Guilford-Randolph County NcArchives Military Records.....Gray, William 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 18, 2006, 2:28 pm Constructed History Of Captain William Gray JAMES DOUGAN-“The next campaign he served was in 1779. He volunteered for 5 months and served as a lieutenant by brevet in the company commanded by Captain ENOCH DAVIS, Colonel LOCKE’s regiment, RUTHERFORD’s brigade. We again rendezvoused at Salisbury and marched to the 10-Mile House in South Carolina, and from thence to Purysburg, which was then the headquarters of the American army commanded by General LINCOLN. During our stay at this place a detachment under the command of General ASHE was sent out from the army across the Savannah River and had an engagement with the enemy at Briar Creek, in which they were defeated.” “About the same time, he volunteered to go on detachment against a party of the enemy who were said to be marauding along the river. We had a battle in which we were victorious. Captain WILSON had the command of a picket guard at the White House, and in the battle. We were released at that place and returned to headquarters, where he remained performing camp and garrison duties there and in the neighborhood. Having served the term of 5 months, he was discharged and returned home with WILLIAM GRAY, a private.” JOHN DOUGAN-“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.” JOSEPH NATION-“Served a six months tour of duty as a volunteer in a company of cavalry or mounted men under the command of Captain WILLIAM GRAY, in the Randolph regiment of North Carolina militia in the latter part of the year 1779 and forepart of year 1780, and that her husband, the said JOSEPH NATION was out and in actual service during the said six months and was engaged in defending the country from the British and Tories.” “She further says that her said husband served the two tours of duty aforesaid, and in the manner aforesaid, making in the aggregate, nine months actual service. She knows of no other evidence by which she can prove his said services other than the evidence of Captain WILLIAM GRAY, hereto attached.” April 1840-WILLIAM GRAY, aged 83 years-“That after their [Joseph and Jereter’s] marriage, the said JOSEPH NATION served a six months tour of duty as a volunteer in a company of mounted men or cavalry in the War of the Revolution in the North Carolina militia. That this deponent was captain of said company and commanded as such during said tour…and during said tour furnished his own horse and arms…and during said tour were attached to the Randolph regiment of North Carolina militia and were first commanded by Colonel JOHN COLLIER and after him, by Colonel JAMES DOUGAN. Deponent…thinks it was in 1779 or 1780…” EZEKIEL CRAFT-“In January or February 1782, he volunteered for six months in the same county of Randolph as a state ranger under Captain WILLIAM GRAY. Several such companies were raised to guard the civil authorities and their measures of military cooperation from the incessant assaults of the Tories. During this tour, he served under Colonel DOUGAN and was again badly wounded. The chief affair that occurred was the defeat of FANNING by Colonel DOUGAN at Mrs. Spink’s plantation, where affiant had the joy to see him overtaken and routed at a moment when he was engaged in hanging some Whigs he had captured. Colonel DOUGAN’s discharge to affiant for this tour is annexed.” Additional Comments: Constructed History is my term for a soldier who did not file for a pension himself, but about whom there is enough evidence from other soldiers to form an equivalent to a pension application. Most of the testimony comes from other men mentioning the officer or non-comm. officer, but in some cases, the actual soldier himself testified on behalf of other men, thus revealing his own history. 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