[D]

Hello Martin, welcome! Glad to have you here, I hear Sydney is a beautiful city.

I hope you find some enjoyable content here on RevWarTalk. Would love to hear about your interests in the Rev War

Dan

[D]

Hi Keith,

Interesting thought, I haven’t pondered it much before. I’m not familiar with many others, though from light reading (http://militaryhistorynow.com/2016/11/03/pistols-at-dawn-officers-gentlemen-and-duelling-in-the-18th-and-19th-centuries/) it appears that it might have been frowned upon, and thus not as common as might be expected. (I would this it might have been a relatively usual way to settle disputes at the time, though it seems that might not be the case).

Also, I’ve read that George Washington dissuaded the practice, feeling it would lead to diminished ranks in leadership (from being shot, which would hurt the war effort.

“Humanity Dick” was quite an active dueler. I’d be curious too if anyone knows more about this

Thanks

[D]

Hello Keith, welcome to the forum

I don’t know too much about Major William Montgomery myself, though this resource has a good amount of information about the regiment’s history in the earlier 1700’s, maybe connecting with them, they might have information or be able to direct you more closely to some great stuff.

http://www.militaryheritage.com/40th.htm

And via this website: http://www.hm40thfoot.com/

Found this book: https://books.google.com/books?id=MvT-O4I0xjAC&dq=inauthor%3A%22Raymond%20Henry%20Raymond%20Smythies%22&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

That might share a lttle more, or provide insight into some other avenue to search. Hope that helps some

Dan

[D]

Hello Terry, and welcome to the forum.

Those are such exciting finds! Thank you for sharing. It’s always amazing to find history in the ground and be able to preserve/share it with others. Of course there is the curiosity around the story behind them (who dropped the musket ball?, were they in a hurry?, what did they do next?) that makes it fun to think about.

I’m not exactly sure about the cufflink shaped item either – based on the corrosion pattern it does appear to have a piece missing that was once in the middle.

Great finds! I hope you get a chance to explore/find more

Thanks,
Dan

[D]

Hi Jamie, you’re welcome. Thanks for sharing those images.

Absolutely, we often hear the recounts of historians; getting the first-person account makes for a special connection, and the history a little more real

[D]

Hello! I was able to spend some time transcribing (some words are a bit of a mystery), though also at times fun piecing the history together. Not everyhing might be spot-on accurate, so surely updates/suggestions are welcomed.

It is interesting to read the journey of a soldier, and how it all ties into some of the more familiar names/events in history.

———————————————————-

State of North Carolina
County of Wilkes

On this 30th day of October 1832 personally appeared in open Court before the Court of (word-word-word) of the County of Wilkes State of North Carolina (word-word) a John Swanson a resident of the County of Wilkes, State of North Carolina, aged seventy on years, who being (word) duly sworn according to law (oath on the earth?) make the following declaration, (several words) June 7th 1832.

That he was born on the 11th Day of April 1761 in the County of Edgecombe and State of North Carolina, the second of which he (word) from that made by his father, in his family record, where hi lived (word) he was about twelve years of age, when he moved north his father to the County of Wilkes, in the said state, when he moved north the fall of the year 1780, when he was (word-word) for a three month time, and entered the service of the United States, in the (word) County of Wilkes, in a company of militia commanded by Captain Ethelred Jones (External note: Was an Ensign. 1780-1781, a Captain under Col. John Hinton, Jr. Early 1781, attached to Lt. Col. Thomas Farmer (Orange County Regiment). aka Dred Jones), and (word) at Hillsboro: where they joined the regiment under Col Thomas Farmer –

after remaining at Hillsboro a few days they marched (word) to Salisbury where they joined the troops under Genl Davidson and marched in a short time to (word-word) on the Catawba River, where they met with the army under Lord Cornwallis, attempting to offer a (word) – after a (word) skirmish of that (word-word-word) the opposing armies, Genl Davidson divided his troops and (word) about those hundred under command of Col Farmer, of whom the (word) was one he provided with (word-word-word-word-word-word) the (word) about few miles to a place called (word-ford?) where a portion of the British Army were endeavoring to (word), and when Genl Davidson had a (word-word) engagement with them, in which he was unfortunately killed, and the troops under his command totally defeated and (word) – the Americans then headed on foot as they could towards Salisbury, without (word) keeping the main road.

Endeavoring to keep themselves together – about six miles from the Catawba Col Tarlton with a party of British light horse (word) a small body of the Americans, of whom they (word) way one and attacked and dispersed them after (word) a few (word). (word) they succeeded in making their escape (word-word) having shown the Americans in the great confusion, they (word) these (word-word) after they (word) the (word) when the small party to which these (word) was attached not knowing where they would find the remaining (word) of the army, and (word) the British to (word) them every day and these term of service being about to expire, they proceeded home (word-word) this (word) believes he served about the middle of February 1781 – In the month of April, this (defendant?) reenlisted himself for twelve months (under a regiment made by the State of North Carolina for (word) number of twelve months (word), and (word-word-word) from whence they (word) marched under the command of a Sergent, to Hillsboro, where they were placed under the command of Captain (Elmer?) Dickson –

after remaining at Hillsboro a short time, they marched to a small farm in the County of Granville, then called Harrisburg, (was supposed to be (word) where they were stationed for some time, during which time the (word) from the (word-word—word) at that place on the final day of June 1781 at that place, this (defendant?) took what was called “the (word-word) oath” – From Harrisburg they marched back to Hillsboro from there to Salisbury under Genl Farmer and from there through Charlotte, Camden (word) to the High Hills of Santee where they joined Genl Greene – after joining Genl Greene they marched back again to Camden, and after they…

———————————————————-

-Dan

[D]

Hello Jamie, welcome to RevWarTalk!

What an exciting family history, and the documentation to help bring you even closer to it makes it even more amazing. It’s pretty special to know how our ancestors helped play a part in creating the place we call home today. I am excited to read through the statement you attached and see if I can transcribe some bits, it’s fun to learn from primary sources, very cool!

It is interesting to think about the breakdown of loyalists and patriots, and what might have swayed people to choose sides. I’d imagine there were a fair amount of loyalists (that we don’t really hear more about). And likely a fair amount of neutral folks that might have wanted to be open patriots though wanted to play it safe. Did your 6th Grandfather have a lot of land? Was he a farmer?

Hudson has some great family connections too

Thanks for sharing!

Dan

[D]

Cool! True, physical history from that time period surely lends itself more favorably to the northeast

Excellent avatar! it’s a great illustration

[D]

From a little reading (on wikipedia, so taken not as a fully-vetted source) I came across the same, that from 1770 on generally each regiment had a light infantry company (although each company had a varying degree of training). The inspiration supposedly came from the Ticonderoga campaign of 1758 and observation of battle tactics of the American Woodland Nations. Pretty cool

[D]

Hi Hudson! Indeed, Civil War Talk is quite a thorough and well-managed forum – I’ve spent many-a-night reading about the intricacies of uniforms, speculations of differing battle outcomes, and just good ‘ole thoughts and commentary from folks. Glad you found us here, thanks for stopping by.

There is a new Museum of the American Revolution here in Philadelphia that recently opened, I’ll have to visit soon and maybe able to share some photos and a bit of a story here on the forum.

Dan

[D]

Hello Hudson! Excellent to have you here, welcome to RevWarTalk.

History is an exciting area to have an interest in, I think especially the American Revolution as it was such a formative time. That’s amazing you have ancestors involved, have you always lived in Alabama? I was very much into learing about the Civil War, which then led me further back into history to the Revolution, and I’ve been hooked since 🙂

Dan

[D]

Hello Jimbo_Poke,

Welcome to the forum, very glad you found us. One of my original interests in American history was Civil War. After many years of fascination with that period, I found myself living in Philadelphia which led to the irresistible pursuit of learning in the American Revolution. Once one has the history bug it’s tough to get rid of it 🙂

It’s great you have New England family ties, would be exciting if any date back to colonial times. One topic I often think about is the similarities/differences between the American Revolution and the Civil War – scale, impacts, technology, personalities, opponents, outcomes – each had a profound impact on the shape of America today, yet through very different times.

I am always learning, myself, and eager to explore even more.

Dan

[D]

Hello Jim, welcome to the forum!

The wars that helped shape America are certainly some of the major pieces in it’s history, and the impacts of each war often result in a major new era/lifestyle for the country. I’ve had a fair amount of interest in the Civil War before, and then went back a little further to learn about the American Revolution. One of the biggest surprises for me (albeit it quite understandable in hindsight) is the difference in scale. An average Rev War battle could have a few hundred to a few thousand troops (a major battle having maybe 10,000 – 20,000), whereas the Civil War was a much larger scale, with more people, equipment, and consequently, artifacts available today.

Always fun to learn about them. I hope you enjoy your time here on RevWarTalk

Thanks,
Dan

[D]

Hi DJ,

It’s always great to tie first-hand sources to context, and that’s a nice surprise the letter was a source for the book! It’s fascinating how the interpertation of events can change over time as facts get lost, retold, and reinterpreted. It’s almost like, at times, history is a little treasure hunt/sleuthing at the same time as learning.

Dan

[D]

Indeed, the history bug sneaks up on us 🙂

An east coast trip would be quite enjoyable, I believe. In cities especially like Botson and Philly, there is a unique mix of old and new that makes it really special. There are high rise buildings on the same block as 1-2 story colonial homes, all mixed together in a way that is surprisingly nice. And of course there are preserved historic areas the’ve done a great job maintaining to bring history to life while you’re there. Definitely an exciting area of our nation to have interest in, enjoy the reading/exploring.

Dan

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