The Revolutionary War in Beaufort

· The attacks by the Spanish in 1747 prompted the construction of Fort Dobbs in 1755 (Named after NC Governor Arthur Dobbs) on Bogue Island, followed by Fort Hampton, two miles southwest of Beaufort.

· Beaufort reacted to the Amer. Revolution by providing men, leadership and supplies, and paid dearly for having done so. Royal Governor Thomas Burke sent a force of 250 men and four vessels from Charleston to Beaufort to “plunder and destroy the Town of Beaufort”

· The British entered the town near the end of the war around the year 1782, after the defeat of Cornwallis. Their soldiers, under Major Stuart of the L’Dragoons, landed and engaged the townsmen while others from the ships plundered the town. The town was later fired upon and the schoolhouse burned after a fight between the enemy and the town force. Prisoners were taken and negotiations were carried on for their exchange.