The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-01-21

his destination laid parallel to the great rivers Of the
country the State boundary upon an imaginary
line in the absence Of maps, so much of geography
nay be necessary 10 comprehend the movements which
shall describe may be comprised IN lew words The
Rread and the chief tributaries Of the
antee and the Yadkin Of the Pedee parallel streams
rising the mountains Of North Carolina ard running
souhwardly to the ocean IN south IN Norh CAPE
liEa, its head waters being the SUR ana ow OF Sox
apahaw rivers The Dan Is the bedwater OF the
Roanoke and at points of reference coursns from
west to cast nearly with the line of division between
North Carolina and Virginia But there an EPISODE 70
our narrative before pursuing the march Of the invading
army The disastrous tdings of the fall Of Charleston
sped rapidly through the country bringing gloom 10 the
heart OF the patriot, cheerfune:s and Joy 70 the
ncnng the wayering and rresoute to the cause OF
royalty Early in June the militia OF the counties OF Meek
enbug and Rowan comprehendng the region between the
sgnazed their devotion to liberty ordered out under
Brgadier General Rutherford to oppose the triumpha
bed at the place Of rendezvous about ten miles northeast
of Charlotte when intelligence arrived OF an assem6iage
of body of loyalists at Rawsons mills, some forty
miles distant beyond the Catawba in the county OF ryon
and within view Of the present village of Incolnton
Unwilling to weaken the force he had gathered to i'm
pede advance of the British army General Rutherford
despatched orders to Col Francis Locke Of Rowen and
other faithful officers to collect the available force Of
their several neghborhoods and suppress the nsurrec
ton ut the earliest practicable moment. II appeared
that John Moore of tlD county of Tryon now Lin
coln who had joined the enemy in South Carolina the
preceding winter had recently returned dressed in tat
tered suit of British uniform with sword and announced
himself lieutenant colonel in the well known regiment
oil North NarOnn8 LOyafStS, commanded Dy (Oi JONI
Hamit on Of Halifax He brought detailed accounts Of
the siege and surrender of Charleston and authorta
tive message from Lord Corvallis that he would march
into that section soon the then rpenng harvests
were gathered, as TO afford support for his army
Very thereafter Major Nicholas Welsh Of the
vicinity who had been in the British service for egh
months, and bore majors commission in the same
regiment also returned with splendid official equipments
and purse of 20 d. which was ostentatously displayed
to his pSmripe associates with arful speeches in aid of
the he had embraced lie also gave the first in
formation of Burfords defeat and represented that all
IF .uhi hQ homo
less. Under these leaders then, collected in few
days a force Of thirteen hundred men, who en-
camped advantageous position preparatory to their
being marched to effect juncture with the British in
South Carolina.
Colonel Locke and the other officers who had received
the orders Of General Rutherford already referred to-
proceeded 10 them with the utmost aacrity and
promptitude In less than five days they levied their
erds eeeied Junction. Within sixteen miles Of the
camp Of the royalists the 10th Of June, with three
hundred and fifty men. At sunrise the next morning.
with this unequal force, and without any chief command
understood arrangements of battle, except that
three companies of horse which constituted their cava
tories, containing as already mentioned, thirteen hun
dred men, and after well sustained and bloody engage
ment of an hour, compelled them to retreat The par
cuars Of this action, did time permit us to recur TO
them, Of much interest Blood relatives and IA
miar acquaintance fought in the opposing ranks, and
when the smoke of the battle occasionally cleared away
recognized each other in the condct-the tories wearing
their well known badge of pine twg in front of
the hat and the wings similar badge of white paper
which in some instances taken mark by the
my and occasoned the to be shot in the head
These were the only Of distinguishing the two
parties in the action in which neghbor met neghbor in
deadly strife, with the rifles carried in hunting and in
the of which weapon hundred either side
n s e Of
five wing and four tory captains left dead the
field, and more than two hundred woanded the
loss being shared about equally by the respective sides
is remarkable omission, in the histories of the
Of the revolution, that author neither Marshall Lee
Ramsay, Botta, or any other, that have consulted
makes of this battle mls
The only Ineligible record off IN ertenso published
in the newspapers Of North Carolina thirty years since
lection Of noia historical of North Carolina 1t is like
wise noticed by Mr. LOSING in his recent work, the
the part of the wing assaants considering that the
my outnumbered them in the proportion Of five to one
and had great advantage in position is surpassed by
few events of the war and chassement and check
upon the rising and excellent spirit Of the lOyasts
the recent disasters to in South Carolina the
result of the nature. and almost equal in its
salutary effects, to the victory Of Coswc and Ellington
at Aoore's creek bridge, four years preceding
have failed, earlier to mention that Colonel Locke
and his brave associates after resolving to engage the
enemy, despatched messenger to carry this information
to General Rutherford and requested his cooperation if
to their attack and that this officer having heard Of
the retirement of the British forces from Waxhaw
to Camden had without knowledge Of the intentions
of himself dispensing the tories at Rawson and arrived
with his brigade the battle field about hours after
this brief space, tie Victory would doubtless have
been more compete and possibly many of the gallant
dead would have been spared encounter the invading
Bron trained for the conflict by this first essay in
Gen. Rutherford in the succeeding month, Joined Gen.
feat at Camden on the 10th Of August was wounded and
taken prisoner By the enemy and therefore, does not
pear in the ensuing campaign.
his routed army short Of Hsborough which is the
centre Of North Carolina and more than hundred miles
State to the depredatons the enemy This mentioned
with regret by Lee, in his memoirs Of the in the
South on account particularly Of the district between the
Yadkn and Catawba, whose efficiency and devotion to
the patriot cause he pronounces high eul0gium With
the British In 'front.' and the tories within striking dis
lance both on its right and left the contest became
in that section pro oris ocis with immediate
resources for its protection but those furnished by ITSELF
and these greatly diminished by the meanchoy TO
which allusion has been already made But the spirit
the country did not forsake it in this trying hour and it
was perhaps fortunate that the British army in its
nroad into the State to encounter people of such
mistaken resolution and activity in the gloom which
spread the southern country.
Among many noble and intrepid patriots in this dis
rict who struggled with the storms fate upheld
the falling fortunes of their country two characters de-
serve to be conspcuousy remembered These Briga
der General VIM Lee Davidson, and Col VIM. r. DAVE
General Davidson of Irish extraction, and his pa
rents like almost all the original settlers in that region
emgrants from Pennsylvania He was educated at
an academy called 0Queens Museum in Charlote and
fired with noble ardor to sustain the patriot in
arms, commissioned Major in of the regiments
raised in North Carolina for the continental service in
l176 In this capacity lie marched norhward in the bri
gnde Of Gen Francis Nash joined the main army under
NewJersey, served under the
commander in chief through the three following cam
pagns, during which time he promoted to a euten-
ant-colonelcy, with the command of q regiment His
presence at home at this uncture purely accidental
The troops of the North Carolina line having been de-
tached to reinforce the Southern army then under the
command of General Lincoln he obtained permission to
visit his family from which he had been then three
separated with the exception of joining his regiment
South Carolina But Charleston being invested at the
time of his approach and all cut OFF, he thus
saved from capture with his comrades in arms and
turned Immediately to his home in Mecklenburg. He,
however did not resign himself repose in inactivity
but taking command Of body Of militia rendered elfec
tive service in quelng the tory instructions
the fall Of Charleston After the capture of General
Rutherford at Gates defeat Colonel Davidson was ap-
pointed Brigader General OF militia and thus had i'm
mediate command of the citizen soldiers of the frontier
county of Meckenburg ut the time when the services
every required who capable of bearing arms
His romantic devotion to the public service, manifest
in continuous absence Of three years from young
and endeared family, his familiarity with the we'll
ought fields of Monmouth Brandywne and German
own and the fact that he had service under the
eye and with the appreciation of Washington made him