When the first week of May rolls around every year, I’m reminded of a bold, dangerous, and exciting event in our local history in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. It dates back to the early days of the American Revolution. In fact, it predates the American Declaration of Independence by five years. Most Americans have never heard of it.
Gunpowder Shipment
As the Regulator Movement reached the boiling point in Alamance County, North Carolina in April 1771, word came to the Rocky River Community in present-day Cabarrus County (but then part of Mecklenburg County) that a shipment of gunpowder was on its way from Charleston, South Carolina to General Waddell in Salisbury (in Rowan County.)
Knowing that the gunpowder was destined to be used to put down the Regulator Movement in counties north of Mecklenburg, eight or nine youths and young men from the Rocky River Presbyterian congregation put their heads together and designed a plan to make sure the gunpowder never reached General Waddell.
While making plans in secret to intercept the gunpowder shipment, the young men took cover from a late April 1771 thunderstorm in the springhouse on the Andrew Logan farm near where Reedy Creek now passes under Lower Rocky River Road.
Not all sources agree on the names or even the number of conspirators, but it is believed they were as follows, based on the sworn testimony of James Ashmore: James White, Jr.; John White, Jr.; William White; Robert (Bob) Caruthers (who was married to a sister of James White, Jr.); Robert Davis; Benjamin Cochran; William White (cousin of the other Whites and son of the “Widow White”); James Ashmore; and Joshua Hadley, a half-brother of James Ashmore.
One source credits Joshua Hadley with producing a New Testament on which each one swore that if anyone should ever divulge their plot that a ball might be shot through his heart and his soul sent to the lowest hell. Furthermore, they swore that if one of them ever revealed the names of the participants, he might die where no one should see him and that he should be denied a Christian burial.
Meanwhile…
Three munitions wagons from Charleston arrived in Charlotte but, upon learning that the gunpowder was destined to be used to put down the Regulators in Alamance and Rowan counties, the teamsters refused to take the munitions any further. It is said that Militia Colonel Moses Alexander had difficulty securing volunteers to take the wagons on to Salisbury.
An informant took word to the conspirators at Rocky River that the wagons were in Charlotte and they would stop for the night at the muster grounds near the present-day intersection of US-29 and Poplar Tent Road in Concord. (Since US-29 essentially follows the route of The Great Wagon Road, that’s the route the wagons would have taken to Salisbury.)
Thursday, May 2, 1771
The conspirators met at the home of James White, Sr. They blackened their faces to disguise themselves and set out for the muster grounds. They cut across the county and sometime on the night of May 2, 1771, converged on Phifer’s old muster grounds.
Can’t you just image those teenage boys and young men nervously waiting from a vantage point near the muster grounds? Can’t you imagine their hearts pounding as they ran down the hill and approached the wagons?
It is thought that James White, Jr. was the ringleader. The signal was given! The band of patriots surprised the guards! One of the teamsters was James Caruthers. He recognized his brother, Bob, as one of the attackers. In a low voice he said, “You’ll rue this, Bob.”
“Hold your tongue, Jim,” came his brother’s reply.
The conspirators moved the guards and teamsters to safety. They emptied the wagons and put the gunpowder and blankets in a pile. A train of powder was laid. James White, Jr., fired his pistol into the train.
The resulting explosion was heard nine miles away in the vicinity of Rocky River Presbyterian Church. Some people thought it was thunder, while others mistook it for an earthquake.
It is said that James White, Jr. carried a scar for the rest of his life where a flying stave from one of the gunpowder barrels hit him above his eye and cut to the bone before he could run from the explosion.
The conspirators got home the best way they could in the wee hours of Friday, May 3, cleaned themselves up, and said nothing of their overnight adventure.
The Consequences
The Battle of Alamance took place on May 16, 1771, and the Regulator Movement in North Carolina was effectively put down by the royal government. Gov. William Tryon proclaimed on May 17 that he would pardon the rebels if they would turn themselves in by May 21. Bad weather and other circumstances prompted Tryon to postpone the deadline.
Some of the Regulators were put on trial on May 30. The trial was expected to last three weeks. No doubt, news of all this was moving up and down the Great Wagon Road and the conspirators from Rocky River were anxiously awaiting the outcome.
Giving in to exhaustion, at one point some of the gunpowder conspirators set out for Hillsborough to take the governor up on his offer of pardon. Before they reached their destination, they were warned that it was a trick and were told the Governor Tryon intended to hang them. Some returned to the canebrakes of Reedy Creek, while others fled to Georgia and Virginia.
June 11, 1771
Governor Tryon proclaimed that he knew some of the rebels in the colony wanted to turn themselves in, so he extended the deadline by which they could do so to July 10, except for “all the Outlaws, the Prisoners, all those concerned in blowing up General Waddell’s Ammunition in Mecklenburg County” and sixteen named Regulators.
The Governor sensed that he was losing control of North Carolina. He wanted the young men who destroyed his gunpowder brought to justice, but he didn’t know who they were.
In mid- to late-June, the Regulators’ trial came to a close. Twelve Regulators were tried and found guilty of high treason. Six were hanged while the other six waited for the King to decide their fate.
Perhaps word of the Regulator trial results reached Rocky River, or maybe James Ashmore and Joshua Hadley simply feared that one of the other conspirators would disclose their identities. For whatever reason, Ashmore and Hadley went independently to tell Colonel Moses Alexander (who lived on a plantation at the present-day site of Charlotte Motor Speedway) what they knew.
Imagine their surprise when they ran into each other on Colonel Alexander’s front porch!
The two half-brothers jockeyed for position. James Ashmore eventually pushed his way into the house and told Col. Alexander that he was ready to talk.
June 22, 1771
James Ashmore was taken to Charlotte, where he gave a sworn deposition before Thomas Polk, a Mecklenburg County Justice of the Peace. That’s when things went from bad to worse for the conspirators.
In his deposition, Ashmore told Polk how the conspirators had met at Andrew Logan’s old plantation after James McCaul advertised a sale or something to be held there. It was there that James White, Jr. asked Ashmore if he would be interested in helping to blow up the gunpowder shipment.
Ashmore said in his deposition that he was asked in the planning stages if he thought there was any harm in blowing up the gunpowder. He said he didn’t see any harm in it. He said the next morning between ten and eleven o’clock he stopped working on his plantation and went three-quarters of a mile to look for his horses.
Ashmore claimed it was there that he met six men on the road “who in appearance resembled Indians.” One was either recognized or identified himself as James White, Jr. White persuaded Ashmore to come back and join them after taking his horses home and recruiting his half-brother, Joshua Hadley.
They joined the men later about a half-mile from the Ashmore home. It was at that point in the deposition that Ashmore named six men with whom he and Hadley assembled.
Ashmore’s deposition goes on to describe the attack on the munitions wagons and how the conspirators had been sworn to secrecy.
In hiding
Once the names were revealed, the search for the men began in earnest. As stated earlier, some escaped to Georgia and Virginia. Others hid the canebrakes of Reedy Creek in the vicinity of the bridge on present-day Lower Rocky River Road where the women of Rocky River Presbyterian Church took them food and clothing.
When in need of something, one of the young men would pop up in a ravine and whistle. Nearby resident of around 40 years of age, William Spears, would acknowledge the fugitive by removing his hat. He would then walk off in the opposite direction so he would not be seen as aiding the conspirators.
Agnes Spears, William’s wife, would then take them food. For nearly one year the women of Rocky River Presbyterian Church fed and concealed the young men who took refuge along the banks of Reedy Creek. The authorities would never think to question the women because they couldn’t imagine that the women of the community had anything to do with the plot or its aftermath.
The Rev. Hezekiah James Balch openly prayed for the safety of the young men from the pulpit of Rocky River Presbyterian Church.
The participants in the gunpowder plot were fugitives until independence was declared. After the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence was issued on May 20, 1775, all Mecklenburg County citizens were considered to be in rebellion. After the Declaration, the conspirators were finally able to move about as freely as anyone else and prepare to fight in the coming Revolutionary War.
When May 2 and July 4 roll around every year, think about those brave young men from Rocky River who risked their lives to help gain our freedom in America.
Since my last blog post
Is it me, or are the weeks just flying by? I’m hard-pressed to remember what I’ve done since last Monday. I just know I’ve been busy. I visited a bookstore in downtown Concord, North Carolina on Friday. More on that in next week’s blog post. I’ve done some reading and quite a bit of brainstorming over the plot of my novel-in-progress. I work out many of the plot twists and some of the dialog while on my daily walks.
Yesterday we celebrated “May Meeting” at Rocky River Presbyterian Church. The tradition started as early as 1757. On the first Sunday in May, present members of the congregation, others associated with the church throughout its history, and other visitors from the community gather for worship, the Lord’s Supper, and Dinner in the Grove. It’s been a mainstay in my life since 1953.
We had perfect weather for Dinner in the Grove. Everyone brings food and spreads it out on a long four-foot-wide wire “table” that’s put up just for such occasions. It’s fun to try a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Some people bring special dishes they’re known for. There’s always good food and fellowship as we all eat together. After having an abbreviated version during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was exciting this year to get back to the way it used to be.
Until my next blog post
My blog post next Monday will be about some of the books I read in April.
I hope you have at least one good book to read and a hobby to enjoy.
Remember the people of Ukraine.
Janet
Janet's Writing Blog 
I read with interest, Janet. Is there an historical marker where Poplar Tent Road meets US 29? I note there is a “Punchy’s Diner” and “Stars and Strikes Entertainment Center” near the intersection.
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You are, indeed, familiar with the area. There isn’t an historical marker at the intersection of Poplar Tent Road and US 29 about the Gunpowder Plot. There is one at that intersection for Red Hill Tavern. It reads as follows: RED HILL
Home and tavern of John & Martin Pheifer.
Gov. Wm. Tryon and President George
Washington among guests. Stood 1 1/2 mi. W.
US 29/601 Bypass at SR 1394 (Poplar Tent
Road) west of Concord.
The incident I wrote about occurred in the vicinity of the Red Hill Tavern on “Pheifer Muster Grounds.” Unfortunately, vandals burned down the tavern.
Something I omitted from my blog post is that sometime after Cabarrus County was formed from Mecklenburg County in 1792, the group participating in the attack on the munitions wagons became known as “The Cabarrus Black Boys.” As you can imagine, this name is extremely unfortunate and causes much confusion and many misunderstandings in our present times. Not wanting to perpetuate that nomenclature, I chose to not include it in my post.
Thank you for your interest in this topic. I’m pleased that it sparked your interest and added something new to a location with which you were already somewhat familiar.
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Those who fought for freedom know the cost of freedom, those who came much later, decades, centuries and many generations later have no idea and do not even think about the sacrifices made by those who fought for the freedom that they enjoy now for free. It is very good that you are making an effort to remind many of these dates, of these events and of these brave men who risked it all for the sake of the many. A most important date in American History and also a very interesting post to read. Take good care Janet and continue forging ahead with your novel, I am looking forward to reading it. I am still in the US and still enjoying the South Florida heat, and finally getting some colour back on my skin, as you cannot avoid getting tanned here, but I like it and I am sure it will make many people back home jealous! LOL! All the best,
Francis
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Another wonderful historic post, thanks Janet.🙏
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“Black” as in having a bad reputation? Thanks for the background, Janet!!
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It was said that they “blackened” their faces to disguise themselves. In our current vernacular, “black” is assumed to mean “of dark skin.” This story is apparently no longer told in our county schools, so probably 99% of the people living in Cabarrus County today have never heard the story. I’ll give you an example of the confusion the name “Cabarrus Black Boys” can cause. The name of the Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter in the county is officially named the “Cabarrus Black Boys” Chapter. The chapter offers a college scholarship every year. Applications are sent to each of the high schools. Last year, one of the high school seniors emailed the chapter’s contact person and asked, “Is this scholarship only given to black students?” It was with that incident in mind that I chose not to refer to the Cabarrus Black Boys in my title or body of the post. You might notice in another comment I received that another reader (originally from this community – and my age) wasn’t sure it was the story of the Cabarrus Black Boys because I didn’t identify the conspirators as such. I might need to address this in my blog post next week. I’m trying not to perpetuate the name, but I fear it’s so entrenched in people my age that I alone can’t stop its use. I don’t think there’s any motivation within the DAR Chapter to change the organization’s name because most of the members don’t see the need for it. They just don’t “get it.” I’ll just keep trying to do my part, I suppose. Thank you so much for your interest and comments.
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Thank you, Laleh. I enjoyed putting it together and sharing it.
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Thank you, Francis. The more I learn of what’s happening in Ukraine, the more I realize how much we Americans truly take for granted. I’m also learning how very fragile freedom and democracy are. They can disappear in the blink of an eye! The 1771 Gunpowder Plot is probably no longer being taught in our local schools. The event is never mentioned by the county government or local press. I feel like I’m a voice in the wilderness trying to keep the story alive. Several years ago, I put some work into a novel about the incident. What I had in mind was to target teens, since they might identify with the teens and young adults who were involved in the event. I set it aside, though, because I haven’t studied how “Young Adult/YA” novels are written. I’d like to get back to that someday. Someday never seems to come. Work on my current novel continues to be ever so slow. I’m still doing a bit of research to fill in some blanks. Life keeps pulling me away from writing time, which is frustrating. Each day I don’t do some writing, I feel guilty and upset with myself for not making time to sit down and at least write a few hundred words. Maybe later today……??? I’m jealous of your tan, too! My 98% British Isles ancestry dictates that my skin turns beet red in the sun, blisters, then peels off. Not a pleasant process, so I try to avoid it. Take care. Enjoy your remaining time in South Florida. My best to you, too. Janet
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We must all remember that “someday never comes” (like the song), and try to accomplish today what we are thinking of putting off. I am forcing myself more and more about that but I know I am still not there. Yes, it is lamentable that schools are no longer teaching so many things that are so important to know. It is happening in Europe as well and I really don’t know where this is all leading but it cannot be to anything good. You are doing a great job bringing these events out into the public light. I too turn red, burn and peel but I am taking it easy, after all the first thing I do before venturing out into the South Florida sun is to use spf 70 sunscreen, but little by little, in this weather, you get the tan whether you look for it or not. Everybody here eventually gets a nice colour to make the folks back home jealous. All the best Janet and continue to pound forth a few hundred words of that novel…
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❤️
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