DougGuy
01-28-2021, 01:27 AM
I came across this very interesting story from nearby Wilmington NC during the American Revolution. Seems one Col. Thomas Bloodworth was well known to British troops and neither one would miss a chance to antagonize the other, Bloodworth now being a target of opportunity sought refuge in the woods hunting rather than be captured at his home, on one of these hunting trips with his dogs, a very interesting event began to take place.
Hearing the dogs running a fox, then hearing their baying sound like it was off in the distance, Bloodworth went to where he last heard the dogs and discovered a tunnel entrance that led into a cave, here his dogs had cornered the fox, along with two possums and a mink. By lighting a torch, Bloodworth discovered that in the cave there was access to the roots of a hollowed out cypress tree, some 7 feet in diameter.
The rest of the grand plan is best told by his grandson, as there were many versions of the story. Here is a clipping from the Wilmington paper, dated April 5, 1897.
276246
I will type out the text here because it's much too small to read:
Facts About The Bloodworth Gun
(Correspondence of The Messenger)
Burgaw, NC, April 5 1897
Editors Messenger:
Having seen several references in The Messenger relative to the remarkable gun of Colonel Thomas Bloodworth,
most of which was erroneous or partly so (except the statement of Mr. Mc-Clammy), I desire to write a few lines
on the subject in order to set the public right as to Col. Thomas Bloodworth, the hero of that wonderful gun, and
Timothy Bloodworth, through whose influence and vote Raleigh was made the capital or North Carolina.
Colonel Thomas Bloodworth was a gunsmith by trade, and passionately fond of hunting. He never lost an opportunity
of annoying the British at every available point. This, of course, rendered him obnoxious to the British and they sought
every opportunity to retaliate. He soon found it was unhealthy to remain at home and spent a considerable part of his time
in the woods hunting. On one occasion during the occupancy of Wilmington by the British, he was out with his dogs
chasing a fox at Point Peter when all at once his dogs ceased yelping and could not be heard. He proceeded through
the swamp in the direction of where he last heard them, and having discovered an entrance or cavity in the ground,
he imagined he heard the distant bark of his dogs.
After some hasty preparation with matches and kindling he entered the cave and found his trusty dogs had captured
a fox, two 'possums and a mink. He surveyed the subterranean passage and found it led to the root of a very large cypress
which was hollow. Here he concocted a plan by which he could further annoy the British. He returned home, made himself
a rifle to carry a two ounce ball, took his son and one Padgett, with three weeks worth of rations and repaired to the garrison
he had prepared in the big cypress by building scaffolds up in the hollow of the tree, where he arranged a port hole for "Old Bess"
as he called his newly made gun.
As the British were accustomed to watering their horses and assembling at Market Dock he arranged the port hole so the gun
would bear on that particular point and for several mornings when "Old Bess" was discharged from the cypress garrison
some poor Britisher bit the dust or was tipped into the river.
This narrative is too long to be repeated here when it can be read in "Caruther's Sketches Of North Carolina."
Timothy Bloodworth, my grand father, was a member of the house of commons from 1779 to 1784 inclusive, United States
senator in 1786 and subsequently speaker of the senate of North Carolina in 1788, and in 1790 and '01 represented the
Cape Fear district in the lower hose of congress. When the location of the site of the government of North Carolina came
up in the legislature, the contest was narrowed down to Fayetteville and Raleigh and by his vote the latter place was selected.
He dared to do what he conceived to be right, even though it might cause him to be less popular. He gave the vote and Raleigh
was selected as the capital of the state and in perpetuity of his name the commissioners who laid out the city of Raleigh
called one of the streets Bloodworth.
R.N. Bloodworth
_____________________________________
Adding this now day map of Wilmington, Peter Point (see red arrow) is between the two branches of the Cape Fear river, and the docks are across the river to the east, I can only assume that Bloodworth was firing his gun across the Cape Fear river at the British troops. Wish I had some more anecdotal accounts of this incident, I bet there were some good stories going around once the rest of the Continental US Army heard of it..
276247
Hearing the dogs running a fox, then hearing their baying sound like it was off in the distance, Bloodworth went to where he last heard the dogs and discovered a tunnel entrance that led into a cave, here his dogs had cornered the fox, along with two possums and a mink. By lighting a torch, Bloodworth discovered that in the cave there was access to the roots of a hollowed out cypress tree, some 7 feet in diameter.
The rest of the grand plan is best told by his grandson, as there were many versions of the story. Here is a clipping from the Wilmington paper, dated April 5, 1897.
276246
I will type out the text here because it's much too small to read:
Facts About The Bloodworth Gun
(Correspondence of The Messenger)
Burgaw, NC, April 5 1897
Editors Messenger:
Having seen several references in The Messenger relative to the remarkable gun of Colonel Thomas Bloodworth,
most of which was erroneous or partly so (except the statement of Mr. Mc-Clammy), I desire to write a few lines
on the subject in order to set the public right as to Col. Thomas Bloodworth, the hero of that wonderful gun, and
Timothy Bloodworth, through whose influence and vote Raleigh was made the capital or North Carolina.
Colonel Thomas Bloodworth was a gunsmith by trade, and passionately fond of hunting. He never lost an opportunity
of annoying the British at every available point. This, of course, rendered him obnoxious to the British and they sought
every opportunity to retaliate. He soon found it was unhealthy to remain at home and spent a considerable part of his time
in the woods hunting. On one occasion during the occupancy of Wilmington by the British, he was out with his dogs
chasing a fox at Point Peter when all at once his dogs ceased yelping and could not be heard. He proceeded through
the swamp in the direction of where he last heard them, and having discovered an entrance or cavity in the ground,
he imagined he heard the distant bark of his dogs.
After some hasty preparation with matches and kindling he entered the cave and found his trusty dogs had captured
a fox, two 'possums and a mink. He surveyed the subterranean passage and found it led to the root of a very large cypress
which was hollow. Here he concocted a plan by which he could further annoy the British. He returned home, made himself
a rifle to carry a two ounce ball, took his son and one Padgett, with three weeks worth of rations and repaired to the garrison
he had prepared in the big cypress by building scaffolds up in the hollow of the tree, where he arranged a port hole for "Old Bess"
as he called his newly made gun.
As the British were accustomed to watering their horses and assembling at Market Dock he arranged the port hole so the gun
would bear on that particular point and for several mornings when "Old Bess" was discharged from the cypress garrison
some poor Britisher bit the dust or was tipped into the river.
This narrative is too long to be repeated here when it can be read in "Caruther's Sketches Of North Carolina."
Timothy Bloodworth, my grand father, was a member of the house of commons from 1779 to 1784 inclusive, United States
senator in 1786 and subsequently speaker of the senate of North Carolina in 1788, and in 1790 and '01 represented the
Cape Fear district in the lower hose of congress. When the location of the site of the government of North Carolina came
up in the legislature, the contest was narrowed down to Fayetteville and Raleigh and by his vote the latter place was selected.
He dared to do what he conceived to be right, even though it might cause him to be less popular. He gave the vote and Raleigh
was selected as the capital of the state and in perpetuity of his name the commissioners who laid out the city of Raleigh
called one of the streets Bloodworth.
R.N. Bloodworth
_____________________________________
Adding this now day map of Wilmington, Peter Point (see red arrow) is between the two branches of the Cape Fear river, and the docks are across the river to the east, I can only assume that Bloodworth was firing his gun across the Cape Fear river at the British troops. Wish I had some more anecdotal accounts of this incident, I bet there were some good stories going around once the rest of the Continental US Army heard of it..
276247