MOCCASIN WAR

Inscription

MOCCASIN WAR
MOONSHINERS FROM GEORGIA
LAID SIEGE TO HIGHLANDS NEAR
HERE IN 1885 TO FREE ARRESTED
MEN. WAR ENDED PEACEFULLY
WITH A THREAT AND A PRAYER.
NORTH CAROLINA FOLKLIFE INSTITUTE
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2019

In 1885 a revenuer arrested 2 bootleggers from Moccasin, Georgia. He confined them in a Highlands hotel to await trial. An army of 18 Moccasin volunteers declared war and laid siege on Highlands. During the battle a Moccasin youth was killed. The Georgians returned home but shut off the only road to Highlands, threatening to kill anyone who tested the blockade. When a Confederate veteran volunteered to make the run, he faced 4 Georgian brothers marching toward him with Winchester rifles. The veteran wasn’t religious, but as tensions rose, he offered 3 prayers to save his soul. To this day it remains a mystery that the two adversaries passed by each other, ending the war. The veteran never knew what saved him: the prayers or the threat.