his congregation, was promptly raised. On its
organization, Mr. Hall was unanimously chosen for their Captain; all
his excuses were overruled, and, in order to encourage his countrymen
_to act_ rather than _to talk_, he accepted the command. "Heart
within, and God o'erhead." During this tour of service two of his men
were taken prisoners. As he could not recover them by force of arms,
their case was made the subject of prayer, both in his private
devotions and in public with his company. In a few days afterward the
prisoners made their escape and rejoined their fellow soldiers.

They stated that, as their captors lay encamped one night on Broad
River, in South Carolina, the sentinel placed at the door of the
guard-house was observed to be drowsy; they remaining quiet, he soon
fell asleep. When the prisoners discovered he was truly reposing in
"balmy sleep," they quietly stepped over him as he lay with his gun
folded in his bosom, and quickly ran for the river. The noise of their
plunge into the water, aroused the attention of another more wakeful
sentry; the alarm was given, and boats were manned for the pursuit,
but the active swimmers reached the opposite bank in safety and thus
effected their escape, to the great joy of the praying Captain and his
faithful company.

In the winter of 1781, when Lord Cornwallis was approaching the
Catawba river with his army, General Davidson, who was in command of
the Whigs on the opposite or Mecklenburg side of that stream,
concentrated his forces, stationed at different points on the river,
to resist him at Cowan's Ford. In order to strengthen himself as much
as possible, he sent couriers to the adjoining counties, calling on
the Whigs to rally to his assistance. One of these couriers, sent to
Fourth Creek Church, (now Statesville), in Iredell county, arrived on
the Sabbath, while the pastor, the Rev. James Hall, was preaching. The
urgency of his business did not permit him to delay in making known
the nature of his mission, and, as the best course of doing so, he
walked up to the pulpit and handed Davidson's call to the pastor, the
Rev. James Hall, whose patriotic record was well known. Mr. Hall
glanced over the document, and understanding its purport, brought his
discourse to a speedy close, descended from the pulpit, and read it to
his congregation.

After reading it he made a patriotic appeal to his audience to respond
to this call of their country. Whereupon, a member of th