Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 17,850, Charles Britt, Ga. S.C.
Page 1

(8-1776)

[column headings: SERVICE, blank, NUMBER]
Ga.  Britt, Charles  S.17850
S.C.

Carded

CONTENTS
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South Carolina 31, 207
Charles Britt
of Abbeville Dis. in the State of S. Carolina
who was a Private in the company commanded
by Captain Baldwin of the Regt commanded by lT. Col. Clark in the Garland S.S.
line for 20 months
Dead
Letter to 3d auditor 29 March 183?
Paid at the Treasu
the act of the 6th
from 4th March 18
1837, the day of li
notified 3d April
Inscribed on the Roll of S. Carolina
at the rate of 66 Dollars 66 Cents per annum,
to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831.
Certificate of Pension issued the 18 day of Sept.
1837 and sent to [crossed out]Hon. G.S. Legau h.R [end crossout] J.L. Pettigrew Esq Trus
Arrears to the 4th of Sep. 37 433.33
Semi-anl. allowance ending 4 Mar. 38 33.33
$466 66
{[Revolutionary Claim,}
{Act June 7, 1832.}
Recorded by D. Brown Clerk
Book E
Vol. 6
Page 71
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TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
Second Comptroller's Office,
April 1st, 1839

Sir:
Under the act of the 6th of April, 1838 entitled "An 
act directing the transfer of money remaining unclaimed by certain 
Pensioners, and authorizing the payment of the same at the Treasury 
of the Untied States," The children of Charles Britt, 
a Pensioner on the Roll of the South Carolina Agency, at 
the rate of Sixty Six Dollars and Sixty Six Cents 
per annum, under the law of the 7th June, 1832, has 
been paid at this Department, from the 4th of March 1831, to the 7th October, 1837, the day of his death.

Respectfully, yours,
[signature: "Albion K. Parris"]
Comptroller.

To the Commissioner of Pensions,
Present.
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The State of South Carolina
Abbeville District

On this 20th day of March 
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight 
hundred and thirty seven and in the sixty 
first year of the sovereignty & [and] Independence 
of the United States of America, personally 
appeared in open Court before the Court 
of Common Pleas, now sitting Charles 
Britt a resident of Abbeville  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 on the seventh 
day of June, in the year of our Lord one 
thousand eight hundred and thirty two,  
that is to say: 
That he was born in England 
on the second day of June in the year 
One thousand seven hundred sixty two. 
That his father having died his mother 
afterwards married on Jacob Delachaur 
who migrated with her to America 
in the year One thousand seven hundred 
and sixty eight, carrying delcarant 
along with them.
Page 5

That on the breaking out of the war 
of the Revolution, he was residing in the 
District of Abbeville in the State of 
South Carolina. That on or about the twenty 
fourth day of July in the year One thousand 
seven hundred and seventy seven, he was 
enlisted at French town in Abbeville 
district, in Captain Baldwin's Company 
of Georgia Minute Men, the offices of 
which corps were John Stuart Colonel,
Elijah Clark Lieutenant Colonel, and 
Caleb Howell Major. That the declarant 
and the other recruits were marched by 
George Walton's ferry on Savannah river
to a place now called [blank line] 
in the State of Georgia. That he afterwards 
received a furlough for a month 
and on its expiration again joined the 
company at a fortification called 
Carrs fort about two miles from the 
place where Washington in the State 
of Georgia now stands. That there 
were two companies in the fort viz:
Burke's and Baldwin's and the 
declarant there did duty with them 
for the period of two months.
Page 6


That both companies were then ordered 
to Tillets Station on Broad river in the 
State of South Carolina where they 
remained on duty for about four months.
From Tillets Station they were ordered to 
Augusta in Georgia, and from there were 
marched into Florida, and encamped 
on St. Marys river. That they remained 
on the St. Marys until summer when 
they returned to Midway Meeting House,
where they were discharged as near 
as declarant can recollect in the month of August in the year One 
thousand seven hundred seventy eight. 
[handwriting in left margin: "12 mo"]  That in this tour of service, declarant 
was under arms upwards of twelve months

That on his return home to New 
Bordeaux, he was enrolled in the militia company of Captain Joseph Bouchillon, of which company Peter
Gilbert was first Lieutenant and Peter 
Roger second Lieutenant and was with his companions occasionally called out to act against the Tories.
Page 7

That in the year One thousand seven 
hundred and seventy eight, or One thousand seven hundred and seventy nine, he was drafted into a small body of militia 
that were ordered to McGowens Block house on Savannah river, under the command of Captain Bouchillon, to guard that part against the Indians
and was engaged in this service for 
about four months, and then returned home. 

That he was afterwards drafted into 
the militia under Captain Matthew Bernard and Lieutenant Peter Gilbert and served in the expedition to 
Savannah. That so far as he can 
recollect, they rendezvoused at Augusta
under Colonel Andrew Williamson 
of the South Carolina militia. That the his 
company joined General Lincoln in the 
low country and proceeded to Savannah. 
That he was at Savannah during the 
siege. That the night before the attack 
he was detailed with a party of three 
or four on fatigue duty to Thunderbolt 
and in consequence was not
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in the action. that the Captain being killed, 
Peter Gilbert took command of the company. 
that shortly after this the company was 
discharged and the declarant returned 
home, and that on the expedition he 
supposes it could not be less than 
two months out.

That on another occasion he was on 
an expedition to Ashepoo in the state of 
South Carolina, to relieve the Stono
troops, but from the decay of his memory 
he cannot recollect the particulars.

That in the year One thousand seven hundred and eighty one he was again drafted into a militia company under 
Captain Moses [illegible] to join General 
Greene and proceeded under the command 
of General Pickens to the Congaree near 
the place where Columbia now stands 
and subsequently joined General Greene 
near the Eutaw. That he was with the 
company in the memorable battle of the 
eighth day of September of the year One thousand seven hundred eighty one, and after the dead had been buried, which he
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thinks was the third day after the battle, 
his company was discharged, when he 
returned home. That this was his last 
tour of service, and he believes he was 
engaged in it not less than two months. 

That in the intermediate periods of 
time, between his expeditions to Florida, 
to Savannah, and to Eutaw, he frequently 
served in small detachments of the 
militia, against Tories and Indians,
the particulars respecting which, from 
the great laps of time, and the decay 
of his memory, he cannot remember [torn portion of page] 
But he firmly believes, that the whole of his service amounted to at least 
two years.

That in all the expeditions to 
which he was deposed, he served as 
a private. That he sometimes beat the 
drum, but was not a regular drummer. 
That he has lived all his life in the 
neighbourhood of the Bourdeaux in 
the State of South Carolina. That 
he knows of no living comrade, nor 
of any person that was with him, 
in military service, either officer or 
men. That the last surviving
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comrade that he know, was Austin Whitten 
of Edgefield, from whom he got an 
affidavit, which he sent to a friend 
to be forwarded to Washington and which 
if not mislaid, will be submitted to 
the department. That he knows Jr. 
Waddell, the Rev'd James M. Chiles, Govenor McDuffie,
General Bull, xxxx James Louis Petigru and Alex Houston and 
he is now in his seventy fifth year 
and is weak and infirm. 

He hereby relinquishes every claim 
whatever to a pension or annuity, except 
the present, and he declares that his 
name is not on the pension roll of 
any agency in any state.

Sworn to and subscribed the day a
and year aforesaid.

[left signature: [illegible] "O'Neall  Pres Judge"]
[right signature: "Charles Britt"]
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We James M. Chiles  a clergyman residing
in the district of Abbeville 
and Alexander Houston residing 
in the same. 
Do hereby certify, that we are well acquainted 
with Charles Britt, who has subscribed and 
sworn to the foregoing declaration and 
believe him to be seventy five years of 
age. That he is a man of veracity, and 
reputed and he lived in his neighbourhood 
to have been a soldier of 
the revolution, and we concur in 
that opinion.

[signature on lower left: "Sworn to in 
this court the 20th March 1837 before Jn B O'Neall Pres Judge"]

[signature on lower right: "James M Chiles"]
[signature on lower right below: "A. Houston"]
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[Illegible handwriting]
 In reply to your request of ___, received ___
for a statement of the military history of [written in]Charles Britt
a soldier of the REVOLUTIONARY WAR, you will find below the desired
information as contained in his ([strikethrough]or his widow's[/st]) application for pension
on file in this Bureau.
[written] S.17850
[table with column headings: DATES OF ENLISTMENT OR APPOINTMENT,  LENGTH OF SERVICE, RANK, OFFICERS UNDER WHOM SERVICE WAS RENDERED, CAPTAIN, COLONEL, STATE.]
[written] July 24, 1777 | Aug 1778 | Private | Baldwin | John Stuart | GA.
[written] | | | Joseph Bouchillon | |
[written] | 4 mos. | | | 
[written][illegible] | 2 mos. |  | Matthew Berand | [illegible] | S.C.
[written]" | " | | [illegible] to Ash |  |  |
[written]1781 | [illegible] | | [illegible] | |

Battles engaged in, [written] [illegible]
Residence of soldier at enlistment, [written][illegible] Dist., S.C.
Date of application for pension, [written] [March] 20 1837. His claim was [illegible]
Residence at date of application, [written]Abbeville Dist, S.C.
Age at date of application, [written]born [illegible] 1762, in England and emigrated 1768 to America with his mother & stepfather [illegible]
Remarks:
[written][illegible] died Oct 7, 1837
6 -- 28[?]6
[written][illegible](2"ed.) p.84 Berand
Respectfully,
Commissioner.
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17850
INVALID.
--
File No. 17850
Charles Britt
Pri Rev War
--
Act: June 7 '32

Index: Vol. 1, Page 438
"[Arrangement of 1870]"

1914 Mch. 16 Hist. to Mrs. T.F. Abercrombie
Page 14

J L Petigrue's affidavits - 
The very credible 
Testimony offered by 
the accompanying affidavit 
of Mr Petigrue 
supplies the place of the 
missing document and the 
claim is allowed 

[signed initials: "J. R. P."]
Page 15


James Louis Petigru having duly sworn 
maketh oath and says that the papers 
of Charles Britt an applicant for 
a pension, who had been returned 
to him, was sent to this
Deponent by Chl Britt - that to the 
best of his recollection and belief he 
forwarded those papers to his brother 
Charles Petigru at Washington 
but Charles Petigru left Washington 
about the time when this packet 
would have been received, for Florida 
and never returned. And this 
Deponent has searched for the 
papers but cannot find them. 
[crossed out: "that"] among the papers was an 
affidavit of a man called Whitten 
and that the affidavit contained 
a position a section of Whitten 
that he had known Britt as a
Page 16

soldier in the Revolution, he does 
not think it contained any brief 
of the length of his service.
[signature: "J L Petigru"]

Sworn to Before me
July 13 th 1837
H[illegible] M. Black Not. Pub.

I certify that Mr Petigru is a witness above all exception
14th Sep '37
Hugh S. Legare
--
Mr. C.
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B 65017766

Chl. Britt
S ol a

3rd April 1837

Pension office
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My first knowledge of the declarant 
Charles Britt was in the year one 
thousand seven hundred and ninety 
when I was very young and from that time 
I have always known him & [and] can say with 
every assurance of certainty that he is a 
man of strict veracity and of a deep 
and abiding sense of religious and moral 
obligation. He enjoyed the esteem of my 
grandfather M. Eugevin a decided friend 
of America in the Revolutionary struggle 
who died at an advanced age in the year 
One thousand eight hundred and five 
and I have heard M. Eugevin as well 
as my mother in her lifetime often 
speak of the declarant and of his 
having been a soldier of the Revolution 
in the service of America.

[signature: "J Petigru"]
Page 19

And the said Court do hereby 
declare after the investigation of 
the matter and after putting  the 
interrogatories prescribed by the 
War Department, that it is a 
notorious fact that the before 
named applicant was a Revolutionary 
soldier, and that in their opinion
he served as he states, and that 
the Rev'd Jas M. Chiles Alex 
Houston and Ja's Louis Petigru 
who have signed the pregoing certificates 
are entitled to credit.

[signature: "Jn B O'Neal Pres Judge"]
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I James Wardlaw - 
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and 
General Sessions for the district of 
Abbeville do hereby certify that the 
foregoing contains the regional proceedings 
of the said Court in the matter of 
the application of Charles Britt for 
a pension.

In witness whereof I have hereunto 
set my Hand and the Seal of 
the said Court this twentieth - 
day of March - in the year of our 
Lord One thousand eight hundred 
and thirty seven and in the sixty 
first year of the sovereignty and
Independence of the United States of America.

[signature: "Ja Wardlaw Clk."]
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[stamp in black ink]
PENSION
N
U. 9 S.
1
[otherwise illegible]
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710 Union St.
Brunswick, Ga

Mar. 6. 1914

Mr. G. M. Saltzgaber,
Washington, D.C.

Dear Sir:-

I have been told that 
one Charles Britt, who was 
my great, great grandfather 
was given bounty land for 
his service in the Revolutionary 
War. This land is situated 
in Abbeville County, South 
Carolina. Have you any record 
of this grant?  After the war 
he married Mary Langel.
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I am getting up my papers 
to join the Daughters 
of the American Revolution 
and am trying to establish 
proof that Charles Britt 
served in the war on the 
side of the Colonists.

If you can furnish me with this information, I will 
appreciate it.

Respectfully,
Mrs. T. F Abercrombie
Page 24

Rev. War Section.

March 16, 1914.

Mrs. T. F. Abercrombie,
710 Union Street.
Brunswick, Ga.

Madam:
In order to obtain the date of last payment of Charles Britt's pension and names of the children to wom it was paid, you should apply to the Auditor for the Interior Department, U. S. Treasury Department, giving him all of the following data:
"Charles Britt, Certificate No. 31.207, issued September 18, 1837. for $66.66 per annum from March 4, 1831. under the Act of June 7, 1832. at the South Carolina Agency."

Very respectfully,
[signature: "G.M. Saltzgaber"]
Commissioner.
Page 25


THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
Form VAM-51
12-5-41

Division of Veterans' Administration Archives

BOUNTY LAND WARRANT RECORD CARD*

NAME: Britt, James
GRADE: Private "in the Corps of Sappers and Miners"
WARRANT NUMBER: 12754
ACREAGE: 100
ISSUED: May 6, 1793
[handwritten note: "To -- not shown --"]

--
*The information concerning the issuance of warrants carded on this form is found in volumes 2 to 4 of "Land Warrants Issued Prior to 1800" which are 
registers of bounty land warrants issued to non-commissioned officers and privates under congressional resolutions of September 16, 1776, and subsequent dates. Other records relative to the applications for warrants appear to have been destroyed in the War Department fire of November 9, 1800. Information concerning warrants surrendered to the Federal Government is to be found in General Land Office records in The National Archives.