David Fanning

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each opens its own page, with its events date by date.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 9 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

1. 1781, by tradition Tradition says parts of the town clock were hidden in the Eno during Fanning's raid According to local tradition, parts of the clock were thrown into the river so that the Loyalist raiders under David Fanning and Hector McNeill could not turn them into war material. People: David Fanning Place: Eno River, Hillsborough · Also named: Hector McNeillLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 22
2. September 12, 1781 Colonel Alexander Mebane rides to warn John Butler after Fanning's raid on Hillsborough When David Fanning's Loyalists marched out of Hillsborough with Governor Thomas Burke and other prisoners, Alexander Mebane, a colonel in the local militia, rode to warn General John Butler, who then laid the ambush at Lindley's Mill. People: Alexander Mebane, John Butler, David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Lindley's MillSearch the index · Lefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 60
3. September 12, 1781 David Fanning raids Hillsborough and captures Governor Burke Fanning’s Loyalists captured Governor Thomas Burke during a surprise raid on Hillsborough. People: David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: HillsboroughNCpedia — David Fanning
4. September 12, 1781 Loyalists rob James Hogg at his Hillsborough house during Fanning's raid During David Fanning's raid on Hillsborough on September 12, 1781, Loyalists ransacked James Hogg's house on Cameron Street and took his watch, buckles and keys until an officer posted a guard. Poplar Hill, sometimes named as the scene, was not built until about 1793. People: James Hogg, David Fanning Place: Hillsborough · Also mentions: Poplar HillSearch the index · Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903), p. 86 · Also: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary (1903); NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register; Open Orange: James Hogg House
5. September 13, 1781 Butler's militia ambushes Fanning's Loyalists at Lindley's Mill The day after David Fanning's raid carried Governor Thomas Burke out of Hillsborough, John Butler rode with about four hundred militia to the ford where the Wilmington road crossed Cane Creek at Lindley's Mill and laid an ambush with Colonel Robert Mebane. The opening volley killed Colonel Hector McNeil, but Fanning organized a flanking attack that drove the militia from the field, and the prisoners went on to Wilmington. People: John Butler, David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: Lindley's Mill, Cane Creek · Also named: Robert Mebane, Hector McNeilSearch the index · NCpedia: Lindley's Mill, Battle of
6. September 1781 Governor Burke returns to Hillsborough and raises a company against the Loyalists Hearing that Loyalists were plundering in southern Orange and that David Fanning was active again, Burke came to Hillsborough and formed a mixed infantry and cavalry company under a Captain Allen of New Hope to guard the area's Whigs. People: Thomas Burke, David Fanning Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 58-59
7. February 1, 1782 Three of David Fanning's men are hanged at Hillsborough Seven captured raiders were tried before Judge John Williams, with Alfred Moore prosecuting and William R. Davie defending in his first case. Three were hanged despite Fanning's threats, and Burke commuted the other four sentences to a year in the Continental army. People: Thomas Burke, David Fanning, William Richardson Davie, Alfred Moore, John Williams Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 61
8. April 30, 1782 A false alarm of a Fanning attack turns the legislators out into Hillsborough's streets With the General Assembly in session and General John Butler guarding it with 200 county militia, members were roused from bed and paraded in the streets before the report proved false. Fanning had in fact married and fled to South Carolina. People: John Butler, David Fanning, Thomas Burke Place: HillsboroughLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 62 · Also: Nash, Hillsboro, Colonial and Revolutionary

After their death in 1825

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

1. 1939 The state casts a highway marker for Governor Thomas Burke's capture at Hillsborough The North Carolina highway marker G-16, cast in 1939, stands on Churton Street in Hillsborough. It records that Governor Burke was captured in the town by David Fanning and his Tories on September 12, 1781, and taken to Charleston. People: Thomas Burke, David Fanning Place: US 70 Business (South Churton Street), Hillsborough · Also mentions: Churton StreetSearch the index · NC DNCR, North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program: Thomas Burke (G-16)