USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina: The Colonial and Revolutionary Periods 1584 1783, Volume I > Part 30
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Tryon's precautions were wisely taken. The Regulators assembled to the number of 3,700, but, overawed by the gover- nor's display of force, made no attempt to interfere with the proceedings of the court. Husband was tried and acquitted; Butler and two other Regulators were convicted and sen- tenced to fines and imprisonment. None of them, however, was punished, for Tryon, having vindicated the authority of government, adopted a policy of leniency. He released the prisoners and suspended the payment of their fines, and later, upon the advice of the king, pardoned them. Fanning was tried for extortion and found guilty on five counts, but the judges, upon a motion in arrest of judgment, held their judg- ment in reserve, and so far as the records show no further action was ever taken on the case. Fanning promptly re- signed his office as register. The Regulators pointed to the result as justifying their distrust of the courts. In this instance, however, their distrust was not well-founded for from any point of view, Fanning was guilty of nothing worse than a misconstruction of the law. It seems clear that he was not even guilty of that. He was charged with taking 6s. for registering a deed when, it was alleged, he was entitled to only 2s. 8d. Yet before entering upon his office he was advised by the county court that he was entitled to 6s. and odd pence, while the attorney-general of the colony had advised him that he was entitled to 8s. 7d. on any deed. After his conviction the case was referred to the attorney-general of England and to John Morgan of the Inner Temple, London, both of whom were of opinion that not only was Fanning entitled to more than he took, but that under no aspect of the case could he be guilty of extortion, since his action in seeking advice from the county court clearly disproved any intention to commit
1 "The Regulators of North Carolina, " p. 178 of the Annual Re- port of the American Historical Association, 1894.
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a fraud.2 But the Regulators were in no frame of mind to appreciate these fine points ; all they could see was that Fan- ning, although found guilty of extortion, had escaped punish- ment, and they bitterly resented the outcome.
In the meantime the Regulating spirit had spread to other counties. In some of them it found expression in acts of vio- lence. A band of about thirty men from Edgecombe County attempted unsuccessfully to rescue an insurgent leader who had been imprisoned in the Halifax jail. In Johnston County a mob attacked the county court. In Anson a hundred armed men entered the courthouse, broke up the sitting of the county court, drove the justices off the bench, and then entered into an oath-bound association to assist each other in resisting all efforts of the sheriff to collect taxes. Later, however, appar- ently upon the advice of the Orange County Regulators, the Anson Regulators abandoned violent methods and sought a redress of their grievances through a petition to the governor, from whom they received the same promise that had been given to the Regulators of Orange. In Rowan County, also, an organization existed which attempted to prosecute the of- ficers for extortion, but failed because the grand jury refused to return true bills.
The courts failing them, the Regulators decided to appeal to the Assembly. In the summer of 1769, the governor dis- solved the old Assembly and ordered the election of a new one. In Orange, Anson, Granville, and Halifax counties the Regu- lators returned their entire delegations while they made their influence felt in Rowan and other counties. When the Assem- bly met, several petitions were presented setting forth the grievances of the Regulators together with their suggestions for reform. The Assembly certainly was not unsympathetic with their appeal, but because of some resolutions which it
2 The whole trouble lay in the differences between the popular and the legal construction of the law. For registering a deed the law al- lowed a fee of 2s. 8d. Fanning was accused of extortion because in reg- istering Deed 13 he had charged 6s. Besides the deed itself, there were three endorsements which required to be registered. To the people, deed and endorsements formed a single instrument for which the register could collect one fee; to Fanning they formed four instru- ments on each of which he was entitled to a fec. Fanning's construc- tion was upheld by the attorney-general of North Carolina, the attor- ney-general of England, and John Morgan of the Inner Temple. Morgan gave it as his opinion that Fanning was entitled to four fees, viz. : (1) For the deed ; (2) for the certificate of the examination of the feme covert; (3) for the certificate of the persons examining; (4) for the oath of execution and order to register.
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had adopted on the questions at issue between the colonies and the British ministry, it suffered a sudden and unexpected dis- solution before it could take up the measures necessary to redress the Regulators' grievances. It showed its attitude toward their petitions, however, by resolving just before dis- solution, "that if any public officer shall exact illegal fees, or otherwise under colour of his office unduly oppress the people, such officer so acting shall on conviction thereof receive the highest censure and punishment this House can inflict upon him." The men who composed the Assembly appeared to be so ready to listen to the complaints of the Regulators that James Iredell declared a majority of them were themselves of Regulating principles.
It seems clear that legal remedies would have been pro- vided for their grievances had the Regulators been willing to wait upon the slow process of lawmaking. That the laws needed amendment was not denied, but the Assembly from its very nature as a legislative body could not move with the speed which the impatience of the Regulators demanded. The reformer is naturally a radical, the lawmaker is, or ought to be, a conservative, and when he does not move fast enough for the reformer, the latter frequently becomes impatient and runs into excesses in words or deeds. So it was with the Reg- ulators. Impatience at what they considered the indifference of all branches of the colonial government to their grievances led them into excesses which no government entitled to the name could think of condoning. For, to break into courts of justice, driving the judges from the bench, to "tear down justice from her tribunal," and contemptuously to set up mock courts filling the records with billingsgate and profanity; to drag unoffending attorneys through the streets at the peril of their lives, and wantonly to assault peaccable citizens for refusing to sympathize with lawlessness-these surely are not proper methods of redressing grievances, however oppressive, in a civilized community under a government based upon the will of the people.
Such were the methods which lost the Regulators the sympathy of the Assembly and compelled both the king's gov- ernor and the people's representatives to look less to the re- dress of grievances than to the suppression of anarchy. When the Superior Court, Judge Richard Henderson presiding, met at Hillsboro, in September, 1770, a mob of 150 Regulators, led by Herman Husband, James Hunter, Rednap Howell, and William Butler, armed with sticks and switches, broke into
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the courthouse, attempted to strike the judge, and compelled him to leave the bench. They next assaulted and severely whipped John Williams, whose only offense was that he was a praetieing attorney. William Hooper was "dragged and paraded through the streets, and treated with every mark of contempt and insult." Turning next to Edmund Fanning, the mob pulled him out of the courthouse by his heels, dragged him through the street, and gave him a brutal whipping. Breaking into his house, they burned his papers, destroyed his furniture, and demolished the building. Alexander Martin, Michael Holt, Thomas Hart, "and many others," were whipped. Rioting through the streets of the town, the Regu- lators amused themselves in typical mob-fashion by smashing the windows of private residences and terrorizing the inhab- itants. Unable to enforee order Judge Henderson adjourned court and escaped from the town under cover of darkness. The next day the Regulators assembled in the courtroom, set up a moek court, seeured the doeket, and entered upon it their own judgments and comments upon the several eases. In MeMund vs. Courtney the comment was "Damn'd Rogues;" in Wilson vs. Harris, "All Harris's are Rogues;" in Brum- field vs. Ferrel, "Nonsense let them agree for Ferrell has gone Hellward;" in Brown vs. Lewis, wherein judgment was en- tered by default, it was "The Man was sick. It tis damned roguery ;" in Fanning vs. Smith, "Fanning pays costs but loses nothing;" in Hogan vs. Husbands, "Hogan pays & be damned;" in Richardson vs. York, "Plaintiff pays all and gets his body scourged for Blasphemy;" while in Humphries vs. Jackson the entry is "Judgment by default the money must come to the officers."
These outrages threw the colonial officials into a panic. The Orange County officials loudly demanded a special session of the Assembly. The governor hastily summoned the Coun- eil to give their advice as to "the properest measures to be taken in the exigeney." The Council urged that the militia be immediately called into active service. The air was full of rumors. First eame news of the burning by ineendiaries of Judge Henderson's dwelling and stables in Granville County. Hard upon this report, followed rumors that the Regulators were gathering in foree for a deseent upon New Bern to over- awe the Assembly. In the midst of the excitement the Assem- bly met, December 5th. "Born as it was in terror," says Dr. Bassett, "it is not surprising that it should have passed away in blood." For a time the members kept their heads
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admirably. In their reply to the governor's message they declared that the conduct of public officers in some parts of the colony had "given just cause of complaint" which was due chiefly to "an inconsistent and oppressive fee Bill," and promised to remedy the evils as far as possible. Acts were accordingly passed relating to the appointment of sheriffs and their duties, ascertaining attorneys' fees, more strictly regulating officers' fees, providing for the more speedy col- lection of small debts, placing the chief justice on a salary, and erecting the counties of Wake, Guilford, Chatham, and Surry, all lying in the region embraced within the Regula- tion. All these laws were in line with the demands of the Regulators. But while the House was considering them, a report was received that the Regulators had assembled at Cross Creek preparatory for their march on New Bern. Re- formatory measures were hastily side-tracked and punitive measures given the right of way. The Assembly had already in its message to the governor denounced the "daring and in- solent attack" of the Regulators on the court at Hillsboro; declared that their "dissolute principles and licentious spirit" rendered them too formidable for the ordinary process of law ; and recommended the adoption of "measures at once spirited and decisive." The measure adopted was introduced by Sam- uel Johnston and is generally known as the "Johnston Act." It provided that the attorney-general might prosecute charges of riot in any Superior Court in the province, declared out- laws all those who avoided the summons of the court for sixty days, allowed such outlaws to be killed with impunity, and authorized the governor to employ the militia to enforce the law. Like most laws passed in passion and fear its very severity largely defeated its purpose. As Haywood truly re- marks, it is doubtful if so drastic a measure ever passed another American assembly; but the Assembly felt, as James Iredell expressed it, that "desperate diseases must have des- perate remedies."
The Regulators met the Assembly's "desperate remedies" with defiance. Husband having been expelled from the Assem- bly and imprisoned at New Bern for a libel on Maurice Moore, the Regulators were prevented from releasing him by force only by the grand jury's failure to return a true bill against him. Determined to extend and strengthen their organiza- tion, they dispatched emissaries into Bute, Edgecombe, and Northampton to stimulate and organize disaffection in those counties. In Rowan they denounced the Assembly for passing
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a "riotous act," swore they would pay no fees, resolved that no judge or king's attorney should hold any court in Rowan, threatened death to all clerks and lawyers who came among them, and declared Edmund Fanning an outlaw whom any Regulator might kill on sight. Rednap Howell, writing from Halifax to James Hunter, February 16, 1771, said: "I give out here that the Regulators are determined to whip every one who goes to Law or will not pay his just debts;
that they will choose Representatives but not send them to be put in jail; in short to stand in defiance and as to thieves to drive them out of the Country." When Tryon appointed a term of Superior Court to be held at Hillsboro in March, 1771, the judges filed with the Council a formal protest saying that under the conditions existing in that part of the province which were "rather increasing than declining," they could not hold such a court with any hopes of dispatching business or any prospect of personal safety to themselves; and the Council, thinking that the time had come for law to take a stand against anarchy, advised the governor to call out the militia and march against the Regulators "with all expedi- tion." This advice was hailed with relief by the law-abiding people of the colony, who were worn out with the reign of violence, lawlessness, and terrorism which the Regulators had set up.
Tryon lost no time in getting his military preparations under way. He ordered General Hugh Waddell with the Cape Fear militia to proceed at once to Salisbury to overawe the Rowan Regulators, raise the western militia, and march on Hillsboro from the west. Tryon himself in command of the eastern militia was to march from New Bern and unite with- Waddell at Hillsboro. On March 19th, he ordered the colonels of the several counties to hold militia musters and secure 2,550 volunteers. In the counties affected by the influence of the Regulators difficulties in raising men arose, and in none of the counties were the quotas secured. Altogether Tryon raised a force of 1,068 men, of whom 151 were commissioned officers, while Waddell raised 284 men, of whom 48 were commissioned officers. Among these officers were Robert Howe, Alexander Lillington, James Moore, John Ashe, Richard Caswell, Fran- cis Nash, and Griffith Rutherford, all of whom subsequently won military distinction in the war of the Revolution, and Abner Nash, John Baptista Ashe, and Willie Jones, who at- tained high civil positions during and after the Revolution. Tryon reached Hillsboro May 9 without meeting any opposi-
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tion, but Waddell had been checked by a superior force of Regulators and because his men would not fire on them was compelled to fall back on Salisbury. Consequently he did not join Tryon until after the battle of Alamance.
On May 14, Tryon encamped on Great Alamance Creek, a few miles west of Hillsboro. Two days later he formed his line of battle and marched forward to meet the enemy who had gathered about 2,000 strong. The Regulators were nu- merically superior to the militia, but the latter enjoyed every other advantage. Neither side really wanted to bring on a battle. Tryon still hoped that the Regulators upon his display of force would submit and disperse, while the Regulators had not lost hope of securing a peaceable adjustment of their quarrel. Accordingly while the two forces lay on their arms facing each other, each reluctant to bring matters to a final test, they sent a petition to the governor requesting to be per- mitted to lay their grievances before him. To this petition Tryon very properly replied that as long as they remained under arms in "a state of War and Rebellion," he could hold no negotiations with them, and demanded that they disperse and submit to the laws of their country. He gave them one hour to come to a decision. The infatuated people treated his reply with contempt and foolishly declared that a fight was all they wanted. At the expiration of the hour, Tryon sent an officer to receive their reply. The officer told them that unless they dispersed the governor would fire upon them. "Fire and be damned !" was their answer. Thereupon the governor gave the order. His men hesitated. Rising in his stirrups he cried out, "Fire! Fire on them or on me!" The militia obeyed, the Regulators replied, and the action became general. Or- ganization and discipline as usual won the day. After two hours of fighting the undisciplined mob was driven in con- fusion from the field. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this remarkable battle was the poor marksmanship on both sides. Tryon's casualties were nine killed, sixty-one wounded, the Regulators' casualties were nine killed and a large unas- certained number wounded. Fifteen Regulators were cap- tured, one of whom, James Few, who had previously been out- lawed, was summarily executed in compliance with the insist- ence of the militia, who demanded an example.
After his victory, Tryon's course was marked by good judgment and leniency. He had the wounded Regulators cared for by his own surgeons. The next day he issued a proclamation offering pardon to those, with a few exceptions,
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who would submit to the government and take the oatlı of allegiance. Fourteen of the prisoners taken in the battle were tried at a special term of the Superior Court, twelve of whom were convicted of high treason and sentenced to death. Six of the number were hanged, the others at Tryon's request were pardoned by the king.
Alamance was the climax of Tryon's administration in North Carolina. He had already received notice of his ap- · pointment as governor of New York, and a few days after his victory he bade his army farewell and set out for his new province. He was soon followed by Edmund Fanning.
The Regulation was at an end. Its leaders were dead, fugitives, or in concealment, its members scattered and dis- heartened. James Few had been executed on the battlefield. Benjamin Merrill and James Pugh, convicted of treason, had paid the penalty for their crime, Husband, Howell, and Hun- ter had sought safety in flight. Hamilton, Butler, and others were in hiding. After Tryon's departure some of these lead- ers, who had been excepted from his offer of general amnesty, applied to his successor, Governor Josiah Martin, for pardon which, however, was not then granted. The Regulators gen- erally availed themselves of Tryon's offer of pardon. Within six weeks after the battle of Alamance, 6,409 liad submitted to the government and taken the oath of allegiance. The British government advised the General Assembly to pass a general amnesty act, but the two houses could not agree on its terms and the proposed act failed of passage. The course of events, however, favored the cause of the Regulators. In 1775, when the men who had followed Tryon at Alamance were them- selves organizing committees, congresses, and armies for re- bellion, the old Regulators manifested such a "favorable dis- position" toward the royal government that the king sent to his governor in North Carolina "a Power, under the Great Seal, to pardon all those who were concerned in the Rebellious Insurrections in 1770, Herman Husband only excepted." About the same time the Provincial Congress sitting at Hills- boro and presided over by the author of the Johnston Act, re- solved that the former Regulators "ought to be protected from every attempt to punish them by any Means whatever." Thus the despised and feared "banditti" of the back country. courted by king and revolutionists alike, found safety in the quarrels of their former enemies, and had they been asked to express their view of the situation they would probably
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have quoted the old adage that when thieves fall out, honest men get their dues.
In any discussion of the Regulation the question arises, Did the Regulators begin the Revolution and at Alamance shed the first blood in the cause of independence? Upon the answer to this question must depend our judgment of the his- torical importance of the Regulation. The Regulators made no such claim for themselves : on the contrary when an oppor- tunity was offered to fight for independence a great majority of them arrayed themselves against it. The oath which Tryon compelled them to take after the battle of Alamance is often urged as a sufficient justification of their course during the Revolution; but every American who pleaded the cause or fought the battles of independence had repeatedly taken a sim- ilar oath. There is a fundamental difference, which Dr. Bas- sett points out, between the Regulation and the Revolution. The Regulators were not contending for a great constitutional principle lying at the very foundation of human government such as inspired the men who fought the Revolution. Every grievance of which the former complained could have been removed by their own representatives in an assembly chosen by the people; the American people sent no representatives to the British Parliament. The former, therefore, resisted op- pressive methods of administering laws passed by their own representatives ; the latter, it need scarcely be said, revolted against taxation without representation. The one was an insurrection, the other a revolution. The distinction is plain and goes to the root of the whole matter. A revolution in- volves a change of principles in government and is constitu- tional in its significance; an insurrection is an uprising of individuals to prevent the execution of laws and aims at a change of agents who administer, or the manner of adminis- tering affairs under forms or principles that remain intact. There is of course all the difference in the world between the two. It is this difference, for instance, that raises the resist- ance to the Stamp Act on the Cape Fear far above the revolt of the Regulators in dignity and significance, and elevates the former but not the latter above the level of a riot. The Ameri- cans denied the validity of the Stamp Act because in passing it Parliament, as they believed, assumed to itself an authority which it did not rightfully possess, and thus undermined their constitutional liberties. The Regulators did not dispute the constitutional right of the Assembly to enact the laws of which they complained; they merely objected to the improper execu-
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tion of those laws. Then, too, there is no continuity between the Regulation and the Revolution. The principles of the re- volt against the Stamp Act did not die with the repeal of the act, but became the living issues in the great Revolution. The movement of the Regulators expended itself at Alamance and died out with the removal of the causes and persons which gave rise to it. However just their cause may have been, it did not involve a vital principle of political freedom, and it seems clear that it is a total misconception of the real significance of the American Revolution as well as of the Regulation to call Alamance the first battle in the cause of independence.
CHAPTER XVIII THE STAMP ACT AND THE CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
When Tryon took the oath of office April 3, 1765, the Stamp Act was the chief topic of discussion in the political circles of America. The new governor was a man of much greater force and ability than any of his predecessors. Courtly, versatile, tactful and resourceful, he knew how to win the favor of men and understood the secrets of leadership. If any man could have induced the people of North Carolina to accept the Stamp Act, he was the man. But those with whom he had to contend were men of equal ability and determination and had, more- over, far more at stake than he. Before his arrival they had already made up their minds what course they intended to pur- sue. At the October session, 1764, the Assembly in their reply to Governor Dobbs' address declared their opposition to the right of Parliament to impose internal taxes in the colonies as being "against what we esteem our Inherent right and Ex- clusive privilege of imposing our own Taxes," and had united with Massachusetts and the other colonies in protesting against the proposed stamp duty. When Tryon asked John Ashe, speaker of the Assembly, what the attitude of the col- ony would be toward the Stamp Act, Ashe promptly replied with great confidence : "We will resist it to the death."
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