Indulge me friends..,
#OTD (Feb. 27) in 1776 North Carolina militia met Scottish Highlanders in battle at Moores Creek Bridge (Pender County). The militia were under the overall command of Colonel James Moore out of Wilmington. Captains Richard Caswell led troops from New Bern (approx. 850) and Alexander Lillington (~150) from Brunswick County. Moore, who was at the head of around 650 troops arrived at Moores Creek after the battle was fought.
The Highlanders , Loyalists, were from Crosscreek (Fayetteville today). All told, those against the Crown that day totaled 1000 and those in favor, the Scots, counted 700. Lillington had arrived to the site a day early and had prepared fortifications which were crucial in the engagement. Allegiance on this day is an intriguing thing, after all, in the moment, Caswell and Lillington and their men were essentially traitors to their country. Of course, as we tell the story, they become Patriots. Such is the language of the winners in retrospect.
The Scottish Highlanders and their constancy to George the Third is also at first a curious thing. Certainly there was no love for a Crown that had so recently (1746) vanquished them at The Battle of Culloden, so why stand and fight as Loyalists? That allegiance can be mainly explained by the fact that as a condition of the receipt of land grants in colonial North Carolina, the otherwise defeated and dispossessed Highlanders had sworn an Oath of Fealty to the English monarch. Thus, no matter their own rebellious inclinations, the Scots were bound by their word.
That’s a shame since they were routed on this day in 1776. Caswell and Lillington’s men set up across the bridge that the Highlanders were obliged to cross. The wily eventual-patriots also removed the cross boards and greased the beams on the bridge, slowing any crossing to a deadly pace. The Scots charged ahead anyway, brandishing broadswords and dirks in the hope of finding in the far side the kind of hand-to-hand combat in which they excelled. Caswell and Lillington’s troops mowed them down. Casualties were likely 50, some drowning in the cold water of deep Moores Creek.
This win set back English plans for subduing The South and then turning full force on The North and was, in the long run, key to outlasting English resources and patience, and bring independence.
This battle is quite personally dear to me. Once upon a time, around 2003, Leah and I had set out heading east - beach bound out of Chapel Hill. We were newly dating and this was our first weekend getaway. I’m a fan if Blue Highways, as I learned to my eternal delight, is Leah. Indeed, we had talked about making that sort of route a general characteristic of this excursion. Secretly, but wary of being nerdy around her, I hoped that history might play some role in our romantic escape from The Triangle. So we took Highway 421 South, the literal lifeline that splits my homeland of #ChathamCounty and is Main Street, such as there can be in a mini-hamlet like #Bonlee.
Somewhere along that way, a few hours into the music and the lovey talk, we saw the sign. I definitely saw it first and immediately began plotting how? Aware of the double down nerdiness of wanting to stop at a revolutionary war battle ground in the absolute middle of nowhere on the way to a romantic weekend trip - our very first even - I squelched myself. So what should happen but Leah, upon spying the brown historic marker, not only says, “Hey look!” but pulls out a folder from her bag with a print out about the place!
I was already a hard lean but at that moment I fell deeply and Happily in Love. There really is no better pairing than Historian and Librarian.
