Part 2
When struck down on the field of Germantown, Colonel Buncombe was left for dead by the retreating Americans and lay where he fell until the next day, when a British officer recognized him as an old schoolmate and had him removed to Philadelphia. There he was paroled within the city limits. His wound at first yielded to treatment, and it was thought he would recover. But as life dragged on, he realized that the weakened state of his constitution could not longer withstand continued privation. Being in great financial straits, and his physical condition growing worse day by day, he at last applied to Sir William Howe, the British commandant of Philadelphia, for leave to go as a paroled prisoner either to England or to North Carolina; but, if this request was ever granted, he did not avail himself of the privilege. Fearing that the motives which prompted his application had been misconstrued, he addressed to General Washington a letter, the original of which is now in possession of the Goelet family, Washington having returned it to one of that connection, after the Revolution, as a memorial of its brave author. Following is the communication in full:
_Sir_,
As I deem myself accountable to you, as my General, for every part of my conduct, permit this letter to speak what in person I cannot deliver.
Distressed I have been, repeatedly soliciting a supply of money from camp, yet hitherto I have not been obliged. I never was accustomed to adversity. Let the feelings of Your Excellency’s heart speak for me.
It is true I have my failings. Human nature will operate no perfection. But, as an officer, have I in any shape or respect disgraced my regiment? Have I not been anxious to fight for America? Can one of Your Excellency’s officers accuse me of cowardice?
Prompted by my distress, I was inevitably compelled to apply to His Excellency General Sir William Howe either for a parole to the southward or to Britain. Here I cannot command hard money; there I can.
The exigency of my case, I am persuaded, will point out the expediency of my adopted measure. I request that you will not think my departure from America a desertion of it. Always amenable to my General’s call, in six months I shall be ready to obey your orders if you think proper to have me exchanged.
I have the honor to be, with sincerity, Your Excellency’s
Very respectful and obed’t serv’t, E. BUNCOMBE.
To His Excellency General Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Forces of the United Colonies.
The unfortunate captive, by whom this letter was written, never lived to enjoy the freedom he so much loved. He was, at times, addicted to somnambulism; and about the middle of May, 1778, while walking in his sleep, fell down a flight of stairs. This accident caused his wound to open afresh; and, before assistance could avail, he bled to death.
Thus passed the spirit of Edward Buncombe, soldier and gentleman--
“Than whom, knight Was never dubbed, more bold in fight; Nor, when from war and armor free, More famed for stately courtesy.”
And when they buried him, an entry was made on the parish-register of Christ Church, Philadelphia, noting the interment of _Cornelius_ Buncombe; while many North Carolina historians, in later years, have given his first name as Richard! This consideration for his memory brings to mind Byron’s remark on reading of the death, at Waterloo, of an old college-mate: “There is fame! A man is killed. His name is Grose, and they print it Grove.”
The death of Colonel Buncombe occurred at the house of a Mrs. Kendall. This we learn from a letter written on July 22, 1778, by Thomas Franklin, a Philadelphia Quaker, to General Benedict Arnold (then in the American service), giving a list of Buncombe’s effects, “left in ye hands of ye widow Edy Kendall, where he lodged last and died.”
During Colonel Buncombe’s service in the army, he was accompanied by a faithful slave, Charles, and to this negro he bequeathed freedom. The following reference to him is found in a letter from the Reverend Adam Boyd, Brigade-Chaplain in the North Carolina Line, dated in camp, at White Plains, New York, August 24, 1778: “Charles, I believe is entitled to his freedom. The Colonel has often been heard to say he should not serve anyone after his death; and some of his officers have heard him say he had, in his will, ordered him his freedom. A law of our State forbids such emancipation without the consent of the court of that county in which the master usually resides. But an appeal to that law in this case I do not think would be right, because it would defeat the testator’s intention, which I think should be held sacred. Though I think it would be easy for his heirs, should they avail themselves of the law, to enslave Charles for life, I hope such a thing will not be attempted. The principal object of this law was to prevent the discharge of slaves that were not able to earn their living--a cruel practice which had scandalously prevailed to avoid paying taxes, from which old age or other infirmities do not exempt slaves.” The will, by which Charles was supposed to be emancipated, could not be found among Colonel Buncombe’s papers, but the negro was allowed to go free in deference to his late owner’s expressed wish. The only will found was one which had been made before the war.
The spot where Colonel Buncombe lies buried is not marked, but it is somewhere within the “additional church-yard” of the parish of Christ Church, on the corner of Arch and Fifth Streets, Philadelphia. In this enclosure are also deposited the remains of Benjamin Franklin, and other patriots; while not many miles off sleep Nash, Irwin, Turner, McCann, and their brave comrades, who counted not life above liberty. And North Carolina should little grieve that her sons are left on the soil of Pennsylvania. There they fell, fighting for the common cause of America; there let them rest.
“The neighing troop, the flashing blade, The bugle’s stirring blast, The charge, the dreadful cannonade, The din and shout are past; Nor war’s wild note nor glory’s peal Shall thrill with fierce delight Those breasts that nevermore may feel The rapture of the fight.”
As a grateful tribute to the memory of Colonel Buncombe, the General Assembly of North Carolina, at its session of 1791, created a new county just westward of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and called it in his honor. This is a monument which will stand when the proudest memorials of our day have become misshapen masses of stone. For ages it will tell of the brave soldier who fought for his country’s freedom and now sleeps in a forgotten grave, awaiting the last summons when the earth and the sea shall give up their dead. Peaceful be his rest!--and may generations yet to come draw inspiration from the life he led.
FOOTNOTES:
[A] Memoir of the Life of Josiah Quincey, Jun., by his son Josiah Quincey, pp. 120, 121.
[B] Colonial Records of North Carolina, Vol. IX., p. 60.
[C] These portraits were afterwards destroyed in a fire when the residence of Dr. Edward H. Goelet, of Goldsborough, N. C. was burned--M. DeL. H.
[D] Mrs. Ann Booth Pollock Cox is interred in the old burial ground of St. Paul’s Church, Edenton, N. C. On her monument is an elaborate inscription relative to the military record of her grandfather Colonel Buncombe.
[E] Colonial Records of N. C., Vol. VIII, pp. 705, 707.
[F] Defence of North Carolina, by Jo. Seawell Jones, p. 314.
[G] Defence of North Carolina, by Jo. Seawell Jones, p. 124.
[H] Vol. I., p. 163.
[I] Colonial Records of N. C., Vol. IX., p. 1041.
[J] For full text of preamble and resolutions, see Colonial Records of N. C., Vol. X., p. 512; Defence of North Carolina, by Jo. Seawell Jones, p. 251.
[K] Colonial Records of N. C., Vol. X., p. 205.
[L] Colonial Records of N. C., Vol. X., p. 520.
[M] American Archives (4th Series), Vol. V., p. 1698.
[N] This account of the movements of Nash’s brigade is partly from narrative of Hugh McDonald in old series of North Carolina University Magazine (1853-’56, II., 466-470; IV., 158-162; V., 28-31, 208-211, 360-363), and partly from State Records.
[O] State Records of N. C., Vol. XI., p. 733.
[P] State Records of N. C., Vol. XI., pp. 562, 750.
[Q] State Records of N. C., Vol. XI. page 621.
[R] Moore’s History (I., 248, NOTE) states upon the authority of my father, the late Dr. Richard B. Haywood, that Col. William Polk said that Gen. Nash received his mortal wound from a shot through the eyes. That Col. Polk also made this statement to persons other than Dr. Haywood appears in Dr. W. M. Polk’s biography of Bishop Polk (I. 27), which quotes Col. Polk as saying Nash “was blind,” and almost in syncope from loss of blood. Yet, strange as it may seem, though official records show he was himself present and severely wounded at Germantown, Col. Polk was mistaken in this, as will now be shown. John Penn, writing from near the battlefield (on Oct. 10th) only three days after Nash’s death, says: “Poor General Nash was killed by a cannon ball, with his horse.” An obituary published in the NORTH CAROLINA GAZETTE, less than a month later (Oct. 31st), states: “The winged Messenger of Death, a cannon ball, * * * * struck him on the thigh, tore his body in a most dreadful manner, and killed his horse under him.” In the legislative proceedings in honor of Gen. Nash (Nov. 19th), less than six weeks after his death, it appears that he “received a wound from a cannon ball; and, after languishing some days * * * * closed his useful life.” See State Records of North Carolina, Vol. XI., pp. 649, 789; Ibid., Vol. XII., p. 279. Pennsylvania accounts also say Nash was killed by a cannon ball which struck him on the thigh. The statement by Col. Polk was made when he was a very old man, fifty years or more after the battle; hence his mistake may have been caused by confusing Gen. Nash with some other wounded officer at Germantown who may have been shot through the eyes. Col. Polk’s second wife was a sister of Dr. Haywood’s mother.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized or underlined text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.