"Shots Rang Out"

"Shots Rang Out". Irregular Warfare Devastated Moyock. , By 1863, Moyock and the surrounding area were under Union control, but vicious guerrilla attacks continued unabated. Peaceable local farmers and merchants who wished to sell their goods in Norfolk, Va., suffered as a result. Union Gen. Henry M. Naglee tried to eliminate guerrilla activity and contraband smuggling. In July and August 1863, he issued orders to permit county residents to travel to and from Norfolk with passes from the Federal provost marshal. In return, he demanded that they do all they could to stop the smuggling and the partisan attacks., On August 10, thirteen Currituck County residents, including several from Moyock, responded to Naglee's decree. They agreed with the general's goals but declared that "the citizens are not responsible for it, and can exercise no control whatever over those who are thus engaged." They concluded by affirming that "this candid statement of facts; hoping and believing that with a knowledge of them you will no longer hold us responsible for what we cannot possibly control.", While peaceful trade with Norfolk continued, partisan warfare and smuggling continued despite the efforts to the civilians and Union army. On August 13, 1864, county resident Alice Stephen wrote that "Robert Poyner [of Moyock] … was accosted in his front yard by two Yankee soldiers … two shots rang out and the Army officers fell dead. … They (men from the camp) set the village of Moyock on fire. They (the people) asked them to please not burn their cattle or their chickens or their pigs, but they burned everything.", [Caption:] , Shingle Landing. During the colonial era, Moyock was named Shingle Landing because roofing shingles made from massive cypress trees of the Dismal Swamp were shipped from there. The name Moyock became the official post office designation in 1857. – Courtesy Marion Welch Thorn