The Narrative of Colonel David Fanning: A Tory in the Revolutionary War with Great Britain, Giving an Account of His Adventures in North Carolina

David Fanning

• Publisher: Bonhopai Books
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781779791481
• Edition: 0
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: British History
• Index: History

Colonel David Fanning's autobiographical narrative offers one of the most vivid and controversial accounts of the American Revolutionary War from the Loyalist perspective. Fanning, a fierce and fearless Tory leader in the Southern theater of the war, orchestrated numerous raids, battles, and prisoner rescues throughout North and South Carolina. His guerrilla tactics and lightning-fast attacks struck fear into Patriot forces and made him a legend—and a villain—in the eyes of many contemporaries. Written in a direct, unsparing style, Fanning recounts not only his battlefield exploits but also the betrayals, hardships, and disillusionment that plagued Loyalists during the conflict. He reflects on the social divisions within colonial society, the brutal reality of civil war, and his eventual exile after the British defeat. The narrative is more than a military memoir; it's a raw, partisan testament to a side of the Revolution often overlooked in popular history. Whether seen as a patriot to the Crown or a ruthless renegade, Fanning's life illuminates the complexities of loyalty, identity, and retribution in a fractured America. For scholars of Revolutionary War history, Loyalist studies, and Southern conflict, this account is an indispensable source.

Table of contents

• Title page
• TABLE OF CONTENTS
• PREFACE.
• INTRODUCTION—BY JOHN H. WHELER.
• TO THE READER.
• A JOURNAL OF COL. DAVID FANNING’S TRANSACTIONS, DURING THE LATE WAR, IN AMERICA; FROM THE YEAR 1775, COMMENCING 1ST OF MAY; UNTIL THE PEACE.