Major Williamson was reduced to the necessity of retreating into a stockade fort in which he and his party were confined without any water, till after three days by digging they obtained a scanty supply. The royalists possessed themselves of the gaol of Ninety-Six and from that station fired into the fort, but very little execution was done. After some days the assailants hoisted a flag and proposed a truce. ∗ ∗ ∗ Both parties once more dispersed and retired to their homes. ∗ ∗ ∗
The Provincial Congress did not rest their cause on reasoning alone, but enforced their measures with an army sufficiently numerous to intimidate opposition. They sent a large body of militia and new raised regulars, under the command of Colonels Richardson and Thomson. They were also joined by seven hundred militia of North Carolina, commanded by Colonels Polk and Rutherford, and two hundred and twenty regulars commanded by Colonel Martin. In a little time, Congress had an army of several thousand men under their direction and instructions, “to apprehend the leaders of
the party which had seized the powder, and to do all other things necessary to suppress the present and prevent the future insurrections.” Colonel Richardson proceeded in the execution of these orders with great moderation and propriety. A demand was made that the persons who had seized the powder should be delivered up to the justice of their country. They easily carried every point, seized the leaders of the Royalists and dispersed their followers.