PEMBROKE — What happens when you put several historians, a folklorist and a very colorful former newspaper editor together and turn them loose on one of the region’s most famous and mysterious figures?

An audience of 110 people recently found out at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The college held a forum on American Indian hero Henry Berry Lowrie to coincided with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Lowrie War.

The event was the first installment of the Native American Speakers Series, which is sponsored by PNC Bank and coordinated by the university’s Department of American Indian Studies and the Southeast American Indian Studies program.

The Lowrie War began as Gen. William Sherman’s men marched through Robeson County in 1865. The Home Guard, which was responsible for keeping the peace and rounding up deserters, executed Henry Berry Lowrie’s father, Allen, and brother, William.

Lowrie swore revenge, and before disappearing in 1872, he and his band of “Swamp Outlaws” killed an estimated 15 men, including prominent citizens, the sheriff and one of the meanest men in the history of the county.

The Lowrie Gang robbed plantations and broke out of jail with impunity. From a canoe on the Lumber River, Lowrie single-handedly shot his way out of an ambush by a large posse.

On the panel was Malinda Maynor-Lowery, a historian from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Jamie Martinez, a UNCP historian; Kenneth Clark, an Indian Education cultural enrichment specialist; Jefferson Currie II, a folklorist with the North Carolina Folklife Institute; and Bruce Barton, author and former editor of the Carolina Indian Voice.

Lawrence Locklear, program coordinator for Southeast American Indian Studies, served as moderator.

First, the panel took up the historical context of the Lowrie War.

BARTON: “For Indians, the years 1864-65 were about staying away from Fort Fisher. Sherman arrived five days after the Home Guard murdered Allen and William Lowery. Sherman raised hopes to little effect. It was during Reconstruction that things heated up. This is the time in history I would have liked to be alive.”

MARTINEZ: “The battle with the Home Guard started early during the Civil War. The Home Guard was a police force, and one of their jobs was to force local men to render service to the Confederates who were building Fort Fisher. Free black men and American Indians were the most vulnerable.”

CLARK: “Building Fort Fisher was key to the whole situation.”

CURRIE: “As the war dragged on, people were in survival mode. Food was short, and life was tumultuous everywhere.”

MAYNOR-LOWERY: “James Brantley Harris’ feud with the Lowry family was a starting point. Harris killed three of Henry Berry’s cousins in late 1864. There were also rumors of his abuses of Indian women. Harris targeted the Lowry family.”

Notable men who Henry Berry Lowrie killed included Robeson County Sheriff Rueben King and Col. Owen Norment, a prominent citizen and the husband of Mary Norment, who wrote the first history of the Lowrie War. The ever-changing roster of the Lowrie Gang, at its core, consisted of Lowrie’s brothers and cousins. White man and African American gang members gave the group its unique tri-racial makeup.

History has been good to Lowrie’s reputation, and his legacy remains one of the important stories of the Lumbee people.

“Henry Berry was a dashing figure,” Maynor-Lowery said. “Mary Norment believed the Indian community were vermin.”

“He never accosted a white woman or burned a building,” Barton said. “Is that offensive? I think Mary Norment was a little sweet on him.”

The mystery surrounding Lowrie was a central theme of the forum. The historical records don’t even provide a clear spelling of his name. The only photograph of him, may not be authentic.

But what happened to Lowrie is the most famous mystery. On Feb. 18, 1872, the gang robbed the Pope and McLeod Store making off with a safe that allegedly contained $27,000. Then the gang stole the sheriff’s safe and another $5,000. The next day, Lowrie disappeared without a trace.

“Many people familiar with the story say that after the robbery, the gang went to Lowrie’s brother Tom’s house behind Evergreen Church to celebrate,” Clark said. “The story goes that there was a gunshot, and Lowrie was killed.”

This story has Lowrie buried on a sandbar in the river behind Harpers Ferry Church within view of his wife’s grave, Clark said. Barton offered a story of Lowrie escaping to Tennessee, meeting relatives in Mississippi and living to a ripe old age in New Mexico.

The war ended two years after Lowrie’s disappearance. It is a great American story of resistance to injustice. “The ones I killed deserved it,” Lowrie said.

Clark described Lowrie as a man of the times.

“He did what he had to do; he fought back,” Clark said. “He fought injustice.”

The forum touched on many other issues. Panelists agreed that the university’s roots can be traced back to the origins of the Lowrie War.

During an inquest into the murders of Lowrie’s cousins, George Lowrie — brother to Allen Lowrie and father of the three murdered Lowries — gave a dramatic and moving speech about how the Indians of the county had always been friends with whites.

Lowry’s speech sparked the curiosity of Hamilton McMillan, who developed an interest in the history of the county’s American Indian people. When elected to the General Assembly in 1885, McMillan introduced legislation that provided the American Indians with state recognition and the established separate American Indian schools in Robeson County.

Two years later, McMillan, at the request of local American Indians, introduced legislation to establish Croatan Normal School — known today as The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

As the panel illustrated, Lowrie is an enduring symbol of the Lumbee Tribe, which survived and thrived during challenging times, and of resistance to social and political injustice. His image projects freedom, persistence, justice and violence for a cause.

The Native American Speakers Series continues Tuesday with award-winning chef and Native Foods historian Lois Ellen Frank.

For information about the series, visit uncp.edu/ais, email [email protected], or call 910-521-6266.

Contributed photo | A panel of experts recently discussed Henry Berrie Lowrie at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Panelists included Jamie Martinez, left, Malinda Maynor-Lowery, Jeff Currie, Kenneth Clark and Bruce Barton
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_SAIS-HBL-Panel.jpgContributed photo | A panel of experts recently discussed Henry Berrie Lowrie at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Panelists included Jamie Martinez, left, Malinda Maynor-Lowery, Jeff Currie, Kenneth Clark and Bruce Barton

Contributed photo | Henry Berry Lowrie widely regarded as a folk hero by members of the Lumbee Tribe.
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_SAIS-Lowrie-HB.jpgContributed photo | Henry Berry Lowrie widely regarded as a folk hero by members of the Lumbee Tribe.
| College corrals experts for forum on Henry Berry Lowrie

By Scott Bigelow

This story was submitted by Scott Bigelow, public information officer for The University of North Carolina at Pembroke.