Attack from the Cypress Fort
Colonel Blood north introduced ‘‘Old Bess”
to (lit* Redcoats ill frout of the liquor store,
and they never knew what hit them.
Colonel Thomas Bloodwortb just
could not understand it! He could hear
the dogs barking, but they were no¬
where to be seen. The dogs had been
hot on the trail of a fox, and then just
disappeared. Suddenly he realized they
were inside the giant cypress tree. It
was at least seven feet in diameter and
towered seventy feet skyward before
its first limb extended — truly the
monarch of the swamp.
By merely looking at the tree, one
would not gain the slightest suspicion
it was hollow. There were no holes in
its exterior; however, about fifty yards
from its base the Colonel discovered
the leaves and earth had been scratched
up by the dogs. Upon closer examina¬
tion, he found a tunnel. Throwing
caution to the wind, he lowered him¬
self into the subterranean passage and
pursued its course toward the giant
cypress. At the end of this passage he
By GARY E. TK4W1CK
found himself inside the cypress. There
also he found his clogs, exulting over
their prey of two foxes, a raccoon, and
a mink which they had killed,
The Secret Plan
Suddenly the idea flashed into his
mind that this tree could be put to good
use for harassing the British, who then
had possession of Wilmington. The tree
was located on that point of land where
the Northwest Cape Fear and North¬
east Cape Fear rivers join, a point
about four or five hundred yards from
Wilmington’s Market Street dock. Mar¬
ket Dock was also the location of
Nelson’s liquor store, a favorite place
for the Redcoats to gather in their
spare time.
It was with this thought dancing
around in his mind that Bloodworth
returned home. He was, however, very
careful not to disclose his discovery or
his plan to anyone; for during these
tense times, a man could not even trust
his neighbor, for fear he would turn
him in to the British.
Colonel Tom lived near South Wash¬
ington (now Watha) in New Hanover
(now Pender) County. He, as were the
other Bloodworths, was very talented
as far as mechanical things were con¬
cerned; especially in working with
metals. They were widely known for
their manufacture of swords, pikes,
pistols, and the very best rifles. The
plan, which had come to the Colonel
while in the cypress tree was to make
a rifle which would carry, with suf¬
ficient accuracy, a two ounce ball to the
dock of Market Street. He set about
his task and made a rifle, which he
called "Old Bess,’’ which would per¬
form the desired function.
Now he practiced. He practiced un¬
til he could place a shot within the
THE STATE, AUGUST 1, 1968
7
