The Boy Spies with the Regulators

It can well be understood with what eagerness we listened to the messenger as he read from the paper in a loud tone; but he remained at such a distance that I found it impossible to catch every word, although the general purport was made sufficiently plain.

The fellow, whom we afterward came to know was one of the clerks from the sheriff's office, regaled us with a high-sounding proclamation from the governor, in which his excellency graciously pardoned all the Regulators save thirteen, whose names were twice repeated in order that there should be no mistake.

I set them down here that the world may know who were the patriots of upper Carolina in the opinion of William Tryon:

"James Hunter, Ninian Bell Hamilton, Peter Craven, Isaack Jackson, Herman Husband, Matthew Hamilton, William Payne, Malichi Tyke, William Moffat, Christopher Nation, Solomon Goff, John O'Neil, and Rednap Howell."

When the clerk ceased reading and marched back from whence he came, we on the hillside looked at each other in silent amazement while one might have counted twenty, and then on the instant every tongue was loosened.

All that had been gained by the truce was an act of outlawry against our best men, and Fanning was still the trusted servant of the king!

The one thought in the minds of all was to seize the person of the villain who held a commission from the crown as governor of the Carolinas, and a thousand voices were crying out against delay.

The officers of the Regulation held a brief consultation, and then came that command which all expected and demanded.

"To horse, gentlemen! The moment has arrived when we must declare ourselves against the king, unless he redresses our wrongs by recalling such officials as have misruled the colony!" General Hamilton cried in a loud tone, and he had no more than concluded before every Regulator was in the saddle burning to avenge the insult offered by Tryon.

The earth literally trembled beneath the hoofs of a thousand horses as we rode at full speed to the ford, then across the river, and on to the governor's residence.

The royal "army" remained on guard until we were come to within an hundred yards, and then they scattered like chaff before the wind, running in every direction, crying for quarter.

No attention was given to the cowards. Tryon, Fanning and Edwards were the men we counted on teaching a lesson, and the dwelling was surrounded in a twinkling.

Fifty gentlemen entered the building, some of them to reappear a few moments later with the fellow who had read the proclamation.

"Tryon! Tryon!" our people shouted in anger, and then came the truth which, in our simplicity and honesty, we had not suspected.

"Tryon and his henchmen left town last night escorted by twenty men!" one of those who had come out with the prisoner shouted, and we who heard the words gazed in open-mouthed astonishment, failing on the instant to understand that the villainous representative of the king had simply proposed the truce in order that he might save his own precious body.

The clerk, fearing for his life, and hoping to save it by answering the questions which were literally hurled at him, told the entire story twenty times over, until we came to realize that the three rascals had set off at full speed immediately after sunset on the day previous. By this time they were half-way to Brunswick, and however good our steeds, there was no possibility we could overtake them.

Unless we might hold the governor of the colony as our prisoner, rebellion would avail us little, save that we should retain possession of upper Carolina until such time as he could send an overwhelming force against us.

There was not a man in the ranks of the Regulators who did not realize that Tryon had outwitted us, and that our only hope lay in remaining together year after year until the other colonies should be willing to join us in the struggle for liberty.

And in the meantime, while holding out against the king, how might we gain means of subsistence? The richest among us owned only so much land, and this could not be tilled if we were forced to fight day after day to retain possession of a small extent of territory.

When all this was fully understood as we sat in our saddles near about the governor's house, I saw this man and that, the bravest among us, give way to tears, and for the time being it seemed to me that the cause of liberty was crushed.

I could not then foresee that in the principal towns of the eastern colonies would spring up branches of our association, styled "Sons of Liberty," who would resist, as we had done, the unjust demands of an unjust king until the beacon lights of rebellion were kindled on every hill. I could not foresee that massacre at Lexington and at Concord which was needed to arouse the people until no sacrifice appeared too great, so that we purchased liberty for those who should live after us.

In silence, each man hanging his head as if having suffered an ignominious defeat, instead of allowing ourselves to be tricked because of believing that a gentleman's word was sacred, we returned to the encampment on the hill, and were there formed in line for what I believed would be the last time.

There were more than Sidney and myself who looked as if bowed down with sorrow, and when we most needed words of encouragement they came from our commander, that noble old man who was, by the proclamation of one false to all the instincts of a gentleman, an outlaw on whose head a price was shortly to be set.

"Gentlemen of the Regulation," General Hamilton began, speaking loud and clear as becomes an honest man who knows in his heart that he is in the true path, "we have been deceived, and are thereby cast down by sorrow. At a time when it appeared as if we held the threads which could be woven fairly to the interests of this colony, we have, by trusting in the words of one who has no honor in his heart, lost all our advantage; but we would be proving ourselves faint-hearted indeed if such a misfortune was accepted as final defeat. Now more than ever, must we struggle against wrong and oppression. It is not necessary you should again swear to be true to the cause; neither will it be of service to remain together just now, therefore I have this to propose, and it is for you to decide if it be the proper course: Let us disperse, each going to his home, there to remain one month; at the expiration of such time we will meet at Maddock's Mill to settle upon a further course of action."

The idea that we should remain as the Regulation, subject at any time to a call from our leaders, heartened us wonderfully, and with one accord our people agreed that Master Hamilton's plan should be adopted.

We broke ranks, each vowing friendship for his comrades, and entire devotion to the cause, and then went our several ways home firmly believing that in due course of time the purpose of the Regulation would be accomplished.

And now has come the time when I must hasten over the months and even years, without entering into details as to what Sidney or I did while we waited an opportunity to strike a blow for our distressed country.

True to the proposition of Master Hamilton, we met once each month, either at Maddock's Mill, or some other place equally central, and thus kept pace with the events which particularly concerned us of the Carolinas.

Tryon remained in Newbern in his palace which had been paid for by money wrung from a people who at times actually suffered for food, and flattered himself that he had finally destroyed the germs of rebellion that had been sowed by his own tyranny.

Contrary to our expectations, he did not make any decided effort to get into his clutches those of the Regulation whom he had declared outlaws, and it was quite as well that he remained quiet on that score, for a thousand of the king's soldiers could not have taken them from us.

The sheriffs of the counties in the upper Carolinas, knowing full well that the Regulation was neither crushed nor disheartened, no longer attempted to collect the unjust taxes, and thus it was that our people had been benefited in some slight degree.

We cultivated our lands, moved about at will without fear of being molested during nearly two years, and then, on a certain day in September, Sidney came to my home in hot haste, acting as messenger of the Regulation.

Word had come from Newbern that the Superior Court was to be convened on the 24th day of the month, and then would efforts be made to secure the bodies of those whom Tryon had styled "outlaws."

Master Hamilton, who yet remained in command of the Regulators, despite his many years, had decided that our wisest method of procedure was to interfere at the outset, claiming that we had the right to make certain that justice, not the will of Governor Tryon, should influence the decisions given by judges who were inclined to listen to the orders of the governor rather than the evidence before them.

It can well be supposed that neither my father nor myself lost any time in saddling our horses, and within twenty-four hours we were at the old encampment which overlooked the town of Hillsborough.

This time we were perfect masters of the situation. Tryon, believing the Regulation had been crushed out of existence, neglected to send soldiers to overawe us, and twenty of our people took possession of the court-house, while the remainder occupied the hill on the opposite side of the river ready to cross whenever a signal should be given that the services of armed men were necessary.

Because of our superior numbers, there was little chance the king's minions could do very much harm, therefore we were not held to rigid military discipline, and Sidney Hubbard and myself had no difficulty in obtaining permission to accompany that party which was to make certain no wrongs were inflicted upon us in the name of the law.

When we arrived at the court-house, having left our horses on the opposite side of the river, we found there but one judge, and he the man above all others who was ready to give such verdicts as would please the governor. It is needless for me to set down the fact that this man was Richard Henderson.

Seeing our party enter the building Fanning took it upon himself to ask that we be put out, and not allowed to enter even the yard, because, as he said, there were outlaws among us who had come for no other purpose than to create a disturbance.

All those of whom he thus spoke had suffered many wrongs at the hands of this same attorney, and foremost in the list of the oppressed were Herman Husband, the two Hunters, and Rednap Howell, not one of whom felt inclined to take additional abuse from such a traitor as Fanning.

That they acted hastily in the matter, I must admit; but at the same time one should remember the wrongs they had received. The miserable cur of an attorney had no sooner ceased speaking than the gentlemen I have named, aided by all the Regulators present, seized Fanning roughly and literally dragged him into the courtyard, where Sidney and I were set over him as guards until such time as our people might be at liberty to attend to him properly.

Because of being thus occupied, I did not see that which followed; but later in the day my comrade and I were told that our people demanded the trial of those belonging to the Regulation who had been declared outlaws, which was no more than just, since the court had been called together for that sole purpose.

It was not the purpose of Judge Henderson to give the Regulators a fair trial, and, therefore, in order to outwit us, he declared the court adjourned for the day.

Then he left the building, walking swiftly through the yard as if expecting to be roughly treated, and once he was out of sight our party set about giving Fanning a lesson.

He was taken across the river to our encampment, being dragged by the heels a portion of the way, and there we held a little court of our own, the decisions of which I dare venture to say were more in accordance with strict justice than any Judge Richardson would have delivered.

It was decided that Fanning should be beaten with rods in the presence of the Regulation, and Masters Husband and James Hunter were the gentlemen selected to inflict the punishment, therefore it can well be fancied that it was done in proper fashion.

We kept the attorney with us during the night, and next morning all our company rode over to Hillsborough, only to find that the brave judge had run away during the night, after declaring that the court was adjourned until one year from that day. He could not pronounce the sentences which Tryon demanded, therefore had no idea of being forced to act honestly for once in his life.

Well, some of the hotter heads, taking advantage of the general confusion, utterly destroyed Fanning's house, beating him again before setting the scoundrel at liberty.

This done we went home once more, agreeing to meet each month as before.

I can best tell the remainder of my story, up to the time when Governor Tryon decided to wage war upon us, by quoting from a history of the Carolinas which I have lately seen; and while it is written from the standpoint of the royalists, it is correct as to the acts and movements of our enemy: [2 - Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution."] "Judge Henderson, who was driven from the bench, called upon Tryon to restore order in his district. The governor perceived that a temporizing policy would no longer be expedient, and resolved to employ the military force to subdue the rebellious spirit of the Regulators. He deferred operations, however, until the meeting of the Legislature, in December.