Pension Application of Willoughby Blackard: S29638

                        Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris

State of Virginia

Wythe County to wit:

            On this eighth day of October 1832 personally appeared before the justices of the County court of Wythe in open court Willyoube Blackard a resident of Wythe county, and State of Vir­ginia, aged 74 years on the 12 of August last past, who being first duly sworn, according to law, doth, on his oath, make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832. That he enlisted in the Army of the United States on the 12 Oct 1776, with Capt John Hogan and served in the 4th Regiment of the North Carolina line under the following named officers Col Henry Dixon, Major Thomas Donoho, Capt Jacob Turner, who was promoted to Maj. and killed at Germantown, then Capt. William Sanders— at the time of his enlistment he lived in Bute county North Carolina, marched first to a place in Virginia called the long bridge, & was in the battle when Fordyce was defeated, from there he returned to North Carolina to Bute county thence to Halifax county, & then South Carolina to Edis­to River above Charlston & then Stono River & was in the battle of Stono— Genl Lincoln was commander in chief who was there wounded— from the battle of Stono went into Charleston & was there taken prisoner on May 26, 1780— & re­mained a prisoner until the 27 July same year was then exchanged & then was put in the 6th Reg. North Caroli­na line, Col Henry Dixon, Liut Col Robert Mayben, Maj. Donoho, Capt Edward Yarboroug­h— served under Capt Yarborough to the end of the war— was in Gates defeat aug 16, 1780— then in Guildford battle March 15-1781— then the battle of Camden April 23d 1781— then the Eutau Spring battle Sept. 8th 1781-- Green commanded. Was discharged Nov. 15, 1781— Has lost his discharge.

            He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity, except the present, and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any agency in any state.

            Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid.

                        Will you be       (his mark)       Blackard

And the said court do hereby declare their opinion that the aforenamed applicant was a revolutionary soldier and served as he states.... 21st day of October

                        1832                J. P. Mathews Clk   by A. B. Moore his Dep.

On the 11th day of November 1833 personally appeared... Will you be Blackard, who... doth on his own oath say, by way of amendment to his foregoing declaration, that he was in active service in the war of the Revolution more than two years—that he served, as is stated in his first declaration, from the 12th day of October 1776 to the end of the war, with an interval of about two months when he was on furlough.

Supporting statements were added by Thomas Brunting, a Wythe County clergyman, and Francis Browning, aged 73, a Russell County resident and neighbor of Blackard who testified that he understood that Blackard was “on the Continental establishment.”

NOTES:

For a full account of Willoughby Blackard’s remarkable military career, see the report available at www.andyblackard.com/studies/WBRevWar1.pdf.