On May 31, fifteen days after the Battle of Alamance, the Governor issued a proclamation offering pardon to all Regulators who would lay down their arms, swear allegiance to King George, and agree to pay their taxes. More than 1300 took the prescribed oath, many of whom had taken no part in the battle. Early in June a court martial was held in Hillsboro. Six of the prisoners--James PUGH, Benjamin MERRILL, Robert MATEAR, Captain MESSER, and two others whose identity remains unknown, were convicted of high treason and sentenced to be hanged. On June 19, 1771, a small crowd gathered on the outskirts of Hillsboro for the final act. The morning was very still. The sun shone brightly in a cloudless sky. A long line of redcoated militia stood stiffley at attention, their faces without expression. For six men--simple, honest, courageous men--the last hour had come. Slowly and calmly, James PUGH climbed the steps to the gallows. His head was bare. His large, brown hands hung limply at his sides. His boots were covered with dust--some of it, the dust from the soil where he was born, some of it, the dust of the battlefield. The rope was adjusted about his neck. Permission was granted him to speak his last words. There were so many things to say. There was so little time to say them. To James PUGH the Regulation had been a dream, a dream that decent men could overcome injustice, a dream that government was the servant of the common man. This dream had gone now. But someday other men would dream. James PUGH was ready to face his Maker. It was not easy to die, but he had fought a good fight, he had finished his course. "The blood that we have shed will be as good seed sown in good ground, which soon will reap a hundred fold." Then there was silence. A sudden breeze blew against his face--a breeze which James PUGH could no longer feel. Today (1949), a simpe granite monument marks the site of the Battle of alamance, six miles southwest of Burlington on N.C. Highway 144. It was unveiled with appropriate cermony on May 29, 1880. On it is carved the fact that "Here was fought the Battle of Alamance May 16, 1771 between the British and the Regulators." And on the reverse side, the single word "Liberty." Ref: Centennial History of Alamance County 1849-1949 by Walter WHITAKER in collaboration with Stanley A. COOK and A. Howard WHITE. pub. Burlington Changer of Commerce, Burlington, NC. ==== NCORANGE Mailing List ==== Larry Noah - lrnoah@bigfoot.com - Listowner - NCORANGE mailing list Orange Co, NC USGenWeb site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncorange GENDEX at http://www.gendex.com/gendex/ has over 1500 databases on line