Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical Part 16

Captain, James Houston; Lieutenant, William Davidson; David Evins, David Byers, Robert Byers, Nat.

Ewing, Alexander Work, William Creswell, William Erwin, John Hovis, John Thompson, John Beard, John Poston, Robert Poston, Paul Cunningham, John M. Connell, Moses White, Angus McCauley, Robert Brevard, Adam Torrence, Sr., Adam Torrence, Jr., Charles Quigley, James Gulick, Benjamin Brevard, Thomas Templeton, John Caldwell, Joseph McCawn, James Young, James Gray, Philip Logan (Irish), William Vint, Daniel Bryson, John Singleton.

Many of these have descendants in Iredell at the present time, and they can refer with veneration to the names of their patriotic ancestors.

Captain James Houston died on the 2d of August, 1819, in the 73d year of his age, and is buried in Center Church, graveyard.

REV. JAMES HALL, D.D.

Rev. James Hall, a distinguished soldier of the Revolution--the Captain of a company and Chaplain of a Regiment at the same time--was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 22d of August, 1744. When he was about eight years old his parents, who were Scotch-Irish, removed to North Carolina and settled in the upper part of Rowan county, (now Iredell), in the bounds of the congregation to which he afterward gave thirty-eight years of his ministerial life.

Secluded in the forests of Rowan, and removed to a great extent from the follies of the great world, James Hall grew up under the watchful care of pious parents, receiving such early instruction as the country schools then afforded.

In his twenty-sixth year he commenced the study of the cla.s.sics, and made rapid progress, as his mind was matured and his application close and unremitting. When duly prepared he entered Princeton College, under the direction of President Witherspoon, one of the signers of the National Declaration of Independence. He graduated in 1774, in his thirty-first year. The Theological reading of Mr. Hall was pursued under the direction of Dr. Witherspoon, that eminent minister and patriot, whose views in religion and politics were thoroughly imbibed by his student. In the spring of 1776 he was licensed by the Presbytery of Orange to preach the Gospel of everlasting Peace. During the exciting scenes of the Revolution, in which he had been licensed and ordained, Mr. Hall held the office of pastor over the three congregations of Fourth Creek, Concord and Bethany, which extended from the South Yadkin river to the Catawba. After the Revolution he served these three congregations until 1790, when, wis.h.i.+ng to devote more time to the cause of domestic missions, he was released from his connection, with Fourth Creek and Concord. His connection with Bethany continued until his death, in July, 1826.

A full account of Mr. Hall's patriotic services during the Revolution would far transcend the prescribed limits of this sketch. The principles of civil and religious freedom which he received in his parental, as well as in his collegiate training, would not allow him to remain neuter or indifferent, when a cruel, invading foe was trampling on the just and dearest rights of his country.

Accordingly, in response to the warm, patriotic impulses of his nature, when General Rutherford called out an army of over two thousand men from the surrounding counties to subdue the Cherokee Indians, who were committing numerous murders and depredations on the frontier settlements, Mr. Hall promptly volunteered his services, and was gladly accepted by the commanding officers as their Chaplain.

In the brief, diary notes of Captain Charles Polk, (now before the author), who commanded a company in this expedition, he says:

"On Thursday, the 12th of September, we marched down the river three miles, to Cowee Town, and encamped. On this day there was a party of men sent down this river (_Nuckessey_) ten miles, to cut down the corn; the Indians fired on them as they were cutting the corn and killed Hanc.o.c.k Polk, of Colonel Beekman's Regiment."

On Friday, the 13th, they remained encamped in Cowee Town. On Sat.u.r.day, the 14th, "we marched to Nuckessey Town, six miles higher up the river, and encamped. On Sunday, the 15th, one of Captain Irwin's men was buried in _Nuckessey_ Town. On Monday, the 16th, we marched five miles--this day with a detachment of twelve hundred men--for the Valley Towns, and encamped on the waters of Tennessee river. Mr. Hall preached a sermon last Sunday; in time of sermon the express we sent to the South army returned home. On Tuesday, the 17th, we marched six miles, and arrived at a town called _Nowee_, about 12 o'clock; three guns were fired at Robert Harris, of Mecklenburg, by the Indians, said Harris being in the rear of the army. We marched one mile from _Nowee_ and encamped on the side of a steep mountain, without any fire."

These extracts show that Mr. Hall was then at his post of duty, and ready to deliver religious instruction to the American army. The sermon was directly prompted by the death of a fellow soldier. Who can tell how many hearts were touched and benefitted by the gospel truths proclaimed by the youthful preacher on that solemn occasion? The counsels of Eternity can alone answer the question.

In 1779, when South Carolina was overrun by the British and Tories, Mr. Hall's spirit was stirred within him on receiving intelligence of the ma.s.sacres and plunderings experienced by the inhabitants of the upper part of that State. Under this state of feeling he a.s.sembled his congregation and addressed them in strong, patriotic language on what he believed to be their present duty. He pictured to their view, in a most thrilling manner, the wrongs and sufferings of their afflicted countrymen. The appeal to their patriotism was not made in vain. With as little delay as possible a company of cavalry, composed of choice young men from his congregation, was promptly raised. On its organization, Mr. Hall was unanimously chosen for their Captain; all his excuses were overruled, and, in order to encourage his countrymen _to act_ rather than _to talk_, he accepted the command. "Heart within, and G.o.d o'erhead." During this tour of service two of his men were taken prisoners. As he could not recover them by force of arms, their case was made the subject of prayer, both in his private devotions and in public with his company. In a few days afterward the prisoners made their escape and rejoined their fellow soldiers.

They stated that, as their captors lay encamped one night on Broad River, in South Carolina, the sentinel placed at the door of the guard-house was observed to be drowsy; they remaining quiet, he soon fell asleep. When the prisoners discovered he was truly reposing in "balmy sleep," they quietly stepped over him as he lay with his gun folded in his bosom, and quickly ran for the river. The noise of their plunge into the water, aroused the attention of another more wakeful sentry; the alarm was given, and boats were manned for the pursuit, but the active swimmers reached the opposite bank in safety and thus effected their escape, to the great joy of the praying Captain and his faithful company.

In the winter of 1781, when Lord Cornwallis was approaching the Catawba river with his army, General Davidson, who was in command of the Whigs on the opposite or Mecklenburg side of that stream, concentrated his forces, stationed at different points on the river, to resist him at Cowan's Ford. In order to strengthen himself as much as possible, he sent couriers to the adjoining counties, calling on the Whigs to rally to his a.s.sistance. One of these couriers, sent to Fourth Creek Church, (now Statesville), in Iredell county, arrived on the Sabbath, while the pastor, the Rev. James Hall, was preaching. The urgency of his business did not permit him to delay in making known the nature of his mission, and, as the best course of doing so, he walked up to the pulpit and handed Davidson's call to the pastor, the Rev. James Hall, whose patriotic record was well known. Mr. Hall glanced over the doc.u.ment, and understanding its purport, brought his discourse to a speedy close, descended from the pulpit, and read it to his congregation.

After reading it he made a patriotic appeal to his audience to respond to this call of their country. Whereupon, a member of the congregation moved that they organize by calling Mr. Hall, the pastor, to preside, and proceed to take such action as the circ.u.mstances demanded. The pastor accepted the position of President of the meeting, renewed his appeal to the patriotism of his people, and demonstrated his sincerity in calling for volunteers by placing his own name at the head of the list. His example was quickly followed by a sufficient number of his congregation to form a company. It was then decided to adjourn, and meet again at the church at 10 o'clock next morning, mounted, with arms and supplied with ammunition, and five days rations, at which time they would elect officers and proceed to the scene of conflict.

Accordingly, on the following morning the pastor and the greater part of the male members of his congregation responded to roll call under the n.o.ble oaks, where then, and now, stands Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church, in the corporate limits of the town of Statesville, the county seat of Iredell.

The a.s.semblage proceeded immediately to the election of officers, when the Rev. James Hall, their pastor, was unanimously chosen Captain.

In accordance with the choice of his beloved congregation, so cordially given, Mr. Hall instantly a.s.sumed command, put his men in rapid motion, and, in due time, reported to General Davidson and took his position in line, to resist the invaders of his country.

This was the sort of patriotism that burned in the bosoms of the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers; which was enkindled by the pastors of the seven churches of Mecklenburg, and burst forth into a flame upon the cla.s.sic site of Charlotte, on the 20th of May, 1775.

When the war of the revolution had ended, Mr. Hall devoted himself, with undivided energies, to his beloved work, the gospel ministry. The effects of the long and hara.s.sing war upon the churches in Carolina were deplorable; the regular ordinances of the gospel had been broken up, and the preached word had become less valued. His efforts in promoting vital G.o.dliness met with the Divine approbation, were attended with His blessing, and resulted in a revival of religion.

One sphere of usefulness in which Mr. Hall excelled, was the education of young men. Near the commencement of the war he conducted for a time a cla.s.sical school, called Clio's Nursery, on Snow Creek, in Iredell county. This he superintended with care, and through its agency brought out many distinguished men that might not otherwise have obtained an education.

This eminent minister of the gospel died on the 25th of July, 1826, in the eighty-second year of his age, and is buried in the graveyard of Bethany Church, in Iredell county.

HUGH LAWSON WHITE.

Hugh Lawson White was born in Iredell county in 1773, on the plantation now owned by Thomas Caldwell, Esq., about two miles west of Center Church, and five miles east of Beattie's Ford, on the Catawba river. The old family mansion has long since disappeared, and the plow now runs smoothly over its site. His grandfather, Moses White, emigrated to America from Ireland about 1742, and married a daughter of Hugh Lawson, one of the patriarchal settlers of the country. He had six sons, James, Moses, John, William, David and Andrew; many of whose descendants now reside in Iredell county. James White, the father of Hugh, was a soldier of the Revolution. About 1786 he moved to Knox county, East Tennessee, and was one of the original founders of the present flouris.h.i.+ng city of Knoxville. When the Creek (Indian) war broke out he entered the army, was soon made a Brigadier General, and was distinguished for his bravery, energy and talents.

Hugh L. White's education was conducted under the care of Rev. Samuel Carrick, Judge Roane, and Dr. Patterson, of Philadelphia. After completing his studies he returned home and commenced the practice of his profession. By close attention to business he soon acquired eminence, numerous friends, and a handsome competency. At the early age of twenty-eight he was elected one of the Judges of the Superior Court. In 1807 he resigned his Judgs.h.i.+p and retired to his farm.

There appears, says a writer on biography, always to be a congeniality between the pursuits of agriculture and all great and good minds. We do not pretend to a.n.a.lyze the _rationale_ of this, or why it is that patriotism exists with more elevation and fervency in the retirement of a farm than in the busy mart of crowded cities. The history of man proves this fact, that the n.o.blest instances of self-sacrificing patriotism which have adorned the drama of human life, have been presented by those who are devoted to agricultural pursuits. It is the only pursuit that man followed in his state of primal innocence, and surviving his fall, allows the mind

"To look through nature, up to nature's G.o.d."

But his well-known abilities were too highly appreciated by his fellow-citizens to grant him a long retirement. Soon after his resignation of the judicial robes he was elected a Senator to the State Legislature.

In 1809, when Tennessee remodeled her judiciary department, and created the Supreme Court, Judge White was unanimously chosen to preside over this important tribunal of justice. He could not with propriety refuse to accept a position so cordially tendered, and highly honorable in its character. For six years he presided over its deliberations with such fidelity and strict integrity as to win universal esteem and unfading honors for his reputation. At the same time he was elected President of the State Bank. Under his able management its character acquired stability and public confidence.

The State of Tennessee was then severely suffering from the hostile incursions and savage depredations of the Creek Indians. At the darkest period of the campaign, when General Jackson was in the midst of a wild territory, and surrounded, not only by cruel savages, but enduring famine, disaffection and complaints, Judge White left the Supreme Court Bench, and with a single companion, sought and found, after days and nights of peril, the camp of the veteran Jackson. He immediately volunteered their services, and they were gladly accepted.

While Judge White was absent on this campaign he lost several terms of his court; and as the Judges were only paid for services actually rendered, the Legislature resolved that there should be no deduction in his annual salary as Judge. This continuance of salary, so gratefully offered, he declined to receive.

In 1822 he was appointed, with Governor Tazewell of Virginia, and Governor King, of Alabama, a commissioner under the convention with Spain, which position he accepted and held until its term expired in 1824.

In 1825, General Jackson having resigned his seat as a Senator in Congress, Judge White was unanimously elected to fill out his term. In 1827 he was unanimously elected for a full term; and in 1832 was chosen President of the Senate. In 1836 he was voted for as President of the United States.

He died, with the consciousness of a well spent life, at his adopted home in Tennessee, on the 10th of April, 1840, aged sixty-seven years.

CHAPTER V.

LINCOLN COUNTY.

Lincoln county was formed in 1768, from Mecklenburg county, and named Tryon, in honor of William Tryon, at that time the Royal Governor, but his oppressive administration, terminating with cold-blooded murders at the battle of Alamance in 1771, caused the General a.s.sembly in 1779 to blot out his odious name and divide the territory into Lincoln and Rutherford counties. These names were imposed during the Revolution when both of the honored heroes were fighting the battles of their country.

Lincoln county, separated from Mecklenburg by the n.o.ble Catawba river, has a Revolutionary record of peculiar interest. In June, 1780, the battle of Ramsour's Mill was fought, which greatly enlivened the Whigs, and, in a corresponding degree, weakened the Tory influence throughout the surrounding country. In January, 1781, Lord Cornwallis, with a large invading army, pa.s.sed through the county and camped for three days on the Ramsour battle-ground. General O'Hara, one of his chief officers, camped at the "Reep place," about two miles and a half west of Ramsour's Mill. Tarleton, with his cavalry, crossed the South Fork, in "Cobb's bottom," and pa.s.sed over the ridge on which Lincolnton now stands (before the place had a "local habitation and a name,") in approaching his lords.h.i.+p's headquarters. Although Lincoln county contained many who were misled through the artful influence of designing men, and fought on the _wrong side_, yet, within her borders were found a gallant band of unflinching patriots, both of German and Scotch-Irish descent, who acted n.o.bly throughout the struggle for independence, and "made their mark" victoriously at Ramsour's Mill, King's Mountain, the Cowpens, and at other places in North and South Carolina.

Lincoln county, as Tryon, sent to the first popular Convention, which met at Newbern, on the 25th of August, 1774, Robert Alexander and David Jenkins. To Hillsboro, August 21st, 1775, John Walker, Robert Alexander, Joseph Hardin, William Graham, Frederick Hambright and William Alston. To Halifax, April 4th, 1776, James Johnston and Charles McLean. To the same place, November 12th, 1776, (which body formed the first State Const.i.tution,) Joseph Hardin, William Graham, Robert Abernathy, William Alston and John Barber. Several of these names will be noticed in the subsequent sketches.

BATTLE OF RAMSOUR'S MILL.

The unsuccessful attempt made by General Lincoln to take Savannah, and the subsequent capture of the army under his command at Charleston, induced Sir Henry Clinton to regard the States of South Carolina and Georgia as subdued and restored to the British Crown. The South was then left, for a time, without any regular force to defend her territory. Soon after the surrender of Charleston, detachments of the British army occupied the princ.i.p.al military posts of Georgia and South Carolina. Col. Brown re-occupied Augusta; Col. Balfour took possession of Ninety-Six, on the Wateree, and Lord Cornwallis pressed forward to Camden. Sir Henry Clinton then embarked with the main army for New York, leaving four thousand troops for the further subjugation of the South. After his departure the chief command devolved on Lord Cornwallis, who immediately repaired to Charleston to establish commercial regulations and organize the civil administration of the State, leaving Lord Rawdon in command at Camden. North Carolina had not yet been invaded, and the hopes of the patriots in the South now seemed mainly to rest on this earliest pioneer State in the cause of liberty.

Charleston surrendered on the 12th of May, 1780. On the 29th of the same month Tarleton defeated Col. Buford in the Waxhaw settlement, upwards of thirty miles south of Charlotte, on his way to the relief of Charleston. Just before the surrender, a well organized force from Mecklenburg, Rowan and Lincoln counties, left Charlotte with the same object in view, but arrived too late, as Charleston was then completely invested by the British army. And yet this force, after its return, proved of great service in protecting the intervening country, and prevented the invasion of North Carolina until a few weeks after the battle of Camden.

At this critical period General Rutherford ordered out the whole militia, and by the 3d of June about nine hundred men a.s.sembled near Charlotte. On the next day the militia were addressed by the Rev.

Alexander McWhorter, the patriotic President of "Liberty Hall Academy," (formerly "Queen's Museum"), after which General Rutherford dismissed them, with orders to hold themselves in readiness for another call. Major, afterward General, Davie having recovered from his wounds received at Stono, near Charleston, again took the field, and part of his cavalry were ordered to reconnoiter between Charlotte and Camden. Having heard that Lord Rawdon had retired with his army to Hanging Rock, General Rutherford moved from his rendezvous to Rea's plantation, eighteen miles north-east of Charlotte, to Mallard Creek.

On the 14th of June the troops under his command were properly organized. The cavalry, sixty-five in number under Major Davie, were equipped as dragoons, and formed into two companies under Captains Lemmonds and Martin. A battalion of three hundred light infantry were placed under the command of General William Davidson, a regular officer, who could not join his Regiment in Charleston after that place was invested. About five hundred men remained under the immediate command of General Rutherford. On the evening of the 14th of June he received intelligence that the Tories, under Col. John Moore, had embodied themselves in strong force at Ramsour's Mill, near the present town of Lincolnton. He immediately issued orders to Colonel Francis Locke, of Rowan; Major David Wilson, of Mecklenburg; also to Captains Falls, Knox, Brandon, and other officers, to raise men to disperse the Tories, deeming it unwise to weaken his own force until the object of Lord Rawdon, still encamped at Waxhaws, should become better known.

On the 15th General Rutherford advanced to a position two miles south of Charlotte. On the 17th he was informed Lord Rawdon had retired towards Camden. On the 18th he broke up his camp south of Charlotte, and marched twelve miles to Tuckasege Ford, on the Catawba river. On the evening of that day he dispatched an express to Col. Locke, advising him of his movements, and ordering him to unite with him (Rutherford) at Col. d.i.c.kson's plantation, three miles northwest of Tuckasege Ford, on the evening of the 19th or on the morning of the 20th of June. The express miscarried, in some unaccountable way, and never reached Colonel Locke.

When General Rutherford crossed the river on the evening of the 19th, it was believed he would march in the night, and attack the Tories next morning; but still supposing his express had reached Colonel Locke, he waited for the arrival of that officer at his present encampment in Lincoln county, where he was joined by Col. Graham's regiment. At ten o'clock at night of the 19th, Col. James Johnston, a brave officer, and well acquainted with the intervening country, arrived at Gen. Rutherford's camp. He had been dispatched by Colonel Locke from Mountain Creek, sixteen miles from Ramsour's Mill, to inform Gen. Rutherford of his intention of attacking the Tories next morning at sunrise, and requested his co-operation. Gen. Rutherford, still expecting his express would certainly reach Col. Locke soon after Col. Johnston left his encampment on Mountain Creek, made no movement until early next morning.