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WILLIAM CARTER [JR.] REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION APPLICATION
Note: At the time of his war service, and continuing until the death of his father in 1810, he was properly called William Carter Jr., i.e., “the younger.” In this document from 1838, he correctly identifies himself as simply “William Carter.”
Document Source: Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files; National Archives Microfilm Publication Microcopy 804, Roll 487; Washington: 1969; Carter, William. File #53127.
Document division into paragraphs was not common in the 1830s. To ease the reader’s chore, this transcription is sub-divided into logical paragraphs.
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State
of Tennessee}
Smith
County } On this 9th day of November 1838 personally
appeared before me A. A. Broward one of the acting Justices of the peace for
the county aforesaid and state of Tennessee, William Carter resident citizen of
the county and state aforesaid aged seventy eight years, who being first duly
sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order
to obtain the benefits of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States
under the following named officers, and served as herein stated. He entered the service of the United States
as a volunteer in the month of September 1778 (the day of the month not
recollected) and was mustered for the term of six months under Capt. Harvey and
Col. James Allen and resided at the time of his engagement in Halifax County
North Carolina and marched from Halifax town of said state through Warren
County and Granville to Hillsborough in Orange County, thence to Charlotte in
Lincoln County. He was discharged from
this engagement in the month of March 1779 having served six months and was in
no engagement with the enemy. Col.
Allen had the chief command during this expedition, and the object seemed to be
to subdue and keep down the Tories in that section. He entered the service again as a volunteer in the month of
September 1780 at Halifax town North Carolina under Capt. John Powers,
Lieutenant William Angel, and Ensign Abner Fluellen. Col. Whiteman Hill had the command of the Regiment. He was marched from Halifax to Harrisburg
now called Oxford, thence to Hillsborough, thence to High Rock ford on the Haw
river, [and] the waters of Cape Fear river.
[At] this place William Linton became the Colonel of the Regiment and
marched from thence to Gilford (sic) Court House and was in the battle with the
British at or near that place on the 15th day of March 1781. General Greene had the Chief Command in that
battle. General Eaton also had an
important command.
After the battle at Gilford Court House he was
encamped at the Iron Works on Troublesome Creek and from thence was marched to
[ ? ] Mill at which place the term of six months for which he volunteered
expired some time in the month of March 1781 the day not recollected. (And) he was discharged by his officer but
immediately volunteered again for the term of six months under Capt. Nicholas
Long in Col. Gilford Dudley’s Regiment and was marched to Camden on the Wateree
river in South Carolina and was in an engagement with the enemy near that place
in the month of April 1781. [And] under General Greene marched from thence
across the Wateree river to Ninety Six, and at the time of the engagement at
Ninety six was not in the battle but on a tour of fatigue driving beef cattle
for the army.
He was also with the army of Genl Greene at the time of the battle at the Eutaw Springs but was not in that battle. [He] was detailed and engaged at the time of that battle in collecting provisions for the army and was with and knew well Joseph Thomas an acting Commissary, and while on the detachment driving and collecting beef cattle for the army he was a while under the command of Capt. William Nettles.
After the battle of the Eutaw Springs he was
marched to [ ? ] Mill and was discharged some time in the month of September or
October having completed the term of six months. He then returned to his father’s in Halifax County, North
Carolina having been absent from home in the service of the United States more
than twelve months. The discharges
which he received he deposited with his father and he never asked for them but
removed to Smith County, Tennessee in the year 1804 and left them with his
father who departed this life sometime in the year 1810. And his brother Francis Carter who was the
Executor of his father’s will told him not more than two years previous to this
time that he saw his discharges some time in the year of 1810 among his
father’s papers and thought them of no value and consequently destroyed
them. He has no documentary evidence of
his service in any of the above named tours of duty and he knows of no person
now living of whom he can prove the above mentioned service.
He hereby relinquishes any claim whatever to a
pension or amnesty except the present and declares that his name is not on the
pension roll of the agency of any state.
Interogatories propounded:
Q.
1. Where and in what year were you
born?
Ans. Halifax County, North Carolina in the year
1760.
Q.
2. Have you any record of your age and
where is it?
Ans. I have in my family bible drawn from my
father’s register.
Q. 3. Where were you living when called into service? Where have you lived since the Revolutionary War and where do you now live?
Ans. Halifax County North Carolina. From said county I removed to Warren County
in said state where I remained two years from whence I removed to Smith County,
State of Tennessee in March 1804, where I now live and have lived since that
time.
Q.
4. How were you called into
service? Were you drafted or did you
volunteer, or were you a substitute and if a substitute for whom?
Ans. I was a volunteer.
Q.
5. State the names of some of the
regular officers who were with the troops where you served, such Continental
and Militia Regiments as you can recollect, and the general circumstances of
your service.
Ans. General Greene was a Regular officer of the
Militia, Gen(s) Eaton and Butler & Colonel Haynes. I belonged to the 1st
Regiment. The general circumstances of
my service have been set forth in my declaration.
Q.
6. Have you ever received a discharge from
the service and if so by whom was it given and what has become of it?
Ans. I received two discharges the first from
Col. James Allen and the other from Col. Guilford Dudley. I placed them with my father’s papers and
they have been destroyed since his death.
Q.
7. State the names of persons to whom
you are known in your present neighborhood and who can testify as to your
character for veracity and their belief of your services as a soldier of the
Revolution.
Ans. Cyrus W. Brevard, John Runken, Joseph
Gifford, Francis Duffy, William Hall, William B. Campbell, David Burford,
Robert Allen, William C. Brunsford & Joseph F. Hibbett.
William Carter (Seal)
Interleaved [ ? ] before
signed, sworn to and subscribed
before me this date above
written. Alfred A. Broward
Justice
of the Peace
Supplemental Oath
Note: It appears that questions about his health,
financial, and other circumstances led the government to seek more information
from William Carter before approving the pension application. He returned to court a year later to give
additional testimony. Carter was a
proud man. He made crystal clear he was
not indigent or in poor health. He also
explained that persons who could testify directly about his service were
probably long since dead.
William Carter had a son, William S. Carter, who also lived in Smith County. In the document below care is taken to identify the elderly pension applicant as Carter “Sen.” (Senior).
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State of Tennessee This day personally appeared William
Carter Sen. before me Smith County Alfred A. Broward one of the acting Justices of
the Peace for
said county and made oath that his reasons for not making earlier application for a pension is that his circumstances in life was tolerably good and was not dependent on the Government for a sustenance although he was legally entitled. [But] as it had become common for all the Soldiers rich and poor to apply and receive the Government bounty he has concluded to apply. He further states as respects the last tour mentioned in his declaration that he was not regularly attached to the Commissary Department but was detached and engaged in that service for perhaps two months (term not presently recollected) engaged in driving beeves for the army and that he knows of no persons now living by whom he can prove that particular service, his associates and companions in arms nearly so being dead. Sworn to and subscribed before me this 22nd day Nov. 1839.
William Carter
Alfred A. Broward (Seal)
Justice of the Peace
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