Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pensions

Recently in his blog, Carolina Family Roots, my friend, Charles Purvis wrote about the

website with Southern Campaign Revolutionary War Pension Statements &Rosters. He recommended we take a look at the records available here. I did and found ancestors very quickly. Thanks, Charlie! Give it a try and you'll soon be thanking Charlie too.

Pension statements are listed alphabetically by surname. I went to ‘F’ & looked for Faulkenberry/ Fortenberry soldiers. I quickly found David Faulkenberry [b c 1746 – 1841 TN], my 4^th great grand uncle. He was the son of Jacob Faulkenberry [b c 1715]. David was living in South Carolina at the time of his service. At the time David made the following statement concerning his role in the Revolutionary War he was 85 or 86 years old, infirm and could remember very little details. His son, Jacob, added information from stories told to him by his father in years past.

PensionApplication of David Faulkenberry: S3350;

 [State of Tennessee; Rutherford County]; 

Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris

On this 6 day of September 1832 personally appeared before me John W. Conly Esquire, then acting Justice of the peace for the County of Rutherford and State of Tennessee, David Faulkenberry, aged, as he thinks, eighty five or eighty six years, 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 the 7 1832. He then said David being a resident of the county of Rutherford aforesaid. That he entered the service in behalf of the United States some time before the engagement took place at the Hanging rock in South Carolina, but he cannot state in what year or month [see note below]. At the time he entered the service, he lived in Cashaw [sic: Kershaw] County South Carolina. He was a drafted militia man, and entered the service in Captain John Caneston’s company, but he cannot remember the names of any of the other of his company officers. He belonged to the regiment of Militia commanded by Col. Joseph Cashaw [sic: Kershaw], and he thinks Gen. Williamson had the command of the troops to which he belonged. He was in the engagement at the Hanging rock, but he cannot remember any of the particulars of his service, or through what country he marched. He served he thinks five or six months during this tour, and was then discharged and returned home. How long he remained at home, he cannot state, but after some time he was again drafted, and served another tour of five or six months. On this tour he was under the same Captain as in the first tour and he thinks Col. Cashaw again commanded his regiment. He cannot remember anything about his other officers, except as to the General commanding officer, and he cannot remember distinctly about that. He has some recollection that during some part of his services he was in General Sumter’s army, but at what period, he cannot undertake to state positively. He was in the army at Gates’ defeat [Battle of Camden SC, 16 Aug 1780 where Gen. Horatio Gates was defeated] but cannot remember which tour of his service it was He was not directly engaged in the battle, but was detailed as a guard to take care of the baggage wagons, and was Searjant of said guard. He does not remember at what time he was discharged, but thinks he received a written discharge both tours he served. His discharges he has lost long since; he thinks he lost them both at the same time.

He does not know when he was born, nor has he any record of his age. When he entered the service, he lived as already stated in Cashaw County South Carolina, and continued to live there eighteen or twenty years after the war; he then removed to & lived several years in Clark County Georgia, from whence he removed to Rutherford County Ten. where he now resides and has resided since the year 1808. He cannot state the names of any of the officers in the regular service, or anything about any continental or militia regiments, except the one to which he belonged.

He is acquainted with William Pau, Randolph B. Hall, David Hall, Samuel Fulks and others in his neighborhood, who he believes will testify as to his character for viscity [sic: veracity], and their belief of his services as a soldier of the revolution.

He has no documentary evidence of his services and he knows of no person whose testimony he can procure to prove his services.

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

David hisXmark Faulkenberry

This 6 day of September 1832 personally appeared before me John W. Conly an acting Justice of the peace for the County of Rutherford and State of Tennessee, Jacob Faulkenberry, aged about Sixty-two years, who being first sworn according to law, doth upon his oath state that he is the son of David Faulkenberry, the applicant in the foregoing declaration, that the services of his father as a soldier in the revolutionary war are connected with his earliest recollections, that he has always understood from his father & others that he did serve as a soldier, and he has heard him, when in the full vigor and perfect exercise of his memory, give a circumstantial detail of his services. He has a personal recollection that after Gates’ defeat, his father was ordered as he supposes to collect all the public property that could be found scattered through the country by the retreating army, and that he did collect and bring guns, baggage &c. and bring in, in considerable quantities to be disposed of according to such directions as might be given by the authorities of the United States. His father is very old, and extremely infirm. His recollection has so much failed that he can scarcely remember events now passing around him an hour after they have taken place. And his recollection of his services has become exceedingly imperfect, so much so, that at times he cannot remember anything about it until some particular circumstance in relation to them is mentioned. He is a cripple in both his hands, which affiant has a recollection was produced at his own house by the Tories, on account of his attachment to the Whigs, by cutting him to pieces with their swords. He was also wounded by a ball at the same time, which is now in his arm. 

Jacob his X mark Faulkenberry

NOTE: There were two engagements near or at Hanging Rock in present Lancaster County SC. On 30 July 1780 Maj. William Richardson Davie led North Carolina partisans on a diversionary attack on Loyalists near Hanging Rock. On 6 Aug 1780 Gen. Thomas Sumter led troops including South Carolina militiamen in an attack on Loyalists at Hanging Rock. I could not identify a Capt. Caneston or a Gen. Williamson.