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Henry Berry Lowry is believed to have been born in 1845 in the community of Hopewell in Robeson County, North Carolina. He was one of twelve children of Allen and Mary (Cumbo) Lowry. The Lowry family lived on a 350-acre farm in Robeson County. Henry had been born with a complexion that made him appear to be either a mulatto or a member of the Lumbee or Tuscarora people. While it was known that he had relatives who were mulattoes, he never claimed it. He was accepted by the Lumbee and the Tuscarora as one of them. At the start of the Civil War, that state of North Carolina relied heavily on forced labor to build forts in the area. Under such a plan, some of Henry’s cousins, who were known to be free men of color and therefore not eligible for membership in the military, were forced to work on these projects at very low wages. Other non-whites hid out in the woods and swamps of Robeson County to avoid being forced to work on the projects. In December of 1864, neighbor James P. Barnes accused Allen Lowry of stealing hogs and sheltering Union soldiers. Upon hearing of this accusation against his father, Henry shot Barnes dead! At about this time, he organized a gang that included his brothers, Stephen and Thomas, two cousins, Calvin and Henderson Oxendine, two of his brothers in law, two unknown black men, one unknown white man and two others of unknown association. In January of 1865, an incident involving a conscription officer resulted in the death of the officer, James Brantley Harris, at the hands of Henry. Harris was accused of mistreating the Lowry women. In March of 1865, the Home Guard searched Allen Lowry’s home, finding firearms, which were forbidden to non-whites, such as the Lowry family. A kangaroo court was quickly held and Allen Lowry and his son, William, were found guilty of possessing the firearms and were executed! Henry watched this act from the bushes. With the deaths of his father and brother, Henry vowed revenge. He and his gang began a series of robberies and murders that seemed to have been politically motivated. It became known as the Lowry War. They shot the local sheriff and stole his safe. In addition, they stole a large collection of firearms from the Lumberton courthouse that were intended to have been issued to the local militia. They robbed from the elite, stole provisions from their smokehouses and storage bins. These items were frequently given to the poor non-whites of the area. The Civil War ended in 1865, but the Lowry War continued! On December 7, 1865, Henry Lowry married Rhoda Strong and was arrested at his own wedding. He filed the bars of his jail cell and escaped to return to his outlaw lifestyle. His gang continued its robbing and killing through the Reconstruction Era. In 1869, Republican governor, William Woods Holden offered a 12,000 reward for the capture of the gang. Upon learning of the offered reward, the gang became more active! In time, the gang became a strong opposing force of the conservative, white supremacists of the Democratic Party. They were well aware of the plight of the non-white residents of Robeson County. They killed many Democrats, robbed many and generally sabotaged the efforts of the political party when they found the chance. Law enforcement agencies were unable to stop them, due largely to the support of the non-white population of Robeson County. The governor requested help from the federal government, but that failed. The support of the gang from the non-whites in the area proved to be too great an obstacle for the law enforcement of all levels. It appeared that the Lowry Gang would never be caught! In 1872, after robbing a sheriff of the contents of his safe, $28,000, Henry simply disappeared from the scene and was never heard from again! In time, with the exception of two, all members of his gang were captured or killed. As with the deaths of all legends, rumors and theories abound of his fate. It was said that he was accidentally shot while cleaning a shotgun or rifle. Other stories claim that another gang member murdered him, while another claims he committed suicide. Yet another claims that he relocated to an area where he was not recognized and started a new life as a peaceful, respectable citizen. Today,
descendants of Henry Lowry still live in the area. Return to the North Carolina Page ©Copyright 2010 Wilson Jay | |||||||||||||||||||
