On October 7, 1780, the foundation that would forever change the world was established. Fewer than one thousand American Heroes, through skill, luck, and the leadership of cunning strategists, defeated Patrick Ferguson, a brilliant star of the British military might. John Anderson was one of those Heroes.
His participation in the Battle of King's Mountain was documented by his Application for Revolutionary War Pension, S*W9329. The application was transcribed by Will Graves.
(Parenthetically, historians, genealogists, and descendants owe thanks to Will Graves for his hours spent transcribing the pension applications of American Revolution veterans. These papers were fragile and difficult to read, so this was a most difficult task, but so many people benefit from his efforts. Thank you, Will Graves.)
Southern Campaigns American Revolution
Pension Statements & Rosters
Pension application of John Anderson
W9329 Sarah Anderson f48NC
Transcribed by Will Graves
6/5/06 rev'd 7/25/14
[Methodology: Spelling, punctuation and/or grammar have been corrected in some instances for ease of reading and to facilitate searches of the database. Where the meaning is not compromised by adhering to the spelling, punctuation or grammar, no change has been made. Corrections or additional notes have been inserted within brackets or footnotes. Blanks appearing in the transcripts reflect blanks in the original. A bracketed question mark indicates that the word or words preceding it represent(s) a guess by me. The word 'illegible' or 'indecipherable' appearing in brackets indicates that at the time I made the transcription, I was unable to decipher the word or phrase in question. Only materials pertinent to the military service of the veteran and to contemporary events have been transcribed. Affidavits that provide additional information on these events are included and genealogical information is abstracted, while standard, 'boilerplate' affidavits and attestations related solely to the application, and later nineteenth and twentieth century research requests for information have been omitted. I use speech recognition software to make all my transcriptions. Such software misinterprets my southern accent with unfortunate regularity and my poor proofreading skills fail to catch all misinterpretations. Also, dates or numbers which the software treats as numerals rather than words are not corrected: for example, the software transcribes "the eighth of June one thousand eighty six" as "the 8th of June 1786." Please call material errors or omissions to my attention.]
[p 4: pages in the file have been scrambled]
State of Kentucky,
Whitley County
On the 21 day of October 1833 personally appeared before the Whitley County Court John Anderson a resident of Whitley County Ky Aged Seventy five years who being duly Sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following officers and served as herein stated. He entered the Service in Wilks [Wilkes] County North Carolina the year not recollected but in the time of the revolution under Capt. William Gilreath [William Galbreath] of the North Carolina Militia Lieut. William Sutton & Ensign James Shepherd. [He] was marched from Wilkes Court house (Salisbury to Camdon [Camden] S. Carolina, thence to Monks [Moncks] Corner, thence to head quarters at Ribley's ferry on Savannah River. I continued in the Service and Served as fifer five months and was discharged.
He soon after volunteered in Wilkes County N. Carolina under the command of Capt. John Barton, Lieut. Benjamin Gess [Benjamin Guess] & Ensign Thomas Barton. We united with the broken troops under different Officers and pursued Col. Ferguson [Patrick Ferguson], commander of an army of British & Tories. We had a Severe battle on King's Mountain [October 7, 1780] our chief commander was Col. William Campbell, Cols. Shelby [Isaac Shelby], Sevier [John Sevier], Cleveland [Benjamin Cleveland] & Williams [James Williams] also commanded. We lost Twenty-eight Men & killed upwards of 500 & took the same quantity prisoners. In this tour he also Served five Months and acted during the Whole time as fifer making in the whole ten Months he served as fifer.
He also Served another Tour of three Months as orderly (or first) Sergeant under the Command of Capt. Roddy [James Roddy] of Washington County N. Carolina. Under his command [he] was Marched to Lovelady ford on the Catawba River where We joined Col. Sevier and Marched through Macklenburg [Mecklenburg County NC] by Way of Charlotte to the high hills of Santee where they Joined Genl. Green (sic, Nathanael Greene) and by him was ordered to Join General Marion [Francis Marion] in the Swamps of Santee under Whose Command we took a British garrison at Moncks Corner. Soon after we got News that Cornwallis had Surrendered at Little York [October 19, 1781]. The whole of the above foregoing Service Immediately preceded the Surrender of Wallace [Cornwallis] though I Cannot recollect the date (only as I am told) but in the time of the revolution. He also Served another Tour of three months BLReg242718-1855 as a private under Capt. James Richardson from Washington County N. Carolina. [He] marched to the Chickamauga towns under Col. Sevier & burnt Several of their Towns. He Served another Tour of three Months as orderly or first Sergeant under Capt. John Hunter commanded by Genl. Martin & was in the battle at Lookout Mountain with the Indians making six Months. He Served faithfully as orderly Sergeant three Months as a private and ten months as a fifer all of which was Militia and previous to Sept. 1783.
He received discharges which has been lost. He has no documents in his possession by which he can prove the foregoing Service nor no living witness that he knows of. He hereby relinquishes every Claim relative to a pension or an annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day & year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
The following questions were propounded by the court.
Q—1st Where and in what year were you born? Ansr: In Bedford County, Virginia and in the year 1753 as I have been told but I have no record of My age.
Q—2nd Where were you living when called into Service where have you lived since the revolutionary War, and where do you now live? Ansr: In Wilkes County N. Carolina; Washington County, N. Carolina (since Tennessee); Hawkins Tennessee; Cusuld [?]2 Gap, Campbell County Tennessee & Whitley County Kentucky where I now live.
Q—3rd How were you called into Service: Ansr: A volunteer
Q—4th State the names of some of the regular officers with the troops. Ansr: Genl. Lincoln, Col. Micajah Lewis; Col. William Little [William Lytle] of the New Levy troops; Genl. Nash [Francis Nash].
Q—5th State the circumstances of your Service. Ansr: I volunteered in Wilkes; was appointed fifer and Joined headquarters at Salisbury thence to Moncks Corner thence to Savannah River with Genl. Nash [more likely, Genl. John Ashe] (or Lincoln [Benjamin Lincoln]). We were left there to guard a ferry; next the battle of King's Mountain; marched with the prisoners to the Moravian towns where nine were hanged out of Twenty-nine condemned for Capital offenses
from the time I first volunteered until the time last Spoken of I served continually though under different officers and were discharged shortly after I marched under Col. Sevier to the Chickamauga Towns burning and destroying all the towns & property of the Cherokee we met with. Afterwards the battle of Lookout Mountain under Col. Martin &c.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day and year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
[William Hays, a clergyman, and John Rawls gave the standard supporting affidavit.]
[p 8: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for a widow's pension under the 1848 act stating that she is the widow of John Anderson, a revolutionary war pensioner until the time of his death in 1838; that she married him in the Virginia in December 1796 that her name prior to her marriage was Sarah Piercefeel; that her husband died in Kentucky, Whitley County, on February 22, 1838. She signed her application with her mark.]
[p 13: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for her bounty land entitlement as the widow of a revolutionary war soldier; in this document she states that she was married in Virginia in December 1796 by William Jones, a minister of the gospel. She signed this document with her mark.]
[p 16: On July 25, 1857 in Johnson County Missouri John Anderson gave testimony that he is the son of John Anderson; that he was born November 4, 1795 and that his father informed him and he believes that his father and his stepmother Sarah Anderson were married in the County of Knox in Kentucky in the year 1798; that he is certain their first child was born in the year 1799; that his father was a pensioner for his revolutionary war services at the time of his death in Whitley County Kentucky.]
[Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $51.66 per annum commencing March 4th, 1831, for service for 10 months as a fifer and for 3 months as a Sergeant in the North Carolina service. His widow was pensioned in a like amount.]
John Anderson married Sarah Piercefeel. They had several children, including:
John Anderson
Nancy Anderson
Rachel Anderson
Isaac Anderson
William Harrison Anderson
The actual burial site for John Anderson has been lost to history: he died in Kentucky, so would have been buried there. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude we owe him for risking his life and braving the unknown to help build a new country: our America.
His participation in the Battle of King's Mountain was documented by his Application for Revolutionary War Pension, S*W9329. The application was transcribed by Will Graves.
(Parenthetically, historians, genealogists, and descendants owe thanks to Will Graves for his hours spent transcribing the pension applications of American Revolution veterans. These papers were fragile and difficult to read, so this was a most difficult task, but so many people benefit from his efforts. Thank you, Will Graves.)
Southern Campaigns American Revolution
Pension Statements & Rosters
Pension application of John Anderson
W9329 Sarah Anderson f48NC
Transcribed by Will Graves
6/5/06 rev'd 7/25/14
[Methodology: Spelling, punctuation and/or grammar have been corrected in some instances for ease of reading and to facilitate searches of the database. Where the meaning is not compromised by adhering to the spelling, punctuation or grammar, no change has been made. Corrections or additional notes have been inserted within brackets or footnotes. Blanks appearing in the transcripts reflect blanks in the original. A bracketed question mark indicates that the word or words preceding it represent(s) a guess by me. The word 'illegible' or 'indecipherable' appearing in brackets indicates that at the time I made the transcription, I was unable to decipher the word or phrase in question. Only materials pertinent to the military service of the veteran and to contemporary events have been transcribed. Affidavits that provide additional information on these events are included and genealogical information is abstracted, while standard, 'boilerplate' affidavits and attestations related solely to the application, and later nineteenth and twentieth century research requests for information have been omitted. I use speech recognition software to make all my transcriptions. Such software misinterprets my southern accent with unfortunate regularity and my poor proofreading skills fail to catch all misinterpretations. Also, dates or numbers which the software treats as numerals rather than words are not corrected: for example, the software transcribes "the eighth of June one thousand eighty six" as "the 8th of June 1786." Please call material errors or omissions to my attention.]
[p 4: pages in the file have been scrambled]
State of Kentucky,
Whitley County
On the 21 day of October 1833 personally appeared before the Whitley County Court John Anderson a resident of Whitley County Ky Aged Seventy five years who being duly Sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following officers and served as herein stated. He entered the Service in Wilks [Wilkes] County North Carolina the year not recollected but in the time of the revolution under Capt. William Gilreath [William Galbreath] of the North Carolina Militia Lieut. William Sutton & Ensign James Shepherd. [He] was marched from Wilkes Court house (Salisbury to Camdon [Camden] S. Carolina, thence to Monks [Moncks] Corner, thence to head quarters at Ribley's ferry on Savannah River. I continued in the Service and Served as fifer five months and was discharged.
He soon after volunteered in Wilkes County N. Carolina under the command of Capt. John Barton, Lieut. Benjamin Gess [Benjamin Guess] & Ensign Thomas Barton. We united with the broken troops under different Officers and pursued Col. Ferguson [Patrick Ferguson], commander of an army of British & Tories. We had a Severe battle on King's Mountain [October 7, 1780] our chief commander was Col. William Campbell, Cols. Shelby [Isaac Shelby], Sevier [John Sevier], Cleveland [Benjamin Cleveland] & Williams [James Williams] also commanded. We lost Twenty-eight Men & killed upwards of 500 & took the same quantity prisoners. In this tour he also Served five Months and acted during the Whole time as fifer making in the whole ten Months he served as fifer.
He also Served another Tour of three Months as orderly (or first) Sergeant under the Command of Capt. Roddy [James Roddy] of Washington County N. Carolina. Under his command [he] was Marched to Lovelady ford on the Catawba River where We joined Col. Sevier and Marched through Macklenburg [Mecklenburg County NC] by Way of Charlotte to the high hills of Santee where they Joined Genl. Green (sic, Nathanael Greene) and by him was ordered to Join General Marion [Francis Marion] in the Swamps of Santee under Whose Command we took a British garrison at Moncks Corner. Soon after we got News that Cornwallis had Surrendered at Little York [October 19, 1781]. The whole of the above foregoing Service Immediately preceded the Surrender of Wallace [Cornwallis] though I Cannot recollect the date (only as I am told) but in the time of the revolution. He also Served another Tour of three months BLReg242718-1855 as a private under Capt. James Richardson from Washington County N. Carolina. [He] marched to the Chickamauga towns under Col. Sevier & burnt Several of their Towns. He Served another Tour of three Months as orderly or first Sergeant under Capt. John Hunter commanded by Genl. Martin & was in the battle at Lookout Mountain with the Indians making six Months. He Served faithfully as orderly Sergeant three Months as a private and ten months as a fifer all of which was Militia and previous to Sept. 1783.
He received discharges which has been lost. He has no documents in his possession by which he can prove the foregoing Service nor no living witness that he knows of. He hereby relinquishes every Claim relative to a pension or an annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day & year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
The following questions were propounded by the court.
Q—1st Where and in what year were you born? Ansr: In Bedford County, Virginia and in the year 1753 as I have been told but I have no record of My age.
Q—2nd Where were you living when called into Service where have you lived since the revolutionary War, and where do you now live? Ansr: In Wilkes County N. Carolina; Washington County, N. Carolina (since Tennessee); Hawkins Tennessee; Cusuld [?]2 Gap, Campbell County Tennessee & Whitley County Kentucky where I now live.
Q—3rd How were you called into Service: Ansr: A volunteer
Q—4th State the names of some of the regular officers with the troops. Ansr: Genl. Lincoln, Col. Micajah Lewis; Col. William Little [William Lytle] of the New Levy troops; Genl. Nash [Francis Nash].
Q—5th State the circumstances of your Service. Ansr: I volunteered in Wilkes; was appointed fifer and Joined headquarters at Salisbury thence to Moncks Corner thence to Savannah River with Genl. Nash [more likely, Genl. John Ashe] (or Lincoln [Benjamin Lincoln]). We were left there to guard a ferry; next the battle of King's Mountain; marched with the prisoners to the Moravian towns where nine were hanged out of Twenty-nine condemned for Capital offenses
from the time I first volunteered until the time last Spoken of I served continually though under different officers and were discharged shortly after I marched under Col. Sevier to the Chickamauga Towns burning and destroying all the towns & property of the Cherokee we met with. Afterwards the battle of Lookout Mountain under Col. Martin &c.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day and year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
[William Hays, a clergyman, and John Rawls gave the standard supporting affidavit.]
[p 8: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for a widow's pension under the 1848 act stating that she is the widow of John Anderson, a revolutionary war pensioner until the time of his death in 1838; that she married him in the Virginia in December 1796 that her name prior to her marriage was Sarah Piercefeel; that her husband died in Kentucky, Whitley County, on February 22, 1838. She signed her application with her mark.]
[p 13: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for her bounty land entitlement as the widow of a revolutionary war soldier; in this document she states that she was married in Virginia in December 1796 by William Jones, a minister of the gospel. She signed this document with her mark.]
[p 16: On July 25, 1857 in Johnson County Missouri John Anderson gave testimony that he is the son of John Anderson; that he was born November 4, 1795 and that his father informed him and he believes that his father and his stepmother Sarah Anderson were married in the County of Knox in Kentucky in the year 1798; that he is certain their first child was born in the year 1799; that his father was a pensioner for his revolutionary war services at the time of his death in Whitley County Kentucky.]
[Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $51.66 per annum commencing March 4th, 1831, for service for 10 months as a fifer and for 3 months as a Sergeant in the North Carolina service. His widow was pensioned in a like amount.]
John Anderson married Sarah Piercefeel. They had several children, including:
John Anderson
Nancy Anderson
Rachel Anderson
Isaac Anderson
William Harrison Anderson
The actual burial site for John Anderson has been lost to history: he died in Kentucky, so would have been buried there. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude we owe him for risking his life and braving the unknown to help build a new country: our America.
On October 7, 1780, the foundation that would forever change the world was established. Fewer than one thousand American Heroes, through skill, luck, and the leadership of cunning strategists, defeated Patrick Ferguson, a brilliant star of the British military might. John Anderson was one of those Heroes.
His participation in the Battle of King's Mountain was documented by his Application for Revolutionary War Pension, S*W9329. The application was transcribed by Will Graves.
(Parenthetically, historians, genealogists, and descendants owe thanks to Will Graves for his hours spent transcribing the pension applications of American Revolution veterans. These papers were fragile and difficult to read, so this was a most difficult task, but so many people benefit from his efforts. Thank you, Will Graves.)
Southern Campaigns American Revolution
Pension Statements & Rosters
Pension application of John Anderson
W9329 Sarah Anderson f48NC
Transcribed by Will Graves
6/5/06 rev'd 7/25/14
[Methodology: Spelling, punctuation and/or grammar have been corrected in some instances for ease of reading and to facilitate searches of the database. Where the meaning is not compromised by adhering to the spelling, punctuation or grammar, no change has been made. Corrections or additional notes have been inserted within brackets or footnotes. Blanks appearing in the transcripts reflect blanks in the original. A bracketed question mark indicates that the word or words preceding it represent(s) a guess by me. The word 'illegible' or 'indecipherable' appearing in brackets indicates that at the time I made the transcription, I was unable to decipher the word or phrase in question. Only materials pertinent to the military service of the veteran and to contemporary events have been transcribed. Affidavits that provide additional information on these events are included and genealogical information is abstracted, while standard, 'boilerplate' affidavits and attestations related solely to the application, and later nineteenth and twentieth century research requests for information have been omitted. I use speech recognition software to make all my transcriptions. Such software misinterprets my southern accent with unfortunate regularity and my poor proofreading skills fail to catch all misinterpretations. Also, dates or numbers which the software treats as numerals rather than words are not corrected: for example, the software transcribes "the eighth of June one thousand eighty six" as "the 8th of June 1786." Please call material errors or omissions to my attention.]
[p 4: pages in the file have been scrambled]
State of Kentucky,
Whitley County
On the 21 day of October 1833 personally appeared before the Whitley County Court John Anderson a resident of Whitley County Ky Aged Seventy five years who being duly Sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following officers and served as herein stated. He entered the Service in Wilks [Wilkes] County North Carolina the year not recollected but in the time of the revolution under Capt. William Gilreath [William Galbreath] of the North Carolina Militia Lieut. William Sutton & Ensign James Shepherd. [He] was marched from Wilkes Court house (Salisbury to Camdon [Camden] S. Carolina, thence to Monks [Moncks] Corner, thence to head quarters at Ribley's ferry on Savannah River. I continued in the Service and Served as fifer five months and was discharged.
He soon after volunteered in Wilkes County N. Carolina under the command of Capt. John Barton, Lieut. Benjamin Gess [Benjamin Guess] & Ensign Thomas Barton. We united with the broken troops under different Officers and pursued Col. Ferguson [Patrick Ferguson], commander of an army of British & Tories. We had a Severe battle on King's Mountain [October 7, 1780] our chief commander was Col. William Campbell, Cols. Shelby [Isaac Shelby], Sevier [John Sevier], Cleveland [Benjamin Cleveland] & Williams [James Williams] also commanded. We lost Twenty-eight Men & killed upwards of 500 & took the same quantity prisoners. In this tour he also Served five Months and acted during the Whole time as fifer making in the whole ten Months he served as fifer.
He also Served another Tour of three Months as orderly (or first) Sergeant under the Command of Capt. Roddy [James Roddy] of Washington County N. Carolina. Under his command [he] was Marched to Lovelady ford on the Catawba River where We joined Col. Sevier and Marched through Macklenburg [Mecklenburg County NC] by Way of Charlotte to the high hills of Santee where they Joined Genl. Green (sic, Nathanael Greene) and by him was ordered to Join General Marion [Francis Marion] in the Swamps of Santee under Whose Command we took a British garrison at Moncks Corner. Soon after we got News that Cornwallis had Surrendered at Little York [October 19, 1781]. The whole of the above foregoing Service Immediately preceded the Surrender of Wallace [Cornwallis] though I Cannot recollect the date (only as I am told) but in the time of the revolution. He also Served another Tour of three months BLReg242718-1855 as a private under Capt. James Richardson from Washington County N. Carolina. [He] marched to the Chickamauga towns under Col. Sevier & burnt Several of their Towns. He Served another Tour of three Months as orderly or first Sergeant under Capt. John Hunter commanded by Genl. Martin & was in the battle at Lookout Mountain with the Indians making six Months. He Served faithfully as orderly Sergeant three Months as a private and ten months as a fifer all of which was Militia and previous to Sept. 1783.
He received discharges which has been lost. He has no documents in his possession by which he can prove the foregoing Service nor no living witness that he knows of. He hereby relinquishes every Claim relative to a pension or an annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day & year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
The following questions were propounded by the court.
Q—1st Where and in what year were you born? Ansr: In Bedford County, Virginia and in the year 1753 as I have been told but I have no record of My age.
Q—2nd Where were you living when called into Service where have you lived since the revolutionary War, and where do you now live? Ansr: In Wilkes County N. Carolina; Washington County, N. Carolina (since Tennessee); Hawkins Tennessee; Cusuld [?]2 Gap, Campbell County Tennessee & Whitley County Kentucky where I now live.
Q—3rd How were you called into Service: Ansr: A volunteer
Q—4th State the names of some of the regular officers with the troops. Ansr: Genl. Lincoln, Col. Micajah Lewis; Col. William Little [William Lytle] of the New Levy troops; Genl. Nash [Francis Nash].
Q—5th State the circumstances of your Service. Ansr: I volunteered in Wilkes; was appointed fifer and Joined headquarters at Salisbury thence to Moncks Corner thence to Savannah River with Genl. Nash [more likely, Genl. John Ashe] (or Lincoln [Benjamin Lincoln]). We were left there to guard a ferry; next the battle of King's Mountain; marched with the prisoners to the Moravian towns where nine were hanged out of Twenty-nine condemned for Capital offenses
from the time I first volunteered until the time last Spoken of I served continually though under different officers and were discharged shortly after I marched under Col. Sevier to the Chickamauga Towns burning and destroying all the towns & property of the Cherokee we met with. Afterwards the battle of Lookout Mountain under Col. Martin &c.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day and year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
[William Hays, a clergyman, and John Rawls gave the standard supporting affidavit.]
[p 8: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for a widow's pension under the 1848 act stating that she is the widow of John Anderson, a revolutionary war pensioner until the time of his death in 1838; that she married him in the Virginia in December 1796 that her name prior to her marriage was Sarah Piercefeel; that her husband died in Kentucky, Whitley County, on February 22, 1838. She signed her application with her mark.]
[p 13: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for her bounty land entitlement as the widow of a revolutionary war soldier; in this document she states that she was married in Virginia in December 1796 by William Jones, a minister of the gospel. She signed this document with her mark.]
[p 16: On July 25, 1857 in Johnson County Missouri John Anderson gave testimony that he is the son of John Anderson; that he was born November 4, 1795 and that his father informed him and he believes that his father and his stepmother Sarah Anderson were married in the County of Knox in Kentucky in the year 1798; that he is certain their first child was born in the year 1799; that his father was a pensioner for his revolutionary war services at the time of his death in Whitley County Kentucky.]
[Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $51.66 per annum commencing March 4th, 1831, for service for 10 months as a fifer and for 3 months as a Sergeant in the North Carolina service. His widow was pensioned in a like amount.]
John Anderson married Sarah Piercefeel. They had several children, including:
John Anderson
Nancy Anderson
Rachel Anderson
Isaac Anderson
William Harrison Anderson
The actual burial site for John Anderson has been lost to history: he died in Kentucky, so would have been buried there. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude we owe him for risking his life and braving the unknown to help build a new country: our America.
His participation in the Battle of King's Mountain was documented by his Application for Revolutionary War Pension, S*W9329. The application was transcribed by Will Graves.
(Parenthetically, historians, genealogists, and descendants owe thanks to Will Graves for his hours spent transcribing the pension applications of American Revolution veterans. These papers were fragile and difficult to read, so this was a most difficult task, but so many people benefit from his efforts. Thank you, Will Graves.)
Southern Campaigns American Revolution
Pension Statements & Rosters
Pension application of John Anderson
W9329 Sarah Anderson f48NC
Transcribed by Will Graves
6/5/06 rev'd 7/25/14
[Methodology: Spelling, punctuation and/or grammar have been corrected in some instances for ease of reading and to facilitate searches of the database. Where the meaning is not compromised by adhering to the spelling, punctuation or grammar, no change has been made. Corrections or additional notes have been inserted within brackets or footnotes. Blanks appearing in the transcripts reflect blanks in the original. A bracketed question mark indicates that the word or words preceding it represent(s) a guess by me. The word 'illegible' or 'indecipherable' appearing in brackets indicates that at the time I made the transcription, I was unable to decipher the word or phrase in question. Only materials pertinent to the military service of the veteran and to contemporary events have been transcribed. Affidavits that provide additional information on these events are included and genealogical information is abstracted, while standard, 'boilerplate' affidavits and attestations related solely to the application, and later nineteenth and twentieth century research requests for information have been omitted. I use speech recognition software to make all my transcriptions. Such software misinterprets my southern accent with unfortunate regularity and my poor proofreading skills fail to catch all misinterpretations. Also, dates or numbers which the software treats as numerals rather than words are not corrected: for example, the software transcribes "the eighth of June one thousand eighty six" as "the 8th of June 1786." Please call material errors or omissions to my attention.]
[p 4: pages in the file have been scrambled]
State of Kentucky,
Whitley County
On the 21 day of October 1833 personally appeared before the Whitley County Court John Anderson a resident of Whitley County Ky Aged Seventy five years who being duly Sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provisions made by the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
That he entered the service of the United States under the following officers and served as herein stated. He entered the Service in Wilks [Wilkes] County North Carolina the year not recollected but in the time of the revolution under Capt. William Gilreath [William Galbreath] of the North Carolina Militia Lieut. William Sutton & Ensign James Shepherd. [He] was marched from Wilkes Court house (Salisbury to Camdon [Camden] S. Carolina, thence to Monks [Moncks] Corner, thence to head quarters at Ribley's ferry on Savannah River. I continued in the Service and Served as fifer five months and was discharged.
He soon after volunteered in Wilkes County N. Carolina under the command of Capt. John Barton, Lieut. Benjamin Gess [Benjamin Guess] & Ensign Thomas Barton. We united with the broken troops under different Officers and pursued Col. Ferguson [Patrick Ferguson], commander of an army of British & Tories. We had a Severe battle on King's Mountain [October 7, 1780] our chief commander was Col. William Campbell, Cols. Shelby [Isaac Shelby], Sevier [John Sevier], Cleveland [Benjamin Cleveland] & Williams [James Williams] also commanded. We lost Twenty-eight Men & killed upwards of 500 & took the same quantity prisoners. In this tour he also Served five Months and acted during the Whole time as fifer making in the whole ten Months he served as fifer.
He also Served another Tour of three Months as orderly (or first) Sergeant under the Command of Capt. Roddy [James Roddy] of Washington County N. Carolina. Under his command [he] was Marched to Lovelady ford on the Catawba River where We joined Col. Sevier and Marched through Macklenburg [Mecklenburg County NC] by Way of Charlotte to the high hills of Santee where they Joined Genl. Green (sic, Nathanael Greene) and by him was ordered to Join General Marion [Francis Marion] in the Swamps of Santee under Whose Command we took a British garrison at Moncks Corner. Soon after we got News that Cornwallis had Surrendered at Little York [October 19, 1781]. The whole of the above foregoing Service Immediately preceded the Surrender of Wallace [Cornwallis] though I Cannot recollect the date (only as I am told) but in the time of the revolution. He also Served another Tour of three months BLReg242718-1855 as a private under Capt. James Richardson from Washington County N. Carolina. [He] marched to the Chickamauga towns under Col. Sevier & burnt Several of their Towns. He Served another Tour of three Months as orderly or first Sergeant under Capt. John Hunter commanded by Genl. Martin & was in the battle at Lookout Mountain with the Indians making six Months. He Served faithfully as orderly Sergeant three Months as a private and ten months as a fifer all of which was Militia and previous to Sept. 1783.
He received discharges which has been lost. He has no documents in his possession by which he can prove the foregoing Service nor no living witness that he knows of. He hereby relinquishes every Claim relative to a pension or an annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the Pension Roll of the Agency of any State.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day & year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
The following questions were propounded by the court.
Q—1st Where and in what year were you born? Ansr: In Bedford County, Virginia and in the year 1753 as I have been told but I have no record of My age.
Q—2nd Where were you living when called into Service where have you lived since the revolutionary War, and where do you now live? Ansr: In Wilkes County N. Carolina; Washington County, N. Carolina (since Tennessee); Hawkins Tennessee; Cusuld [?]2 Gap, Campbell County Tennessee & Whitley County Kentucky where I now live.
Q—3rd How were you called into Service: Ansr: A volunteer
Q—4th State the names of some of the regular officers with the troops. Ansr: Genl. Lincoln, Col. Micajah Lewis; Col. William Little [William Lytle] of the New Levy troops; Genl. Nash [Francis Nash].
Q—5th State the circumstances of your Service. Ansr: I volunteered in Wilkes; was appointed fifer and Joined headquarters at Salisbury thence to Moncks Corner thence to Savannah River with Genl. Nash [more likely, Genl. John Ashe] (or Lincoln [Benjamin Lincoln]). We were left there to guard a ferry; next the battle of King's Mountain; marched with the prisoners to the Moravian towns where nine were hanged out of Twenty-nine condemned for Capital offenses
from the time I first volunteered until the time last Spoken of I served continually though under different officers and were discharged shortly after I marched under Col. Sevier to the Chickamauga Towns burning and destroying all the towns & property of the Cherokee we met with. Afterwards the battle of Lookout Mountain under Col. Martin &c.
Sworn to and Subscribed
the day and year aforesaid.
S/ John Anderson, X his mark
[William Hays, a clergyman, and John Rawls gave the standard supporting affidavit.]
[p 8: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for a widow's pension under the 1848 act stating that she is the widow of John Anderson, a revolutionary war pensioner until the time of his death in 1838; that she married him in the Virginia in December 1796 that her name prior to her marriage was Sarah Piercefeel; that her husband died in Kentucky, Whitley County, on February 22, 1838. She signed her application with her mark.]
[p 13: On February 21, 1856 in Clay County Missouri, Sally or Sarah Anderson, 78, filed for her bounty land entitlement as the widow of a revolutionary war soldier; in this document she states that she was married in Virginia in December 1796 by William Jones, a minister of the gospel. She signed this document with her mark.]
[p 16: On July 25, 1857 in Johnson County Missouri John Anderson gave testimony that he is the son of John Anderson; that he was born November 4, 1795 and that his father informed him and he believes that his father and his stepmother Sarah Anderson were married in the County of Knox in Kentucky in the year 1798; that he is certain their first child was born in the year 1799; that his father was a pensioner for his revolutionary war services at the time of his death in Whitley County Kentucky.]
[Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $51.66 per annum commencing March 4th, 1831, for service for 10 months as a fifer and for 3 months as a Sergeant in the North Carolina service. His widow was pensioned in a like amount.]
John Anderson married Sarah Piercefeel. They had several children, including:
John Anderson
Nancy Anderson
Rachel Anderson
Isaac Anderson
William Harrison Anderson
The actual burial site for John Anderson has been lost to history: he died in Kentucky, so would have been buried there. Nevertheless, we have placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude we owe him for risking his life and braving the unknown to help build a new country: our America.
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