militia, was alerted of Burke's capture, and attempted to stop Fanning from continuing on to British-controlled Wilmington at the Battle of Lindley's Mill on September 13. In that engagement, Fanning's militia, along with a unit of Highlanders commanded by Hector McNeill and Archibald McDugald, attempted to cross the Cane Creek, a tributary of the Haw River, and were surprised by Butler's men. Although Fanning had superior numbers with him, the battle lasted nearly four hours before Butler was dislodged from his position. Fanning was able to continue on to Wilmington, although suffering a grievous wound at Lindley's Mill, and delivered Burke to the British Army. In January 1782, the larger course of the war had turned against the British, and Fanning found himself forced to request terms of surrender from his adversary, General Butler. In April 1782, he married Sarah Carr, and the two escaped to South Carolina. A legislative act in North Carolina in 1783 which granted pardons to former Loyalists specifically exempted Fanning from its terms, along with only two other men. Post-war political career and death After the recognition of American independence, Fanning moved to Florida and then the Bahamas before settling in the newly created British colony of New Brunswick. Fanning was elected to the 2nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly in 1791, although he was disliked by many of the more privileged former Loyalists of New Brunswick. Fanning represented Kings County, New Brunswick until 1801. In 1800, he was accused of the rape of 15-year-old Sarah London, and was found guilty and sentenced to death despite his protests that the evidence against him was flawed. Fanning was pardoned but exiled from New Brunswick, and expelled from the provincial assembly. Fanning settled in Digby, Nova Scotia where he owned several merchant ships, and later died in 1825. He left behind a daughter and two sons. Controversy In 1790, Fanning wrote The Narrative of Colonel David Fanning, which would first see print in 1861 in Richmond, Virginia, then the capital of the Confederate States of America. North Carolina historian Samuel A'Court Ashe wrote that Fanning was "one of the most extraordinary men evolved by the Revolutionary War", but Fanning's calculated and sometimes brutal methods during that conflict have left him with a controversial legacy. References 1755 births 1825 deaths Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick North Carolina politicians