After the Revolutionary Battle at Guilford Courthouse near Greensboro, N.C. Lord Cornwallis’ Army, being low on men and supplies, he marched his men toward Wilmington N.C. All the while General Nataniel Greene’s Continental Army gave chase but decided to go into S.C. to destroy any advances the British had made into the interior.
As Greene and his army went into S.C the local militia from eastern Anson and Richmond counties decided that it was time to go home and protect their own interests. Tories had still been raiding farms and plantations all along the Pee Dee and Piedmont Regions of our state.
Although some of the dates might have some conflicts it was around August 1781 that patriot Colonial Thomas Wade and S.C. Militia Colonial Abel Kolk and their men were headed home and had to cross McNeill’s Ferry at Piney Bottom Creek. This creek is a branch of Rockfish Creek located in Moore Co. N.C. The ferry was owned and operated by a man by the name of John “Cunning John” McNeill.
Now old John seemed to have played on both sides of the revolution. Whatever might have benefited his purpose was the way old John operated.
Now this next part of the story seems a little strange. Seems one of the patriots that crossed the ferry stole a piece of rough cloth from a servant girl by the name of Marron Mc Daniel. This piece of cloth would untimely lead to a blood bath between both the Patriots and the Tories.
Don’t know if the theft of the cloth set old John off or something else, that he stood to gain from, but he sent one of his sons to warn a local Tory Militia where the Patriots were camped.
Within twenty-four hours this group of Tories met at Longstreet Church and started their march toward the Loyalist camp.
The Tories arrived on the outskirts of the camp just before sunrise the next morning. Even though it was foggy that morning, a lone patriot sentinel spotted movement in the woods. He hailed in a low voice, “Who goes there” but no answer came. He hailed two more times getting louder with his voice “Who goes there” but still no response. Then the sentinel cocked his musket and fired a warning shot to alert his fellow soldiers. This time the responds was a musket ball in his shoulder that broke his arm.
Of course, all this noise awakened the Patriot camp, but it was too late. The Tories rushed into the camp and shot six Patriots before they could get their guns up. The rest of the Patriots ran off into the woods leaving everything but a young lad on a wagon.
The young lad pleaded for his life but a Tory by the name of Duncan Fergerson rode up and split the lad’s head with a broadsword.
After the battle Tory officers went through the pockets of the dead and stole what money they could find while the other men loaded what supplies they could carry off. Before leaving they torched the camp.
Returning the next day, the Tories took the wheels off the wagons and took anything made of iron.
By-the way, that same piece of rough cloth that had been stolen was removed from one of the corpse’s bodies and returned to the servant girl.
Next week we will cover how the terrible retaliation by the Patriots for the young lad’s murder and other Patriots came upon each Tory who took part in the massacre at Piney Bottom.