Native American Hero. He organized and led an outlaw gang of Lumbee Indians in North Carolina during and after the American Civil War. During that time he married Rhoda Strong, and they had three children: Sally Maggie "Sis" Lowry Locklear, Henry Delaware Lowry, and Neely Ann "Pollie" Lowry Locklear. He fought for the rights of Indians, newly freed black slaves, and poor whites in the Robeson County area. Many locals remember Henry Berry as a Robin Hood figure, particularly the Lumbee people, who consider him a pioneer in the fight for civil rights, personal freedom, and tribal self-determination. He often stole tax money and returned it to the people. At the height of his fame, Lowry was described by George Alfred Townsend, a late 19th century New York Herald correspondent, as "one of those remarkable executive spirits that arises now and then in a raw community without advantages other than those given by nature." During the Civil War years, several Lowry cousins, like many free men of color, had been forcibly conscripted to work on behalf of the Confederacy in building Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, North Carolina. Many resorted to "lying out" or hiding in Robeson County's swamps to avoid being harassed and rounded up by the Home Guard. Two of Henry Berry Lowry's cousins were killed by James "Brant" Harris after returning home for their brother's funeral. Henry Berry Lowry and his gang then killed Harris. After Henry Berry's father's neighbor, James Barnes, accused the Lowrys of stealing food and harboring escaped Union prisoners of war, the Lowry gang killed him. The Confederate Home Guard then convened a kangaroo court and executed Henry Berry's father Allen, who was the head of one of the most affluent non-white families in Robeson County, and his older brother, William. The Lowry gang then embarked on a series of robberies and murders with political overtones that continued on-and-off until 1872, a conflagration that would come to be known in North Carolina as the Lowry War. Lowry's gang continued its actions after the end of the Civil War. North Carolina Governor William Woods Holden outlawed the gang in 1869, and offered a large reward for their capture, dead or alive. Despite the best efforts of law enforcement, however, it was impossible to stop, or even hinder. the Lowry gang, largely due to their popular support. Shorty after robbing the local sheriff's safe of more than $28,000 in February 1872 (the equivalent of more than half a million dollars today), however, Henry Berry Lowry disappeared. Soon thereafter, every member of his gang, except two, were captured and killed. The New York Herald published reports that Henry Berry Lowry had accidentally shot and killed himself. Historian William McKee Evans speculates that the story of his accidental killing may have been a tale invented to discourage law enforcement from continuing to hunt him. Evans also speculates that someone may have finally killed Henry Berry for the reward but ultimately decided not to collect it for fear of what the Lowry Gang would do to them. Henry Berry Lowry has become a role model to many Lumbee and Native Americans in general. In 1958 the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses on the lawns of two Lumbee families and held an anti-Indian rally in Robeson County. The Lumbee asked themselves, "What would Henry Berry do?" Then they got their guns and routed the Klan. Several books have been written about him. From 1976 to 1996, the summer outdoor drama, Strike at the Wind, was staged in Pembroke, in Robeson County to honor the exploits of the "Lumbee Robin Hood." Set during the critical Civil War and Reconstruction years of Lowry's reign, the play portrays him as a hero who flouts the South's racialized power structure by fighting for his people's self-determination and allying with his fellow downtrodden citizens, the blacks and poor whites. He lives on in the hearts of Native Americans throughout the country as a hero of tribal self-determination. His most famous quote is, "We mean to live as long as we can, and if we die, to die game."

Native American Hero. He organized and led an outlaw gang of Lumbee Indians in North Carolina during and after the American Civil War. During that time he married Rhoda Strong, and they had three children: Sally Maggie "Sis" Lowry Locklear, Henry Delaware Lowry, and Neely Ann "Pollie" Lowry Locklear. He fought for the rights of Indians, newly freed black slaves, and poor whites in the Robeson County area. Many locals remember Henry Berry as a Robin Hood figure, particularly the Lumbee people, who consider him a pioneer in the fight for civil rights, personal freedom, and tribal self-determination. He often stole tax money and returned it to the people. At the height of his fame, Lowry was described by George Alfred Townsend, a late 19th century New York Herald correspondent, as "one of those remarkable executive spirits that arises now and then in a raw community without advantages other than those given by nature." During the Civil War years, several Lowry cousins, like many free men of color, had been forcibly conscripted to work on behalf of the Confederacy in building Fort Fisher, near Wilmington, North Carolina. Many resorted to "lying out" or hiding in Robeson County's swamps to avoid being harassed and rounded up by the Home Guard. Two of Henry Berry Lowry's cousins were killed by James "Brant" Harris after returning home for their brother's funeral. Henry Berry Lowry and his gang then killed Harris. After Henry Berry's father's neighbor, James Barnes, accused the Lowrys of stealing food and harboring escaped Union prisoners of war, the Lowry gang killed him. The Confederate Home Guard then convened a kangaroo court and executed Henry Berry's father Allen, who was the head of one of the most affluent non-white families in Robeson County, and his older brother, William. The Lowry gang then embarked on a series of robberies and murders with political overtones that continued on-and-off until 1872, a conflagration that would come to be known in North Carolina as the Lowry War. Lowry's gang continued its actions after the end of the Civil War. North Carolina Governor William Woods Holden outlawed the gang in 1869, and offered a large reward for their capture, dead or alive. Despite the best efforts of law enforcement, however, it was impossible to stop, or even hinder. the Lowry gang, largely due to their popular support. Shorty after robbing the local sheriff's safe of more than $28,000 in February 1872 (the equivalent of more than half a million dollars today), however, Henry Berry Lowry disappeared. Soon thereafter, every member of his gang, except two, were captured and killed. The New York Herald published reports that Henry Berry Lowry had accidentally shot and killed himself. Historian William McKee Evans speculates that the story of his accidental killing may have been a tale invented to discourage law enforcement from continuing to hunt him. Evans also speculates that someone may have finally killed Henry Berry for the reward but ultimately decided not to collect it for fear of what the Lowry Gang would do to them. Henry Berry Lowry has become a role model to many Lumbee and Native Americans in general. In 1958 the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses on the lawns of two Lumbee families and held an anti-Indian rally in Robeson County. The Lumbee asked themselves, "What would Henry Berry do?" Then they got their guns and routed the Klan. Several books have been written about him. From 1976 to 1996, the summer outdoor drama, Strike at the Wind, was staged in Pembroke, in Robeson County to honor the exploits of the "Lumbee Robin Hood." Set during the critical Civil War and Reconstruction years of Lowry's reign, the play portrays him as a hero who flouts the South's racialized power structure by fighting for his people's self-determination and allying with his fellow downtrodden citizens, the blacks and poor whites. He lives on in the hearts of Native Americans throughout the country as a hero of tribal self-determination. His most famous quote is, "We mean to live as long as we can, and if we die, to die game."

Bio by: Sharlotte Neely Donnelly