RevolutionaryPensioners
The declarationsof a number of revolutionary soldiers, sworn to in order to obtain theprovision made by acts of Congress for their benefit, are found in theearlier pages of the county records.
Henry Green a resident ofSchuyler county, appeared before the county commissioners court on thefourth of June, 1827, and made such a declaration. He enlisted in March,1779, in Maryland, “in the regiment commanded by Col. Thomas Wolford inthe line of the state of Maryland on the old continental establishment.”He served till the close of the war and was discharged at Annapolis, Maryland.Green received the desired pension which he enjoyed till his death on thefirst of May, 1837.
William Blair, a residentof Rushville, declared on the third day of September, 1832, that he wasborn in 1760 in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and that in May, 1878,while living in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, he entered the continentalservice as a substitute for his father, Alexander Blair, and served twomonths. He was stationed at Penn’s Valley, Pennsylvania. In May, 1779,he enlisted as a private, and served under Gen. Sullivan in his campaignagainst the Indians on the upper Susquehanna. He again enlisted in 1780,and served seven months on the frontier in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania,and vicinity, till his discharge in 1781.
Benjamin Carpenter, on thethird day of September, 1832, made declaration that he enlisted in May,1776, in the army of the United States, as a minute man, for four years,at Amherst Court House, in Amherst county, Virginia. He served under variouscommands in Virginia. His company joined the army of Gen. Lafayette onits arrival in Virginia, and he was present at the surrender of Cornwallisat Yorktown. Though likely a brave soldier, he was not much of a scholar,and his mark is affixed to his declaration.
James Lanman, on the samedate, being eighty-one years of age, stated that he enlisted in the armyof the United States, at Charleston, South Carolina, in July, 1776. Heserved as orderly sergeant in the first regiment of riflemen in the SouthCarolina line, and in the fall of 1776 accompanied an expedition to theCherokee nation. He enlisted a second time in March, 1781, near Hillsborough,North Carolina. He was orderly sergeant and was attached to a troop inthe first regiment of horse, commanded by Col. William Henderson, underGen. Nathaniel Greene. He was in the battle of Guilford Court House, andthence marched to South Carolina, and was in the battle at Eutaw Springswhere he was wounded in the thigh. His commander, Gen. Henderson, was alsowounded, and both were taken to a widow Nelson’s on the Santee river wherehe remained till he recovered from his wound.
George Taylor, a residentof the county, on the 3d day of September, 1833, made declaration thatin September, 1777, in Amherst county, Virginia, he enlisted in the regimentcommanded by Col. Broadhead, attached to the command of Gen. McIntosh.His regiment marched to Fort Cumberland, thence to the place of Braddock’sdefeat in Pennsylvania, thence to the Ohio river where a fort called McIntoshwas built, thence in the direction of Detroit, Michigan. On the Muskingumriver in Ohio he assisted in building Fort Defiance. He soon afterwardsreturned to Virginia. He enlisted the second time in 1778, and helped guardthe prisoners captured at Saratoga confined in Albemarle, Virginia. Healso served afterwards in 1779 and 1780. Of those who vouched for Taylor’sstanding in the community, and avowed their belief in the truth of hisstatement, are the Rev. Peter Cartwright, the celebrated pioneer Methodistpreacher. He describes himself as a resident of the county of Sangamon.
Excerpted from the CombinedHistory of Schuyler and Brown Counties, Illinois, 1882
Transcribed by Robin Petersenfor Schuyler County ILGenWeb.Copyright 1999, 2000 RobinL. W. Petersen; all rights reserved. For personal use only. Commercialuse of the information contained in these pages is strictly prohibitedwithout prior permission. If copied, this copyright must appear with theinformation.
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