Josiah Martin, Royal Governor of North Carolina, was born probably in Antigua on April 23, 1737; he died in London, England, in July, 1786. He became an ensign in the British army in 1756, and had risen to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in 1771, when he was appointed Royal Governor of North Carolina, succeeding William Tryon, who had been transferred to New York after the battle of Alamance.

Governor Martin, with conciliatory tact, attained a good understanding with the Regulators, many of whom remained faithful to the Crown throughout the Revolution. He assumed a firm attitude toward the Whigs, and, when the difficulties with the home government approached a crisis in the colonies, was secretly active in organizing the Highlanders and other loyal elements.

In his speech to the Assembly in April 1775, he reviewed the situation, and defined his position in energetic language. The Assembly replied in equally resolute terms, whereupon he dissolved it, and began to enlist a loyalist force. On 24 April, while he was in conference with those members of the council that adhered to royalist views, a body of Whigs attacked his house and carried off six guns that he had planted. The next day he sent his family to New York, and took refuge on board the sloop-of-war Cruiser, transferring his headquarters to Fort Johnston on the Cape Fear River.

When the Mecklenburg resolutions were published he transmitted to England a copy of the document, which he described as "setting up a system of rule and regulation subversive of his majesty's government," while still affirming his belief that he had the means in his own hands "to maintain the sovereignty of this country to my royal master in any event." He had already requested from General Thomas Gage in Boston a supply of arms and ammunition.

One of his letters was intercepted, and in July a plot for arming the slaves was discovered, of which he was supposed to have been the instigator. John Ashe, thereupon, marched on Fort Johnston at the head of a band of incensed colonists, compelled the governor to flee on board the Cruiser on July 20th, and demolished the fort. From the vessel Martin issued a proclamation on August 8th of extraordinary length, which was denounced as a malicious libel by the Whigs, and publicly burned by the common hangman.

Governor Martin remained on the coast to direct a rising of the Loyalists, whom he furnished with arms brought from England.

In January 1776, Sir Henry Clinton came with a body of troops in transports to aid Martin in re-etablishing the royal power, but the presence of General Charles Lee's forces deterred him from landing. The expedition of Lord Cornwallis and Sir Peter Parker was expected from Cork to cooperate with Sir Henry Clinton, but was retarded by a storm at sea.

It "had been sent out by the advice of Martin, who had presented a complete plan for the subjugation of the Carolinas. The Highlanders now took the field under two MacDonalds, but were completely routed at Moore's creek bridge. Discomfited by this disaster, Martin embarked on Sir Peter Parker's fleet, and arrived at Charles Town in June 1776.

He importuned the British authorities to send arms and money for a loyal corps in North Carolina, and offered to raise and lead a battalion of Scottish Highlanders and rally the people of the western counties around the royal standard if he were restored to his old rank in the army. The means were furnished for the formation of military bodies among the Highlanders and Regulators, though the commission that he asked for was refused.

He remained with Cornwallis, who gave special heed to his energetic counsels after taking command in the south. When Cornwallis entered North Carolina after his victory at Camden he was accompanied by Martin, who expected to rouse the loyal part of the population, and soon be able to resume the administration. The two attempted invasions of North Carolina were checked at King's Mountain and Cowpens.

Governor Martin's health was destroyed by the fatigues of the campaign. He left North Carolina in March 1781, for Long Island, and shortly afterward embarked for England.

In 1773, John Harvey, Speaker of the House; Robert Howes, Cornelius Harnett, William Hooper, Richard Caswell, Edward Vail, John Ashe, Joseph Hewes and Samuel Johnson were appointed a committee to inquire into the encroachments of England upon the rights and liberties of America.

The first Assembly independent of royal authority was at New Bern on August 25, 1774. This Assembly, or Congress as it was called, is an epoch in our history. It was not a conflict of arms or force, but it was the first act of that great drama, in which battles and blood formed only subordinate parts.

At this Congress, Craven County was represented by James Cooke, Lemuel Hatch, Joseph Leech and Richard Cogdell.

The Assembly approved of the plan of the General Congress at Philadelphia in September, and elected as members, William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and Richard Caswell.

The Colonial Assembly was called in April, 1775, at New Bern, at which time both bodies met. After a session of four days Governor Martin dissolved the Assembly and here terminated the royal rule of England. Martin took refuge first in Fort Johnston, and afterward on board a ship of war in the Cape Fear River, the Cruizer.

Governor Josiah Martin, after the Battle of Moore’s Creek, left for Charles Town, South Carolina. He was at the Battle of Guilford. Soon afterwards he went to England, but returned to New York and died at Rockaway. He was the last of the Royal Governors in the colony of North Carolina.

After the Revolutionary War, the people were about to change the name because of bitterness toward Martin. However, they decided to keep the name in honor of Alexander Martin, a state representative to the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention. Alexander Martin was also Governor of North Carolina from 1789 to 1792.

The Scots, moreover, seemed to have possessed a genuine loyalty to their conquerors. As for the Regulators they were in no hurry to align themselves with their former enemies - the men who had recently become such strong patriots were the very same who led the government and militia against the Regulators. Many Regulators did become Loyalists, but others were equally ardent as Whigs, and still others, smarting from the defeat at Alamance, managed to maintain a certain flexibility throughout the entire war.

Former Regulators, therefore, could hardly be considered as a single class during the Revolution. As for Governor Martin, his brave pronouncements were halted by the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. A handful of former Regulators had joined a group of Highland Scots on a march to Wilmington, where a rendezvous with other Loyalist troops was planned. On the march, Whig forces surprised and defeated this group at Moores Creek Bridge, a battle sometimes called the "Lexington and Concord of the South."

Among those who took seriously ill was Robert Palmer, whether from the fever or another disease is not known. When the effects of his illness lingered, a change of climate was recommended, and he booked passage on a ship for England. He obviously expected to return soon, for he didn't resign his position as collector of the port of Bath until 1772, nor did he give up his seat on council until 1775, but his illness continued for five more years. Josiah Martin appointed William Palmer to fill the post of militia colonel as well as to take his father's place as port collector.

Rumor spread through the province that it was the Crown's intention to secure an Act of Parliament that would vacate all American titles to land by annulling former patents, thereby causing all titles to land to revert to the Crown. Governor Martin issued a proclamation to suppress this rumor. He even went so far as to hold another Court of Claims in February 1775 in which 74 petitions for patents were accepted. It was too late. The Crown land office had closed forever.

In 1773, the Provincial Congress passed a bill to cut a large canal from Lake Mattamuskeet to the Pamlico Sound to drain the lake. At that time, the lake was from six to nine feet deep and covered 120,000 acres. Governor Josiah Martin vetoed the bill.

There, he plotted to regain control of North Carolina. The plan was to raise 10,000 loyalist troops in North Carolina and have them march to the coast. There, in Brunswick Town, they would meet British forces arriving by sea in February 1776 and re-establish royal authority in the Carolinas.

Martin called on loyal subjects from the western region of the colony to put down "a most daring, horrid and unnatural rebellion," as the NC State Library documents show. Only 1,600 signed up. As they marched toward Brunswick Town to meet with British troops, rebelling colonists were waiting for them about forty miles northwest of Wilmington at Moore's Creek. The battle lasted only a few minutes. The loyalists lost.

North Carolina representatives then made the first official call on April 12 among all 13 colonies to declare independence from Great Britain. Meanwhile the British offensive was limited to looting Brunswick Town. It was burned down that spring.

Next Governor - Richard Caswell >>