Pension Application of Jacob McNeil: S5745

                        Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris

State of Virginia Franklin County to wit.

On this 3^d day of September personally appeared in open Court before Moses Green Jr.  Henry Carper, Samuel Helm and Benjamin Cook the court of Franklin county now seting Jacob Mcniel Sen’r. aged 74 years next June a resident of said county of Franklin and state aforesaid who being first duly sworn – according to law doth on his oath, make the following declaration in order to obtain the benifit of the act of Congress passed June 7^th 1832  That He is by birth a Virginian  That during the year1776 in the spring or summer, he enlisted in a company as a Spy or ranger, that the company was commanded by Capt John Cook – John MacNeil was Lieutenant  he has forgot the name of the ensign – the term was three months and he acted faithfully during said time of at least three months — that the said company of spies were employed on the frontier of Virginia on the Greenbriar [sic: Greenbrier] and adjacent wildernesses  that in 1777. He again enlisted in the month of March to act as a guard at a fort at the mouth of Kanawha [Fort Randolph] till Xmas – but did not go into active service till the month of July when he was required to join a company then completed at Muddy creek [probably the Muddy Creek near present Alderson in Greenbrier County WV] sixty miles from his then residence on the frontier – that he obeyed the requisition forthwith & did join the company and acted faithfully till about November near the last of that month in the year 1777 – when he was discharged having complyed to the best of his abilities with his obligation and his duties  that during the last term of service, he was marched to the fort at the mouth of the Kanawha river where he served several months in protecting the fort and occasionally as necessity required – pursuing the Indians – who from time to time made incursions into the white settlements  that during this latter service the company was commanded by Capt John Henderson – The troops at the fort were commanded by Maj’r Arbuckle [sic: Capt. Matthew Arbuckle] — At the fort were regular soldiers – many  of whom were marched elsewhere on the company of rangers to which he belonged having arrived there — That he was one of the guards over the celebrated Indian chief Corn Stalk [sic: Cornstalk or Hokoleskwa] – that when he was murdered [Nov 1777] he this affiant did all he could to prevent it – but that it was all in vain  the American’s exasperated at the depredations of the Indians – broke through the guard and killed the said prisoner Corn Stalk – to the very great regret of this affiant — this affiant was on the Frontier the balance of the Revolutionary war and was frequently out against the Indians obeying every call made with alacrity – He was a single man & declined no call on him – he worked in the field with his gun close to him and was constantly in readiness to act at a moments notice — After the war he left the frontier and setled in Franklin County Va where he has remained ever since — He can prove his service as he believes by many who lived at that time on the Frontier if he was in a situation to travel such a distance but he is too poor to encounter the experience – add to this he is a cripple from age and sickness and unable to ride without endangering his life – nor does he know that any of those he served with are certainly living – he has no documentary evidence

He 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 and subscribed to the day & year aforesaid     [signed] Jacob McNeel