Revolutionary soldier, State of North Carolina Burke County: Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions October Court 1832 On this 24th day of October 1832 came personally into open Court before the Justices of the Court now in session William Culberson Senior a resident of Burke County and State of North Carolina aged 92, 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 the 7th June 1832. That he entered the service of the United States under the following officers and served as herein after stated. The first service he performed in the South was as a private in a company of Captain Oliver Wiley in the County of Mecklenburg North Carolina in the year 1775 or early in the year 1776 just as the Patriots of Mecklenburg had declared themselves independent of the British Government. They were of Colonel James Harris’ Regiment of militia – the next service that he recollects was in the service of the United States under Major Joseph Dixon who commanded a Battalion of volunteers from the time the enemy of Tories & British were ranging the upper part of North Carolina – they were mounted men and were called minute men, he was in this service for upwards of two years. They served whenever called on, were often permitted to go home, but called on when any danger appeared, at one time he thinks in the year 1776 he had leave from his commander to go home for a week to take care of his harvest for one week: he had been there but six days when on the night of that day his house was surrounded by seven Tories & taken out of his bed in his shirt only and marched off by them towards their camp: & in the night whilst they were marching him on foot through the woods before them often on foot – they had become careless & he made his escape by jumping behind a rock on the side of the path & made his escape although they shot at him: he again joined his Troop and continued to serve until Lord Cornwallis was taken at Little York just before the battle of the Cowpens he was ordered off to join the American Army under General Morgan was under Captain Martin of Major Joseph Dixon's Battalion of mounted men, but did not join them until after the Battle of Cowpens was fought. He was never regularly discharged for when Lord Cornwallis retreated from Charlotte he was then under the command of Major Joseph Dixon when in close pursuit of the enemy after they had crossed Rocky River in the State of North Carolina when in close pursuit of the Enemy he received a kick from a rough shod horse on the leg that disabled him & Major Joseph Dixon ordered him home until he should get well & be called on again – he got well but was never called on again & the war ending soon thereafter he thought not of asking & obtaining a discharge. His house was in the County of Mecklenburg within 10 miles of Charlotte and was out in the Service under Joseph Dixon Major regularly the whole time Cornwallis lay with his Army in Charlotte acting as a scout to prevent the enemy's obtaining supplies of Provisions that he lived in Mecklenburg until the year 1800 – I know of no man by whom I can prove my service nor have I any documentary evidence of my enlistment Service or discharge: I hereby relinquish every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declare that my name is not on the pension list roll of any agency of any state.
Questions by the Court
1st Where and in what year were you born?
Answer: In the County of Tyrone in Ireland.
2nd Have you any record of your age and if so where is it?
Answer: I have none for the children have pointed out of my Bible.
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 was in Pennsylvania when the Ship of War in the British Navy called the Roebuck came up the Delaware to Wilmington and served a few days there then I removed to Mecklenburg North Carolina in 1775 or early in 1776 from which place I embarked into the first of my regular Service I lived there (or my family did for I had a wife) until 1800 when I moved to Burke.