Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)

Subject: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 05:13 PM

Having poked around a bit on mudcat, I didn't see an existing thread that so much as mentioned North Carolina's War of the Regulations (also sometimes called the Regulation Movement), the "war" was largely composed of a single battle and otherwise consisted primarily of mob gatherings and general disorder.

I've found a few songs and poems from the period which I'll be adding here below.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 05:20 PM

The most well-known song of the war was "When Fanning first to Orange came." The earliest known copy dates to an 1826 publishing from the Raleigh Register and the North Carolina Gazette, though some versions of it supposedly date to 1765.

WHEN FANNING FIRST TO ORANGE CAME

When Fanning first to Orange came
He looked both pale and wan,
An old patched coat upon his back,
An old mare he rode on.
Both man and mare wa'n't worth five pounds,
As I've been often told,
But by his civil robberies
He's laced his coat with gold.

From https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/songs-regulators
(See also: http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/BrII277.html)

This song is about Edmund Fanning, a colonial administrator to England. It alludes to the frequent reputation of the colonial administrators under the rule of the Lord Carteret, Earl of Granville, who would often require the citizenry of the Granville District to pay exorbitant fees and pocket the money for themselves, among other grievances.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 05:37 PM

Another song, titled "From Hillsborough Town the First of May," which was reprinted in the same papers as the previous song.

FROM HILLSBOROUGH TOWN THE FIRST OF MAY

From Hillsborough Town the first day of May
Marched those murdering traitors.
They went to oppose the honest men
That were called the Regulators.

[two stanzas missing]

Old Hamilton surrounded the Town,
He guarded every quarter;
The Regulators still marching on,
Full fifteen hundred after.

At length their head men they sent out
To save their town from fire.
To see Ned Fanning wade Eno,
Brave boys, you'll all admire.

With hat in hand, at our command,
To salute us every one. Sir;
And after that, kept off his hat
To salute old Hamilton, Sir.

But old Hamilton, like an angry man
He still craved satisfaction.
For taking of Husbands away to the town
It was a most villainous action.

From https://archive.org/details/frankcbrowncolle02fran/page/648/mode/2up?q=fanning
(See also: http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/BrII278.html)

This song was spurred into existence in April 1768 when the Sheriff Hawkins of Orange County seized a mare, a saddle, and a bridle for taxes from a citizen who did not have the cash to pay. The event, called the Hillsborough Confrontation, eventually culminated in Hawkins being captured by a crowd of roughly 80 Regulators, who captured him and tied him to a horse, utilizing a traditional form of public humiliation known as a skimmington.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 05:42 PM

I should add that, according to the page of the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Hawkins was not the sheriff until 1780. Unfortunately, there were 3 separate sheriffs in 1768, making identification of exactly which sheriff it was difficult. William Nunn, Thomas Hart, and Tyree Harris all served as sheriff during the year 1768.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 05:49 PM

"Said (or Says) Frohock to Fanning" is probably the second most well-known song of the period relating to the war.

SAYS FROHOCK TO FANNING

Says Frohock to Fanning, 'To tell the plain truth,
When I came to this country, I was but a youth.
My father sent for me, I want worth a cross;
And then my first study was to cheat for a hoss.

'I quickly got credit and straight ran away
And haven't paid for him to this very day.'
Says Fanning to Frohock, '‘Tis a folly to lie;
I rode an old mare that was blind in one eye.

'Five shillings in money I bad in my purse.
My coat it was patched but not much the worse.
But now we've got rich and it's very well known
That we'll do well enough if they'll let us alone.'

From https://archive.org/details/frankcbrowncolle02fran/page/652/mode/2up?q=fanning
(See also http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/BrII279.html)

This song probably refers to Thomas Frohock, a clerk of the superior court of the district of Salisbury. In March 1771 Frohock signed an agreement to return fees to Regulators which were wrongfully taken.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 05:57 PM

Finally, the last song from Brown's text, "Who Would Have Tho't Harmon"

WHO WOULD HAVE THO'T HARMON

Who would have tho't Harmon, that hum drum old fox,
Who looks so bemeaning with his towsled locks,
Would have had resolution to stand to the tack ;
Alas my dear Ned, our case is quite black.
And who would have tho't Hunter, so seemingly mild,
Would have been so gigantic, mischievous and wild,
I tho't him a fool, and I took him for one ;
Alas my dear Frank, our cause is undone.
Like Turkish Bashaws they bear absolute sway ;
Alas my dear Frank, we must all run away.

From
(See also: http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/BrII280.html)

The Harmon in this song certainly refers to Harmon Husband, a pamphleteer and preacher who resided in what is now Randolph County, NC, who distributed a number of pamphlets arguing for independence from the Lords Proprietors of the state, most notably "Shew Yourselves to be Freemen" in 1769. The other figures are probably county clerk and later brigadier general Francis Nash (Frank) and James Hunter (Hunter), a citizen of Orange County who had a great deal of property and influence over the area.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 06:08 PM

Oops, looks like I forgot to put an HTML link to where I got the last song from, but it was the same Frank C. Brown collection of folklore as the other songs came from.

Subject: RE: Songs of the War of the Regulation (NC)
From: cnd
Date: 27 Aug 20 - 06:59 PM

This is honestly almost certainly all that can be found on the subject. Digitized newspapers available to me were all from the coast of North Carolina, where Regulator sentiment was not largely shared; further, the newspapers were almost all very short and saved only sparingly. I looked through every page of the the 3 papers saved on newspapers.com from 1765-1771 and though a few had sections on poetry, and only 1 had a political poem, that poem being about the French conquest of Corsica and the fate of exiled Pasquale Paoli, which can be read here.