USA > North Carolina > Biographical history of North Carolina from colonial times to the present; > Part 3
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The preachers of the State, however, have ever been warm ad- vocates of education, often preaching its importance from their pulpits, and they have managed to secure for their children primary training at least, and by reason of their deep conviction of its importance have inspired their children to seek academic training. The father of Colonel Bruton was not an exception to the rule ; he was poor, but by sacrifices he was able to secure for his son the advantage of attendance on private primary schools, and what with the generosity of certain teachers towards preach- ers' children, and especially the faithful and devoted efforts of a loving step-mother, the subject of this sketch gained a fairly good primary training. His step-mother was an ambitious woman of strong character and fine intellect, and it was under her persistent training and efforts that the fire of ambition was first lighted in the boy's soul. He was persuaded to believe that the future was pregnant with possibilities greater than the realities about him. She assured him of this many times and compelled him to study. While his father was presiding elder of the Salisbury District, North Carolina Conference, and a resident of Statesville, young Bruton enjoyed the marked advantage of attending the school of J. H. Hill, a well-known and capable teacher. After two years here, he spent two years at the famous Bingham School. To the admirable training received under Colonel Bingham he attributes much of his success. By this time his ambition had turned to-
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ward the law, but having to pay a part of the cost of his years at school, he of necessity had to defer his law studies until the debt could be cancelled.
In the Fall of 1881, therefore, he became a teacher in the Wil- son Public School. His success in the classroom met with de- served promotion in June, 1883, when he was elected to the super- intendency of the schools. After a successful year's work as superintendent, he resigned to enter the Law School at the Uni- versity of North Carolina under the instruction of Doctor John Manning, one of the greatest law teachers the State has pro- duced. In the Fall of 1884 he was licensed to practise in the courts of North Carolina, and settled at Wilson, where he had made many warm friends.
Closely identifying himself with the interests of the com- munity, Colonel Bruton lost no opportunity to give his encourage- ment and support to helpful enterprises, whether industrial, in- tellectual, or religious. His community interest, his ability in conducting his clients' causes, his fidelity to various trusts con- fided to him, won his way into the confidence and good-will of the people. From the first success in his profession was assured.
In November, 1887, Colonel Bruton was married to Miss Hattie Tartt Barnes, daughter of John T. Barnes, a prominent and in- fluential citizen of Wilson. In her he has found a companion who, sympathizing with his ambitions, has been to him a constant source of inspiration. Three children have been born to them, one of whom died in infancy.
In 1889 he was elected captain of Company F of the 2d Regi- ment of the State Guard. After three years' capable service, he received a commission as colonel of the regiment. The military training received at Bingham's school, added to natural inclina- tions, made him one of the most efficient officers of the State Guard. Though he was strict in the enforcement of discipline, he was popular with the officers and privates, and when he resigned his commission seven years later, he left the 2d Regiment with- out a superior in the State.
As a member of the I. O. O. F., Colonel Bruton has manifested
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great zeal in promoting its interests, and has received much honor at the hands of his fellows. He was elected grand-master for 1891 and 1892, and the Odd Fellows' Orphan Home was es- tablished at Goldsboro during his term as grand-master, he being among the first advocating it; for 1892-1893 he was grand-rep- resentative, and again for 1895 and 1896. These honors came to him as a testimonial from his fellow-members of his devotion to the Order. Colonel Bruton is also a member of the A. T. O. College Fraternity.
An illustration of the estimation in which the people among whom he lives hold Colonel Bruton was given in 1895, when they elected him without opposition mayor of Wilson. His admin- istration was conducted with much courage, tact and patience, and was in every way worthy of the confidence placed in him. The next year he was re-elected, but much to the regret of his fellow-townsmen he was compelled to resign before the expira- tion of his term. The immediate cause of this step was his elec- tion in January, 1897, as president of the First National Bank of Wilson, for the additional duties imposed on him by this new trust made it necessary for him to give up his public service. In July, 1902, the Wilson Savings Bank, afterwards the Wilson Trust and Savings Bank, was organized, and Colonel Bruton was elected president. Both banks are still under his management, and the confidence the business public place in these institutions attests the efficiency of his services. Colonel Bruton was one of the charter members of the North Carolina Bankers' Association and served as its president in 1900 and 1901 ; he is also a director of the North Carolina Home Insurance Company at Raleigh.
Though in the midst of an exacting and constantly growing private business, Colonel Bruton has not refused to give of his time and talents to such public service as demands the attention of patriotic citizens. The educational interests of the community and State have always had a strong hold on his attention. In 1901 he accepted the chairmanship of the Board of Education of Wilson County to which he had been elected by the General Assembly of North Carolina. During the same year he obeyed
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the call of his church in accepting a place on the board of trustees of Trinity College. In 1903 and again in 1904 he was elected a member of the executive committee. He takes an active interest in educational progress and considers the call to such places of responsibility as a call to service.
In politics Colonel Bruton is a Democrat. Though he has never sought office at the hands of his party, his advice is frequently sought by the party leaders and always cheerfully given. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. From boyhood his interest in church affairs has been active, and, though broad-minded and tolerant, his loyalty and devotion to his church are marked characteristics.
His election by the North Carolina Conference of 1905 as a delegate to the General Conference of Southern Methodism to meet in Birmingham, Alabama, in May, 1906, was an expression of the confidence reposed in him by his church, and is an honor worthily bestowed and justly earned by his unvarying course in life.
Although Colonel Bruton's career has not been one in which the arts of oratory are cultivated and developed, yet he has de- livered several addresses both in and out of the State that have attracted attention and brought him reputation as a popular speaker. His ideas are always clear, and he presents them not only in eloquent language, but in an engaging and elegant manner. Particularly was an address delivered before the Association of the Virginia Bankers in 1903 on the subject of "The Country Banker" admirably conceived. It bore evidence of his being a student of high ideals along practical lines, and merited the com- mendation bestowed upon it. As an illustration of the views he sought to enforce, we reproduce a paragraph that at the time was the subject of high compliment in several banking periodicals and daily papers :
"The banker to fill his place and meet the demands laid upon him should be an all-round man ; he should be possessed of a good conscience, clean ; he should enjoy an unobscured vision with vocabulary to match, clear ; he should be without subterfuge, candid; free from the gambling spirit,
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conservative ; thoroughly familiar with life and the art of living, practical ; careful without being cowardly, prudent; familiar with the truth whereby to convince, persuasive; untiring in his efforts to bring things to pass, persistent."
Striking in appearance, pleasing in address, courteous in man- ner, Colonel Bruton possesses the power of attracting and con- ciliating men. In social intercourse companionable and sym- pathetic, in business affairs firm and aggressive, he is modest in estimating his achievements. Throughout his career he has made it a guiding principle never to enter into any undertaking half-heartedly. Whatever he does, he does with his whole heart and mind. Hard-working, thorough, careful in details, methodi- cal in habits, straightforward in his dealings-these character- istics are the secret of his success. Pure in private life, honorable in all public relations, his life and character are an inspiration to men who have an uphill climb to reach success.
R. D. W. Connor.
JOHN BUTLER
N ORTH CAROLINA has ever been a sectional State. Much of the history of the State is made plain by this fact. The first settlers came from Virginia into the Albemarle region; the Swiss and Germans located at New-Bern; the Scotch took possession of the Cape Fear; the Scotch-Irish and Germans came direct from Pennsylvania to the middle of the State. At the time of the Revolution fusion had not taken place. The Scotch along the Cape Fear still spoke their native tongue and maintained their ancient customs. The State was thoroughly clannish-especially the more recently settled parts. The people were accustomed to following local leaders. The Moravians had clustered around Salem and had not fused with their neighbors.
Shubal Stearns had made a settlement of Baptists at Sandy Creek, and these had their leader. The same was true of the Jersey settlement on the Yadkin, and the Irish and the German communities of that section.
All these settlements were distinct. Foote in his sketches of the early Presbyterian churches speaks of the "Hawfield con- gregation," and describes the home of a prominent man as being on the "edge of this congregation." There was not yet in the State that social co-ordination which is necessary for highest State life. The result was that when the Revolution came on
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there was little integral action. One community became Whig and another Tory.
Not only was this true, but the system of government tended to the formation of classes and parties. The government was centralized. Many local officers were appointed by the central authority. The judiciary was not local. Not only the judges, but the justices of the peace, received their authority from the Assembly. The clerks of the courts received their appointments from the Governor. The executive officers were based on the same models. The sheriffs were appointees of the Governor and looked to him for approval. The military organization at the Revolution was similar; officers of the county militia were elected by the Assembly.
Such a system seems to indicate centralization and integration, but one result followed that hindered such a tendency. The Gov- ernment could and did do little for the scattered settlements of the West. They, and not the Government, kept a watch on the Indian and protected their homes. A dislike for the office-holding class was fostered. This feeling prevailed from Chowan to Anson. The Regulator movement was the most dramatic ex- pression of this feeling, but this feeling was prevalent in nearly every portion of the State. The popular party was opposed to the office-holding party.
John Butler, of Orange, belonged to the office-holding party and lived in the Hawfields congregation on the western edge, "near Judge Ruffin's Mill."
He was sheriff of Orange County and testified before the As- sembly in December, 1770, that he had found much difficulty in performing his official duties. The Regulators were opposed to him. Governor Tryon invited the sheriffs of several counties to appear before the Assembly and bear testimony to the difficul- ties that these Regulators put in their way. Butler's own brother, William, was a member of the Regulators of Orange.
What part John Butler took in the Regulator disturbance is not known, but he was of course on the side of the constituted authorities.
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After the battle of Alamance was over, however, he befriended the Regulators and stayed the hand of the executive authority. He signed many petitions asking pardon for those who had op- posed the Government.
But like Caswell and the others who had put down the Regut- ulators, he joined the revolutionary party against the British Government, and was a member of the District Committee of Safety for the Hillsboro District in 1775.
The Provincial Congress at Hillsboro in the Fall of 1775 real- ized that the hour of forcible opposition and defence had come. Governor Martin, who had fled from his palace at New-Bern at the end of May, was on board a British man-of-war in the Cape Fear, devising plans to subjugate the people. The whole State was thoroughly organized for defence.
The militia of each county were organized under their colonels ; and John Butler was made lieutenant-colonel for Orange County. In the next year, 1776, he was made colonel. During these years there was no fighting in that section, but men were preparing for the conflict that was inevitable. The tide of war had struck North Carolina, but had been rolled back. The British fleet failed to make conjunction with the Scotch Tories of the Cape Fear. The battle of Moore's Creek Bridge had shown the Whigs of the State what to expect, and all was expectancy.
It was at this time that the people of Orange chose Butler to represent them in the two important Congresses that were to meet at Halifax in April and November. By the April Congress he was appointed to purchase arms and ammunition and prepare for the conflict. Moore's Creek had been fought and the strife between revolutionist and loyalist had already begun. The dom- inant party had begun to confiscate the property of the loyalists, especially those taken in arms. Butler was appointed to assist in the inventory of this property.
In the November Convention he did not take his seat till the Constitution had been adopted and the most important legisla- tion had already been enacted. The election of the Orange rep- resentatives was in dispute. Butler was not elected at first. The
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Convention pronounced the election fraudulent and ordered a new election. At this new election Butler was chosen. This accounts for his not being present when the first State Convention was adopted. In 1776 brigadier-generals were appointed for the dif- ferent districts; and General Thomas Person was the brigadier for the Hillsboro District. He resigned in 1777, and Butler was chosen by the Assembly in his place. This position Butler held throughout the Revolutionary War and till 1784, when he re- signed and Ambrose Ramsey became his successor. Butler never joined the Continental Line. His services to the American cause were always with the militia. There was no call for military ser- vices as long as the British campaigns were planned against the central States. In 1778 the British policy changed, and the scenes of the war began to shift from the North to the South. The scheme was now devised to roll up the colonies as a scroll, and to begin with Georgia, the weakest of the thirteen. Upon this scheme \King George and Lord George Germaine had set their hearts. In this year there was skirmishing along the frontier be- tween Georgia and Florida, which had remained loyal to the Crown. General Robert Howe was in command of the southern division, with his headquarters at Savannah. He came into col- lision with the British and met with no success. The South Caro- lina delegates in Congress requested his removal. General Ben- jamin Lincoln superseded him. In November, 1779, Lincoln passed through North Carolina on his way to take charge of the southern army. North Carolina had been busy for some weeks preparing troops to march southward. Butler was ordered by Governor Caswell to get the troops in his district ready for march- ing. In October and November he was busy, and late in the year he sent his men forward under Antony Lytle. When Lin- coln arrived in South Carolina he had to collect the lowland militia of that State, but could not for fear of a slave insurrec- tion. Under John Ashe North Carolina sent two thousand men. But from North Carolina also went loyalists to help the British. Seven hundred loyalists marched from the State to join the British force at Augusta.
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On March 3, 1779, Ashe's force was cut to pieces at Brier Creek, near the Savannah River. Even before the news of this disaster had reached North Carolina, Governor Caswell had ordered Butler to embody more troops in his district and go to the help of Lincoln. The time of the enlistment of those whom he had sent forward under Lytle was about to expire and the new levy was to take their place.
Butler left Charlotte on April 11th and reached Lincoln, near Augusta, on the 26th. Lincoln's move into Georgia uncovered Charleston, which was no sooner known to the British than Gen- eral Prevost crossed the Savannalı, and made toward Charleston, raiding as he went. Lincoln, with Butler's men and others, hastily returned to protect the city. Prevost was forced to retreat, and on June 19th was attacked by Lincoln at Stono Ferry. Butler and Sumner, of North Carolina, were in the thick of the fight. Butler's raw troops fought well. In a letter to Governor Caswell he said :
"I can with pleasure assure you that the officers and men under my com- mand behaved better than could be expected of raw troops."
But these troops had enlisted for only a few months. Enlist- ments were generally for three months. On July 15th his men returned home. This was a fault in the policy of using the militia. They were never destined to become inured to the hard- ships of camp life or to the discipline of veterans. When their time expired they left camp and returned home. Like an Arab encampment, in the morning they were not.
In December, 1779, Butler sent more men to the help of Lin- coln, but did not go himself. Early in 1780, Sir Henry Clinton decided to push the campaign in the South. He took eight thou- sand men from New York and brought them South to unite with Prevost. Later he brought Lord Rawdon from New York with three thousand more men. Washington saw that Lincoln needed help, and dispatched from his army all the troops of North Caro- lina and some from Virginia.
On May 12, 1780, Charleston was forced to surrender, and
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with this fall went all the regular troops North Carolina had, be- sides several hundred of her militia.
Again the militia were called upon to come into the field. Gov- ernor Caswell, whose term as Governor had expired, was now invested with the command of all the militia. He made his head- quarters near Cheraw. His three commanders were Rutherford, with the western troops; Gregory, with the eastern; and Butler, with the central. In August there were assembled at Cheraw, awaiting the arrival of Smallwood's Maryland Brigade, the Dela- ware regiment and some Virginia militia, who were following under General Gates, who had been appointed by Congress to command the southern army. The rashness of Gates in march- ing forward without horsemen to gain information resulted in his falling in with the British Army at night.
The fate that met him and his troops is a sad page in our Rev- olutionary history. In front of the North Carolina militia was the Virginia militia. They gave way and in their flight the North Carolina militia joined them. A part of Gregory's Brigade fought well ; Dixon's regiment of this same brigade, being along with the Maryland regulars, stood firmly and gained great credit; but many of the other militia never fired a shot. In fifteen minutes the whole left of Gates's line of battle, composed entirely of militia, was a mob struggling to escape. Colonel Webster had come down upon them in a furious charge, and was then followed by the fearful Tarleton.
The North Carolina militia fled toward home in any way they chose. On their return they met many pretended friends going to join the American army, who, on learning of its utter discom- fiture, proclaimed themselves friends of the victors. These roving bands plucked the militia as they fled. One of these bands met General Butler and robbed him of his sword, remarking by way of consolation, "You'll have no further use of this."
But Butler was not willing to give up the fight. "He who fights and runs away will live to fight another day." September found him with more militia covering Salisbury and Charlotte, and when retreating before Cornwallis's advance, skirmishing as he fell
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back. He was ordered by the Board of War at the same time to guard the provisions that were being brought from the Moravian settlements. In those days of disorganization Butler gave the dis- consolate State what help he could. He and Sumner patrolled the banks of the Yadkin, watching the enemy and keeping him back.
But in the midst of all this his troops vanished, for their term of enlistment had expired.
After the battle of King's Mountain, Cornwallis fell back into South Carolina, and in December General Greene took charge of his scattered forces and began the work of reorganization. He divided his army and sent one part of it west of Charlotte under General Morgan, and with the other he took post at Cheraw. By February Butler had collected another force, and was ordered to join Lillington in watching Major Craig, who had taken Wil- mington on January 29, 1781. While Butler was near Wilming- ton, Cornwallis entered the State the second time in pursuit of Morgan after his thrilling victory at Cowpens. Butler was now ordered to hasten to the help of Greene. Cornwallis at Hillsboro wanted to prevent their junction. For several days there was a game of hide-and-seek between these great commanders, but Greene enabled his militia to join him on March 11th, and then challenged Cornwallis to do battle at Guilford Court House on March 15th.
Again Butler and his militia were to face the trained veterans of the British Army. In this fight the North Carolina militia under Butler and Eaton were placed on the left of the front line, and the Virginia militia in their rear. But when the British vet- erans under Leslie fired on them they sought safety by retreat. Butler tried hard to stop the panic, but in vain. It must be borne in mind that these were not the troops that were with Butler at Camden. He was always in command of raw militia. Again these men scattered and many of them returned home. General Morgan seems to have been the one American general who knew how to pit these raw soldiers against trained veterans, for at Cowpens they fought well, even against the terrible Tarleton.
Trest
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Butler remained with General Greene while Cornwallis re- treated to Wilmington. When Greene decided to leave Corn- wallis at Wilmington and so push him off the board, himself go- ing into South Carolina, he left Butler at Ramsey's Mill, near the junction of the. Haw and the Deep, to collect provisions and the scattered militia and to watch the enemy. From this place Butler wrote General Sumner on April 1Ith that "we have now in the field 240 men of those that fied from the battle on the 15th ult. They are for one year and will in a few days join head- quarters." In addition to his military duties he was sent to the House of Commons, where he was on the Committee for Defence ; also he was a Councillor of State.
But his chief work now was to keep down the Tories. In North Carolina it was thought that Cornwallis would retreat from Virginia back through North Carolina. Governor Burke was very busy preparing to assist Greene or to make it unpleasant for Cornwallis if he returned through this State. Butler kept a com- pany encamped on Haw River. With the departure of Greene and the presence of Major Craig at Wilmington, the Tory spirit rose again. In Butler's district were Chatham and Moore and Randolph, where there were many Tories. These Tories planned to surprise Butler's camp, but Governor Burke warned him. Then the Tories, learning that Burke was at Hillsboro and not well de- fended, determined that they would surprise him, which they did. He was captured and the Tories began their retreat. With them was the notorious David Fanning, shrewd and capable and bloody-minded. When Butler heard of the capture he set out in hot pursuit. At Cane Creek a desperate fight took place, which was probably a drawn battle. He did not rescue the Governor, and the Tories continued to Wilmington. Butler then hurried around Wilmington and fought the Tories in small engagements at Hammond's Creek and Brown Marsh in Bladen. He still kept his troops embodied in 1782 and was in camp near Salis- bury. His home and plantation, probably called Mt. Pleasant, had been destroyed by the British under Cornwallis. It was some years before the strife of Tory and Whig ceased in his district.
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