Menu
- Home
- Search▼
- List▼
- Add▼
- My Relate▼
- Admin▼
ViewsWatchers |
[edit] Source
[Pages in this file have been badly scrabbled and are not in sequence.] [fn p. 15] [edit] Related
[edit] TranscriptState of Illinois, Shelby County
On this sixth day of March in the year 1837 personally appeared before the County Commissioners Court of said County, James Patterson, a resident of said County of Shelby in the State of Illinois aged Seventy eight years on the 5th of July last, 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 in the year 1775 or 1776, he thinks in the year 1775, but cannot recollect for a certainty, in the month of July , he resided in the State of North Carolina in the County of Redeford (or of Rutherford) and was at that time in the month [of] July aforesaid drafted in the militia of North Carolina for the term of three months—that the drafting took place at their place of muster about ten miles from the then county seat—that he, with his company, rendezvoused at Burke Court house three days after the draft—that his captain's name was James Wilson, Lieut. Hugh Montgomery, Ensign Thomas Clarke—that immediately after collecting at Burke Court house they set out for Ramsour's Mills [sic, Mill] in Lincoln County where the Tories had assembled under one Col. John Moore—that he and his company arrived at said Mill in a few minutes after the battle was over—he heard the guns as he approached the ground and joined in the pursuit of the Tories after their defeat as soon as he arrived and chased them some distance—a part of them having been driven in the mill pond and drowned—The chief officer commanding the American party was Col. Ruthefort (or Redeford) [sic, Griffith Rutherford] –among the Captains in the party were J. Williams, ___ Knighton and Capt. Falls, who was slain—Soon after the Battle of Ramsour's Mill they [were] then marched to Salem where they remained some time and the most of the time during the term and have [sic, half?] the remaining time he was employed to keep the Tories in awe and from rising and at the end of his tour, was discharged and returned home—he obtained a written discharge from his Captain which has since been destroyed by fire in his father's house which was burnt up soon after the war—That upon returning home he acted as a minute man—he then living in a frontier county and in the neighborhood of Tories, he was called upon frequently and was often out with parties against the Tories and Indians—that he acted in the capacity of a minute man from his last tour until some time in the year 1779—that during this time he was employed in many small skirmishes with the Indians and in frequent pursuit of them and the Tories and was continually on the look out to prevent them from doing mischief—that during this time he was a great deal of his time at and near a fort in Rutherford [spelled Ruteyford] County called Greasy Cove Fort, employed in defending the fort and scouting around it—that [there were] many skirmishes during this time; he was with Captain (of the fort) Batey in retaking Captain John Goin[sic, John Gowen] (a captain of a station or fort) and his party who had been captured by one William Bates [a/k/a "Bloody Bill Bates"] with a party of Indians. That in the year 1779 in the latter part of August or first of September (he cannot recollect the precise time), he volunteered under Captain Jesse Lytel (or Little) [sic, Lytle?] in Rutherford County at their muster place about ten miles from the then county seat. Col. Rutherford (whose first name was "William," he thinks [sic, Rutherford's first name was Griffith] was then Col.—Lieut. White[?]. Their object in volunteering was to join Genl. Lincoln in his attack upon Savannah. That he volunteered for three months— that he joined his company in Rutherford about the first of September aforesaid; thence marched towards Savannah passing by Ninety Six leaving it on the right and arrived at Savannah about three hundred miles from home about the first of October where the American and French force were assembled under Genl. Lincoln and Admiral D'Estaing [spelled "Destaign"] for the purpose of taking Savannah—on his arrival thence , he with a small detachment was sent about one mile and a half below the town upon the bank of the river as a guard to watch and keep the British from coming down the river and landing—that he remained below the town in this manner during the Siege—was not in the battle being below town aforesaid—when the siege was raised (which was in October), he retreated over the Savannah River and soon after returned home, his term of service of three months having expired—he thinks he was discharged on his route home, at a town on Broad River the then name of said town he cannot recollect, but thinks it is now called Columbia—he obtained a written discharge from his captain which has since been destroyed by fire with his then discharges & papers. That from this time until some time in September 1780 he was at home as a minute man and in scouting parties—that in the latter part of September 1780 he again volunteered for three months as a militia man under Captain Williams [sic, Col. James Williams], Lieut. Wood; [&] Ensign John Singleton—he volunteered in Rutherford County [NC] at their muster place—he with his company a few days after joined the regiment under Cols Campbell and Cleveland on King's Creek about twelve miles from King's Mountain—this was some time in October, he thinks in the first part of October— that immediately on joining the regiment they marched to King's Mountain against the British and Tories under Major Ferguson—and was in that battle where the British was defeated and Ferguson was killed. [H]is own captain was slain Williams was slain— being shot—he was near him at the time and caught him as he fell—From King's Mountain they marched by Rutherford Court house and the Flint Hills where a number [of] Tories were hung—one Col. Chitwood among the number—thence to Salem where he remained there and in that vicinity during his term on duty and then again obtained his regular discharge from his captain which has been destroyed by fire and returned home. That sometime in December 1781 [sic, 1780], about the last of December he thinks, he again volunteered as a militiaman in Rutherford County under Captain Jesse Lytle (or Knitle)—Major Reese Porter, Lieut. Thomas Whitesides, Ensign William Wilson—he soon after joined the army under General Morgan in the district of Ninety Six between Broad River and Saluda River—and thence soon after marched with Morgan's forces to the Cowpens and was at the battle of the Cowpens; engaged in the battle some time near the middle of January—he was under Col. Rutherford in the battle with the militia who retreated in the first attack but he was wounded and cut down but afterwards recovered and joined the regular troops under Col. Howard and assisted during the rest of the battle in defeating the British and joined in pursuit of the enemy— the Chief American officers were Genl. Morgan, Col. Howard, Col. Washington and Col. Pickens; the British [were] commanded by Col. Tarleton—after the battle at the Cowpens he went with the troops under Morgan towards Virginia through Salisbury [while] being followed by the British—was joined by Genl. Greene about that time with a small detachment—then crossed the Catawba—thence to Guilford Court house where the two divisions of the army joined—the other division being under Genl. Huger—the army under Genl. Greene soon after left Guilford Court house and crossed over the river Dan [Dan River]where he remained some two or three weeks in the neighborhood of the enemy and then again returned to Guilford Court house where an action took place in March—our army under Greene and the British by Cornwallis with Tarleton. The Americans being defeated in the battle, he retired with the army from the field of battle— his term of service having expired about this time, the last of March he was entitled to a discharge and got his discharge but did not leave the army but immediately volunteered for another term under the same Captain Lytle (he thinks perhaps the name maybe "Knighten" instead of Lytle] and under Col. Grey—and left with the army under Genls. Morgan and Greene and followed the British under Cornwallis toward Wilmington— stayed at Ramsey's Mill a short time—he afterwards followed the British under Cornwallis towards Petersburg in Virginia—About this time he was separated from the main army under Greene who went to the South—he thinks that he was under Morgan while following up Cornwallis into Virginia most of the time; that some of the time he was detached from the army in small parties to cut off scouting parties of the enemy— that they arrived in Virginia near Petersburg in about six weeks after the battle of Guilford Court house—where the army was commanded by Genl. Lafayette and sometimes, as he thinks, by Wayne [Anthony Wayne]. About this time, the last of June or first of August 1781, he was again entitled to his discharge which was given him, but he immediately volunteered again for another term of three months and continued with the army under the same officers as before—just before this time he thinks Cornwallis had left Petersburg for York Town and soon after the French troops joined the Continentals under Fayette [sic, Lafayette] at Williamsburg. In September Genl. Washington joined the Army at Williamsburg and then marched towards York Town where they arrived about the first of October and commenced the siege—he was there during the whole siege and at the surrender of Cornwallis—he was still under Col. Grey and Captain Lytle (or Knighten)—in a few days after the surrender, the militia were disbanded and he obtained his written discharge from his captain which was afterwards destroyed by fire as all his other discharges had been. 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. S/ James Patterson Sworn to & Subscribed the day & year aforesaid in open court. Interrogatories propounded by the court to said James Patterson:
Answer: He has no record of it.
Answer: I was living in Rutherford County in the State of North Carolina; from thence to the State of Kentucky in 1793—thence to Tennessee—thence back to Kentucky—thence to the State of Illinois about nine years since where he now resides.
Answer: In the first term of service, I was drafted—in all the other terms I volunteered.
Answer: Some of the regular officers under whom I served were Genls. Morgan, Wayne, Greene—Washington, Lafayette, Col. Washington, Rutherford, Genl. Lincoln, Capt. Lytle (or Knighten), Capt. Williams, Col. Campbell, Col. Cleveland, Lieut. Whitesides, Capt. Wilson, Col. Howard—the particular names of many of the regiments he cannot recollect except Col. Rutherford's regiment; Genl. Morgan's regiment; Col. Howard's regiment, Col. Washington's regiment and some few others with which he served—the circumstances of his services were as stated before in his declaration, being drafted at first and during [it] was engaged with the Tories and to watch them and keep them back—that often, would he volunteer, was engaged in a number of actions with the British, sometimes with the Tories—and in number of skirmishes.
Answer: He received regular discharges at the expiration of each term of his service from his respective captains of his company, but all of his discharges were afterwards destroyed by fire in his Father's house which was burnt up soon [fn p. 53] after the close of the war --
[fn p. 52]
|
