The Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge

 

The American Revolutionary War's Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge was a small engagement that took place on February 27, 1776, close to Wilmington, North Carolina (now Pender County). The conflict changed course when the militia army of the North Carolina Provincial Congress defeated troops from British governor Josiah Martin and Tristan Worsley at Moore's; less than five months later, American independence was proclaimed.

News of the Battles of Lexington and Concord sparked a renewed drive to recruit Loyalists in the interior of North Carolina, while patriots in the province also started organizing for the Continental Army and militia. In January 1776, Martin ordered his militia to gather in preparation for the British Army's anticipated invasion to the region. The weakly equipped loyalists were compelled to engage them at Moore's Creek Bridge, about 18 miles (29 km) north of Wilmington, when revolutionary militia and Continental soldiers gathered to blockade the junction and blockade several routes.

Sword-wielding loyalists from the Highlands rushed over the bridge in a short early-morning encounter, only to be greeted by a flurry of artillery and musket fire. The whole group was dispersed, two loyalist commanders were slain, and another was taken prisoner. Many loyalists were detained in the days that followed, which harmed attempts to recruit more people. Charles Cornwallis's attempts to enlist loyalists in the region in 1781 were unsuccessful due to recollections of the fight and its aftermath, and North Carolina was not militarily attacked again until 1780.

The battle is noteworthy because it is the last known attempt at a Highland Charge in history.

Josiah Martin, the royal governor of North Carolina, hoped to build a sizable loyalist force to combat patriot sympathies in the province by combining the recruitment of Scots Gaels in the interior of the state with that of disgruntled loyalists in the coastal areas and sympathetic former Regulators, a group that had initially opposed corrupt colonial administration, in early 1775, when political and military tensions were rising in the Thirteen Colonies. Despite the rejection of his request for London to raise an army of 1,000 men, he persisted in trying to mobilize loyalists.

Around the same period, Allan Maclean, a Scot, was successful in persuading King George III to allow him to recruit Loyalist Scots throughout North America. He was given royal approval in April to enlist retired Scottish soldiers who were already in North America to form a regiment called the Royal Highland Emigrants. While a second battalion was to be established in North Carolina and other southern provinces, where many of these troops had been granted land, the first battalion was to be recruited in the northern provinces, such as New York, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. In June, Maclean received his commissions from General Thomas Gage and despatched two veterans of the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, Donald MacLeod and Donald MacDonald, to oversee the recruiting effort in the south. The well-known Jacobite heroine Flora MacDonald's husband, Allan MacDonald, was already actively recruiting in North Carolina, something these recruiters were well aware of. Members of the North Carolina Committee of Safety were suspicious of their arrival in New Bern, but they were not taken into custody.

On January 3, 1776, Martin was informed that more than 2,000 men, led by General Henry Clinton, were to be sent on an expedition to the southern colonies, with their arrival anticipated in mid-February. Alexander Mclean was sent to Cross Creek (modern-day Fayetteville) to organize operations there after he informed the recruiters that he expected them to send recruits to the shore by February 15. Martin received a hopeful word from Mclean that he would equip 1,000 Scots and raise 5,000 Regulators.

Leaders of the Scots and Regulators disagreed on the course of action at a February 5 meeting at Cross Creek. The Regulators wanted to march right away, but the Scots preferred to wait until the British forces came before mustering. The latter's opinions won out because they said they could recruit 5,000 soldiers, but the Scots thought they could only get 700 or 800. There were around 3,500 soldiers when the troops gathered on February 15, but during the course of the next several days, the number quickly decreased. Many soldiers did not like the prospect of fighting to the shore since they had anticipated being greeted and escorted by British forces. Three days later, Brigadier General Donald MacDonald commanded a march of 1,400 to 1,600 troops, most of them Scots. As additional soldiers left the column over the next several days, this number was significantly lowered.

The Patriots of the North Carolina Provincial Congress, meantime, learned about the Cross Creek muster just a few days later. On the eve of the American Revolution, the colonies were generally affluent. In the autumn of 1775, the Continental Army's 1st North Carolina Regiment was established by the provincial congress and commanded by Colonel James Moore in accordance with decisions of the Second Continental Congress. Additionally, militia forces under the leadership of Alexander Lillington and Richard Caswell were active inside the Wilmington and New Bern local committees of safety. The militia force of the Provincial Congress started to organize on February 15.

With the intention of keeping the loyalists from making it to the shore, Moore led 650 Patriot warriors out of Wilmington. On February 15, they set up camp around 7 miles (11 km) from the loyalist camp on the southern bank of Rockfish Creek. After learning of their arrival, General MacDonald wrote to Colonel Moore requesting that all Patriots lay down their weapons and a copy of a proclamation issued by Governor Martin. In response, Colonel Moore urged the loyalists to give up their weapons and back Congress. Meanwhile, Caswell led 800 militiamen from the New Bern District Brigade in the direction of the location.

Since Moore had blocked his chosen approach, MacDonald took a detour that would ultimately lead his troops to the Widow Moore's Creek Bridge, which is around 18 miles (29 km) from Wilmington. He burned the boats to prevent Moore from using them when he crossed the Cape Fear River at Cross Creek on February 20. After that, his troops crossed the South River on their way to Corbett's Ferry, which is a Black River crossing. Caswell arrived at the crossing first and established a blockage at Moore's instructions. Moore detached Lillington with 150 Wilmington militia and 100 men from the New Hanover Volunteer Company of Rangers, commanded by Colonel John Ashe, to take up positions at the Widow Moore's Creek Bridge as a preventative measure against Caswell being routed or beaten. These soldiers crossed to the north bank of the Cape Fear River at Elizabethtown after traveling along its southern bank on forced marches. They then marched down to where Moore's stream and the Black River converged and established themselves on the east side of the stream. Following Lillington and Ashe with the slower Continentals, Moore broke away other militia troops to take control of Cross Creek. They arrived after the conflict, but they used the same path.

Caswell and his men had blocked the passage when MacDonald and his troops arrived at Corbett's Ferry. A local slave told MacDonald that they could utilize a second crossing a few miles up the Black River, so they prepared for fight. As he led his main body up to this second crossing and made his way to the bridge at Moore's Creek on February 26, he gave his rearguard instructions to demonstrate as if they were about to cross. After realizing that MacDonald had gotten ahead of him, Caswell rushed his troops the 10 miles (16 km) to Moore's Creek, where they beat MacDonald by only a few hours. Under the pretense of a ceasefire, MacDonald sent one of his troops inside the patriot camp to inspect the fortifications and demand their surrender. The emissary returned with a thorough blueprint of the patriot fortifications after Caswell declined.

Although Caswell had constructed some entrenchments on the west side of the bridge, the location of these was not advantageous to patriots. When MacDonald studied the drawings, he saw that the patriots were in a precarious situation, forced to defend a position whose only escape route was over the tiny bridge. The loyalists chose to strike at a council that evening because they believed that finding a different crossing would allow Moore more time to get to the region. Caswell made the decision throughout the night to move to the far side of the stream and leave that position. The militia pulled up the bridge's planking and lubricated the support rails to make it even more difficult for the loyalists to utilize it.

The loyalist force had decreased to 700–800 soldiers by the time they reached Moore's Creek. The rest were Regulators, and around 600 were Highland Scots. In addition, the aging Brigadier General MacDonald was weakened by the marching; he became sick and relinquished command to Lieutenant Colonel Donald MacLeod. On February 27, the loyalists marched a few kilometers to the bridge after breaking camp around one in the morning.

The fortifications on the west side of the bridge were empty when the Loyalists arrived just before sunrise. When a Patriot guard across the river discharged his musket to alert Caswell to the loyalist approach, MacLeod gave the order for his troops to form a defensive line behind woods. As soon as he heard this, Lt.-Col. MacLeod gave the order for his troops to assault.

A company of Loyalist Gaels moved toward the bridge in the predawn gloom. Across the stream, a Patriot called for identification, and Captain Alexander Mclean responded that he was the King's friend. In Scottish Gaelic, he replied with his own challenge. When he received no response, he gave the command for his troops to start shooting, starting a gunfight with the Patriot sentries. A hand-selected company of swordsmen then charged over the bridge under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel MacLeod and Captain John Campbell.

The Patriot militia started shooting when the Loyalists were within thirty paces of the earthworks, with disastrous results. Both MacLeod and Campbell were killed by a barrage of bullets; MacLeod had been hit by 20 musket balls. When confronted with the overwhelming firepower of Patriot muskets and artillery, the Highland Scots with only swords withdrew. The governor's troops dispersed and withdrew, while the remaining members of Campbell's company managed to cross the bridge again.

The Revolutionary soldiers swiftly restored the bridge planking and pursued, taking advantage of the victory. In order to flank the fleeing loyalists, one intrepid company under the command of one of Caswell's lieutenants crossed the stream above the bridge. A few hours after the combat, Colonel Moore showed up on the scene. Thirty loyalists were killed or injured, he said, "but as numbers of them must have fallen into the creek, besides more that were carried off, I suppose their loss may be estimated at fifty." According to the Revolutionary commanders, one person was murdered and another injured.

The escaping loyalists were swept up by the militia force of the North Carolina Provincial Congress over the course of the next several days. Approximately 850 guys were taken prisoner. The ringleaders were transferred to Philadelphia as convicts, while the majority were freed on parole. Despite intense animosity on both sides, the Loyalist inmates received respectful treatment. Many were persuaded not to pick up guns again as a result of this.

The Loyalist war poet Iain mac Mhurchaidh (John Macrae), a Clan Macrae member, a recent Kintail immigrant, and a significant figure in Scottish Gaelic literature, was one among those who lived to be captured. Murdo Macrae, the poet's son, was gravely wounded while fighting on the Loyalist side.

In addition to seizing the loyalist camp at Cross Creek, the patriots seized 300 rifles, 1,500 muskets, and $15,000 worth of Spanish money at the time. The majority of the weapons were most likely hunting gear and could have been stolen from non-loyalists. The arrests of several loyalist officials around North Carolina solidified patriot control of the state, and the action sparked patriot recruitment. According to a pro-patriot publication, "This, we think, will effectually put a stop to loyalists in North Carolina" after the conflict.

The Scottish Gaels of North Carolina were greatly impacted by the conflict; whenever recruiting attempts were made later in the war, loyalist supporters refused to enlist, and those who did were driven from their houses by the pillaging of their patriot neighbors.

As Gaelic-speaking Loyalists fled northward towards what was left of British North America after the war, several areas of North Carolina that had been primarily colonized by Scottish Gaels were almost depopulated.

Despite the flight of many local United Empire Loyalists after the Revolutionary War and the subsequent rerouting of Scottish Highland emigration to Canada, Marcus Tanner claims that a sizable Gàidhealtachd community persisted in North Carolina "until it was well and truly disrupted" by the American Civil War.

Late in the 19th century, private initiatives led to governmental funding for the preservation of the Moore's Creek Bridge battlefield site. In 1926, the combat site was turned over to the federal government and managed by the War Department as a National Military Park. The park was managed by the War Department until 1933, when it became the Moores Creek National Battlefield and was turned over to the National Park Service. 1966 saw its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Each year, during the last full weekend of February, the fight is remembered.

The number of both armies was often understated in early reports of the conflict, which usually indicated that 1,600 loyalists and 1,000 patriots were engaged. These figures are still used by the National Park Service.

Because Caswell carelessly included John Ashe's ranger troops in his report as belonging to Lillington's company, the patriot forces were similarly underreported.

A combination of North Carolina Minutemen and Militia troops were part of the militia forces order of battle issued by the Provincial Congress. On April 10, 1776, the North Carolina General Assembly decided to switch from Minutemen to local militia brigades and regiments due to the local militia's performance and the Minutemen's greater expenses. 

However, historian David Wilson notes that General MacDonald and Colonel Caswell's reports are responsible for the enormous loyalist size. That number, which MacDonald provided to Caswell, was a fair approximation of the number of soldiers who would begin the march at Cross Creek. Both Governor Martin and Alexander McLean, who saw both the fight and Cross Creek, said that there were barely 800 loyalists there.