Author: Jason Melius
Between February and March 1775, Royal Governor Josiah Martin received pledges of loyalty to the British Crown from 493 prominent North Carolinians from Dobbs, Guilford, Rowan, and Surry Counties. These declarations were made in response to increasing tensions and the establishment of Committees of Safety in late 1774. The Committees of Safety were created to spread Patriot (Whig) propaganda, enforce a trade ban of English goods, and prepare for military operations. The Loyalists, or Tories, lived side by side with Patriots all across North Carolina.
Governor Martin hatched a plan with the British military to mobilize Loyalists and retake control of North Carolina in early 1776. A Tory force gathered at Cross Creek (modern day Fayetteville) in anticipation of a British army landing on the coast of North Carolina. While enroute to Wilmington, the Loyalist force was defeated at the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge on February 27, 1776.
The crushing defeat and resulting round up of nearly nine hundred Tories following the battle crushed Loyalist movements across North Carolina. Suspected Loyalists had their weapons and sometimes property confiscated. Some communities, such as the Town Fork Settlement (modern Germanton to Walnut Cove) were largely abandoned due to abuses by local Patriot militia.
In 1777, every free male over the age of sixteen in North Carolina was required to sign an oath of allegiance to the state. Refusal to do so meant prohibition from buying or selling land, holding public office, owning firearms, from voting and even legal self-defense in court. In April of 1778, those who refused to sign were additionally subjected to a “fourfold tax.” This was a tax on property and people at four times the rate of those who signed the oaths of allegiance. Some Tories moved to Kentucky to flee the war. Others fled to the British Army in Georgia, but most remained in their homes with some of them coerced into signing. Another tactic was to force suspected Tories into serving in either Rebel militia or Continental regiments. The combined weight of these actions led to a growing resentment of Patriot rule in North Carolina.
With the British capture of South Carolina in May 1780, the stage was set for a brutal civil war in western North Carolina. We will look at the impact on the population of the upper Yadkin Valley in a future blog post.
[1] "Three addresses made to Josiah Martin by inhabitants of Dobbs, Guilford, and Rowan counties pledging loyalty" (Submission, The National Archives, Kew, CO 5/318 Part 1 1775/02/20-1775/03/10). http://www.colonialamerica.amdigital.co.uk/Documents/Details/CO_5_318_Part_1_013
Image Caption: Portrait of Josiah Martin