h the Americans, and
anxious to aid in the cause, came over to the States in advance of the
army sent by the government, and landing in Edenton, were so agreeably
impressed with the social life of the hospitable town, that they spent
several weeks in the little metropolis. Three of these foreigners,
Messieurs Pinchieu, Noirmont de la Neuville, and La Tours, seem to have
made many friends in the town, and to have been the recipients of much
hospitality on the part of the gentlefolk of Edenton.

Judge Iredell, who spoke French fluently, made a strong impression upon
the strangers; and M. Pinchieu became one of his warm friends. The visit
of the French officers to Edenton was made the occasion of many social
functions, and before the foreigners departed from the town, they gave a
grand ball to the Edenton ladies, who had made their stay so pleasant.
The modest colonial maidens of old Edenton, though dazzled and charmed
by the airs and graces of the gay and debonair strangers, at times found
the manners of their foreign guests a little too free for their comfort.
Miss Nellie Blair, in a letter to her uncle, Judge Iredell, declares
most emphatically her displeasure at the decidedly French behavior of
one of her too attentive foreign admirers.

On leaving Edenton, the Frenchmen proceeded to New Bern, where they
tendered their swords to the General Assembly, and offered their
services in the American cause; but for reasons not stated their offer
was declined.

The many acts of open rebellion on the part of prominent citizens of
Edenton had by this time made the town a marked spot in the eyes of the
enemy; and the fact that she was the most important port in the
Albemarle region, and that her destruction would be a heavy blow to the
entire State, also singled her out as an important point of attack.

So in 1779, when Sir George Collier entered Hampton Roads, gutted
Norfolk, took possession of Portsmouth, and burned Suffolk, the citizens
of Edenton were thoroughly alarmed. The Dismal Swamp was on fire, and
the crackling of the burning reed resembling the reports of musket shot,
caused many to think that a battle was going on near the town. Many of
the inhabitants began to pack up their household goods, ready to leave
when the British should enter the town.

But for some unknown reason the enemy, though so near, failed to descend
upon the town; and as days and weeks passed by, the cloud of
apprehension began to disperse, and