Treasure Tales and Treasure Stories About North Carolina from the Archives of Lost Treasure Magazine

Patriot plunder

During the Revolutionary War, most of the robbing and looting (and therefore most of the cache-making) in North Carolina were precipitated by displaced pseudo-British Loyalists like the bloody Tory raider, David Fannington. However, early in the war it was the North Carolina Whigs who had their innings at robbing and plundering their neighbors, and they proved themselves to be no slaggards at the game.

In February, 1776, patriot militia ambushed and routed a large force of Loyalists partisans under Donald McDonald at Moores Creek Bridge on the South River north of Wilmington. Pressing their advantage, the patriots -- most of whom were lowland Scots -- hounded the remnants of the McDonald's army -- most of whom were highland Scots -- all the way back to their home base at Cross Creek (present day Fayetteville). Within a few days, the Whigs reported capturing 850 troops, 1,500 rifles, 350 muskets, and $375,000 in specie, effectively eliminating the Loyalist threat.

Actions against the Tories in the Piedmont area continued for some time afterwards with many lowland Scots taking advantage of the situation to settle long-standing differences with their highland neighbors. Bands of ruffians with no military connection at all roamed the woods robbing and mistreating Loyalists. Large numbers of Loyalist families pulled up stakes and headed for Canada, only to fall victim to bands of highwaymen along the route.

Unlike the first few days after the battle, there is no accounting of how much money and property were actually seized in the weeks that followed. Speculation that a large number of caches were made at this time and that many of the cache makers did not survive the subsequent violence of the war would seem to be justified.