THE LOYALISTS IN NORTH
CAROLINA DURING THE
REVOLUTION
by
ROBERT O. DEMOND, Ph.D.
Professor of History
State Teachers College
Buffalo, New York

1940
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS



54   LOYALISTS IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING REVOLUTION

...at the outbreak of the war. If they joined the Revolution and
did not settle their accounts, their credit with the British mer-
chants would be destroyed. Some of them, like Andrew Mil-
ler, had conscientious scruples against not paying their honest
debts. Other merchants without cash of their own depended
entirely upon their credit with the British merchants for the
financing of their trade.62
    Although the majority of the merchants of North Carolina
supported the Loyalist cause, a large number in the Cape Fear
region were leaders in the rebellion. Conspicuous among the
number were Cornelius Harnett, Robert Hogg, Thomas Ogden,
David Barrows, Joseph Hewes, Robert Smith, and Joseph
Blount. These names were offset by such men as John Cruden,
Hogg and Campbell, George Hooper, James Glass, Hogg and
Clayton, and Samuel Cornell in the same region who supported
the cause of the King. The merchants of Cross Creek were
almost unanimous in their support of the King.63 Those of the
Albemarle region were also generally loyal, probably on account
of the fact that many of them were under the control of British
merchants because of their debts.64The middle-class Scotchman
was accustomed to following the leadership of the wealthier
class, and when this element declared for the King, he unhesi-
tatingly followed.
    The Germans were also an important racial element in
North Carolina, but were of much less importance than the
Scotch in the Revolution. Many of them entered the colony
by way of the back country from Pennsylvania in search of
lands. They settled chiefly in Forsyth, Gullford, Randolph,
Davidson, Stokes, Rowan, Cabarrus, Stanley, Lincoln, Gaston,
Catawba, and Burke counties, these bordering the frontier from
Virginia to South Carolina.65 These were the counties which
were prominent in the War of the Regulation. In this war a
large number of the Germans supported the Regulators.66


    62 S. R. N. C., v, 203.
    63 Adelaide Fries (ed.), Records of the Moravians in North Carolina
  (2 vols., Raleigh, 1922), III, 1055-1058.
    64 Charles Christopher Crittenden, The Commerce of North Carolina,
  1763-1789 (New Haven, 1936), p. 118.
    65 Co/. Rec. of N. C., VIII, 729.    66 Ibid., VIII, 730.


                     DISSENTING ELEMENTS                  55

    When the Revolution continued, many of them remained
loyal to the King; as a result of their activities, they suffered
the confiscation of their estates. Of the one hundred and eighty-
two people summoned before the Rowan County Inferior Court
in 1783 to show cause why they should not have their estates
confiscated, one fifth were German.67
    The Moravians, a religious sect, which was made up largely
of Germans and which somewhat resembled the Quakers, had
settled in North Carolina just previous to the war. Since it was
contrary to their religious principles to take either an oath or
to serve in the army, they found themselves in a difficult posi-
tion. They claimed exemption also because of the "conscientious
objections," and it was granted them. In lieu of this service
large fines were collected from them at the beginning of the
war, and later they were taxed threefold.68 Their neutral
stand, though it was a friendly neutrality as far as the Patriots
were concerned, gave both the Whigs and Tories an excuse for
preying on them. The Tories claimed the Moravians were in
sympathy with the Continental forces, while the committees of
safety accused them of secretly aiding the Royal party.69 Al-
though the Moravians always supplied the demands of the
Whig soldiers by giving them everything they demanded and
accepted in payment worthless money or promises to pay, they
frequently found themselves in difficulties. At one time a band
of Whig militia robbed and pillaged the people so badly that
they were left like a conquered enemy. In fact, they suffered
much more from this class than they did from the Tories.70
    Certain professional as well as racial groups were inclined
to remain loyal to the King. Chief among these may be men-
tioned the clergy. Especially was this true of some of the
Episcopalians, who sacrificed their goods to their loyalty and
died in poverty. They, recognized as being among the ablest


    67 Rev. Jethro Rumple, A History of Rowan County, North Carolina
 (Salisbury, 1881), pp. 168-170.
    68 Col. Rec. of N. C., VIII, 729.    69 Ibid., VIII, 730.
    70 Adelaide L. Fries, The Moravian Church, yesterday and Today (Ra-
 leigh, 1926), p. 168.


 56   LOYALISTS IN NORTH CAROLINA DURING REVOLUTION

people in the colony, were often allowed to remain.71 The
Reverend John McLean and the Reverend William McKenzie
were among those who petitioned for aid from England on
account of their loyalty. The Reverend John Wills, minister
from New Hanover, was suspended for his loyalty and wrote
for aid to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who gave him £50 out
of funds for distressed American clergymen. While General
Campbell was absent from his troops before the Battle of King's
Mountain, the Reverend Mr. McCrea of the old established
church visited the camp and attempted to discourage the men
from fighting, warning them that they would be murdered like
bees. General Campbell respected McCrea's age too much to
punish him, but as an example of what he intended to do to
Cornwallis, Campbell ordered the clergyman to prostrate him-
self on his belly in the road, where every soldier stepped over
him on the march.72
   Certain other groups and officials were definitely aligned on
the side of the King. Most important among these were the
Crown officials. Of the members of the Governor's Council
which met in December, 1774, John Rutherford, Lewis De
Rosset,73 Martin Hassel, and Samuel Cornell were Loyalists.74
These four were also among those who made claims to England
for loss of property or salary. William Brimmage, Deputy
Attorney for the Crown, was a Tory leader and was arrested
for conspiracy.75 James Cotton, a surveyor of Anson County,
was made a prisoner for his support of government, as was
Captain Robert Cunningham.76 They were among the leading
men of the colony and persuaded large numbers of the country
people to take up arms for the King.
    The members of the council were often men who had served
in the Assembly or held some other office in the colony. The
record of Lewis De Rosset serves as an example. He had been


   71 Joseph Kelley Turner, A History of Edgecombe County, North Caro-
lina (Raleigh, 1920), p. 89.
   72 Lyman C. Draper, King's Mountain and Its Heroes (Cincinnati, 1881),
p. 396.
   73 Co/. Rec. of N. C., XIX, 887-888.    74 Ibid., X, 236.
   75 Ibid., XXVII, 538-539.               76 Ibid., XI, 290.


                       DISSENTING ELEMENTS                   57

one of North Carolina's most useful and prominent citizens and
was held in respect and confidence by the common people as
well as by the Governor. He was a member of the lower house
of the General Assembly in 1751 and was chairman of the pub-
lic accounts as well as justice of peace for several years. From
1752 to the Revolution he was a member of the council and in
1754 was made commissioner to prepare and emit £40,000 of
proclamation money. In addition, he was also receiver general
of the King's quit rent, which office he resigned in 1761. Some
of the measures which he introduced for the state's good were:
"For leave to build St. James Church, also one at Brunswick;
regulating exports on the Cape Fear; also appointing inspec-
tors, a petition for the establishment of a post office in the prov-
ince and also of a quarantine." He was adjutant general on
General Waddell's staff in 1771 and lieutenant general under
Tryon in 1768.77
    Loyalism in North Carolina may be traced by sections and
counties as well as by races and classes. The counties of Surry,
Guilford, Orange, Rowan, Randolph, Chatham, Cumberland,
Anson, Brunswick, and Montgomery made up a section which
was strong in its support of the King.78
    One careful student of these times has estimated that a
majority of the people of Cumberland County were Tories.79
Others have placed their number as large as two thirds of the
population.80 These counties extended from the mouth of the
Cape Fear River to the Virginia border and occupied the west-
ern half of the Granville district, which covered the entire
northern half of the state. At the termination of the Revolu-
tionary struggle the people of these counties were severely
punished for the stand which they had taken, and their estates...


   77 Kemp P. Battle (ed.), "Letters and Documents Relating to the Early
History of the Lower Cape Fear," James Sprunt Historical Monograph
(Chapel Hill, 1903), No. 4, p. 21.       78 Col. Rec. of N. C; X, 146.
   79 William Henry Foote, Sketches of North Carolina, Historical and
Biographical (New York, 1846), p. 142.
   80 R. D. W. Connor, "Race Elements in the White Population of North
Carolina," N. C. State Normal and Industrial College, Historical Publication
(Raleigh, 1920), No. i, p. 66.