A FOY PATRIOT

The war began officially early on the morning of April 19, 1775, on a country road outside Boston, but its causes lay further in the past. Relations between England and the colonies in America had been strained for many years.

As in every other war in man's existence there is no simple or single reason for this war to have happened. The basic cause of the conflict was the role of the colonies. Was their purpose for existence to benefit England by sending raw materials and purchasing manufactured goods made in England; buying sugar and tea only from English sources; providing revenue to support British regulars stationed in America, and helping to repay the debt incurred during the French and Indian Wars? Or, were they their own people?

The American colonies considered themselves on an equal footing with England and particularly resented the taxes levied on them to provide revenue to the King.

During the 1760s, England seemed to go out of its way to annoy and frustrate the colonies, passing a series of revenue producing laws that included the Sugar Act and the infamous Stamp Act. Because of these heavy taxes smuggling goods into America became common, and Parliament soon issued writs of assistance, allowing officials to enter and search any buildings they believed contained smuggled goods.

Tensions between the colonies and the Crown exploded into violence on March 5, 1770, when a Boston crowd pelted British soldiers with snowballs and rocks. The soldiers fired into the crowd, leaving three wounded and three dead, including Crispus Attucks, an escaped slave and seaman. The Boston silversmith and craftsman, Paul Revere later made an engraving of the "Boston Massacre", which helped fan the flames of rebellion.

Radicals such as Samuel Adams and Patrick Henry encouraged citizens in and around Boston to riot and these citizens began to attack agents of the Crown. Often groups like the Sons of Liberty and other secret societies caused mobs to physically attack these officials, sometimes sacking and burning their houses.

Ships sent from England to prevent entry of smuggled goods were also attacked. Everyone remembers reading in their high school American History book about the Boston Tea Party where an organized mob, dressed as Indians, boarded an East India Company ship at a Boston wharf on December 16, 1773, and tossed overboard $90,000.00 worth of tea. This act convinced King George III that it was high time to punish Boston and on May 17th Lieutenant General Thomas Gage arrived in Boston as commander of His Majesty's Forces in America and governor of Massachusetts. His orders were to close the Port of Boston, bringing the colonial government under the control of the Crown, and legalize quartering of troops in public buildings.

The other American colonies were very concerned when they learned of Gage's restrictive measures. On September 5, 1774, representatives of these colonies, except Georgia, met in Philadelphia as the First Continental Congress. During that session, Paul Revere arrived with a copy of the Suffolk Resolve, drawn up by representatives of Massachusetts, recommending that the colony form its own government to collect taxes and withhold them from the Crown until certain restrictive acts were repealed. The Congress adopted this resolve and called for a boycott on English goods.

Massachusetts was now preparing to defend its position with force, if needed, and all military affairs were put into the hands of a Committee for Safety. Arms, ammunition, and cannon were collected and stored in relatively safe places. Militiamen, living on farms and in villages around Boston, were alerted and told to be ready in a minute (they became known as "minuteman") to assemble with their muskets and powder horns when the church bell sounded the alarm. By April 1775, the countryside around Boston had a sizable number of men ready, to fight as soon as they received the word.

The battles began in the Boston area in April 1775. There were battles in Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill. At first these battles were fought by "minuteman" who gave as much as they got, however, they were outnumbered by the English.

In June 1775 George Washington was appointed by Congress as commander of the Continental Army. Outside Boston Washington found 17,000 men in a disorganized army that lacked food, clothing, equipment, training, and discipline. He set to work to restore some sort of order.

Battles on land and sea continued. They spread to New York and New Jersey and Pennsylvania and Vermont and Maryland and Virginia and by 1776 fighting had reached North Carolina where the FOYs lived.

THINGS WERE DIFFERENT IN THE SOUTH

The South was different from the North and not as quick to rebel against the Crown. The economy of the South was based upon plantations and slave holding. The South was suspicious of "hot-headed radicals" like Patrick Henry and others. Wealthy planters, such as the FOYS, were conservative. They dreaded riots and rebellion. Patriots moved cautiously in the South, even after the Continental Congress virtually declared war upon the British Crown in June 1775.

There were two kinds of people living in the South so far as the war was concerned. There were the Loyalist, those who supported the Crown, and there were the Patriots, those who supported the spirit of freedom from English control. Patriots were also called rebels.

By the summer of 1775 the patriots outnumbered the Royalist and began to cause problems for the English governors of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. They literally ran the two Carolina governors out of town for a while. These two governors got together with a British Earl and the governor of Virginia and made plans.

The English decided to send troops into the South to re-establish royal control. By late 1775 there was fighting in the South.

JAMES FOY, SENIOR was an officer in the American Revolutionary forces. There are several references in public records to that fact but the most complete information can be obtained from DAR records as discussed in the previous chapter.

In the Revolutionary War, according to records on file in Raleigh and Washington, JAMES served his country first as a lieutenant and later was promoted to the rank of Captain.

COLONIAL RECORDS OF 1776, VOL. X, p. 626, State Records; extracts from minutes of New Hanover Superior Court, October Term, 1832, Hon. ROBERT STRANGE, Judge presiding, Wednesday, October 31st, 1832 report:

"For the Wilmington Brigade No 2- For Onslow County- Ephram Battle.
Captain; James Foy, Lieutenant; William Shaw, Ensign."

"This deponent knows that the same JAMES DEVANE had command of a Company in South Carolina opposite Cheraw Mills, at which place this deponent was put under the command of the said JAMES DEVANE, having been previously under the command of Captain JAMES FOY: etc"

Signed James Lee "

Below are accounts of the four battles noted in DAR records in which JAMES FOY participated:

Early in February 1776 the English North Carolina governor issued a manifesto for all North Carolina Loyalist to rise against the rebels. By the 18th of February about 2,000 Loyalist had assembled and in late February they began to march toward a major road between Cross Creek and Wilmington where they were to establish a blockade. Many of those Loyalist were Scots (a large percentage of the population of North Carolina were Scottish) and were dressed in kilts. Bagpipes skirted as they marched proudly toward their destination.

On February 27 these marchers found their route blocked at Moore's Creek, a swampy stream flowing into the Black River eighteen miles from Wilmington. The North Carolina rebels had built up earthworks overlooking a bridge the British troops had to cross. The Loyalist, from their location, could not see that the Patriots, besides building earth bunkers above the bridge, had also removed the planks from the floor of the bridge. They had also greased some of the framework.

Seeing only the earthworks and without reconnaissance or plans the officers of the Loyalist ordered their troops to charge the bridge and drive the patriot force out of their bunkers. The cheering, bagpipe playing Highlanders charged but came to a sudden halt when they reached the floorless bridge.

Unable to ford the creek, a few brave souls tried to cross the bridge on its framework but were promptly shot. The rebels from behind their bunkers then poured several volleys into the milling mass of Loyalist and within minutes all the Loyalist were in flight.

Losses were light. Thirty Loyalist were killed; forty were wounded; only two patriots were wounded. The next day the Loyalist surrendered. Most were told to go back to their homes and they did. Loyalist sentiment in North Carolina was greatly dampened by the swampy waters of Moore's Creek.

As mentioned, one of the officers for the Patriot army, as shown in Colonial records on file in Raleigh and Washington, was Lieutenant JAMES FOY. JAMES was assigned to the Wilmington Brigade No. 2 for Onslow County. His Captain was EPHRAM BATTLE, their Ensign was WILLIAM SHAW. This is found in Volume X, page 626.

Also on file in the Raleigh museum in the State records are extracts from the minutes of New Hanover Superior Court, October term 1832, Honorable ROBERT STRANGE, Judge presiding. Among those extracts is the following:

"Wednesday, October 31, 1832

mosmosevol""I... This deponent knows that the same JAMES DEVANE had command of a Company in South Carolina opposite Cheraw Mills, at which place this deponent was put under the command of the said JAMES DEVANE, having been previously under the command of Captain JAMES FOY; etc.....
(Signed) James Lee

Volume xv, page 789

Beyond the mountains in Western North Carolina in what is today called Tennessee lived hardy frontier folk often referred as "over the mountain" men. Many of these men joined with North Carolina Partisans to fight the Loyalist. Major FERGUSON raided some of the settlements of these mountain people and warned them that unless they ceased their opposition to royal authority he would cross the mountains and destroy their homes. That was a mistake for by doing that he won only the intense hatred of these mountain people and they assembled a force to fight him in North Carolina before he could cross over the mountains.

In North Carolina the Patriots had a force of about 1,000. Soon they were joined with 400 Virginians and 240 came from "over the mountains". This entire force consisted of tough frontiersmen; men who could ride a horse through the woods, were crack shots with rifles, and were accustomed to hardships.

MAJOR FERGUSON observed all these volunteers gathering and was feeling the pressure of a possible attack. He began trying to move closer to CORNWALLIS' troops. To reach them he had to cross by Kings Mountain, a wooded and rocky spur of the Blue Ridge mountains. En route he stopped to rest his men and selected a position on top of Kings Mountain 600 yards long, 70 yards wide on one end and 120 yards wide on the other. This space could easily accommodate his force of 900.

After marching through a rainy night and morning, the rebels arrived near Kings Mountain on October 7th. When they were about a mile away, they hitched their horses and moved into attack position. Their approach was so quiet and FERGUSON's security so poor that the rebels were within one quarter mile before the first shot was fired. Coming up the mountain one of the rebel commanders shouted, "Here are the boys. Shout like hell and fight like devils."

FERGUSON dashed about on his horse blowing a silver whistle he used to maneuver his men. Wearing his checkered hunting shirt, he made a perfect target and he fell from his horse, one foot caught in the stirrup and several bullet holes in his body. His second in command raised the white flag of surrender. The battle had lasted less than one hour.

It had been another bad day for the Loyalist-- 157 killed, 164 wounded, and 698 prisoners. The Patriots lost 28 and had 64 wounded out of 900 men. The prisoners were marched to Gilbert Town where 30 or 40 were tried for helping the British loot and raid. Twelve were convicted. Ten were executed.

On January 16, 1781 his group's breakfast had been interrupted by sentries reporting the British were only a few hundred yards away and were about to over run their position. MORGAN and his men abandoned their breakfast and fled.

When MORGAN saw he could not outrun TARLETON he decided to fight. MORGAN, being a brilliant tactician, had shown his worth in earlier battles and was about to show it again.

With only 900, mostly untrained, men MORGAN chose an open wood known as "Hannah's Cowpen" to make his stand. The ground sloped gently toward TARLETON's approach. At the far end were two low crests, separated by a wide swell.

MORGAN divided his troops into three lines. In the front line were 120 sharpshooters, told to fire two well aimed volleys and then fall back. Behind them were the Carolina and Georgia militia who were ordered to fire two rounds and then fall back. One hundred fifty yards in back of this second line were 500 men who were told to fire slowly and deliberately and not to fall back until signaled. Behind them was a crest where MORGAN placed 120 cavalry.

Just before dawn January 17 the British, led by TARLETON, stumbled on the American position. Wanting a better look at the American line TARLTON sent a detachment of cavalry forward. The Americans emptied 15 saddles in a matter of minutes. TARLETON then formed his troops into a line and advanced on the American position, some 400 yards away.

As soon as the British were in range, the militia delivered a murderous fire and then broke flanks. As the British reached the third line their advance faltered because of heavy American fire; the fighting became violent and confusing. Then on the signal the third American line broke and retreated.

Thinking they were about to win a victory TARLTON ordered all his troops into a final attack. As they came over the crest all the three American lines which had inflicted heavy damage and then retreated were formed with the cavalry behind it. Together the Americans laid down deadly fire. The British were devastated. It was a stunning victory.

That day the British lost 100 men with 229 wounded and 600 captured. The Americans lost only 12 men, with 60 wounded, It was a tremendous boost for the Americans, especially the southern Patriots.

It was over one hundred miles to safety in Virginia, all of it through rain and snow, The British, commanded by CORNWALLIS, were close behind; sometimes as close as only a dozen miles.

The Americans were finally able to cross over the Dan River into Virginia taking all the boats in the region with them. CORNWALLIS was not able to follow because there were no more boats. After a few days rest and absorbing reinforcements, the Americans crossed back over the Dan River into North Carolina. Their number had increased to 4,300 men but, again, most all these were untrained men. CORWALLIS had 1900 battle-hardened veterans.

The two forces came together ai Guilford Courthouse which stood alone in a clearing by the Salisbury Road. The road sloped westward through woods to a creek about a mile away. Near the creek on both sides of the road were large corn fields with zigzag fences along their upper boundaries.

To reach the courthouse the British would have to come east on the road to the creek and up through the corn fields. The Americans formed their first line along the fences along the corn fields with North Carolina militia (JAMES FOY, Senior's group). Riflemen were placed on the wings. These were Delaware regulars and cavalry. To the rear of the front line was the second line of Virginia militia and in the back of all this, the best of the troops, Virginia and Maryland Continentals were placed. In the middle of the road at the center of this rear group the artillery was placed.

The British arrived on a clear and chilly morning, March 15th. The battle lasted for more than an hour with neither side clearly winning. At one point when the American cavalry came smashing into the fight, the British commander, CORNWALLIS, ordered his cannons-to fire grape shot into a mass of struggling men; many of which were his own men. Firing on his own men was a harsh measure but one he felt he had to do to save his army. His plan worked. The cavalry charge was checked and the American infantry was driven back. It appeared neither side could win.

The Americans "leisurely" withdrew with no resistance from the British to a camp about 15 miles away.

The American casualties were 78 killed and 183 wounded. The British lost 532 with 93 killed; 50 more died shortly thereafter from wounds. CORNWALLIS moved on into Virginia.

JAMES FOY, SR may have fought in more battles than those discussed here but, if so, there is no record of such I can find. From the dates of birth of his children it does not appear he spent the entire war away from home; i.e., JAMES, 1774; ENOCH, 1777; LEWIS, 1782, etc., but, without question, he was an officer in that great war.

The end of a war, any war, is much like its beginning; there is no exact date attached to it. Bringing a war to an end is a complex and messy business, especially when the war is the result of a rebellion and the traditions and formalities of both war and government have been neglected for so long. The fighting was over by 1783, but the war was not for there was only a provisional treaty of peace.

That is, the soldiers, those who had done the fighting, by January 1783 were standing by awaiting the politicians to negotiate a diplomatic end to it all. They were still in the army. They still drilled a little and were allowed to hunt and fish for recreation but, they could not go home.

The longer they waited for peace papers to be signed across the world in Paris, France the more restless they grew. There were crops to be planted and families to be comforted. They grew irritable and sullen. Many gathered their belongings and quietly slipped off; others left in groups; outright mutiny.

Finally, in June the resolution of Congress was received to furlough all troops as quickly as possible to save supplies and provisions. Each man was supposed to be given three months pay but there was no money in the Continental treasury so they were given promissory notes instead.

For the victorious army there was no great victory celebration, no big parades, no loud crowds; there was only the gradual melting away of vagabond soldiers making their way to their homes hundreds of miles away, trying to satisfy the gnawing in their bellies by begging, stealing, or using the force they had been trained to employ. in a hurry to get home they spent little time thinking about the unfairness of it all.

Submitted by Dick Miller
May, 1999

See James Foy's will
James Foy's note page

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