State of Indiana Franklin County On this 29th day of October A.D. 1850 personally appeared before Giles Grant one of the associate Judges of the Franklin Circuit Court in said State being a Court of Record, William Stewart Senior who is unable to appear in open Court by reason of bodily infirmity a resident of Metamora Township in said County and State aged ninety-five years the 15th day of November A.D. 1850 who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832. That he was living in Greenbrier County Virginia in the year 1773 and in that year in August he volunteered for six months and under Captain John Fagin in the service of the United States to guard the block house at Holstein [Holston River] and the citizens moving to and returning from Kentucky – he remained at a Blockhouse three months – we at the Blockhouse would guard the person out to the Cumberland Gap and the guard then would take them on and we would return with them coming out to the Blockhouse – this was necessary to protect them from the Indians. Captain Johnson was at the Cumberland In service there – when the time of service was out – some months after in the year 1774 and order came to raise a number of men were ordered out to go to the mouth of the Kenana [Kanawha?] river – in August 1774 I volunteered under Captain William Arbuckle for six months to serve in the expedition – Governor Dunmore was to raise men in Pennsylvania and meet us at the mouth of Kenana – there was 800 men raised in our neighborhood – I still lived in Greenbrier County Virginia and we marched under Captain Arbuckle – Colonel Charles Lewis and Andrew Lewis was the General – when we arrived at the mouth of Kenana sometime in 1774 we immediately built a Fort at the mouth – Governor Dunmore stopped his men at Fort Pitt and did not meet us – and our 800 men were all that were at the Fort built by us – and our General sent back with 300 more men – while we lay at this Fort we had a battle with the Shawnee Indians on the 10th day of October 1774 – Early in the morning we heard that the Indians were in the neighborhood. They had crossed the Ohio [River] to the Virginia side, in quite large numbers – Captain Arbuckle of 100 men was ordered out early in the morning to make them and I was one of the 100 – we had gone up the River about half a mile and met the Indians – we being too small a co [company] to meet them fell back about a quarter [mile?] towards the Fort – where 300 more men came out to our relief and we then fought and whipped the Indians who again crossed back over the Ohio – General Lewis remained in the Fort with about 400 men. In this battle Colonel Lewis and Colonel Fleming were both killed and we lost in killed and wounded about 140 men – we found about 11 Indians left on the field the rest were carried away or thrown in the river. A very short time after this the 300 new men ordered out arrived at the Fort & the men wanted to cross the River and follow the Indians but General Lewis would not allow it. I remained in service in this expedition six months and returned home – and remained in Greenbrier County = After this [indecipherable interlineations] Major Thomas Quirk came into Montgomery County Virginia as a recruiting officer and I enlisted under him in the service of the United States for three years if not sooner discharged and received $10 bounty in Continental money – my Captain was Francis Marion – Morgan was the General – Isaac Shelby was the Colonel – our business was to subdue the Tories and keep the country quiet – during this three years I belonged to the company & was on horseback mostly. I served under these officers the full three years and was discharged at Richmond Virginia some time before the war closed. I cannot tell the exact time or precise year when I enlisted or left the service. I was during this service in several battles viz. – Kings Mountain – Cowpens – Eutaw Springs – Liberty Hills – &c at Kings Mountain General Ferguson commanded the Tories & some British troops and camped on Kings Mountain – the battle took place on the mountain about sun up = We had spies out the night before and saw by the lights and fires that the enemy was on top – we were on the North side of the mountain and followed them and met them next morning – Colonel Shelby – Captain Marion – General Morgan – Colonel Williams – Captain Ward – in this engagement we lost Colonel Williams & Captain Ward were killed & about 26 or 28 or more militia – General Ferguson was also killed on the other side and then the enemy surrendered or gave up – none of General Morgan's men were killed in this battle – but the loss was with the militia. At the battle of the Cowpens Colonel Tarlton [Banastre Tarleton] was the British commander – and General Morgan – Captain Marion – Shelby &c were in this engagement. Major Quirk was in our Regiment this battle commenced in the morning and we whipped the British – we had 3 or 4 men wounded in this engagement, but none killed. At the Eutaw Springs in North Carolina we had a skirmish with the Tories and routed them – we hung some Tories here – and a spring branch was between us in the engagement – the battle at Liberty Hill in Georgia was on the road from Augusta to South Carolina – we came up with the Tories on top of the hill – and fought & drove them off. At this engagement Marion with his men about 50 were all that was engaged. After this the place was called Liberty Hills. During my three years service we marched through Georgia – South & North Carolina – Virginia –Jerseys Pennsylvania and into New York. I received a written discharge at Richmond Virginia from Colonel Shelby, but it has been lost.
1. I was born in the State of Maryland at Bell's Iron Works November 15, 1755 and we remained until I was 11 or 12 years – when my father moved over into Rockingham County Virginia – and lived until I was about 16 when I moved into Greenbrier County Virginia.
2. I have no record of my age – I had it in a Bible – and when my son Thomas went to Tennessee in 1810 he took it with him – he has been dead a good while I have never heard of it since.
3rd. I was living in Greenbrier County Virginia when called into service. When I left Greenbrier County I went to Flat Broad now Tennessee – and lived at the same place 30 years and since then I have lived in Indiana.
4th. I volunteered the two first engagements and enlisted the last time.
5. I have above given the names of the officers and the places of my service.
6. I did receive a discharge from service from Colonel Shelby at Richmond Virginia which has been long since lost.
7. I am acquainted with David Alley, Robert Stroops, Wm Stoops, George Kimble & Wm Grant who live in my present neighborhood who can testify to my character &c. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present, and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid before me. S/ Giles Grant, A. J. F C. C.
S/ William Stewart, X his mark [David Alley, a clergyman, and George W Kimble gave the standard supporting affidavit.]
[fn p. 10: a letter dated February 7, 1851 from the pension office to the attorney for the veteran reads in relevant part as follows: "The declaration of William Stewart, under the Act of June 7th, 1832, has been examined and filed. Claims made at this late day under an act passed so long since are necessarily viewed with distrust, and can be admitted only when sustained by the strongest evidence. In the present case not only is there no evidence to corroborate his statements themselves, [but his statements] are disproved by history. His accounts of the battles he was engaged in differ materially from the received ones, and it is certain that no Captain named Marion was ever in Colonel Morgan's Regiment."]
