Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1902-11-27
Charlotte Observer.


holiday season at Vivian Place, fine
in an old chronicle the story of
brave woman, whom a wild king
besieged and tried to force to his will
But she armed
@'Her own fair head, and sallyins
through the gate,
Had beat her foes with slaughtel
from the Wa1ls.0
When this story was read to tht
LADIES present, one Of the men asked
"Where lives there such a woman
noW?" To which
<tQuick answered Lila sThere are
thousands now
Such women, but convention beats
them down."
And Lila was right. The history
of our State abounds in stories OF
women who have performed deeds
just a heroic as this preserved in the
old chronicle, and it is the purpose
of this article to reJeIl such "a story.
1t has been often told before: there
is nothing original in the present
narrative, nevertheless the writer
has no apology for attempting to
bring it afresh before the readers of
the Observer. Many of them have
heard it before and will doubtless
like to hear it again. Others have
never heard it, and it is for these es-
pecially that the present attempt is
made to preserve it. 1t has been
told by Mrs. Elicit in her "Women
of the Revolution;'' and it has been
retold by Wheeler. But both these
accounts are now becoming so scarce
and so inaccessible to the average
reader, that it does not seem inap-
propriate to reproduce it here. It
should be preserved and constantly
re-read, for it is by referring often
to such examples Of the heroism Of
the past, that the future generations
are inspired to do great deeds for
their State and country.
On the first day of February, 1875,
Gen. Mcdonald, chief of the Nc
Donald clan in the Cape Fear region,
issued a proclamation, calling upon
all true and loyal Highlanders to
join his standard at Cross Creek, now
Fayetteville, and prepare to assist
Gen. Clinton and Governor Martin
in maintaining the Kings authority
in the province of North Carolina.
About fifteen or sixteen hundred of
them obeyed the summons. From
Gross Creek they marched down the
Cape Fear river until they came to
Moore's creek, where they were met
~on February 9th by a Wing, force
about a thousand strong under the
command Of Richard CasWell. The
following from a letter from Caswell
to Cornelius Harnett shows the re-
suit of the meeting:
81 have the pleasure to acquaint
you that wehad an engagement with
the Tories, at widow Moore's creek
bridge, on the 9th current. Our
army was about one thousand strong,
consisting of the Newbern Battalion
of Minutemen, the militia from Cra-
ven, Johnston, Dobbs and Wake,
and a detachment of the Whining
ton Battalion of Minutemen, which
we found encamped at Moore's creek
the night before the battle, under the
command of Col. Ellington. The
Tories, by common report, were3 900;
but General Macdonald, whom we
have prisoner, says there were about
1900 or 1900; he was unwell that
ard not in the battle. Captain
Mcleod, who seemed to be the prin-
cipal commander, and Captain John
Campbell are among the slain.o
This was the first pitched battle of
the Revolution won by the Wings;
the only victories of an earlier date
being the capture of Forts Ticonder-
oga and Crown Point, on May 10th,
1775. 1t would be difficult to over
estimate the importance of the vic
tory. Besides the capture of about
900 prisoners and 1000 stands of
arms. of which the Americans stood,
in great need, the crushing of the
Tory spirit and the corresponding
rise of the Wing spirit, meant UNI
told strength to the cause OF free
dom.
But ii. is not for the political nor
the military results of this battle with
which this story is to deal. With
the foregoing as an introduction, it
10 interesting now to turn TO the story