Carolinians Thwarted Britain’s Southern Gambit

By John Hood

RALEIGH — During the first few months of America’s war for independence, the British redcoats occupying the rebellious city of Boston won one major battle (for Bunker Hill and nearby Breed’s Hill, on June 17, 1775) as well as several minor skirmishes. But the Continental Army, under its new commander George Washington, kept the occupiers bottled up in the city. If the Americans ever managed to place cannons onto the heights overlooking the harbor, the British authorities realized, their position in Boston would become untenable.

So, they came up with a bold new plan: attack North Carolina! Once it was safely back under Loyalist control, the other Southern provinces would soon follow. Without their manpower and resources, the American cause was doomed — or so the British figured.

Perhaps they figured right. We’ll never know, because 250 years ago this week, Britain’s Southern Strategy sustained what proved to be a fatal wound, in what is now Pender County.

The British plan contained many moving parts. One army would sail south from Boston to North Carolina. Another would sail west from Ireland. At Wilmington, they’d meet up with what exiled royal governor Josiah Martin pledged would be many thousands of Loyalists recruited from among Scottish Highlanders in the Cape Fear valley and former Regulator rebels who detested the coastal elites now leading the Patriot cause. Meanwhile, British agents would encourage aggrieved Cherokees to stream down from the mountains and attack frontier settlements, distracting Carolina militiamen in the backcountry.

In response to Martin’s call, more than 3,000 Highlanders and Regulators gathered in early February in what is now Fayetteville — but that was far fewer than the governor promised. And once the Loyalists realized there were only British officers present, not a full contingent of redcoats to escort them to the coast, many slipped away and headed home.

By the time General Donald McDonald and his mostly Scottish forces left camp on February 20, 1776, they numbered only about 1,600. Finding their direct path down the Cape Fear River blocked by Patriot militia under Colonel James Moore, McDonald led his Loyalists further east, then marched toward a ferry crossing on the Black River. Another Patriot column, under future North Carolina governor Richard Caswell, beat them to it.

General McDonald still had a trick up his sleeve. While some Highlanders made for the ferry crossing, bagpipes blaring, most of McDonald’s men crossed the river elsewhere and tried to outflank the Patriots. Recognizing the danger just in time, Caswell pulled back to a rude bridge across Moores Creek where militiamen under Colonel Alexander Lillington were already stationed.

When the Loyalists reached the vicinity of the bridge on February 26, they numbered about 600 Highlanders and 200 Regulators. McDonald sent a letter to Caswell and Lillington demanding surrender. The officers refused. Early the next morning, McDonald’s men neared the bridge, found only a few Patriot sentries, fired on them, and wrongly concluded Caswell and Lillington were running away. In reality, the Patriots had partially dismantled the bridge, greased the support rails, and were lying in wait on the east bank of the creek.

“King George and Broadswords!” shouted Lt. Colonel Donald McLeod as he led several dozen Highlander swordsmen across the bridge. Their gallant, foolish charge melted under Patriot fire. McLeod and most of his men were killed instantly.

This “hot” part of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge took only minutes. The rest consisted of Loyalists fleeing and Patriots chasing. The latter took hundreds of prisoners. Over the next few hours and days, other Patriot units approaching the battlefield from the west took hundreds more.

Many weeks later, when the British fleets finally reached the Carolina coast, they found no reinforcements. They sailed south to assault Charleston, anyway, producing another fiasco. Carolina militiamen also proved more than a match for Cherokee raiders.

Stymied in the South, the British returned their focus to George Washington’s army. The war would go on — thanks to the brave men of the Carolinas.

John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).