mathgal@bellsouth.net
THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
ABBEVILLE DISTRICT
On this twenty fourth of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty two personally appeared in open court before the Noble Richard Gantt presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions for the District and State aforesaid. Now sitting Major Andrew Hamilton a resident of Abbeville District the State of South Carolina 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 paper of June 1832.
That he entered the service of his country the United States as a Captain of a Volunteer company which was raised and organized for the protection and defence of the country at an early period of the year nineteen hundred and seventy five at the period the enemies of the country denominated Royalists or Tories threw every obstacle in the way of their opponents the Whigs that argument and force could afford to prevent the opposition of the Whigs against the unjust impositious taxations of Great Britain to such a violent and insurrectionary length had the Royalists proceeded that the friends of Liberty found it necessary to arm in self defence, and to repel by force the force of the Royalists accordingly sometime in this year seventeen hundred and seventy five, Major Williamson who commanded the Whig Militia at this time in the District of Ninetysix collected a body of them to go in quest of some plundering Royalists and ___ ___ to the ___ of retreating into a stockade fort in which he ___ militia including the applicant and by his company were confined without water for three days when they obtained a scanty supply by digging. The Royalists or Tories obtained possession of the ___ of Ninetysix from which they fired into the fort without much expectation, after some days the Royalists hoisted a flag and proposed a truce, the object of which was to enable both parties to confer with their exp___ heard viz the Royalists with their Royal Governor and the Whigs with their council of Safty then lately organized by the friends of Liberty in South Carolina for the c___ safety and protection of the country.
The applicant says that he marched his company in the fall of the year seventeen hundred and seventy six to the Cherokee nation by order from Major of Gen. C Williamson who commanded the expedition in person, and to the number of about two thousand men who were met and opposed by a superior force of Indians, Williamson entered a narrow valley surrounded by mountains, the large proportion of the Indians occupied the mountain heights from which they poured in a constant and well directed force, orders were given for detachments of Williamsons army to gain the heights above the indians whom being hard pressed by the advances in the valley ______ on the mountain side, he took themselves to flight, ___Williamson's army then laid waste to all the cherokee settlements in that section and the army disbanded sometime in October~
The applicant says that he was subsequently in another indian expedition but does not recollect the circustances of it, to state them particularly~
The applicant also states that in the year 1779 several hundreds Tories embodied and marched along the Western Frontier of South Carolina taking several persons prisoners in their march, and that Col. Pickens collected a force of three hundred men and followed these Tories to a place called Kettle Creek in the State of Georgia. Col or Gen Pickens then disposed his force into three divisions and give the command of the right division to the applicant who acted as Major in this battle, at Kettle Creek, where after an action of some considerable contest, the Tories were completely routed and defeated with a loss of about forty killed, including their commander Colonel Boyd, the loss on the part of the whigs was comparatively small.
The applicant also states that he commanded a company at the seige of Ninetysix, in the year seventeen hundred and eightyone, and remained there under Gen. Green in the action performance of military duty until Gen. Green ____ the seige and marched his troops across Saluda River towards North Carolina.
The applicant also states that at the battle of the Eutaw in the year seventeen hundred eighty one, he commanded as Major a Battallion of Militia under the Command of Gen. Pickens, he also states in conclusion, that he was in several other expeditions or campaigns, and in several skirmishes as the Captain of a Company of Whig Volunteers and that from the want of recollection and from their partaking of the character of partizan warfare at home, and in the surrounding settlements, and borders of South Carolina against Tories, and Indians, he deems unnecessary to state or to usher(?) as it would be impossible to recapitulate the various diversified scenes he experienced in the defence of his country, he considers it sufficient to say, that he was almost always employed in the service of his country through the whole Revolutionary War, as the commanding Oficer of a Company in opposing Tories, Indians, and British and of all enemies he conceived the Tories, most detestable and most obnoxious to the Liberty of his country.
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
ABBEVILLE DISTRICT
I Andrew Hamilton Sr of the District and State aforesaid, as a secondary amendment to my declaration for a pension under the late act of Congress of June 7th 1832. do hereby solemnly swear that such was the character of the Revolutionary War in the upper sections of South Carolina, and particularly in the District of Ninetysix where the deponant principally lived, acted and performed military services in the defence of the United States, that the friends of Liberty performed continuous tours of duty from the commencement of the Revolutionary War to its final close, and were constrained to do so, from having to contend with a triple enemy, Indians who were provoked by British influence, to slaughter without mercy the Whig inhabitants and their families, who in many instances, suffered as much from Tories who scarsely ever failed to plunder, burn, and destroy the substance and property of Patriots, taking their lives if captured. and leaving their families, widowed and ophaned and stripped of every thing necessary for their comfort and support, to oppose these enemies successfully, the small band of Patriots in this section of the country, were necessarily compelled to perform continuous tours of duty , both by night, and by day, the former generally being the most auspicious season for movement from one place to another, wherever duty called, this constand appearance of force, served in some measure to intimidate the Indians and Tories. This Patriot force were principally volunteers, raised under competent authority - Col. Pickens had the command of the Military force of Ninetysix District and always aided, in giving authority to any body of Patritots, associated together, for the defence and security of the country, whenever they deemed their services necessary to effect that object. The deponant further says, that, he was a near neighbor and friend of Col Pickens, that they lived within fifteen miles of the line dividing the Indian land from the whites, that Col Pickens and himself were almost constantly together, acting for, and in defence of their country, that the deponant derived his authority from Pickens to act as a Captain within his command and subsequently to act as Major under him. The deponant further says, that the following statement will show his actual services in the Revolutionary War~
In 1775 he served five weeks as a Capt. under Major Williamson against an embodied force of Royalists in the in the Village of Cambridge or Ninetysix~
In 1776 he served six weeks as a Capt. under Major or Col. Williamson being another tour of duty against the Cherokee indians~
In 1777 & 1778 he acted as Capt. under the authority of col. Pickens to perform military services, in protecting and defending the frontier of Ninetysix and the District of Ninetysix~
In 1779 he acted as Capt. & as a Major part of this year under the authority and in direct command command of Col Pickens, with whom, the deponant acted as Capt. in the attack upon Carrs Fort in the State of Georgia, where he also bore a flag of truce, to the enemy in the fort, which was abandoned by Pickens, to meet a Col Boyd, the deponant further says that Pickens pursued Col Boyd to Kettle Creek in Georgia and the deponant in this battle, acted as Major and commanded the right wing which killed Boyd, the deponant being near, and an eye witness to his fall and death and whose last expiring words were"that he had this cou____ that he died a true friend to his Majesty King George the Third" He then gave something, to Col Pickens, to forward to his wife and then expired. The deponant further says, that he believes, he was in service the whole of this year 1779 but will only say that he was nine months actually in service as Capt. under Col or Gen. Pickens during the this yar 1779~
In 1780 the deponant acted as Capt. under Gen. Pickens in protecting the frontiers against Tory depredation.
In 1781 the deponant acted as Capt. under Gen. Pickens at the seige of Ninetysix, and acted under Gen. Pickens as a Major of Militia at the Battle of the Eutaw, and must have performed this year at least six months actual service, the deponant further says that from the battle of the Eutaw to the end of the war he acted as Major of Militia under Gen Pickens
The deponant further says that he omitted heretofore to mention, that Col or Gen Pickens and himself went unaccompanied by others to confer with a Col Few from Georgia who then had a few troops in the District of Ninetysix, all true Whigs, that when Col Pickens and himself the deponant were on their road to see Col Few, a female of the Tory stamp directed them to a camp of British soldiers and Torys by whom Pickens and himself were made prisoners and sent to the Village of Cambridge or Ninetysix, where they remained prisoners one month, under a British officer by the name of Allen, by some means Col Pickens attained his ___ release, from imprisonment, while prisoners we were treated with great attention and kindness, by the British attributable I belive to the popularity and influence of Gen Pickens, the deponant further believes that he always acted under competent military authority in the defince of his country, and that he was not employed in any civil pursuit, during the aforesaid services, the deponant says that Patriots of this section of the country in the Revolutionary War could not with safety appear on their farms to perform one days work. It was principally performed by the women and children, and when the crops were made by them, often plundered and destroyed by the Tories, civil pursuits, could not be atended to by the men, they had to bear arms night and day. The militia of other states where there were comparatively few Tories, could attend to their civil pursuits without danger, and serve their _atory tours of duty, this was not the case here~
