Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 5474, for Samuel Iles, Maryland
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(3 - 1776)
SERVICE | | NUMBER
Md. | Iles, Samuel | R.5474
CONTENTS
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11083
Samuel Iles
Indiana

[illegible]

Rejected
[illegible] C Sample
Jany 23 1833
Saml C. Sample
Connersville
Indiana
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11083
Brief in the case of Samuel Iles
of Harrison Township Fayette County in the State of Indiana
(Act 7th June, 1832.)
1.  Was the declaration made before a Court or a Judge?  In Open Court
2.  If before a Judge, does it appear that the applicant is disabled by bodily infirmity?
3.  How old is he?  87 years
4.  State of service, as directed in the form annexed.
Period.  Volunteered some time in May or June in 1777
Enlisted about 1778 February or March
Duration of Service.  9 months
3 years
Names of General and Field Officers under whom he served.  Captain Hawkins, General Smallwood
Capt. John Burgess, Colonel Josiah (illegible), General DeKalb, General Wayne
5.  In what battles was he engaged?  aid in the capture of Stony Point.
6.  Where did he reside when he entered the service?  Churchill, Queen Annes County, Maryland.
7.  Is his statement supported by living witnesses, by documentary proof, by traditionary evidence, by incidental evidence, or by the tool?  traditionary evidence.
8.  Are the papers defective as to form or authentication? and if so, in what respect?

I Certify that the foregoing statement and the answers agree with the evidence in the case above mentioned. 
Examining Clerk.
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(Iles)
State of Indiana  Fayette County
Fayette Circuit Court Sept. Term 1832
On this fifteenth day of September personally appeared in open court before the honorable Edward (illegible) and William Miller (illegible), Judges of the circuit court of the said county of Fayette now sitting Samuel Iles a resident of Harrison township in the county of Fayette and State of Indiana, aged eighty seven 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 7 1832.
The he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers & served as herein stated:--That at Churchill Queen Annes County in the State of Maryland some time in May or June (he cannot recollect which) in the year 1777 he volunteered into a company for nine months commanded by Captain Hawkins (whose Christian name he thinks was John) in a regiment whose commandant he does not recollect and marched from Churchill to Chester town and from thence through Wilmington Delaware to the neighborhood of Philadelphia while the latter city was in the possession of the British--That in the month of October following he was present at the battle of Germantown under the command of General Smallwood and after that battle they were marched from point to point in the neighborhood of Philadelphia being employed in detachments to prevent the British from obtaining supplies from the inhabitants around, and in protecting the inhabitants from marauding parties of the British.  That some time late in the fall of that year he marched with General Smallwood detachment to Wilmington, where he remained for something like two months and from there to Valley Forge.  That in the winter or spring following General Washington promised the nine month volunteers that if they would enlist for three years the nine months they had served should be deducted from the time & that they should have a bounty of 100--
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one hundred acres of land and a furlough for three months.  That about February or March 1778 this applicant enlisted under the above terms for three years into a company commanded by Capt. John Burgess in the 4th Regiment of the Maryland line commanded by Col. Josiah (illegible).  After the British had evacuated Philadelphia and retired across the river this applicant was marched with a detachment under the command of Genl. DeKalb (he thinks) to Trenton & from thence to Morristown, and was (he thinks) at the latter place when the battle of Monmouth happened, and soon after marched to the white plains and remained there for two or three months and marched from thence to Middlebrook where he remained during the winter and in the spring of 1779 he marched to West Point, and while there he was detached with three or four others of his  company with Genl. Wayne to storm Stony Point--he marched to that city under Capt. Dobson and was present & aided in the capture of that post which was done at the point of the bayonet--About this period applicant does not recollect whether before or after his Capt. (Burgess) died and Lieut. Belt succeeded to the command of his company, after the affair at Stony Point he marched to (illegible) River where he remained for about 2 months, and from thence to Princeton in Jersey where he went into winter quarters--While here some time in January 1780 he applied for his furlough of three months, but his Sergeant Edwards represented to the Col. that he had been a faithful soldier and the furlough of three months would expire about the time of the expiration of his term of service, and the Col. gave to a Lieut. a discharge for him & about 20 others who had not availed themselves of their furlough which discharges were to be delivered to them at Baltimore.  But this applicant's home being in Queen Annes county Maryland received his discharge from the Lieut. at Philadelphia in order that his return home might be hastened--And this applicant further says that the discharge he received is long since worn out & lost, as he has not seen it for 40 or 50 years.  That after his service he returned to his employment as a
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Waterman in a shallow on the waters of the Chesapeake
That while at Alexandria in 1781 he & his repel was pressed to
carry flour from that place to our army then besieging
the British at York town, he took a load of flour to
Birds ferry & landed it & the next day Cornwallis
capitulated-- & that his name was originally spelled "Iless," but his 
name is now (illegible)  for a great while back, been pronounced and spelled "Iles"
He has no documentary evidence to prove his 
services, and knows of no person living by whom he
can prove his services.

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

his
Samuel X Ills
Mark

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year afore
said.

Attest Wm Caldwell Clk.

The Court now here on oath proponed to the said applicant
the following interrogatories and the answers
by him made thereto are as follows towit:

Quest 1. where and when in what year were you born
Ans I was born within 15 miles of Bristol England
on the 17th August 1745

Ques. 2 have you any record of your age & if so where is it?
Ans. I have none I recollect my age only from what
my parents & others have told me-- At 16 my
father bound me to the sea about 18 sailed
from England to Baltimore and after my arrival
at the latter place I ran away from the vessel
& I have remained ever since in this country.

Ques. 3 Where were you living when called into the service
where have you lived since the revolutionary war
and where do you now live
Ans. When I entered the service I lived in Queen Anne
County in Maryland, After the War I lived 3 years
in Alexandria Va. from thence removed to be Sussex
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County in Delaware where I lived until 1806, I then moved to
Kentucky lived six years in Bracken County, thence I
moved to Pendleton County & there resided until 1824 when
come to this county where I now live.

Quest. 4 How  were you called into service, were you drafted
did you volunteer, or were you a substitute
& if a substitute for whom
Ans I first volunteered and afterwards enlisted
as above stated. I here take occasion to state that
I never received the 100 acres of land promised
on my enlistment, having never made application
for it.

Quest 5 State the names of some of the regular officers who
were with the troops where you served; such continental
and militia regiments as you can recollect
and the general circumstances of your services.
Ans:  I name Genl Wayne, Genl DeKalb, General Sullivan, Genl
Gates Genl Putnam, Genl Arnold & Lieut Col. Saml. Smith now
a senator in congress belonged to my regiment, he paid me
the balance of my bounty a short time after my enlistment
The Capts Dodson, Waters, Gale, and Major Stewart,
these officers all I believe belonged to the regular troops, I
recollect the 1st 2d 3d & 4th Regiment of Maryland troops
to the latter of which I belonged, I have stated the general
circumstances of my service above & at this day
my Recollection has become impaired

Ques. 6 Did you ever receive a discharge, if so by whom was
it given and what has become of it?
Ans I received a discharge for my full term of service about
3 months afore its expiration, owing to my never availed
myself of my furlough of three months as above stated
the discharge was given me by my Col. Scarnelhall
which discharge is long since lost worn out & last. I 
carried it in my pocket as a protection during the continuance
of the war.
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Quest. 7 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 of
your services and as a soldier of the revolution
Ans I name the Reverend Robert Graves Daniel
Shawhan and Josiah Piper.

Robert Groves a clergyman residing in Rush County (in the vicinity 
of Samuel Ills who resides in Fayette immediately on the line of Rush) and
Daniel Shawhan of the same county do
hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Samuel
Iles who has subscribed and sworn to the above declaration;
that we believe him to be 87 years of age, that
he is reputed and believed in the neighborhood where
he resides to have been a soldier of the revolution and
that we concur in that opinion
Daniel Shawhan
Robert Graves

Given and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.
Attest Wm Caldwell Clk

And the said Court does hereby declare their opinion after
the investigation of the matter and after putting the interrogations
prescribed by the War department that the above named
applicant was a revolutionary soldier and served as he
State And the Court further certifies that it appears to the 
Court that the Rev. Robert Graves and Daniel Shawhan
who have signed the Certificate in this State reside in the County
of Rush in this State and that the said Robert Graves is a Clergyman 
in Reputable standing that the said Robert Graves and
Daniel Shawhan Reside in the nebourhood of the said Samuel Iles
that the said David Shawhan is a credible person and that their state is entitled credit.
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I William Caldwell Clerk of the Circuit Court of Fayette
County do hereby certify that the foregoing contains the original
Proceedings of the said Court in the matter of the application
of Samuel Iles for a Pension
I
n Testimony whereof I have hereunto set
my hand and the seal of the said circuit
Court this 18th day of September 1832
Wm Caldwell Clk by Camebpemple (?) Deputy
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mmhf
Rev. and 1812 Wars Section

May 23, 1925

L. C. Gifford
Kokomo, Ind.

Sir:
I have to advise you that from the papers in the
Revolutionary War pension claim R. 5474 it appears
that Samuel Iles or less who signed by mark) was born
August 17, 1745 near Bristol, England and when eighteen
years of age came to Baltimore, Maryland.

While a resident of Harrison Township, Fayette County, Indiana he applied for pension September 15, 1832
and alleged that while living in Queen Anne County, Maryland
he enlisted in May or June 1777 in Captain John Hawkins
Maryland Company, was at the battle of Germantown
and in February or March 1778 re-enlisted in Captain John
Burgess' Company, Colonel Josiah Carvel Hall's Fourth
Maryland Regiment, was in the engagement at Stony Point
and served until in January 1780 when he was furloughed.

An official report from the state of Maryland, on file
in this claim, states that the name of Iles or Iless is
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not found on the Revolutionary War records on file in
the Land Office at Annapolis, but that one Samuel Eyles
appears by the muster rolls to have enlisted as a private
in Captain Burgess' Company in the Fourth Maryland
Regiment on July 6, 1778 and on May 11, 1780 deserted,
also that he is marked on the roll as having deserted
in July 1780.

His pension claim was not allowed on account of the
statement as to his desertion.

Respectfully,
WILDER S. METCALF.
Commissioner
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1925. May 23 - Hist to L.C.
Gifford. mms & F.

5474
P.O. _____
Samuel Iles
Service: ____
REJECTED
Enlisted: _____, 18 _____
Discharged: _____, 18 _____
Application filed: _____, 18 _____
Printed list of 1852 gives as
cause of rejection: "He was a
deserter"
Reenlisted: _____
Attorney:_____
______ Recognized. ______Contract.
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Kokomo, Indiana, March 20, 1925.

Pension Department,
Washington, D.C.

Gentlemen:
Will you please furnish me the pension
record of Samuel Isles who died in Indiana
October 6, 1842. He was living in either
Rush or Fayette County, Indiana at the time
of his death and is buried in the cemetery
at Fairview on the county line. He was born
in New Jersey in 1740 and was living in N. J.
at the time of the American Revolution.
Very truly yours,
L. C. Gifford
L. C. Gifford,
Bus. Mgr. Daily Dispatch.

(stamp)
Pension Office
MAR 23 1925
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No 11083
Saml Iles
Indiana
5474
Rejected see let:
to S.L. Sample of the 
23rd Jany 1833 -
Let 28 July 1842 to
G G Brewer
Let to U Manly 3d Augt 
42
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11083

BRIEF objections to the admission of Pension Claims, of which those
answered in the negative, in red ink, will apply to the claim of
Samuel Iles which require
further proof or explanation.

I. Does the declaration show where the applicant resides? yes

II. Did the declarant make the declaration in the county where he resides? yes

III. If the applicant did not make the declaration in the county where he resides, is there any reason
assigned for his not doing so?

IV. Has the declarant mentioned the period or periods of the war when he served? yes

V. *Has he mentioned with precision the length of his service, and the different grades in which he
served, in language so definite as to enable the department to determine to what amount of pension
he is entitled? Yes

VI. Has he given the names of the officers under whom he served, in conformity with the regulations? yes

VII. Has he made a relinquishment of every claim to any other pension than the one under the Act of
June 7, 1832? yes

VIII. Has the Court given their opinion? yes

IX. Has the Clerk given his certificate? yes

X. Is the Clerk's seal affixed? And if so, has it a device or inscription by which it can be distinguished
from any other seal? yes & has a device
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2
XI. Has the applicant obtained the evidence of a clergyman and another respectable citizen as to
their belief respecting his age and the general belief in his neighborhood relative to his revolutionary
service? yes

XII. If the clergyman's affidavit has not been produced, is there any reason assigned for not obtaining it?

XIII. If the applicant has no documentary evidence, and has not obtained the testimony of at least one
living witness, has he stated in his declaration that such proof cannot be had? Yes

XIV +If the applicant has produced a witness or witnesses as to his service, has the magistrate who
administered the oath certified that he, she, or they are persons of credibility?
Has the official character and signature of the magistrate been certified by the proper officer under
his seal of office?

XV. +Does it appear from any of the papers that the witness was in such a situation, or of such an age,
as to have a personal knowledge of the applicant's service?

XVI. Are the papers authenticated as the regulations direct? No

XVII. Are the seven interrogatories prescribed by the War Department answered satisfactorily? And,
if not, which of them is not so answered? yes

EXPLANATORY NOTES.
QUERE V. In a case where the applicant cannot, by reason of the loss of memory, state precisely how
long he served, he should amend his declaration by making an affidavit in the following words:
"Personally appeared before me, the undersigned, a Justice of the Peace, &c. A. B. who, being
duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that, by reason of old age, and the consequent loss of memory, he
cannot swear positively as to the precise length of his service, but according to the best of his recollection
he served not less than the periods mentioned below, and in the following grades: For_____
year _____months and days _____, I served as a____, For _____ months
and _____ days, I served as a _____ ______ ; and for such service I claim a pension."
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It is important in all cases to determine with precision the period for which the applicant served,
and the particular rank he held, as the law directs the pension to be paid according to the grade of
the pensioner and the length of his service. The use of the phrase about three or four months is too
indefinite, and all such qualifying expressions are objectionable.

QUERE XIV. Proof of Service.
In a case where the name of the applicant is not found on the records of the Department, he
must prove his service by two credible witnesses, who are required to set forth in their affidavits
the time of the claimants entering the service, and the time and manner of his leaving the same, as well as
the regiment, company, and line to which be belonged. The magistrate who may administer
the oaths must certify to the credibility of the witnesses, and the official character and signature
of the magistrate must be certified by the proper officer, under his seal of office.

QUERE XVI. Mode of authenticating papers.
In every instance where the certificate of the certifying officer who authenticated the papers is not
written on the same sheet of paper which contains the affidavit, or other paper authenticated, the
certificate must be attached thereto by a piece of tape or narrow ribbon, the end of which must
pass under the seal of office of the certifying officer, so as to prevent any paper from being improperly
attached to the certificate.
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FREE
Hon. L L Campos
Comr of Pensions
Washington City
D.C.

July 28 1842
moa

(stamp)
July 20
ILL
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Marshall M. 20 July 4
Sir.  A M Iles of Indiana informs
me that he made application for a
pension a few years ago & the
his application was rejected for the
reason that he was rejected as a
deserter - He says he was reported on a
furlow & when he returned the
Regiment was discharge but
he subsequently Isle (illegible) his Col
and got a discharge which he
had for many years but has 
lost it. He may be entirely innocent
of the charge of desertion and if so
should of course not be denied the
benefit of the act - he might have
be hindered of sickness or other
unavoidable cause from returning at
the expiration his furlow & the
mean time his Regt disbanded.
He wishes to know if he will be
allowed to do away the (illegible)
of desertion against his by
proof and by circumstances.
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-
he is now over 100 years old and
must have been an (illegible)
to have deserted at the age he must
have been at that period-
He has some pride about it too
not to die with stigma upon his
name. If it is shown that he
is a man of (illegible) veracity will
not his own affidavit of the
circumstances in explanation he
sufficient?
(illegible) 
in Col Josiah Canthall
4th Regt. Maryland Infantry
Respectfully
Wm Manly

Hon. J. L. Edwards
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G.G. Brewer
28 July 1842
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Pens Officer    370
July 28. 1842

Sir
I will thank you to inform
me what evidence of the service
of Samuel Iles or Iless, the records
you office afford, He applied
office in 1833 for a pension
and his claim has the rejected because
that it appeared that he deserted.
He states that he was allowed on
furrlogh and wishes to produce
testimony showing that he did not 
desert.  He now resides in Indiana
An early reply in respectfully requested,

George G. Brewer Esq
Register and Office
Annapolis
MD.

00
11.083
qt 3r
ext
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Pen Office      44
Augt 3, 1842

Sir
In reply to your letter
of the 20th all in the case of
Samuel Iles I have to state that the
records at Annapolis which
she that he deserted cannot
be contravened by parole testimony.
If it is stated by Iles he did not
desert but returned to the army
after the expiration of his furlough and
received a discharge and this
fact can be established by record
or documentary proof the claim may
perhaps be allowed.  His papers remain
on file

Wm Manly Esq.
Marshall
Ill

oc
11.083
act 3r
ent.
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JamD6 Sample
231133

Recorded Vol 8
Page 251
Page 25

Department of War
D.C.
June 23, 1833

Sir
Enclosed you will find certified of pension 
for (illegible) McCormick 

The declaration of Samuel Iles has held at 
the (illegible) of the Land Office at Annapolis for the purpose
of (illegible) of his service;  In reply he says " I have 
to inform you that the name of Samuel Iles appears 
upon the (illegible) rolls to have enlisted as a private at Capt
Burgess company in the 4th Regt. on the (illegible) July 1788
for the time of three years, and to have deserted Twice, 
first on the 11th of May 1780. the July 1780"

His claim therefore was rejected, and the papers will remain on the files of this office.  

(illegible)


Saml Sample Esq
(illegible)
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FREE
J.L. Edwards Esqr
Commr of Pensions
Washington  CIity
D..C.
Mail

Aug 3 1826

(stamp)
Annapolis MD
Aug 1
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Land Office Annapolis, 1st August, 1842

Sir
Your letter of the 28th Ultimo, was received. The records
of the Revolution in this office, have been very carefully examined
and I do not find the name of Iles or Iless upon any said records,
but I find of  the name of one Samuel Eyles, who I have no doubt is the same
person alluded to in your letter. Samuel Eyles,
appears by the
Master rolls, to have enlisted as a private, in Captain Burgess
Company in the 4th Maryland Regt
for the term of three years
on the 6th day of July 1778, and on the 11th day of May 1780 deserted,
He is also marked on the roll as having deserted in July 1780,
from the entry upon the roll, I should presume, that the first
time he deserted
he was taken and brought back to the Army, and
deserted in July 1780 the second time. If he was allowed a furlough
as he alleges, he does not appear to have received any pay for the time he
was in service, for his name is not to be found upon any of the
pay rolls and I should infer from that circumstance, that he did
not join the Army after the last time he is reported to have
deserted in July 1780.
I am very respectfully,
yr Obt Svt
G. G. Brown

J. L. Edwards, Esqr