With the beginning of 1775 war began in earnest, and first in the northern Colonies. Great Britain declared certain American ports closed. All the Colonies resented this. In many harbors no British ships were allowed to enter; in others they were permitted to come in and take a load of American products back to England, but were obliged to throw the cargoes from England overboard, and under no pretext were allowed to land them, ー for instance in March an English ship reached Charlestown, and its cargo of salt, potatoes and brick was thrown into the water, not by a mob but by the sailors, to make room for the return load of rice. This wanton waste of salt cost the colonists dearly enough, for during the war many were for a long time without salt, and had to substitute hickory ash, which made them first hoarse and then speechless; others paid twelve to fifteen times as much for salt as before the war, and then had to be content with a very bad quality. The situation was somewhat helped by the salt works which were built on the seacoast in all the Colonies, those in North Carolina being not inconsiderable.

In Feb. 1775, our stores² secured its last regular shipment of wares from Charlestown, though already then many things were scarce and increasing in price. At about the same time the Assembly called by Governor Josiah Martin met in New Bern,³ the last to be held under royal authority. They had not been in session long when they entirely broke with the Governor, refused obedience to him and to the King, and resolved that for the rest of their session they would not be an Assembly under the Crown but a Convention to consider and provide for the best interests of North Carolina, in unison with the other Provinces.⁴ They remained together three more days, expelled a McNight from the Convention because he spoke in favor of the royal government, recommended that each County should form a Committee to act in place of the Justices and Courts, and appointed a time for their next meeting. Gov. Martin was no longer safe, and narrowly escaped arrest, but he rode openly through the country from Newbern to Wilmington and down the Cape Fear River to Fort Johnston, where several English war ships lay at anchor.⁵ He went on board one of them, and from there sent out several proclamations, condemning the Committees, Conventions, and leaders of the land, but they only laughed at him, and concerted together here and there for their further methods of procedure, becoming the more ardent when the news was received that in April the British had met the colonists in New England and blood had been shed.