Guilford-Randolph County NcArchives Military Records.....Dougan, John 
Revwar - Pension 
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Pension Application Of John Dougan, Natl Archives Microseries M804, Roll 838, Application #W9836
JOHN DOUGAN, resident of Wayne County, Indiana, aged seventy years:
	“I entered the service…in the year 1778, the day and month I do not 
recollect, in Randolph County, North Carolina, as a volunteer private, in a 
volunteer company of horse militia commanded by Captain THOMAS DOUGAN, and 
served in said company to the best of my recollection, one year, during which 
time we were stationed at Bell’s Mill in said county of Randolph, as a public 
store of provisions, said BELL then being a Commissary to furnish provisions 
for the Army of the Revolution. During said service, I found my own horse, 
saddle, and bridle and guns.”
“Our company was raised for the purpose of guarding said public store, and 
suppressing the Tories and disaffected, with whom that county was then largely 
infected. During the year service aforesaid, we were employed in guarding said 
public store, and in detached companies in guarding provision wagons conveying 
provisions to said store, and in traversing the country looking out for Tories 
and protecting the country from their incursions.”
“At the end of the said year of service, said Captain DOUGAN was advanced to 
the rank of Major and WILLIAM GRAY, the ensign of said company was advanced to 
the rank of Captain of said company and took the command thereof. During said 
year service, the inferior officers commanding in said company under the said 
Captain DOUGAN, were Lieutenant WILLIAM CLARK and Ensign WILLIAM GRAY, above 
named. The said WILLIAM CLARK at the expiration of said year service, to the 
best of my recollection, resigned his post as lieutenant. One NEWLAND was 
commissioned Lieutenant in his stead, whose given name I do not recollect, and 
one JOSEPH CLARK was commissioned ensign in said company. I continued in said 
company under Captain GRAY, Lieutenant NEWLAND and Ensign CLARK, and served as 
a private until the termination of the war, during which time we were stationed 
at Bell’s Mill, when not engaged in active service, until the latter part of 
1782, to the best of my recollection. After that time until the close of the 
war, we were stationed when not engaged in active service, at the home of 
Colonel EDWARD SHARP, in County of Randolph, during all of which time I found 
my own horse, saddle and bridle, and arms. 
“The first active service during said latter period of my service was a short 
time after Captain GRAY took the command of said company. We were ordered out 
under the command of Colonel JOHN COLLIER and Lieutenant ANDREW BALFOUR of 
County of Randolph, with a number of volunteers, in all about sixty men. We 
marched about twenty-five miles towards the east end of said named county to 
oppose a company of Tories under the command of one Colonel FANNEN [FANNING], a 
Tory Colonel who was embodying a Tory force in the county adjoining below ours. 
The second night after leaving our station, we encamped at the house of one 
JOHN NEEDHAM. During the night, we were attacked by Colonel FANNING and his 
Tory force. After a short conflict, we repulsed them with two of their men 
killed and four or five wounded. The next morning we pursued Colonel FANNING 
and two days after the conflict, we came upon one Captain MICHAEL ROBBINS, a 
Tory captain with ten or twelve Tories under his command. We dispersed them 
with three of their men killed. We then returned to our station at Bell’s Mill.”
	“The next active service we were engaged in was three or four months 
after the last named expedition, we were ordered out in the fall, I think in 
September [the year I cannot recollect], against the Highland Scotch of North 
Carolina, who were embodying a Tory force sixty or seventy miles from our 
station in the highlands of said state. We were joined by one Colonel SAUNDERS 
of Wake County, North Carolina, with a body of over one hundred men. Said 
Colonel SAUNDERS took the command of the whole, and marched us into the 
highlands and across Cape Fear River. We stole a march on the Tories by 
marching all night one night, and took fourteen prisoners. Our company was 
ordered to guard and did guard the prisoners to Hillsborough in Orange County, 
North Carolina, the District jail. We lodged the prisoners in jail and returned 
to our station.”
“Another piece of service we rendered occurred a few weeks previous to the last 
named expedition (I did not think of it when I related the last named 
expedition), was in defending the public store at our station. The store was 
attacked by one Captain EDWARD FRANKLIN (a Tory captain commissioned by Lord 
CORNWALLIS) and his company about fifteen in number. We repulsed them and the 
next day we pursued them, overtook them, and killed FRANKLIN (the captain) and 
one of his men, and dispersed the company.”
“The next active service that I now recollected that we were engaged in, I 
think occurred in March 1782 (the spring after Lord CORNWALLIS surrendered). 
Captain FANNING and his company consisting of forty or fifty Tories came into 
our county and ravaged the country and killed Lieutenant Colonel BALFOUR and 
Captain JOHN BRYAN in their own houses and burned my mother’s house and barn 
(she being a widow), Colonel COLLIER’s and Esquire MILLIGAN’s houses. We 
pursued them and overtook them and put them to flight, but the day being wet, 
our guns missed fire, so that we only wounded two men.”
“The next piece of active service and the last service I did during the war 
occurred as follows: Colonel ELROD, Captain MICHAEL ROBBINS and Captain SAMUEL 
STILL, Tory officers, were passing through said county of Randolph. They killed 
one young man and wounded another. We pursued them several days and our company 
separated into two parties. One part of the company overtook them, and killed 
Colonel ELROD and Captain STILL. The part of the company I was in was not 
present when they were killed. We marched over one hundred miles over the Blue 
Ridge, from thence we returned to the station at Colonel SHARP’s, and shortly 
afterwards were disbanded.”
“I cannot now state positively whether I received a discharge from my captain. 
But I do recollect that vouchers for my services were placed in the hands of my 
older brother, THOMAS DOUGAN, who took them to Hillsborough, North Carolina and 
purchased land for me with them. To the best of my recollection, the rate of 
pay that I received was twelve dollars per month for my services…etc.”

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