in Windsor, and the homes of that hospitable little village were
crowded with women and children. But in spite of the discomfort that
host and guest alike must have suffered from the overflow of visitors,
the letters of the refugees to their husbands and fathers in Edenton
speak in warm praise of the cheerfulness and good humor that prevailed
in the little town during those trying and anxious days, and of the
merry social gatherings held in honor of the guests.

Though panic-stricken at first when confronted by the long apprehended
danger, the citizens soon rallied and bravely resisted the foe. Charles
Johnson, writing to James Iredell, says: "The inhabitants in general and
the sailors, have and do turn out unanimously. I never saw nor could I
hope to see so much public spirit, personal courage and intrepid
resolution." Robert Smith's schooner was retaken from the enemy, and
later the Row Galley that had invaded Edenton and captured the schooners
was taken, and her commander, Captain Quinn, lodged in Edenton jail.

In the meantime the refugees at Windsor were beginning to doubt their
wisdom in leaving their homes for the Bertie town. Many of them were
afraid that they had only jumped from the frying-pan into the fire.
Cornwallis was only thirty miles away, in Halifax, and the Windsor
people were in daily terror that foraging parties from his army would
descend upon their homes. To add to the danger of their situation, the
hated and dreaded Arnold, whose expedition up the James had been
attended by the perpetration of many dastardly cruelties, was marching
south to join Cornwallis in Carolina. Six hundred negroes, sent by
Cornwallis, were near Edenton, and other bands of foragers, two thousand
in all, were pillaging and plundering in the wake of the British army.

Fortunately for Edenton and the adjacent towns, Anthony Wayne was
stationed at Roanoke with his troops. Hearing of the ravages committed
by Cornwallis' men, he marched in pursuit of the enemy, who now left
North Carolina, entered Virginia, burned South Quays, and then
proceeded on their way to Yorktown.

In June, 1781, Samuel Johnston, of Edenton, was elected delegate to the
Continental Congress, the first that had assembled since the adoption of
the Articles of Confederation. His high ability and acknowledged
statesmanship won for him in that body the distinguished honor of being
elected to the office of President of Congress. But the critical
situation in