Francis Locke was born in 1722 in Ireland. He was the son of John and Elizabeth Locke. When he was still young, the family emigrated to Lancaster, Pennsylvania Colony, where Locke grew up. After his father died in 1744, his mother married John Brandon, who eventually moved the family to Anson County, North Carolina Colony. That area of the county was later split off as Rowan County, North Carolina. Locke settled a plantation near Salisbury, in Rowan County, in 1753, on 640 acres of land he had purchased from his step-father. He and his brother, Matthew Locke, ran a regional transportation company with several wagons based out of the plantation. In the 1760s and early 1770s, Locke was an ordinary owner, as well as holding several Rowan county governmental positions, including coroner. He worked from 1764 to 1766 as Rowan County sheriff, succeeding Griffith Rutherford, during the War of the Regulation. Locke married Anna Locke. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters. Son, Francis Locke Jr., became a Congressman and superior court judge.
Colonel over the 2nd Battalion of Volunteers in the Halifax District Brigade of the North Carolina militia
Colonel over the Rowan County Regiment of North Carolina militia
Colonel over the 1st Rowan County Regiment of North Carolina militia
Ramseur's Mill
On June 18, 1780, Rutherford learned that a large force of Loyalists, or "Tories," was assembling at Ramseur's Mill. Rutherford began moving his troops in that direction, and on June 19, he sent orders to Lieutenant Colonel Locke and the other militia leaders in the region to call up their men. Locke quickly gathered a force of 400 cavalry and infantry at Mountain Creek about to the northeast of Lincolnton. Locke and his second-in-command, Captain John Dickey, decided to attack early the next morning—without waiting for Rutherford's forces to join up—counting on the element of surprise to be to their advantage. The threat of expected additional reinforcements to the Tory force also compelled them to this action. The battle, in which muskets were sometimes used as clubs because of a lack of ammunition, was fought between "neighbors, near relations, and friends". At first, the battle went Locke's way. When the battle turned against the Patriots, however, Locke ordered a retreat, but Dickey stubbornly refused to retreat from the superior force, and instead sought higher ground, and dug in. Following this, most of Locke's men returned to the battle, flanking the Tories. Dickey is credited with turning the tide of battle. The action delayed the Loyalists long enough for Rutherford's forward detachment to arrive and force the Loyalist surrender. The defeat so badly demoralized the mid-southern Loyalists that they could never organize again in that region.
