MARCH 20, 1713

BATTLE OF NOOHOROOKA BEGINS: DECISIVE BATTLE OF THE TUSCARORA WAR

In September 1711, the Tuscarora, who controlled the land between the Neuse and Roanoke Rivers, killed John Lawson, whom they believed was the governor. This began a 3-day rampage that left at least 120 colonists dead. Colonial leaders sought assistance from Virginia & South Carolina (SC). In March 1713, a force under Colonel James Moore comprised of North & SC militias and allied Native Americans marched to a fort at Nooherooka where the Tuscarora had the bulk of their warriors. Moore laid siege, mined an outer wall, and set fire to the fort and its structures. Moore’s men overtook the fort 3 days after destroying the wall. By that time, 392 Tuscarora were burned or killed and another 558 were either killed or captured. Nooherooka signaled the end of the Tuscarora War which had led to approximately 200 whites and 1,000 natives killed with about 1,000 Tuscarora sold into slavery and over 3000 forced from their homes, many eventually migrating northward to Pennsylvania and New York.

Source:

Joshua Howard, “Nooherooka: Site of decisive battle of the Tuscarora War, March 20-23, 1713,” Research Branch, North Carolina Office of Archives and History, 2011; Revised by Government and Heritage Library, April 2022.  Retrieved 11/14/2022, Nooherooka: Site of decisive battle of the Tuscarora War, March 20-23, 1713, | NCpedia

Sketch: Possibly Christoph von Graffenried (1661-1743), circa 1715. John Lawson (1674-1711), and an enslaved man as prisoners of the Tuscarora, 1711. Public Domain. Source: Bern Civic Library.