History Page 2

At this point, nine patriots set in motion their plan to destroy the govemor's munitions. Three brothers Major James White, William White, and John White, along with their cousin, William White, and Robert Caruthers, Robert Davis, Benjamin Cochran, James Ashmore, and Joshua Handley pledged themselves by solemn oath to complete secrecy. Blackening their faces to avoid detection, they set out in the evening on their mission.

Three miles west of Concord, on the road from Charlotte to Salisbury, the band came upon the munitions train. Having surprised and captured the guards, the Cabarrus Black Boys, as they came to be known because of their sooted faces, stove in the powder kegs and tore the blankets to shreds. They then gathered the powder and flints into a heap and using a long fuse, they ignited the pile in a tremendous explosion.

When news of the raid reached Colonel Moses Alexander, he was furious and determined to capture the rebellious patriots by any means. In order to induce someone to turn traitor, a pardon was offered to anyone willing to turn State's evidence. Lured by the promise of pardon, Ashmore and Handley decided to take the Magistrate's offer. Unknown to each other, both men went to Colonel Alexander's home where they met by accident. Once they were in custody, the Magistrate remarked that by virtue of the govemor's proclamation they would be pardoned, but first they would be hanged.