Ethan did not know what to do, except to remain near the courthouse and find companionship among the relatives of the other Regulators who had been sentenced. Late that afternoon, one of the bailiffs came to him, handed him a key, and said, “Your brother said to give you this.”

The shoemaker’s shop had not been disturbed, nor had the living quarters upstairs. Ethan found some cornmeal and salt pork and cooked his first meal of the day; then, after removing his shoes, he lay down on Henry’s cot. He dozed fitfully during the night, rose long before dawn, saddled his horse, and rode to the town square, where about a hundred people were already assembled. He tied his mount to a small tree near the square and walked to within ten yards of the gallows, between it and the jailhouse. Four large flambeaus were stuck in the ground and revealed by their flickering light that workmen were completing a modification that would now accommodate three victims at a time. As daylight came, a half hour before sunrise, so did the people. Ethan recognized many of the Regulators who had been at the Alamance assembly on Saturday, plus several hundred others. He sensed that most were like him: restless, angry, sullen, perplexed as to what could be done to prevent the execution.

He soon heard the sound of a drum and the barked orders of command, and a company of militia marched to the gallows, halted, and formed a ring around it facing outward. All had muskets, some with bayonets fixed. A captain mounted the gallows platform and shouted, “No firearms will be permitted in the square. Anyone who has a rifle or pistol must deliver them to the courthouse for safekeeping.”

The crowd had become quiet, and attention was focused on men whose weapons were visible. Within a minute, most of them walked toward the courthouse, but a few others stood where they were, looking defiant. Small groups of soldiers moved among the spectators, surrounding those who still retained their guns, and forced them either to leave the square or turn in their weapons. By this time, the sky had brightened in the east, and the crowd looked toward the jail, where the sheriff, his deputies, and a platoon of soldiers stood near the door. Soon three of the prisoners emerged, their legs manacled and their hands bound in back.