Battle of Moores Creek Bridge

Moores Creek National Battlefield, Currie, N.C. David Davis

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge, fought on February 27, 1776, ended with a victory for the Whigs and the news spread through the colonies. The small battle had a large impact both in North Carolina and as a morale boost for the Patriot cause. The Virginia Gazette printed in Williamsburg, Virginia, celebrated the victory with this triumphant statement:

“By letters from North Carolina, we have the pleasure to communicate the following important intelligence, giving an account of the total defeat of the Scotch Highlanders, Regulators, etc. who had lately become very formidable, and threatened much mischief to the southern colonies, as well as to the glorious cause wherein all America is engaged, in support of her invaded rights, and to oppose ministerial tyranny; so that we may now safely congratulate the publick on the utter demolition of the Tory interest in that province, which puts a finishing stroke to the farther machinations of master Martin, their wicked and unprincipled governour.”

Much maligned in that newspaper paragraph, North Carolina’s royal governor Josiah Martin had rallied Loyalists in January 1776. Martin, who had been forced to flee to a British warship on the Cape Fear River, convinced the king’s ministers in England to send an army and fleet to North Carolina, promising that thousands of Loyalists would join and help to retake the colony. Martin relied on the former Regulators, Scottish Highlander settlers and others loyal to the crown for form this Loyalist army. Anticipating the arrival of Major General Henry Clinton with a British force, Martin issued a proclamation rallying these Loyalists who gathered at Cross Creek (modern Fayetteville) over the next weeks. They started to march toward the coast on February 18, 1776, commanded by Brigadier General Donald MacDonald.

Meanwhile, the Whigs—who took their name from a British political party and had been petitioning and protesting against taxation without representation—had formed their own militias, minutemen companies and committees of safety. Previously in August 1775, the North Carolina Provincial Congress had started recruiting soldiers for the Continental Army and organizing defense at home against a Loyalist uprising. Aware of Martin’s proclamation and the Loyalists’ rendezvous at Cross Creek, Colonel James Moore gathered the local Whig militias and manuevered to delay the Loyalists. One of the Whig commanders, Colonel Richard Caswell eventually positioned along Widow Moore’s Creek. Caswell’s soldiers dug earthworks, removed some of the planks from a nearby bridge and greased the remaining bridge wood to make a slippery path toward their defensive position. Two small cannons were also prepared, ranging toward the bridge.

In the darkness in the early morning of February 27, a contingent of MacDonald’s force headed toward the bridge and Alexander McLean challenged sentries that he saw on the opposite side. Shots were fired, and Loyalists charged forward shouting “King George and Broadswords.” Caswell’s soldiers opened fire. The volleys of musketry and cannon fire swept through the Loyalist line, causing heavy casualties. Within minutes, the fight was over. The Loyalists retreated, pursued by the Whigs.

There were only two casualties among Caswell’s force, but the Loyalists had an estimated 50 killed and wounded. General MacDonald and other officers and men were later captured during the next few days. Colonel Richard Caswell wrote to the president of the Provincial Congress, detailing the victory. He ended with this statement: “Our officers and men behaved with the spirit and intrepidity becoming freemen contending for their dearest privileges.”

The Battle of Moores Creek Bridge allowed the Whigs (Patriots) to establish their control of North Carolina. It effectively ended organized Loyalist resistance at that time. When the British fleet and army arrived later in the year, they turned south toward Charleston and their own defeat at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island. North Carolina did not have a significant threat of Loyalist uprising until the southern campaigns began four years later in 1780. In the wake of the victory at Moores Creek Bridge, the North Carolina Provincial Congress passed the Halifax Resolves, allowing the state’s delegates in the Continental Congress to support independence.