Lenoir County NcArchives Court.....Militia, Memorial For 1813
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Paula Baker paulabaker69@hotmail.com January 10, 2010, 8:49 am

Source: Nc Archives
Written: 1813

The Hon. General Assembly of North Carolina

A Memorial

We your Memorialists seeing with pain the unprotected and defenceless 
situation of this State, and that altho the Country has been more than a year 
in a State of actual warfare, which other causes of dread and alarm, peculiar 
to this and the other Southern States are known to exist, we are constrained 
to express our supprise that neither the State Legislature nor Congress hath 
thought proper to make what we conceive to be an ample or appropriate 
provision for the protection of this our beloved State & Country, or to ward 
off the consequences that might result from this our deplorable situation. 
Whither from the too much mistaken notion that the irksomeniss and difficulty 
of our Navigation they have conceived us secure against the depredatory or 
attachs of a wanton and relentless Enemy, or from a want of example, they have 
thought that there did not exist sufficient cause to fear or apprehend 
insurrection or internal commotion, we will not pretend to judge, yet surely 
the examples of the one, and the threats and attempts at the other, are too 
recent and of too serious a nature to any longer admit of a doubt, that there 
does exist sufficient cause to apprehend danger.

Wherefore it is that we your Memorialists feeling that interest and duty in 
common with the rest of our beloved country man (Which we confidently hope 
will never be entirely disregarded by those whom our choice may have put into 
authority). Beg leave, respectfully, to submit to your consideration our ideas 
on this all important subject, and to recommend such measures as we humbly 
concieve best calculated to secure the peace and safety of the State. From the 
detached manner and thinness of the settlements of the inhabitants generally 
in this state, but particularly on the eastern and western frontiers, together 
with the difficulty of collecting, the tediousness of march, ever attendant 
our infantry, and the great distance that might intervine to prevent this kind 
of force from being timely brought to any given point, and particularly to 
either of the frontiers, would give in our opinions, a decided preference to a 
mounted force or cavalry, which we conceive might be organized with 
convenience to the amount of at least one good company in each county, which 
we suppose would be amply sufficient to keep in check any attempt at invasion, 
untill the more formidable force of Infantry could be brought up--and at all 
times sufficient to deter from or suppress Insurrection--which we by leave to 
recommend in the following manner.

The Cavalry of each County to compose the one eight or one length (as your 
body may judge best) of the whole, by law, bound to muster to be designated by 
eloping the Citizens.

That is to Say, By setting apart all mail whites bound to bear arms of the 
commissioned officers of the infantry excepted, who shall be the rightfull 
owners of two Slaves, one hundred acres of land, and two using Horses, and all 
mail whites who though they may not have all the requisite interest in right 
of themselves having a Father or mother living (or an estate descendent of 
which he is intitled to an interest) who or which have three slaves two 
hundred acres of land and two using Horses who shall form the aggregate from 
which the quota of Cavalry shall be taken by ballot unless a sufficient number 
choose to volunteer, the commissioned officers to be appointed by the Governor 
for the time being but to be taken from this number. Whereas the last 
provision, or respects the requisite qualification of interest, there are more 
than one son, the one bound in the aggregate shall be designated by the 
nearest requisite qualification of interest, making slaves first in the 
principle and Land next, but where they shall be alike circumstances, then to 
be designated by balot and that no such family or state shall qualify more 
than one person who thus qualified, if he should become of the Cavalry, having 
two using horses, then he shall furnish by his own horses, but in case of not 
having two such horses, the Father, mother or estate as the case might be 
shall furnish a sufficient horse for training or in actual Service, each 
person shall be bound to become a part of this force unless he possesses the 
above requisite qualifications, but nothing herein shall be so construed as to 
prevent any person from joining the Cavalry under the now existing laws.

Believing that in all well regulated Governments the arms of the Militia 
should belong to the State, we therefore recommend as a part of the plan that 
the State furnish to each individual thus composing the Cavalry one broad 
sword and one pair of suitable pistols, to be furnished and preserved in a 
manner herein after provided, and that it is upon the provision of the States 
furnishing the arms that each individual shall be bound on his part only. To 
enable the State to procure the army as soon as may be we beg leave to 
recommend the imposing a tax of twenty five cents on each taxable slave, to 
continue annualy until a sum shall be raised sufficient to arm the whole 
cavalry of the State and no longer and that the monies thus arising, shall be 
appropriated solely to this purpose and none other, and that the public 
Treasurer of the State be charged with the disposal of the fund for the object 
in view unless your body should think proper to appoint an agent expressly to 
that duty - and that when the arms shall have been procurred they shall be 
delivered to the Captains of the Cavalry for each County who shall deliver to 
each subaltern and private their quota, and take a receipt which shall be 
recorded by the clerk of the county in a Book to be kept for that purpose, a 
transcript of which record the said Captain shall return to the Col's of the 
Regiment by him to be returned to the Secretary of State, there to be 
preserved. To guard the state against the improper cost or disposal of said 
arms, we recommend the enacting of a law binding as an indemnity, all the 
property that any person thus receiving arms, shall be in right possessed of 
at the time of the receipt, so as not to admit of a conveyance or disposal of 
any of the said property against the rightfull claim of the State for the full 
amount of the cost of said arms with the transportation which shall be 
recorded in the receipts save unavoidable accidents, but that any person so 
bound being about to remove from the County or State, so as to entitle him to 
a discharge or being no longer bound to muster, may return all such arms, to 
his Captain and obtain a receipt (which the said Captain shall be bound to 
give) and having the said receipt recorded with the Clerk of the County for 
the time being, as a check upon the original delivery a transcript of which 
record shall be held as an intire discharge from all such obligation and that 
it shall be the duty of such Captain to return a transcript of said record to 
the Col. of the Regiment and him to the Secretary of State who shall make a 
record as well of the transcript of return, as of the original delivery.

And that your Honorable Body make such further improvements as respects the 
provisions and disposal of the force as your better judgement may dictate. As 
in duty your Memorialists are ever bound to pray.
Lenoir County August 13th 1813.

Bryan Whitfield
Wm Croom
Thos Campbell
Thos C Gray
Thomas A Phillips
Jer'h Loftin
Spencer Phillips
--- Harper
Harman Cox
Joseph Bruton
Wm Hayne
Wm Hade
Readen Jones
John Herring
R W Goodman
Tho Uzzell jr
Jas Dawson
Wm Snipes
Willis Smith
Joshua Kenedy
John Wooten
Simon Skipper
Leonard Loftin
Will Witherington
Peter Phillips
John Gray
Jas Davis
Dennis Williams
Caleb Hootin
John Nunn
John Grady
Ezekiel Creech
Jas Jackson
Benja Hawkins
Joseph McPherson
Isaac Taylor Junr
Willis Witherington
Abner Witherington
William Herring
Jesse Hutchins
B Bruton
John Wiggans
Thos Jones
Michael Pickle
Benja Allen
Burwell Moore
Abram Parker
James Smyth
James Wilson Senr
Caleb Wiggins
William Miller
Joseph Hooten
Ephraim Saunderson
Moses Westbrook
Lew's C Bryan
J H Croom

Additional Comments:
Source:
General Assembly
Nov-Dec 1813
Box 3 - Petitions Miscellaneous

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