Record #:

10696

Author(s):

Trawick, Gary E.

Abstract:

On August 29, 1781, a small group of Patriots launched a surprise attack against Tories encamped at Elizabethtown. The Patriots believed that they were outnumbered but were unsure of the Tories exact numbers and who, specifically, was in command of their forces. A young woman named Sally (Sallie) Salter volunteered to infiltrate the Tory camp under the guise of a loyalist egg seller, seeking only to help feed the troops while garnering a small amount of business for herself. She identified the joint commanders as Colonels Slingby and Godden and placed the number of troops at approximately three to four hundred. Patriot commander, Col. Thomas Robeson, led the ensuing attack based on Salter's information, leading to a Patriot rout of the Tory forces in which both Colonels Slingby and Godden, as well as most of their troops were killed.

Source:

The State (NoCar F 251 S77), Vol. 37 Issue 10, Oct 1969, p10, 20, il

Subject(s):

North Carolina--History--American Revolutionary War, 1775-1783--Women spies