The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-11-26
Nathaniel Macon
THE NORTH CAROLINA PUBLISHING
sOCIETY's $50 PRIZE SKETCH.
~ cLARCmCC n. POE.
Editor Of The Progressive Farmer.
-MACON's F

Nathaniel Macon was bornin North
Carolina, in what is now Warren
county, in 1853. His father was a
native of Virginia his mother, Of
North Carolina. The father dying
a few years after Nathaniel's birth,
the boy was left in the are of his
widowed mother with but very mod
crate means of support. To the
nearest old field school, however, he
was regularly sent, and he also studied
much by freight at night. On the
whole, he gave evidences of such
marked ability that arrangements
were made for sending him to Prince
ton in which college the early days of
the Revolution found him. Very
early in that struggle he joined a
volunteer company, served a term,
then returned to Princeton.
But in 1878 British troops threat
ened TO overrun our Southland, and
again Mr.. Macon left his studies for
the field. This time he returned to
Warren county and, enlisting as q
private in a company commanded
by his brother John, marched TO
South Carolina. Pay for his ser
vices he refused to receive and pro-
motion he would not accept-a trait,
says Benton, that has neither preoe-
dent o imitation in history. It
was a time of deep dependency.
Macon was at the fall of Fort Moul-
trie, the surrender of Charleston,
the defeat at Camden, and then took
part in Greene's famous retreat.
He was still with Greene on that
retreat and in camp on the Yadkin,
February, 1871, when he received
from the Governor of North Caro-
lima a summons to attend a meeting
of the General Assembly, in which
body his countymen had, without
his knowledge, elected him to repre-,
sent them. Macon said at once that
he would not obey the summons.
Hearing of this, General Greene saw
him and inquired the reason for his
extraordinary action. Macon re-
piled by saying that he chad often
the faces of the British but in
to stay in the army till he
say their backs" Greene realized
that men of that mould were needed
in the Legislature. He also realized
that a private who had served
through three gloomy years without
pay or promotion and still chose the
hardships of the camp rather than
the comforts OF the General Assem-.
bly,, would not reconsider his action
unless he felt that by so doing he
could better serve his country. It
was to this very spiri6 of patriotism,
therefore, that Greene appealed, and
ne finally convinced the young sol
der shat he could be of more service
to his country in representative than
in individual capacity. Taking this
view of the case, Macon decided to
obey the summons and so ended his
military career and began his politi
cal life And all must admit that he
was as faithful over the few things"
az a private soldier as he was faith
full to greater trusts as a statesman.
Though only % years of age,
Macon's ability was soon recognized
by his colleagues in the Legislature,
our Colonial Records" showing
that he served on some of the most
important committees. The condi,
ton of Greene's army was, naturally,
the subject nearest his heart, and
his best work was that in behalf of
movements looking to the better
equipment of Greene's forces.
In 1885 Macon's brother John sue
ceeded him in the General Assembly, |
and Nathaniel seems to have played
no further part in public affairs till
the framing of the National
Constitution in 1882. It's adoption
he opposed bitterly, insisting thai it
gave too much power to the central
government. But here it may be ad-
ded, parenthetically, that though he
seems not to have wavered in his be-
lief that the Constitution could have
been improved, he C1814) declared
that "To dissolve the Union and
destroy the Constitution would be
to throw from US as great a blessing
as Providence has bestowed upon
any people in modern times"
Macon was elected by the people
of his district to represent them in