PENSION: James Cook 1832 Butler County, Kentucky Contributed for use in USGenWeb by GwendolynPlyler@ij.net ****************************************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ****************************************************************************************** State of Kentucky, Butler County: On this 11th day of December 1832 personally appeared before the County Court in open court before the court of Butler now sitting, James Cook, a resident of the county and State aforesaid aged 70 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 7th 1832. That he entered the service of Untied States under the following named officers and served as herein stated. That he was born in York County, Pennsylvania in the year 1762 and moved to the State of Virginia when very young. That he first volunteered in the militia service in September or October 1780 for the term of three months under the command of Captain Robert Adams and Colonel William Luftridge, all of Bedford County, Virginia, that they marched through Charlotte and Prince Edward and Amelia Counties and in the course of a week or ten days from the time they set out they joined the army under the command of General Robert Lawson stationed at Petersburg, Virginia that in this term he was in no battle and does not remember the names of any of the officers under the command of General Lawson except one Captain Maston Clay and he does not remember whether he served out the time for which he enlisted but he remembers that he was legally discharged by Capt. Adams verbally, that he returned to Bedford County in Virginia and in January or February 1781 he volunteered again for the term of three months and marched under the command of Captain William Jones and marched under the command of Colonel Lynch to join the army of General Green in North Carolina, that in the company that marched with him to join Gerneral Green were Captains Thomas Helm, Jacob Moon, and David Beard, that they marched through Halifax County and crossed Dan River on their way to Green's army, that he was in the battle of Guilford where Captains Moon, Helm and Jones were killed, the lieutenant being absent, the command of his company then upon John Case Ensign, sometime thereafter about the expiration of the three months for which he volunteered he was verbally discharged by Colonel Lynch and he again returned to his home in Bedford, Virginia. In September 1781 he again volunteered for the term of three months under the command of Captain David Beard and marched under Colonel Daniel Trigg through the counties of Charlotte, Prince Edward, Amelia, Dinwiddie and some other counties (the names of which he cannot recollect) to James River and marched down it about 50 miles, and passed through a little town called Cabin Point and camped at James River at Cabin Point in sight of James Town, then to about 12 miles from James Town and then to York Town about 12 miles from Williamsburg. When he arrived at York Town Colonel Trigg was discharged and a man by the name of Tucker, (whose Christian name he never knew) was appointed in his stead. He was at York Town during th siege, and until after the capture of Corwallis he knew none of the officers at the seige of York Town except Washington, Lafayette, Wayne and Lawson nor does he remember the regiments in which he served during any period of his services. He states that after the capture of Lord Conwallis all Captain Beard's company except himself and fifteen others obtainded Doctors discharges and went home and that Captain Beard after atttempting and failing to obtain discharges for the rest, advised them to desert and meet him at Williamsburg wher he would give them discharges, and thus deserted himself leaving Cook and the said fifteen without an officer. He further states that being thus left General Lafayette advised them to go with the British prisoners to Winchester upon which they joined the company of Captain Giles and marched with the prisoners above Fredericksburg where half of them was sent to Fredericks Town in Maryland. He went under Captain Giles with the other half to Winchester where he was discharged by Captain Giles, that he returned to Bedford County and after living there about thirty five years, moved to Butler County in the Stae of Kentucky where has has resided ever since. he further states that for the services above set forth that he has never received any compensation and that he has never made application for a pension of any kind, that he in circumstances and that age and sickness have compelled him to make application for the provision made by Congress. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or anuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state. his James X Cook mark Sworn to and subscribed the day aforesaid I, Benjamin McReynolds, a clergyman residing in Butler County, Kentucky hereby certify that I have known James Cook who has signed, subscribed, and sworn to the above declaration from my infancy. I was about 4 years of age when he volunteered and lived in Bedford, Virginia. I knew when he entered the service and when he returned from it. Two of my brothers served with him. I also believe him to be seventy years of age, to be a man to whom the strictest credence is due and that it is believed in the neighborhood where he resides that he was a soldier of the Revolution. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid B. McReynolds I, Jesse Scofield, a resident in the county and state aforesaid do hereby certify that I am well aquainted with James Cook who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration. That I believe him to be 70 years of age, that he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution, and that I concur in that opinion. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. Jesse Scofield And the said court do hereby declare their opinion, after the investigation of the matter, and after putting the interrrogations prescribed by the War Department that the above named applicant was a Revolutionary soldier and served as he states. And the court further certifies that it appears to them that Benjamin McReynolds who has signed the preceeding certificate is a clergyman of the county and state aforesaid and that Jesse Scofield who has also signed a certificate is a resident in the county and state aforesaid and is a credible person and that their statement is entitled to credit. James Tyler Commonwealth of Kentucky, Butler County