REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION APPLICATION - JOHN C. ALESHITE Contributed by: Joe McKee (mckeer@pilot.msu.edu) ************************************************************************ 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 *********************************************************************** Aleshite, John C. Revolutionary War Pension Claim. S17816 . Virginia 23.827 John C. Aleshite of Page in the State of Virginia who was a pr. in the __ commanded by Captain __ of the Regt. Commanded by Col. Bowman in the Va line for 9 months ... Certificate of pension issued the 9th day of Apr 34 Luray Va. ... State of Virginia Page County Court Be it remembered that on this 27th day of August 1832, personally appeared in the court ... John C. Aleshite, a resident in the said County of Page and the State of Virginia, aged about 76 years, who being 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 7, 1832. That he entered the service of the United States and served as herein stated. He was born on Smith's Creek in The County of Shenandoah on the 23rd Day of December 1755, though he is not positively certain as to date, but he thinks that he is now about 76 years of age. He was drafted for a tour of duty of 3 months and marched about Sept. 1777 under Captain Rowsch, - we marched from Millerstown ( now Woodstock ) to Reading in Pennsylvania. We arrived at this place about four days before the battle of Germantown - we heard the firing of the cannon very distinctly. Capt. Rowsch and the ensign of our company, Jacob Pennywit and some of our men, returned from this place, the remainder of the company was then commanded by Lieut. Abraham Bird. From Reading we marched under Lieut. Bird to Germantown and joined the main army under Washington. He was engaged in driving back a detachment of Hessians who had come out of Philadelphia. We then returned to Germantown and his term of service having expired, he received a regular written discharge. He deems it proper to remark, that when we joined the main army with Lieut. Bird, there were so few of us, that we were put with a company of regulars. He remained so short a time in the service, that the names of the Captain and the Colonel, who commanded him in this tour, he does not now recollect. Col A. Bowman commanded the militia Regt. To which he was first attached. About two years, he thinks after this first tour of duty, he was again drafted for a tour of 3 months against the Indians. He marched under Capt. John Denton to Staunton, and there rendevouzed, and remained, together with the Militia from Frederick County, until our time had nearly expired; when we rec. orders to march below the Ridge, and join the army against the British. We accordingly marched to Lahewtown ( now Front Royal ) and from there to Stoverstown, where our Captain discharged us, our tour of service having expired. So that we did not join the main army in this instance at all. There was no field officer in command during this last service - each company remained under its own captain independent of the rest. He was again drafted in the militia under Captain George Prince, for a 3 month tour, and marched from the County of Shenandoah to the town of Newcastle on the Pamunkey River in Va., Capt. Prince was not thought fit for the service, in some way or other, and was discharged at Newcastle - we were then commanded by Capt. Lynchfield Sharp, during the remainder of that tour. We then marched to Ruffin's Ferry - and from thence to Williamsburg - and from thence to the siege of York, and he was engaged in the duties and the toils of that siege. His tour of service expired before the surrender of Cornwallis, but he was not discharged until some time after that event. When discharged, he returned home to procure horses, to bring home some of his sick companions who had been discharged also. His Regt. During this last tour, was commanded by Col. Elias Edmonds, and the brigade was commanded by Gen. Edward Stevens. His brother Henry Aleshite, was drafted with him in this last tour of duty, and they served together until his brother Henry marched with the prisoners taken at York. All the discharges which he rec ? from these three tours of duty, have long since been lost or destroyed, and he does not recollect the dates when he entered on these several tours, with sufficient accuracy to state them. He does not know of any living witness by whom he could prove these services or any portion of them, except Capt. George Prince, who is about 90 years of age, and is too infirm to be moved at all. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity, except the present, and declares his name is not on the pension rolls of the agency of any state. Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid. his John ( X ) C. Aleshire mark .... "Selected records from Revolutionary War pension and bounty-land-warrant application files" , microcopy no. M805, roll 9. National Archives and Records Service, Washington, 1969. Transcribed by Joe McKee from microfilm held at the Library of Michigan, Lansing, MI. 20 December 1998.