Location: US 52 south of Norwood at Rocky River bridge
County: Stanly
Original Date Cast: 1952
As British Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis secured territory in the southern states throughout 1780, he called on Loyalist militia to rise and join his army. However, he ordered they join only when British troops were close at hand. It was feared the Patriots would intercept them before they reached the safety of the army, as had happened at Moore’s Creek Bridge in 1776.
North Carolina’s Piedmont and West regions were home to large numbers of Loyalists. While things had been relatively quiet for them at the beginning of the war, much changed in 1778. That year, North Carolina’s Revolutionary government demanded that all Loyalists sign oaths of allegiance or face a “fourfold tax” and property confiscations. The fourfold tax was created to punish Loyalists and pacifists like the Quakers and Moravians by taxing them at four times the rate of Patriots.
Additionally, men like Col. Benjamin Cleveland rose to power. The brutalized everyone they deemed Loyalists. The Wilkes and Surry County Militias were particularly violent. They hung men and boys of all ages, half-hung women, burned homes, attacked pacifist groups like the Moravians in their homes, and while they were in church services. Most Loyalists went into hiding in the mountains of North Carolina, north of the Yadkin River.
In mid-June of 1780, a Loyalist force was defeated at the Battle of Ramseur’s Mill near Lincolnton, NC. The Patriot victory was relatively easy because many of the Loyalists were unarmed, and issues faced across North Carolina. Word of the defeat reached the upper Yadkin River basin quickly. Loyalists under Col. Samuel Bryan gathered near Shallow Ford and began a forced march down the Yadkin, fleeing from General Griffith Rutherford.
Colonel Bryan’s success gave hope to other Loyalists. A small group of about 250 partially armed Loyalists gathered at Colson’s Mill at the confluence of the PeeDee and Rocky Rivers. They were gathering to make their escape to the British post at Cheraw, as Bryan had done the month before.
Patriot Col. William Lee Davidson patrolled the west bank of the Yadkin and PeeDee Rivers with 160 men. When he learned of the Loyalists at Colson’s Mill, he decided to attack. On July 21, 1780, they formed to attack, the Loyalists spotted the Patriot force and opened fire. Early in the fight, Colonel Davidson was severely wounded with a musket ball to the stomach. His men continued their attack and drove the Loyalists from the field.
The battle was fairly quick, but an easy victory, as many of the Loyalists were unarmed. Davidson’s men suffered only two wounded. The Loyalists lost three killed, four or five wounded, and ten captured. Because of their familiarity with the area, many of the Loyalists were able to evade their pursuers and eventually make it to British lines.
While not a major battle, the Patriot victory contributed to the North Carolina Loyalists’ diminishing enthusiasm to come out of hiding. Lord Cornwallis was counting on thousands of Loyalists flocking to the British army when he advanced into North Carolina in late 1780. The general lack of willingness among Loyalists to join the British contributed to Lord Cornwallis’s decision to abandon his invasion of North Carolina and retreat to Winnsboro, South Carolina, in November.
If marker remains with errors:
[The historic marker claims Col. Samuel Bryan led the Loyalists during the battle. However, this is incorrect. Colonel Bryan had made his successful escape to British lines almost one month prior, at the head of 1200 mostly unarmed Loyalists. He was more than fifty miles away on the day of the Battle of Colson’s Mill.]
References:
Walter Clark, ed., State Records of North Carolina, XIX, 984, 989; XXII, 114, 116.
Patrick O’Kelley, Nothing But Blood and Slaughter: The Revolutionary War in the Carolinas (2004), II, 204-205.
Joseph Graham Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Ian Saberton, ed., The Cornwallis Papers: The Campaigns of 1780 and 1781. Vol I. (2010).
Adelaide L. Freis, trans., Records of the Moravians in North Carolina, Vol. III, 1776-1779. (1926).
Adelaide L. Fries, trans., Records of the Moravians in North Carolina, Vol. IV, 1780 – 1783. (1930).
Douglas R. Dorney Jr., The Odessey of Loyalist Col. Samuel Bryan. Journal of the American Revolution. July 28, 2021.