Pension Application of William and Susannah Carter: W3385

                        Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris

Virginia Patrick County to wit

            On this 14th day of march 1833 personally appeared in open Court before the County Court of Patrick now sitting William Carter Esquire a resident of the County of Patrick and State of Virginia aged seventy one last May –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 stated. He was born (as appears by a record of his age kept by his Father and now at the house of his youngest brother Silas Carter in the County of Patrick) on the 17th day of May 1761 at Staunton River in the now County of Campbell and State of Virginia but was brought to the now County of Patrick, (then Pittsylvania) before his recollection where he has resided ever since. In the fall of the year 1776 as well as he now recollects, he drove a baggage waggon for Capt. Dethrige of the North Carolina militia on an expedition against the Cherokee Towns. The company to which he belonged joined Col. William’s Regiment at Surry Ct House North Carolina, and being too small was divided among other companies and Capt. Dethrige sent home. This applicant continued driving his waggon in the service of the troops before they marched, and on the march across the Blue ridge, New river and the Iron mountains where his waggon broke down and he being discharged came home with his team. On this tour he was gone at least six weeks. In May 1777 as well as he recollects, he volunteered as a private Soldier under Capt Peter Hairston of Henry County Virginia where the applicant then resided, who had for subalterns William Ferguson Lieutenant and Thomas Smith Ensign. He marched to the Long Islands of Holston river and served a time of three months against the Cherokee Indians, when a treaty being entered into with the Indians, he was discharged & returned home on foot through the wilderness fording or swimming the water courses a distance of near two hundred miles.

In the next summer 1778 as well as he recollects he volunteered in a rifle company, James Lyon Captain, Samuel Hairston Lieutenant and William Birch Ensign, and marched from Henry Court House Virginia, across the Alleghany mountains, down New river to the mouth of Wolf Creek, Peters Mountain & Walkers creek ranging along the frontiers in order to protect them from the incursions of the Indians, and was discharged at the place where Giles Court House in Virginia now stands, having served a tour of three months.

In April or May 1779 as well as he recollects, the tories became very troublesome on the frontiers of North Carolina and Virginia particularly in the upper end [sic: western end referred to as The Hollow] of the then County of Henry (now Patrick) in Virginia. A great excitement was produced through the county by the murder of a distinguished Whig William Letcher who was shot down in his own home by a tory in the upper end of Henry County. Capt Elipahas [sic: Eliphaz] Shelton then commanded a company of militia in the County of Henry (now Patrick) in which the applicant was a Sergeant. On receiving the news of the murder of Letcher, he was ordered by his Captain to summon a portion of the company to go in pursuit of the murderer He rode all night collected twenty or thirty men early next morning, and pushed for the scene of the murder – The murderer and the tories with whom he was connected had fled to the mountains - where the detachment pursued them but failed in overtaking them, and returned home after an absence of a week or more – He had scarcely returned home when the tories returned to the same neighborhood and committed a good many robberies – The same Capt. Shelton then raised a company of volunteer horsemen for a three months tour, in which the applicant acted as a Sergeant and found his own horse. The tories fled again from the County of Henry Virginia into Surry County North Carolina whither the company first mentioned pursued them, and had its head quarters at Osborne mill on Loving’s creek [sic: now Lovills Creek] in the said County of Surry – While the said company and the applicant of course were engaged in this service some of the North Carolina light Horse took some of the tories prisoners and committed [several words illegible] to the Jail of Surry Cty aforesaid  the applicant was directed to take some of the rest and escort them to the Head quarters above mentioned, where they were kept awhile, and then taken in charge of the applicant and some horsemen to the Jail of Henry County Virginia. While in this tour the applicant and fifteen or twenty of the troops pursued the Tories who had robbed a whig Daniel Carlin while said Carlin was in [word illegible],) some distance over the mountain dispersed them and recovered the property – After the expiration of this tour of duty the applicant was repeatedly in service as sergeant commanding small detachments for short periods in order to suppress and pursue tories who were constantly committing robberies  [one or two words illegible] not specify the precise length of time he served in these expeditions, but it could not have been less than two months. It would take a volume to detail all the adventures encountered which took place between the whigs and tories in the neighborhood of the applicant for a year or two prior to the battle of King’s mountain in many of which he was an actor – nearly half the population in what was called the Hollow being parts of the counties of Henry in Va. and Surry in North Carolina were disaffected and the whigs were kept constantly on the alert. In fact their service was more harrassing than a regular tour of duty for the same length of time. The applicant has no idea that his memory will enable him to claim for near the length of time he actually served. He will mention a circumstance, which he does not know will avail him, but refers it to the discretion of the War Department – In the year 1780 many individuals after having been drafted for the service concealed themselves in the mountains to avoid serving – It was made known that any person who brought in one of these deserters and delivered him to the proper officer should be entitled to credit for a three month tour of duty. The applicant having accompanied one Capt James Patterson from the lower end of Henry, who with six or seven men was detached to apprehend deserters, & being dissatisfied with the severity of the Captains proceedings in burning the houses of the outlyers & being apprehensive that his being in company might induce a retaliation upon his Father, who lived convenient, he returned home in company with Peter Scales – On their return they found and took prisoners four deserters – kept them in custody untill the return of Capt Patterson, when said Scales carried in said Deserters to Prince Edward Ct House Virginia & delivered them to a regular officer & received a discharge from himself & the applicant for four tours of three months – The applicant as he has already stated cannot recollect the precise time he was in actual service, but feels justified in claiming for 12 months in the whole besides the tour for which he got credit as above stated for apprehending deserters – being satisfied that in that estimate he falls short of the actual time he served, but wishing to err on the safe side if he err at all. The applicant was in service altogether with Detachment of militia under militia officers whose names he has recited and no regular officers were attached to them. The last expedition in which he was engaged was when the British had reached Salem North Carolina in March 1781 – The same Capt. Shelton above mentioned went with his company of Horse in which the applicant was still Sergeant to join General Green [sic: Nathanael Greene], Col. James Lyon commanding. The British marched down on the South side of Dan river and this Detachment marched down the north side of the said river – The Battle of Guilford [sic: Guilford Courthouse] was fought before the Detachment joined the army & the men returned home – The length of this tour is not recollected. Of the above period of 12 months, the applicant served as a private seven months. The ballance of the time he served as a sergeant of Horse. The applicant has had written discharges for all his regular tours of duty, but they have been mislaid or are among his Father’s old papers – He will however make further search and forward any that he may find. He knows of no living witness whose testimony he can conveniently procure to prove his services except Maj. Peter Hairston, Col. Samuel Hairston & William Cloud whose affidavits accompany this Declaration. He can prove that he is reputed in his neighborhood to have been a revolutionary Soldier by nearly all his neighbors & among others by John Conner a clergyman and Abram Staples.

            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 aforesaid [signed] Wm. Carter

Virginia

County of Patrick S.S.

            On this the 26th day of July 1847 personally appeared in court being a court of record for the county of Patrick Susanna Carter resident in said county aged seventy seven years who being first duly sworn according to law doth on her oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions of the act of Congress passed June 17th 1844 granting half pay and pensions to certain widows, that she is the widow of William Carter who was a private and sergeant in the war of the Revolution that her said husband was placed on the pension list of the United States under the act of the 7th June 1832 at the rate of forty five dollars and eighty four cents per annum, that she cannot state the date of his pension certificate it having been returned to the pension office when she drew the [word illegible] due at her husbands death. For proof of the services performed by her husband in the war of the Revolution, she begs leave to refer to the evidence upon which her said husband was pensioned and which is now on file in the war department. She further declares that she was married to the said William Carter on the 31st day of January 1788 and that her husband the aforesaid William Carter died on the 17th day of December 1845 in the said county of Patrick and state of Virginia, that she was not married to him prior to his leaving the service but the marriage took place previous to the 1st day of January 1794 viz at the time above stated. She states that she can produce no record of her marriage except the family record in the large family bible which is too large to forward to the war department. She further declares that she has not intermarried but still remains the widow of the said William Carter.

The aforesaid family bible was produced in court and the family record appears as follows proven to the satisfaction of the court to be in the hand writing of the deceased husband of the applicant viz. “William Carter was born may the 17th in the year of our Lord 1761.” :Susannah Carter was born may the 2nd in the year of our Lord 1770" “William Carter married Susannah Carter is wife January the 31st in the year of our Lord 1788" and then follows the dates of the births of their several children which the court thinks unnecessary to copy.

And the court being satisfied from the testimony of Leander Hughes Elizabeth [document ends here at end of page]

State of Virginia}

County of Patrick}       On this 21 day of April AD One thousand Eight hundred and fifty five personally appeared before me James Soyers a Justice of the Peace duly authorized to administer oaths within and for the County and State aforesaid Susanna Carter aged 85 years a resident of Patrick County in the State of Virginia who being duly sworn according to law declares that she is the widow of William Carter Deceased who was a revolutionary pensioner of the United States of America. She refers to her said Husbands Declaration and proof of service now on file in the pension office at Washington. She further declares that she was inscribed on the pension list at the rate of forty five dollars and eighty four cents per annum commencing on the 4th day of March 1848 and continuing for life unless she should again marry, in which case the pension is not payable after the time of such marriage. She [word illegible] refers to her own Declaration for evidence of her Husbands services and of their marriage and of his death. She further declares that she is still a widow. She makes this declaration for the purpose of obtaining the Bounty Land to which she may be entitled under the act approved March 3d 1855. She also declares that she has never applied for nor received under this or any other act of Congress any bounty land warrant. Susanna herXmark Carter