Pension Application of Benjamin Johnson: R5674
Transcribed
and annotated by C. Leon Harris
State of Virginia, Kanawha County to wit
On this 13th day of August 1833. personally appeared
in open court, before the justices of the County Court of said County, now
setting, Benjamin Johnson, a resident of said County in the state aforesaid,
aged seventy seven years and two months 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 he entered the service
of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein
after stated – The first service which the applicant performed was in
collecting cattle jointly with one George Richardson, for the use of the
soldiers and guards then stationed at New London, in the County of Campbell
[sic: formed from Bedford in 1782] Virginia, under the command he thinks of
Captain Holt. He was at this time a resident of the adjoining county of Bedford,
and was detached and appointed to this service by Capt. Christopher Ervine, who had charge of the provisions and supplies for
the magazine & barracks at New
London. the applicant served
in this capacity for two summers, those of the years 1779. and
1780. during which time he was constantly employed from about the 1st
of June untill late in the fall of each of those
years, serving about four & half, or five months during each of said years,
and using his own horse all that time
In February 1781 the said applicant entered the service as a
volunteer in a rifle company commanded by Capt Boen
[sic: Bowen] Price of New London, and was attatched to
a regiment of Rifle men commanded by Col. Charles Lynch of Campbell County, and
Major John Callaway of the same county. about the same
time Colo. [William] Campbell marched a regiment of Riflemen from
the counties of Bottentout [sic: Botetourt] and Rockbridge.
Each regiment was intended for service in the south, and were
marched immediately on their completion to join the southern army commanded by Gen’l. Green [sic: Nathanael
Greene]. on their arrival near Guilford N. C. the
regiment to which the applicant belonged was attached to Col. Wm. Washingtons troop of horse. He was with his regiment in the
battle of Guilford Courthouse on the 15th of March 1781. his regiment with Washington’s
horse was stationed on the right wing and Colo. Campbell’s regiment, with [Col.
Henry] Lee’s horse, occupied the left. The battle was brought on early in the
morning by Washingtons troops who advanced upon the
enemies line, supported by the regiment to which the applicant belonged, and by
about two hundred regulars of the infantry During the action, the
applicant and his regiment was in the brunt[?] of the engagement. The British
returned the fire and the American forces were under the necessity of
retiring[?] from the conflict, an event which this applicant attributes to the
flight of about two thousand of the N. Carolina Militia, at the onset, who had
been [illegible word] to occupy the center of the line. After losing the field,
the American troops were marched about 18 miles to the “[Troublesome] Iron
Works”, where they remained about two days, recruiting. They then pursued the
British army to [Ramsey’s Mill in Chatham
County on] “Deep
River” the rear guard of their army being in sight on the opposite
Bank when the American army arrived. The applicant and his Regiment remained at
Deep River two days, where the same was
disbanded, and the soldiers discharged. This applicant was in this service
seven weeks and two days, during all which time he was a private, and for the
most part engaged in some marches occupying much of the night as well as day.
After his return from Deep River, this applicant remained at home in the County
of Bedford, untill the latter part of the month of
September of that year, when he was drafted into a company commanded by Capt.
Edmund Tate, designed[?] to unite with the American forces to repel the
invasion of Cornwallis. He was marched with his company forty miles to Falling River
in the County of Campbell, where other companies had
collected; and where it was intended to form a Regiment. He and his company
remained at Falling River two days, when intelligence arrived of the
surrender of Cornwallis and his Army at York Town
[on 19 Oct 1781]. The companies were then discharged and returned home.
The applicant when discharged at Deep River, was furnished with
a written discharge, which has been lost. upon the
other two occassions he had no discharge in writing.
He has not other documentary evidence of his services, and he knows of no one
in this quarter by whom he could prove his said
services.
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.
Sworn to and subscribed the day and year first aforesaid in open
Court
[signed]
Benj. Johnson