Cox's Mill K-10 - North Carolina Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Cox's Mill was the headquarters of David Fanning, below is a brief history of Fanning's rise to power and utimate use of the Mill...
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The Tory chieftain in this section, and the most successful, most daring and most cruel marauder of the State, was David Fanning, who resided with John Rains, a noted Tory, whose home was on Brush Creek, near the dividing line between the present counties of Chatham and Randolph.


Fanning was a native of the County of Johnston, where he was born about the year 1754, and in early life, he is said to have been apprenticed to a carpenter or loommaker, but on account of the alleged ill-treatment of his master, he left him and fled to the State of South Carolina, where he engaged in trafficking with the Indians.Upon the commencement of the War of the Revolution he allied himself with the adherents of the English government and became a most active Tory.In South Carolina he was engaged in many predatory adventures and soon acquired the reputation of being a bold, enterprising and daring, but unscrupulous, treacherous and inhumane partisan of the guerilla type.


After the fall of Charleston, in May, 1780, he came to Chatham and seems to have demeaned himself as a law-abiding citizen, quiet and inoffensive, until the early spring of 1781, when with a few followers, he entered upon a career of rapine, murder, and predatory warfare that was to place upon him the stigma of being the most diabolically wicked and thoroughly despised man who ever dwelt in Chatham.


Sometime in June, 1781, a meeting of the loyalists was called at Cox’s Mill and by this meeting Fanning was chosen Colonel.He immediately set off for Wilmington to receive his commission from Major James H. Craige, the British officer in command of that military post.The certificate of appointment issued to him was as follows:


“By James Henry Craige, Esq., Major in His Majesty’s 82nd Regiment, Commanding a detachment of the King’s Troops in North Carolina:

To David Fanning, Esq.:

These are to appoint you to be Colonel of the Loyal Militia in Randolph and Chatham Counties, who are directed to obey you as such in all lawful commands, whatsoever; and you are authorized to grant commissions to the necessary persons of known attachment to His Majesty’s person, and Government, to act as Captains and subalterns to the different companies of the militia aforesaid.As Colonel, you are hereby fully empowered to assemble the militia, and lead them against any Rebels or others, the King’s enemies, as often as necessary; to compel all persons whatsoever to join you – to seize and disarm and when necessary to detain in confinement, all Rebels or others, acting against His Majesty’s Government; and to do all other acts becoming a king’s officer, and good subject.

“given at Wilmington, this the 5th day of July, 1781.

J.H. CRAIGE, Major Commanding the Kings Troops.”


Fortified with the authority conferred by this document, Fanning returned to the Deep River settlement on July the 12th and ordered a general muster of the Tories residing in the counties of Chatham and Randolph.He made his headquarters at Cox’s Mill, a point on the western side of Deep River, and in Randolph County, about five miles from the Chatham line. To this place quite a number of men whose sympathies were with the royal cause, came, and were enlisted into companies, whose officers were named and commissioned by himself.

Marker Name: K-10 Cox's Mill Marker Type: Roadside Related Web Link: [Web Link] Required Waymark Photo: yes Local North Carolina markers without State Number Designation: Not listed

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