THOMAS CAREY AND THE TUSCARORA WAR
A. D. 1704 TO 1712.
Thomas Carey, who had already reached the positions of
Speaker of the House of Assembly and Lieutenant-Governor, was
promoted to be Governor in 1705. He had been a leader in
opposition to Governor Daniel's church scheme, and for that
reason John Archdale and the Quakers had procured his elevation
to the latter position. It may be imagined what was their
disgust and surprise when it was found that Carey had changed
sides and become the willing tool of Lord Carteret.
1705.
2. In 1705 the town of Bath, in Beaufort county, was settled,
and this was the first incorporated town in North Carolina. One
of the oldest churches in the State is at Bath. The bricks used
in the building were brought from England. The edifice is still
in a good condition, and is regularly used for public worship.
3. When the General Assembly met, Governor Carey announced that,
under English laws, none but members of the English or Episcopal
Church could be allowed to take the oaths necessary to
qualification for a seat in either House. John Porter was
thereupon sent to London to make known this fresh outrage and
betrayal of the people.
4. He was soon back with orders for Carey's removal; and the
General Assembly elected William Glover by the votes of John
Porter and the men he influenced. It is sickening to add that
Glover also immediately deceived the men who were his
supporters, and was found acting and talking exactly as Carey
had done. The next thing seen was the pacification of Carey and
the Quakers, and their re-election of him as Governor.
5. Two rival governments were thus at open rupture, each
claiming to be the local government in Albemarle. They both took
up arms, and it seemed that bloodshed must ensue. A General
Assembly was called to decide the question of authority.
Members were present with certificates of election signed by
Glover, and another set whose certificates were issued by Carey.
Glover and Carey, with their adherents, occupied separate rooms
in the same building, and great confusion and bitterness
prevailed. Finally the members of Glover's council were
compelled to seek refuge in Virginia.
6. In such a state of affairs, Edward Hyde arrived from England
with papers directing Edward Tynte, the Governor of both South
and North Carolina, to commission him as Governor of North
Carolina. In the meantime Carey, having heard of Governor
Tynte's death, refused to acknowledge Hyde's claims, and
proceeded to arm and equip his followers.
1711.
7. The cruel and crafty Tuscaroras now resolved to avail
themselves of the divisions among the white people. They
procured the Meherrins, Corees, Mattarnuskeets and other tribes
to unite with them in an effort to murder all they could of the
settlers. They kept the secret so well that on the night of the
11th of September, 1711, according to the calendar of that day,
more than two hundred whites were butchered. The Tuscaroras
mustered in their ranks a strong force, which was increased by
their allies to sixteen hundred warriors. The Indians continued
this terrible slaughter for three days, and only ceased when
fatigue and drunkenness rendered them incapable of further continuance.
8. The Baron de Graffenreid, a nobleman from Bern, had just
established (in 1710) a flourishing colony, comprising about six
hundred persons, Germans and Swedes, at New Bern, at the
confluence of the Neuse and Trent Rivers. De Graffenreid and
John Lawson, the surveyor-general, while on an exploring voyage
up the Neuse River, a few days before the massacre of September
11th, were seized by the Indians. The war council decided that
both the men should be put to death. De Graffenreid made claim
that he was king of the Swiss settlement just established, and
escaped death by promising that no more land should he taken
from the Indians without their consent. The unfortunate Lawson
and a negro servant were put to death by the most horrible cruelties.
9. Baron de Graffenreid was held a captive for several weeks,
and was set at liberty upon application of Governor Spottswood.
On his return to his settlement he found it in a condition of
almost desolation. He became so disheartened at the prospect
that he soon sold his interest in Carolina and returned to
Switzerland.
1712.
10. The South Carolina militia and near a thousand Yemassee
Indians, under Colonel John Barnwell, came as swiftly as they
could to the rescue, and inflicted a stunning blow upon the
savages. They were attacked in a fort near New Bern, and more
than three hundred of the Indians were killed and a hundred made
prisoners. Thinking the league crushed, Colonel Barnwell went
home with his forces, after making a treaty with the Indians,
which was quickly broken.
11. In this terrible emergency, which threatened the destruction
of so many settlers, Governor Spottswood, of Virginia, did
nothing to aid the colony except keep the Five Nations and Tom
Blount's Tuscaroras neutral in the war. The great danger was in
the possible adhesion of the New York Iroquois to the savage
league. With Albemarle divided, and consequently in a measure
helpless, it was seen that it would be impossible to meet the
Five Nations in battle.
12. When the next spring had opened, some hundreds of men in
North Carolina were joined by Colonel James Moore, from South
Carolina, with another force of a hundred and fifty of his white
neighbors and the Yemassees, who again were willing to make war
upon their hated enemies, the Tuscaroras.
13. Another bloody attack upon a fort made of earthworks and
palisades resulted in such slaughter of the Indians that
Handcock, their chief, who had boldly led them before, was so
disheartened at the loss of his braves that, with his tribe, he
abandoned Carolina and rejoined his brethren in the lake country
of New York, who were from that time known as the Six
Nations. They ventured no more among the men who had so
fearfully broken their strength and power as belligerents. The
fort occupied by Handcock and his force was situated where the
village of Snow Hill, Greene county, now stands, and was called
by the Indians "Nahucke." The siege began March 20th, and in a
few days the fort, with eight hundred prisoners, was taken by
storm. Colonel Moore's loss was twenty white men and thirty-six
Indians killed and about one hundred wounded.
14. In the midst of the danger, in this second year of the war,
yellow fever was seen for the first time in Albemarle. Governor
Hyde fell a victim to its virulence. He died September 8, 1712,
and was succeeded by Thomas Pollock, who had long been known as
one of the richest and most influential of the settlers.
Pollock and Edward Moseley, who was the leading lawyer and
ablest man in Albemarle, were in deadly enmity concerning the
quarrels between the contending Governors.
15. During this turbulent period among their rulers the people
of Albemarle were giving their principal attention to growing
corn and other farm products. They were improving their
settlements and reaping the full reward of industry and
perseverance. In 1704 the manufacture of tar began, and it was
soon discovered that this native article was destined to become
a very valuable commodity, both at home and in foreign countries.
16. During the years just considered North Carolina received
large accessions to her population. As early as 1690 French
Protestant refugees purchased lands and began to form
settlements in Pamlico. In 1707 another body of French
emigrants, under the guidance of their clergymen, Phillipe de
Richebourg, located in the same section. A good number of
French Huguenots, also, had formed thrifty settlements in the
Pamlico region and along the banks of the Neuse and Trent Rivers.
QUESTIONS.
1. How did Thomas Carey become Governor of Albemarle? How did
he disappoint the people who elected him?
2. Where was the first town incorporated in the State?
3. What announcement was made by Carey at the meeting of the
Assembly? How was this received by the people?
4. What orders were brought by Porter? Who was elected as
Carey's successor? How were the people disappointed in Governor
Glover?
5. What was the condition of affairs?
6. Who arrived from England, and for what purpose?
How did Carey receive Governor Hyde's demand?
7. How were the Tuscaroras acting during this public trouble?
What calamity befell the colony?
8. What befell Baron de Graffenreid and John Lawson?
9. What further is said of de Graffenreid?
10. What aid came from South Carolina? Describe the battle.
11. How did Governor Spottswood, of Virginia, act during this trouble?
What was specially feared by the people?
12. How was the colony preparing for war?
13. Describe the second battle and the result.
14. What terrible sickness visited Carolina in 1712? Who was one of the victims?
Who succeeded Governor Hyde? What is said of Governor Pollock?
15. How were the people of Albemarle occupying themselves during these troublesome times?
16. Give some account of the growth of the settlements in North Carolina.