* He was appointed brigadier after the battle of Camden, in the place of Colonel Rutherford, who was made a prisoner there. In the action at Cowan's Ford, on the first of February, 1781, he was shot through the breast, and instantly fell dead. Congress, on the twentieth of September following, ordered a monument to be erected to his memory, at a cost not exceeding $500 dollars. * General Davidson was a man of pleasing address, great activity, and pure devotion.
* This building stood upon the site of the present residence ot W. J. Alexander, Esq., and was better known during the Revolution as Liberty Hall Academy. Previous to the establishment of an institution of learning here, there were but two chartered seminaries in the province; one at Edenton, and the other at Newbern. In those none but members of the Established Church were allowed to hold official station. The Presbyterians, who were very numerous, resolved to have a seminary of their own, and applied for an unrestricted charter for a college. It was granted; but, notwithstanding it was called Queen's College, in compliment to the consort of the king, and was located in a town called by her name, and a county ot the same name as her birth-place, the charter was repealed in 1771 by royal decree. The triple compliment was of no avail. It continued to exist, nevertheless, and the first Legislature under the State Constitution, in 1777, gave it a charter under the title ot Liberty Hall Academy. The people of Mecklenburg would not allow any preference to be given to one religious denomination over another in the management of the affairs of the institution; and with firmness they pressed forward, with a determination to maintain both religious and political freedom. These principles, ever active, made Mecklenburg, the seat of this free institution of learning—"the most rebellious county in the state"—"the Hornet's Nest." No doubt the repealing of the charter by royal authority, of this popular institution, operated powerfully in alienating the affections of the people from the parent government; for there, as in every dissenting community in America, the establishment of "the Church" as a dominant power among them, was regarded with disfavor. Episcopacy and royalty appeared to be inseparable in interest, and concurrent in aristocratic tendencies.
Dispersion of Militia.—Commencement of Greene's Retreat.—His Passage of the Yadkin.—Cornwallis again foiled
tia were entirely routed; and all the fords being abandoned, Cornwallis, with the whole royal army, crossed the Catawba without further molestation. * The militia reassembled at Tarrant's tavern, about ten miles distant. Tarleton, who had been sent with his cavalry in pursuit, hastened to their rendezvous, made a furious charge, broke through their center, killed quite a number, and dispersed the whole. A heavy rain had injured their powder, and they were not prepared to fight. The loss of General Davidson, and the total dispersion of the militia, greatly dispirited the patriots in that region, and Toryism again became bold and active.
Now fairly commenced the great race between Greene and Cornwallis; the goal was the Dan, the prize the possession of the Carolinas.
General Greene had hoped, by guarding the fords on the Catawba with the light troops under Morgan, to prevent the passage of the British army until Huger and Williams should arrive with the other divisions of the American forces. The passage at Cowan's Ford destroyed these hopes, and Morgan and his light troops retreated precipitately toward the Yadkin. The detachment of Lieutenant-colonel Webster crossed at Beattie's Ford, and joined Cornwallis the next day,Feb 2on the road to Salisbury, five miles from the crossing-place. The royal army rested at Salisbury ** that night, and the next morning started in pursuit of Greene and Morgan. These officers did not await the dawn, but passed the Yadkin at Trading Ford (see cut on opposite page), while Cornwallis was slumbering; and when, on the morning of the third, the earl hastened to strike a fatal blow on the banks of that stream, the Americans were beyond his reach, and Providence had again placed an impassable barrier of water between them. Another copious rain in the mountains had swollen the Yadkin to a mighty river. The horses of Morgan had forded the stream at midnight, and the infantry passed over in bateaux at dawn. These vessels were secured on the east shore of the Yadkin, and Cornwallis was obliged to wait for the waters to subside before he could cross. Again he had the Americans almost within his grasp. A corps of riflemen were yet on the west side when O'Hara, with the van-guard, approached, but these escaped across the river, after a smart skirmish of a few minutes. Nothing was lost but a few wagons belonging to the Whigs who were fleeing with the American army, with their effects.
Greene now pushed on toward Guilford Court House, where he arrived on the sev-