CHAPTER XII.
THE PROCLAMATION.
It can well be understood with what eagerness we listened to themessenger as he read from the paper in a loud tone; but he remained atsuch a distance that I found it impossible to catch every word,although the general purport was made sufficiently plain.
The fellow, whom we afterward came to know was one of the clerks fromthe sheriff's office, regaled us with a high-sounding proclamationfrom the governor, in which his excellency graciously pardoned all theRegulators save thirteen, whose names were twice repeated in orderthat there should be no mistake.
I set them down here that the world may know who were the patriots ofupper Carolina in the opinion of William Tryon:
"James Hunter, Ninian Bell Hamilton, Peter Craven, Isaack Jackson,Herman Husband, Matthew Hamilton, William Payne, Malichi Tyke,William Moffat, Christopher Nation, Solomon Goff, John O'Neil, andRednap Howell."
When the clerk ceased reading and marched back from whence he came, weon the hillside looked at each other in silent amazement while onemight have counted twenty, and then on the instant every tongue wasloosened.
All that had been gained by the truce was an act of outlawry againstour best men, and Fanning was still the trusted servant of the king!
The one thought in the minds of all was to seize the person of thevillain who held a commission from the crown as governor of theCarolinas, and a thousand voices were crying out against delay.
The officers of the Regulation held a brief consultation, and thencame that command which all expected and demanded.
"To horse, gentlemen! The moment has arrived when we must declareourselves against the king, unless he redresses our wrongs byrecalling such officials as have misruled the colony!" GeneralHamilton cried in a loud tone, and he had no more than concludedbefore every Regulator was in the saddle burning to avenge the insultoffered by Tryon.
The earth literally trembled beneath the hoofs of a thousand horses aswe rode at full speed to the ford, then across the river, and on tothe governor's residence.
The royal "army" remained on guard until we were come to within anhundred yards, and then they scattered like chaff before the wind,running in every direction, crying for quarter.
No attention was given to the cowards. Tryon, Fanning and Edwards werethe men we counted on teaching a lesson, and the dwelling wassurrounded in a twinkling.
Fifty gentlemen entered the building, some of them to reappear a fewmoments later with the fellow who had read the proclamation.
"Tryon! Tryon!" our people shouted in anger, and then came the truthwhich, in our simplicity and honesty, we had not suspected.
"Tryon and his henchmen left town last night escorted by twenty men!"one of those who had come out with the prisoner shouted, and we whoheard the words gazed in open-mouthed astonishment, failing on theinstant to understand that the villainous representative of the kinghad simply proposed the truce in order that he might save his ownprecious body.
The clerk, fearing for his life, and hoping to save it by answeringthe questions which were literally hurled at him, told the entirestory twenty times over, until we came to realize that the threerascals had set off at full speed immediately after sunset on the dayprevious. By this time they were half-way to Brunswick, and howevergood our steeds, there was no possibility we could overtake them.
Unless we might hold the governor of the colony as our prisoner,rebellion would avail us little, save that we should retain possessionof upper Carolina until such time as he could send an overwhelmingforce against us.
There was not a man in the ranks of the Regulators who did not realizethat Tryon had outwitted us, and that our only hope lay in remainingtogether year after year until the other colonies should be willing tojoin us in the struggle for liberty.
And in the meantime, while holding out against the king, how might wegain means of subsistence? The richest among us owned only so muchland, and this could not be tilled if we were forced to fight dayafter day to retain possession of a small extent of territory.
When all this was fully understood as we sat in our saddles near aboutthe governor's house, I saw this man and that, the bravest among us,give way to tears, and for the time being it seemed to me that thecause of liberty was crushed.
I could not then foresee that in the principal towns of the easterncolonies would spring up branches of our association, styled "Sons ofLiberty," who would resist, as we had done, the unjust demands of anunjust king until the beacon lights of rebellion were kindled on everyhill. I could not foresee that massacre at Lexington and at Concordwhich was needed to arouse the people until no sacrifice appeared toogreat, so that we purchased liberty for those who should live afterus.
In silence, each man hanging his head as if having suffered anignominious defeat, instead of allowing ourselves to be trickedbecause of believing that a gentleman's word was sacred, we returnedto the encampment on the hill, and were there formed in line for whatI believed would be the last time.
There were more than Sidney and myself who looked as if bowed downwith sorrow, and when we most needed words of encouragement they camefrom our commander, that noble old man who was, by the proclamation ofone false to all the instincts of a gentleman, an outlaw on whose heada price was shortly to be set.
"Gentlemen of the Regulation," General Hamilton began, speaking loudand clear as becomes an honest man who knows in his heart that he isin the true path, "we have been deceived, and are thereby cast down bysorrow. At a time when it appeared as if we held the threads whichcould be woven fairly to the interests of this colony, we have, bytrusting in the words of one who has no honor in his heart, lost allour advantage; but we would be proving ourselves faint-hearted indeedif such a misfortune was accepted as final defeat. Now more thanever, must we struggle against wrong and oppression. It is notnecessary you should again swear to be true to the cause; neither willit be of service to remain together just now, therefore I have this topropose, and it is for you to decide if it be the proper course: Letus disperse, each going to his home, there to remain one month; at theexpiration of such time we will meet at Maddock's Mill to settle upona further course of action."
The idea that we should remain as the Regulation, subject at any timeto a call from our leaders, heartened us wonderfully, and with oneaccord our people agreed that Master Hamilton's plan should beadopted.
We broke ranks, each vowing friendship for his comrades, and entiredevotion to the cause, and then went our several ways home firmlybelieving that in due course of time the purpose of the Regulationwould be accomplished.
And now has come the time when I must hasten over the months and evenyears, without entering into details as to what Sidney or I did whilewe waited an opportunity to strike a blow for our distressed country.
True to the proposition of Master Hamilton, we met once each month,either at Maddock's Mill, or some other place equally central, andthus kept pace with the events which particularly concerned us of theCarolinas.
Tryon remained in Newbern in his palace which had been paid for bymoney wrung from a people who at times actually suffered for food, andflattered himself that he had finally destroyed the germs of rebellionthat had been sowed by his own tyranny.
Contrary to our expectations, he did not make any decided effort toget into his clutches those of the Regulation whom he had declaredoutlaws, and it was quite as well that he remained quiet on thatscore, for a thousand of the king's soldiers could not have taken themfrom us.
The sheriffs of the counties in the upper Carolinas, knowing full wellthat the Regulation was neither crushed nor disheartened, no longerattempted to collect the unjust taxes, and thus it was that ourpeople had been benefited in some slight degree.
We cultivated our lands, moved about at will without fear of beingmolested during nearly two years, and then, on a certain day inSeptember, Sidney came to my home in hot haste, acting as messenger ofthe Regulation.
Word had come from Newbern that the Superior Court was to
be convenedon the 24th day of the month, and then would efforts be made to securethe bodies of those whom Tryon had styled "outlaws."
Master Hamilton, who yet remained in command of the Regulators,despite his many years, had decided that our wisest method ofprocedure was to interfere at the outset, claiming that we had theright to make certain that justice, not the will of Governor Tryon,should influence the decisions given by judges who were inclined tolisten to the orders of the governor rather than the evidence beforethem.
It can well be supposed that neither my father nor myself lost anytime in saddling our horses, and within twenty-four hours we were atthe old encampment which overlooked the town of Hillsborough.
This time we were perfect masters of the situation. Tryon, believingthe Regulation had been crushed out of existence, neglected to sendsoldiers to overawe us, and twenty of our people took possession ofthe court-house, while the remainder occupied the hill on the oppositeside of the river ready to cross whenever a signal should be giventhat the services of armed men were necessary.
Because of our superior numbers, there was little chance the king'sminions could do very much harm, therefore we were not held to rigidmilitary discipline, and Sidney Hubbard and myself had no difficultyin obtaining permission to accompany that party which was to makecertain no wrongs were inflicted upon us in the name of the law.
When we arrived at the court-house, having left our horses on theopposite side of the river, we found there but one judge, and he theman above all others who was ready to give such verdicts as wouldplease the governor. It is needless for me to set down the fact thatthis man was Richard Henderson.
Seeing our party enter the building Fanning took it upon himself toask that we be put out, and not allowed to enter even the yard,because, as he said, there were outlaws among us who had come for noother purpose than to create a disturbance.
All those of whom he thus spoke had suffered many wrongs at the handsof this same attorney, and foremost in the list of the oppressed wereHerman Husband, the two Hunters, and Rednap Howell, not one of whomfelt inclined to take additional abuse from such a traitor as Fanning.
That they acted hastily in the matter, I must admit; but at the sametime one should remember the wrongs they had received. The miserablecur of an attorney had no sooner ceased speaking than the gentlemen Ihave named, aided by all the Regulators present, seized Fanningroughly and literally dragged him into the courtyard, where Sidney andI were set over him as guards until such time as our people might beat liberty to attend to him properly.
Because of being thus occupied, I did not see that which followed; butlater in the day my comrade and I were told that our people demandedthe trial of those belonging to the Regulation who had been declaredoutlaws, which was no more than just, since the court had been calledtogether for that sole purpose.
It was not the purpose of Judge Henderson to give the Regulators afair trial, and, therefore, in order to outwit us, he declared thecourt adjourned for the day.
Then he left the building, walking swiftly through the yard as ifexpecting to be roughly treated, and once he was out of sight ourparty set about giving Fanning a lesson.
He was taken across the river to our encampment, being dragged by theheels a portion of the way, and there we held a little court of ourown, the decisions of which I dare venture to say were more inaccordance with strict justice than any Judge Richardson would havedelivered.
It was decided that Fanning should be beaten with rods in the presenceof the Regulation, and Masters Husband and James Hunter were thegentlemen selected to inflict the punishment, therefore it can well befancied that it was done in proper fashion.
We kept the attorney with us during the night, and next morning allour company rode over to Hillsborough, only to find that the bravejudge had run away during the night, after declaring that the courtwas adjourned until one year from that day. He could not pronounce thesentences which Tryon demanded, therefore had no idea of being forcedto act honestly for once in his life.
Well, some of the hotter heads, taking advantage of the generalconfusion, utterly destroyed Fanning's house, beating him again beforesetting the scoundrel at liberty.
This done we went home once more, agreeing to meet each month asbefore.
I can best tell the remainder of my story, up to the time whenGovernor Tryon decided to wage war upon us, by quoting from a historyof the Carolinas which I have lately seen; and while it is writtenfrom the standpoint of the royalists, it is correct as to the acts andmovements of our enemy: [2] "Judge Henderson, who was driven from thebench, called upon Tryon to restore order in his district. Thegovernor perceived that a temporizing policy would no longer beexpedient, and resolved to employ the military force to subdue therebellious spirit of the Regulators. He deferred operations, however,until the meeting of the Legislature, in December.
"Herman Husband was a member of the Lower House, from Orange, andthere were others in that body who sympathized with the oppressedpeople. Various measures were proposed to weaken the strength of theRegulators; and among others, four new counties were formed ofportions of Orange, Cumberland, and Johnson. These counties were namedGuilford, Chatham, Wake and Surrey. Finally, when the Legislature wasabout to adjourn without authorizing a military expedition,information came that the Regulators had assembled at Cross Creek,with the intention of marching upon Newbern, having heard that Husbandhad been imprisoned."
Now at this point I must interrupt the historian in order to explainthat we of the Regulation did indeed make this march. We knew fullwell that Tryon both hated and feared Herman Husband, and, therefore,kept one or more of our people in Newbern all the time the Legislaturewas assembled in order that the news, if there was any of importance,might be sent without loss of time to our leaders.
It is a fact that Tryon even went so far as to prefer charges againstMaster Husband, and that the council caused his arrest andimprisonment. Word to this effect was brought to us at once, and weset out for Cross Creek; but Governor Tryon had his spies out, andwhen it was known that the Regulators, a thousand strong, were ridingto aid one of their number who was illegally deprived of his liberty,the council made haste to examine the charges against Master Husband.
They finally decided, in order to save their own worthless skins, thatthe charges were not sustained, and set the prisoner at liberty,imploring him to ride with all speed in order to prevent us fromentering Newbern.
He met us at Cross Creek, and we escorted him home; but this time itwas decided that the Regulation go into camp at Maddock's Mill, andthere remain ready for war until it was learned how far our enemyproposed to go in his effort to exterminate us, for that was what hehad boldly said he would do. Now we will copy once more from theprinted story of our struggle:
"The Assembly immediately voted two thousand dollars for the use ofthe governor. The alarmed chief magistrate fortified his palace, andplaced the town in a state of defense. He also issued a proclamation,and orders to the colonels of the counties in the vicinity, to havethe militia in readiness. These precautions were unnecessary, for theRegulators, after crossing the Haw, a few miles above Pittsborough, tothe number of more than one thousand, met Husband on his way home, andretraced their steps.
"The governor soon issued another proclamation, prohibiting the saleof powder, shot, or lead, until further notice. This was to preventthe Regulators supplying themselves with munitions of war. Thismeasure added fuel to the flame of excitement, and finally, thegovernor becoming again alarmed, he made a virtual declaration of war,through his council. That body authorized him to raise a sufficientforce to march into the rebellious districts and establish law andorder.
"The governor issued a circular to the colonels, ordering them toselect fifty volunteers from their respective regiments and send themto Newbern. With about three hundred militiamen, a small train ofartillery, some baggage wagons, and several personal friends, Tryonleft Newbern on the 24th of April. On the 4th of May he encamped onthe Eno, having been reinforce
d by detachments on the way. GeneralHugh Waddel was directed to collect the forces from the westerncounties, rendezvous at Salisbury, and join the governor in OrangeCounty."
It goes without saying that while these preparations were being made,whereby Tryon counted on driving us from the face of the earth, ourspies were scattered around the country plentifully, and, therefore,we knew exactly the size of his force, and how it was made up, when hewent into camp.
Colonel Joseph Leech commanded the infantry, Captain Moore theartillery, and Captain Neale a company of rangers. On his way to theEno Tryon was joined by a detachment from Hanover, under Colonel JohnAshe; another from Carteret, under Colonel Craig; another fromJohnston, under Colonel William Thompson; another from Beaufort, underColonel Needham Bryan; another from Wake, under Colonel JohnsonHinton; and at his camp on the Eno he was joined by Fanning, with acorps of clerks, constables, sheriffs and others.
FOOTNOTE:
[2] Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution."
The Boy Spies with the Regulators Page 12