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Stories from the Pension Files

Since June 2023, thousands of Citizen Archivist volunteers have transcribed the pension files of Revolutionary War veterans. We’ve uncovered interesting stories that give battlefield stories, sightings of famous generals, a glimpse of life in the 18th century, and more. You can help us uncover more stories by transcribing and tagging Revolutionary War pension files. Did you find a surprising or intriguing story? An unexpected artifact? Let us know in our survey!

Click on the linked name in the story to go to the page where this anecdote is found in the pension file or click on View the pension file to start on page one.
This is an ongoing project where we will be adding new stories frequently. New stories will be to the top of this list. If you are looking for a particular name, you can search the page by clicking Ctrl + F and enter the name

Last Name	First Name	Story from the Pension	View the pension file
Strange	John	John Strange described as being one of the first two privates that mounted the breach on October 14, 1781 during the siege of Yorktown.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196731560
Eastman	Eli	Eli Eastman's neighbor describes his of war wound "a hole in the side of his skull large enough to stick a finger in." This may have resulted in Eastman later becoming mentally incapacitated.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54487149
Hamilton	David	Widow Elizabeth Hamilton recounted that her husband David refused to take an oath of allegiance to the British King after the British forces took over Charleston, for which he was taken aboard the British prison ship Torbay.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54774000
Humphries	David	David Humphries was reported to be an Aid-de-camp to General Israel Putnam and also to General George Washington.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54960295
Garner	John	John Garner remained in the army despite losing two fingers and having two more fingers disabled at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54642848
Petrie	George	George Petrie lived in a house purchased by his wife where she ran a small school with 6 students. The couple enslaved a family of 4 (mother and three children, the last of whom was born when she was 58!).	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196386403
Wak-Ar-An-Thar-Ans	James	Captain James Wak-Ar-An-Thar-Ans was an Oneida and captain of an "Indian Company" according to his son who applied for a pension.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/111479101
Davis	Snead	While out reconnoitering, Snead Davis and others surprised seven Tories who had taken over a farmer's home and were drinking and carousing. Davis and his men killed the Tories and released the old farmer and his two daughters.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54389843
Cohen	Moses	Moses Cohen from South Carolina is one of the small number of Jewish Revolutionary War veterans.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54258424
Chapman	Levi	Levi Chapman was employed "as agent for purchasing Beef Cattle & driving them to the army for the use of the troops for two years or more during said War."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54195435
Dean	Moses	According to his widow, Moses Dean was injured at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. He was carried home by his fellow soldiers and his wounds never allowed him to fight again and he never received a discharge.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54400124
Hancock	Samuel	Samuel Hancock became so ill with bloody flux and dysentery that his regiment gave him up for dead, and word of his death even reached his father. After a stay in the hospital where most of the other sick men died, he was carried in a blanket to the home of a widow who nursed him and then to a nearby uncle's home where he recovered.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54781712
De Forest	Reuben	Reuben De Forest recalled fireworks and other celebrations among the troops when Cornwallis surrendered.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54405339
Hester	Abraham	Abraham Hester of North Carolina served on five different tours. His last, in 1781, was for three months cleaning and barreling up fish in the Roanoke River.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54859959
Dygert	William	William Dygert met his wife, Anna, when her family fled the British and Indians in upstate NY. She said her family had to survive by hunting and fishing because it was too dangerous to work the fields	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54483527
Ferre	Moses	Moses Ferre was inoculated for small pox and lost the sight in one eye from the resulting small pox infection.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54556837
Coff	Willaim	William Coff, described as a "free man of colour' served in the Revolutionary War. He did not make an earlier petition for his pension due to not learning that he was entitled to one until long after the law had been passed.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54256260
Bushong	Jacob	Jacob Bushong suffered from a wound received at the Battle of Camden for at least 30 years leading to unpaid doctors' bills.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54126583
Gleason	Thomas	Thomas Gleason lost a thumb at Lexington and Concord when his gun exploded.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54679323
Henderson	James	James Henderson recounts battle at St. John's where their unit (Capt. McCarken joining with Col. Waner) was met by "the enemy about 250 strong," their retreat and his own injuries.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54849254
Allison	John	John Allison, of North Carolina, was able to take leave from Granville to check on his father's home after the British had gone through. He found that his father's house was stripped of all furniture, a wagon and team had been taken, along with as much corn as they could carry away. None of this property was ever regained.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53811174
Gaston	Joseph	Joseph Gaston was wounded at the Battle of Hanging Rock, in Lancaster County, South Carolina. Three of his brothers were killed in the same battle. According to John McCreary, Gaston's healed wounds were very visible. His nose looked like it had been cut in two. A hole in his cheek and under his ear where the ball came out were visible. He wore double spectacles to try and see better, due to the injury to his eye.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54646773
Graves	John	John Graves served aboard the ship Tyrannicide which went after British ships in the English Channel.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54709945
Fenwick	William	William Fenwick was in Sea Service and provides some detail on vessels used in the war and transporting provisions from Baltimore to a commander of the French fleet. He was personally acquainted with George Washington and Marquis de Lafayette.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54555379
Scudder	William	William Scudder loss the use of both hands when they were frozen in a snow storm. He also set a British frigate on fire, and when asked if he was not sorry for causing so much damage said, "No: I am sorry I did not do as much more."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144234898
Harlan	George	George Harlan gave his discharge papers to another man (after wisely making a copy) who would put in his claim for land in Louisville. The man seems not to have returned. Years later, Harlan himself traveled Louisville and found that he owned land in Ohio, but he was never actually able to claim it.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54793710
Hall	Elias	At the Battle of Castleton in Vermont, Elias Hall was taken prisoner. Hall's father, a captain in the militia, was killed.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54763086
Gibbs	John	John Gibbs recalls seeing George Washington at Yorktown, where Washington even used his axe to work with the men preparing the entrenchments for battle.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54661710
Gwin	William	The children of William Gwin and his widow were mischievous and ruined pages of the family Bible which had information relevant to their connection to the soldier. The bible was 'grately defaced by blacking the leaves with firecorker."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54748199
Brown	Arabia	Arabia Brown was an Indian Spy for Daniel Boone.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54065625
Service	Nathaniel	Nathaniel Service was remembered by one of his shipmates as one of the best seamen on board the frigate. He was stationed at a great gun as the commander of that gun. It was also noted that he was a good sailmaker.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196595878
Hastings	John	John Hastings was wounded in the side by a bayonet the evening after the Battle of Brandywine and held as a prisoner in Philadelphia. He was exchanged the following summer.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54819885
Hagey	Adam	Adam Hagey provided details of how the stockade fort near York, PA was built, with 15 foot poles enclosing 4 acres. The fort was meant to hold prisoners.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54752415
Barry	John	John Barry was captured at Savannah and held on a prison ship. He escaped from the ship and rejoined the army under General Wayne.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53906723
Turner	Charles	Charles Turner remembered a captain who declared his time was up and marched his company out of the encampment and "fled up the Country."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/111428736
Holden	John	John Holden, who was an officer, included a copy of an invitation to dinner he received from General Washington.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54902019
Foster	Ephraim	Rachel Thompson, widow of Ephraim Foster, a blacksmith in army in Philadelphia, also served as a cook for the army.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54596090
Horner	George	George Horner's father gave him a good mare after he was drafted telling him to try to find a substitute by giving away the mare or, if that didn't work, try to get into the Light Horse cavalry.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54923673
Boone	Squire	Squire Boone was the nephew of Daniel Boone. He moved from South Carolina to Kentucky during the war and frequently fought the Shawnee.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54010712
McDaniel	James	James McDaniel reported that another soldier fell off his horse while fast asleep and the fall didn't even wake him!	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144179531
Crowell	Thomas	A doctor said Thomas Crowell lost his reason due to a musket ball through the foot.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54342513
Taylor	William	When William Taylor's ship surrendered, he was taken as a prisoner to Lisbon and then to Gibraltar. From there he was taken to Portsmith, placed on a frigate and sent to Bombay. There he escaped on a Dutch ship which took him to Indonesia. From there, he sailed to Holland, then to Barbados, finally reaching Baltimore four or five years later.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144310800
Burnham	Asa	Asa Burnham was ordered to stay behind at Valley Forge to care for the invalids.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54114258
Green	Sampson	Sampson Green was born in Paris and recruited to fight against Great Britain for a tour of seven years. He fought in many battles including the Cowpens, Brandywine, and Yorktown.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196731216
Wilcox	Robert	Robert Wilcox related to his wife that he spent 3 years in Fortune Prison in England, escaping and being recaptured several times before making it to France. Later documents say he served on the Bon Homme Richard. The widow's pension was denied because she could not prove he was in the service when he was captured, so that time wasn't counted.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/111707542
Hulet	John	John Hulet's regiment met a Gen. Learned who was going in the wrong direction and had to turn him around. In doing so they found the scalped and mutilated victims of an Indian raid.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54955776
Chandler	Robert	Robert Chandler's widow describes how while her husband was in the Army the British burned all her fencing, robbed her house of every article except two bedsteds and stole the ropes out of them. While they looted she hid with her children in the alderbushes in the swamp.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54190230
Clarke	Micajah	According to Micajah Carke's widow, the Americans lost the victory at Germantown because the Officer (Maybe General Stevan) was drunk. Clarke hid under a barn but was still taken as prisoner. He attended to escpe when women came to see the prisoners and tried to dress him as a woman but the guard noticed there were more women coming out than went in.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54232086
Cocke	Nathaniel	Col. Nathaniel Cocke was at the Battle of Guilford Court House. His horse was killed under him; a ball was shot through his hat.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54254152
Gray	Lynch	A witness for Lynch Gray said that Gray entered the British lines under fire to retrieve the body of his father who was killed in battle.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54714415
Hollister	Innett	Innett Hollister reported that he was sent to work on a large fort at New Windsor only to abandon it before completion when West Point was chosen as a better location.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54906908
Brann	William	William Brann paid an indentured servant 9000 pounds of tobacco to serve as his substitute, but was drafted anyway. According to his story, he was drafted in 1777 and not released until after Yorktown.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54039200
Elmore	Willian	A short poem in included in William Elmore's pension: I thank you for the cherries Madam They'r the best in all the town; I'd thank you more for your daughter though, Whose name is Catherine Brown.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54512103
Boudy	John	John Boudy participated in the Battle of Trenton and joined General George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776. Boudy recalls that it was snowing at the time and the night was unusually stormy and that "several of our men froze to death."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54017021
Barber	Francis	Francis Barber was killed after the signing of the Treaty of Paris when a tree, cut by an American soldier, fell on him.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53887356
Bird	Isaac	Gertrude married Isaac Bird in 1836 when she was 17 and he was in his 70s. He died five months later. In 1853, she was 34 and had not remarried when she applied for a widow's pension.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53971185
Dickson	James	Enos Dickson applied for a pension based on his father James Dickson's service. He claimed his mother was 113 when she died.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196142683
Aiken	Jonathan	Jonathan Aiken, who remembered his time in the Revolution with extraordinary detail, captured British boats containing pork, beef, oatmeal, and other things.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53790880
Brown	Joseph	Joseph Brown was an enslaved man who served as a substitute for his enslaver's son, who had gone privateering.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54076212
Alexander	William	After being shot in the foot by a bullet, William Alexander eventually returned to service as a Captain on horseback. He then fought in the Battle of Cowpens and the Siege of Ninety-Six.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53798544
Franks	Henry	Henry Franks was captured by Indians and eventually adopted with the name Tuton Kau Saw (Thigh Bone of a Bear). In August 1782 he was handed over to the British in Detroit and sent to New York by way of Montreal and Halifax.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54609079
Kelley	James	A friend of James Kelley reported that he complained of how difficult he found it to whip disobedient soldiers.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196100797
Hill	Daniel	Daniel Hill's regiment was mustered and went directly into the Cherokee Nation that "at that time committing a great many outrages against the whites, when we reached the nation we marched in a measure all through it first one place and then another killing a great many Indians destroying their crops and taking Indian prisoners."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54873654
Keller	George	George Keller worked in a wagon maker shop making wagons and carts for the last three months of the war. After the British surrender, the wagons and carts were sold at a public sale in Staunton, VA.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196100396
French	William	William French was a minuteman who fought in the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Bunker Hill.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54617971
Griffin	Charles	Charles Griffin's brigade lost all its tents and baggage in the British attack on Fort Constitution (near New York City), then had to march to Philadelphia "destitute of everything necessary to render them comfortable."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54731028
Hopper	Richard B.	Richard B. Hooper was a Life Guard to the Continental Congress, moving with the Congress from Lancaster to York, PA.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54917823
Horn	Ralph R.	Ralph R. Horn was on a ship captured by the British in 1778. He was held prisoner in Barbados and Jamaica where 6 men were given rations for 4. Although he tried to escape twice, he did not return to his home until 1873.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54922518
Bobbitt	Isham	Isham Bobbitt served under Colonel Long as a saddler making and repairing wagon gearing for the Army wagons.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54002828
Cone	Joseph	Joseph Cone was transferred by General George Washington to Count Pulaski's Independent Legion and served with him as one of his guard about two years.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54279092
Harrison	William	William Harrison was inoculated at Valley Forge, fought at Germantown, Brandywine, and Monmouth. At the Pee Dee River, a British officer wounded him in the head with a sword, and he was shot in the leg at Guildford Courthouse.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54808706
Gresham	George	George Gresham was in a skirmish at the Battle of Stono Ferry when a ball passed through his leg and killed his horse.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54729136
Homer	Jacob	Jacob Homer served as a seaman on the Massachusetts State Ship Protector. He was captured by the British in May 1781 and carried to England where he was confined in prison until the summer of 1782 when he returned home.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54915247
Shellman	John	When John Shellman volunteered, each man in the company had to furnish himself with a uniform. It consisted of "a hunting shirt dyed yellow with hickory bark, pantaloons of the same, a pair of Indian legens of green cloth with a piece of bearskin over the crown of the hat, a good rifle, and tomahawk, shot pouch & powder horn."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196612455
Hall	Amos	Amos Hall served in General Benedict Arnold's life guard for three years. he was present when Arnold saddled his horse and fled to the enemy.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54760741
Davis	Stephen B.	Stephen B. Davis was only 55 when he applied for his pension, but was having trouble working full time as a nail maker. His 9 acres of rocky land, log house, and nail shop were mortgaged for $200, which was more than the property was worth.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54389466
Covenhoven	Abraham	Abraham Covenhoven and fellow soldiers marched to Princeton but left their fires lit to deceive the British.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54310661
Hitt	Dennis	Dennis Hitt's widow Abigail Hitt explains that he was away from home and on duty most of the time except during the winter. He was not home to gather the crops in haying and harvesting all but one season during the war.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54888944
Gannon	William	William Gannon's stand out memory was about corn. He was detached to go to Colonel Wade's farm to bring corn for the Army. About 300 bushels were pulled and husked.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54637289
Daniel	Richard	Richard Daniel had to hire or buy a horse for $60 so he could get home after he was wounded at Guilford Courthouse.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54367765
Stevens	Levi	Levi Stevens enlisted with the understanding that he would only fight within the state of Maryland. He ended up fighting in Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144261527
Deming	Julius	Julius Deming was in charge of supplying the entire Army under General Washington for fresh beef and mutton while on York Island. He details his work as a purchasing commissary. He was required to keep a suitable number of beef cattle on the island in case of emergency, hire and pay the catchers for killing the cattle, to weigh and deliver the quarters of beef, to sell the hides, and to take care of and dispose of the tallow.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54410888
Chambers	Cuff	At the start of the Revolution, Cuff (Blanchard) Chambers was enslaved by Samuel Blanchard of Dover, Massachusetts. He was in the Battle of Bunker Hill and due to his service he was given his freedom. After he was freed, he assumed his mother's name of Chambers.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54186185
Burr	Aaron	Eliza Burr's application for a widow's pension was rejected because she divorced Aaron Burr for infidelity. The divorce was finalized the day Burr died.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54118158
Hudspeth	Carter	Carter Hudspeth survived the Battle of Briar Creek where Americans were massacred. He did this by swimming in the river, where he lost all army ammunition and clothing except his hat.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54951160
Woodruff	Samuel	Samuel Woodruff "had the pleasure" of seeing General Washington and General Lafayette at the Battle of White Plains.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/111772342
Harrison	William	William Harrison was inoculated at Valley Forge, fought at the Battles of Germantown, Brandywine, and Monmouth. At the Pee Dee River, a British officer wounded him in the head with a sword, and he was shot in the leg at the Battle of Guildford Courthouse.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54808706
Hubbell	Richard	Richard Hubbell's father was captured at Fort Washington and died while a prisoner in 1777. In 1782, he joined up at 16, along with a twin brother.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54947604
Sullivan	Barnabas	Barnabas Sullivan was taken prisoner by the British and held for a year and a half, set free in an exchange, later had small pox at Valley Forge, and was at Battle of Monmouth.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144283838
Odiorne	Samuel	Samuel Odiorne served under John Paul Jones.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196320673
Bentey	Francis	Francis Bentey was a French Citizen who lived in France and volunteered to fight in the French Fleet. Remained in America (New York) after the war.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53955780
Bowers	George	George Bowers served for six years and three months and during this time he fought at Battle of Monmouth.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54021773
Anglea	William	William Anglea served under General George Washington and later was very sick with the mumps.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53828011
Horn	Frederick	Frederick Horn was a POW for five and half years. His original account is in German, an English translation is provided.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54922589
Hickman	Jacob	Jacob Hickman got to go home every other week to tend to his farm and crops.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54864327
Harvey	Thomas	Thomas Harvey gives a complete list of belongings, totaling $14.58.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54814684
Howell	Jonathan	Jonathan Howell fought at the battles of Princeton, Monmouth, Trenton, encamped at Valley Forge, fought at "Little York", and served under Lafayette.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54941147
Gannett	Deborah	Deborah Gannett served under the name Robert Shurtliff for upwards of two years.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54636851
De Forest	Samuel	Samuel De Forest recounts hearing the Declaration of Independence being read.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54405642
Frazier	Alexander	Alexander Frazier was a sailor who was taken prisoner by the British for 13 months.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54610711
Gilman	Anthony	Anthony Gilman, a "man of Colour" enlisted as a fifer, was taken by the British as a prisoner and then sold as a slave. After about 1 1/2 years he was able to escape. He was in the battles of Harlem Heights and Monmouth.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54674932
Harvey	Edward	Edward Harvey was in the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, Guilford Courthouse, Camden and the Eutaw Springs. He was injured at the Battle of Brandywine and Eutaw Springs.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54814361
Jordan	John	John Jordan was on board a prison ship for more than three months after the fall of Savannah.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144088204
Cory	Abraham	Abraham Cory worked in the Wagon Department as a blacksmith.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54305417
Herrick	Martin	Martin Herrick was ship's surgeon on a ship named Tyrannicide. He was also at the Battle Bunker Hill.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54858270
Hubbell	Abijah	Abijah Hubbell served as a substitute for his father.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54947433
Hull	Prince	Prince Hull engaged at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Additionally, the Daughters of the American Revolution's publication Forgotten Patriots lists him as an African American soldier.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54957524
Holsart	John	John Holsart was excused from duty for two months to help his father in boiling salt.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54912640
Hopkins	David	David Hopkins was given the command of a troop of Horse in the 4th Regiment of Light Dragoons by General Washington on January 21, 1777.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54920048
Gillespie	Andrew	Andrew Gillespie's uncle furnished him with a horse and he volunteered as a Post Rider to carry dispatches from his officer to the printing office.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54671302
Britton	James	James Britton was in a scouting party on the morning of the Battle of Monmouth and was fired upon by a party of British and Hessians. After the battle at Monmouth Courthouse he saw General Washington pass by.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54054416
Harrison	James	James Harrison recounts that he witnessed the death of Cornstalk, the Shawanee Indian King, and his son Ellenepsico, and two of his warriors, Red Hawk and Petallo.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54806319
Decker	Samuel	Samuel Decker's widow was still waiting for her pension. She is over 99 years old and her only living child is 78 and it is expected that she will not live much longer.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54404113
Harborn	Joseph	While on a prison boat in Philadelphia, Joseph Harborn saw the dead being removed from the boat and being buried in the sand. He also served under Captain Stephen Decatur, Sr.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54789195
Howland	David	David Howland, a formerly enslaved man, was known by several last names, including his father's first name and his former enslaver's last name. He preferred Howland.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54942185
Howard	Stephen	Stephen Howard was in service 4 years, wounded and captured at Battle of Camden (SC). He was held on a prison boat, then pressed into the British Navy for 16 years. He married his wife during that time in Kingston, Jamaica.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54937968
Hood	Charles	Charles Hood was a "free man of colour" who fought in the Battle of Eutaw Springs and the Siege of Charleston.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54915807
Jackson	Abednego	Abednego Jackson, an African American soldier, fought at the Battle of Princeton and he will never forget the roaring cannon, which remained in his ears for a long time afterwards.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144042307
Viers	Benjamin	Benjamin Viers never received a wound despite fighting in the battles of Germantown, Brandywine, Monmouth, and "Little York." He frequently saw General Green and General George Washington, who he distinctly remembers. the Daughters of the American Revolution's' publication Forgotten Patriots identifies Benjamin Viers as an African American soldier.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/111468179
Howe	Bezaleel	Bezaleel Howe was the commander of General Washington's guard at the close of the war and he was appointed to escort Washington's baggage to Mount Vernon.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54939232
Griffin	Joel	After Joel Griffin's enlistment, military officers inspected him on account of his "youth and diminutive stature and being not quite 14 years old." He was given a furlough and a pass to return home and grow larger.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54730693
Evans	Thomas	The widow of Thomas Evans describes how her husband was very old and frail in 1832 when he died very suddenly while eating breakfast.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54527444
Jeffreys	John	John Jeffreys was born in 1733 and died on December 4th 1834 at age 101. The Daughters of the American Revolution's publication Forgotten Patriots identifies Jeffreys as an African American soldier.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/144053770
Bachelder	Stephen	Stephen Bachelder spent most of his enlistment sick, then hired a substitute who died from smallpox!	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53857178
Harris	James	James Harris marched to St. Augustine, Florida in the province of Spain to prevent the British from landing there. When they reached Florida they found the British had already landed and were gathering reinforcements from the Indians.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54801615
England	William	William England was wounded by being shot through the ankle, but he recovered and went on to fight in the siege of Augusta.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54518366
Power	Jeremiah	Jeremiah Power served as a spy.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196430807
Crabtree	Abraham	Abraham Crabtree "was attacked by the fever at Long Island and during the process of his sickness and in attention, acted imprudent and drank cold water, and the mercury which he before had taken operated upon him to the total loss of the use of his limbs for a while, but has now some what recovered but who is entirely unable to support himself with his own labor."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54317490
Young	John	John Young was an express rider faced who many dangers. Youngs says he was first to bring news of Cornwallis's surrender north.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/111645820
Bowman	Abraham	After the Battle of Monmouth in 1778, Abraham Bowman returned to Virginia to ask the Governor for money to recruit the regiment. Unfortunately the state quota had been given out before Bowman was able to make the request.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54023427
Johnson	William	William Johnson was stationed at West Point when General Benedict Arnold turned traitor.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54208296
Crosley	Prince	Prince Crosley was enslaved by the Deputy Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, Matthew Griswold (later Governor of Connecticut), and sold to another man before the war commenced. He served three years in the Army to gain his freedom, then enlisted again. After he gained his freedom he changed his name from Griswold to Crosley.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54338742
Crow	Thomas	Thomas Crow was taken prisoner on Sullivan's Island and detained on board the Roebuck for about four months. Disease spread onboard, so he and others were moved ashore where they made their escape from the one guard place over them.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54342126
Couch	William	At the Battle of Eutaw Springs, William Couch was pierced twice by a bayonet in the thigh and wounded badly.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54308786
Collins	Jonathan	Jonathan Collins was at the capture and fall of Charleston and taken prisoner by the British. He was kept for eighteen months in irons onboard a British Man of War before being exchanged at James Tower in Virginia for other prisoners.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54271055
Gorton	Prosper	Prosper Gorton, "a man of colour", includes a discharge signed by George Washington in his pension application.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54698290
Chambers	Cuff	African American Cuff (Blanchard) Chambers was enslaved by Samuel Blanchard and enlisted in May 1775. He served eight months and was in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Because of his service he was given his freedom and he then assumed his mother's name of Chambers.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54186185
Sanborn	Peter	Peter Sanborn was discharged 300 miles from his home and had to travel home on his own without means to sustain himself.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196564703
Allen	Charles	Before engaging in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, Charles Allen spent several months collecting and procuring cattle and provisions for the army.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53801211
Anderson	George	George Anderson's widow explains that he was in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse where he received a severe wound in the neck that affected him most seriously during the rest of his life.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53818480
Baker	John	John Baker was taken prisoner at Savannah on January 3, 1779 and remained on board the prison ship until August 9, 1780. He was paroled on the condition that he would not bear arms against the King, thus ending his service in the Revolutionary War.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53868776
Horton	John Payton	John Payton Horton spent his third tour in the fall of 1779 cutting a road through Fairfax, Dumfries, Fredericksburg and Falmouth in Virginia.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54925852
Hoard	Samuel	Samuel Hoard was inoculated for small pox at Valley Forge and later marched to Middle Brook where he helped build huts.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54890212
Holcombe	Philemon	Philemon Holcombe gives a very detailed account of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse as well as leading troops to join Baron Steuben at Point of Fork on the James River, later to Malian Hills south of Richmond to join General Lafayette, and then to Williamsburg where they met up with General George Washington who arrived with the main Army.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54901379
Horton	Samuel	Samuel Horton's pension file includes the testimony of a woman who destroyed his discharge papers as a child.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54925272
Conover	Levi	When Levi Conover's unit marched towards Brunswick, he said, "the British heard of us coming and marched off to New York & boarded their vessels."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54284522
Herter	Philip	Philip Herter transported the bodies of men who had been killed at Ft. Dayton to Germantown, Ohio.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54859313
Flagg	Henry Collins	According to his widow Rachael, Deputy Apothecary General Henry Collins Flagg was the surgeon who treated General Casimir Pulaski.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54575300
Carter	Philip	Philip Carter helped capture four or five hundred Tories while marching through North Carolina mountains.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54168561
Gann	Samuel	While Samuel Gann was serving in the war, an American officer went to his house and requested that his wife give provisions for troops. He took between 50 to 100 bacon and gave his wife a receipt for reimbursement. Unfortunately it was lost and he was never repaid.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54637245
Beard	James	James Beard reported that he saw a doctor refuse to treat a wounded Tory, "dam the Tories let them find their own doctors."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/53928238
Foscue	Frederick	Frederick Foscue was a sailor on the Brig Industry. He was taken prisoner by the British and held in Antigua.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54594524
Lookebee	David	David Lookebee served as a substitute for his father in 1778 when he was 16.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196207071
Hacket	Ezekiel	Ezekiel Hacket enlisted as a piper, then became a fifer. At Dobbs Ferry he was taken prisoner and carried to Fort Washington in irons. After eight months he made his escape and went to West Point. At this point his regiment had moved on and he was considered an invalid and unfit for duty.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54749609
Smith	John	John Smith said the meat he and other soldiers were served was "barely fit to eat."	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/196660970
Hayward	Simeon	Simeon Hayward mentioned that he was guarding prisoners when the Pennsylvania line mutinied. In this event eleven regiments under General Wayne mutinied for better pay.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54837127
Butt	Edward	Edward Butt, a fifer, was killed on March 15, 1781 in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. His older brother Zachariah Butt was killed on August 16, 1780 in the Battle of Camden.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54131614
Carr	John	John Carr died shortly after enlisting in 1777, leaving his widow Margaret and five children.	https://catalog.archives.gov/id/54162801

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