A scene from the annual reenactment of the fight between two small militias of Patriots and Loyalists at the House in the Horseshoe during the Revolutionary War. Photo: House on the Horseshoe Facebook

Editor’s Note: The House in the Horseshoe is currently closed to visitors during construction of a new visitor center.

North Carolina’s role in the American Revolution between 1776 and 1781 was significant, just perhaps not on the battlefield. Ours was the first colony to formally instruct its delegates to call for independence with the Halifax Resolves in April of 1776. The Ocracoke Inlet would become a crucial port for much-needed supplies for the Continental Army..

Locally, the Wilcox Iron Works along the Deep River in what is now Chatham County supplied critical munitions and iron for the army and for local militias. And while there was certainly blood shed on North Carolina soil during the war, the brunt of the fighting in the Tar Heel State didn’t come until toward the end of it, beginning in 1780. 

That’s where the House in the Horseshoe comes in.

Located in a “horseshoe” bend on the Moore County side of the Deep River, near the present-day Lee County line, the house was built in 1772 by Philip Alston and was one of the first “big” houses to be built in the North Carolina backcountry. Alston was a colonel in the Whig militia — a group of part-time civilian-soldiers who supported the Patriot cause and independence. 

In January of 1871, North Carolina saw its most “action” during the famous Race to the Dan — a competition between Patriot and British forces as they raced north from the Battle of Cowpens in South Carolina to be first to reach the Dan River at the Virginia/North Carolina line. The race would prove costly for Gen. George Cornwallis’ troops, which suffered greatly at the hands of Gen. Nathanael Greene’s Patriot troops. After the Guilford battle, Cornwallis’ troops marched to Wilmington to regroup before its final push north (which would end with surrender to George Washington at Yorktown in October). 

The fight at the House in the Horseshoe did not involve Gen. Cornwallis and his forces, but rather a small British militia led by 26-year-old David Fanning, who had previous run-ins with Alston and other Patriot militias throughout the spring and summer of 1871. Fanning’s guerrilla-style tactics and bloodlust made him a notorious figure in the Carolinas at the time. Alston, considered a “ne’er-do-well” son of a prosperous plantation owner, didn’t have a much better reputation. Alston reportedly had killed one of Fanning’s officers, which made Fanning’s surprise attack of the House on the Horseshoe — where Alston and his men were camping on July 29 — more of a revenge attack than anything independence-related.

From the Journal of the American Revolution: “At daybreak, Fanning launched his assault. His force, approximately 30 strong, came from the north, across what was then open farmland but today is covered with trees. Alston had about 25 men, who immediately barricaded themselves in the house, as his wife, Temperance, hid their four youngest children in the fireplace that still stands in the center of the great room.”

Fanning’s troops fired their rifles at the home (the bullet holes can still be seen today), and to force Alston’s men out, decided to burn the house down. One Torie was shot down as he tried to run at the home with a torch. After a few more failed attempts, Fanning’s men rolled a cart of burning straw up to the side of the house (a scene that marks the climax of reenactments to this day). 

The house did not burn, and after the deaths of about four Patriots and two loyalists, Alston surrendered. What happened next is also part of the annual reenactments. From the Journal: “The front door of the house opened, and out stepped the lady of the house (Temperance), waving a piece of white linen. Firing on both sides ceased immediately. The men, Loyalist and Patriot alike, must have been stunned at this extraordinary act of courage.”

Each year, “Temperance” repeats her surrender on that porch: “We will surrender, sir, on condition that no one shall be injured; otherwise we will make the best defense we can and if need be, sell our lives as dearly as possible.”

In his surrender, Phillip Alston agreed to acknowledge himself as a prisoner of war and signed a pledge of neutrality (which he would quickly ignore). He would later be jailed in Wilmington on suspicion of murder and escape to Georgia, where he was shot to death through his bedroom window in 1791.

In 1798, North Carolina Gov. Benjamin Williams bought the plantation. Williams was also a  colonel under George Washington, a member of the first board of trustees of the University of North Carolina and served in the national Congress at Philadelphia.

In 1954, the Moore County Historical Association purchased the house, outbuildings and 4.2 acres of land. The next year the state assumed jurisdiction over the property. With local cooperation, the house was restored and more of the surrounding land was purchased. In 1971 the House in the Horseshoe was designated a North Carolina State Historic Site, which by 2005 featured, in addition to the Alston House, a visitors center, outdoor exhibits and monuments, picnic facilities, and a gift shop. Craft demonstrations and reenactments of the famous skirmish are also held at the site.

Work is currently underway on a new visitor center at the site, which will remain closed to the public until the work is complete.