On October 7, 1780, brother met brother, neighbor met neighbor, Patriot met Loyalist on a battlefield in rural South Carolina. The battle lasted an hour: the brevity belied the import. Thomas Jefferson proclaimed the Battle of King's Mountain turned "the tide of success which terminated the Revolutionary War, with the seal of our independence."

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. Obediah Benge, his brother, William, and other family members were among the Heroes who fought in the Battle of King's Mountain. William Benge was killed in action.

Obediah Benge documented their participation in the Battle of King's Mountain when he submitted an Application for Revolutionary War Pension. Will Graves transcribed the application.

Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters
Pension application of Obadiah M. Benge R743 Sarah fn27NC

Transcribed by Will Graves 8/25/10

[Methodology: Spelling, punctuation and/or grammar have been corrected in some instances for
ease of reading and to facilitate searches of the database. Also, the handwriting of the original
scribes often lends itself to varying interpretations. Users of this database are urged to view the
original and to make their own decision as to how to decipher what the original scribe actually
wrote. Blanks appearing in the transcripts reflect blanks in the original. Folks are free to make
non-commercial use this transcript in any manner they may see fit, but please extend the courtesy
of acknowledging the transcriber—besides, if it turns out the transcript contains mistakes, the
resulting embarrassment will fall on the transcriber. I use speech recognition software to make
all my transcriptions. Such software misinterprets my southern accent with unfortunate
regularity and my poor proofreading fails to catch all misinterpretations. I welcome and
encourage folks to call those and any other errors to my attention.]

State of Alabama DeKalb County:

On this 22nd day of February 1843 Personally appeared before me Pollydore Nailor Judge of the County Court of said County of DeKalb and State of Alabama at his residence in said County, Obadiah M. Benge, who from age and infirmity is unable to appear in open court, aged seventy-nine years, who being first 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 7th 1832.

He entered the service of the United States as a private soldier under the following named officers, and served as herein stated, "He 1st belonged to a company of Captain James Sheppard which he joined in the month of May 1780 , for the term of nine months, when he entered the service he was between sixteen & seventeen years old, and was forced into the service by his step-father, John Fielder, as a substitute for one James Green, his said stepfather received from said James Green a horse, bridle & saddle for the same, He resided when called into service in Surry County in the State of North Carolina. He remained under the said Captain Sheppard as a mounted man, scouting and ranging through the said County of Surry and the adjoining Country for the purpose of counteracting the operations of the Tories, until the fall of the same year, when he with his company was marched for Kings Mountain in the State of South Carolina, and on the way in Burke County in the State of North Carolina, they were joined by other troops for the same point, on meeting said troops in Burke County, he, was there by consent of the captains transferred to the company of Captain McDowell or Captain White, one being a Lieutenant and the other a Captain, but he is not now able to say which was Captain & which Lieutenant.

This transfer was made on account of this declarant's having an older brother in the company to which he was transferred. Here his Colonel was Benjamin Cleveland, we were then marched to Kings
Mountain, which this Declarant thinks is in South Carolina, and on their approach to Kings Mountain they were joined by other troops under Colonel Shelby and Colonel Campbell, and in October or November, he under Colonel Cleveland, went into the Battle of Kings Mountain.

He was in the front rank, marched up a Hollow towards the enemy and the Battle began, and when
this Declarant had his gun to his face for the 3rd or 4th fire, he received a wound in his right arm
which entered near the body on the inside and near the body, the ball ranged back under his shoulder blade where it yet remains, and from which he is to a great extent has ever since been a cripple,

after the Battle was over and on the following day, his said brother being killed in the same, this Declarant was taken to the house of a distant relative about four miles distant from the Battleground where he remained about 3 months. He never again joined the Army, his company being disbanded or discharged. He never obtained a discharge.

He never had any Documentary evidence of his services, and he knows of no one, living by whom he can prove the same, but he will state a fact which was done in his favor. It is this, In 1791 as will be seen by the enclosed commission, he was made a Captain, in his neighborhood, and some 4 or 5 years afterwards, when he resigned the same the court martial made an order and presented him with an attested copy, the names of all the members of the Court being signed to the same. He, this Declarant
being then about to remove to Davidson County Tennessee, or as it was then called Cumberland,
in which it was stated among other things, "That he Declarant was a true Whig, a brave soldier
and had been wounded in the Battle of Kings Mountain, and recommending him to all the good
people of Cumberland as such" which paper he has lost or mislaid, he has not seen it for many
years.

He states as reasons why he has never before applied for a Pension that for the last twenty
years and until the Cherokee Nation of Indians was sent West, he resided among them by
permission of the head men of the Nation, and that he never until lately was properly advised of
his privileges or rights to obtain the same. He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a
pension or 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 before me this 23rd day of February A.D. 1843
S/ O. M. Benge
S/ Polydore Naylor, Judge

Interrogatories:
1st Where and in what year were you born?
Answer. I was born in Albemarle County Virginia cannot say in what year, but suppose it was in
the year 1763.
2nd Have you any record of your age and if so where is it?
Answer. I never had any.
3rd Where were you living when called into service: where have you lived since the
Revolutionary War and where do you now live? Answer. I lived in Surry County in the State of North Carolina when called into the service, afterwards I remained in said County 14 or 15 years, when I removed to Davidson County Tennessee, where I remained some 8 years, thence I removed to what is now Franklin County Tennessee where I remained until 1814. I then removed to what is now Walker County in the State of Georgia, which was then in the limits of the Cherokee Nation with whom I obtained a permit to remain in order that I might teach them some of the arts of husbandry, I continued with them until a few years ago and when the people of Georgia drove them & me from our homes. I
then removed to where I now reside in DeKalb County Alabama.
4th How were you called into service; were you drafted; did you volunteer or were you a substitute, and if in substitute, for whom?Answer. I was forced by my step Father to be the substitute for one James Green
5th State the names of some of the regular officers who were with the troops when you served,
such Continental and militia regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of
your service.Answer. I do not know who were regular officers and who militia, I knew Colonel Shelby,
Colonel Cleveland & Colonel Campbell & Colonel Williams who was killed, Joel Lewis &
Micajah Lewis were both wounded, cannot say they were regular officers. I believe the whole
Army was made up a drafted man & volunteers. The circumstances of my service as I can now
recollect them were, that I was forced into the service by my step Father, John Fielder as a
substitute for James Green for the term of 9 months as a mounted man for the term of 9 months
and continued in service until the Battle of Kings Mountain where I fall on foot & I believe all
the mounted men did likewise.
6th Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given and what
has become of it? Answer. I never did, neither did I ever received any pay for the same.
7th State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood and who
can testify as to your character for veracity and their belief in your services as a soldier in the
revolution.Answer. Colonel Hugh P. Caperton, Col. Franklin Slaton, John Longacre Esqr. Doctor Hugh
Pogue, Col. David Cawlfield & Alexander McCormac

S/ O. M. Benge

[fn p. 14: Jacob W. Gipson, a clergyman, George C. Benge & John Davis gave the standard
supporting affidavit.]

[fn p. 19: captain's commission in the Surry County, NC militia, dated June 3, 1791 and signed
by Alex Martin, Gov.]
[fn p. 8: family record]
Hill folded May the 7:14
Patessey Benge was Born September the 22 1786
Elesebeth Benge was Born June the 30 1788
W. B. Benge was Born March the 22 1790
G. C. Benge was Borne febuwary the 21 1802
Robart Benge was Born June the 1 1803
{Note: the three older children were by his first wife, Elizabeth Ware.}

[fn p. 9: on July 21, 1852 in DeKalb County Alabama, Sarah Benge filed for a widow's pension
stating that she is the widow of Obadiah Benge; that she was married to him in Franklin
Tennessee by George Tubbs a magistrate she thinks subsequent to the year 1800; that her
husband applied for a pension in his lifetime; that he died in DeKalb County Alabama on the
23rd day of March 1846 without having been allowed a pension.]

•David Benge, DAR Ancestor Number A009075 [first cousin]

•Benge, Obediah Martin

•William Benge [brother]

•Lt. James Lewis (w) DAR Ancestor Number A069994 [uncle]

•Joel Lewis (w) DAR Ancestor Number A070000 [uncle]

•Major Micajah Lewis DAR Ancestor Number A070184 {uncle]

Obediah Benge was the son of John Benge and Elizabeth Lewis. Elizabeth Lewis was the daughter of William Terrell Lewis, DAR Ancestor Number A070183, and Sarah Martin hence the connection to the members of the Lewis family listed. The William Benge on the Roster was Obediah's brother and the David Benge, his first cousin. David Benge was the son of Thomas Benge and Susannah Lewis. Thomas and John were brothers and Elizabeth and Susannah Lewis were sisters.

After the death of Elizabeth Lewis Benge, John Benge married Elizabeth Wut Teh Watts, a Cherokee woman who had been married to Nathaniel Gist and bore Gist a son, George Sequoyah Gist. Sequoyah devised a Cherokee syllabary, making reading and writing in Cherokee possible. Wikipedia states, "This was the only time in recorded history that a member of a Pre-literate people independently created an effective writing system.[1][4] After seeing its worth, the people of the Cherokee Nation rapidly began to use his syllabary and officially adopted it in 1825. Their literacy rate quickly surpassed that of surrounding European-American settlers.[1]"

The union of John Benge and Elizabeth Wut Teh Watts produced children. Robert Benge was a son from this union, thus a half-brother to Obediah and William (same fathers, different mothers). The following is NOT my work NOR my research: it comes from a contributor to ancestry.com:

"If you don't watch out, Captain Benge will get you" Chronology of Robert Benge, aka Chief Bench Copyrighted by Don Chesnut, 1997 Robert Benge was born circa 1760 probably in the Cherokee village Toquo to John Benge and Wurteh, a Cherokee. Robert grew up to be the most notorious Cherokee in history. He was so feared in the central Appalachian areas of present-day Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, that the settlers admonished their children by saying, "if you don't watch out, Captain Benge will get you."

Toquo was a Cherokee village on the Little Tennessee River in present-day southeastern Tennessee. Robert grew up as a Cherokee, but with his red hair, European look, and his good command of English, he could also pass as a pure Euro-American. He used this double identity to good effect in his raids against the settlers. He was known as Captain Benge, Chief Benge, Chief Bench, or just The Bench. If he had a Cherokee name, it is not known.

Robert's father was John Benge, an Indian trader who lived among the Cherokee, and his mother was Wurteh who was part of an influential Cherokee family. [Robert's pedigree can be found in the genealogy database, "Our Ancestors."] John was previously married to Elizabeth Lewis, daughter of William Terrell Lewis and Sarah Martin, a prominent family originally from Virginia. Elizabeth's sister, Susannah Lewis married John's brother, Thomas Benge.

John and Elizabeth had several children at their home in western North Carolina. These were William Lewis, Sarah, and Obadiah Martin. Apparently, John was also living with Wurteh at his home with the Cherokee (probably Toquo) and had several children born there. These were Robert, Utana "the Tail," Lucy, and Tashliske. After Elizabeth and the Lewis family found out about John's Cherokee family, their marriage was dissolved, and Elizabeth latter remarried John Fielder and had other children. Wurteh also had a child from a man whose last name was Gist or Guess and their child became known to history as Sequoyah. Robert and Sequoyah were half-brothers.

The following is a chronology of events that may help us put together something about the life of Robert Benge. If you have any additional information, please let me know. Date unknown, circa 1777: John Benge, Wurteh, and their family moved with Dragging Canoe to the south near the southern border of Tennessee [from Evans, 1976]. Date unknown, after 1777: Robert Benge lived at Running Water Town in Tennessee next to the northwestern border of Georgia. Here he was befriended by the Shawnee Chiksika, an older brother of Tecumseh. A small group of Ohio Shawnee were there to assist Dragging Canoe in his efforts against the whites. Robert and several Cherokee joined the Shawnee in their attacks against white settlements especially in the upper Holston River area of northeastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia. Robert was thought to be Shawnee by some because of his association with this band. His skills in these raids elevated his rank among certain of the Cherokee and Shawnee [from Evans, 1976]. June 29, 1785: The cabin of Archibald Scott and Fannie Dickenson Scott (of Castle's Woods) on Wallen Creek in present-day Lee County, Virginia was attacked by thirteen Indians coming from Wallen Ridge. At nighttime the Indians broke down the door and shot Archibald who died. The Indians then tomahawked and scalped all four of the children. They carried Mrs. Scott outside, packed their booty and then burned the house. At this time she heard the name Benge spoken several times by some of the Indians. A white man with the Indians told her that he was Hargus [what is his last name?] and had taken up with the Indians (he had committed a crime and joined the Indians to escape punishment). During the night they headed north, crossed Wallen Ridge, and headed up the Powell River valley. By daybreak they entered Big Stone Gap and went up a tributary to the north flowing from Black Mountain near the present-day Kentucky-Virginia line. On the northern side of Black Mountain in present-day Kentucky, the chief divided the booty equally and sent a party of nine to head for the Clinch River settlements in order to steal horses. The other four traveled northward. On the eleventh day of the attack, the four Indians stopped at their rendevous to wait for the other nine. Three went hunting leaving Mrs. Scott with the oldest of the group. She escaped from the lone Indian and traveled through the rugged wilderness for many days traveling along the Big Sandy River, through the gorge at Pine Mountain and finally, on August 11, 1785 she broke through the wilderness at New Garden in the upper part of the Clinch River. [from Addington, 1966, p. 88-96; sources were: Virginia State Papers, vol. IV, p. 40; Freeman's journal, Philadelphia [Dec. 15, 1785]; and Journal of Francis Asbury] [It is unknown whether Robert Benge was a member of this Indian party.] 1788: John Sevier led a group of whites to attack Cherokee towns. Robert saved many of the Cherokee of Ustalli (Ustally) Town by evacuating them before and during the attack. Ustalli was located in southwestern North Carolina on the Hiwassee River very close to present-day Tennessee. Five of the Cherokee rearguard were killed while trying to bide time for the evacuees, and the white militia captured one young boy. John Sevier and his men burned the town and attempted to run down the evacuees. Benge set up an ambush at the mouth of Valley River which delayed the attackers and allowed the Cherokee to reach safety. However, at this point, the little boy who had been captured was "brutally murdered" by Thomas Christian who was quoted as saying "Nits make lice."

Sevier and his men went to the Cherokee village of Coota-cloochee and started to burn down about a hundred acres of corn. However, the Cherokee John Watts, with four hundred Cherokee warriors arrived, forcing a retreat of Sevier's men [from Evans, 1976].

The actual burial site of this Hero has been lost to history. The contribution that he made to American history deserved to be recognized and recorded for posterity, so we placed a Memorial Stone in his honor in the Cantrell Gilliand Memorial Garden. May this memorial serve as an expression of the gratitude and respect we owe him for risking his life and braving the unknown to help build a new country: our America.