The name, "Betsy Dowdy", was selected for the NSDAR chapter organized in Elizabeth City on April 17, 1937 to commemorate the patriotic deed of a young North Carolina girl.  The picture of the Albemarle Sound to the left shows the surrounding geography and Pasquotank River, home of  the chapter.

The Legend of Betsy Dowdy

"In the winter of 1775, Virginia’s royal governor, Lord Dunmore, was preparing an attack on the Albemarle Sound region in North Carolina. He wanted to seize the many fine horses in the area for his own soldiers. The only Revolutionary soldiers in the area strong enough to stop the assault were commanded by General William Skinner in Perquimans County. When sixteen-year-old Betsy Dowdy heard of Lord Dunmore’s plans, she rode her pony, Black Bess through the cold December night to General Skinner’s headquarters with the information. Skinner immediately sent his troops to meet Lord Dunmore’s army. The story of the fifty-one-mile ride of Betsy Dowdy and how she saved the horses is an endearing legend among North Carolina storytellers."

This article, Legendary Women, by Tom Belton first appeared in the Tar Heel Junior Historian Association magazine.

The DAR Insignia is the property of, and is copyrighted by, the National Society of the Daughters of the American  Revolution.  Web hyperlinks to non-DAR sites are not the responsibility of the NSDAR, the state organizations, or individual DAR Chapters. webmaster and chapter member: converse1@roadrunner.com website updated:  May, 2011