Additional Soldier Discovered From Ancient Pension List In Fincastle
From the 1938 centennial edition of The Times-Register
Botetourt county which included Roanoke during the revolutionary war furnished about 600 men for the cause of independence and this number was a sizable proportion of the population of that county which included altogether, including slaves, only 10,500 people at that time.
About the only record available of those who actually saw service in the continental army is from the court records which were made when money was appropriated for the widows of the men in the army or from records of benefits given men after their return. Unfortunately, these records list only a few of the men who were with the continental army. It does not appear that the local militia saw much active service during the war although the court records have a notation that supplies were provided for the militia in their way to Yorktown and for the reason it is presumed that the local militiamen took part in the siege of that place as there were twelve thousand regulars and about six thousand Virginia militiamen encamped at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered.
On two different occasions during the war the Botetourt county records show that the court purchased a team of horses for the use of the continental army but whether this was for the purpose of transporting troops to the front or for actual use at the front is a matter of conjecture.
Militia Active
While the local militia may or may not have taken an active part in the bloody battles of that war they performed a useful service while at home. They took a census of the inhabitants of the county; they gathered lists of tithables or taxpayers and were the first line of defense against the Indians who would probably have invaded the frontier if not protection was afforded.
In just what engagements the soldiers from this county took part is not known, but it has been found that many soldiers from this vicinity were in the South Carolina campaigns. Men from all over southwestern Virginia were at the battle of Kind’s Mountain, the battle of Guilford courthouse and other engagements in the Carolinas. It is known that some of the men from this vicinity were with Col. Buford when his men were massacred in South Carolina. After Buford with a small force of men was surprised by Col. Tarleton with a superior force, the American commander offered to surrender but Tarleton’s men butchered many of the colonial soldiers in direct contrast to all the rules of civilized warfare. “Remember Tarleton’s Quarter” became the war cry of the frontiersmen who were engaged in the Carolinas.
Monument At Buford, S. C.
At a little place called Buford, S. C., is a monument to the heroes of that battle. Over eighty men are buried in one large grave beneath the monument but the names of the men are unknown. From the court records we know that some of the men killed at Buford’s Defeat were from hers since benefits were given to their heirs. Thomas Morris, Shadwick Hanson and John Davis from this county were either killed outright or died from wounds received in this battle. Jacob Weirs was exempted from paying taxes on his return from this engagement having been physically disabled.
Besides those men the court records list payments of money to the wives of the following men who were said to be in the continental army: Thomas Allsop, David Laird, James Smith, James Wiers, John O’Harell, Edward Pearie, William Chapman, Abraham Compton, Thomas Welsh, Samuel Blair, Mathew Amocks, Lawrence Conner, Samuel Gill, And also the husbands of Mary Price and Elizabeth Ralston. Of course this is but a few who saw continental service but a full list of such names is not available.
– Prepared by Lingjie Gu
