The Battle of Hayes Pond

By Robbie Perdue

The Battle of Hayes Pond, also known as the Battle of Maxton Field, was a significant event that took place on the night of January 18, 1958, in Robeson County, North Carolina. This confrontation involved members of the Lumbee tribe and the Ku Klux Klan.

The incident began when James “Catfish” Cole, the Grand Dragon of the KKK in South Carolina, organized a rally near the town of Maxton with the intention of intimidating the Lumbee and other local communities of color. The Klan was protesting the integration of schools and the increased rights of African Americans and Native Americans.

However, the Lumbee tribe, led by Simeon Oxendine, a World War II veteran, and other Lumbee men, decided to take a stand against the Klan’s presence. They armed themselves and disrupted the rally. When the Lumbee tribe members arrived at the scene, they fired shots into the air and overpowered the Klansmen, who were not expecting such resistance. The Klansmen fled into the woods, leaving behind their banner, which the Lumbee took as a trophy.

The event was a significant victory for the Lumbee tribe and is celebrated for its demonstration of the community’s courage and unity in the face of hatred and bigotry. The Battle of Hayes Pond is remembered as a moment when the Lumbee tribe stood up against the Klan and effectively drove them out of their territory. It was a peaceful confrontation in the sense that no one was killed or seriously injured, but it was a powerful assertion of the Lumbee tribe’s rights and dignity.

The event received national attention, with photographs of the triumphant Lumbee holding the captured KKK banner being published in newspapers and magazines across the country. It remains a point of pride for the Lumbee people and an example of successful grassroots resistance to racial intimidation.