When the sentinel’s shot was heard, the 3 companies charged the sleeping Tory Militia shooting their guns and screaming “Washington.” The half-dressed Tories were unprepared for battle and panicked, with many of them plunging down a steep ravine, now known as Tory Hole, to the river to make their escape.
E-TOWN REMEMBERS
ELIZABETHTOWN – It was an annual anniversary filled with history, vintage costumes and the firing of guns in a celebration commemorating that day Aug. 27, 1781 known as the Battle of Elizabethtown.
A group of Bladen County citizens gathered at the Tory Hole Park Amphitheater at the ravine where a portion of the battle originally took place. The gathering was held three days after the 244th anniversary date due to logistics and was a moving program that honored the ancestors that held their ground and gained a great victory for the patriots.
The Le Marquis de Lafayette SAR color guard brought in the colors along with State Commander Gary Spencer. After the invocation was given by SAR member John Turner, Susie Wilkes (DAR) led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
Chris Ackiss, (SAR) then led the group in the Sons of the American Revolution Pledge before SAR president David Dowless, Jr. and Susie Wilkes welcomed the spectators.
Greg Connor, (SAR) gave a history of the battle and many who had not previously heard the history were amazed.
“It is a history that each and every citizen from Bladen County should hear,” Connor said. “It is a part of our heritage.”
The Battle of Elizabethtown as told by Connor:
“The American Revolution has been called our First Civil War because of the fierce fighting between those loyal to the King of England, the Tories, and those who were fighting for freedom and a new nation, the Patriots. The Battle of Elizabethtown fought Aug. 27, 1781 was an example of the Civil War fought between neighbors in the Carolinas.
The town was under the control of the Tories with a loyalist militia of approximately 400 soldiers camped at the top of the hill in the downtown area of Elizabethtown under the Command of Col. John Slingsby. Another 500 Tory soldiers were camped at Brompton, one of the Governor’s plantations, located on Owen Hill Road about 5 miles from here under the Command of Col. David Fanning.
Col. Maturin Coville, a former Patriot leader who switched sides after the Battle of Moores Creek, (Currie, North Carolina) was the Clerk of Court for Bladen County and led the local Tories in abusing those who followed the Patriot cause.
The Patriot militia of about 180 soldiers, led by Col. Thomas Robeson and Col. Thomas Brown, had fled to Duplin County (now Sampson County) to escape persecution by the Tories. Col. Robinson’s house in Tarheel had been looted and burned by the Tories. Many of the other Patriot Militia were also treated in a similar manner. This occurred all across the Carolinas by both sides during the war.
On Aug. 26, 70 soldiers with the Patriot Militia met at the house of Gabriel Holmes near Colly Swamp. There they received intelligence from 2 female spies, Sally Salter and Mrs. Margaret McRee, who had infiltrated the Loyalist Militia camp in Elizabethtown and met with the Patriots that night. With the new intelligence, Col. Robeson planned their attack. Col. Brown was not present due to a wound received near Wilmington the day before the battle. They planned to defeat the Tory Militia in Elizabethtown and kill Colonel’s Coville and Fanning.
That night they rode to within 1 mile of Elizabethtown on the Cape Fear River. One man stayed with the horses while the other 69 men undressed and waded across the river with their bundled clothing and rifles on the top of their heads. Once across the river, they re-dressed and divided into 3 companies of 23 men. Each company approached from a different direction. The signal to attack would be when a warning shot was fired by one of the sentinels guarding the Tory camp as the Patriots approached. The Patriots used the watchword “Washington” to let each company know the location of the other companies.
When the sentinel’s shot was heard, the 3 companies charged the sleeping Tory Militia shooting their guns and screaming “Washington.” The half-dressed Tories were unprepared for battle and panicked, with many of them plunging down a steep ravine, now known as Tory Hole, to the river to make their escape.
By the end of the battle, 17 Tories were dead, including 13 enlisted men and three of the Officers who were sleeping in one house. A fourth Officer, Col. Slingsby died the next day from wounds in the battle. Col. Coville was not at the battle, but was killed by Patriots at his home near Brown Marsh the night before the battle. Col. Fanning was headed toward Hillsborough on a mission for Cornwallis.
The Patriots did not lose a single man and had only 4 wounded. Within hours after the battle, the Patriots scavenged all the arms and ammunition that they could carry, waded back across the river, and escaped on their horses. By the time Col. Fanning came to investigate the battle the next day, the Patriots had dispersed.
As a result of good intelligence, total surprise, and personal determination to defeat the Tories, a small band of Patriots overcame a much larger force of well trained, well provisioned Tory Militia in a very short period of time.
As a result of this battle, the power of the Tories in southeastern North Carolina was broken. Two months later Oct. 19, 1781 Lieutenant-General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington in Yorktown, Virginia. Two years later the Treaty of Paris was signed to end the American Revolution.”
Wilkes then went on to read the names of the Patriots and Loyalists involved at the Battle of Elizabethtown and a proclamation was read by Dowless which was penned by Elizabethtown Mayor Sylvia Campbell.
Wreaths were then dedicated and following the recessional, Mr. McIntosh offered the hymn amazing grace upon the Scottish bagpipes and those from the SAR militia fired their guns in remembrance.
Further photos and videos can be seen from the Sept. 9 Bladen Journal picture page and videos can also be seen along with pictures of the event on the Bladen Journal Facebook page.
“Until we meet again, let us remember our obligations to our forefathers who gave us our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, an independent Supreme Court and a nation of free men.”