Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 3573, John Wilson, N.C. Va.
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State of Tennessee
Lincoln County
County Court October Term 1832
On this 19th day of October 1832 personally appeared
in open Court before the Justices of the County
Court of Lincoln County Tennessee now sitting
John Wilson, aged about 85 years a resident
of said County who being first duly sworn according
to law doth on his oath make the following
declaration in order to obtain the benefit of an
act of Congress passed June 7th 1832 viz
I was born the 11th of May 1747. as appears
by a record of my age left by my father & now
in the possession of my brother, but I have no
record myself - my birth place was in August
County Virginia - in 1772 I moved to the settlement
on the Halstein [illegible] East Tennessee where I
lived when I first entered the service of the United States 
some time in the fall of the year 1776 - the Cherokees having made considerable inroads upon the white settlements, and the troops being called out to oppose them I volunteered in a company from Virginia which was marching against them commanded by a William Christian with whom had been previously acquainted and attached
to the regiment commanded by Col Christian -
we marched against the Indians on the Tennessee
river and destroyed many of their towns, the principal
all of which I think was called Chota or Echota
but my memory is so much impaired by old age
that I cannot now recollect the names of the
different places. The Indians always fled at our
approach so that we had no engagement with them -
at length the Indians begged for peace and a treaty was
formed with them. I was then dismissed and returned
home, having been engaged between six & eight weeks
⎬
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some time in the latter part of the fall of first of the winter
in the year of 1779 or 1780 I now forget which the
Cherokee Indians having broken the treaty made with them
I volunteered in company commanded by Captain
Andrew Cowan, and in joined the forces under the
command of Col Archer Campbell from Virginia, who
was sent against them-- we then marched from the
Halsten to the Tennessee and crossing went to the
Hiwassee towns, which we destroyed and on our
return we destroyed the towns on the Tennessee
called the Sellico towns.-- we destroyed every thing
belonging to the Indians that we could find. The
Indians fled, so that he had no battle with them -
we returned home I think between the middle
and the last of January following-- but my
memory is so bad, that I cannot now state with
any certainty as to dates -  In the latter part of the spring of 1780 as now think I volunteered in the regiment commanded by Col Isaac Shelley but who was the captain of my company I cannot recollect - we marched from Halstein across the Yellow Mountains & through North Carolina in which state we joined the forces under Genl McDowel & Marched
on across Broad river into South Carolina, to
meet the British and Tories & we had a small
skirmish with some of their advanced parties -
when they fell back and the time for which
I volunteered, (being three months) having expired
I was dismissed & returned home 
In the fall of the year 1781, being on a visit to my
father in Augusta Virginia, news arrived that Lord
Cornwallis, had taken a position at Yorktown and
a draft being ordered, my brother was drafted
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and I volunteered and went in the place of my
brother to join the army of General Washington, which
was then beseiging Cornwallis in York Town.-- I remained
with army, until the British army surrendered
to Genl Washington, and the prisoners were marched
to the barracks-- I was then dismissed and
went home, but I never had a written discharge
I continued to live in East Tennessee after the
revolutionary war till about twenty five years
since, when I came to this county where I have
ever since lived-- I have no documentary to my services
evidence, nor do I know of any person whose
testimony I can procure, to testify
I hereby relinquish every claim to a pension or
except the present and declare that my name is
agency of not on the pension roll of any
any state. I would refer to Rev. Ebenezer
Ewen & Robert Cunningham for my character 
for veracity & c
sworn to in open court the day and year
aforesaid
John Nelson