rally, but fewer than 100 and possibly as few as three dozen attended. Approximately 500 Lumbee, armed with guns and sticks, gathered in a nearby swamp, and when they realized they possessed an overwhelming numerical advantage, attacked the Klansmen. The Lumbee encircled the Klansmen, opening fire and wounding four Klansmen in the first volley, none seriously. The remaining Klansmen panicked and fled. Cole was found in the swamps, arrested and tried for inciting a riot. The Lumbee celebrated the victory by burning Klan regalia and dancing around the open flames. The Battle of Hayes Pond, which marked the end of Klan activity in Robeson County, is celebrated as a Lumbee holiday. Early efforts to gain federal recognition The people achieved state recognition as "Croatan Indians" in 1885. They first petitioned the federal government for recognition in 1888, but were rejected due to the Bureau of Indian Affairs' lack of funding. In 1911, at the request of the tribe, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation changing their name to "Indians of Robeson County." In 1913, over the objections of the existing federally recognized Cherokee Nation tribes in Oklahoma, the North Carolina legislators, based on a petition lobbied for and created by the Croatans, added "Cherokee" to the name of the Robeson County tribe. The tribe petitioned for federal recognition as "Cherokee" Indians, but it was denied. From 1913 to 1932, North Carolina legislators introduced bills in Congress as petitioned for by the Croatan faction to change the name of the people to Cherokee and gain federal recognition, but did not succeed. In the early 20th century, North Carolina requested federal assistance to collect information related to the status of Indians in the state. The Southeast tribes had been subject to Indian removal in the 1830s, and were assigned to reservations in Oklahoma. Those Indians remaining in the state were considered state and federal citizens; there were no Indian reservations in the state. The legislature was chiefly reviewing issues related to the state's treatment of the Cherokee descendants who lived in the state. In 1915, the report of Special Indian Agent O.M. McPherson of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was sent to the North Carolina legislature. He primarily reported on the Cherokee in the state. He noted that the Indians of Robeson County had developed an extensive system of schools and a political organization. He thought that, as state-recognized Indians, they