September 11 and a 250 year old North Carolina fort

Posted Monday, September 24, 2007

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Chapel Hill, NC - A few days ago, on September 11 to be exact, I talked to a group of people in Statesville about a time when a successful attack by a foreign enemy on American soil created great uncertainty and fear. The threat of further attacks, kidnappings, and destruction by terrorists destroyed confidence in the safety of homes and families.

Was I talking about the events of September 11, 2001?

No, I was thinking about a time, 250 years earlier, when the colony of North Carolina constructed Fort Dobbs near present day Statesville to protect the frontier settlers from a series of dangers.

What was the situation in the Carolina backcountry of the 1750’s that called for protective measures?

In July 1755, several hundred American Indians under French command inflicted a crushing defeat on a much larger group of British and American colonial forces at the Battle of Monongahela in western Pennsylvania.

More than 800 of the British and American forces were killed or wounded, including a number of prisoners who were subsequently tortured to death. The battle came to be called “Braddock’s Defeat” after the commanding officer, who also lost his life.

At the time, Presbyterian minister-missionary Hugh McAden, traveling in Virginia, wrote, “…I received the most melancholy news of the entire defeat of our army by the French at Ohio, the General killed, numbers of the inferior officers, and the whole artillery taken. This, together with the frequent account of fresh murders being daily committed upon the frontiers struck terror to every heart. A cold shuddering, possessed every breast, and paleness covered almost every face. In short, the whole inhabitants were put into an universal confusion. Scarcely any man durst sleep in his own house, but all met in companies with their wives and children and set about building little fortifications, to defend themselves from such barbarian and inhuman enemies, whom they concluded would be let loose upon them at pleasure."

According to historian Dr. Jerry Cashion, there was a feeling in North Carolina that nothing then stood between the frontier settlers and the French and their Indian allies. As Indian attacks increased, Virginia settlements depopulated and moved to North Carolina. The feeling of unease was compounded by the worst summer drought in memory. Crops failed and cattle died as the colony was being overrun with refugees, adding to the uneasiness and fearfulness.

I had come to Statesville and the site of Fort Dobbs to talk about the importance of events 250 years ago and how they helped shape who we are today. But I could not ignore the impact of “nine-eleven” on the way we think and act six years later.

The challenges of each era are comparable, each with important influences on Americans and American character.

In the 1750’s, the American frontier settlers did not shirk the dangers that confronted them. They mourned their losses of family members and property. But they did not adopt attitudes of fatalism or victimization. They did not seek safety by giving up their independent spirit or their growing assertions of individual rights. Grounded in those times is the idea of the American as an optimistic, assertive, activitist, who can face danger without giving up important rights in exchange for “protection.”

Our generation of Americans, challenged by the uncertainties and dangers that the events related to September 11, 2001, have brought us, will, by our reactions, help define the American character for those who follow us.

I hope that we will be as optimistic and assertive as those in the time of Fort Dobbs and that we will face the dangers of our times without giving up the important individual rights and responsibilities that make our country such a special place.

Not everyone will agree with my conclusions and my historical comparisons.

But, before you make up your mind for sure, plan a visit to the site of Fort Dobbs, study the history that is available there, and enjoy the experience that always comes from stepping back in time.

Then, whether you agree with me or not, I am sure you will be glad you made the trip and shaped your own opinion—in the spirit of the times of Fort Dobbs.

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D.G. Martin is the host of UNC-TV’s North Carolina Bookwatch, which airs Fridays at 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/. Check his blog and view prior programs at www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/