s.

At this assembly Griffith Rutherford was appointed Brigadier General
of the Salisbury District; Francis Locke, Colonel of Rowan; Alexander
Dobbins, Lieutenant Colonel; James Brandon, 1st Major; James Smith, 2d
Major.

To the Congress at Halifax, November 12th, 1776, which formed the
first Constitution, the delegates were Griffith Rutherford, Matthew
Locke, William Sharpe, James Smith and John Brevard.

In 1775 the Royal government ceased in North Carolina by the retreat
of Governor Martin.

The Civil Government, vested in: 1. A Provincial Council for the whole
State, composed of two members from each Judicial District, and one
for the State at large, who was chairman and _de facto_ Governor. 2.
Committees of Safety for the towns; and 3. County Committees of
Safety, a part of whose duty it was to arrest suspicious persons, and
take especial care that the public interest suffered no detriment.

The journal of the Committee of Safety for Rowan county, from the 8th
of August, 1774, to the 17th of May, 1776, has been preserved, and
throws much light on the patriotic transactions of that exciting
period in our Revolutionary history. The journal in full may be seen
in Wheeler's "Historical Sketches."

ROUTE OF THE BRITISH ARMY THROUGH MECKLENBURG AND ROWAN COUNTIES.

After Cornwallis effected his passage over the Catawba river, at
Cowan's Ford, on the 1st of February, 1781, he only remained about
three hours in attending to the burial of his dead. Tarleton was
dispatched in advance to pursue the Whigs retreating in the direction
of Torrence's Tavern. Early in the morning of the same day a
simultaneous movement was made by Colonel Webster, with his own
brigade, the artillery, and a small supporting detachment to Beattie's
Ford, six miles above Cowan's Ford, where a small guard had been
placed on the eastern bank. Colonel Webster, with a view of dispersing
the guard, fired several shots (six pounders) across the river, which
had its intended effect, and thus enabled him to pass over without
meeting with serious opposition. This was a mere feint, intended to
create the impression that the whole British army would cross there.

The two British forces pressing forward with as little delay as
possible, united at Torrence's, ten miles from Cowan's Ford, where a
considerable body of the Whig militia had hastily assembled; but
having no one to assume command, and greatly discouraged by the death
of General Davidson on the