Paul Revere Of The South
lli* name was Captain Janies Jack, and flip
' folk* of Mecklenburg County regard him
a* one of the outstanding patriot* that over
lived in that section.
AT T W
О
o’clock in the
morning of May 20. 1775.
the twenty-seven delegates
elected to the Assembly held in
the Charlotte Courthouse shouted
"Aye” to the motion that the
independence of Mecklenburg
County, which then included what
is now Cabarrus, be declared.
Captain James Jack was deputized
to carry copies of the resolution
to the President of the Continental
Congress, then sitting in Phil¬
adelphia. and to each of the three
North Carolina representatives.
Cashwell, Hooper, and Hawes.
After a few days of preparation
for the long trip, the Captain
mounted his horse from the block
outside the door of the tavern,
which was his home, and set off on
his heroic mission. In Salisbury,
he was delayed long enough to
read the proclamation in court,
which was in session. It was re¬
ceived with wild enthusiasm by
all, except two lawyers. John
Dunn and Benjamin Booth Boote.
who held that the project was
treasonable and that Captain Jack
should be forcibly detained. The
objections of the two men were
overridden and Captain Jack
valiantly proceeded on his way to
Philadelphia.
Arrest of the Tories
When word reached Charlotte
that Tory lawyers had tried to
imprison the bearer of the Declara¬
tion. a dozen citizens rode to Salis¬
bury with all speed possible in
that motorless age. arrested the
two men. and brought them before
the Committee of Safety at Char¬
lotte. The kindly committee evi¬
dently decided the Tories required
a warmer climate than that of
North Carolina, for the men were
escorted first to Camden. South
Carolina, then to Charleston. No
records of their return to this
state have ever been found.
After his experience in Salis¬
bury Captain Jack grew wary os
he advanced northward through
great stretches of Tory country.
At the taverns, discussions of the
By MARY VOKTIIROP
British rule were hot and often
ended in blows. Danger beset him
constantly and the rigors of the
500 mile ride on horseback were
great. It is fitting that he is called
“The Paul Revere of the South."
Arrival at Philadelphia
On the 23rd of June he arrived
in Philadelphia, the same day
that General Washington left to
command the Continental Army,
only to learn that his arduous
journey had been made in vain.
Congress was then preparing an
address to the King, declaring
loyalty and repudiating the charge
of desire for independence, so it
was not thought wise to consider
publicly the Mecklenburg Dec¬
laration of Independence.
He was incensed, but kept his
dignity, though he in no way
agreed with the policy of Congress.
The words he is quoted as having
spoken to the North Carolina dele¬
gates and others before he started
on the long journey back to Char¬
lotte were heroic:
"Gentlemen, you may debate
here about ‘reconciliation’ and
memorialize your king. but. bear
in mind. Mecklenburg owes no al¬
legiance to. and is separated from,
the crown of Great Britain for¬
ever."
A little more than one year later
the Declaration of Independence
was signed in Philadelphia on the
fourth of July, 1776. Captain Jack
joined the American forces in the
earliest mobilization and served
with distinction throughout the
war. Repeatedly he refused pro¬
motion — for the reason of his great
attachment to his company and
his desire not to be separated from
his men.
James Jack was one of the ten
children of Patrick Jack, who
owned several lots on West Trade
Street opposite the Presbyterian
Church; on one of these he oper¬
ated an inn. where he lived with
his large family.
Cornwallis, elated over his
victory at Camden, entered Char¬
lotte on September 26. 1780.
Patrick Jack was old and ill and
confined to his bed. but the British
removed the aged man from his
feather bed, threw it out into the
street, and set the inn afire. The
reason assigned for this was that
"all of old Jack's sons were in the
rebel army and he himself had
been an active promoter of Amer¬
ican Independence."
Exposure and the loss of his
home were said to have caused the
old man’s death. He was buried in
Charlotte in the old graveyard
that is behind the First Presby¬
terian Church.
Though a wealthy man at the
beginning of the War, at the end
he was comparatively poor; it is
recorded, however, that soon after
the Revolution he loaned the State
$4,000 of his personal fortune, at
a time when the State was in dire
extremity. Not long afterwards he
sold his Charlotte property and
moved farther south.
Because of the controversy
which later arose concerning the
Mecklenburg Declaration, Captain
Jack, in his eighty-eighth year,
issued a statement from his home
in Elbert County. Georgia, on the
seventh of December. 1819. in the
presence of Job Weston. C.C.O.,
and James Oliver, Attorney-at-
law, attesting to the actuality of
his experience as messenger to
Congress with the deed of Declara¬
tion. Captain Jack would have
been pleased to know that his
certificate, along with other ir¬
refutable documentary evidence,
established the authenticity of the
story of the first Declaration of
Independence in the Thirteen Col¬
onies, as was proved by the official
recognition the event was given
when William Howard Taft and
Woodrow Wilson attended anni¬
versary celebrations while they
respectively held the Presidency.
The Captain James Jack Society
of the Children of the American
Revolution has erected a marker
on the site of the old tavern on
West Trade Street, honoring this
brave Revolutionary patriot.
io
THE STATE. January S. 1951
