The restriction of the right of 
 suffrage in all popular elections, the inviolable independ- 
 ence of the Judiciary, the permanence and respectability 
 of office, and the most perfect security of property and all 
 vested rights, constituted his conception of the elements 
 of a good government. " Wise or fortunate is the man," 
 who builds his own reputation as a statesman, upon the 
 imperishable rock of such principles. The lovers of 
 constitutional freedom vi'ill recur to him as their founder, 
 and " fiercely chastise the guilt or folly of the rebels who 
 shall presume to sully the majesty of" his name. 
 
 Against this conservative party was opposed all the 
 radicalism which had gathered around the ball of the 
 revolution, which had now been rolling in North Carolina 
 for more than two years. While its progress and direc- 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 275 
 
 tion were controlled by Governor Johnston, its career 
 was one of principle ; but now the growing strength of the 
 people, and the arts of designing and ambitious ntien were 
 endeavouring to impart a force, which instead of moving 
 it forward, would have broken it into atoms, and perhaps 
 have annihilated it for ever. 
 
 1 pretend not to scrutinize the motives of politicians, 
 more especially of those who have passed from the stage of 
 life, and whose actions are obscured by the distance of 
 more than half a century ; but that the leaders of the Whig 
 party in North Carolina were actuated by different mo- 
 tives, and eagerly intent on different and conflicting re- 
 sults, is too obvious to be concealed. With many of the 
 most eminent and zealous, such as Willie Jones and 
 Thomas Person, the establishment of a democracy was an 
 object of superior importance to the Independence of the 
 country. Without the hope of consummating this dar- 
 ling project, their zeal would have abated, and even the 
 independence of the country have been surrendered, as 
 not worth a struggle, when the certainty of an American 
 aristocracy was before them. But a very different, and 
 1 must say a much nobler motive animated the bosom of 
 Samuel Johnston and his conservative friends, in their 
 zealous support of the American cause. The national 
 Independence of their country was the very and the only 
 element of their political enthusiasm. They did not look 
 beyond it, and discover in the form of the government 
 which they knew would be established, any principles of 
 superior or even of equal magnitude. Their predilec- 
 tions were in favor of a splendid government, representing 
 the property of the people, and thus giving by its own 
 independence and splendor a high character of dignity to 
 
276 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 the State. But all schemes or forms of government 
 were as nothing when compared with the national Inde- 
 pendence of America ; and with the achievement of this 
 grand object they were prepared for either a monarchy, 
 an aristocracy, or any other form of government except 
 a wild and uncontrolled democracy. 
 
 The Radicals contended with much show of reason, 
 that the success of the revolution depended upon the 
 adoption of a purely democratic form of government, 
 and tliat the hope of such a thing was the sole cause 
 of the enthusiasm of the lower orders of the people. The 
 restriction of the right of suffrage which had prevailed in 
 the Whig government, it was contended, had given the 
 Tories an opportunity of seducing the non-freeholders to 
 their interest, and that an extension of that most delicate 
 and important right, to every " hiped " of the forest, was 
 the surest means of uniting the voice of the people. 
 The vain hope, that even the dependent Highlanders of 
 the Cape Fear would, if the prerogative of citizenship 
 were conferred, desert from the standard of their chieftain, 
 was encouraged ; and that thus the war could be con- 
 ducted with greater energy by the combined strength of 
 the State. The coffers of the treasury were empty, and 
 the only means of arousing and keeping alive the warlike 
 spirit of the lower orders, was by conferring the highest 
 political privileges. 
 
 Upon the vital question, then, of enfranchising the lower 
 order of the people, and upon the propriety of a splendid 
 government, the Conservatives and the Radicals were 
 divided ; and in the ranks of both of those parties were 
 found many of the most enlightened and patriotic citizens 
 of the State. On the question of Independence, which 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 277 
 
 was settled by the unanimous voice of the Congress, on 
 the day before the appointment of the committee to form 
 a civil Constitution, there was no division ; and, with the 
 settlement of that more important point, the two rival 
 parties started up into an active existence. Independ- 
 ence had been so much talked of and so often acted upon 
 in North Carolina, that it was considered throughout the 
 State, as the peculiar subject of the deliberation of the 
 Provincial Congress ; and the members assembled in 
 Halifax predetermined to sanction and recommend, the 
 propriety of a National declaration. On the 5th of April, 
 the day after the meeting of the Congress, Mr. Johnston 
 wrote to James Iredell, and after touching on the case 
 of General McDonald, he said, — " All our people here 
 are up for independence. God knows when I shall have 
 the pleasure of seeing you ; there are very few among us 
 capable of forwarding business, many of retarding it." On 
 the 13th of April he again wrote to Mr. Iredell, and con- 
 cluded his letter in the following words, — " The House 
 have agreed to impower their Delegates at Philadelphia to 
 concur with the other colonies in entering into foreign alli- 
 ances and in declaring an independence of Great Britain. 
 I cannot be more particular ; this is written in Congress. 
 My love and compliments where due ; farewell." 
 
 I shall draw from the same correspondence my materials 
 in detailing the proceedings of the Committee ; and now 
 present an extract from a letter, of date the 17th of April. 
 The Committee had been in session for only four days, 
 and thus early Governor Johnston found himself in a 
 minority. The letter says, — "I must confess our pros- 
 pects are at this time very gloomy ; our people are about 
 forming a Constitution, and from what I can at present 
 24 
 
278 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 collect of their plan, it will be impossible from me to take 
 any part in the execution of it. Numbers have started 
 on the race of popularity, and condescend to the usual 
 means of success." 
 
 The Radicals found themselves in a majority in the 
 Committee, and about the 18th or 19th of the month of 
 April,* it was resolved " to establish a purely democratic 
 form of government." The dissatisfaction of Governor 
 Johnston is obvious from the tone of his letters ; and the 
 concluding sentence of the one last submitted, points 
 plainly to the cause of his discomfiture. He was how- 
 ever a man of too much independence of opinion, and 
 of too much influence in the State, to give up without a 
 farther struggle so important a question as the character 
 of the government, under which he expected to live. 
 The Radicals perceived at once the danger of alienating 
 so important a personage from the interest of the new 
 government ; and, although they sapiently assumed to 
 themselves the name of orthodox in politics, yet they 
 prudently consented to make terms with their defeated 
 rival. 
 
 While this violent schism in the Whig party was hang- 
 ing over the fate of the American cause in North Caro- 
 lina, Thomas Jones, of Edenton, a personal friend of 
 Governor Johnston and a cunning and ingenious poli- 
 tician, interceded and appeased the rage of the contend- 
 ing factions. He was in truth more of a conservative 
 than his friend ; but, perceiving the strength of the Radi- 
 cals, he had avoided the issue which Governor Johnston 
 had the independence openly to confront. I have a 
 
 * Letter of Judge John Williams to Judge Henderson, of date the 
 28th of April, 1776. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 279 
 
 mere note or billet of his to Johnston, dated the 19th of 
 April, upon which I predicate this view of his character. 
 In that paper he informs the Governor that he had adjust- 
 ed the disagreeable difficulty, which had interrupted the 
 harmony of the Committee ; and then invited him to 
 meet with the other members at his room on the evening 
 of its date. 
 
 The tone of Governor Johnston's letters to Mr. Iredell 
 changes from this date ; and on the very next day we 
 find him busily engaged in the consideration of the details 
 of the new government. The compromise seems to have 
 been so far satisfactory as to have overcome the almost 
 insuperable objections of the Governor ; although it is 
 obvious from many articles in the present Constitution, 
 that the Radicals yielded much to gain the important 
 service of his cooperation. I here present his letter, of 
 date the 20th of April, which, it will be seen, is written 
 with much good humor. 
 
 " From Samuel Johnston to James Iredell. 
 
 " Halifax, 20th of April, 1776. 
 <« Dear Sir, 
 
 " We have not yet been able to agree on a Constitution. We 
 have a meeting on it every evening, but can conclude on nothing. 
 The great difficulty in our way is, how to establish a check on the 
 Representatives of the people, to prevent their assuming more power 
 than would be consistent with the liberties of the people ; such 
 as increasing the time of their duration and such like. Many 
 projects have been proposed too tedious for a letter to communicate. 
 Some have proposed that we should take up the plan of the Con- 
 necticut Constitution for a ground-work, but with some amend- 
 ments ; such as that all the great officers, instead of being elected 
 by the people at large, should be appointed by the Assembly; but 
 that the Judges of our Courts should hold their offices during good 
 behaviour. After all, it appears to me, that there can be no check 
 on the Representatives of the people in a democracy, but the people 
 
280 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 themselves ; and in order that the check may be more efficient I 
 would have annual elections. The Congress have raised four new 
 regiments, making in the whole six, and three companies of light 
 horse. They are about striking a large sum of money for paying 
 them. General Lee promises us a visit soon. I want much to see 
 that original." 
 
 The rest of this letter relates to domestic concerns, 
 which would be uninteresting to the reader. The ap- 
 prehension that no substantial check could be established 
 for the control of the Legislature has been fully realized 
 in the history of many of the States. The Reports of the 
 Supreme Court of the United States are adorned with 
 innumerable cases, in which the learning and patriotism 
 of the Judges are invoked, to check the vagrancy of State 
 legislation. Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, 
 Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia, have each in their turn 
 reared the crest to the arbitrament of an independent 
 judiciary ; but North Carolina, quietly avoiding the path 
 of the Federal Government, has submitted in all doubtful 
 cases to the correction of her own courts. 
 
 The civil Constitution was however completed by the 
 25th of April, and was on that day laid before the Con- 
 gress. "On motion. Resolved, That the temporary civil 
 Constitution be taken under consideration to-morrow 
 morning." * 
 
 On the next day accordingly, the order of the day 
 being read, " Resolved,-f The House resolve itself into 
 a committee of the whole House, to take into considera- 
 tion certain resolutions, proposed as a foundation for a 
 temporary civil Constitution. The House resolved itself 
 into a committee of the whole House accordingly, and 
 
 * Thursday, 25th of April. — MS. Journal. 
 t MS. Journal, 26th of April. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 281 
 
 chose William Gumming, Esq., Chairman, and, after some 
 time spent therein, Mr. President resumed the chair and 
 Mr. Chairman reported the several resolutions, which 
 were ordered to lie over until Monday." 
 
 On Monday the subject was again postponed until 
 the next day, when the Committee of the Constitution 
 was dissolved, and all hope of the establishment of a 
 permanent government by that Congress abandoned. 
 This conclusion seems to have been exceedingly gratify- 
 ing to jMr. Johnston, who on the 2d of May wrote the fol- 
 lowing letter to Mr. Iredell. 
 
 « Halifax, 2d May, 1776. 
 ^' Dear Sir, 
 
 " Affairs have taken a turn within a few days past. All ideas 
 of forming a permanent Constitution are at this time laid aside. 
 It is now proposed for the present to establish a Council to sit 
 constantly, and County Committees to sit at certain fixed periods, 
 but nothing is concluded. We find it necessary to emit a very large 
 sum of paper money at the present emergency ; a circumstance 
 which gives me more concern than any thing else, and yet it seems 
 unavoidable. You can easily see the evils attending this measure. 
 I am pretty well this morning, and have leave to be absent from the 
 service of the House in order to prepare my public accounts for 
 a settlement.'^ Allen Jones is Vice-President," 
 
 On the 30th of April, Governor Burke, Samuel Ashe, 
 Richard Caswell, Mr. Hooper, Mr. Penn, Abner Nash, 
 Mr. Kinchin, Thomas Jones, and Mr. Coor, were ap-* 
 pointed a committee to propose " a temporary form of 
 government until the end of the next Congress." The 
 Radicals contrived not only to exclude Governor Johns- 
 
 * Mr. Johnston was the Treasurer of the Northern District, 
 and was more celebrated as a skilful financier than any other citi- 
 zen of the State. In the performance of this delicate trust he con-^ 
 tributed the most important services to his country. 
 
 24* 
 
282 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 ton from this committee, but from a seat in the Council of 
 Safety which was instituted by the Congress on the 11th 
 of May. Their inveterate opposition was continued even 
 after the adjournment of the Congress ; and many, even 
 of the most respectable of the Whigs, professed to doubt 
 the sincerity of his attachment to the American cause. 
 " The rancor of opposition," however, secured him " the 
 idolatry of love " ; and the firmness with which he was 
 supported by his conservative friends, soon gave him an 
 important influence in a general arrangement of the party. 
 The Council of Safety, for no other reason than that he 
 was not elected a member of that board, (as he had been 
 a member of the former Council,) looked upon him as 
 their most deadly enemy ; and professed to view his 
 defeat as a signal instance of the displeasure of the Con- 
 gress. Their excessive dread of his power among the 
 people of the State at large, forced them to respect him 
 in their public capacity ; but the private letters of that 
 day exhibit a well-concerted scheme of intrigue, to ruin 
 his character as a patriot and statesman. 
 
 On the 9th of August, 1776, while the Council of 
 Safety was in session, the subject of the Constitution was 
 introduced in connexion with that of Independence ; and 
 it was solemnly recommended to the people of North 
 Carolina, to pay the greatest attention to the election of 
 members of Congress on the 15th of October ; and to 
 have particularly in view the important consideration, that 
 it would be the business of the Congress not only to make 
 laws, but also to form a Constitution, " which as it was 
 the corner-stone of all law, so it ought to be fixed and 
 permanent ; and that according as it was well or ill 
 ordered, it would tend in the first degree to promote the 
 
NORTH CAROLINA 283 
 
 happiness or misery of the State."* It was likewise 
 recommended to the people to elect five delegates prop- 
 erly qualified to sit and vote in the Congress, as business 
 of the last importance would undoubtedly come before 
 them. 
 
 I have never understood the reason of this urgent 
 recommendation of the Council of Safety. Ever since 
 the first Provincial Congress, in August, 1774, the elec- 
 tions of the leading members had been conducted with- 
 out even the apprehension of opposition. The public 
 good required their aid and presence in the deliberations 
 of the Congress, and the people biennally acknowledged 
 the merit of their services by a general reelection. But 
 the Council of Safety now issues a solemn warning to 
 the people of the State, as if there was some doubtfulness 
 in the camp of the Whig party, and concludes by an 
 indefinite allusion to business of the last importance. The 
 whole force and energy of the Radical party of the 
 State, was directed to the single object of defeating 
 Samuel Johnston in the Chowan election ; and I con- 
 demn this recommendation of the Council as a mere 
 instrument of party warfare. The subject of a Constitu- 
 tion, now that the question of Independence was settled 
 by a National Declaration, was more prominently before 
 the people than any other question ; and, as it had been 
 discussed in the previous Congress, the people could 
 scarcely have forgotten its importance. The idea was 
 constantly put forth, that the Conservatives were intent 
 on the erection of a system of government adverse to 
 the liberty of the people, and that they were in reality 
 the advocates of a monarchy. By such rumors the 
 
 * MS. Journal. 
 
284 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 Radicals, abetted by the Council of Safety, endeavoured 
 to alarm the minds of the people, and to destroy the 
 influence and power of the President of the Congress. 
 
 The obtuse perception of the Radicals refused to 
 acknowledge that there was any intermediate ground, 
 between themselves and the advocates of a monarchy, 
 upon which the people could erect the basis of their 
 newly acquired freedom. The dangerous heresies of 
 universal equality, and of an agrarian law, were better 
 suited to their comprehension, than the encouragement 
 of morality and industry, by the security of property and 
 the maintenance of the natural divisions of society. In 
 their intense hatred of England, they lost sight of the 
 virtue and excellence of many of the principles of the 
 British Constitution ; and, in abjuring all allegiance to 
 the sovereign, they ventured to include all respect for 
 the most venerable monument of freedom that the world 
 had ever seen. But the wisdom and prudence of Mr. 
 Johnston could not second so heedless a career. De- 
 spising, as deeply as could the most zealous Radical, the 
 usurpations of King George, upon the property of the 
 people of America, and acknowledging the utter impos- 
 sibility and inexpediency of any thing like a monarchical 
 form of government, he nevertheless earnestly insisted on 
 the dangers of an irresponsible legislature, representing, 
 not the property, but the mere will of the people. The 
 amount of property which a merchant may own in a ship 
 at sea, is the best ratio by which to compute the degree 
 of his anxiety for her safety and success ; and the same 
 principle might be successfully applied, in the composition 
 of the government of a State. The principle that all 
 men are by nature free and equal is true, because, like 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 285 
 
 a thousand other maxims, no one thinks it worth a refuta- 
 tion or qualification ; but the statesman, who shall under- 
 take to build up a government upon such a foundation, 
 will find even his own learning, integrity, humanity, and 
 y^roperiy j)o{zed at the polls, by the bought suffrage of 
 a menial slave. 
 
 The Radicals, however, gained the object of their 
 strife, and Mr. Johnston was not returned a member 
 from Chowan at the election on the 15th of October. 
 I do not know that he actually canvassed for the elec- 
 tion, for he had perceived and acknowledged the growing 
 strength of his antagonists, and may probably have pru- 
 dently declined the contest. The Congress assembled 
 at Halifax on the 12th of November, and, at the instance 
 of Allen Jones, Richard Caswell was elected President. 
 On the second day of the session, Mr. President Cas- 
 well, Thomas Person, Allen Jones, John Ashe, Abner 
 Nash, Willie Jones, Thomas Jones, Mr. Bright, Mr. 
 Neale, Samuel Ashe, Mr. Haywood, General Ruther- 
 ford, Mr. Abbot, Luke Sumner, Thomas Respiss, Jun., 
 Mr. Maclaine, Mr. Hogan, and Mr. Alexander, were ap- 
 pointed a Committee to form and lay before the Congress 
 a Bill of Rights, and form of a Constitution for the govern- 
 ment of the State. Mr. Hewes, Mr. Harnett, Mr. Sharpe, 
 Mr. Spear, Mr. Avery, Mr. Eaton, Mr. Birdsong, Mr. Ir- 
 win, Mr. Whitmell Hill, and Mr. Coor, were subsequently 
 added ; and, thus completed, the Committee proceeded to 
 the discharge of the duty assigned them. 
 
 On the second day of the session of the Congress, 
 a grave question arose as to the mode of determining 
 questions ; and now it was proposed, as a preparatory 
 step to the adoption of a Constitution, that all ques- 
 
286 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 tions should, for the future, be determined by voice, 
 and not by counties and towns. There was a divis- 
 ion on the question ; and only the following counties 
 and towns voted against the proposition; — Beaufort, 
 Brunswick, Carteret, Chowan, Hyde, Perquimons, Pas- 
 quotank, Pitt, Town of Brunswick, and Town of New 
 Berne. The other counties and boroughs, making a 
 heavy majority, voted in the affirmative, and henceforth 
 all questions were decided by the voice of the members. 
 
 On Friday the 6th of December, Thomas Jones, from 
 the Committee on the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, 
 informed the House that the form of the Constitution 
 was prepared and ready for consideration. Mr. Jones 
 read the Constitution in his place, and then delivered it 
 in at the table. The secretary was ordered to employ 
 clerks and to have numerous transcripts ready for the 
 members, and the succeeding Monday was fixed upon 
 as the day for its consideration. On Monday the 9th, 
 Tuesday the 10th, and on Thursday the 12th, it was 
 debated, and on the last day the subject was postponed 
 to Saturday the 14th, to give precedence to the Bill of 
 Rights which Mr. Jones that day laid before the Con- 
 gress. On Saturday the 14th of December, the Bill of 
 Rights was first debated, paragraph by paragraph, and 
 passed its first reading, and then the Constitution was 
 likewise passed. On Monday the 16th, both instruments 
 were again considered, but only the Bill of Rights was 
 passed upon, the other being deferred to Tuesday. On 
 Tuesday the 17th, the Bill of Rights was finally passed, 
 and ordered to be engrossed. The final consideration of 
 the Constitution was postponed to the next day, Wednesday 
 the 18th, when it was finally adopted as the Constitution 
 of North Carolina. 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 287 
 
 Thus were the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of 
 the State formed. They are said to have come from 
 the pen of Thomas Jones, aided and assisted by Willie 
 Jones. I find in one of Governor Johnston's letters, that 
 he alludes to it as Jones's Constitution, and the reader 
 will observe that Thomas Jones was throughout the organ 
 of the Committee. The Constitution was the child of 
 the instrument which was debated before the Congress 
 of the preceding spring ; although much improved by 
 the various revisions and amendments which it underwent, 
 before its final adoption. 
 
 Samuel Johnston, the most profound statesman in the 
 State, although not a member of the Congress, repaired 
 to Halifax on the business of the treasury, and on the 
 7 th of December wrote the following letter to Mr. Iredell. 
 
 " Halifax, Dec. 7th, 1776. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I got here this afternoon, and, though I made short stages, find 
 myself a good deal fatigued. My health is much the same as when 
 I left home. God knows when there will be an end of this trifling 
 here. A draft of the Constitution was presented to the House 
 yesterday, and lies over for consideration. The members are fur- 
 nishing themselves with copies of it. I have had a glance of it, and 
 wished to send you a copy of it, but it was impossible ; perhaps 
 the bearer of this, Col. Dauge, may have one. As well as I can 
 judge from a cursory view of it, it may do as well as that adopted 
 by any other colony. Nothing of the kind can be good. There 
 is one thing in it which I cannot bear, and yet I am inclined to 
 think it will stand. The Inhabitants are impowered to elect the 
 Justices in their respective counties, who are to be the Judges of the 
 County Courts. Numberless inconveniences must arise from so 
 absurd an institution." 
 
 The rest of this letter does not refer to the Consti- 
 tution. On Monday the 9th of December, Mr. Johnston 
 again wrote to Mr. Iredell, and I submit the following 
 extract on the subject of this chapter. 
 
288 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 " Halifax, 9th Dec, 1776. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " I wrote to you the evening after I got here, since which I have 
 been endeavouring to descern what will be done, but am as much 
 at a loss as ever. The Constitution is to be debated to-day, and 
 some talk of finishing as soon as that is agreed on ; while others 
 are for staying to appoint all the officers of the State, and to estab- 
 lish Courts of Justice. Which of these plans will take place is 
 uncertain. No one appears to have sufficient spirit to set them 
 right. I am in great pain for the honor of the Province ; at the 
 same time, when I consider only my own ease and peace, congratu- 
 late myself on being clear of any share of the trouble I must have 
 had, if I had been a member. Every one who has the least pre- 
 tensions to be a gentleman is suspected and borne down per igno- 
 bile imlgus, — a set of men without reading, experience, or principle 
 to govern them." 
 
 The character of Samuel Johnston does not need the 
 aid of my pen to support it, by any other means than 
 a mere record of the services of his life. By his wise 
 and magnanimous administration of the government of 
 the State, during the time that North Carolina was out of 
 the Union, the most critical period of her existence, he 
 secured to himself an imperishable fame ; and by his 
 unwearied perseverance and zeal, he procured the adop- 
 tion of the National Constitution, and thus gave charac- 
 ter, integrity, and consistency to the union of the States. 
 In 1788 and 1789, as in 1776, he boldly stood forth as 
 the uncompromising advocate of the great conservative 
 principle, the perfect security of property and all vested 
 rights from the reach of the changeable will of the peo- 
 ple ; and although all such statesmen must of necessity 
 be unpopular in democratic governments, yet such is the 
 effect of an independent course among an honorable 
 people, that Governor Johnston was honored with their 
 confidence by his election as first Senator from North 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 289 
 
 Carolina, and then to the Bench, where he might ap- 
 propriately and zealously support the principles he had so 
 long cherished. 
 
 I shall neither record, nor discuss in detail, the Bill of 
 Rights and the Constitution. They have been transnnit- 
 ted to the present generation, unimpaired and without 
 amendment ; and are, at this period, the only instruments 
 of the kind formed by the sages of the Revolution, which 
 have come down unscathed by the hand of innovation. 
 Governor Johnston objected to it on account of its 
 '•^ radicalism'^'' in 1776; but in 1833, it is censured as 
 containing high conservative principles, inconsistent with 
 the proper notions of modern democracy. The old Consti- 
 tution of Virginia, although fortified by a restriction of the 
 right of suffrage, was at length overthrown by the clamor 
 of the unrepresented class, and the same fate has been 
 for many years past predicted for that of North Carolina. 
 But, hitherto, the Constitution has withstood triumph- 
 antly every assault. Conventions have been proposed 
 to destroy it entirely, and begin anew the art of govern- 
 ment ; irresponsible assemblages of designing and ambi- 
 tious men have appealed directly to the people, without 
 the intervention of the Legislature, and called upon them 
 to vote upon the propriety of a revolution ; and bills have 
 been presented to the Assembly, praying that specific 
 amendments might be submitted to the people for ratifi- 
 cation ; but there is somewhere in the venerable instru- 
 ment the great principle of self-preservation, which has 
 hitherto been able to defy the craft and cunning of the 
 demagogue. All such schemes have failed. The cry is, 
 the inequality of representation ; the mere territory and 
 not the people of a county being the " thing " represented. 
 25 
 
290 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 The County of Jones, with a population of scarcely more 
 than three thousand, has as much influence in the State 
 as the County of Orange with a population of twenty-five 
 thousand ; and the Borough of Halifax, with scarcely 
 any white population at all, balances, in the House of 
 Commons, one half of any county in the State. And 
 yet, strange as it may seem, the history of the past will 
 tell us that these small counties and rotten boroughs 
 have contributed the most eminent and enlightened mem- 
 bers of the House ; and, at no very remote period, the 
 seven boroughs returned to the Commons seven mem- 
 bers, who might have been fairly estimated the first men 
 in the State, and who controlled by their talents alone 
 the whole Assembly. 
 
 This inequality of representation is an evil which should 
 be removed, whenever the people shall have thrown off 
 the " despotism of party," or shall have learnt to heed 
 less the rant of a Radical, than the wise and honest coun- 
 sel of a virtuous patriot. It is an unpropitious period for 
 conventions. The order of the day is change and re- 
 form, and the most venerable principle of the American 
 revolution, — the independence of the Judges, — has 
 already in many States been annihilated by frequent elec- 
 tions and variable salaries. If in the election of members 
 of a convention, the right of suffrage could be restricted 
 to the land and slave holders, instead of being extended 
 to every vagrant of the fields, the danger might be avoid- 
 ed, and the present inequality of representation, as well as 
 many other faults of the Constitution, be amended to the 
 general satisfaction of the people. 
 
 There is one feature in the Constitution of North 
 Carolina which deserves to be particularly mentioned, as 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 291 
 
 the only part which excited the enthusiasm of Samuel 
 Johnston, and which reconciled him to it as the founda- 
 tion of a permanent government. It is the principle 
 upon which the Senate is constituted. To be eligible to 
 the Senate, a citizen must own in fee simple in the county 
 which he represents, not less than three hundred acres 
 of land, and the elector of a Senator must likewise be the 
 proprietor of fifty acres. Thus the Senate is emphatically 
 the representative of the landed interest of the State, and 
 to such an extent, too, as to prove an admirable shield for 
 the protection of property in times of general commotion 
 and distress. Whenever the Constitution is assailed, the 
 Senate is peculiarly its champion ; and the land-holders 
 of the State should cautiously guard every encroachment 
 on the integrity of an instrument, in which their rights as 
 well as the safety of their property are so well secured. 
 
 I shall conclude this chapter by a notice of a few of 
 the Ordinances passed by the Congress, as incidental 
 to the Constitution. The first elected Richard Caswell 
 Governor, Cornelius Harnett, Thomas Person, William 
 Dry (formerly one of the King's council), William Hay- 
 wood, Edward Starkey, Joseph Leech, and Thomas 
 Eaton members of the Council of State, and James 
 Glasgow, Secretary of State; and thus the government 
 was organized. 
 
 Another Ordinance, which was introduced by Thomas 
 Jones, secured to the Church the titles of Church lands 
 and houses of public worship, and " quieted the proprie- 
 tors in the peaceable possession of the same." The 
 prejudice against the Church, on account of its connexion 
 with the Royal government, though very strong in North 
 Carolina as in the other States, was not sufficiently so to 
 
292 THE CONSTITUTION OF 
 
 destroy its rights, and this Ordinance seems to have pass- 
 ed without opposition from any quarter. Another Ordin- 
 ance appointed Thomas Jones, Samuel Johnston, Archi- 
 bald Maclaine, James Iredell, Abner Nash, Christopher 
 Neale, Samuel Ashe, Waightstill Avery, Samuel Spen- 
 cer, Jasper Charlton, and John Penn, to review and 
 consider all such Statutes and Acts of Assembly as had 
 been or were in force in the State, and " to prepare such 
 Bills to be passed into Laws, as might be consistent with 
 the genius of a free people," and to lay them before the 
 next Assembly.* 
 
 * The subjoined extract from the Journal of the Congress on the 
 23d of December, 1776, illustrates the views of the Congress as to 
 the duration and inviolability of the American Union. Mr. Jones, 
 from the committee to take into consideration the case of Joseph 
 Hewes and Robert Smith, Esqrs., and to prepare a remonstrance to 
 the General Congress and the Assembly of Massachusetts Bay, laid 
 the said memorials and remonstrances before the House ; which 
 were read, agreed to, and are as follows : 
 " The Memorial of the State of North Carolina to the Delegates of 
 
 the United States of America in Congress Assembled, showeth, 
 
 '' That about twelve months past, Messrs. Joseph Hewes and 
 Robert Smith, of Edenton, merchants, and free citizens of this State, 
 loaded a certain brigantine called the Joseph, under the command 
 of Emperor Mosely, and sent her to Cadiz, in Spain, where she was 
 detained until the 19th day of October by British ships of war, 
 which cruised off the said port. That on the lltli day of November 
 last, she, the said brigantine, being on her return to Edenton, with 
 3000 bushels of salt, a quantity of wine, Jesuits' bark, and other 
 articles of very considerable value, was seized and made a prize of 
 by a privateer belonging to Boston in the State of Massachusetts 
 Bay, named the Eagle, and commanded by Barzillai Smith, and said 
 to be the property of Elijah Freeman Paine, as by the deposition 
 hereunto annexed will appear. 
 
 " That the said capture appears to this State to be a direct viola- 
 tion of the peace and Union of the United States, and contrary to 
 the laws of all civilized nations in general, and to the rights of the 
 
NORTH CAROLINA. 293 
 
 citizens of this State in particular. This State, ever watchful over 
 the rights of its members, expects that strict justice will be done 
 in the premises either by the captors or the State of Massachusetts 
 Bay, and have no doubt but the Delegates of the United States will 
 effectually interpose to have justice done injured citizens, and to 
 punish those atrocious violators of all law and justice, whose avarice 
 and rapacity, if not timely checked, cannot fail to be attended with 
 the most fatal consequences to the American Union." 
 
 There was likewise a remonstrance to the State of Massachusetts 
 Bay, which, after stating in detail the premises, concluded as follows : 
 " The aforesaid capture being contrary to the law of nations, and in 
 direct violation of the peace and Union of the United States, and 
 the rights of the citizens of the State of North Carolina, the said 
 State expects that the State of Massachusetts Bay will cause in- 
 quiry to be made concerning the premises, and make effectual 
 provision against such violence, and also cause full restoration and 
 indemnification to be made to the said Joseph Hewes and Robert 
 Smith, for their brigantine and cargo, and the damage occasioned 
 by the capture aforesaid." 
 
 I 
 
 25* 
 
PART 11. 
 
 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 
 
 ON THE 20th of may, 1775. 
 
 The county of Mecklenburg, which at the time of this 
 Declaration included the present county of Cabarrus, lies 
 in the western part of the State of North Carolina. It 
 was settled by emigrants from Great Britain, many of 
 whom remained a few years on the shores of the Dela- 
 ware before their final settlement in North Carolina. 
 The families of the Polks and the Alexanders were 
 among this class ; and I believe I date the period of their 
 arrival in the State with sufficient exactness, when I say 
 it was about the year 1750. The Alexanders were 
 Scotch Presbyterians, and, I am inclined to think, came 
 to the south several years after the Polks. 
 
 The reader will observe, among the signers of the 
 Declaration, many of the Alexanders and one of the 
 Polks. The names of Brevard, Phifer, Davidson, Avery, 
 and indeed of all the twenty-five, are familiar to me 
 as genuine North Carolina families ; names which are 
 associated with honor and valor in nearly every event 
 in the course of the war; and which are intimately 
 
THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION. 295 
 
 blended with the independence of the country, not 
 only in the act of its conception, but still more so in 
 the battle-fields which gave it such triumphant success. 
 Whilst the Sage of Monticello was pondering on the 
 various projects of a reconciliation with the mother coun- 
 try, and never for once looking beyond " that desirable 
 end " ; while Virginia and even Massachusetts were con- 
 tinually avowing allegiance to the Throne ; and North 
 Carolina herself, through the medium of her Congress, 
 was declaring that independence was not her object, the 
 people of Mecklenburg, with the sagacity of an honest and 
 injured race, untutored in the craft and cunning of poli- 
 tics, recoiled at once on the power that oppressed them, 
 and dissolved for ever the unhallowed union of British 
 domination and American allegiance. A junto of poli- 
 ticians would have recommended forbearance, and point- 
 ed to some future and more propitious period for action ; 
 but in the simplicity of their hearts they appealed to the 
 law of nature indelibly stamped upon the human bosom, 
 that when power becomes tyranny, resistance is a duty 
 and the God of battles must decide. 
 
 Tradition ascribes to Thomas Polk the principal agen- 
 cy in bringing about the Declaration. He appears to 
 have given the notice for the election of the Convention, 
 and (being the Colonel of the county) to have superin- 
 tended the election in each of the militia districts. He 
 had been for a long time engaged in the service of the 
 Province as a surveyor, and as a member of the Assem- 
 bly ; and was thus intimately acquainted, not only in 
 Mecklenburg, but in the counties generally. His educa- 
 tion had been acquired, not within the classic walls of an 
 English university, but among his own native hills, and 
 
296 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 
 amidst the passions and feelings of his countrymen. Dr. 
 Ephraim Brevard (the author of the Declaration), and 
 Waightstill Avery (the first Attorney-General of North 
 Carolina), were men of the highest classical attainments, 
 and, contributing their enlightened resources to the shrewd 
 native enthusiasm of Thomas Polk, produced a Declara- 
 tion at that time unrivalled, not only for the neatness of 
 its style, but for the moral sublimity of its conception. 
 
 The tribute which I pay is, however, not my own. 
 My opinions are supported by the following letter of the 
 late John Adams, a patriot whose services in the adoption 
 of the National Declaration are of a higher order than 
 those of mere composition. 
 
 Copy OF A Letter from John Adams to Thomas Jefferson. 
 
 *' Quincy, 22d June, 1819. 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " May I enclose you one of the greatest curiosities, and one of the 
 deepest mysteries that ever occurred to me ; it is in the Essex 
 Register of June the 5th, 1819. It is entitled, from the Raleigh 
 Register, ' Declaration of Independence.' How is it possible that 
 this paper should have been concealed from me to this day. Had 
 it been communicated to me in the time of it, I know, if you do not 
 know, that it would have been printed in every Whig newspaper 
 upon the continent. You know, that if I had possessed it, I would 
 have made the Hall of Congress echo and re-echo with it fifteen 
 months before your Declaration of Independence. What a poor 
 ignorant, malicious, short-sighted, crapulous mass is Tom Paine's 
 Common Sense in comparison with this paper. Had I known it 
 I would have commented upon it from the day you entered Con- 
 gress till the fourth of July, 1776. 
 
 " The genuine sense of America at that moment was never so 
 well expressed before nor since. Richard Caswell, William Hooper, 
 and Joseph Hewes, the then Representatives of North Carolina in 
 Congress, you know as well as 1 ; and you know that the unanimity 
 of the States finally depended on the vote of Joseph Hewes, and was 
 
OF INDEPENDENCE. 297 
 
 finally determined by him ; and yet history is to ascribe the Ameri- 
 can Revolution to Thomas Paine. Sat verbum sapienti. 
 " I am, dear sir, your invariable friend, 
 
 " JOHN ADAMS. 
 " President Jefferson." 
 
 Mr. Adams, it seems, believed the truth of the 
 Declaration at tlie date of this letter, which the reader 
 will perceive is the same which provoked the scandalous 
 and abusive epistle of Mr. Jefferson. The latter gentle- 
 man could not appreciate the document, and obviously 
 winced un !er the high praises which his correspondent 
 so zealously lavished on it. " The genuine sense of 
 America at that moment was never so well expressed," 
 and besides too, it was absolutely " fifteen months before 
 your declaration." Here is the grand secret of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson's hostility to the Mecklenburg Declaration, the 
 occult motive of his infamous abuse of the character of 
 William Hooper, and of his insulting disclaimer of " any 
 doubtfulness in North Carolina." The Alexanders, the 
 Polks, the Brevards, and their associates, instead of 
 becoming learned upon the various plans and projects of 
 reconciliation, and sagaciously studying out what would, 
 and what would not, be popular or successful, declared 
 themselves free and independent, " and this was their 
 crime." The altar and the god they sunk together, 
 fully a year before the Sage of Monticello had ceased his 
 vows, or had surrendered his hopes of inventing a plan of 
 reconciliation ; " and for this they could never be forgiven." 
 They have left behind them in the memory of their 
 countrymen, beyond the reach of a public calumniator, 
 
 " a name of fear 
 That tyranny shall quake to hear ; 
 And left their sons a hope, a fame, 
 They, too, should rather die than shame.** 
 
298 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 
 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 OF INDEPENDENCE. 
 
 (20th of May, 1775.) 
 
 " That whosoever directly or indirectly abets, or in any way, 
 form, or manner, countenances the unchartered and dangerous 
 invasion of our rights, as claimed by Great Britain, is an enemy to 
 this country, to America, and to the inherent and unalienable rights 
 of man. 
 
 " That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, do hereby dis- 
 solve the political bands, which have connected us with the Mother 
 Country, and hereby absolve ourselves from all allegiance to the 
 British Crown, and abjure all political connection, contract, or 
 association with that nation, who have wantonly trampled on our 
 rights and liberties, and inhumanly shed the blood of American 
 patriots at Lexington. 
 
 " That we do hereby declare ourselves a free and independent 
 people ; — are, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and self- 
 governing association, under the control of no power, other than 
 that of our God, and the general government of the Congress; — 
 to the maintenance of which independence, we solemnly pledge to 
 each other, our mutual cooperation, our lives, our fortunes, and our 
 most sacred honor. 
 
 " That as v/e acknowledge the existence and control of no law 
 nor legal officer, civil or military, within this county, we do hereby 
 ordain and adopt as a rule of life, all, each, and every of our former 
 laws; wherein, nevertheless, the Crown of Great Britain never can 
 be considered as holding rights, privileges, immunities, or author- 
 ity therein. 
 
 " That it is further decreed, that all, each, and every military 
 officer in this county, is hereby reinstated in his former command 
 and authority, he acting conformably to these regulations. And 
 that every member present of this delegation shall henceforth be a 
 civil officer, viz. a Justice of the Peace, in the character of a 
 Committee-man, to issue process, hear, and determine ail matters 
 of controversy, according to said adopted laws ; and to preserve 
 peace, union, and harmony in said county ; and to use every exer- 
 
OF INDEPENDENCE. 299 
 
 tion to spread the love of country and fire of freedom throughout 
 America, until a more general and organized government be estab- 
 lished in this province. 
 
 " ABRAHAM ALEXANDER, Chairmaiu 
 " John McKnitt Alexander, Secretary. 
 " Ephraim Brevard William Graham Matthew McClure 
 
 Hezekiah J. Balch John Queary Neil Morrison 
 
 John Phifer Hezekiah Alexander Robert Irwin 
 
 James Harris Adam Alexander John Flenniken 
 
 William Kennon Charles Alexander David Reese 
 
 John Ford Zaccheus Wilson, sen. John Davidson 
 
 Richard Barry Waightstill Avery Richard Harris, sen. 
 
 Henry Downe Benjamin Patton Thomas Polk." 
 
 Ezra Alexander 
 
 The Declaration, which I have just laid before the read- 
 er has been noticed by several historians of a later date, than 
 the period of its first appearance in the Raleigh Register, 
 Mr. Pitkin, in his excellent " Political and Civil History of 
 the United States," has done ample justice to its impor- 
 tance, as the first public avowal of independence. It is, 
 however, important that some contemporary record of so ; 
 important an event should be exhibited, as the best evi- , 
 dence of its truth ; and I therefore adduce an extract from ' 
 the Proclamation of Governor Martin, which is to be found 
 on the 185th and 186th pages of this volume, and which, 
 it will be observed, was issued on the 8th of August, 1775. 
 
 " And whereas I have also seen a most infamous publication in 
 the Cape Fear Mercury, importing to be resolves of a set of people 
 styling themselves a Committee for the County of Mecklenburg, 
 most traitorously declaring the entire dissolution of the laws, gov- 
 ernment, and constitution of this country, and setting up a system 
 of rule and regulation repugnant to the laws, and subversive of His 
 Majesty's Government." 
 
 A copy of this important state-paper was addressed 
 to Samuel Johnston, Moderator of the Provincial Con- 
 
300 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 
 gresSj at Hillsborough, and was laid before iliat body by 
 him on Friday the 25th day of August, 111 5.^ A printed 
 copy of the same was found a few years since by that 
 indefatigable antiquarian and devoted student, Peter 
 Force, and so much of it as related to the Mecklenburg 
 Declaration was republished in the papers of ibe day. 
 
 For the preservation of the copy of the Declaration 
 now in the Executive office of North Carolina, we are 
 indebted to General Davie, among whose papers it was 
 found in a somewhat injured state. A copy of it was 
 likewise in the possession of Dr. Williamson, which copy 
 Governor Montfort Stokes (in the State pamphlet) de- 
 clares he saw in the possession of the Doctor, during the 
 year 1793. The original book in which the proceedings 
 of the Mecklenburg Convention were recorded, and 
 which contained the original Resolves, properly signed, 
 was destroyed by fire about the year 1 800 ; and I esteem 
 myself fortunate in being able to appeal to such high 
 personal testimony as that of General Davie and Governor 
 Stokes, in establishing the identity of the Declaration. 
 
 But there is perhaps higher authority to attest the 
 identity of the Declaration. The late Reverend Hum- 
 phrey Hunter, a soldier of the Revolution, left behind 
 him a " Journal of the War in the South " ; and, as he was 
 an eyewitness of the proceedings of the Mecklenburg 
 Convention, he has handed down to us the same Declara- 
 tion as the one which was kept by General Davie. 
 
 I have, in the Introduction to this work, stated the fact, 
 that a pamphlet contradicting the tenor of Mr. Jefferson's 
 letter was published by the authority of the Assembly of 
 North Carolina, during the year 1831. A great variety 
 
 * See Journal of the Congress. 
 
OF INDEPENDENCE. 301 
 
 of evidence was adduced to show the truth of the Meck- 
 lenburg Declaration, the whole of which was neatly 
 summed up in the introductory remarks of Governor 
 Stokes, then Governor of the State. The certificate of 
 Captain James Jack,* of Elbert County, Georgia, who 
 bore the Declaration to Philadelphia ; a letter from John 
 Davidson, the last surviving Signer ; the Manuscript 
 Journal of the Rev. Humphrey Hunter, detailing the 
 whole proceeding", and giving the exact Declaration ; a 
 letter from General Joseph Graham of Lincoln, who was 
 present on the 19th and 20th of May, 1775; and finally 
 the personal testimony of the late lamented Colonel William 
 Polk, of Raleigh, who was likewise present on the occa- 
 sion, — were all produced, and put forth to establish the 
 truth of the Mecklenburg Declaration. The high char- 
 acter of the evidence thus produced was vouched by the 
 authority of the State, and the whole was submitted to 
 the candid decision of the world. I have supported this ; 
 mass of testimony by the Proclamation of Governor [ \/ 
 Martin, a contemporaneous record of the event; which i 
 places beyond all suspicion the fact, that the people of 
 Mecklenburg declared themselves free and independent, 
 more than one year anterior to the conception of a Na- 
 tional Declaration. 
 
 The government, which the people of Mecklenburg 
 established after the Declaration, was composed of a 
 Committee of Public Safety ; and the chairman of this 
 body was entrusted with the power of an executive officer. 
 The Convention was in session two days ; and, during this 
 period, the necessary by-laws and regulations were enact- 
 
 * I omit the certificate for want of room ; it is, however, to be 
 found in the State pamphlet. 
 
 26 
 
302 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 
 ed. The people of Mecklenburg, after this event, lived 
 under this government until the adoption of the Constitu- 
 tion, acknowledging no sovereign but their united will, 
 and no authority but that of their own choice. Nor was 
 it a government without energy. The letter of General 
 Graham "•• relates the capture of Dunn and Booth ; and 
 for the perfect correctness of his statements, T appeal to 
 the Journal of the Congress for August, 1775. Under 
 the admiiiistration of iVbraliara Alexiinder, the Chairman 
 of the Committee of Public Safety, the lav*^s enacted 
 were rigorously enforced ; and each citizen, whenever he 
 left the county, carried with him a certificate of character 
 officially signed by the chairman. I here submit one 
 
 * I here present the letter of General Graham, and the extract 
 from the Journal of the Rev. Humphrey Hunter, both taken from 
 the State pamphlet. 
 
 Gen. Graham's LpTTEr.. 
 
 '^Vcauivms Furnace, 4th October, 1830. 
 " DEAr, Sir, 
 
 " Agreeably to your request, I Vv'ill give you the details of the 
 Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence on the 20111 of May, 
 1775, as well as I can recollect after i« (apse of fifty-five years. I 
 was then a lad about half grovi^n, was present on that occasion, (a 
 looker on.) 
 
 " During the winter and spring preceding that event, several 
 popular meetings of the people were held in Charlotte ; two of 
 which I attended. Papers were read, grievances f^tated, and public 
 measures discussed. As printing was not then common in the 
 South, the papers were mostly manuscript : one or more of which 
 was from the pen of tlie Reverend Dr. Reese (then of Meck- 
 lenburg), which met with general approbation, and copies of it 
 circulated. It is to be regretted that those and other papers pub- 
 lished at that period, and the journal of their proceedings, are lost. 
 They would sliow much of the spirit and tone of thinking which 
 prepared them for the measures they afterwards adopted. 
 
 " On the 20th of May, 1775, besides the tv»?o persons elected from 
 each militia company (usually called Committee-men), a much 
 
OF INDEPENDENCE. 303 
 
 of these ' certificates in favor of William Henderson, 
 which was furnished by John Davidson, the last survivor 
 of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 "North Cauod-na, Mecklenburg Coumty, > 
 jVovember 28, 1775. > 
 '•' These may certify to all whom they may concern, that the 
 beaver hereof, William Henderson, is allovt^ed here to be a true 
 friend to liberiy, and signed the Association. 
 
 " Certified by ABR'M ALEXANDER, Chairman 
 
 of the Comifdttee of F. S." 
 
 larger number of citizens attended in Cliarlotte than at any former 
 meeting, — perhaps half the men in the county. The news of the 
 battle of Lexington, the 19th of April preceding, had arrived. 
 There appeared among the people much excitement. The com- 
 mittee were organized in the Court-House by appointing Abraham 
 Alexander, Esq., Chairman, and John M'Knitt Alexander, Esq., 
 Clerk or Secretary, to the meeting. 
 
 " After reading a number of papers as usual, and much animated 
 discussion, the question was taken, and they resolved to declare 
 themselves independent. One among other reasons offered, that 
 the King or Ministry had, by proclamation or some edict, declared 
 the Colonies out of the protection of the British Crown ; they ought, 
 therefore, to declare themselves out of his protection, and resolve on 
 independence. That their proceedings might be in due form, a 
 sub-committee, consisting of Dr. Ephraim Brevard, a Mr. Kennon, 
 an attornej'-, and a third person, whom 1 do not recollect, were 
 appointed to draft their Declaration. They retired from the Court- 
 House for some time : but the committee continued in session in it. 
 One circumstance occurred I distinctly remember : A member of 
 the conimiLtee, who had said but little before, addressed the Chair- 
 man as foUovi^s : ' If you resolve on independence, how shall we all 
 be absolved from the obligations of the oath we took to be true to 
 King George the Third about four years ago, after the Regulation 
 battle, when we were sworn Vi^hole militia companies together. I 
 should be glad to know how gentlemen can clear their consciences 
 after taking chat oath.' This speech produced confusion. The 
 Chairman could scarcely preserve order, so many wished to reply. 
 
304 lTHE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 
 The people of Mecklenburg had no experienced 
 politician lo lead them ; — no Richard Henry Lee, who, 
 skilled in the party tactics of the day, and conversant with 
 the views respecting us abroad, could bring to their aid 
 the reputation and ability of a leader. Their leaders 
 
 There appeared great indignation and contempt at the speech of 
 the member. Some said it was nonsense; others that allegiance 
 and protection were reciprocal; when protection was withdrawn, 
 allegiance ceased ; that the oath was only binding while the King 
 protected us in the enjoyment of our rights and liberties as they 
 existed at the time it was taken ; which he had not done, but now 
 declared us out of his protection ; therefore it was not binding. 
 Any man who would interpret it otherwise, was a fool. By way of 
 illustration, pointing to a green tree near the Court-House, he stat- 
 ed, if he was sworn to do any thing as long as the leaves continued 
 on that tree, it was so long binding ; but when the leaves fell, he 
 was discharged from its obligation. This was said to be certainly 
 applicable in the present case. Out of respect for a worthy citizen, 
 long since deceased, and his respectable connexions, I forbear to 
 mention names ; for, though he was a friend to the cause, a sus- 
 picion rested on him in the public mind for some time after. 
 
 " The sub-committee appointed to draft the resolutions returned, 
 and Doctor Ephraim Brevard read their report, as near as I can 
 recollect, in the very words we have since seen them several times 
 in print. It was unanimously adopted, and shortly after it was 
 moved and seconded to have proclamation made and the people 
 collected, that the proceedings be read at the Court-House door, in 
 order that all might hear them. It was done, and they were receiv- 
 ed with enthusiasm. It was then proposed by some one aloud to 
 give three cheers and throw up their hats. It was immediately 
 adopted, and the hats thrown. Several of them lit on the Court- 
 House roof. The owners had some difficulty to reclaim them. 
 
 " The foregoing is all from personal knowledge. I understood 
 afterwards, that Captain James Jack, then of Charlotte, undertook, 
 on the request of the committee, to carry a copy of their proceed- 
 ings to Congress, which then sat in Philadelphia; and on his way, 
 at Salisbury, the time of court, Mr. Kennon, who was one of the 
 committee who assisted in drawing the Declaration, prevailed on 
 
OF INDEPENDENCE. 305 
 
 were men of sterling patriotism more than of profound 
 sagacity. Endowed with an intense passion for freedom, 
 they could not listen without emotion to the clang of arms, 
 from the fields of Lexington, or hear of " the shedding 
 of the innocent blood of American patriots," without 
 
 Captain Jack to get his papers, and have them read publicly ; which 
 was done, and the proceedings met with general approbation. But 
 two of the lawyers, John Dunn and a Mr. Booth, dissented, and 
 asserted they were treasonable, and endeavoured to have Captain 
 Jack detained. He drew his pistols, and threatened to kill the first 
 man who would interrupt him, and passed on. The news of this 
 reached Charlotte in a short time after, and the executive of the 
 committee, whom they had invested with suitable powers, ordered 
 a party of ten or twelve armed horsemen to bring said lawyers from 
 Salisbury ; when they were brought, and the case was investigated 
 before the committee. Dunn, on giving security and making fair 
 promises, was permitted to return, and Booth was sentenced to go 
 to Camden, in South Carolina, out of the sphere of his influence. 
 My brother George Graham, and the late Col. John Carruth, were 
 of the party that went to Salisbury ; and it is distinctly remembered, 
 that when in Charlotte they came home at night, in order to pro- 
 vide for their trip to Camden ; and that they and two others of the 
 party took Booth to that place. This was the first military expedi' 
 tion from Mecklenburg in the Revolutionary war, and believed to be 
 the first any where to the South. 
 
 " Yours respectfully, 
 
 « J. GRAHAM. 
 " Dr. Jos. M'Kt. Alexander, 
 
 " Mecklenburg, JY. Carolina." 
 
 Extract from the Memoir of the late Rev. Humphrey 
 Hunter. 
 
 " Orders were presently issued by Col. Thos. Polk to the several 
 militia companies, that two men, selected from each corps, should 
 meet at the Court-House on the 19th of May, 1775, in order to con- 
 sult with each other upon such measures as might be thought best 
 to be pursued. Accordingly, on said day a far larger number than 
 two out of each company were present. There was some difficulty 
 
 26* 
 
306 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION 
 
 Striking down for ever that Mother Flag, which had 
 waved so proudly for ages over the heads of their ances- 
 tors. The county of Kent has been rendered immortal 
 in English History by the invincibility of her Saxon spirit. 
 She bravely and successfully resisted the rude innovation 
 
 in choosing the commissioners. To have chosen all thought to be 
 worthy, would have rendered the meeting too numerous. The fol- 
 lowing were selected, and styled Delegates, and are here given, 
 according to my best recollection, as they were placed on roll : 
 Abram Alexander, sen'r, Thomas Polk, Rich'd Harris, sen'r, Adam 
 Alexander, Richard Barry, John M'Knitt Alexander, Neil Morison, 
 Hezekiah Alexander, Ilezekiah J. Balch, Zaccheus Wilson, John 
 Pliifer, James Harris, William Kennon, John Ford, Henry Downs, 
 Ezra Alexander, William Graham, John Queary, Chas. Alexander, 
 Waitstill Avery, Ephraim Brevard, Benjamin Patton, Matthew 
 M'Clure, Robert Irwin, John Flenniken, and David Reese. 
 
 " Abram Alexander was nominated, and unanimously voted to 
 the Chair. John M'Kniti- Alexander and Ephraim Brevard Vi^ere 
 chosen Secretaries. The Chair being occupied, and the Clerks 
 seated, the House was called to order and proceeded to business. 
 Then a full, a free, and dispassionate discussion obtained on the 
 various subjects for which the delegation had been convened, and 
 the following resolutions were unanimously ordained : 
 
 '*Mst. Resolved, That whosoever directly or indirectly abetted, 
 or in any way, form, or manner, countenanced the unchartered and 
 dangerous invasion of our rights, as claimed by Great Britain, is an 
 enemy to this country, to America, and to ihe inherent and inaliena- 
 ble rights of man. 
 
 " ' 2d. Resolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg county, 
 do hereby dissolve the political bands which have connected us to 
 the mother country, and hereby absolve ourselves fi-om all allegi- 
 ance to the British Crov/n, and abjure all political connexion, con- 
 tract, or association, with that nation, who have wantonly trampled 
 on our rights and liberties, and inhumanly shed the blood of Ameri- 
 can patriots at Lexington. 
 
 " ' lid. Resolved, That v/e do hereby declare ourselves a free and 
 independent people ; are, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and 
 self-governing Association, under the control of no power other than 
 
OF INDEPENDENCE. 307 
 
 of the hanghty Norman ; and, although she now stands 
 almost undistinguished on the map of England, the revolu- 
 tion of riges, and not the sword, annihilated her distinctive 
 character and institutions. And thus may the county of 
 Mecklenburg be celebrated by some more fortunate pen, 
 
 that of our God and the general governmen; of the Congress; to 
 the maintenance of which independence, we solemnly pledge to 
 each other our inutual cooperation, our lives, our fortunes, and our 
 most sacred honor. 
 
 " ' 4th. Resolved, That as we now acknowledge the existence and 
 control of no law or legal officer, civil or military, within this coun- 
 ty, we do hereby ordain and adopt as a rule of life, all, each, and 
 every of our former laws, — wherein, nevertheless, the Crown of 
 Great Britain aever can be considered as holding rights, privileges, 
 immunities, or authority therein. 
 
 " « 5th. Resolved, That it is further decreed, that all, each, and 
 every militia officer in this county, is hereby reinstated in his for- 
 mer command ond authority, he acting conformably to these regu- 
 lations. And that every member present, of this delegation, shall 
 henceforth be a civil officer, viz. a Justice of the Peace, in the char- 
 acter of a • CommUiee-man,' to issue process, hear and determine 
 all matters of controversy, according to said odo|)ted lavi^s, and to 
 preserve peace, union, and harmony in said county: — and to use 
 every exertion to spread tlie love of country cind are of freedom 
 throughout America, until a more general and organized govern- 
 ment be established in this province.' 
 
 " Those resolves having been concurred in, by-laws and regula- 
 tions for the government of a standing Committee of Public Safety 
 were enacted and acknowledged. Then a select committee was 
 appointed, to report on the ensuing day a full and definite statement 
 of grievances, together v/ith a more correct and ibrmal draft of the 
 Declaration of Independence. The proceedings having been thus 
 arranged and somewhat in readiness for promulgation, the Delega- 
 tion then adjourned until to-morrow, at t2 o'clock. 
 
 '• The 20th of May, at 12 o'clock, the Delegation, as above, had 
 convened. The select committee were also present, and reported 
 agreeably to instructions, viz. a statement of grievances and for- 
 mal drafl of the Declaration of Independence, written by Ephraim 
 
308 THE MECKLENBURG DECLARATION. 
 
 when the dawning era of our freedom shall, in the lapse 
 of time, become matter of curiosity, and its origin be 
 sought for only to limit the period of its duration. The 
 events of the 19th and 20th of May, 1775, will be record- 
 ed in letters of living light, as the first of a series of deeds, 
 that laid the foundations of our magnificent empire. 
 
 Brevard, chairman of said committeej and read by him to the Dele- 
 gation. The resolves, by-laws, and regulations were read by John 
 M'Knitt Alexander. It was then announced from the Chair, ' Are 
 you all agreed ? ' There was not a dissenting voice. Finally, the 
 whole proceedings were read distinctly and audibly, at the Court- 
 House door, by Col. Thomas Polk, to a large, respectable, and ap- 
 proving assemblage of citizens, who were present, and gave sanction 
 to the business of the day. A copy of all those transactions were 
 then drawn off, and given in charge to Capt. James Jack, then of 
 Charlotte, that he should present them to Congress, then in session 
 in Philadelphia. 
 
 " On that memorable day, I was 20 years and 14 days of age, a 
 very deeply interested spectator, recollecting the dire hand of op- 
 pression that had driven me from my native clime, now pursuing 
 me in this happy asylum, and seeking to bind again in the fetters of 
 bondage. 
 
 " On the return of Capt. Jack, he reported that Congress, individ- 
 ually, manifested their entire approbation of the conduct of the 
 Mecklenburg citizens ; but deemed it premature to lay them official- 
 ly before the House." 
 
PART III. 
 
 THE CHARACTER OF WILLIAM HOOPER. 
 
 The reader will remember that this gentleman is 
 denounced in the offensive letter of Mr. Jefferson, as the 
 rankest Tory in Congress, and that no evidence whatever 
 was there produced to sustain this charge against the 
 character of one of the signers of the National Declaration. 
 The mere act of signing that Declaration should be a 
 sufficient refutation of the calumny ; for the imputation of 
 Toryism against Mr. Hooper is proclaimed as having 
 been notorious at the period of the Mecklenburg Declara- 
 tion, more than a year before the 4th of July, 1776. 
 *'The paper speaks, too, of the continued exertions 
 of their delegation (Caswell, Hooper, and Hughes) ' in 
 the cause of liberty and independence : ' now you re- 
 member as well as I do, that we had not a greater Tory 
 in Congress than Hooper." Such is the emphatic lan- 
 guage of the letter. No facts are presented, to attest its 
 truth ; no circumstances in the life of Hooper are appeal- 
 ed to, as calculated to inspire doubt or suspicion as to his 
 patriotism. The mere declaration of the writer's opinion 
 must be received as positive and solemn proof, and the 
 character of North Carolina determined upon accordingly. 
 The vanity of Mr. Jefferson had been so long nourished 
 by the adulation of his party, that, in the latter part of 
 
310 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 his life, he really supposed himself infallible, and acted as 
 though the gods had placed him upon the summit of his 
 own Monticello, to pass sentence on the sins and reward 
 the virtues of the inhabitants of the New World. 
 
 This vainglorious delusion of the sage was encouraged 
 by his party. In all controversies, political, religious, or 
 literary, they recurred to their founder, and obeyed his 
 responses with all the submission of idolatrous homage. 
 Was the patriotism of Brutus or the respective claims of 
 Cicero and Demosthenes to the palm of supremacy to be 
 setded, the oracle of Monticello was consulted and his 
 decrees obeyed. The divinity of the Saviour, the integ- 
 rity of (lis religion, as well as the sublimity of the Koran, 
 were alike subjected to his will. The vexed question of 
 the superior richness and variety of languages was at once 
 adjusted by his fiat ; and all liis followers are still content, 
 piously to abhor the exquisite melody and richness of 
 their own native tongue, and to hurrah for the flexibility 
 of the French, ?. language which they neither read, speak, 
 nor understand when spoken. The orthography of our 
 language too -jas been sometimes revolutionized by this 
 radical autocrat ; and, as he was in the habit of ruling 
 many of the leading men of North Carolina, he would 
 sometimes condescend to change the orthography of their 
 names, and J shall henceforth expect to find every idola- 
 tor of Mr. Jefferson, not only denoimcing iMr. Hooper as 
 a Tory, but fiercely contending that Hewes is only 
 properly spelt when it reads Hughes, 
 
 There is no apology for diis slavish subservience. 
 There is about the character of Mr. Jefferson, none of 
 that frankness which captivates the enthusiastic spirit of 
 a young man. Unlike General Jackson, he gathered 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 311 
 
 no laurels in the defeat of hostile armies, or in the subju- 
 gation of barbarian tribes. The ambitious youth does 
 not read in the primer of education of his hardships and 
 fatigues in mijitaiy campaigns, or of his valor in the 
 field of New Orleans. His scholarship shrinks into 
 contemptible pedantry when tested by critical ingenuity ; 
 and his philosophy, so well illustrated by his lucubrations 
 on the winds of Virginia, into " ingenious perversions 
 of truth." By his constant abuse of Washington, Mar- 
 shall, Lee, and all the nobler sons of Virginia : by his 
 decided opposition to the Constitution of the United 
 States ; and finally, by his political victory in 1801, he 
 secured to himself the imperishable reputation of the lead- 
 er of the mob. B}-^ his pretensions to the character of a 
 scholar and a philosopher, he litis drawn to his support all 
 the literary and political pedants of Virginia ; and, thus 
 fortified by the close adherence oi the dregs of every class 
 of society, he ruled his country, from President to Presi- 
 dent, through a period of more than twenty years. Thus 
 fortified too, he went triumphantly through the great 
 contest of the Embargo, crushing the property of the 
 country by the prostration of trade ; and, entailing on his 
 country two successive Virginian administrations, the same 
 corrupt power controlled the property of the people dur- 
 ing the progress of a three years' war. Appealing to 
 the lowest passion in the human bosom, the jealousy of 
 the idle and ignorant against the holders of property and 
 all permanent institutions, he gathered around him the 
 factious, ignorant, and discontented portion of the people, 
 and, by the distribution of offices and other favors, con- 
 trolled through them the government of the country. 
 " Froth rides the stormiest wave." 
 
312 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 To all such men William Hooper was naturally opposed. 
 Endowed with a most liberal education, (having been grad- 
 uated at Harvard College, at the head of his class, in 1760), 
 his zeal was not to be aroused by one whose prototype 
 was Ulysses, while the combined characters of Nestor and 
 Ajax were represented in the person of Washington. He 
 had been bred to the profession of the law in the office of 
 James Otis ; and, imbibing from his master his political 
 principles, he commenced the practice of his profession in 
 1767, in North Carolina, a decided Whig. His familiar 
 intercourse with the great patriot of Massachusetts gave 
 him an opportunity of beconaing acquainted with the rights 
 of the colonies and the aggressions of the ministry; and 
 accordingly we find him conspicuous in all committees 
 entrusted with the definition and publication of the 
 nature of the controversy. In 1 773, when, he first ap- 
 peared in the Assembly, he connmenced an active and 
 leading career ; and, continuing in the confidence of the 
 people, he was one of the original projectors of the first 
 Provincial Congress. He was emphatically in advance 
 of the spirit of the times, and conceived the project 
 of Independence long before even the initiatory steps 
 had been taken by any of the patriots of that day. I 
 appeal to the following letter. 
 
 Letter from William Hooper to James Iredell. 
 (April 26th, 1774.) 
 « Dear Sir, 
 
 " You have great reason to reproach me that I have not long 
 before .hiij answered your most acceptable letter of the 30th of 
 December last. Attribute my neglect to business which I might 
 have postponed, to forgetfulness, to indolence ; but by no means 
 to want of respect, for be assured that this had not the smallest 
 share in the omission. It is a crime however which, in some de- 
 gree, has carried its punishment with it, as it has deprived me of 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 313 
 
 a repetition of your epistolary favors hitherto, from which 1 might 
 have derived ample instruction and amusement. 
 
 " It has afforded me the utmost pleasure, that, notwithstanding 
 the multiplicity of business in which you are engaged, you have 
 found some leisure moments to dedicate to the investigation of 
 those political subjects which have engaged the attention and hurt 
 the peace of this province. Every man who thinks with candor 
 is indebted to you for the share you have taken in this interesting 
 controversy. You have discussed dry truths with the most pleas- 
 ing language, and have not parted from the most refined delicacy of 
 manners in the warmth of the contest. It is a circumstance which 
 much enhances the merit of the performances written in opposition 
 to the measures of government, that those who have attempted to 
 answer them have for argument substituted personal invectives, 
 and have lost sight of the measure to run foul of the man. 
 
 " I am happy, dear Sir, that my conduct in public life has met 
 your approbation. It is a suffrage which makes me vain, as it flows 
 from a man who has wisdom to distinguish, and too much virtue to 
 flatter. If I have served the public in any respect, I have done 
 no more than my duty ; if I have adopted measures inconsistent 
 with the public good, and pursued the completion of them, it is to 
 be charged upon my understanding, for my heart hath had no share 
 in the transgression. I shall meet the censure of the world with 
 indifference, wrapt in that applause which no external circum- 
 stances can rob me of, — that I have done my endeavours to the 
 best of my knowledge to serve my country. 
 
 " With a pleasure which words can scarce express, I have gone 
 hand in hand with those whose virtue baffled the severest trial, by 
 making a sacrifice of private interest to the promotion of the public 
 good ; who in private life maintained a character exemplary in being 
 upright, and by the independent rectitude of their conduct in pub- 
 lic life, and the open, generous manner in which they expressed 
 their sentiments, might rival the dignity of a more august senate 
 than that in which they were placed. While the scene of life in 
 which I was engaged with them would have rendered any reserve 
 on my part not only improper, but even culpable, you were des- 
 tined for a more retired, but not less useful conduct ; and whilst I 
 was active in contest, you forged the weapons which were to give 
 success to the cause which I supported. To your most intimate 
 friends I am indebted for the discovery of you as a writer; and you 
 will pardon them for the luxuty they have furnished me in an 
 27 
 
314 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 opportunity of being griateful to an author who claims no reward for 
 serving the public, but the pleasure of it, and deals out his bounty 
 to them without suffering them to know the hand from which it 
 flows. 
 
 " With you I anticipate the important share which the colonies 
 must soon have in regulating the political balance. They are strid- 
 ing fast to independence, and ere long will build an empire upon 
 the ruin of Great Britain; will adopt its constitution purged of its 
 impurities, and from an experience of its defects will guard against 
 those evils which have wasted its vigor and brought it to an un- 
 timely end. From the fate of Rome, Britain may trace the cause 
 of its present degeneracy, and its impending destruction. Similar 
 causes will ever produce similar eff*ects. The extent of the British 
 dominion is become too unwieldy for her to sustain. Commerce 
 hath generated a profusion of wealth, and luxury and corruption, the 
 natural attendants of it. Those to whom are entrusted the conduct 
 of the state, are too much absorbed in debauchery to attend to the 
 rights of the constitution, or too enervated to dare to support them. 
 Venality is at the standard it was when Jugurtha left Rome, with 
 this difference, that subjects are now found who have wealth enough 
 to make the purchase, and have advanced very far in the infamous 
 traffic. What Sir Robert Walpole gained by the artful use of the 
 public treasury is now the voluntary contribution of individuals, 
 and subjects vie with each other in the pious purpose of subverting 
 the constitution. In Britain the attack must soon produce its pur- 
 pose ; it is directed at the freedom of election, its success buys the 
 independence of Parliament, and then farewell Old England. 
 
 " They, who view things superficially, are induced to believe, from 
 the authority which the mother country maintains abroad, that the 
 body politic is in the highest vigor. Appearances deceive them. 
 What strikes them as the glow of health, is but the flushing of a 
 fever. The coloring is transitory and fatal. Rome in its greatest 
 lustre was upon the verge of dissolution ; an internal malady prey- 
 ed upon its vitals, which became the more dangerous from being 
 concealed. Good fortune is a powerful enemy to virtue, and man- 
 kind become abandoned in proportion to the strength of temptation, 
 and the facility of being gratified. Her ambition was sated. She 
 sat down in indolence to enjoy the fruits of conquests, regardless 
 of the means by which they were to be supported. Luxury and 
 dissipation ensued. The amusements which they had formerly 
 pursued, and which had conspired to brace their nerves and give 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 315 
 
 vigor to their constitution, and thus prepared them for action, took 
 a different turn ; the refinement of the arts and sciences, while 
 it softened the ferocity of their manners, depraved the purity of 
 their morals, and Rome, from being the nursery of heroes, became 
 the residence of musicians, pimps, panders, and catamites. Their 
 extravagance and profusion every day excited new wants, while 
 the sources were no longer open from whence they were to be 
 supplied. The provinces, dependent on them who had now added 
 the Roman discipline to their own native bravery, prepared to 
 subdue their conquerors with the arms which they had put into 
 their hands. Wearied with being made the mere instruments of 
 pleasure and convenience to Rome, they began to feel their own 
 importance and to aim at independence. The Empire, no longer 
 in a situation to give laws to her remote dependencies, and to 
 enforce obedience by the exercise of her own strength, had re- 
 course to barbarians for succour, and shuddered at the cabals of 
 her own subjects. She fell a sacrifice to a herd of savage mis- 
 creants, and the most polished state in the world sunk at once 
 into absolute barbarism. She had been some time ripe for this 
 fate. Some one of enterprise was wanting to make the attempt. 
 Reserve the catastrophe, and might not Great Britain be the original 
 from which this picture is taken ? 
 
 " America is perhaps reserved to be their asylum ; may they 
 find it the asylum of liberty too. Be it our endeavour to guard 
 against every measure that may have a tendency to prevent so 
 desirable an object. Thus I have forced upon you my undigested 
 thoughts upon a subject, which some hints in your letter have 
 drawn me into the discussion of, with a prolixity that will require 
 all your good nature to excuse. 
 
 " I know too well your reverence for our Constitution not to 
 forgive it in another, although it borders upon enthusiasm. There 
 may be an excess even in virtue. Adieu, dear Sir. I flatter myself 
 that this may be introductory to a frequent and intimate correspond- 
 ence between us, in which, though I am to be the only gainer in 
 point of instruction or amusement, yet I shall in a manner there- 
 by make you my debtor by furnishing you the highest entertain- 
 ment, — the luxury of obliging a friend. 
 " I am, dear Sir, 
 
 With the most cordial esteem. 
 
 Your most ob't, humble serv't, 
 
 " WILL. HOOPER. 
 
 " From the Sound, April 26, 1774. 
 
S16 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 " By way of Postscript. By a Letter from Charlestown, I am 
 informed the Crown Land Office is open, but upon different terms 
 from what it formerly was." 
 
 The charge of Toryism against the author of this 
 letter '' deserves only to be mentioned to be despised." 
 I challenge the whole corps of Virginia hislorians, 
 politicians, editors, and orators, to produce a paper of 
 such a character at so early a period of the struggle. 
 With a dale long before the meeting of the Continental 
 Congress, it equals, in the boldness of its language and 
 the intrepidity of its thoughts, the Fourth of July declara- 
 tion of that body, a crisis which was matured by two 
 years of deep consultation, and which was at last ap- 
 proached by cautious and indeed timid footsteps. The 
 National Declaration, the adoption of the Federal Consti- 
 tution, and indeed the whole subsequent history of the 
 country, have been but the fulfillment of its splendid 
 prophecy. Had it been the composition of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson, it would have been printed on satin, honored 
 with a weekly pufF in the honied pages of Ritchie, and 
 celebrated by all the " historians of the adjacent States," 
 as a " gigantic step " of the Sage of Monticello. It 
 would have been read before the Declaration on the 
 Fourth of July and other festivals, and have found a 
 place in the elegant epitaph that marks his grave. 
 In North Carolina, amidst the popular hurrah for Mr. 
 Jefferson, it has slept quietly for sixty years in the desk 
 of the late Judge Iredell. I now publish it as the best 
 illustration of the character of William Hooper. 
 
 The political character of Mr. Hooper as applied to 
 the Whig government of North Carolina, will be best 
 understood by a discussion of the part he took in the 
 formation of the constitution of the State. It is only by 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 317 
 
 a recurrence to first principles, that the real character 
 of a statesman is exhibited ; and the battle that was 
 fought upon the erection of the Whig on the ruins of 
 the Royal government in the spring and year of 1776, 
 has afforded me, and must again afford me, an opportunity 
 to sketch the character of one of the heroes of that day. 
 In the struggle on the principles of the new government, 
 Mr. Hooper cooperated with Samuel Johnston, although it 
 is obvious he did not enter with much enthusiasm or zeal 
 into the support of those high conservative principles, which 
 distinguished the character of the latter. He does not ap- 
 pear even to have excited the jealousy of the zealous Radi- 
 cals of the spring Convention of 1776, nor to have lost, in 
 the mildness of his course, the confidence of his conserva- 
 tive friends. Being a Delegate in the Continental Congress, 
 he did not mingle with much warmth in the party bicker- 
 ings of his own Province ; and yet there is one clause in 
 the present constitution, which so much excited his feel- 
 ings, as to provoke the bitterest denunciation. 
 
 In the Constitution of North Carolina there is a clause 
 restricting offices of Trust and Profit to those who be- 
 lieve in the truth of the Protestant Religion. This 
 singular feature now strikes every one with astonishment, 
 and provokes the almost universal condemnation of the 
 educated gendemen of the State. It is so repugnant to 
 the feelings of an American, it is so contrary to the very 
 nature of our institutions, to the very spirit of the Revolu- 
 tion, that I own I was for a long time ashamed of it, as 
 an instance of gross bigotry and illiberality. Confident, 
 however, that the irresistible force of public opinion 
 would never suffer an honest citizen to be deprived of 
 the reward that was due his merit, I consoled myself 
 27* 
 
318 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 with the reflection that it was a dead letter. Subsequent 
 investigation into the private papers of those who formed 
 it, has convinced me, that its importance has been mag- 
 nified, and that the omission of the word Episcopal, in 
 the original resolutions or draft, was considered as an 
 establishment of the freedom of the Christian religion. 
 Upon that word the battle was fought, and as it was struck 
 out by an overwhelming voice, the project of a State reli- 
 gion, otherwise than that of the Christian, was considered 
 as annihilated. 
 
 Against this principle, and all others of a hke nature, 
 Mr. Hooper zealously contended. The idea of propos- 
 ing any religious test in a Constitution was to him so 
 monstrous, that he wrote to Thomas Jones,* of Edenton, 
 (a High Churchman,) a letter so offensive as to interrupt 
 their acquaintance and friendship. The reader will re- 
 mark in a letter which I shall presently exhibit, the 
 vehemence of his denunciation against such a principle, 
 and an insinuation that the idea of a religious test orig- 
 inally came from Pennsylvania. It is singular that such 
 a principle should have found support in the ranks of the 
 Radical party. It was vehemently opposed by Harnett, 
 Hooper, and Allen Jones, and seems to have been one 
 of those questions upon which parties could not divide. 
 
 Ahhough Mr. Hooper inclined towards the conserva- 
 tive rank, still he was too liberal to allow himself to be 
 guided by the prejudices of party, and it was fortunate 
 for him, as the Representative of the State in the Con- 
 tinental Congress, that he should have stood somewhat 
 aloof from the local politics of his constituents. Though 
 
 * Letter dated the 13th of October, 1776. 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 31 9 
 
 opposed to the control of a rabble and the avowed advo- 
 cate of the representation of property, still he did not 
 oftend the feelings of his opponents by any public exhibi- 
 tion of that contempt and abhorrence, which the profes- 
 sion of such principles is too apt to arouse in the bosom 
 of an enlightened citizen. 
 
 Thus the political character of Mr. Hooper may be 
 understood. The advocate of a government of energy 
 and respectability, erected upon the property of the peo- 
 ple, and controlled only by those who were thus doubly 
 bound to the soil of the State. To such a man, Mr. 
 Jefferson was, as it were by nature, opposed. Himself 
 almost the advocate of an agrarian law, and an avowed 
 believer in the universal equality of mankind, as the 
 essential principle of a system of government, he must 
 have viewed a politician of Mr. Hooper's stamp as but 
 litde better than a supporter of a Russian autocracy. 
 The one urged on the revolution to secure the property 
 of the people from the grasp of a tyrannical Ministry ; 
 the other engaged in the same work to ride into conse- 
 quence and power upon the turbulent passions of the 
 multitude. The one was the avowed advocate of order 
 by the security of property and all vested rights ; the 
 other spoke to his followers of the pride and haughtiness 
 of the rich, of the sufferings of the poor, of the terrors 
 of legitimate power, and of the necessity of a perpetual 
 chaos. The one loved Washington as the saviour of the 
 constitutional liberty of his country ; the other abused him 
 as a disciple of the English aristocracy, and an adherent of 
 the doctrine of the supremacy of the law and the constitu- 
 tion. It is a comparison between Oramazdes and Arimanes. 
 
 I have shown by the letter of Mr. Hooper of date 
 
320 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 the 26lh of April, 1774, that even at that early period, 
 
 so far from being a Tory, he had conceived and written 
 
 out the horoscope of the Independence of his country. 
 
 I shall now proceed to present extracts from his letters 
 
 down to the adoption of the National Declaration. They 
 
 are too long to be published entire, and only the parts 
 
 bearins; on the character of their author are submitted. 
 
 " From William Hooper to Samuel Johnston. 
 
 " Philadelphia, May 23d, 1775. 
 
 " This city has taken a deep share in the insurrection which is 
 so generally diffused through the continent. Men, women, and 
 children feel the patriotic glow, and think every man in a state 
 of reprobation beyond the power of heavenly mercy to forgive, 
 who is not willing to meet death rather than concede a tittle of the 
 Congress creed." 
 
 " Hooper to Johnston. 
 
 " Philadelphia, 5th of June, 1775. 
 
 " I wrote you lately by Mr. Hewes' vessel. I have nothing to 
 add but to request of you to exert your utmost influence to prevail 
 upon the people to enroll themselves in companies ; sacredly to 
 attend to the preservation of v/hat little gunpowder remains among 
 them, and to rest assured that no terms will be obtained from Lord 
 North but what are purchased at the point of the sword." 
 "Hooper to Johnston. 
 
 " Philadelphia, 6th of February, 1776. 
 
 " Do we not play a game where slavery or liberty is the stake ? — 
 But why do I tease you, who are so much better capacitated to 
 judge of the proper measures to be pursued than I am ? But suffer 
 me. Must you not have Brigadier-Generals in districts and superior 
 officers over the whole ? Must not very large bodies be placed 
 immediately along the seacoast ? Were I to advise, the whole 
 force of the colony should be collected ready for immediate exertion 
 when called for ; and bid adieu to plough-shares and pruning-hooks, 
 till the sword could find its scabbard with safety and honor to its 
 owner. My first wish is to be free } my second to be reconciled to 
 Great Britain. God grant that both may soon take place. Meas- 
 ures must be taken immediately. Ere this the troops of the 
 enemy are in your country ; may you stand forth like men, and 
 fight the cause of liberty, the cause of the living God." 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 321 
 
 I have, in the course of my investigations of the his- 
 tory of North Carolina, collected a large number of Mr. 
 Hooper's letters, and have never been able to gather 
 from them the slightest doubt as to his patriotism. These 
 letters are all elegantly written, and at some future and 
 no very distant day shall be presented to the public as the 
 consummation of that defence of his character I have here 
 undertaken. Passing now from the extracts of his letters, 
 we find him, in April, 1776, a member of the Provincial 
 Congress, and acting with those who voted for Independ- 
 ence on the 12[h of that month. After the adjournment of 
 the Congress, he engaged in the campaign against Clinton 
 and Governor Martin, which was waged on the Cape Fear 
 during the month of May. Employed in these duties, he 
 did not reach the Continental Congress until the question 
 of Independence was setUed, and the signing of his name, 
 therefore, as it was the highest, so it was the only support 
 he could there give that instrument. 
 
 I shall now introduce a long and valuable letter of 
 Mr. Hooper, written after the 4th of July, in which will 
 be found expressed the same glowing patriotism that 
 distinguished all his compositions. I present it as an 
 historical document, not vouching for the correctness of 
 its estimate of the valor of the Eastern troops, although 
 I have no question, but that Mr. Hooper wrote upon 
 what he supposed the most correct data. 
 
 ''From William Hooper, M. C. 
 
 " Philadelphia, 27th Sept. 1776. 
 " This, my dear Sir, is truly confidential, — were it not that my 
 friend Hewes is the bearer, I should not trust it out of my own 
 hands ; a letter which might be attended with unhappy consequen- 
 ces, should it fall into the power of any one disposed to make an 
 unfriendly use of it. 
 '' 1 have waited impatiently for our public affairs to take a favora 
 
322 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 ble turn to the Eastward before I sit down to delineate to you the 
 state of them. I have waited to little purpose ; every day gives a 
 blacker tinge to the picture ; and I assume my pen at this stage of 
 them, lest I should be induced hereafter to turn from the prospect 
 with abhorrence, and be averse to trouble you upon so unpleasing 
 a contemplation. 
 
 " You will feel yourself little obliged to me even now, that I 
 draw off your attention from the endearing conc-erns of private 
 and domestic life, from the recesses of rural and philosophic retire- 
 ment, to fix it upon scenes that characterize human nature in its 
 most depraved state, and almost tempt a man to arraign Providence, 
 that he has been cast into being at a time, when private and politi- 
 cal vice is at a crisis, and the measure of iniquity full and over- 
 flowing. 
 
 " But, dear Sir, it becomes our duty to see things as they are, 
 divested of all disguise ; and when the happiness of the present 
 age, and of millions yet unborn, depends upon a reformation of 
 them, we ought to spare no pains to effect so desirable a purpose. 
 
 " 1 know it to be very impolitic to dwell upon his losses, to a 
 man who is unlucky. But when you play so deep a hazard as at 
 present, you ought not to be kept in ignorance how the game runs. 
 
 " After the constant employment of the American army dur- 
 ing a whole summer in fortifying Long Island and New York, 
 General Howe landed with his army on the former ; and being 
 opposed by a handful of our troops, whose bravery did honor to 
 the glorious cause they fought for, with greatly superior numbers, 
 Howe bore down all resistance, and, after having killed and wound- 
 ed many, and taken near 1000 prisoners, retired to his encamp- 
 ment, now enlarged to that part of the Island of which he had 
 dispossessed our friends. 
 
 " Our men, now confined to their lines, were thought unequal to 
 the defence of them. The enemy, possessed of heights which our 
 troops, with all their opportunities, neglected to fortify, had the 
 entire command. 
 
 " Our General wisely ordered a retreat, which was conducted 
 without any loss but that oi our honor. 
 
 " New York received us on our retreat, but, from what you know 
 of its situation, not to hold us long. We retired with the loss of 
 a great part of our stores in sight of a victorious enemy ; abandon- 
 ing those works which had been reared at an immense expense, 
 without any use but to stand as monuments of the absurdities 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 323 
 
 which must ever attend a war, conducted with raw, undisciplined 
 troops in the field, and want of political experience in the cabinet. 
 Would I could draw a veil of oblivion over what ensued ! The 
 enemy attempted to land a body of troops near Haerlem where we 
 had two Brigades of Eastern forces stationed. Our men made way 
 for them as soon as their arrival was announced. They saw ; they 
 fled ; not a single man faced his enemy, or fired his gun. Our 
 brave General flew to the scene of action, but not a man would 
 follow him. With prayers, entreaties, nay tears, he endeavoured 
 to cause them to rally. At one time 60 of the enemy, separated 
 from the main body, had the pleasure of pursuing two complete 
 Brigades of New England heroes. ' Where then was that spirit of 
 freedom which animated them .? Where were then the yeomanry of 
 the country, men of property, — not mere mercenaries, — who fight 
 the cause of freedom, and will succeed, or perish with it ? ' Mere 
 words of puff". Vox, et pr cuter ea nihil. 
 
 " Washington is now at Col. Roger Morris's, advantageously 
 posted ; his army, however, in a condition far from pleasing. The 
 scarcity of clothing of all kinds prevents them being clothed and 
 covered as the season requires. Near 4000 of them are now sick, 
 which is but small compared with those who have been returned 
 formerly in that state. 
 
 " He has had an immense deal of trouble with the militia, who 
 from re'al (re alia) or feigned sickness have been a constant burden 
 to the army without any use whatever. 
 
 " Of 13 Battalions of Connecticut militia, all but 700 deserted. 
 And these he dismissed, to save such a burdensome expense with- 
 out any benefit resulting from it. 
 
 " I am sorry to find that my countrymen are become a by-word 
 among the nations. — 'Eastern Prowess,' — 'Nation poorly,' — 
 ' Camp diflaculty,' are standing terms of reproach and dishonor. 
 They suflfer in comparison with troops to the southward of Hud- 
 son's River, who have, to a man, behaved well ; and bore the whole 
 brunt on Long Island. And that for which the Eastern troops must 
 be damned to eternal fame ; they have plundered friends and foes 
 without discrimination. When I commend the Southern troops, 
 I except the Philadelphia City militia, who, poltroon-like, deserted 
 their standard, not being able to bear the absence of the muskets. 
 
 " All this is, in a great measure, to be ascribed to the present 
 footing upon which our army has been enlisted. The enrollments 
 have been so short, that they were scarce in the field before it was 
 
324 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 time to disband them. They acquired no military knowledge from 
 experience ; their service was too short to establish subordination 
 and discipline among them. 
 
 " Another great grievance has been the want of proper officers 
 to command ; the scantiness of pay, or some other cause, has drawn 
 few gentlemen into commands. Offices have been chiefly distribut- 
 ed among men to the Eastward, who have aimed at nothing but 
 popularity in the army, and knew that nothing would so effectually 
 secure it as condescension and equality. — Judge what would be 
 the privates, when such were the officers. I am told that they have 
 even stimulated their men to desertion, to find an excuse to follow 
 them; and the regimental surgeons have taken bribes to certify 
 sickness in order to exempt soldiers from duty. 
 
 " It is a fact that a Connecticut militia Brigadier induced his 
 whole Brigade to run away, and then most bravely ran away him- 
 self. In a word, I begin to believe that patriotism among the com- 
 mon soldiers, is a bubble, and that pay-tccll and hang-well are the 
 grand secrets to make an army ; — that this is a mere machine that 
 ought never to think or act, but when acted upon ; — that it requires 
 skilful artificers, or officers, to wind up and conduct its movements; 
 for when left to itself, it will soon run down, or go into irregulari- 
 ties which must produce confusion and ruin to itself. If once a 
 soldier is suffered to think for himself, or reason upon the propriety 
 of the command of his officers, farewell to suddenness and decision 
 in execution. These are the imperfections of our present army. 
 The enclosed will show you the method which we have taken to 
 remedy them. 
 
 " Thus we stand alike and contrasted. Washington, brave ; 
 Howe, brave ; Howe experienced, Washington, not. Howe's 
 army disciplined, orderly, satisfied, well found with every thing; 
 Washington's, raw troops, disorderly, discontented, and wanting 
 almost every necessary for clothing, and very many for defence ; 
 and the term of enlistment nearly expiring. Don't start from the 
 picture ! It is taken strictly from the original ; and, far from excit- 
 ing despair, it ought rather to rouse us from our lethargy, and induce 
 us to remedy the evils while in our power, for yet they are so. 
 
 " By way of back shade to the picture, I would inform you, that 
 a few days ago, a detachment from the enemy took possession of 
 our works at Paulus Hook ; the guard we had there retired and 
 left them a bloodless conquest. Hewes will inform you that we 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 325 
 
 lately had some advantage in a skirmish with the enemy. That 
 perhaps has served to keep together our present army. 
 
 " Our privateers have been successful. I will not say any thing 
 of our continental ships, lest I should infringe upon Hewes' depart- 
 ment. I fear that the want of men and cannon will prove an 
 insuperable obstacle to their movements. 
 
 " To what accident it is to be ascribed, I know not, but since 
 Howe got possession of York, above one third of the city has been 
 consumed by fire. It is reported, I know not with what truth, that 
 Howe, who is obliged now and then to humor the Hessians, gave 
 them one day to rejoice and riot, and that in the heat of their fes- 
 tivity, they made a bonfire of the city, — so says rumor; others, 
 with less probability, ascribe it to our forces, who were nine miles 
 distant from it at the time. 
 
 " The successes of Howe have given a strange spring to Toryism. 
 Men, who have hitherto lurked in silence and neutrality, seem wil- 
 ling to take a side in opposition to the liberties of their country. 
 
 " Toryism is a strange weed, the growth of a barren soil, whose 
 vegetation is not progressive, but is indebted for a sudden exist- 
 ence to the sunshine of prosperity, and perishes as soon as that 
 leaves it ; having nothing radical in itself, or the soil from which 
 it springs, to continue its existence longer. 
 
 " You have seen the Constitution of Pennsylvania ! Humano 
 capiti cervix equina juncta ; the motley mixture of limited monarchy 
 and an execrable democracy ; a beast without a head ; the mob 
 made a second branch of legislation ; laws subjected to their revisal 
 in order to reform them ; — a washing in ordure, by way of purifica- 
 tion. Taverns and dram-shops are the councils to which the laws 
 of this State are to be referred for approbation before they possess a 
 binding influence ; — no man to be an Assembly man, unless he be- 
 lieves in God. Is irreligion then the flourishing growth of Pennsyl- 
 vania ? and is atheism a weed that thrives there ? Sure this in- 
 sinuates as much. It is a melancholy consideration, that public 
 proceedings are now, in a great measure, the histories of those 
 concerned in them ; and popularity, interest, office, are the strong 
 outlines which mark the production. In this instance they all 
 work powerfully. I shall lament that any prepossession should 
 have taken place in Carolina, in favor of the wisdom in politics of 
 this State, or that the name which authenticates the public acts ot 
 the Convention should have any weight to give such a plan a cur- 
 rency. It is truly the excrement of the expiring genius of political 
 
 28 
 
326 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 phrenzy. It has made more Tories than Lord North; deserves 
 more imprecations than the Devil and all his angels. It will shake 
 the very being of this once flourishing country. But I am at the 
 bottom of my page ; I have performed all I promised ; and have 
 given you a tale, piteous, truly piteous ; and will now leave you to 
 indulge all the luxury of melancholy and distress for our bleeding 
 country. Do not, however, imagine that I rather delineate the 
 history of my own mind, than a state of facts as they are un warped 
 by a gloomy fancy. Do not mistake me, — my spirits have not 
 failed me. I do not look upon present ills as incurable ; I never 
 considered the path to liberty as strewn with roses ; — she keeps her 
 temple upon the highest pinnacle on earth. They who would 
 enter with sincerity and pure devotion, must climb over rocks and 
 frightful precipices, covered with thorns and weeds. These mis- 
 carriages will be frequent ; and how many thousands must perish 
 in the pursuit ! But the prize is worthy all the fatigue and hazard ; 
 and the adventurer, where others' journeys end, will look down with 
 pleasure on the difficulties he has surmounted ; and with triumph 
 count the glorious wounds that have purchased to him and pos- 
 terity the invaluable blessing. Thus I sport in the field of metaphor 
 more at ease than I, till now, thought myself capable of. 
 
 " It is a standard which every man of the present day should 
 bring himself to ; and were I to choose a motto for a modern Whig, 
 it should be, ^Whatever is, is right! ' and on the reverse, ' JVil des- 
 perandum.^ May you and yours ever feel those blessings which 
 are the result of genuine goodness of heart ; and may the misfor- 
 tunes of the public never intrude themselves upon your domestic 
 peace ! 
 
 " When I began this scrawl, I intended it only for you, 1 have 
 been led into a train of scribbling which has not left me a moment to 
 write to the man whom I love and esteem, Mr. Iredell. In supreme 
 confidence, give him a sight of this, and beg his remembrance of 
 me. To your and his families, pray offer my most respectful com- 
 pliments ; and believe me to be, with unaltered esteem and affection, 
 " Your friend, 
 
 "WILLIAM HOOPER. 
 
 " Sam'l Johnston, Esq,." 
 
 I have preferred the publication of Mr. Hooper's let- 
 ters, as a better means of defending his character from 
 a mere naked aspersion, to any animadversions of my 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 327 
 
 own. The one which I have just submitted, it will be 
 seen, was strictly confidential. Mr. Hooper and Mr. 
 Johnston were on most intimate social and political terms, 
 and their correspondence the most labored and valuable 
 1 have met with in the State. 
 
 The best evidence of the Whig character of Mr. 
 Hooper, was his reelection in December, 1776, to the 
 Continental Congress. If he had been a Tory, the 
 vigilance of the staunch Whig, Caswell, who was Gov- 
 ernor elect of the State, and who had been so long and 
 so intimately acquainted with him, would have detected 
 and exposed him. 
 
 But what was the character of Mr. Hooper, as a mem- 
 ber of the Continental Congress f That body seems to 
 have reposed the most unlimited confidence in his patriot- 
 ism, and to have called in the aid of his abilities on all 
 important committees. In conjunction with Dr. Franklin, 
 Robert Morris, and Richard Henry Lee, he formed the 
 secret Committee of Foreign Intercourse, This was per- 
 haps the most important committee ever instituted by the 
 Congress. They were authorized to conceal important 
 information from the Congress itself, and to keep secret 
 agents abroad, to make agreements, and thus secretly 
 to pledge the faith of the nation. Would a Tory have 
 been placed upon such a committee ^ In the very pres- 
 ence, too, of " so mighty and transcendent a patriot as Mr. 
 Jefferson f " Adorned as the Continental Congress was 
 with the patriotism, wealth, and talents of the whole 
 country, would they have passed over such men, to have 
 plumed, with the honor of their unlimited confidence, the 
 rankest Tory in Congress. Where was the boasted Whig 
 zeal of the sage of Monticello, that he did not rise in his 
 
328 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 place, and protest against the commission of such im- 
 mensely important matters into such unworthy hands ; — 
 matters, the miscarriage or mismanagement of which 
 would have destroyed all hopes of foreign aid, and have 
 soiled for ever the escutcheon of the country. 
 
 But for the purpose of destroying all skepticism as 
 to the character of Mr. Hooper, I shall now appeal lo 
 the personal testimony of one of his contem|)oranes, 
 who lived within the sphere of his acquaintance, and 
 who, with a mind stored with the wisdom of a long, 
 active, and patriotic life, now lives among us, as a light 
 to cheer the darkness of the past. It was to this species of 
 evidence that I first turned, to test the truth of Mr. Jeffer- 
 son's aspersions. I have sought, and gathered too, infor- 
 mation as to the character of xMr. Hooper, from the elder 
 people of both sexes in Orange County, and on the 
 Cape Fear, in both of which sections of the State he 
 resided ; and it was scarcely an exaggeration, when I 
 said, in the Introduction to this work, that I had " ques- 
 tioned every old man and old woman from Cape Hatteras 
 to the Blue Ridge ; " and none at all, when I said, that I 
 had not heard a single word which w^ould support the 
 shameful calumny of rank Toryism. In a letter which I 
 had the honor to receive from Colonel Samuel Ashe of 
 Cape Fear, dated on the 2Gth of August, 1833, he thus 
 speaks of Mr. Hooper : 
 
 " My personal acquaintance with Mr. William Hooper, owing to 
 the great disparity in our ages (for he was my senior by many 
 years), was very slight, having been seldom thrown into his com- 
 pany after I reached manhood. But I am happy in having this 
 opportunity of bearing my testimony in his favor. As a lawyer, 
 as a scholar, as a man of amiable and fascinating manners, he was 
 unrivalled by any of his contemporaries ; and as a Whig, he enjoyed 
 the entire confidence of all who knew him; and it never entered 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 329 
 
 into my mind that the soundness of his Whig principles had ever 
 been questioned by any authority. From my intimate knowledge 
 of his character, I feel warranted in saying, that he was a man of 
 as free principles, and as ardently devoted to the cause of American 
 liberty, as any other of the distinguished personages, who were 
 involved in the revolution." 
 
 The unlimited confidence of the Continental Congress, 
 of the Whigs of North Carolina, and, above all, his pri- 
 vate letters, attest the character of Mr. Hooper. The 
 charge of Mr. Jefferson deserves no lighter reproach, than 
 to be pronounced a base and unprincipled falsehood, 
 unsupported by any evidence within the range of human 
 inquiry. A more flagrant instance of violation of truth 
 cannot be found in the annals of cabalistic literature. It is 
 stamped with all the malignity and captiousness of a hero 
 who knew, in his own heart, that his boasted laurels had 
 been purloined from the dead, and that they would be 
 restored by the scrutiny of posterity. The character of 
 Mr. Jefferson, like the house of the foolish man in the 
 scripture parable, is built upon sand. It cannot stand 
 the storm which the publication of his writings must pro- 
 voke, from the hands of those whose lives are calumnia- 
 ted with the seeming solemnities of truth. The Hamil- 
 tons of New York, the Lees of Virginia, the Lowells of 
 Massachusetts, and the whole country in the character 
 of Washington, must appeal to the impartiality of pos- 
 terity. As for my own part, I am content, that the 
 aspersion of Mr. Hooper shall go down to future times 
 contradicted by this brief analysis of his character, — 
 confirmed as that character is by his private and 
 public letters, and the universal admiration of his con- 
 temporaries. His letter of 26th of April, 1774, his 
 services in the first Provincial and Continental Con- 
 28* 
 
330 THE CHARACTER OF 
 
 gresses, his zeal in urging the question of Independence 
 in the spring Convention of 1776, and finally his signa- 
 ture to the National Declaration, will be cherished as 
 memorials of a patriot, when the shrine at Monticello 
 will be irreverently visited, like that at Delphi, only as the 
 former habitation of a heathen god. 
 
 I have thus, in the course of this work, endeavoured to 
 defend the character of North Carolina from the abuse 
 of one, the popularity of whose name, with many, gives 
 a sanction even to the fiction of an impossibility. The 
 character of Mr. Hooper, and the truth of the Mecklen- 
 burg Declaration, are Important points in the estimate, 
 which posterity will make of the character of the State. 
 I feel confident that I have fulfilled my promise, and that 
 the character of the former has been vindicated, and the 
 truth of the latter established, beyond the reach of con- 
 troversy. In the course of my labors, I have studiously 
 shunned all equivocation of language, and have not hesitat- 
 ed to write with a bitterness of reproach correspondent 
 to the malignity of the charge of Mr. Jefferson. The 
 enormity of the calumny, while it demanded a patient 
 investigation, has justified the severest denunciation. 
 
 The allusion to x\Ir. Hewes, in the letter of Mr. Jef- 
 ferson, as an uncertain and wavering politician, tempering 
 his zeal according to the aspect of the times, is equally 
 as unfounded, as the other portions of his episde. Mr. 
 Hewes made great sacrifices in the cause of liberty, 
 and enjoyed throughout his life the confidence of the 
 Whig party of North Carolina. I have a great number 
 of his private letters before me, and search them in vain 
 for any signs of equivocation on the subject of Independ- 
 ence. He, for a long fime, sustained himself as the only 
 
WILLIAM HOOPER. 33 1 
 
 Representative of North Carolina, and gave his vote for 
 and signed his name to, the Declaration of Independence. 
 He laid the resolutions of the Provincial Congress of 
 North Carolina on Independence, before the Continental 
 Congress, on the 27th of May,* before those of Virginia 
 were there presented, and gave his heart and hand to the 
 noble cause he was thus instructed to support. But in 
 his politics, as applied to the government of North Caro- 
 lina, he was a high conservative, and urged the erection 
 of a splendid government, independent of the control of 
 the mob, and of course of their boasted leader. Such 
 may have been the signs of his wavering conduct, so 
 clearly and exclusively visible to the sage of Monticello. 
 
 * See Journal of the Continental Congress. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 THE MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF THE STATE IN 
 
 1775 AND 1776. 
 
 The three grand divisions of the army of the State 
 adopted by the Congress of August, 1775, were the two 
 Continental Regiments, commanded by Generals Moore 
 and Howe, the Minute-men, and the regular Militia. 
 In the body of the work, I have enumerated the names 
 of the Officers of the two first, and shall now present 
 those of the Field-Officers of the Militia. 
 
 Samuel Jar vis, Colonel. 
 
 Dennis Dauge, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Taylor Jones, Major. 
 
 Josiah Nicholson, 2d Major. 
 
 John Lowry, Colonel. 
 
 Isaac Gregory, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Demsy Burgess, Major. 
 
 Joshua Campbell, 2d Major. 
 
 Miles Harvey, Colonel. 
 
 William Skinner, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Thomas Harvey, Major. 
 
 Richard Clayton, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Bonner, Colonel. 
 James Blount, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Benbury, Major. 
 Jacob Hunter, 2,d Major. 
 
 Thomas Whitmell, Colonel. 
 Thomas Pugh, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 James Moore, Major. 
 Arthur Brown, 2d Major. 
 
 Benjamin Wynns, Colonel. 
 Matthew Brickie, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Laurence Baker, Major. 
 George Little, 2d Major. 
 
 Currituck County. 
 
 1 
 
 V Pasquotank County. 
 J 
 
 Perquimons County. 
 J 
 
 >Choican County. 
 \- Bertie County. 
 
 > Hertford County. 
 
334 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Edward Buncombe, Colonel. 
 Benjamin Blount, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 James Long, Major. 
 Joseph Spruill, 2d Major. 
 
 William Williams, Colonel. 
 Whitmell Hill, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Wiggins, Major. 
 Kennith McKenzie, 2<Z Major. 
 
 John Bradford, Colonel. 
 William Alston, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 David Sumner, Major. 
 Egbert Haywood, 2d Major. 
 
 Allen Jones, Colonel. 
 William Eaton, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Jeptha Atherlon, Major. 
 Howell Edmunds, 2rf Major. 
 
 William Haywood, Colonel. 
 Sherwood Haywood, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Joseph Moore, Major. 
 Henry Home, 2d Major. 
 
 William Person, Colonel. 
 
 Philemon Hawkins,Jun. ,LzeM«enaw«-CoZ. 
 
 William Alston, Major. 
 
 Thomas Sherwood, 2.d Major. 
 
 Samuel Spencer, Colonel. 
 Charles Medlock, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 James Auld, Major. 
 David Love, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Polk, Colonel. 
 Adam Alexander, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 * John Phifer, Major. 
 John Davidson, 2d Major. 
 
 William Graham, Colonel. 
 Charles Maclaine, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Beatty, Major. 
 Frederick Hambright, 2d Major. 
 
 Ransom Sutherland, Colonel. 
 James Martin, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 John Paisly, Major. 
 John Tate, 2d Major, 
 
 Martin Armstrong, Colonel. 
 Joseph Wilhams, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 William Hall, Major. 
 Joseph Winston, 2d Major. 
 
 Griffith Rutherford, Colonel. 
 Francis Locke, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 John Dobbens, Major. 
 James Brandon, 2d Major, 
 
 Tyrrell County. 
 
 ■Martin County. 
 
 Halifax County. 
 
 ■North Hampton County. 
 
 ■ Edgecombe County. 
 
 ■Bute County. 
 
 ■Anson County. 
 
 K Mecklenburg County. 
 
 Tryon County. 
 
 Guilford County. 
 
 Surry County. 
 
 \ Rowan County. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 335 
 
 Joseph Leech, Colonel. 
 John Bryan, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 John Benners, Major. 
 Frederick Becton, 2d Major. 
 
 William Thompson, Colonel. 
 Solomon Shepard, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Chad wick. Major. 
 Malachi Bell, 2d Major. 
 
 James Bonner, Colonel. 
 
 Thomas Bonner, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Roger Orrnond, Major. 
 
 William Brown, 2d Major. 
 
 Rotheas Latham, Colonel. 
 
 Benjamin Parmelin, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 William Russell, Major. 
 
 Thomas Jones, 2d Major. 
 
 Needham Bryan, Colonel. 
 William Bryan, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 John Smith, Major. 
 Samuel Smith, Jun., 2d Major. 
 
 Abraham Shepard, Colonel. 
 Thomas Torrans, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Martin Caswell, Major. 
 William McKennie, 2d Major. 
 
 John Simpson, Colonel. 
 Robert Salter, Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 George Evans, Major. 
 James Armstrong, 2d Major. 
 
 John Davis, Colonel. 
 Thomas Davis, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Richard Quince, Jun., Major. 
 Parker Qunice, 2d Major. 
 
 William Gray, Colonel. 
 Henry Rhodes, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Johnston, Major. 
 James Howard, 2d Major. 
 
 James Kenan, Colonel. 
 Richard Clinton, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Routledge, Major. 
 James Moore, 2d Major. 
 
 *Thomas Rutherford, Colonel. 
 fAlex. McAlister, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 *Duncan McNeill, Major. 
 *Alexander McDonald, 2d Major. 
 
 V Craven County. 
 )■ Carteret County. 
 
 J 
 
 \ Beaufort County. 
 Hyde County. 
 
 Johnston County. 
 
 Dohhs County. 
 
 Pitt County. 
 
 Brunswick County. 
 
 Y Onsloio County. 
 )- Duplin County. 
 
 Cumberland County. 
 
 Tory. 
 
 t Whig. 
 
336 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 William Purviance, Colonel. 
 Sampson Mosely, Lieutenant- Colonel, 
 William Mosely, Major. 
 John Devane, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Robinson, Jun., Colonel. 
 Thomas Brown, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Owen, Major. 
 James Richardson, 2d Major. 
 
 John Hogan, Colonel. 
 John Butler, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 William Moore, Major. 
 Nathaniel Rochester,* 2d Major. 
 
 Joseph Taylor, Colonel. 
 
 Charles R. Eaton, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Samuel Smith, Major. 
 
 William Williams, 2d Major. 
 
 John Hinton, Colonel. 
 
 Theophilus Hunter, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 John Hinton, Jun., Major. 
 
 Thomas Hines, 2d Major. 
 
 Ambrose Ramsay, Colonel. 
 Jeduthun Harper, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Mial Scurloch, Major. 
 Elisha Cain, 2d Major. 
 
 JVeio Hanover County. 
 
 Bladen County. 
 
 J 
 
 Orange County. 
 
 Granville County. 
 
 Wake County. 
 
 Chatham County. 
 
 In the spring of 1776, the Militia system was re- 
 organized. In several of the counties, the officers thus 
 appointed were found to be adherents of the Royal 
 cause, and these were not only superseded, but ar- 
 raigned for trial. Such was the case with those of the 
 county of Cumberland. The Militia of the counties of 
 Orange, Pasquotank, and Rowan, were divided into 
 two Regiments, and of course an additional number of 
 officers were appointed. Many promotions, too, and 
 several resignations occurred, and produced changes 
 in the Militia system. I now proceed to enumerate the, 
 changes made by the Congress on the 2i2d of April, 
 1776. 
 
 Charles Medlock, Colonel. 
 David Love, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 William Picket, Major. 
 George Davidson, 2d Major. 
 
 ^ 
 
 > Anson County. 
 
 * After whom the town of Rochester in New York was called. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 337 
 
 William Brown, Major. 
 Henry Bonner, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Eaton, Colonel. 
 William Alston, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Sherwood, Major. 
 Green Hill, 2d Major. 
 
 John Bryan, Colonel. 
 
 Lemuel Hatch, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 John Bryan, Jan., Major. 
 
 John Tilman, 2d Major. 
 
 Hollowell Williams, Colonel. 
 Solomon Perkins, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Asahel Simmonds, 2d Major. 
 
 Alexander McAllister, Colonel. 
 Ebenezer Folsome, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 David Smith, Major. 
 Philip Alston, 2d Major. 
 
 Matthew Jones, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Routledge, Lieutenant- Colonel 
 James Moore, Major. 
 Robert Dickson, 2d Major. 
 
 Martin Caswell, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 William McKennie, Major. 
 James Glasgow, Id Major. 
 
 Exum Lewis, Colonel. 
 Simon Gray, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Jonas Johnston, Major. 
 Thomas Hunter, 2d Major. 
 
 Thornton Yancy, 2d Major. 
 
 James Martin, Colonel. 
 John Paisly, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Thomas Owen, Major. 
 Thomas Blair, 2d Major. 
 
 Willis Alston, Colonel. 
 
 David Sumner, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 James Hogan, Major. 
 
 Samuel Weldon, Id Major. 
 
 William Bryan, Colonel. 
 John Smith, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Samuel Smith, Jun., Major. 
 John Stevens, 2d Major. 
 
 Adam Alexander, Colonel. 
 John Phifer, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 John Davidson, Major. 
 George A. Alexander, 2d Major. 
 
 29 
 
 \ Beaufort County. 
 
 yBute County. 
 
 J 
 
 > Craven County. 
 
 )' Currituck County. 
 
 > Cumberland County. 
 
 Chatham County. 
 
 \ Duplin County. 
 J 
 
 yDobbs County. 
 
 > Edgecombe County. 
 Granville County. 
 
 > Guilford County. 
 
 > Halifax County. 
 
 > Johnston County. 
 
 y Mecklenburg County. 
 
338 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 } 
 
 JVewj Hanover County. 
 
 Anthony Ward, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Henry Young, Major. 
 Thomas Bloodworth, 2d Major. 
 
 William Eaton, Colonel. 
 
 Jeptha Atherton, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Howell Edmunds, Major. 
 
 Drury Gee, 2d Major. 
 
 John Butler, Colonel. 
 Nathaniel Rochester, Lieutenant- Col. 
 Robert Abercrombie, Jun., Major. 
 Hugh Tennen, 2d Major. 
 
 James Saunders, Colonel. 
 William Moore, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 John Paine, Major. 
 Thomas Harrison, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Boyd, Colonel. 
 
 Spencer Ripley, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Othniel Lascelles, Major. 
 
 John Casey, 2d Major. 
 
 Isaac Gregory, Colonel. 
 
 Demsy Burgess, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 
 Joshua Campbell, Major. 
 
 Peter Dauge, 2d Major. 
 
 Francis Locke, Colonel. 
 
 Alexander Dobbens, Lieutenant- Colonel. [First Rowan 
 James Brandon, Major. f Regiment. 
 
 James Smith, 2d Major. J 
 
 Christopher Beckman, Colonel. "] 
 
 Charles McDowell, Lieutenant- Colonel. [Second Rowan 
 Hugh Brevard, Major. C Regiment. 
 
 George Welfong, 2d Major. J 
 
 Joseph Winston, Major. 
 Jesse Walton, 2d Major. 
 
 Clement Crook, Colonel. 
 James Long, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Joseph Spruill, Major. 
 Andrew Long, 2d Major. 
 
 Thomas Beatty, Lieutenant- Colonel. 
 Andrew Hampton, Major. 
 Jacob Cosner, 2d Major. 
 
 yJVdrth Hampton County. 
 
 Southern Orange 
 Remment. 
 
 JVorthern Orange 
 Recriment. 
 
 First Pasquotank 
 Resiment. 
 
 \ Second Pasquotank 
 j Regiment. 
 
 1 
 
 \ Surry County. 
 )■ Tyrrell County. 
 
 > Tryon County. 
 
 In the counties not here mentioned, no changes were 
 made by the spring Congress of 1776. The Congress, 
 however, increased the number of Regiments in the 
 Continental service from two to six : and as James 
 

 APPENDIX. 339 
 
 Moore and Robert Howe had been promoted to the 
 
 rank of Brigadier-Generals in the Continental army, 
 
 the following appointments were made to the commands 
 
 of the First and Second Regiments. 
 
 Francis Nash, Colonel. "^ 
 
 Thomas Clark, Lieutenant- Colonel. >lst Regiment. 
 
 William Davis, Major. J 
 
 Alexander Martin, Colonel. '\ 
 
 John Patten, Lieutenant- Colonel. \2d Regiment. 
 
 John White, Major. J 
 
 To the commands of the four new Regiments, the 
 
 following Officers were appointed. 
 
 Jethro Sumner, Colonel. 
 
 William Alston, Lieutenant- Colonel. ^3cZ Regiment. 
 
 Samuel Lockhart, Major. 
 
 Thomas Polk, Colonel. 
 
 James Thackston, Lieutenant- Colonel. ^Ath Regiment. 
 
 William Davidson, JUajor. 
 
 Edvs^ard Buncombe, Colonel. ") 
 
 Henry Irwin, Lieutenant- Colonel. >5f;h^Megiment. 
 
 Levi Dawson, Major. ]/ 
 
 Alexander Lillington, Colonel. "^ 
 
 William Taylor, Lieutenant- Colonel. )-Qth Regiment. 
 
 Gideon Lamb, Major. J 
 
 There were, at this time, six Brigadier-Generals in 
 the State, and each ranked in his own district. 
 
 General John Ashe was Commander-in-chief in the District of 
 Wilmington, 
 
 General Allen Jones, in that of Halifax, 
 General Edward Vail, in that of Edenton, 
 General Griffith Rutherford, in that of Salisbury, 
 General Thomas Person, in that of Hillsborough, and 
 General William Bryan, in that of New Berne. 
 When, therefore, the armament of Sir Peter Parker 
 was in the Cape Fear River, General Ashe ranked 
 Brigadier-General Bryan, who commanded the troops 
 from the New Berne district, on their march to Wil- 
 mington. 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 The spring Congress of 1776 raised three Light- 
 Horse Companies, and made the following appointment 
 of Officers. 
 
 John Dickerson, Captain. "] 
 
 Samuel Ashe, Jun., Lieutenant. \lst Company. 
 
 Abraham Childers, Cornet. J 
 
 Martin Phifer, Captain. "] 
 
 James Sumner, Lieutenant. >2d Company. 
 
 Valentine Beard, Cornet. J 
 
 James Jones, Captain. '] 
 
 Cosimo Madacy, Lieutenant. '>3d Company, 
 
 James Armstrong, Cornet. J 
 
 I ought to mention here the Volunteer Companies of 
 the State, who were invariably the best soldiers. Colonel 
 Lillington's volunteer band was with him at the battle 
 of Moore's Creek. General Rutherford commanded a 
 similar band, as did Major Dauge of Currituck. 
 
 In the campaign against Sir Peter Parker's armament, 
 there was a volunteer company that marched from New 
 Berne in May, under the command of Dr. Alexander 
 Gaston. This company is mentioned in a letter in an 
 old English Gazette, which I have, in the following 
 manner: — "The rebels are watching our ships from 
 their hiding-places on the shores throughout the day 
 and night. A scouting party from the 33d yesterday 
 brought in a private who reported himself as belong- 
 ing to a company of a Captain Gaston, which had been 
 on a scouring party about our ships for several days. 
 He further reports the rebel forces as daily increasing 
 in numbers and confidence." The letter is dated the 
 35th of May, the old Gazette in October. There is some 
 notice of this company in the accounts of Paymaster 
 Ashe, a few sheets of which I obtained from the papers 
 of the late Judge VTilliams. 
 
APPENDIX. 341 
 
 THE BATTLE OF MOORE's CREEK. 
 
 (Extracts.) 
 Letter from Richard Caswell to Mr. President Harnett. 
 
 « February 29th, 1776. 
 " Sir, I have the pleasure to acquaint you that we 
 had an engagement with the Tories at Widow Moore's 
 Creek Bridge on the 27th current. Our army was about 
 one thousand strong ; consisting of the New Berne 
 battalion of Minute-men, the Militia from Craven, Johns- 
 ton, Dobbs, and Wake, and a detachment of the Wil- 
 mington battalion of Minute-men, which we found en- 
 camped at Moore's Creek the night before the battle, 
 under the command of Colonel Lillington. The Tories, 
 by common report, were three thousand ; but General 
 McDonald, whom we have prisoner, says there were 
 about fifteen or sixteen hundred ; he was unwell that 
 day and not in the battle. Captain McLeod, who seemed 
 to be principal commander, and Captain John Campbell, 
 are among the slain." 
 
 In the same letter he says : — " Colonel Moore arrived 
 at our camp a few hours after the engagement was over ; 
 his troops came up that evening, and are now encamped 
 on the ground where the battle was fought, and Colonel 
 Martin is at or near Cross Creek, with a large body of 
 men ; those, I presume, will be sufficient to put a stop 
 to any attempt to embody them again." 
 
 Letter from General Moore to Mr. President Harnett. 
 
 '' MarcJi 2d, 1776. 
 
 *'The next morning, the 27th, at break of day an 
 alarm gun was fired, immediately after which, scarcely 
 leaving our people a moment to prepare, the Tory army 
 with Captain McLeod at their head made their attack 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 on Colonels Caswell and Lillington, and, finding a small 
 entrenchment next the bridge on our side empty, con- 
 cluded that our people had abandoned their post, and 
 in the most furious manner advanced within thirty paces 
 of our breast-work and artillery, where they met a very 
 proper reception." 
 
 Letter from an unknown source, dated the 10th of March, 
 1776. (Remembrancer, Part II, p. 74 ) 
 
 "Parties of men are dispersed all over the Colony, 
 apprehending all suspected persons, and disarming all 
 Highlanders and Regulators that were put to the rout in 
 the late battle. The conquerors have already taken 
 360 guns and shot-bags; about 150 swords and dirks; 
 1500 excellent rifles ; two medicine-chests fresh from 
 England, one of them valued at 300 pounds sterling, 
 a box containing half Joaneses and Guineas, secreted 
 in a stable at Cross Creek, discovered by a negro and 
 reported to be worth ^15,000 sterling ; also thirteen wag- 
 ons with complete sets of horses. 850 common soldiers 
 were made prisoners, disarmed and discharged. Colonel 
 Long has also apprehended several of their officers, who 
 are now in Halifax gaol, viz. Colonel John Piles, Major 
 Thomas Collins, Captain David Jackson, Enoch Brady, 
 John Piles, and Thomas Readford, Lieutenant Stephen 
 Parker, and Daniel McDonald, the latter wounded 
 through the thigh. Ensign Denning, and Dr. Robertson. 
 There are in the same gaol four persons of the name of 
 Field, one Turner, and three Bells, a Midshipman, and 
 a Quarter-gunner of the Scorpion ; likewise, one Kings- 
 borough McDonald, Mr. Rutherford, Hector McNeil, 
 and Alexander McDonald, Captains Morrison, McKen- 
 zie, Ure, Leggate, Cross, Parsons, McCoy, Mase, Micke- 
 son, McCarter, and Adjutant Frazer, Lieutenants 
 Mclver and Hewes, Cameron, Donald Hewes, Donald 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 Cameron, and sundry other Lieutenants and Ensigns, 
 whose names we have not an account of. Kennett 
 McDonald, Aid-de-Camp, James Hepborn, Secretary, 
 Parson Beatty, and Dr. Morrison, Commissary. General 
 McDonald and Brigadier-General McLeod (the latter of 
 whom was killed) set out at the head of this banditti 
 with the avowed intention of carrying Governor Martin 
 into the interior part of the Province." * 
 
 *" I have admitted, in the body of this book, that Colonel Caswell 
 was the senior of Colonel Lillington at the battle of Moore's Creek. 
 I was mistaken, for the battle-field was in Lillington's district, and 
 there he ranked Caswell, who held only a Colonel's commission, 
 in the Minute service. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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