Henry Berry Lowry

Few names in North Carolina history rouse more controversy than that of Henry Berry Lowry. Lowry, An outlaw and Robin Hood-like bandit, known to some as a local hero and to others as a criminal was born near present-day Pembroke. Henry Berry Lowry was of Native American and Scottish ancestry and one of fourteen children of Allen and Mary Cumbo Lowry. He was the youngest of their ten sons. In 1860 Lumbee Indians were considered free people of color. During the Civil War, the Confederacy attempted to impress all non-whites of military age into performing labor for the army in order to keep their status as "free persons of color." Without the right to bear arms, the army made the Lumbee candidates work on Fort Fisher or in the salt mines. Young Indians, like Lowry and his brothers, took to "lying-out" in the swamps to escape forced labor, and began to raid the homes of white Robesonians, taking guns, clothing, and supplies. In 1864, Lowry killed two men. One accused him of stealing hogs and the other, a conscription officer, insulted and mistreated the  women in Lowry’s community.  The Home Guard could not find Lowry, but they “tried, convicted, and executed” his brother and father for the crime. During the height of the “Lowrie War,” Henry often appeared in public, and occasionally shared the spoils of his raids. His Robin Hood-like behavior made him popular among the poor. Governor W. W. Holden declared Lowrie an outlaw in November 1868. The General Assembly placed a $10,000 bounty on him in 1871. Lowry’s activities have become legend. He was captured three times and found a way to escape each time, once filing through jail bars. Legend says he single-handedly routed 18 militiamen in one gunfight near the Lumber River. In February 1872, shortly after a raid in which he robbed the local sheriff's safe of more than $28,000, Henry Berry Lowry once again disappeared. His death is disputed. Some believe he died during or shortly after the heist, but others reported seeing him a few years later sitting quietly at a funeral. In the 1930s, some claimed that he was still alive. Colonel Wishart called the reports of his death "ALL A HOAX." The $10,000 reward for his life was never collected. It is claimed he accidentally shot himself while cleaning his double-barrel shotgun.