Micajah Bullock Chapter, NSDAR

 Raleigh, NC

Peter Little

Peter was born in Salisbury, Rowan County, N.C., which became a hotbed of activity for the Patriot cause. In 1778 the N.C. General Assembly had asked Rowan County for a large share of supplies as well as men, and Salisbury became the center for collection of the war supplies in western N.C. The town bustled with activity, having a warehouse for the supplies, a shoe factory and a military hospital. There was also a large jail built for prisoners.

Peter was already committed to the cause, having been commissioned as a lieutenant in the summer of 1777. In the Abstracts of the Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Rowan Co., N.C., (by Jo White Linn), Peter is listed as having qualified as a lieutenant.

Men were expected to appear before the Justices of their districts and take an oath of Affirmation of Allegiance to the state. Court records listed people who took the oath as well as those who did not. About a year later, when he had been promoted to captain, Peter was listed in court records as having to seek out the men who hadn't signed the oath of allegiance on a certain date.

Talk of war and pressure to join the fray on either the British or American side must have increased after Charleston, S.C., was taken by the British in May 1780.  The British Colonel, James Moore, went into the Salisbury area in June 1780 to recruit loyalists for Lord Charles Cornwallis' force. The new recruits were to meet at Ramsour's Mill (in the area of present-day Lincolnton, N.C.) about 45 miles southwest of Salisbury. Over 1,000 British loyalists showed up.

The Patriots retaliated by sending militia from Rowan and Mecklenburg counties to disperse the gathering loyalists. In a surprise attack the militia surrounded the loyalists who fled the scene. According to family history, Peter and his three brothers probably served in the militia during this skirmish.

A month later the militia was called out again by General Griffith Rutherford, who commanded the military in the Salisbury district. About 1200 militiamen under Rutherford joined General Horatio Gates as they trekked toward Camden, S.C.

Again the Little family history says that Peter and his three brothers, Henry, Daniel and John were under Rutherford's command. On August 16, 1780, at the disastrous battle at Camden, the Patriots were routed. Many North Carolinians were killed in the battle, including Henry Little.   Not much else is documented about Peter's further war service. However, in January and February 1781, the Patriots under General Morgan came through Salisbury in the march through North Carolina to Virginia. Lord Cornwallis followed on their heels and also stayed in Salisbury for several days before heading after the Patriots.

Sources:
Pauline M. Shook, Capt. Daniel Little, Esq. And His Contempories (copyright 1994 by Pauline M. Shook and printed by the Anundsen Publishing Co,. Decorah, Iowa)