Guilford County NcArchives Military Records.....Cotton, James Revwar - Pension ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nc/ncfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Nancy Poquette npoq@hotmail.com June 15, 2006, 2:59 am Pension Application Of James Cotton, Natl Archives Microseries M804, Roll 661, Application #W6942 JAMES COTTON, a resident of Madison County, Alabama, aged 67 years: “That having no record of his birth but confiding in the tradition in his father’s family concerning it, affiant believes he was born in Guilford County in the then colony of North Carolina, in October 1765. In January 1781, when visiting relations in Henry County, Virginia, he substituted himself in place of one NANCE, (thinks JOHN NANCE), in Captain GEORGE HARSTON’s company of men, drafted from that county for a three months tour to North Carolina to assist in combating the British and Tories, who then infested that colony.” “He and his company were marched directly into North Carolina, where at Dan River, as he thinks, they joined Major General GREENE’s army. He proceeded with that army in its movements until the enemy under CORNWALLIS was met near Guilford Courthouse. According to his best impressions, the General shortly after sunrise approached the large waste field of the battleground from the east, leaving that portion of the militia in which affiant was on the eastern skirt of the field as a reserve. The enemy about the same time advanced from the west under a cannonade. The battle lasted several hours, when affiant with the reserve were led before the enemy to cover the retreat of the regiments which had been engaged and only fired a round or so, and were ordered to retreat with the main body of the army. The whole retreat was in order and as affiant believes, without pursuit, except some horse who showed themselves in the rear as far as the bridge over Haw River, about two miles distant from the scene of action.” “General GREENE halted at Troublesome Ironworks about 10 miles distant and in a few days marched upon the enemy and again halted at Ramsey’s Mills on Deep River. When marching to the latter point, the army proceeded in files of four, and an order was passed along the line to open the files so as to leave a space in the center, when some field officers rode swiftly through the space and during this movement, the attention of affiant was pointed to a man hanging under a tree in the right of the line with a paper spread on his breast, which advertised, as was asserted? reported?, his name, vocation and deeds as a Tory. Over against adjacent him on an eminence sat some ten or dozen men, by whom, affiant supposes the Tory had been caught and elevated.” “Whilst the army was encamped at Ramsey’s Mills, there was an alarm and the army put in motion toward the point as if to meet the enemy and a hollow square formed around a tree in an open space as if to repel a charge from cavalry, when to the surprise of all, two men were conducted into the center and hung to the same limb of the tree. They too were doubtless Tories.” “Affiant and his company were then ordered to join Colonel LEE’s light horse at Cape Fear, where the colonel addressed the company and urged twelve of them to enlist in his regiment declaring that that number would complete it. Affiant and eleven of his comrades enlisted under Colonel LEE until the close of the war as regular dragoons or light horsemen. The rest of HARSTON’s company was then discharged.” “The next morning Colonel LEE inquired for someone acquainted in Guilford County, and being informed by affiant that he was, he stated he wished to send an express to Colonel PAISLEY there, and affiant consented to bear it. On delivering it to Colonel PAISLEY, he directed affiant to go with him in his expedition against the Tories. In that expedition he was in Captain JOHN MCADOW’s company.” “On returning, Captain JOHN MAY raised a company of horsemen into which affiant was put and appointed orderly sergeant, and another expedition against the Tories was performed. On affiant’s return from this, he was put in command of the men left at Guilford Courthouse consisting of a few regulars and militia, some of whom had recovered of the wounds received at the Guilford Battle and returned to duty.” “Here affiant remained until on a certain day, some officers apparently in the regular service rode up, and one of them, he thinks Major RUTHERFORD, ordered affiant to put his men under arms, to draw ammunition as for battle and besides, full rations of rum. This being done and the men reported ready, and affiant expecting orders to march upon the Tories, RUTHERFORD appeared on horse, and read aloud the proclamation of peace, and gave permission to expend the powder and rum in rejoicing. A written discharge was neither asked nor thought of by affiant.” “He had been nearly a year (above six months) in actual continued service, above six months of the time a dragoon regularly enlisted and raised, as affiant then considered it, to the dignity of an orderly in his troop. He continued to reside in Guilford until 1789…Affiant knows of no one by whom he can now prove a personal knowledge of his services, except JOHN GIBSON, whose affidavit he has procured by great exertion, which he is advised wants farther authentication, but being unable to travel back to procure the authentication, he annexes it hereto.” “JEREMIAH GURLEY aged above 72, a citizen of Madison County…declares that having been in General GREENE’s army on the march from Troublesome Ironworks to Ramsey’s Mills, and having witnessed the incident of the Tory hanging by the roadside and the hanging of two others at Ramsey’s Mills as describe in the foregoing declaration of JAMES COTTON, and from a variety of other incidents related to affiant, the said COTTON as occurring in the campaign in which those related occurred, he is fully convinced that said COTTON was actually engaged in the Revolutionary service as he in his declaration asserts.” From the pension application of JOHN GIBSON-Attached document, from JAMES COTTON, who swore: “That before and during the Revolutionary War, he was well-acquainted with a man by the name of JOHN GIBSON, both as being inhabitants of Guilford County in the state of North Carolina. I was an enlisted soldier in the horse, and in 1781 was attached to a company of horse under the command of Captain JOHN MAY of said county and state, the services of which company was rendered in subduing the Tories in the counties of Randolph and Chatham. Colonel John PAISLEY was the commandant of said troop.” File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nc/guilford/military/revwar/pensions/cotton138gmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ncfiles/ File size: 7.0 Kb