>-' '^sriv;*-*. yi* Revoli chtit: The Oeos On the By 1 /^i>f^ -'f^ AN ADDRESS ON THE Revolutionary History OF Cliatliaiii Coiiiit}^, N. C, DELIVERED AT TzaiE OEZNTTiHiisrnsri^^iij Oeii^eei^^?^tioit AT PITTvSBOROUGH, X. C, On the Fourth Day of July, 1876, By HEXEY ARMAXD LOXDOX COLE PRINTING CO., SANFORO, N. C. l^^ ,C4 2. PREFACE. By an Art of ("onj;ress and the President's Proclanialioii, tlie citizens of the United States were requested to assemble in their respective counties, on the -tth day of July, 187(>, and appropriivtel}' celebrate the Centennial anniversary of the Declaration of IndeiJendence, and it was recommended that an historical address be delivered in evei-y county on that occasion. In accordance therewith, such a celebration was held at Pittsboro, N, C, which was attended by a large concourse of the county's best citizens. Alter music by the Pittsboro' Brass Band, an ai)propriate prayer was offered by the Rev, William Snipes, and the Declaration of Independence was read by the Hon. John M. Moi'ino-. Then the Hon. John Manning introduced the undersigned, to whom had been ac- corded the honor of delivering the historieal address contained in tlie followi]ig pages. Its i^ublication M'as urged at that time by many persons^ and frequently since, but not until now, after the lapse of nearly twenty years, have I consented thereto. And it is published nov; only in order to preserve important tacts connected with Chatham's historv, which oth- erwise might be forgotten. To my fellow-count ymen this address is respectfully dedi- cated. April, 1.S94. ir. A. London. I \ ^^ ^ Ladies and Gentlemen: On this day, and at this very ^^^ hour, the people of the United kStates, throughout their vast '^ domain, have assembleLl together, in their respective counties, for the i^urpose of celebrating the one hundredth anniA'ersary of their JSJ^ational Independence. It is very meet and projjer that our citizens, on this day, should lay aside the cares of business and the duties of daily life, and meet together to commemorate so grand an occasion. ^Vhen I look around ' upon this sea of up-turned ttices, I feel more than ever before the responsibility devolved upon me by the Committee of Arrangements, and will trust rather to your kind indulgence and symjDathetic interest than to my own ability to enter- tain aid instruct you. This address will not give you any- thing ^ ike a history of our county, but will only hastily sketch the days and doings of one hundred years ago. Bear x^atiently with me, then, and hear the traditions of your forefathers. It has been a task of no ordinary labor to obtain the infor- mation necessary for this occasion, and day after day, like a dutiful son gathering up the fond relics of his mother, have I searched into the old records of our county, and gleaned from them whatever might contribute to your entertainment and instruction. This to me, however, has been a " labor of love,'' wbieh I gladly give to the county in which I was born and reared, and among whose citizens I hope to spend my allotted days on earth " with malice to none, and charity toward all." This county, together with her twin sisters, Wake and Guilford, was foraied by a division of Orange County in •January, 1771. The Act establishing the County, ratified January 2Bth, 1771, described its boundaries as follows: " Be it Enacted by the Govenor, Council and Assembly, That from and after the first Day of April next, the inhabitants of the County of Orange, lying to the South of a Point sixteen miles due South of Hillsborough, and bounded as follows, to- wit: Beginning at the aforesaid Point, running thence due M'cst to ( ! iiillnnl Coiiiity Line: lliciicc Soiitli aloiij;' (Jnillnid ('(Huity L';iit' t(» ( 'luiilicrlaiKl Ciuiiitv Line: 1 liciicc iil(>ni)h degrees east by a line of marked trees to a post in the yard; then north S degrees east L'4 poles to a hickory stump below the stoi-e; then south 7S degices west ."JO i»oles to two small sassi- fras on the Spring Ihaiu-h: then up the said bi-anch to be- giiniing, including the dwelling house and store, containing aboni three acres and a (juarter." 5 Tlie little V)lack oak is now staiulinji- a iniohty tree, but the '^' line of marked trees'' has long; sinee disapiyeared. Tlie Conrt i-eeords show that the Sheriff repeatedly protested against the Jail as being- insecure, until at Xoveniber Court. 1779, it is '^Ordered that ilial Heurloek. John Birdscng, and Zxcli Harnim be appointed Commissioners to let the build- ing of a public Gaol, the dimensions to be twelve feet by four- teen iii the clear, with a double logged wall up to the joist and above four feet to be filled with stones, with a cabin rough/' At Fel)ruary Court, 1780, John Dillard i.s alh)wed fourteen hundred and forty pounds for building the Jail. Tlie only building now remaining of all then standing is the dwelling hou.se, which is well preserved, l;eirg weather- boarded with short boards riven out of oak logs and fastened Avith wrought nails. There was no town where the old Court- house was located, and the place was called " Chatham Court-House." After the close of the war, and the cessation of hostilities, the public necessities demanded a town at the county-seat, and accordingly an act of the General Assembly, ratified Dec. 29th, 1785, appointed nine citizens of the county Trustees to lay off one hundred acres on the farm of Mial Scurlock, deceased, as a town, to be named Pittsl)orough. The preamble of this act gives the reasons for estal)lishing the town as follows: '' AVhereas, It has been represented to this General Assem- bly that the lands l)elonging to the estate of jMial Scurlock. deceased, whereon the Court-house and other l)uildings in the county of Chatham now stand, is an exceedingly healthy, pleasant situation, well watered and commodious for com- merce, being situate in a very rich and fertile part of tlie country, and sunilry ]n8rc;hin!,s and persons of distinc- tion in the lower parts of the State are desirous that a town sliould be erected thereon, with a design of becoming pur- chasers of lots, and erect buildings foi- the reception of their families in the summer months; it Mill also greatly tend to the ease and convenience of the inhabitants of th.at county in par- ticular, and the western parts of this State in generah &c.'' But the town was not laid off on the lands of Mial Scurlock, because his executors did not feel authorized to dispose of the same, and, therefore, the Trustees bought one hundred acres IVoiii William Petty, \y\uix on the north sido of Robinson's Creek (so ealled from an old man ivsidin*;- on its head watei-s), and there laid ont and established the town ol" rittsl)oro. The General Assembly at its next session i>assed an act ratifyin;^- the at'tion of the Trustees in locating the toWn on Petty's land, and appointiug George Lucas, Joseph Stewart, Roger Grittith, IMatthew Jones, Zachar^ah Harman, Patrick St. Law- renee, Nathan Stedman, James Massey and William Kiddle as the first Conimissioaers of the new -town. As the county had been named in honor of the Earl of Chatham, so the Couuly-seat was named in honor of his illus- trious son, at that time Premier of England. A large number of deeds are found recorded, exe;'uted by Matthev,- Jones, in 178G, to different persons for various lots in the new towu. It is a source of regret that uoue of the records of our Court can be found to furnish any information as to the building of the new Court-house, Jail, etc., but they wei-e soon erected, and the old site abandoned. The old Court-house was removed to tlie new town, and still stands as the store of Headen, Bynuni & C'o. In 1843 the wooden Jail was burnt, and the present brick one built, at a cost of $3,500. And at the same time the old Court-house was torn down and the present brick one erected, at a cost of $8,000. And just here a brief sketch of our town may not be inai>proi)riate. The first dwelling erected here was the one-story tmilding now standing just east of the Methodist church. The next is the house now occupied by Mr. A. G. Headen, and known as the '• Yellow House." This was erected by Patrick St. Law- rence ( whose name is perpetuated by a P. O. where he once lived), and was built in such a substantial and costly manner as to have bankrupted the owner and tiie contractor who built it. The Methodist church was built in 1827. The Ei)is!'opal church was erected in 1833, and was called "St. Bartholomew's," because the county, in the act establishing it, was constituted St. Bartholomew's Parish, as heretofore stated. The Baptist church Mas erected in 1847, and the Presbyterian church was elected in 1851. The present male Academy is the same'one in which Rev. Wm. Bingham taught seventv-five vears ago. and in which were ediu-ated two boys who afterwards became Governors of North Carolina, viz: John Owen and Charles Manly. Three newspapers have struggled through a brief existence in our town — the Central Beflector, published by Hugh McQueen in 1830 5 the Commu- nicat"' had a care for the '' creature comforts,'' and amply pro\ided for the '' inner man.'' The currency of the <'ountry becanu' so depreciated (hat tinally one dollar in specie was equivalent to 800 in pa- per dollars, for the Court records show that in 17.S2 and '88 judgments were rendered in the alternative at that rate. .Vt Xo\ . Term, 1781, is an entry ''that James AVilliams, Esq., be allowed the sun' e tw< thousand four hundred dol- 9 lars for a blank-book for the. use of tlie Court." Even our Confederate money was not so worthless as this. It may be of interest to give the amount of taxes collected in this county in those early days, and make a comparison with the present. At Feb. Term, 1775, is found an entry stating " that the Court l^roceeded to settle with Elisha Cain, Esq., Sheriff for the years 1771 and 1772," from which it appears that the taxes for 1771 (the first year of the existence of the county) were £118-10-0, or about |800, and for 1772 £86-10_5, or about $450. The total amount of taxes collected in this county last year (1875) was $29,803.87, of which $17,330.15 were for County purposes, and $12,473.72 for the State. In the early records many orders are found to lay out the public roads of the county, but only a few of those roads are now used, others having been opened. It is to be noticed, how- ever, that those old roads were much more direct and more convenient to the j^ublic than the new roads, for the for- mer were laid out to save distance and travelling, while the latter appear to be laid out for the j)urpose of going by some person's mill or store, without consulting the public conveni- ence at all. And in mentioning roads, it is proper here to state that the present highways of Chatham County are a dis- grace to any people pretending to be civilized, and our pros- perity will ever be retarded until ^^ our ways are mended." There were several ferries established at an early day — one at * ' Eedfield, ' ' about one mile below the present By num Fac- tory, on Haw Eiver; one over the Cape Fear Eiver, called Avent's Ferry, which is still used, and bears the same name. At Nov. Court, 1781, it is "ordered that John Avent be al- lowed the following rates for ferriage across the Cape Fear River, viz: '^ For wagon and team loaded, 400 dollars. For cart and horses loaded, 200 dollars. For man and horse, 50 dollars." This was when specie was worth 800 for 1. There were vari- ous other ferries and fords in the county over the different streams, among them ^Yilliams' and Crow's, on Haw Eiver, and Eigden's, on Deep Eiver. The first bridge ever built in the county was across New Hope, and was called Sypart's (or Cypert's) Bridge, and was located where is now Prince's Bridge, on the road to Ealeigh, 10 about nine miles east of Pittsboro. It was near tliis place that the Tniversity of tlie Stale was lirst localeil, ainl then changed to ('hai)el Hill. The date of l)uildiiig this lii-idge cannot be ascertained, but at Aug. Coui-t, 1777, it is " ordeied that Elisha Cain and Francis Syi)art be appointed Coinniis- sioners for letting to tie lowest bidder th.e repairing of New Hope Ihi* and love for the Grey." It is almost impossible to give even a brief sketch of the most distinguished citi7>en8 of Chatham living one hundred years ago, for with many of them their vei\v names arv for- gotten, and they have passed away as bubble.*^ on the current of time. But "We shall rerlve their names, and in fond memories Preserve and still keep fresh, like fiowers in water, Their glorious deeds." 14 Ei.isiiA Caix w;is the first Sheriff of the county, and after- wards one of tlie le:idin<;- Justices; was a delegate to Hillsboro' in Au<;-. 1775, and after the war a member of the Legislature; resided on the northern side of Haw IMver. Wm. Hooper was the first Clerk of our County Court. Richard Kennon was a prominent Justice of the Court for many years, whose name is repeatedly mentioned in our records. He lived, died and is buried near the present residence of Wm. White, on Rocky lliver, and tlioug:h hundreds of our citizens, continually pass by the former residence and grave of this man, who was 80 iirominent in days of old, yet how few, if any, have ever heard his name ever mentioned! Sic transit mundi gloria ! Amerose RAMSF.Y vras Col. of the militia,a prominent Justice of the Court, the owner of the mills where Cornwallis cro.'S?d Deep River, and, after the war, for many years in tlie State Legislatui'e. John Ramsey wavS for many years a Justice of the Court, and afterwards Clerk. Mathew Ra^fsey was Captain of a company of light-hoi-se, was captured by Fan- ning at Chatham C. H., was can-ied prisoner to Wilmington, whence he escaped -and rejoined his comi)any. He owned and lived at what is now called Green's Mills, on Rocky River. He was a brother of Ambrosia and John, and the grandfather of the Ramseys lately living here. ]\riAL Scuklock owned the dwelling at the old C. H. and was Clerk of the Court from May, 1777, until his death, in May, 1781. Mathew Jones was one of the first Justices of the Court, was Major of the militia, and, after the war, in the Legislature. He lived, died and is bui'ied near the Asheboro road, about five miles west of Pittsboro, and when this town was laid out, bought numy lots in it. He is the Grandfather of Mrs. Johu E. Nettles. Maj. John Xaul, or Xall. and Joiix Luttrele are the only two officers who were killed in battle. They were both killed at Cane ci'eek in the attem])t to release Gov. Burke, whom Fan- ning had captured and was earning to Wilmington. They were l)oth Justices, Luttrell living near Haw river, and Xall near the present Hear Creek Baptist church. Major Xall was the great-grandfather of ]\ri'. Elbert I). Nail. Major Nail was a giillant and brave officer, and a good and useful citizen, whose untimely death was a public loss. Roger Gbiffith was for nrany years Sheriff of the county, a .Tustice of the Court, 15 and Major of the militia, and lived near the old road, about f of a mile southwest of Pittsboro'. But time and space would fail me to even briefly mention all the leading characters of that early day, for there were John Birdsong, John Montgomery, Baalam Thompson, Jedu- than Harper, William Kinclien, Joseph Brantleyj Joseph Hin- ton, James Sellers, Thomas Gregory and others, who were Justices of tlie Court, and men whose names should be re- vered by a grateful posterity, though they have long since passed away and finished their course. Let us emulate their virtues and shun their vices, and so "act our part in the world's broad field of battle, in the bivouac of life," that when another hundred years shall have rolled by the men of 1976 may recall our names with grateful love and reverence, and we be held ii}) as exauiplars of virtue and patriotism. See to it, men of Chatham, that ye be not degenerate scions of noble sires, but be faithful to every trust, sincere in every opinion, and true in all things. Let not the little, petty, differences that divide you as individuals hinder you as the common citizens of a common country from uniting together in your efforts to build up that country. This Centennial year of our National Independence should mark a ' ' new de- parture" in our national growth and prosperity. It should be the beginning of a new and brighter era dawning on our whole country. It is the dividing line between the old and the new. It should be as some mighty breakwater dashing back the angry waves of hate and i^assion which have so long- been seething and surging in our distracted country. This year and these celebrations, which to-day are participated in by the whole American people, will have lost their force and significance unless we are taught the grand lessons of peace and reconciliation, of love of country, and of charity to our fellow-man. Let us learn to be more tolerant of the views and opinions of those who differ from us, and bear in mind that no man is perfect. But to proceed, wiiile a large majority of the citizens of Chatham were zealous for the new government, and gladly joined in the cause of liberty and independence, yet there were others, and many of them highly respectable citizens, who saw no good or sufficient cause to throw off the sove- 16 ri'ffi^ity of'Ortnit Britain, ami nn'Iio refused fo join in wfiat they considered adreadfnl rebellion, and to-day their d(»sc(Mid- ants are among- onr most re|)ntal)le citizens. l',iit during t he- war the passions of whie given, as he is so closely iutei-AVoven with the liistoiy of tliose days. The most conspicuous character of the Kevolutionarj- days was CoL David P^vxNrx(J, whose name is still flimiliar in our own time, and about whose bloody deeds and murderous ex- ploits our old people still talk witli hoiTor. Tradition has so- enveloi>ed him as to make it almost impossil)le to separate the tnie from the false. Eev. E. W. Canithei-s, in 1854, pub- lished his work entitled '' Tlie Old North State in 1776," in which, he devotes much space to the trpren1i('e, but owing to hai'sh treatment, r;in away, and engaged in traffic- ing with the Indians in South Carolina. Tpon the commence- ment ol' hostilities he became a tory and was engaged in many adventures in South Carolina until after the fall of Charleston, in May, 1780, he came to this county and lived with a noted tory, John Rains, on Brush Creek. In a letter to the Uni- vei-sity ^lagazine, in March, 1858, Gov. Swain incorrectly states that Fanning came to Chatham in 1778. He remained ([uiet at this place until 1781, when, with a few followers, he commenced a predatory warfare on his neighbors, nuiny of whom were murdered; and finally, Avhen in the month of June a general meeting of the loyalists was called to appoint a commanding officer of the militia, he was elected colonel, and immediately set off for Wilminji^ou (100 miles distant) to receive his commission from Maj. Craigg, the British officer comniauding that j)Ost, which commission read as follows: 17 '•'By J;i nes Heury Craigg, Esq., Maj. iu liis Majesty's 82d Beg., commanding a detachment of the King's troops iu North Carolina, &c., &c. To David Fanning, Esq. : These are to appoint yon to be colonel of the loyal mili- tia in Randolph and ("hatham counties, who are directed to obey you as such in all lawful commands whatsoever; and you are authorized to grant commissions to the necessary per- sons of known attachment to his Majesty's person and gov- «ernment, to act as captains and subalterns to the different companies of militia aforesaid. As colonel, you are hereby fully empowered to assemble the militia, and lead them against any party of rebels, or others the King's enemies, as often as necessary; to compel all persons whatsoever to join you; to seize and disarm, and, when necessary, to detain in confine- ment all rebels or others acting against his Majesty's govern- ment, and to do all other acts l)ecoming a King's otticer and good subject. Given at Wilmington, this 5th of July, 1781. J. H. Craigg, Maj., commanding the King's Troops." E npowered with tliis authority, he returned from Wil- mington on the 12th of July, and ordered a general muster lit Cox's Mill, at which place he established his head-quarters. Tliis mill is now owned by M. J. Swift, and is situated on the western side of Deep Eiver, at the mouth of Mill creek, in Bmdolph county, about five miles from the Chatham line. He organized his forces and appointed officers, whose names would here be given, but the descendants of many of them are among our respectable citizens, and might dislike their tory ancestors to be named. His first exploit after organizing was his descent upon Chatham Court-House, on the 15th of July, as Caruthers has it, or on the 18th, as Wheeler states. Mr. Caruthers is mistaken iu saying that it was a court of pleas and quarter sessions which Fanning there captured, and Gov. Swain makes the same mistake in his letter to the Uni- versity Magazine. Those courts were held then at the same time, as they ever since have been held, until their abolition in 1868, i. e., on tlie 2d Mondays in Feb., May, Aug. and 18 XovcMiilxM", So that this court was not in session in July. Fan- iiiug's narrative states e\'i)li('itly that it was "a geuer.il mus- ter, and the day folh)win<4' were to eall a court-martial for the trial of several loyalists who had refused to bear arms." And Fanning- |)ro('eeds to '^Ive an account of his raid (page 23) as follows: "Upon receiving this intelligence,! proceeded towards the Court-House, 17 miles, that night w illi the men T had named, and the morning following, by seven o'clock, 1 arri\'ed there. I surrounded the plr.ce where they were. I expected to tind members of tlu' court-martial, but they had dispersed the evening before, and were to meet at eight o'clock. I then posted pickets on every road, and within two hours took 53 prisoners, among them the colonel, major, and all the militia officers of the county, except two, who had not attended, audals) one continental cai)tain, with three of their delegates to the General Assembly. I immediately marched then to Cox's Mill, an d paroled all except 14, w hom I knew were violent against the goveiar.nent. Those I con- ducted to Wilmington, and delivered to Major Craigg." Among tliose captured, Mr. (^aruthers states, was John Williams, attoruey-at-law^, commonly called London John (having come from the city of London), but this is a mistake, as our Court records show th.it he was admitted to practice law as an attorney at February Term, 1785. He should have said James Williams, Esq., who bad been an attorney in the county for mmy yeii'S, and w'lio, was i3,irolel after being car- ried to Wilmington, as our records farther show, and who, on his i-etui-n home, wrote a letter to Gov. Burke in behalf of the other prisanewS. (See Caruthers, page 168). UponFan- uing's i-eturn from WlUnington occurred his attack upon and capture of Col. Philip Alston, and twenty-five men. As Mr. Caruthers gives a full account of this fight, (page 180), it is here merely mentioned. The house is still standing in a good state of preservation, and the holes made by tory bullets are still jilainly visible, ft is si^tuated^ on the northern bank of Deep Kiver, and known as the ''Chalmers' Place." Fanning' s next ej^ploit was the capture of Gov. Burke ;ind others at Hillsboro', which, however, belongs to the history of Orange county. Fanning, after this, continued his depreda- tions, and even after Cornwallis' surrendei-, in Octol)er 1781, 19 he still bid bold delid/uce to the ^'rebels," and ruin and death marked his footsteps, until June, 1782, he left the county for South Carolina, thence going to Florida, and finally to ]Sro\a Seotia, where he died in 1825. While we condemn the principles of this man and abhor his bloody murders, yet we must admire his wonderful bold- ness, displayed on the most i)3rilous ocsasions, and his un- flinching devotion, even in defeat, to the cause he had espoused. Another leading tory was Col. John Pyle, who lived on the public road about equi-distant from Pittsboro' and Graham, near the present residence of Jesse S. Henley. He is first mentioned as a prisoner at the battle of Moore's creek, near Wilmington, but will always be known as the leader of the tories at "Pyle's hacking match," 25th Feb., 1781, whom Col. Lee so completely cut to pieces. AVhile no important battle was fought in Chatham county, yet the armies of L:)rd Cornwallis and Gen. Greene marched through the centre, from the northwestern to the southern borders. A few days alter the battle of Guilford C. H., on the 15th of March, 1781, Cornwallis took up his line of march for Wil- mington, and on the night of the 22d encamped on Cane creek in Chatham county, at Dixon's mill, which mill is still owned by the Dixon family^ and remained two days at this place. There are many pleasant local traditions connected with this encampment. The chair in which Cornwallis sat while there still remains in good preservation, and is now owned by Mr. Thomas C. Dixon. Several of these traditions are preserved in some jingling verses, written by a son of one of the eye- witnesses. Upon leaving Dixon's Mill, the British army marched to Chatham Court-House and spent the night, Corn- wallis occupying as his head-quarters the house in which Mrs. ISTat. Hill now resides; cut in the ' weather- boarding of this house are still to be seen the names of many British soldiers. Fanning, in his narrative, mentions that he met the army at Dixon's Mill, and that he gave Cornwallis information as ^^to the situation of the county and disposition of. the people, and then returned to Deep Eiver to conduct more men to the pro- tection of the British arms, and after two days rejoined the army at Chatham C. H." From this place the army marched to Ramsey's Mills, known now as Lockville, and encamped in 20 Glascock's old \Md, Coniwallis haviii- ye-ars old when he marriwl, and his first child was lM)rn iu ISOl. He is the last remaining- link connecting; the past with the present, the only one of our citii^ens who was living- at our nation's birth, and celebi-atcs its centennijil. Who of us will live to see the second centennial t Cornwallis pnshed forward the building- of the bridg;e at Ramsey's Mills as rapidly as ]>ossible, for (len. (ireene was in hot pursuit, and had reached Rigden's ford, on Deep River, bnt had hesitated to ci'oss, not knowing- whether Cornwallis wonld cross Haw River and go down to the east bank of the Cape Fear, or cross Deep River and go to the west side. The location of Rigden's ford is incorrectly stated by Mr. Camthei"s (on psig'e 181^, st^cond seri(»s) as lM»ing- forty miles above Ramsey's Mills, but Simms,in his " Life of (xcn. Greene'"' (page 205), locates it correctly as being* only twelve miles. After diligent incpiiiy and search, I am siitistied the latter is correct. At February Court, 1779, is the following entry: ,, Ordered, that (on complaint of John Wilcox) the dam on Deep river is a nuisance by overtlowing his mill and destroy- ing the ford at the Gulf contrary to the Act of Assembly, and tliat John Montgomery, John Thompson, Samuel Temples, Balaam Thompson and Isjiac Brooks, Rail's., enquire into the said complaint, and if the\' find the s;iid dam to be a nuisance, that they direct Stephen Rigden to remove the same." It is well known that John Wilcox had a mill at the Gulf, and this 21 dam of Stephen Eigden iniist have been he\i>\< that point a short distance, and no doubt it was renioveci iu t>l)edience to the above order, for I am informed by Mr. Jordan Tysori, Sr., who is now in his eightietli year, and has always lived near there, that when a boy he well remembers seeing the remains of a dam and a mill about three miles below the Gulf, and just above the present Egypt bridge. I have found in our Court records repeated mention of the road to Eigden' s, and in every instance corresponding to this location. Early on the morning of the 23th of March General Greene hastened from Eigden' s ford, hoping to overtake the British, but was just too late. The army of Cornwullis was the only hos- tile army that ever passed through Chatham, but in the late civil war the people of Chatham made a much more narrow escape than they imagine, for if Gens. Johnston and Sherman had delayed their armistice one day, our county would have been swarming with hostile trooi^s. In the "Eeport of the Secretary of War in 1SG5-1S66," page 1209, Gen. Sherman states that Major General O. O. Howard was to turn to the left by Hackney's cross roads, Pittsboro, St. Lawrence, and Asheboro'; Major Gen. H.W. Slocum to cross Cape Fear river at A vent's ferry, &c. Gen. Howard had reached Cary, and Gen. Slocum Holly Springs, en route for these points, when the truce for ten days was agreed on, followed by the surren- der of Johnston's army on the 26th of April. The only allusion to Gen. Greene's army which can be found among our records is mentioned in the inventory of the estate of Peter Dunken ( Duncan? ), ^ 'one ticket for 2 heifers Gen. Greene's army took," which ticket it is hoped was finally paid. In those days no Superior Courts were held in this county, and not until 1800. The Superior Court was held at Hills- boro' tAvice a year, and jurors drawn fiom the surrounding counties composing that district. Our County Court ordered certain jurors from Chatham to attend every Superior Court at Hillsboro', and, it seems, paid their expenses, as the rec- ords repeatedly mention that such an one be alloAved his ticket as juror at Hillsboro'. As a matter of curiosity, I have searched up an old bill of costs to show what ^'lawing" cost in those days. Eichard Barry vs. Wm. Bynum, May Term, 1772. Warrant and all services, nearly $20. 2 lid do., - 18 - Prnvince Tux, - 5 - Siibpa'.iui, -• 8 - Attorney's Fee 1 5 - Sheriff; - 8 4 22 • Isf Cont in nance, M- 14 - j It iy no u'onder tliat the peo- l)le complained so imu-h of Court C'hargesand costs, which was the main j;ronnd of coin- lilaint by I he "Regulators." These county courts were es- tablislied in 1707, and were £3 18 4" abolislied in 18()8. and have generally been Icnowu ius the peo[>U'"s courts. The earliest lawyers who practiccnl in our courts w ere William Hooper^ James Williams, Eiumtield Ridley, .loliu Kinchen, AliVed Moore, Kalph AlcXair, Henry (Jitlbrd and others. John Kand was the King's Attorney, and at Aug. Term, 1774, "it is or- dered tluit Win. Dillard be allowed for making a clerk's table and chair for the King's Attorney one ixjund tive shilling;?." James Williams was State's Attorney after Independence was declai'ed, luitil In? resigned at Feb. Term, 1785. He was very prominent during those days, and lived somewhere near Haw^ river, and a ford was called by his name. At Feb. Term, 1775, is the following entry: "Alfred Moore, Esq., came into Court and produced a commission from his Excel- lency, the Govenor, empowering him to practice as an attor- ney in the several courts in this province, thereupon he took the several oaths by law directed, and subscribed tin.' test.''' It is to be hoped that some person will at no distant day give a sketch of the Bar of Chatham County, and perpetuate its traditions. In concluding this imperfect slietch of the* e-aiiier tlays of our county, I have deemed it not inappropriate to annex a. brief statement of the military companies furnished by Chat- ham to the Confederate army, giving the number of men en- listetl therein, the linrnlKT who died from disease or were killed in battle, and the names of theofhcers who commanded them, so that this may fitrnish correct information to our fu- ture historian. For. though only eleven years have elapsed since the close of the war, yet it was only after careful and most searching inquiries that the data for this statement have been obtained from the sur\dving members of these compa- nies. This aUusion to the late war is not made for the pur- ^23 pose of awakeniug your passions, or exciting your feelings. but merely to gather up materials for the history of our county. 'The first company organized in this county was tlie ^'Chat- ham Eifles," which immediately after tlie fall of Port Sump- ter tendered its services, and after drilling some time at Pitts- boro' and receiving their uniforms and tents, on the 28th of \ May 1861, amid the tears and lingering adieus of the loved ones at home, took up tlieir line of march for Raleigh. Tlie officers were the following : Eoss E. Ihrie, ciq^tain, and at the organization of the regiment elected lieutenant- colonel; John Manning, first lieutenant, and at the oigauization of thii regi- ment appointed adjutant; Oscar M. Xeal, second lieutenant; Wm. L. Loudon, third lieutenant, who was elected first lieu- tenant to fill the vacancy occasioned by the promotion of hrst Lieut. Manning, and at the reorganization in May, 1802. was elected captain, and shortly thereafter assigned as A. A. General to Daniel's brigade, and was wounded at Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, ;ind Winchestier. Upon the promotion of €apt. Ihrie, John W. Taylor w;is elected captain of the com- pany. The officers elected or appointed thereafter were as follows, viz: Clarence G. Poe, third lieutenant, who died of •disease; Leonidas J^"Merritt, first lieutenant, who was killed fit Malvern Hill;V)ames T.Rogers, 2d lieutenant, who was wounded at Malvern Hill, and disabled from duty; J. Tlnnnas Eubanks, third lieutenant, who was killed at Spotsylvania, •and W. H. H. Tyson, first lieutenant and afterwards captain- The company warS at first Co. "M" of the 15th regiment, but in August, 1862, was transferred to the 32d regiment as Co. '^I." They num])ered at the outset one hundred and ten men, and the total number during the war amounted to 188 men. A number of the members of this company became officers of other companies. The losses of this company were two officers killed in battle and one died of disease, and twenty-one privates killed and thirteen died of disease, a total of thirty-seven. The "Chatham Guards" orgsmized in May, 1861, were attached to the 26th regiment as Co. "E,'' Their officers were Wm. S. Webster, captain, who resigned; W. J. Headen. first lieutenant, who was elected to the legislature in 1862 and resigned; Bryant Diinlap, second lieutenant; ^. W. Brewer, third lieutenant and after^v^rds captain, wounded 24 and oaptim'd at fJcttysbm-o-; Oran A.Traimcr, third li«Mitonant, wounded and (•ai)tnn'(l at (il('ttysl)iir,u-: \\'. ,J. LandHMt. second lieutenant, and K. H. McMauns. lliii-d lieutenant. Total num- ber of men I x'lonoino' t() tlie coiupauy altoj-ether dui-in<;- the Avar was ahoid 1*04. Losses, one ofiticer killed, twenty-tive men killed on the battle Held, ei^ht died of wounds, and thirty- four of disease, a total of sixty-eiuht. At the battle of (Jet- tysbur.u- this company lost, in killed and wounded, ei;j;hty nu'-i out of eighty-three who went into the liuht. The '^Cbat- Iiam Boys" was oi-ganized loth of June, bSfJl, and became Co. '^G," 2()th regiment. Their officers wei-e W. S. McLean, cap- ta'.ii. who resijiiied; John E. Mathews, first lieutenant, who died; George E. Underwood, second lietitenant, who resigned for disease; H. V. Albright, third lieutenant, afterwards elected captain, and killed at Petersburg; John \l. Lane, elected ca])tain and i)ronioted to l)e colonel of the regiment, and wounded at (Jettysburg; John A. Low, third lieutenant, died of wounds received at Bristow Station; A. E. Johnson, second lieutenant, and promoted to captain; Wm. G. Lane, third lienttMiaiit and promoted to first lientenant; and S. E. Teague, third lieutenant. The total number during the war was one hui:divd and seventy-tive men. Losses were two officers killed and died from wounds, one officer from disease and thirty-four men, and twenty-eight men killed and died fioni wounds, a total loss of sixty-five. At the battle of (b't- tysbui'g they lost fourteen men killed and forty-thiee wounded. The officers of Go. "D," 35tli regiment, wei-e Hardy J. Lassi- ter, captain, who was killed at Malvern Hill; Kol)ert E. Petty, first lieutenant, promoted to be cai)tain, and then ]\Iajor; James P. Gibson, second lieutenant, who resigned; C. A. Boon, third lieutenant, who resigned; (J. W. Avent, elected captain; James A. Lasater, first lieutenant, and died from wounds; A. D. Burnett, second lieutenant; and Thaddeus Marks, third lieutenant. Their losses were two otticers killed and died from wounds, and sixteen privates killed, and twelve died from disease, and six from wounds. Total number en- listed in the company 143 men. The officers of Co. ''G," 48th regiment, were W. H. Jones, captain; A. G. Headen, first lieutenant, who resigned; J. A. Thompson, second lieu- tenant, who was wounded and disabled at Bristow Station; E. 25 L. Tysor, Jr., second lieutenant, and ('. C. Clegg, elected second lieutenant to fill vacancy. Theii' losses were twenty- three killed and twenty-one died of disease. The otficers of Co. "E," 44th regiu^ent, were R. (\ Cotten, Hr., captain, who was elected lieutenant-colonel of the i"egi- nient and resigned; C. M. Stednian, 1st lieuttniant, then cap- tain, and major, and wounded at Bristow Station; James Philips, second lieutenant and afterwards captain, and died of disease; J. J. Crump, second lieutenant, promoted to cap- tain, and wounded at Ream's Station; Richard C. Cotten, second lieutenant, and resigned; Sidney Tally, second lieuten- ant, and Nathan Hilliard, second lieutenant. Total number of enlisted men ir)0, of whom forty were killed and died of disease. Co. "B," 49th regiment, was organized in Ai)ril, 1801*, and the officers were: E. H. Ward, captain, who resigned; John Bennet, 1st lieutenant, then captain, and died of disease; Young A. Oldham, second lieutenant and afterwards captain; and \V. p]. Oldham and James H. Horton, elected lieutenants to fill vacancies. One officer died of disease and twenty-two men, and ten men were killed. Number of men enlisted about 7."). In Feb., 1863, this company was transferred to the 15th regiment as Co. "D." Co. "D," 61st regiment, was organized in Aug., 1862. Its officers were; N. A. Ramsey, captain; Wm. S. Ramsey, 1st lieutenant, who was wounded at Fort Harrison, losing his left arm; James Ellington, second lieutenant, who was killed at Fort Harrison; Richard C. Cot- ten, Jr., second lieutenant. This company lost thirty-five luen, who were killed or died of disease. Co. ''E," 5th N. C. regiment of cavalry, was organized in the summei" of 1862, and its officers were as follows, viz: Thomas \V. Hairis, captain; John L. Haughton, first lieu- tenant, who died of disease; Dewitt C. Harris, second lieuten- ant, who died of disease; N. F. Muse, Jr., second lieutenant, killed in 18()4; and their vacancies were filled by Atlas P. (xilbert, Josiah Tysor and John F. Atwater. This company eidisted al>out one hundred and fifteen men; and lost two of- ficers, died of disease, and one killed, and ten men killed or died of disease. Co. '^'G,'' 5th regiment of cavalry, was or- ganized about the same time as Co. E., and had the following 2() uliiiccrs: .loliii r>. .Mc( "Iciialiiiii, captain, w I'.o rcsi^iwd: Win. .McClcnaliaii, liist liriitciiant, w lio I'csi^iicd on acctmiit of l»a(l lioallli: Saimicl ICUiii.utoii. second licutciiaiil : Cicero lladlex. Jr., stM'oiid lieiilenanl. Tlie last company oruani/.ed in Clial- liani was Co. ••11." 70tli reca It >ld hoys were called >. This coni]>any was (»r_uani/ed in .May. 1S()4. and nnud»ered S7 l)o\s. witii W. II. Carter, captain; C.irson Johnson, tirst lienlenanl: .1. .1. W'al- son, seccnid lieutenant: and W. V. Fultdrd, lliii'd lieutenant. In addition to tlicse companies. Chat ham liii-nlslied many men for companies ori;ani/,ed in other counties. ( 'o. ••I."" (ith rejiinuMil. «'nlisted fifty-seven men from Chatham. II. W. York beiiiii' captain. ;ii'rooks was lirst lieutenant and then ca])tain. and 1). M. White second lieutenant. Fifteen men Joined Co. -'I,'" :U\ reiviment of cav- alry, and othei's were attached to \arious connnands. which cannot now Ix' asi'ertained. Lieutenant Joseph .v. liill was attached to the battalion on ^uard at Camp iManiium. and was killed at the b;dlle of Kinston. John R. IIauj;hton was in the Siii'nal serxice, and died at S.'uithx ille ol (Kse ise. and others of Chatham's sons hll uid. ha\in,u' furnished the ( "on federate army ne u'h' two t hous ind of her best and bra \ est sons, of whom more than four hundred shed their life's blood and yielded up their precious lix'es in obedience to their conn try's call. Whet her t he cause in which they died was ri^ht or wi'oul;'. does not diminisli oui' estimation of their nolde deeds of darinji', their unyielding- dex'ot ion to duty, and their p.it ient endurance of won in Is and disease. Their cause is losl. but let us not lose t he renuMnbrance of their iilorious deeds. The\ are dead, but let not t heir \irtues die with t he ii. I'^)!' them no jLiratefiil count ry erects the monumental brass and stone, with inscriptions of their heroism, but let their monu- ment be the lovinj;- liearts of their surviving comrades, and on them be forever inscribed tlie memory of their virtues. And as their wliiteniuo- bones now lie scattered on evei-y bat- tle tield, "Ye winds of Heaven, o'er them i^entiy siiih. And April showers fall in kindliest rain, And let the liolden sunbeams softly lie Uj)on the sod for which they died in vain." And s[)e iking of the late war, let it eA'er be remembered that the colored people, who were then slaves, remained true and faithful to their masters, and who. while nearly the entire white m lie po})ulation was absent in the army, quietly and industriously tilled the soil, and by their labor furnished the provisions to feed not only the unprotected women and chil- dren at home, but the soldiers in the armies. In th(Mr praise, be it ever said that no hand was raised in servile insurrection, l)ut many went with their young masters to the "tented field." and with them shared a soldier's sufferings. And now my task is done, yours not yet begun. 'Sly task was to gather up the traditions of the past; yours is to profit by them, so that you may be enabled the better to live in the future. If you should be aided in doing so by anything you may have this day heard, "then is my labor not in rain." And now standing to-day upon the threshold of the new cen- tury ot our national existence, and looking backward upon the old, let us exclaim: "Oh! checkered train of years, farewell. With all thy sti'ifes and ho}>es and fears; But with us let thy memories dwell. To warn and lead the coming vears." 1. E