Duncan King
lie was a noted raider of the
seas anil an offleer under Gen¬
eral Wolfe until romance came
into his life anil he settled down
in North Carolina.
OVER I wo hundred years ago,
I lunoim King, one of North
Carolina's contributions to the
then popular vocation of privateering,
whs roving the seas, sailing under
the British ting and fighting for Great
Britain. A native of Scotland, he
chose North Carolina for his home
and o|K-rnled from here.
Captain of a privateer, an officer
under General Wolfe at the Batth-
of Quebec, and a millionaire, Duncan
King now lies buried in a forest in
Columbus County with only a monu¬
ment and the story of his life known
by n handful of people to keep his
memory alive.
While the British soldiers wen-
fighting along the St. Lawrence River,
King made a profitable living sup¬
plying the troops with food and muni¬
tion* which he wrested from French
and Spanish ships. He was known
throughout the colonies as a bold and
i-ourageous man.
Capture of Spanish Pirates
During the autumn of 1752, King
was sailing along the coast and
sighted a Spanish pirate ship. Hoping
to gain some prize from the capture
of such a tine craft, he pursued it and
opened lire. When the smoke of battle
cleared away, King was in command
of the other vessel and, as was custom¬
ary in those days, made the captain
and his crew walk the plank.
Aboard the vessel King found a
beautiful little dark-haired girl who
was ubout five years old. The child
had be.-n taken by the pirates when,
a few days before, they had sunk a
merchantman bound for the West
Indies and had killed the little girl’s
parents. King, who had known only
lighting and bitterness all his life,
was strangely attracted by the beauti¬
ful child and decided to make her his
ward.
lie turned his boat back toward
Southport and when he landed, placed
the child in the care of a Mrs. Holmes.
The little girl Lydia Fosque. received
excellent treatment. Her clothes at
the time she came under King's
guardianship, were of the daintiest
and costliest materials and all of her
personal In-longings bespoke a home of
wealth and refinement.
When he had finished making ar¬
rangement.. for her care, King sailed
awuy to do Great Britain's business.
He went to Canada and fought
under General Wolfe at the battle of
Quel»ec and was with Wolfe when the
British general was fatally wounded.
For his services to the English King,
George II, ho was given lands in
Vermont and along the Hudson River.
These holdings were confiscated «lur¬
ing the Revolution and were valued
later at $ 1 2,000,000.
After Canada was wrested from the
French. King tired of his bloody and
hard life and declared that he was
through with wars and with roaming
the sea*. He decided to return to
Southport to live aud care for his
ward. To his surprise, when he ar¬
rived there, he found that Lydia was
no longer u child but a beautiful
young woman with sparkling eyes,
lovely curly hair, and a smooth olive
complexion. Soon King fell in love
with the girl and they were married.
Moved to Vermont
The newlywed couple- set out for
Vermont to make their homo on the
tract of land that had been given
King by George II, but Lydia di«l
not like the cold of that regiou, .o
Duncan bought several thousand acres
of laud in Bladen County, now
Columbus County, around Shiloh
Church and built a home.
Lydia became interested in the
establishment of a church and King
helped her organize and support
Shiloh Church all of her life.
As so many people of the Cape Fear
section, Duncan King did not take
an active part in the Revolution, but
.till maintained his allegiance to
England's king. The Whigs were
constantly attempting to capture him.
One day while religious services
were being held about four miles
from the King home a company of
patriot* under General Joseph Gra¬
ham came galloping up the road.
Lydiu was in the church as usual
The monument to Duncan King in
Columbus County. Standing beside
it is A. G. McDougald, a descendant.
hut her husband was at home enter¬
taining a few of their neighbor*.
Lydia, suspecting their mission, flow
to her black filly which wa* tied
outside t ho church door, mounted ami
at tempted to ride away. A soldier,
suspicious of her haste, grabbed for
her bridle, but she struck him across
tin- face with her riding whip, sank
her spurs into the horse’s side ami
mndo a break for home.
As soon as the soldiers recovered
from their surprise, they followed
l.vdia. but her horse outdistanced
them. Duncan King looked up when
he heard the ringing hoofbeat. of hi*
wife's horse and ran to the «loor to
m-i- what was causing his wife to ride
so furiously. As she swept down the
avenue she pointed toward the swamp.
Duncan lost no time in finding pro¬
tection in its friendly depths.
I’p galloped the pursuing Whig.,
and as they dismounted, Lydia calmly
tripped out to meet them. The leader
congratulated her on her horse and
horsemanship, but with a keen glance
around iuipiired about her haste.
Lydia with a sweet smile explained
that -he was exjiccting them to fol¬
low her and stay for dinner and that
( Continued on page twenty-two)
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