Historical sketches of North Carolina : from 1584 to 1851, Vol. I, Part 18

Author: Wheeler, John H. (John Hill), 1806-1882
Publication date: 1851
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Lippincott, Grambo and Co.
Number of Pages: 662

USA > North Carolina > Historical sketches of North Carolina : from 1584 to 1851, Vol. I > Part 18

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To the first Assembly of Patriots (at Newbern) in 1774, the delegates from Bladen were, WILLIAM SALTER, and WALTER GIBSON.

* Martin's History of North Carolina, ii. 15.

HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA.

The delegates in 1775 were (at Hillsboro'), THOMAS OWEN, THOMAS ROBE- SON, Jr., and NATHANIEL RICHARDSON.

The delegates in 1776 (Halifax), which formed our Bill of Rights and Con- stitution, were THOMAS ROBESON, THOMAS OWEN, THOMAS AMIS, and JAMES COUNCIL.

The officers appointed in 1775 for this county, were THOMAS ROBESON, Jr., Colonel; THOMAS BROWN, Lieut .- Colonel; THOMAS OWEN, Ist Major; JAMES RICHARDSON, 2d Major.

This county was signalized by being the scene of a bloody battle between the friends of Liberty and the Tories, at or near Elizabeth- town.

It was fought in July 1781; the friends of liberty were led on by . Thomas Brown, and the Tories commanded by Cols. Slingsby and Godden. The situation of the county was deplorable. The Tories had overrun every portion ; their opponents had been driven out of the county, their homes ravaged, and houses burned. About 60 had taken refuge in Duplin; hungry, naked, and homeless, exaspe- rated to madness, they resolved to drive the Tories from their posts or die in the attempt. The Tories, to the number of about three hundred, had taken position at Elizabethtown. Colonel Brown and his brave men marched fifty miles through a wilderness, subsisting. on jerked beef and scanty bread. They forded the Cape Fear, and at night (when the disparity_of the force could not be perceived), made a furious onset on the Tories, drove in their guards, and after a bloody resistance, in which their commander Slingsby was mortally wounded and Godden killed, the Tories commenced a re- treat; a large number rushed wildly over every obstacle and leaped into a deep gulley which has ever since borne the name of the " Tory Hole."

This brilliant affair ended the Tory power in Bladen.

It is to be hoped that some, record more enduring may be pro- cured that will present this battle in its true colors to posterity. With every exertion there has been but little procured, but enough to show the chivalric daring of its'leaders, and the firmness of the sons of Bladen.

The following extracts, from the papers of the present day, may induce others to search some record made at the time, and hand to the present age, as "a rich legacy," the glowing record of this brilliant achievement.

From the Wilmington Chronicle. BATTLE OF ELIZABETHTOWN.

[Whigs of New Hanover, Bladen, and Duplin-Col. Thomas Brown-Tories at Elizabethtown-The Whigs, after a forced march, wade the Cape Fear and rout the enemy in the night-The leaders of the Highland Scotchmen ( Slings- by and Godden) slain-The Tory Hole-General Waddel, Owen, Morehead, Robeson and Ervine.]

BLADEN COUNTY, February 21st, 1844.

A. A. BROWN, EsQ. :

Dear Sir-Yours of the 3d inst. was received, soliciting such information as I possessed, or may be able to collect respecting the battle fought at Eliza-

BLADEN COUNTY.

bethtown, during our revolutionary struggle, between the Whigs and Tories. I have often regretted that the actions and skirmishes which occurred in this and New Hanover County, should have been overlooked by historians. The battle of Elizabethtown deserves a place in history, and ought to be recol- lected by every true-hearted North Carolinian with pride and pleasure. Here sixty men, driven from their homes, their estates ravaged, and houses plun- dered, who had taken refuge with the Whigs of Duplin, without funds, and bare of clothing, resolved to return, fight, conquer, or die. After collecting all the ammunition they could, they. embodied and selected Col. Thomas Brown to command. They marched fifty miles through almost a wilderness country, before they reached the river, subsisting on jerked beef and a scanty supply of bread. The Tories had assembled, three hundred or more, at Eliza- bethtown, and were commanded by Slingsby and Godden ; the former was a talented man, and well fitted for his station ; the latter, bold, daring and reck- less, ready to risk everything to put down the Whigs. Every precautionary measure was adopted to prevent surprise, and to render this the stronghold of Toryism. Not a boat was suffered to remain on the east side of the river. Guards and sentries were regularly detached and posted. When the little band of Whig heroes, after nightfall, reached the river, not a boat was to be found; but it must be crossed, and that speedily ; its depth was ascertained by some who were tall and expert swimmers ; they to a man cried out, " it is fordable, we can, we will cross it." Not a murmur was heard, and without a moment's delay, they all undressed, tied their clothing and ammunition on their heads (baggage they had none), each man grasping the barrel of his gun, raised the breech so as to keep the lock above water, descended the banks, and entered the river. The taller men found less difficulty ; those of lower stature, were scarcely able to keep their mouths and noses above water; but all safely reached the opposite shore, resumed their dress, fixed their arms for action, made their way through the low-grounds, then thickly set with cane, ascended the hills, which were high and precipitous, crossed the King's road leading through the town, and took a position in its rear. Here they formed, and in about two hours after crossing a mile below, commenced a furious attack, driving in the Tory sentries and guards; they continued rapidly to advance, keeping up a brisk and well-directed fire, and were soon in the midst of the foe, mostly Highland Scotchmen, as brave, as loyal, and high- minded, as any of his Majesty's subjects ; so sudden and violent an onset for the moment produced disorder ; but they were rallied by their gallant leader, and made for a while the most determined resistance.". Slingsby fell mortally wounded, and Godden was killed, with most of the officers of inferior grade. They retreated, some taking refuge in houses, others, the largest portion, leap- ing pell-mell into a deep ravine, since called the Tory Hole.', As the Tories had unlimited sway from the river to Little Pee Dee, the Whigs re-crossed, taking with them their wounded. Such was the general panic produced by this action, the Tories became dispirited, and never after were so troublesome. The Whigs soon returned to their homes in safety. In the death of Slingsby, the Tories were deprived of an officer whose place it was difficult to fill ; but few were equal to Godden in partisan warfare.

This battle was fought mostly by river planters, men who had sacrificed much for their country. To judge of it correctly, it should not be forgotten that the country from Little Pee Dee to the Catawba, was overrun by the Tories ; Wilmington was in possession of the British, and Cross Creek of the Tories. Thus situated, the attack made on them at Elizabethtown assumed much of the character of a forlorn hope; had the Whigs not succeeded, they must have been cut off to a man. . If they had fled to the South, thousands would have arisen to destroy them ; if to the Eastward, the Tories in that case, flushed with victory, would have intercepted their retreat, and they would have sought in vain their former asylum. This action produced, in this part of North Carolina, as sudden and as happy results as the battles of Trenton and Princeton, in New Jersey. The contest was unequal, but valor supplied the place of numbers. It is due to Colonel Brown, who when a youth, marched with General Waddel from Bladen, and fought under

HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA.

Governor Tryon at the battle of Alamance, and was afterwards wounded at the Great Bridge, under General Howe, near Norfolk, Virginia, to say he fully realized the expectations of his friends, and the wishes of those who selected him to command; and when the history of our State shall be writ- ten, this action alone, apart from his chivalric conduct at the Great Bridge, will place him by the side of his compatriots, Horry, Marion, and Sumpter, of the South. It must, it will form an interesting page in our history, on which the young men of North Carolina will delight to dwell. It is an achievement which bespeaks not only the most determined bravery, but great military skill. The most of these men, like the Ten thousand Greeks, were fitted to command. Owen had fought at Camden, Morehead commanded the nine-months' men sent to the South ; Robeson and Ervine were the Percys of the Whigs, and might justly be called the Hotspurs of Cape Fear.

The foregoing narrative was detailed to me by two of the respectable com- batants, who now sleep with their fathers; the substance of which I have endeavored to preserve with all the accuracy a memory not very, retentive will permit.

A respectable resident of Elizabethtown has recently informed me that he was a small boy at the time of the battle, and lived with his mother in one of the houses to which the Tories repaired for safety; that he has a distinct recollection of the fire of the Whigs, which appeared like one continued stream. Documentary evidence I have none.

With great respect, &c.,

[From the Raleigh Independent.] REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.

[ Commentary on the preceding account of the Battle of Elizabethtown-Military skill of Col. Brown-Whig stratagems-Owen, Morehead and Robeson-Ruse de guerre and Coup de main, subsequently explained by Gen. Brown-Best mode of collecting materials for history-Reference to the late Gen. Davis, of Fayetteville.]

To the Editor of the Wilmington Chronicle :-

SIR-My attention was directed by a friend to an article in your paper of the 5th inst., headed Battle of Elizabethtown.

The distinguished gentleman who furnished you with an account of the battle, I have no doubt, gave it to you as he received it; but his informant overlooked the particulars which characterized it; and which establish its claim to be ranked with those actions of our revolutionary struggle that exhibited military skill. According to the showing of your correspondent, it was an attack of great daring, and executed with astonishing secrecy and dispatch. But these, though among the elements of war, do not necessarily imply military talents ; nor can they aspire to that glory which is the crown- ing privilege of military enterprise. On the contrary, the actors might have forfeited all the applause, which is due to their valor, by the want of pro- spective measures. And the discriminating annalist might deem it his duty to note this achievement as the lucky termination of a desperate adventure, in which the passions had more to do than the intellect, and which deserved consideration merely as the accidental, but efficient cause, of important con- sequences to the country. Suppose that heroic band had attacked the strong- hold of Toryism without any of those stratagems and expedients which an experienced officer knows how to practice ; and that stronghold containing a numerical force at least five-fold greater than their own, of equal intrepidity, and under an officer whose abilities and well-tried courage, inspired with unanimity and zeal the whole of his garrison, how different would have been the result ! how awful the consequences ! a forlorn hope, self-immolated, and doomed to perish ! The band would have been cut off in this wild expedition of uncalculating temerity ; and though their fate would have been deplored, they would neither have deserved the gratitude of their country, nor merited the panegyrics of history.

BLADEN COUNTY.

The sagacious commander, Col. Brown, did not act thus. He did not com- mence an expedition without a plan ; and without looking to results, and providing for contingencies. Every meditated movement was arranged and settled with exact precision ; and the destruction of the superior officers of the garrison determined on as an indispensable, though painful measure, to insure the victory. Every individual was made perfectly acquainted with his duty, in order that entire concert might be maintained during the conflict.

Your correspondent's narrative is, no doubt, correct as to the advance of the Whigs, under cover of night, their forming in the rear of what was then called the King's Road, driving in the outposts and sentries, and making the onset on the garrison. Here, his deficiency will be evident, when it is com- pared with the details which I am about to give.

After the first volley, Col. Brown, with six officers, who for the want of a more appropriate word, may be termed his staff; and among whom were those gallant spirits, Owen, Morehead, and Robeson, took a central position, as previously arranged; and the main body rushed to a point, at a specified distance, on his right, and reloaded with almost inconceivable rapidity. The words of command were then heard in loud and distinct tones. On the right ! Col. Dodd's company ! Advance ! (No such officer, and no such company being present.) The main body advanced and fired, wheeling, rushed to a point to the left, and reloaded as before ; and the order was given in the same audible voice. On the left! Col. Gillespie's company ! Advance ! (No such officer, and no such company being present.) The main body advanced and fired. Again. On the right ! Col. Dickinson's company! Advance! (The same fiction being repeated.) The main body advanced and fired, and wheel- ing, rushed to the designated point. Again. On the left! "Major Wright's company ! Advance !, (The same fiction being repeated.) The main body advanced and fired.

This ruse de guerre was carried on until the Whig band was multiplied into ten or eleven companies. It succeeded in making an impression on the gar- rison, that it was attacked by a body of one thousand strong, led on by expe- rienced officers. «

The self-possession and the energy with which the orders were given, and the celerity and animation with which they were executed, under circum- stances of recent fatigue and exposure, are almost unparalled in history. During the time occupied in these evolutions, Col. Brown, with his staff, as I have called them, was improving accidents and making occasions. for taking deadly aims.

There must have been a sublimity in the scene. The darkness of night, broken by a sheet of flame, at every successive volley of the Whig band ; the outcries and clamor ; the disorderly firing of the Tories, the gallant efforts of Col. Slingsby to restore order, and to form his lines ; his fall, so sanguinely desired, and yet so much regretted ; and the total rout of the garrison, would, to .a person not engaged in the conflict, if such a one could have been there, have presented a spectacle of horror more easily imagined than described.

In this scene were exhibited all the brilliant features of the enterprise. Here, on the field of battle, strategy and tactics were combined, and consti- tuted the military skill of the commander of the Whig force. He vanquished the enemy by the exercise of such skill as could not 'have been surpassed ; and by a boldness and hardihood, a promptitude of obedience and rapidity of movement on the part of those under his command, that would have shed a lustre on the disciplined legions of modern Europe.

It is proper now to state how I came by my information. I first heard the account in the way your correspondent received it, from persons whose names I cannot recollect, and it left no impression on my mind but that of a despe- rate attack in the night, on Colonel Slingsby's post, and perhaps a panic in the garrison.

Upwards of thirty years ago I heard General Brown himself recount the particulars. It was on the deck of a packet boat, between Smithville and . Wilmington. A young Irishman from Baltimore, a naturalized citizen of the United States, was one of the passengers. IIe was a furious zealot of rebellion 12

HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA.

against all government, and obtruded on the company his political opinions. He declaimed against our institutions, and inveighed in virulent language against some of our most distinguished statesmen. Several gentlemen were present, all natives, and I believe there was not one who was not roused by the insolence of this foreigner. One or two glanced at him, but he disregarded their remarks, and continued to vapor with a provoking contempt for his fellow passengers. At length, General Brown, who was the only one of us who derived authority from age and revolutionary services, and who had been kindled into indignation by his impertinence, commenced an oblique attack on him, by marking the distinction between the legitimate patriotism of that day which "tried men's souls," and the spurious love of liberty of the then epoch which tendered its services uncalled for and unrequired, and vaunted itself in noisy strictures on the administration, and malevolent accusations against the distinguished patriots who conduct it. He proceeded to relate some anecdotes of his military life ; but none of them riveted my attention so entirely as the affair at Elizabethtown. When his narration reached the battle ground, and he depicted the operations there, he grew very warm ; we all became engrossed by the subject, and the Irishman was reduced to silence and mortification.

It happens that the mode of collecting materials for a history of the State, which I have, for many years past, recommended, has been reduced to prac- tice by you, and with immediate success, and without any privity between us. You have induced a talented gentleman of Bladen County to furnish a sketch of the military expedition which terminated in a battle. He has given, you the history of this expedition as he received it, and points to the result and its important consequences, and I have conceived it my duty to supply additional particulars. Here is an example set to those who desire that materials for the history of our revolution should be accumulated. If there is any public spirit in the country, the example will be followed.

I am, Sir, very respectfully,

Your ob't serv't, Y. Z.

P. S. One of the band referred to above, walked over the battle field with the late General Thos. Davis, of Fayetteville, and pointed out to him the dif- ferent positions occupied by the Whig force during the attack on Elizabeth- town. Is it not probable that General Davis made memorandums of this inspection which may yet be found among his papers, and may enable us to form a more accurate idea of the plan and the details of the battle ?

From the Raleigh Register. RECOLLECTIONS OF THE REVOLUTION.

[ Reminiscences of a revolutionary matron with respect to events immediately sub- sequent to the Battle of Elizabethtown-Wilmington in the possession of the British troops commanded by Major Craig-Whig encampment above Wil- mington, under the orders of Colonel Leonard-Attempt by night to surprise and massacre the Whigs-The Kent Bugle-A perfidious guide-Daring adventure of Mansfield, Manly, and the two young Smiths-Death of one of the latter-References to Colonel (the father of Governor) Owen-The Wad- dells, the Smiths, the Leonards-Captain Manly-The unfortunate Slingsby.]

MR. GALES-The fugitive memoranda of our old people, and their fast fading recollections of the scenes of the Revolution, and of events connected with the early history of North Carolina, are rapidly passing away, and every effort should be made to preserve and perpetuate them. Many a gallant deed and noble instance of devoted patriotism has been already irrecoverably lost ; deeds which would illustrate the character of our people-their perils and sacrifices in the arduous struggle in which they were engaged, and would now fill with just exultation the hearts of many whose actions teem with the life- blood of their heroic sires, and who were often wholly ignorant of their bold and patriotic achievements. Every new anecdote and incident of the Revolu-

BLADEN COUNTY.

tion that we read, is full of interest; and although many of them may not be of sufficient public importance to be dignified with a place on the page of our history, yet they should be gathered and treasured up and printed, and thus placed in the reach of our future historian.

These reflections were vividly enforced the other day, upon my reading to an aged and respectable lady of the olden times, who was raised on the Cape Fear, the account given in the Wilmington Chronicle, "of the battle of Eliza-" bethtown, in Bladen county." . "Ah," said she, when I had finished reading, "well do I remember the events of that day, and some of the men that figured in them."

Among other anecdotes, she related substantially the following narrative :- Upon the dispersion of the Tories in that successful sortie at Elizabeth- town, above referred to, by the handful of Whigs under Captain (afterwards General) Brown, many of the Tories fled for refuge to Wilmington, then in possession of the British, under the command of Major Craig, while a portion of that same Spartan Whig band, joined by a few other choice spirits of the county of Brunswick, under the command of Colonel Leonard, formed an en- campment above Wilmington, and not far from the river, for the purpose of cutting off supplies from being carried by the Tories to the enemy, and to prevent their own and their neighbors' slaves from flocking down to tlie British Camp, and for mutual protection generally.

This encampment was a source of great annoyance and vexation to the British commander, and the object of especial hatred and revenge to his new recruits who had just been so handsomely whipped at Elizabeth. It was re- solved at Head Quarters that this encampment should be broken up, and a large force was immediately detailed on this service." A portion of them was sent up the main road, and were to wait in ambush at a bridge on a stream then known as Hood's Creek, not far below the camp, while other companies, under the guide of one of these Tories who well knew the few passways and situation of the country, were to be conducted and planted above, so as effectually to surround the camp and cut off retreat. Orders were given, in the hearing of the guide, to the chief officer of this expedition, to show no quarters, but to put to instant death every Whig that should be found with arms in their hands. After early nightfall, this band sat out on their murderous errand.

Upon hearing these savage and bloodthirsty orders, their guide relented. Many of the men who were in that camp, had been his near neighbors and friends, had often done him acts of kindness, and his heart quailed at the contemplation of the scene before him, and his inhuman instrumentality in having them cut up and butchered. Accordingly, after leaving the main road, he feigned to be lost, and purposely avoiding the right track, he kept them wandering in the woods from swamp to swamp, until, as he supposed, sufficient time would elapse for the camp to have notice of the approach of the direct force, and be enabled to make good their retreat. .

The Whig force did not exceed thirty, and were chiefly mounted men ; planters and men of character and substance. They had finished their scanty supper, had secured their horses for the night, and with their saddles for a. pillow, and their saddle-blankets for a bed, they had lain down to rest, un- conscious of the peril and of the horrible destiny that had been prepared for them. .

The British force had in the mean time arrived at the bridge, and were anxiously awaiting the signal for their onset. The night passed on, and yet no sound was heard. They became impatient, and gave a blast from their horn to apprise their comrades of their position and readiness, and to receive their response. The sound was heard in the Whig camp. " What noise is that ?" said a dreamy sentry, as he paced his lonely rounds. "Oh nothing," said another, " but the trumpet of some lubberly boatman." Another and another blast, louder and louder is given. The camp is aroused. "No boat- man belonging to these waters," said one, " can make that noise ; they are the notes of the Kent Bugle, and in the hands too of a practiced master." "They proceed from down the road and from about the bridge," said the officer in

HISTORY OF NORTH CAROLINA.

command. "That place must be reconnoitered. We must know what all that means. : Who will volunteer and go down ?" No one spoke. "Come, Manly," said he, "you are always ready in a forlorn hope, and that fine black charger of yours can outrun danger itself ; will you go ?" "Aye, aye, sir," said Manly ; " who will go with me to bring back the news if I should lose my nightcap ?" "I, I, I," said Mansfield and two young Smiths. Their horses were soon caparisoned and mounted, their holsters examined, and away they galloped to the bridge. Upon their arrival, everything was as quiet and silent as death. They could neither see nor hear any one, but their horses exhibited alarm and refused to proceed.

" All right on this side," said Manly : " let us see how it is on the other," and thrusting their spurs into their horses' sides, they dashed across the bridge. As soon as they had cleared it, up rose the British and Tories from their concealment on each side the road, their muskets and bayonets gleam- ing in the moonlight'; and as these men checked and turned their horses to retreat, the officer in command sung out, " give it to them," and a platoon of musketry fired upon them. "The top of Manly's hat was shot, away. One of the Smiths was badly wounded, his horse shot down on the bridge, and in falling caught his rider under him : and the British as they passed, perforated the body of the poor fellow with their bayonets, and commenced a running pursuit. The camp, in the mean time, had heard the firing, the guide was still lost in the swamps, and all but poor Smith made good their retreat. Thus this gallant band of chivalrous and devoted spirits, through an almost miraculous intervention of an overruling Providence, escaped the well-planned strata- gem projected for their heartless and cold-blooded massacre, and were spared to their families and country.

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Historical sketches of North Carolina : from 1584 to 1851, Vol. I, Part 18

Author: Wheeler, John H. (John Hill), 1806-1882 Publication date: 1851 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Lippincott, Grambo and Co. Number of Pages: 662

Author: Wheeler, John H. (John Hill), 1806-1882
Publication date: 1851
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Lippincott, Grambo and Co.
Number of Pages: 662