With the military campaign in Virginia over, and the North Carolina regiment ingloriously dispersed, Rowan and the executive Council awaited the arrival of their new royal governor, expected to arrive from England any day. King George II appointed Arthur Dobbs as Governor of North Carolina in January, 1753. [34]

Born in 1689 to a fiercely Protestant family of Scottish descent long established in Carrickfergus, Ireland, his family had settled in Ireland as early as 1599. [35]

After a brief military stint, Dobbs represented Carrickfergus in Parliament, had been both Mayor of Carrickfergus and High Sheriff of Antrim, and was surveyor-general of Ireland for over thirty years. [36]

A friend of Jonathan Swift, Dobbs was "a son of the enlightenment," and "a man of scholarly tastes and attainments." [37]

A free trade advocate, he wrote An Essay on the Trade and Improvement of Ireland (1728), offering practical suggestions to improve that country's economic welfare. [38]

Dobbs' interest in Britain's North American colonies began in the 1730s with the first of several land grants he received in North Carolina. These lands, mostly in the colony's western region, totaled several hundred thousand acres, which Dobbs tried to settle with natives of his own County Antrim. In addition to his grants, he was part of a syndicate that purchased sixty thousand Carolina acres in New Hanover, before 1765. [39]

Of more relevance at the time of the hostilities with France, Dobbs was a member of the Ohio Company of Virginia, which was organized in 1748 to secure a share of trade with Indians in the Ohio Valley and to obtain land grants there as well. He actively sought a position as colonial governor in America "not only to serve myself but also to have it in my power to serve the government and British interests whilst I have health," [4] and used his political connections to assist in his career efforts. [41]

As an ardent supporter of British imperialism, Dobbs was a strong advocate of strengthening the King's American possessions to counter French expansionist activities in the New World. In 1752, Dobbs recommended buttressing "our Colonies now in Time of Peace that we may be on our watch in America for the French in a future war, [42] and he maintained a "long projected plan of driving the French out of the continent and I hope out of America." Upon his arrival in America in October, 1754, he was certainly in a position to carry out his designs. [43]

Dobbs arrived in Hampton, Virginia, on October 7, 1754, after a ten-week voyage from England, [44] accompanied by his son Edward Brice Dobbs, an officer in the Royal Fusiliers [45] and his nephew, Richard Spaight. The party traveled directly to Williamsburg to meet Dinwiddie and Maryland Governor Horatio Sharpe to discuss plans for upcoming military operations against the French on the Ohio, to the command of which London appointed Sharpe. The projected campaign was to be an expedition of one thousand men in early Spring against Ft. Duquesne, and the strengthening of Fort Cumberland at Wills Creek as a magazine. [46]

Once the governors agreed on the next year's plans, Dobbs set out for North Carolina on October 23, and reached New Bern eight days later, where he was sworn in by the Executive Council members the next day. [47]

Soon thereafter, the councilors departed, which prompted a surprised Dobbs to lament "I shall get no business done" until the legislature convened in December. [48]

The sixty-five year old governor immediately went to work. In accordance with his detailed instructions from London, Dobbs dissolved the existing Assembly and called for new elections, with a directive for the new legislature to meet on December 12th. [49]

While he awaited the legislature's meeting, he turned next to military matters. Under instructions from the King to ensure that all of his subjects "be well and fitly provided with Arms ... whereby they may be in a better readiness for ...defence," [50]

Dobbs ordered the colony's militia officers "to send me an exact list of the men in their several districts capable of bearing arms, with an account of how they are armed & what ammunition they had." He was quickly disappointed, and alarmed. The province "was in a particularly weak position," [51] militia being the only military force extant at the start of the war. On paper there were approximately twelve thousand men on the militia's rolls, organized into one regiment per county, each of which nominally consisted of all free white males between the ages of sixteen and sixty. At the outbreak of the Seven Years War, North Carolina's militia resembled that of almost every other American colony: it was poorly organized, inadequately supplied and badly armed.

By the 1740s, the colonial militia in American had become moribund, and although North Carolina's militia was required to keep itself supplied with arms and an adequate amount of ammunition, muster and drill at least four times annually by company, and by regiment once a year, long neglect had utterly ruined its organization and effectiveness. Most of the southern colonies' militia companies were only capable of local slave patrol duties, not extended campaigns. Many Carolinians did not own guns, and had little experience using them. North Carolina's ill-equipped militia organization relied upon the British crown to supply them with arms, such as a shipment of one thousand muskets the King sent in 1754, received in December.

The responses to Dobbs' request for militia returns were telling. For instance, Bertie County's regiment was "without officers," while Carteret County reported "no arms or ammunition in store," as did almost all of the others. Most militia officers complained of having very little powder or shot, and reported a general state of want. [52]

Dobbs had other problems of a martial nature to report to the Board of Trade as well. The colony's public stores contained "not one pound of gunpowder or shot, nor any arms." Able to locate only "twelve barrels of gunpowder in the Province, in Traders hands," he pleaded for more powder, "since ... we have no credit and must pay double price." Ft. Johnston, for which Dobbs requested ordnance before he sailed from England, was "very small," still unfinished and unmanned. [53]

He also planned for a fort on the frontier to protect the "back settlements," and requested from England a company of one hundred men to prevent "illicit trade." He found only £2,000 pounds remained of the assembly's appropriation of earlier that year, "so that I can't act till the Assembly meets and empowers me, nor give any support to Governor Sharpe" against the French. Though he vowed to resist any "French Incroachments and their villainous schemes," Dobbs was forced to conclude "I can do no more at present." [54]

The new Assembly convened at New Bern on December 12th, 1754. The first legislature to embody all of the province's counties since June, 1746, it was in a harmonious mood, prepared to cooperate with the new royal executive. Gone for the time being were the past struggles between and among factions and governors over representation, fixing a permanent seat of government, defining a quorum and establishing provincial courts, issued which had plagued the colony's politics for years. [55]

Dobbs anticipated a congenial assembly, despite "some little sparring between the parties," and hoped that the House would quickly pass a reasonable aid bill for the Spring military campaign in Virginia. He recognized the daunting difficulties of his task. "There is no cash in the Country," Dobbs advised the Board of Trade, "and the present paper currency [is] not passable in Virginia." [56] Nevertheless, he persistently urged the Assembly to "assist the Colony of Virginia whose country is invaded and his Majesties troops slaughtered."

With his characteristic rhetorical flourish, Dobbs warned the lower house that "the fire which has caught your neighbours house has lately spread into your own," by which he referred to the recent Indian attacks on the Carolina frontier. He also suggested enactment of a gunpowder duty on all ships entering their waters, in order to replenish the province's dwindling supplies. [57]

"Let us his Majesty's faithful subjects of the Colony of No Carolina," the new governor verbosely proclaimed, "shew that we are true sons of Britain...and grant an immediate supply to assist in the General defence of the Colonies." Dobbs address at his first session was warmly received by the House, and copies of it were printed and distributed throughout the colony. [58]

Within a few days, the governor again called for "a reasonable and immediate supply and entering into a plan of union with all the British colonies for our mutual future defense." [59] Dobbs referred here to the 1754 Albany Plan of Union, a defensive concord which called for a centralized government for all the colonies, to be supervised by a president appointed by the Crown. Despite his urging for the adoption of this grand confederation, however, the Assembly had no enthusiasm for it. The House ordered the plan to be printed and distributed among its members, but postponed consideration of it and then abandoned it altogether. [60]

The new legislature quickly turned to military affairs. In a reply to Dobbs' opening address, the delegates proclaimed their intention of "granting such further aid to the Colony of Virginia as a Country already exhausted ... can possibly spare." Several days later, they proposed "a bill Granting Aid to his Majesty for the defence of the frontiers of this Province," noting that in their previous session in March they had granted more aid than any of the other American colonies, "although they were ... far more opulent and more exposed than us." [61]

In an address to the King forwarded by Dobbs, the House proclaimed their loyalty to the crown and their intentions of supporting the 1755 campaign, "notwithstanding our Poverty and Indigences." [62] £8,000 was approved by the legislators, to assist the neighboring colonies against the French on the Ohio, and to guard their own frontier. [63]

The Assembly resolved to pay for this grant with additional paper currency, "to be sunk by a poll tax." [64]

The bill called for raising only one hundred men for service in Virginia, and fifty to defend the frontier, a significant reduction in the number of soldiers from the seven hundred fifty men authorized in the spring, perhaps due to the ill-starred experience of Inns' regiment in Virginia. Included in the bill was a provision that allowed for the drafting of vagrants in the colony between the ages of twenty-one and fifty, perhaps indicative of most North Carolinians' general disinclination to serve. [65]

Prior to enacting the aid bill, the Council sought to have the lower house amend it by inserting a provision to enable the governor to disburse funds as he saw fit. Initially, the House adamantly refused to allow any encroachment on its traditional fiscal prerogative, as it "tends to Infringe the Right and Liberties of the Assembly," though it eventually compromised on one minor amendment. The Council withdrew their other amendments, apparently without generating any acrimony from the assemblymen. [66]

Additional defensive provisions passed the Assembly. Along with the measure to raise troops and money for the next year's campaign, an act was passed to continue a tonnage duty on shipping "for the Procuring of Powder and Shot" for the coastal fortifications. [67]

Finally, the house called for £2,800 of paper currency out of the £18,000 voted in March (to be issued once the approved by royal authority) to be printed for use in subsisting the colony's forces intended for the Ohio expedition. [68]

Dobbs assented to these acts on January 14, 1755, and received the authority of the Assembly to dispose of a £1,000 "Surplusage," which remained from the money granted the year before for the support Col. Inns' regiment, "as his Excellency shall at any time think most proper." [69]

Just before adjourning, the lower house resolved to urge Dobbs to procure a storehouse and caretaker "for the safekeeping" of the one thousand stand of arms received from the King in December. The business of the Assembly completed on January 15, Dobbs prorogued them until the following September. [70]

Despite the limited number of additional soldiers raised and the increase in paper currency, Dobbs' initial experience with the Assembly was a cooperative and successful one. His arrival "helped to instill a new spirit of provincial harmony," as he strove to avoid sectional favoritism and sought "a new climate of tranquility." [71]

Although he had hoped for a force of two hundred men, he was generally satisfied with the provisions of the aid bill, especially considering "the ill state of Revenue here, and the great Debt" and "the late divided state of this Province." [72]

Dobbs wrote of "keeping the [legislators] in good humour to promote their union, which I thank God has produced a surprising good Effect," and was optimistic about restoring the colony's poor credit and remedying the depreciated value of its currency. [73]

While North Carolina raised money, men and provisions for its frontier defense and a renewed attack on Fort Duquesne, Britain too recognized the gravity of the crisis in America, and began implementing a new campaign for 1755, despite the fact that they were still officially on peaceful terms with France. In addition to sending £10,000 in coin to the colonies and an equal amount in credit for their defense, London appointed Maryland's Governor Sharpe as commander of British forces opposing the French on the Ohio. [74]

The Newcastle ministry in London appointed Major General Edward Braddock to command all operations and troops in America while the colonies, London decided, would be called upon to furnish men, supplies, wagons and quarters as needed by the British forces sent there to fight the French. Braddock received orders to transport two British regiments with him to Virginia for service he would personally direct against Ft. Duquesne, while other forces moved to dislodge the French from their positions at Niagara, Crown Point, and Nova Scotia. By late November, 1754, Parliament voted one million pounds to strengthen its military forces, and an additional £50,000 for Braddock's regiments. As historian Lawrence Henry Gipson wrote, by the beginning of 1755, the war in the colonies had become "Britain's Great War for Empire. [75]