USA > North Carolina > History of North Carolina, V I pt 2 > Part 33
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On being elected governor, Colonel Martin on April 22d S. R., XVI, made a spirited address to the Assembly, declaring that 295-297 "Britishi pride, long supported by riches and power, late drunk with the idea of conquest of these states, with reluc- tance at last must bend to superior force." But he called on the Assembly to maintain the army, and be prepared for any emergency. He recommended mercy to those citizens who having been in revolt had surrendered themselves to the justice of the State : and in particular he said : "The edu- cation of your youth demands your serious attention : savage manners are ever attendant on ignorance, which, without correction in time, will sap the foundation of civil govern-
1782
Burke desires a re-election
S. R., XVI. 593
Alexander Martin chosen
714
MARTIN'S ADMINISTR. ITION, 1781-83
1782 April ment. Those states who want knowledge and wisdom in their councils have generally fallen a prey to their wist- neighbors, or require their guardianship. This will neve. be our fate while those seminaries of learning now estab lished be further supported by your authority, and other- created when they are wanting." Although not the father of the university, he broke ground in favor of education before the echoes of the war had even subsided.
New legislation
The Assembly now proposed to carry into effect its pur- pose of establishing a permanent seat of government near the centre of the State. and resolved that thereafter the legis- lature should always hold its sessions at Hillsboro; but a year later this action was annulled. The palace at New Bern was directed to be repaired. rented out. or sold.
Courts of Equity
S. R., XXIV, 441
When the superior courts were established in 1777, equity jurisdiction was denied to the judges on the ground that all issues of fact should be tried by a jury. Session after ses- sion the lawyers combated this view and urged that the judges should have the powers of a chancellor, and now at the end of the war this change was made, and the title of the courts became "Superior Courts of Law and Equity." A new judicial district was created, embracing Washington and Sullivan counties across the mountains, and Lincoln, Burke, and Wilkes on the eastern side; and while terms of court were to be held at Morganton, two sessions a year were directed to be hield west of the mountains.
Because of the impoverished condition of the people in the Wilmington district, who had suffered so much from the depredations of the Loyalists, those inhabitants of that sec- tion who should be excused by the county commissioners were exempt from the payment of taxes ; and the residents of Bladen were required under penalty of fine to carry with them their arms and six rounds of ammunition whenever they attended courts or elections or any public meeting, for the Tories were not yet entirely subdued in that region.
S. R., XXIV, 474
The Moravians
The Moravians had been fearful that their lands would be regarded as subject to the confiscation acts. In 1778 they applied for some alteration in the form of the oath of
715
REMADJUSTMENT
allegiance, and that they might on the payment of the regu- lar tax be exempt from military service. At first their re- quest was not favorably considered, and without some relief, under the orders of the court of Surry County, they would have been compelled to abandon their homes in sixty days should they further delay taking the prescribed oath. Mr. Hooper befriended them when all seemed dark in the Assembly, and satisfactory legislation was obtained. Still doubts were entertained lest their lands were subject to the confiscation act, and at this session all uncertainties were finally removed.
1782
April, 1782
The depreciation of the currency
The public accounts being in great confusion, the office of Comptroller of Accounts was created, and Richard Caswell undertook its duties. The depreciation of currency was such that while in December, 1778, the decline in value was only 5 per cent., a year later it was 30 per cent. During the fol- lowing year it went by leaps and bounds, until in December, 1780. it fell 200 per cent., and the next December its value had declined 725 per cent. No greater depreciation than 800 per cent. was, however, recognized by the Assembly. The value of a Spanish milled dollar was fixed at 8 shillings, making a shilling in North Carolina 1212 cts. A tax was S. R. laid by the Assembly of one penny on the pound of value of all property embracing land and negroes ; but two-thirds of this tax could be paid in commodities. Quakers and other non-combatants were, however, subjected, as they had been during the war, to a threefold taxation. Inasmuch as there were many worthy citizens of the State still confined on prison ships and suffering the most cruel hardships, the legislature directed the governor to send Samuel Bryan and others under sentence of death to be exchanged for militia officers of similar rank, and that he should cause a sufficient number of Tories to be sent on to General Greene's camp to be exchanged for the citizens held by the British, send- ing also the wives and families of the Tories: and the gov- ernor was directed to continue to do this from time to time. And if General Leslie would not carry out in good faith
XXIV, 438, 485
May, 1782
Tories exchanged
-
-16
MARTIN'S ADMINISTR.ITION. 17SI-83
1,82 S. R .. XXIV, 424
1782
S R .. X.XIV, 419-422
this proposition, the treason laws of the State were to be rigidly enforced.
The Assembly addressed itself to giving effect to its con- fiscation acts, and appointed commissioners to sell the prop- erty of those who had adhered to the enemies of the State. Provision, however, was made for unfortunate families, and where a wife or widow or children of a Tory remained in the State, the county courts were directed to set aside so much property, both real and personal, as would provide them adequate support.
The Continental Line
On March 30th a board of officers of the North Carolina line had held a meeting to arrange the continental officers of the State to command the four continental battalions which had been provided for. Thomas Clark was assigned to com- mand the First Battalion; Colonel John Patten the Second : Lieutenant-Colonel Selby Harney the Third, and Lieutenant- Colonel Archibald Lytle the Fourth. There were ninety- six officers embraced in this arrangement. Some, Colonel James Armstrong. Colonel James Thackston, and Captain Francis Childs, were allowed to retire on half pay. The Assembly approved of this arrangement, and the officers took the commands assigned them.
While under the exchange many officers as well as men were returned to duty, yet as late as November Colonel Clark. Major Nelson, six captains and eight lieutenants of the North Carolina line were still unexchanged, although paroled.
The Assembly was not indifferent to the hardships endured by the soldiers, and took measures for their relief ; while in order to manifest its appreciation of their patriotic service. it granted to every soldier who should continue in the ranks until the end of the war 640 acres of land. and to every officer a larger quantity according to his rank, a colonel re- ceiving 7200 acres : a brigadier. 12,000 acres, while to Gen- eral Greene was given 25.000 acres. This land was set aside for the soldiers in the wilds beyond the mountains, now in the State of Tennessee.
The Indians renew hostilities
The Indians had long been quiet, and General Greene
--..
717
CHEROKEES AND TORIES
on taking command of the Southern army had made a par- ticular treaty with them to preserve their neutrality, but now, although the British cause no longer wore a hopeful out- look, they were suddenly inflamed to renew hostilities. They were active in Georgia and in South Carolina, and against the inhabitants of Washington County, where, under the di- section of the legislature. lands intended for the soldiers were to be located. In July Martin Armstrong wrote: "The In- dians are very troublesome in this side of our new county." Colonel Crawford with four hundred and eighty men was totally defeated by them. aided by the British Tories.
A year later, in August. 1783, Governor Martin, under- standing that there were still some Cherokee prisoners held in Rutherford and Lincoln counties, directed General Mc- Dowell to have them given up to Colonel Joseph Martin, in command across the mountains, that he might send them to the Indian nation in exchange for the white prisoners the Indians held.
Nor were the Tories pacified : even in October they made a demonstration in Bladen. When the judges issued war- rants against some rioters in that county they threatened to disturb the court, and Governor Martin felt that the menace was so great as to require General Lillington to protect the court with his militia.
After the battle of Eutaw, on September 8th, the British commander. Colonel Stuart. took post at Monk's Corner, and Greene on the high hills of the Santee. Lord Rawdon, having previously sailed for Europe, General Leslie, then serving in Virginia, was appointed by Cornwallis to command in the Carolinas, and he soon made his headquarters at Charleston. Although there were some slight conflicts, a period of inac- tivity set in between the contending armies. Greene took post at Camp Round O, on the Edisto, about forty miles from Charleston, hemming the British in to the coast. In the spring of 1782 General Leslie proposed a cessation of hos- tilities, which, however, was not agreed to. Not supplied with provisions from abroad. Leslie was forced, in order to relieve the distress of his troops, to forage on the country as far as he could make incursions, but his field of operations was so restricted that only an insufficient supply could be ob-
1782
S. R., XVI, 627
General Leslie remains at Charleston 1782
7IS
MARTIN'S ADMINISTRATION, 1781-83
1782 -
tained. His troops suffered severely, and so did those in the Whig camp.
The deplorable condition of the army
S. R., XVI, 518, 634, 645, 687
Indeed, the condition of the army in South Carolina was deplorable. No clothing or provisions could be obtained from Virginia or Maryland, while South Carolina was nt terly unable to supply their necessities. North Carolina was their only resource. Colonel Dixon reported to General Sumner in February that "some of our officers are so brirc of clothes that they cannot mount guard or keep company with decency." On May 15th Colonel Murfree wrote that the men were almost naked, and a great many were returne I not fit for duty for want of clothes. Officers felt compelled to resign because they could get no pay and could not live. The legislature having taken steps to keep the ranks of the battalions filled, all during the year drafts were being collected and sent forward. General Groene had urgently requested that at least three thousand head of cattle should be sent to camp, together with some rum and salt, for the army was in great distress for the want of these neces- saries. And in August Governor Martin wrote to General Bryan, the superintendent-commissary for the New Bern district, that General Greene is still in great distress for beef. "Must General Greene," said he, "retreat before a conquered and despairing enemy, abandon all his conquest, give up South Carolina for the want of food, and return to this State? . . . Rather than he should be compelled to this alter- native. which would disgrace the State to eternity, I would through all opposition drive to him everything in the shape of a cow or steer" to be found in North Carolina. Truly. the situation of the army at that period was most distressing ; not merely were the troops ragged and without decent clotli- ing, but subsistence was scarce, and their deprivations exces- sive and heartrending.
S. R., XVI, 703
All during the summer the opposing forces in South Carolina watched each other, waiting for some development. At length, in August, General Leslie announced in general orders his intention of evacuating Charleston. To stop thie further effusion of blood, he addressed General Greene, ask- ing permission to purchase from the country such supplies as might be furnished him until he should be ready to sail. As
719
NORTH CAROLINA'S QUOTA
desirable as this practical suspension of hostilities was for the advantage of the naked and destitute American soldiers, General Greene felt constrained to refuse the accommodation. How deplorable was the situation of the army was portrayed by General Greene in a report : "For upward of two months more than one-third of our army was naked, with nothing but a breech-cloth about them, and never came out of their tents. . Our condition was little better in the articles of provision." In September the preparations for evacuation were apparent : but autumn passed without action. and it was not until December 14th that the British, having embarked, took their departure. General Greene with his continentals at once occupied the city, which the next day was restored to the civil authorities.
The number of troops furnished by North Carolina
It is impossible to ascertain with entire accuracy the num- ber of North Carolinians who were in the field during the war for independence. There were originally six battalions of continentals of 500 nien each, and later the battalions of Colonel Hogun, of Williams, and Sheppard marched to the north, so that 4500 continentals might be computed for these. There was Vance's artillery company and Dickinson and Ashe's cavalry, and Phifer's cavalry, numbering about 400. In the spring of 1779 there was a battalion of conti- nentals with Lincoln and in the fall General Sumner had a brigade of new continentals in South Carolina, altogether 1500. All these disappeared on the surrender of Lincoln. Major Eaton's battalion in the early summer of 1781 num- bered about 400 ; Sumner's brigade at Eutaw Springs, 1000. The returns of this brigade in April, 1782, showed 1000 on the roll. The Assembly of April. 1782, directed that every thirtieth man in the State should be drafted for eighteen months to fill up this brigade, and these drafts were being sent forward in May and later. They were calculated to raise 2000 men, and even in September selections from the militia were being made to complete these drafts, so that probably 1000 new men became continentals after the summer of 1782. These figures aggregate 8800 continen- tals. On the reorganization, in 1781, the new battalions
178 ---
Lee's Memoirs, 572
Charleston evacuated
Dec. 14, 1782
720
MARTIN'S ADMINISTR.ITION. 1781-83
1783
were numbered the First, Second, Third, and Fourth, the former ones having been obliterated.
There were originally 3000 six-months' minute men : (0) militia marched in the "Snow campaign": 1500 with Ruther- ford against the Cherokees. Colonel Williams had 300 with the Virginia troops at the same time. There were probably 3000 militia besides minute men and continentals on the Cape Fear in the Moore's Creek campaign, and in May, when the British fleet was in the harbor; for it is stated that the number of troops in arms at that time was 940 ). In the fall of 1776 General Allen Jones's brigade was in South Carolina, numbering, say. 600. General Rutherford carried 700 and Ashe 2000 to the aid of General Lincoln : to take their place, Butler carried 700 to Lincoln in June. Early in 1780 Lillington carried, say, 800 to Charleston, where Colonel Lytle already had a detachment of two regi- ments, numbering perhaps 400. A thousand North Carolina militia were surrendered by Lincoln. General William Cas- well marched to the relief of Charleston with 800. At Cam- den, under Richard Caswell, there were 1600. In June Gener:il Rutherford had his brigade of, say, 800 and Davie. say, 200. The First Brigade commanded by Sumner, three regiments. 800; Butler's brigade, assigned to Sumner, 800; Harrington, 450; the North Carolina detachments at King's Mountain, 1000; General Gregory, in defence of the Albemarle section, 600; with Morgan at Cowpens, 300; Davidson's brigade, after his death commanded by Pickens, 700; Lillington, near Wilmington, 600 : Eaton's brigade and Butler's, at Guil- ford Court House, 1600; Colonel Kenan, 400: General Cas- well. 150; General Lillington, in August, 600 : Colonel Haw- kins's cavalry, 150; Wade. Brown, Robeson, Soo; Malmedy, at Eutaw Springs, 600; Rutherford, Butler, Smith, and Graham, in October, 1200: Colonel Isaacs, 300 : State troops, 500; sailors and companies stationed at the forts on the coast, 600. These aggregate 27.800. Certainly there were many duplications ; how many is a mere matter of conjec- ture. It is to be remembered that the inhabitants of the State were divided into militia companies, and these com- panies into five classes. and when a draft of militia was made for three months, the regular term, one of these classes only
721
NORTH CAROLINA'S QUOTA
was embraced in the draft, until all the five drafts, being all the militia, had been called out into service, so that the error of duplication is largely minimized. Indeed, first and last it would seem that every man, not a Tory, in the State capable of bearing arms was at one time or another called into active service, although for only one tour of duty. It has been computed that there were 22,000 different names on the muster rolls of the North Carolina troops. Prob- ably that is a correct statement. Were there no duplica- tions the number would be 36.600.
Except in the territory where the Highlanders and the Regu- lators resided. and in Tryon County, there was but little dis- affection. In Bladen fifteen companies of the militia out of eighteen were inclined to the British: in Cumberland . and Anson, at least one-half of the people were disaffected, and similarly in the Deep River country. Elsewhere the propor- tion was not near so great.
On January 29, 1783, Captain Eve brought the ship Dawes, bound from Jamaica to New York, which was still held by the British. into Wilmington. Lord Charles Mon- tague, lieutenant-colonel of a British regiment, Captain Mon- tague, and four or five other British officers had taken pas- sage for New York. When well at sea, Captain Eve in- formed these officers that they must consider themselves his prisoners, and he brought them into the Cape Fear and de- livered them to General Lillington. It was at once reported to Governor Martin that the regiment raised for Lord Charles Montague was chiefly composed of captive conti- nentals taken at Charleston, who were compelled to enlist into the British service, under Montague's own direction, on the pain of severe penalties. For this conduct Governor Martin thought that Montague should suffer some punish- ment. The other officers were paroled as prisoners, but al- lowed to go abroad, while his Lordship was paroled only to North Carolina. There was some delay in communicating these circumstances to General Greene, and before he was informed of Governor Martin's purpose to deal with his Lordship differently from other prisoners, General Greene paroled him with permission to go to New York. On in- quiry General Greene found that Lord Charles did enlist
1793 -
The capture of Lord Mont igue S. R., XVI, 741
722
MARTIN'S ADMINISTRATION, 1781-83
1733
American soldiers into the British service, but it was said that it was by the voluntary act of the prisoners themselves. The punishment in contemplation by the North Carolina au- thorities was thus defeated, as the parole by General Greene could not be annulled.
The condition in 1783
The eight years that had elapsed since the first provincial convention assembled in August, 1774, had brought many changes. Harvey had died while the colonists were just entering on the struggle to maintain their rights as Brit- ish subjects, and year by year the leaders who had set in motion the ball of revolution mourned the loss of some of their number. James Moore, Francis Nash, James Hogun. Harnett, Hewes, Buncombe, Davidson, John Ashe, Gideon Lamb and many of their associates had perished without be- holding the glorious consummation of their patriotic desires and unselfish sacrifices. It is to be observed that among the North Carolinians who had enrolled themselves under the banner of the American cause there was not a single deser- tion during the whole course of the conflict. The contest had been doubtful. It brought many vicissitudes and much suffering. The state as well as the continental currency had ceased to have value. Many families had been utterly im- poverished. Misery and desolation were diffused through innumerable households. Civil war and carnage had raged from Surry to Brunswick. Murder and pillage had stalked through a large section of the State, and families expelled from their homes had sought asylums in distant parts, and were too impoverished to return. Many mothers and chil- dren were bereft of their last support, their sacrifices in the cause of independence being irreparable. In the desolated region of the Cape Fear even the wealthiest of the patriots were ruined by the ravages of the war. They had cheer- fully laid their all on the altar of their country. Hard had been the conflict, but in the darkest hours the brave hearts of the North Carolina patriots became still more courageous. and in their adversity they bore their sufferings with resolu- tion and fortitude. At length the storm-clouds passed away, the sky was no longer obscured, and hope gave
1
3
723
. PEACE
place to assurance. The ardent longing became a joyful realization.
On September 21, 1782. Lord Shelburne being then at the head of the administration, the King of Great Britain acknowledged the independence of the American States. and authorized Oswald, the British commissioner at Paris, to make a treaty of peace, which, however, was not to be opera- tive until agreed to by France also. On November 30, 1782, preliminary articles were drawn up requiring a cessation of hostilities. and on January 20th France gave her assent. The war was over. Independence had been won. The long and arduous struggle had closed, and everywhere, in the household of every patriot, there was great rejoicing. . But in the bosoms of many there burned a strong resentment against the detested Tories.
At the next session of the Assembly Governor Martin in his opening address said : "With impatience I hasten to com- municate the most important intelligence that has yet ar- rived in the American Continent." the acknowledgment by Great Britain of the independence of the American States and the appointment of commissioners to conclude a treaty of peace, which was signed on January 20th. He continued : "Nothing now remains but to enjoy the fruits of uninter- rupted constitutional freedom. the more sweet and precious as the tree was planted by Virtue, raised by Toil and nur- tured by the Blood of Heroes. To you. gentlemen, the repre- sentatives of this free, sovereign. and independent State. be- longs the task, that in sheathing the sword, you soften the horrors and repair those ravages which war has made, with a skilful hand. and thereby heal the wounds of your bleeding country." He recommended an act of pardon and oblivion, with some exceptions, and said: "Let the laws henceforth be our sovereign: when stamped with prudence and wis- dom, let them be riveted and held sacred next to those of Deity. . . . Happy will be the people, and happy the ad- ministration when all concerned . . contribute to this great end."
Governor Martin's re-election was strenuously contested by Governor Richard Caswell, but without avail. Martin's majority being 17. There were those who never forgave
1783
S. R., XVI. 752
Governor Martin's address. April 18, 1783
Preliminary 'T'reaty, Jan. 20, 1783
S. R, XIX, 240
724
MARTIN'S .ADMINISTRATION, 17SI-83
1783 April
Caswell for withdrawing from the service of the State in the dark hours after the battle of Caniden, although he con- tinued to wield a great influence, and later again enjoyed the gratification of directing the affairs of the common- wealth.
The sovereign State S. R., XVI, 725
Although the last British soldier had departed from the southern states, General Greene continued to hold the ren- nant of his army together at Charleston. The regiments. however. constantly grew smaller by the expirations of en- listments. By January 5. 1783, all the North Carolina battalions except one had been sent home on furlough ; and finally on April 23d Greene was instructed to furlough his troops. and the last of the North Carolina. continentals, relieved from further service, returned to their homes.
Definitive Treaty, Sept., 1783
After much delay, in September, 1783, the Definitive Treaty of Peace was signed. By it Great Britain formally acknowledged the United States, naming North Carolina and each of her sister States separately and particularly, to be "free, sovereign, and independent States," and relinquished all claims to any right in them. And thus North Carolina entered on her career as a separate, distinct, and sovereign State.
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