These determined spirits set out in the evening, while the father of the Whites was absent from home with two horses, each carrying a bag of grain.  The White boys were on foot, and wishing to move rapidly with their comrades, all mounted, in pursuit of the wagons loaded with the munitions of war, fortunately, for their feet, met their father returning home with his burdens, and immediately demanded the use of his horses.  The old gentleman, not knowing who they were (as black as Satan himself) pleaded heartily for the horses until he could carry home his bags of meal; but his petitions were in vain.  The boys (his sons) ordered him to dismount, removed the bags from the horses, and placed them by the side of the road.  They then immediately mounted the disburdened horses, joined their comrades, and in a short space of time came up with the wagons encamped on “Phifer’s Hill,” three miles west of the present town of Concord, on the road leading from Charlotte to Salisbury.  They immediately unloaded the wagons, stove in the heads of the kegs, threw the powder into a pile, tore the blankets into strips, made a train of powder a considerable distance from the pile, and then Major James White fired a pistol into the train, which produced a tremendous explosion.  A stave from the pile struck White on the forehead, and cut him severely.  As soon as this bold exploit became known to Colonel Moses Alexander, he put his whole ingenuity to work to find out the perpetrators of so foul a deed against his Majesty.  The transaction remained a mystery for some time.  Great threats were made, and, in order to induce some one to turn traitor, a pardon was offered to any one who would turn King’s evidence against the rest.  Ashmore and Hadley, being half brothers, and composed of the same rotten materials, set out unknown to each other, to avail themselves of the offered pardon, and accidently met each other on the threshold of Moses Alexander’s house.  When they made known their business, Alexander remarked, “that, by virtue of the Governor’s proclamation, they were pardoned, but they were the first that ought to be hanged.”  The rest of the “Black Boys” had to flee from their country.  They fled to the State of Georgia, where they remained for some time.

The Governor, finding he could not get them into his grasp, held out insinuations that if they would return and confess their fault, they should be pardoned.  In a short time, the boys returned from Georgia to their homes.  As soon as it became known to Moses Alexander, he raised a guard, consisting of himself, his two brothers, John and Jake, and a few others, and surrounded the house of the old man White, the father of the boys.  Caruthers, the son-in-law of White, happened to be at his (White’s) house at the same time.  To make the capture doubly sure, Alexander placed a guard at each door.  One of the guard, wishing to favor the escape of Caruthers, struck up a quarrel with Moses Alexander at one door, while his brother, Daniel Alexander, whispered to Mrs. White, if there were any of them within, they might pass out and he would not notice it; in the meantime, out goes Caruthers, and in a few jumps was in the river, which opportunely flowed near the besieged mansion.  The alarm was immediately given, but pursuit was fruitless.