APEX — On September 12, 1781, the highlight of the "Tory War" occurred in Hillsborough. It was 7 a.m., and a heavy fog covered the colonial capital as the Tory outlaw David Fanning led some 950 men in a surprise attack. Most of the townspeople stayed in their homes and out of sight, offering little resistance.
Fanning's army killed fifteen patriots, wounded twenty, and took over 200 prisoners - among them Governor Thomas Burke, his council, and a number of army officers, and seventy-one Continental soldiers. Only one Tory soldiers was wounded and none killed. Fanning's men proceeded to the jail and released thirty loyalist and British soldiers, one who was to be hung that day.
The Tories left immediately for Wilmingnton. They would imprison the Governor and continue their war against the patriots.
Thought for the Day: Depressions may bring people closer to the church, but so do funerals. (Clarence Darrow - 1857-1938)
