Lt. Col. Donald McLeod died at the Battle of Moore's Creek, aka "the South's Lexington & Concord".
On the night of 26 February, the Patriot's commander, Col. Caswell manned the west bank of Moore's Creek with 800 soldiers while Lillington stationed 150 men near a slightly elevated knoll on the east bank. Moore positioned his 1,000 troops between Moore's Creek and Wilmington. While the Patriot forces assumed their defensive positions, Tory Commander MacDonald convened a council of war with his officers at his camp about six miles from Caswell on the same side of the creek. The decision was made to attack, but MacDonald fell ill, and command of the Highlanders devolved to Lt. Col. Donald McLeod.
McLeod put his 1,500-man army on the march through the swamps in bone-chilling temperatures. After struggling through the wilderness for hours, the Highlanders caught sight of Caswell's camp, which had been abandoned during the night. To deceive the enemy, Caswell had left his campfires burning while he moved his force to the east bank. Following the night crossing, the Patriots had removed the planks from the bridge, greased the girders, and positioned artillery to cover the road and bridge.
At Caswell's abandoned camp, McLeod's troops regrouped and waited for daybreak to pursue the rebel army, which they thought was in retreat. But to the contrary, nearly 1,000 Whig soldiers were waiting across the bridge. The stillness of the swamp was broken at sunrise when 500 Highlanders, broadswords in hand, stormed toward the bridge. Bagpipes played in the background as the attackers shouted, "King George and broadswords!" Only a few Highlanders managed to make their way over the slippery remnants of the bridge, and they fell rapidly from the heavy fire coming from the Patriot breastworks. Within three minutes, the battle was over. About 70 Highlanders were killed or wounded. Among the dead was McLeod, a bridegroom of only a few weeks. The officer's body was riddled with 9 bullets and 24 swan shot. About 850 soldiers were taken prisoner, including General MacDonald, who was captured in his tent. The booty claimed by the victorious Patriots was substantial: 150 swords, 1,500 rifles, and £15,000. In the battle, the Whigs lost only one man, John Grady, who died four days later.
Sources:
Moore's Creek National Battlefield North Carolina National Park Service U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Daniel W. Barefoot, Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Lower Coast (1995).
Dan L. Morrill, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (1992).
Hugh F. Rankin, "The Moore's Creek Bridge Campaign, 1776," NCHR 30 (January 1953).
Phillips Russell, North Carolina in the Revolutionary War (1965).
On the night of 26 February, the Patriot's commander, Col. Caswell manned the west bank of Moore's Creek with 800 soldiers while Lillington stationed 150 men near a slightly elevated knoll on the east bank. Moore positioned his 1,000 troops between Moore's Creek and Wilmington. While the Patriot forces assumed their defensive positions, Tory Commander MacDonald convened a council of war with his officers at his camp about six miles from Caswell on the same side of the creek. The decision was made to attack, but MacDonald fell ill, and command of the Highlanders devolved to Lt. Col. Donald McLeod.
McLeod put his 1,500-man army on the march through the swamps in bone-chilling temperatures. After struggling through the wilderness for hours, the Highlanders caught sight of Caswell's camp, which had been abandoned during the night. To deceive the enemy, Caswell had left his campfires burning while he moved his force to the east bank. Following the night crossing, the Patriots had removed the planks from the bridge, greased the girders, and positioned artillery to cover the road and bridge.
At Caswell's abandoned camp, McLeod's troops regrouped and waited for daybreak to pursue the rebel army, which they thought was in retreat. But to the contrary, nearly 1,000 Whig soldiers were waiting across the bridge. The stillness of the swamp was broken at sunrise when 500 Highlanders, broadswords in hand, stormed toward the bridge. Bagpipes played in the background as the attackers shouted, "King George and broadswords!" Only a few Highlanders managed to make their way over the slippery remnants of the bridge, and they fell rapidly from the heavy fire coming from the Patriot breastworks. Within three minutes, the battle was over. About 70 Highlanders were killed or wounded. Among the dead was McLeod, a bridegroom of only a few weeks. The officer's body was riddled with 9 bullets and 24 swan shot. About 850 soldiers were taken prisoner, including General MacDonald, who was captured in his tent. The booty claimed by the victorious Patriots was substantial: 150 swords, 1,500 rifles, and £15,000. In the battle, the Whigs lost only one man, John Grady, who died four days later.
Sources:
Moore's Creek National Battlefield North Carolina National Park Service U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Daniel W. Barefoot, Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Lower Coast (1995).
Dan L. Morrill, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (1992).
Hugh F. Rankin, "The Moore's Creek Bridge Campaign, 1776," NCHR 30 (January 1953).
Phillips Russell, North Carolina in the Revolutionary War (1965).
Lt. Col. Donald McLeod died at the Battle of Moore's Creek, aka "the South's Lexington & Concord".
On the night of 26 February, the Patriot's commander, Col. Caswell manned the west bank of Moore's Creek with 800 soldiers while Lillington stationed 150 men near a slightly elevated knoll on the east bank. Moore positioned his 1,000 troops between Moore's Creek and Wilmington. While the Patriot forces assumed their defensive positions, Tory Commander MacDonald convened a council of war with his officers at his camp about six miles from Caswell on the same side of the creek. The decision was made to attack, but MacDonald fell ill, and command of the Highlanders devolved to Lt. Col. Donald McLeod.
McLeod put his 1,500-man army on the march through the swamps in bone-chilling temperatures. After struggling through the wilderness for hours, the Highlanders caught sight of Caswell's camp, which had been abandoned during the night. To deceive the enemy, Caswell had left his campfires burning while he moved his force to the east bank. Following the night crossing, the Patriots had removed the planks from the bridge, greased the girders, and positioned artillery to cover the road and bridge.
At Caswell's abandoned camp, McLeod's troops regrouped and waited for daybreak to pursue the rebel army, which they thought was in retreat. But to the contrary, nearly 1,000 Whig soldiers were waiting across the bridge. The stillness of the swamp was broken at sunrise when 500 Highlanders, broadswords in hand, stormed toward the bridge. Bagpipes played in the background as the attackers shouted, "King George and broadswords!" Only a few Highlanders managed to make their way over the slippery remnants of the bridge, and they fell rapidly from the heavy fire coming from the Patriot breastworks. Within three minutes, the battle was over. About 70 Highlanders were killed or wounded. Among the dead was McLeod, a bridegroom of only a few weeks. The officer's body was riddled with 9 bullets and 24 swan shot. About 850 soldiers were taken prisoner, including General MacDonald, who was captured in his tent. The booty claimed by the victorious Patriots was substantial: 150 swords, 1,500 rifles, and £15,000. In the battle, the Whigs lost only one man, John Grady, who died four days later.
Sources:
Moore's Creek National Battlefield North Carolina National Park Service U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Daniel W. Barefoot, Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Lower Coast (1995).
Dan L. Morrill, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (1992).
Hugh F. Rankin, "The Moore's Creek Bridge Campaign, 1776," NCHR 30 (January 1953).
Phillips Russell, North Carolina in the Revolutionary War (1965).
On the night of 26 February, the Patriot's commander, Col. Caswell manned the west bank of Moore's Creek with 800 soldiers while Lillington stationed 150 men near a slightly elevated knoll on the east bank. Moore positioned his 1,000 troops between Moore's Creek and Wilmington. While the Patriot forces assumed their defensive positions, Tory Commander MacDonald convened a council of war with his officers at his camp about six miles from Caswell on the same side of the creek. The decision was made to attack, but MacDonald fell ill, and command of the Highlanders devolved to Lt. Col. Donald McLeod.
McLeod put his 1,500-man army on the march through the swamps in bone-chilling temperatures. After struggling through the wilderness for hours, the Highlanders caught sight of Caswell's camp, which had been abandoned during the night. To deceive the enemy, Caswell had left his campfires burning while he moved his force to the east bank. Following the night crossing, the Patriots had removed the planks from the bridge, greased the girders, and positioned artillery to cover the road and bridge.
At Caswell's abandoned camp, McLeod's troops regrouped and waited for daybreak to pursue the rebel army, which they thought was in retreat. But to the contrary, nearly 1,000 Whig soldiers were waiting across the bridge. The stillness of the swamp was broken at sunrise when 500 Highlanders, broadswords in hand, stormed toward the bridge. Bagpipes played in the background as the attackers shouted, "King George and broadswords!" Only a few Highlanders managed to make their way over the slippery remnants of the bridge, and they fell rapidly from the heavy fire coming from the Patriot breastworks. Within three minutes, the battle was over. About 70 Highlanders were killed or wounded. Among the dead was McLeod, a bridegroom of only a few weeks. The officer's body was riddled with 9 bullets and 24 swan shot. About 850 soldiers were taken prisoner, including General MacDonald, who was captured in his tent. The booty claimed by the victorious Patriots was substantial: 150 swords, 1,500 rifles, and £15,000. In the battle, the Whigs lost only one man, John Grady, who died four days later.
Sources:
Moore's Creek National Battlefield North Carolina National Park Service U.S. Dept. of the Interior
Daniel W. Barefoot, Touring the Backroads of North Carolina's Lower Coast (1995).
Dan L. Morrill, Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution (1992).
Hugh F. Rankin, "The Moore's Creek Bridge Campaign, 1776," NCHR 30 (January 1953).
Phillips Russell, North Carolina in the Revolutionary War (1965).
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