Page Two
THE
STATE
July 7, 1934
PROBABLY the moot historic
tree ill North Carolina is old
Tory Oak in the town of Wilkes-
1м»го,
roiinty seat of Wilke* County.
If it rou
Ы
spenk, what a volume
of gruesome history it rotihl loll!
Tin* I'XUrt ago of tin.' fiitniuiM tree,
now tottering from disease and tin* in-
lirmitii’S of lime — despite rnrrful nurs¬
ing and ronstant dortorilig is not
known. A* far bark as the Revolu¬
tionary War. however, it sI<hn| impres¬
sively prominent upon a gentle slope
near the site of the present Wilkes
courthouse. Today it is a cherished
relic of the War for Independent.
It also is a monument to the memory
• if Colonel Benjamin Cleveland and
the live Tories who. falling into the
hands of the avenging patriot, were
hanged from its stout branches.
Benjamin Cleveland and his brother,
Captain Boh. were recognized heroes
of the American Revolution, e«|M*«-ially
as lenders of the “Bull Dogs" at the
decisive battle of King's Mountain.
The Cleveland family traces back to
William tin* Conqueror. The great¬
grandfather of Benjamin and Bob is
said to have come from Kngland to
American shores in
НШ.
The two heroes of the Revolution
Were Itorn ill Orange County. Virginia.
After coming to Wilke. County. Col¬
onel Ben Cleveland figured prominent¬
ly in the early history of that section;
in the fixing of boundaries, in the
erection of the first courthouse and ill
the establishment of the first schools.
A valiant patriot was lie, On the
peak of Rendezvous mountain In* as¬
sembled a contingent ,,f "Bull Dogs."
the Southern variety of Minute-Men.
preparatory to routing the British at
King's Mountain.
In 1772. Colonel Ben wa. deh-gated
by Daniel Boone to go into Kentucky
to investigate rumors of the "Dark
and Bloody Ground," the hunters'
paradise of that day and lime. Re¬
turning from that trip of exploration,
In* found much agitation over the op¬
pression of the Colonists by the Brit¬
ish government. Occasionally, soldiers
of the King liecai|ie plunderers, mil¬
king the settler* of provision, and live¬
stock. and sometimes doing even mote
grievous injuries. Colonel Ben deter¬
mined t" put a stop to these raids.
Ilis method of administering justice
was to make use of the hangman's
noose.
According to history, the lirst plun¬
derers to meet the fate of Colonel
Cleveland's tribunal were John Brown
and dames Coyle, wlm stole two horses
from Major Wilfong. These two men
cut down two clothes-lines from the
TORY
OAK
THE MOST HISTORIC
TREE IN NORTH CAROLINA
★
★
By LULA M. WEIR
- ★ -
Wilfong backyard and convert». I them
into halters, which were used in lead¬
ing the horses away. The culprits
were followed and were apprehended.
They welc taken hack to the settle¬
ment where, hv order of Colonel Ben
Cleveland, justice was promptly ad¬
ministered. Thom- same clothes-lines,
which had liecn used as halters, were
thrown over the branches of Tory Oak
and the men were hanged from the
tree.
The British force* were enraged.
Captain Kiddle, of the British army,
delegated himself to the task of cap¬
turing the old warrior and succeeded
in doing so. However, ho was unable
to prevent a parly of Whigs from res¬
elling him. The Captain was taken
prisoner and was carried back to the
beckoning branches of Tory Oak,
where he was hanged. Two of his
companions met a similar fate.
That made a total of five who lost
their lives bv hanging from this old
tn*e.
Colonel Benjamin Cleveland moved
from Wilkes County to South Caro¬
lina and died at his plantation home
in that state in 1NOO. A massive mon¬
ument, sixteen feel high, erected by
the Cleveland families of four states,
marks his last resting place.
Tory Oak has Iteeome a famous land¬
mark. Through countless generations
the old tree has stood as a monument
to the bravery and heroism of our
ancestors, who fought so valiantly for
their liberty. For many years it has
Ihmmi a friendly and familiar object.
Regard h^s of the tender care and doc¬
toring of the old tree by its admirers,
it is evident that its days are num¬
bered. Age has dealt it a withering
blow. It has stood the strain of many
o|H-rations for the removal of diseased
(tortious, until today then* is little left
but the bulky trunk.
But there it still stands: a vivid
reminder of the stirring days of more
than a century and a half ago, when
men administered justice in stern
fashion. There were no long delays in
meting out punishment. When a man
was found guilty of a crime, he was
dealt with in summary fashion.
The patriot* who fought for Amer¬
ica’s independence have long since
passed away. So have the British
soldiers. And so, as a matter of fact,
has practically every other living
thing of that day and time. Cleve¬
land’s death tree is probably the last
to succumb. It is tottering ... on
tin* verge of collapse . . . and it can
l«e only a short while when it. too,
shall fall over . . . lifeless.
And I say again: — If the old tree
could only talk, what thrilling stories
it could tell to the generation of to¬
day! . . . Stories of daring, of valor,
of cruelty, of devotion to a cause and
principle. . . . Stories of the growth
of a Struggling people into tile great¬
est nation of the world. . . . Wonder¬
ful stories. . . . But the old tr<*o re¬
mains silent . Waiting the last
breeze which shall sway it for the last
time. . . . To its doom.
