The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-09
Facts About the Bioodworth Gun.
Correspondence Of The Messenger
Burgaw. y. C. April :.

Correspondence OF The Messenger.)
Burgaw. y. c, April ).
Editors Messenger:
Having seen several references in The
Messenger relative to the remarkable
gun Of Colonel Thomas Bloodworth.
most Of which was erroneous or partly
so, Except the statement OF Mr.. Nc
Clammy), / desire 10 write a few lines
on the subject in order TO set the public
right as to Col. Thomas Bloodworth, the
hero of that wonderful gun. and
Timothy Bloodworth, through whose
influence and vote Raleigh was made
the capital Of North Carolina.
Colonel Thoma B~loodworth "a a
gun smith by trade, and p~assionately
fond of hunting. He never lost an cp-
portunity OF annoying the British at
every available point. This, of course,
rendered him obnoxious to the British,
and they sought every opportunity to
retaliate. He sooon found it vas I'M
healthy to remain at home and spent a
considerable part of his time in the
| woods hunting. On one occasion dur
ing the of Wilmington by
the British, he was out with his los
chasing a fox at Point Peter, when all
at once, his dogs ceased yelping and
could not be heard. He proceeded
through the swamp in the direction OF
where he last heard them, and having
discovered an entrance or cavity in the
ground, he imagined he heard the dis
tant bark of his dogs. After some
hasty preparation with matches and
kindling he entered the cave and found
his truSty dogs had captured a fox, two
'pOssums and a mink. He surveyed
the s~ubterraneouS passage and found it
| led to the root of a very large cypress
which was hollow. Here he c~oncocted
1 4. IL l- rls1 H. @@,,l ra~t1 -, n IN
the British. He returned home, made
him a rifle to carry a I'VE ounce ball,
took his son and one Padgett. with
three weeks rations and repaired to the
garrison, he had prepared in the big
cypress by building scaffolds up in the
hollow of the tree, where he arranged
a port hole for dc Bess." as he called
his newly made gun. AS the British
were accustomed to watering their
horses and assembling at Market dock
he arranged the port hole so the gun
would bear on that particular point and
for several mornings when "Old Bess"
was discharged from the cypress gar
risOn some poor Britisher bit the dust
or was tipped into the river.
This narrative is too long to be re-
peated here. when it can be read in
"Caruther's Sketches of North Caro-
lima"
Timothy Bloodworth, my grand faith
er, was a membe of the house of COM
mons from 1873 to 1884 inclusive, United
States senator in 1856 and subsequently
speaker Of the senate of North Caro-
lima 1888, and in 1870 and 81 represented
the Cape Fea district in the lower
house of congress-. When the location
of the site of the government of North
Carolina came up in the legislature,
the contest narrowed down to Fayette-
vile and Raleigh and by his vote the
latter place was selected. He dared to
do what he conceived to be right, even
though it might cause him to be less
popular. He gave the vote and Raleigh
was selected as the capital of the state
and in perpetuity of his name the COM
missioners who laid out the city of Ra-
leigh called one of the streets Blood
worth. r. N. BLOODWORTH.