Captain Andrew Carson was a younger son-in-law of Mr. Young, having married after the family removed to North Carolina.  He and his brother, Lindsay Carson, both joined the service in the southern army.  And let it be recorded, in passing, that Lindsay Carson was the father of Christopher Houston Carson, now widely known as “Kit Carson,” the great Indian scout, and that “Kit” was born on Hunting Creek, within half a mile of the residence of Mr. Thomas Young.

Andrew Carson, like his nephew, “Kit,” was of an adventurous disposition, and was the bearer of dispatches from the commanding officers in the up-country to those in South Carolina.  This duty made him acquainted with the command of General Francis Marion, which suited his taste, and he connected himself with it.  He was with the “Swamp Fox,” so greatly dreaded by the British and the Tories, in many of his stealthy marches and daring surprises, the recital of which would send the blood careering through the veins of his juvenile listeners, half a century ago.  The memory of them now awakens a dim recollection of the thrill and absorbing interest then experienced.

Captain Carson was connected with the command of Baron DeKalb, at the battle of Camden, and was by the side of that noble officer when he was shot down while crossing a branch, and bore him out in his own arms.  Captain Carson also sleeps in the same family cemetery with Major Gill.

With a family thus engaged in the defence of their country, it will be readily understood that their parental home was no ordinary rendezvous for sympathisers in its vicinity.  When Mr. Young settled in an almost unbroken forest on the banks of Hunting Creek, he located and constructed his improvements with the view of defence in cases of emergency.  He built two substantial log houses, about forty feet apart, fronting each other, and closed the end openings with strong stockades.  Port holes were provided to be used for observation, or otherwise, as occasion might demand.  The buildings are yet standing, in a good state of preservation.  This was headquarters for the Whigs for many miles around.  It was the point for receiving and distributing information, as well as for concerting measures for the aid of the cause of freedom, and for depositing supplies for friends in the field.  The Brushy Mountains were but a few miles distant, and were infested with Tories, who made predatory incursions into this part of Iredell, carrying off stock, devastating farms, and ambuscading and shooting Whigs, who were especially obnoxious to them.

Mr. Young’s fortifications presented a rallying point for defence against such invasions, as Fort Dobbs did four miles north of Statesville.