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This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

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Express Riders

by William S. Powell, 2006

Express riders on horseback delivered oral messages, letters, or documents before postal service and other means of communication were available. The term "express messenger" was used in England as early as 1619. Col. John Barnwell on 30 Apr. 1712, during the Tuscarora Indian War in North Carolina, "sent express" to New Bern to have boats and tools brought to him for the campaign against the Indians. On 22 May 1760 the provincial Assembly was directed to "pay the Expences of the Messenger (whilst in Town) which is sent to His Excellency with Express from the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia to this Province and to South Carolina, out of the Tax for Contingencies."

Additional Resources:

Fort Barnwell, NC Highway Historical Marker C-32: https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/division-historical-resources/nc-highway-historical-marker-program/Markers.aspx?ct=ddl&sp=search&k=Markers&sv=C-32%20-%20FORT%20BARNWELL

Minutes of the Lower House of the North Carolina General Assembly North Carolina. General Assembly April 24, 1760 - May 23, 1760 Volume 06, Pages 362-420, DocSouth, UNC: https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr06-0120

Subjects:

Precolonial period (pre-1600)

Colonial period (1600-1763)

Transportation

Authors:

Powell, William S.

From:

Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.

1 January 2006 | Powell, William S.