REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION APPLICATION - ROBERT HINSON, JR. Contributed by: Janelle Holmes (wildair@texas.net) ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any 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. http://www.usgwarchives.net *********************************************************************** Robert Hinson, Jr. State of Virginia, County of Fauquier On this seventeenth day of March eighteen hundred & forty six, personally appeared before me the undersigned justices of the same in and for the said county, Robert Henson/or Hansen, for he says his name was formerly spelt by some/ a citizen of the aforesaid county aged ninety five years his last birthday which was the twenty-fifth day of last December (as he always understood from his father, Robert Henson), who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefits of the Act of Congress passed June the 7th, 1832. So, as to embrace his continental services of Eighteen months under an enlistment from the State of South Carolina & his militia services composed of two tours; one of three months and the other of four months from the State of Virginia, making altogether nineteen months in the Revolution as will be hereafter set forth. That he was born & raised in the aforesaid county & continued as resident of the same with his father Robert Henson until sometime in the early part of the Revolution when he and his brother "Chasles" (Charles) left Virginia & went to his brother James Hinson in the state of South Carolina where he, the said Robert Henson remained until he enlisted & entered the regular continental services of the United States from the said state of South Carolina as will be herafter mentioned. that his brother James Henson with whom he resided in the South, lived about fifteen miles from Ninety Six Court House in the said state of South Carolina & he remembers that before he entered the continental service from the said state of South Carolina as a soldier to have seen in service in the said state several of his acquaintances (p. 2) from his native county Fauquier in Virginia to wit/ Thomas Grooms * Jesse Whitton, the former known Major & the latter sergeant in Captain Slaughter's company. that he was slightly acquainted with the said Slaughter before he left Virginia, that Slaughter resided in Culpeper County, Va before he, the said Robert Henson went to the South, & the said Grooms & Withen of the said Slaughter company went from his native county Fauquier Va & before they went to the South always lived near neighbors to him & he was acquainted with them & as stated he saw them in service in the said state of South Carolina in Captain Slaughter's company & they persuaded him to enlist in the service which he concluded & enlisted in the continenal Line under Captain John Sutterwhite or Satterwhite, he does not now recollect which name he bore at Ninety Six Court House in the said State of south Carolina, for the term of three years but before entering the service as hereafter mentioned, the said Satterwhite or wait resigned his commission & Captain Lewis Duvall took the command of the company & marched under said enlistment into service at Ninety Six Court House to the best of his recollection in the month of June 1779 from Ninenty Six his said company under Duvall & Samuel Rice was Lieutenant,& William Hamilton was sergeant of the same & marched to Col Egills farm in the said state where the Tories had erected a sort of Fort around the dwelling at said farm & his company, Capt. Slaughter's company under the command of Col. Marion marched against said Fort & killed them all the Tories in said Fort about 50 or 60 in all. That his company under Duvall numbered sixty-eight privates besides officers to the best of his recollection & he remembers the name of William Higgins, Newton Higgins, Thomas Anderson, Isaac Davenport, William Gaggins?, William Crary?, John Lindsay, Thomas Saunders, Tennor Hudson & Joseph Wall (Hall?) all of whom were privates in (p. 3) one the said company under Duvall & he does not know that any of these men are now living. That his company marched from said Fort to Ninety Six & had an engagement with the Tories at that place & dispersed then & bided a short time at this place & from NInety Six his forces under Capt. Marion marched to Charlotte, crossing the Saluda & Catawba rivers & at Charlotte his forces had a skirmish with the Tories & killed some of them & from Charlotte after remaining a short time his men marched on as far as Guilford for the purpose of strengthening his forces & from Guilford his men returned to Ninety Six & had a brush with Tarletons light Horse at Ninety Six & killed a good many of them, the remainder made their escape, then took ? Tarleton at this place as he understood about three hundred men & from Ninety Six his company waded Duvalls. Capt. Slaughter's company together with 2 or 3 other companies under Col. Dawson marched then to Eutaw & had an engagement with Tory enemy & he thinks his forces retreated with many killed ? ten of his men, this took place after he had been in service a long time but does not remember how long but it was after he had marched through the county to a great many others, some of which his forces habbar? 3 short times at & after his forces had had a great many skirmishes with the Tories & from Eutaw his forces of five or six companies marched on to Hampton Road and had a skirmish with the enemy under Tarleton & killed about twelve of them more. at this time a deserter was found in his ranks who was hung upon the spot after remaining a short time to rest his forces marched on to Kings Mountain. Around this time between North & South Carolinas. where they had a hot battle his forces then formed by a great many troops & his forces located in the oasis & then afterwards rallied to (singuard?) the enemy General Morgan's army he thinks formed his forces in this battle, how he was wounded by a ball in the leg & was carried with the wounded from this place to Ninety Six Hospital he understood that the enemy carried their wounded from the battle to Charleston &he was informed that (p. 4) the number killed & wounded in this engagement amounted to several hundred men. That he had been in service when wounded at this place about sixteen months, that he was, as has been stated, conveyed from said battleground to Ninety Six Hospital where he was confined with said wound seven weeks & a few days & was attended by the Doctor Mattau who extracted the ball from his leg & he recovered from said wound after being confined seven weeks and a few days in said Hospital & Doctor Mattau gave him a written discharge which he was directed to do by his Captain Duvall in the event he recovered from said wound & he had been eighteen months in service & said Hospital, that is he had served sixteen months and a few days when wounded & was confined of said wound seven weeks & 3 days, making eighteen months from the beginning of his enlistment to the recovering of said wound & as soon as he was able to walk he left said Hospital with his written discharge as before stated & went to his brother James Henson & staid a few days & then set off for Virginia. That he remembers about this time to have heard of the battle of Cowpens between Americans & English that after leaving his brother's he set off for Virginia crossing over the Saluda & Catawba, Yadkin Rivers, touching at Charlotte, Guilford & to crossing Roanoke River & then he reached Cumberland County, Va; he stopped to rest a few days at the house of an old acquaintance & whilst there was drafted for the militia service. That tho his way. (page 5) from the South to Virginia he found it necessart to waid Smiths' River & got his discharge wet & destroyed. That after crossing Cumberland County, Va on his way from South Carolina he was assigned for this tour of three months in Captain James Allen's company of the Virginia militia & Nathaniel Carrington first & Samuel Rice, 2nd Lieutenant, Samuel ? was sergeant of the same & marched from Casomboberg? & Cook's Counties under Col. Joseph Carringon & Major Martin Richardson, to Richmond, Va where his company with the armies from the service & then marched on to Williamsburg and bitted a short time to have their guns repaired & then his said company ? seen ? ? to Harrington crosingthe James River at Ruffins Ferry & his company was stationed at Hampton about two months and whilst at Hampton he sawthe British Fleet lying in Hampton Roads that he went upon the Steeple of the church at that place & seen the vessels of said Fleet & could distinguish one large black looking vessel ? and the sides? of the ship fired a signal & all the Fleet set sail & he saw the flee ? when left his water & he understood that they were three hundred vessels in the said Fleet. That after said Fleet left said Hampton Roads his company ? to Williamburg & bitted about three weeks & then marched on up to Richmond & gave up their arms, then continued to Cumberland Ct. House & was discharged after serving out the tour of three months he remember the names of Cress, William Gaffi (Cresson?), Robert King & Robert Brown? of whom he believes are not dead. (p. 6) that he does not remember or know discharged any of the regular troops or assignments in the tour of three months from Cumberland & his company did not march with any militiamen except two companies which his company met with between Hampton and Richmond on his return from Hampton. That after his discharge from this time of three months, in Cumberland which was in the spring of 1781, came on to Fauquier County, Va to his father, Robert Henson's & a few days after reaching his father's he was drafted in the militia & served a tour of four months under Captain Thomas Bronaugh, Joseph Galup was Lieutenant & Rodham Tallop was ensign of the said company under Captain Bronaugh ? under Col. Armstead Churchill, Major A. Bunson, Major Joseph Blackwell in the said County of Fauquier in this commission of 1781 & served on by Fredericksburg to Richmond where said company drew their armies for the service & then marched on to Williamsburg & then on to Hampton & was stationed more than two months in that place & then continued back & halted about three weeks at Bushrod's Ferry on the James River, then his company met with Major Ramsey's detachment from Prince William County, Va at Handbroth? Farm? in Northumland County, Va & said detachment came on with his company from said Town to Williamsburg & found the British in possession of said Town & had a small Fleet in the James River in said Town & his forces together with Major Ramsey's detachment & several of these companies retreated from said enemy & was pursued by the British from said Town up to Richmond & he remembers in the engagement at Williamsburg this (p. 7) William ? of Captain Ma? company was wounded in the leg & William ? of said comapny was wounded in the shoulder in said engagement at Williamsburg that Benjamin Bullet? of his Captain Bronaughs company was killed in said engagement. that when his said forces reached Richmond on this retreat from the enemy at WmsBurgh the enemies Fleet was lying in the James River at Richmond & the enemy had encamped on the opposite side of the River & the enemy fired upon his forces from their vessels but as the banks of the River were high did not damage his forces much & whilst encamped in Richmond he remembers that an Englishman was maneuvering on the water as if offering a ? to his men when one of the artillery ? (as there was an artillery company in Richmond who? ? ? a ? & shot said Englishman through the middle & killed him on the spot & he recollects another circumstance to have occured whilst at Richmond there was a large ? engaged tanning cobbs, ropes & this ? was so ? ? to ? the ? that the ? ? against an attack of ? while ? ? their guns fired & shot a man by the name of D_ from Prince William County, Va belonging to Major Ramseys detachment with said county & ? ? on ? the ? was then after ? he ? all the companies detachments ? in Richmond at this time were under the command of General Madon? of Virginia. That his company met with some forces of the Regular troops & the town & forces marched under Captain Thomas Bronaugh at Nupura? Noose? between Hampton & Williamsburg & that they met with a great many (p. 8)troops in Richmond & a militia company from Spotsylvania & another from Caroline County but made no acquaintances with them. That Captain William Tellman M? company from Tarryton? County Va started forces Major Joseph Blackwell with his company & continued together throughout the entire tour of four months. that the company from Spotsylvania & Caroline came as a relief to his company William Bronaugh & Captain M? company that their company was detained in service one month over the draft waiting as it was stated for a company to relieve them. That he remembers the names Jesse Witton, C? Wilam, Lewis Jennings & William Bronaugh, Peter Conway, George Cusby?, Andrew O'Bannon, John Whitern, Jonas Williams first sergeant of his Captain Bronaughs company & that he does not know that any of these men are now alive. that this his last tour in the Revolution and served short time for the ? at York this town expiredd? whilst his company was stationed at Richmond & after serving out four months his relief came & his company was marched up to Fauquier County, Va & discharged. That he remembers distinctly that during the whole of his service to the South of the Continental Line from South Carolina that his acquaintances Thomas Grooms & Jesse Withton of Captain Slaughters company were with his company under Duvall that they went together with Gells from Ninety Six at Charlotte & marched together to Hampton Roads to Eutaw & to Kings Mountain when he was (p. 9) wounded and these men Grooms & Withers were both pensioners of the United States and he begs that the Department will refer to the papers of the said Thomas Grooms and Jesse Withers if in file for further writing in support of his claim for a pension and the said Jesse Withers from Fauquier County, Va, the same Jesse Witton who served as sergeant in Captain Slaughters company in the South as before stated the same Jesse Witton from Fauquier Va was with his company during his last tour of militia service in Virginia under Captain Bronaugh. That he was witness for the said Jesse Witton in his application for apension and that the said Jesse Witton was to have been his witness to prove his pension in said war. That he put his claim for a pension in the hands of Doctor Thompson of Fauquier County some ten or twelve years ago that he remembers Doctor Thompson promised to process his affidavit of the aforesaid Jesse Withers to bet 100 ? on my claim & a pension and promises to prepare my papers and attend to my claim for me and That he has been waiting in expectation of getting his pension as he remembers that Doctor Thompson who was a magistrate made him swear to a paper in relation to his claim. (written on side: the said Doctor Thompson died last year) That he always considered his company under Captain Lewis Duvall in the South and the said Captain Slaughter's company from Virginia which said company under Slaughter served with his said company (p.10) in the South was both in the regular service that the other companies in the South serving occasionally with his under Duvall and Captain Slaughter's company were militia companies that he was never a substitute for anyone that he has no documenting evidence in support of his claim that he does not know of any person now living whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his service. 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 in the United States of America. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid Robert Henson State of Virginia, County of Fauquier We, Marshall Rector and William Rector residing in the neighborhood of Mr. Robert Henson certify that we are well acquainted with Mr. Robert Henson who has subscribed and sworn the above declaration that we believe him to be ninety-five years age as he states that he is reputed and believed to have been a soldier of the Revolution and we concur in that opinion. Sworn to and subscribed this 17th day of March 1846 Marshall Rector William Rector -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Gospel and he begs lives of the department to substitute in the room of the Clergyman a respectible citizen of his neighbourhood to wit W. Nathaniel Rutin?? (name is written very small), sworn to and subscribed this day and year aforesaid Robert Henson The following questons and answers on this 17th day of March 1846 taken before the undersigned justices in the matter of the application of Robert Hinson for a pension. Ques. 1: when and in what county were you born? Answer: I was born in Fauquier County, Va on the twenty-fifth day of December 1757 as always understood from my father Rbt Henson Ques 2. Have you any record of your age and if so, where is it? Answer: I always understood from my father that parson Craig christened me and recorded my name in his Parish Register. Parson Craig has been dead many years and I do not know what has become of his Register. Ques. 3. Where were you living when called into service, where have you been since the Revolutionary war and where do you now live? Answer I was living in the county of Fauquier Virginia until about the beginning of the Revolution when I removed to South Carolina and went into service as before stated in my declaration and ask him to request (p. 2) the department to said declaration for all the particulars in relation to the place of my residence when called into service. I have always lived since the Revolution in my native county Fauquier Virginia in which I now live. Ques. 4 How were you called into service? Were you drafted, did you volunteer or were you a substitute and if a substitute for whom. Answer. I was a volunteer in the South and was twice drafted in the Virginia Militia as can be seen by reference to my declaration and was never a substitute for anyone. Ques 5 State the name of some of the Regiment Officers who were with the troop when you served such continental and militia regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of your service. Answer: in my southern service I recollect the names of Capt. Sutterwhite, Capt Duvall, Capt Slaughter, General Minor, General Morgan and recollect that Capt Slaughter's company served the whole time on the South with my company under Capt. Duvall, that Morison had Command of the forces with whom we served and recollects to have been with militia companies in his Southern term but does not now remember the names of their officer. he remembers in his first term of service in the Virginia Militia the name of Col. Carrington who had command of his company under Capt. Allen from Cumberland County Va and not recollect to have met with any continental or militia regiments during the said tour but remembers to have seen (p. 3) the British fleet in Hampton Road that he saw from the steeple of the Church at Hampton when said Fleet fired the signal to sail from said Hampton Road that this vessel which in said Fleet which fired the signal was different from the others, that being a large dark looking ship,. That in his several times of Militia service he remembers to have seen some British vessels in the James River at Richmond and the British encamped in Manchester Va that he recollect the names of Capt Bronough and Capt. Weaver from Fauquier and their companies and Col. Ramby's company from Prince William Va and remember to have met some of the regular troops at Nupeer Noose below Wmsburg and he does recollect the names of their officers and remembers there was an artillery company in Richmond but did not form any acquaintances with the officers and remembers to remembers to have met that one company from Spotsylvania and another from Carolina County, VA and further remembers of his service he begs ? to ? the department of his declarations. Ques. 6 Did you ever receive a discharge from the service and if so by whom was it given and what has become of it. Answer in my southern term of service I received a discharge from Doctor Mutt? by directions from Capt Duvall as stated (p. 4) in my declaration which discharge was destroyed on my return to Virginia. I had to waid Smith river and said discharge got wet & was destroyed. In my first term of service in the Virginia Militia I recollect a discharge from Capt. Allen in Cumberland County, Va and took it home with me but it was afterwards destroyed or mislayed or lost and for my second term of service in the Militia I received no discharge. Ques. 7 State the names of person in your ? and neighbourhood to whom ? and who can testitfy ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? of your services as a soldier in the Revolution. Answer. Mc? ? , Wm Onoch, Barber, Capt Morgan Major ? ? Georgia, Captain William B? Captain George ???????? (several lines illegible) Sworn & subscribed this day and by the aforesaid Robert Henson ____ as the undersigned justices __ for the County of Fauquier ? and duly ??? administer oaths James Payne Dr. Thompson ?D In abstracts of Rev. War Pension Files it states that his father was Robert Hinson, Sr., and that he went to see his brother Charles Henson during the early part of the Revo. and went to see his brother James Henson and that he stayed ther and also enlisted there (about 15 miles from the 96 district courthouse.