Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File R. 4211, Philip Graves, Md
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Md
Graves, Philip
R4211
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V34588
Application of
Philip Graves
for a pension
Arkansas
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(1)

State of Arkansas}
County of Hempstead} SCt

On this second day of July A.D. eigh-
teen hundred and thirty eight personally
appeared in open Court before the honour-
able County Court of Hempstead County
and state aforesaid now sitting [next 2 words underlined] Philip 
Graves, [following inserted after the comma] a resident of Hempstead County Arkansas aged seventy-[illegible] years[end of inserted text]
who being first duly sworn ac-
cording to law, doth on his oath make the
following declaration in order to obtain the
benefit of the act of Congress passed June 
7th 1832. Viz., That he entered the service
of the United States a private [word crossed out] militia soldier
under the following named officers and
served as herein stated to wit, he entered 
the said service a private in the militia
of the Maryland line, in the first part of
the month of March in the year of our
Lord seventeen hundred and eighty one 
or eighty two he will not be positive which
and served under Col. Jerry alias [underscored] Jeremiah
Jorden who commanded the regiment of
infantry of the Line to which he belonged he
does not recollect the number of the regi-
ment.  He does not recollect the name of the
Major under whom he served.  His Captains
name was Frances Miller.  He does not rec-
ollect the names of the subaltern officers of
the Company to which he belonged.  He don't
recollect the precise day he entered the service
aforesaid-but it was in the first part of
March in the year of 1781 or 1782 aforesaid.
When he entered the said service he lived
in St. Mary's County, State of Maryland
aforesaid.  He doesn't recollect whether he was 
drafted or not into the aforesaid service.  And
if he was drafted, he thinks he could not 
have drawn in [illegible] person or he doubtless
would have recollected it.  Consequently if
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drafted at all, it must have been by some
third person drawing for him in his absence
but he thinks that the militia of his said
State of Maryland was so classed that the
militia men thereof were compelled to make
their tours of duty in regular succession
so that each company and man had to
serve their respective tours of duty before
those that had so served could be called
upon a second time.  St. Marys County afore-
said is on the Western Shores of Maryland &
it being a part of the Country very much ex-
posed to the enemy (the British) the regiment
to which he belonged to and which he never left
during the whole term of its service, was sta-
tioned in the last said County during the
whole period of [word crossed out] its and this declarants
said time of service, at a kind of village or
rather in a thickly settled neighbourhood called
Lauellen's.   This was on the Potomac River
where some time in the Summer of Seventeen hun-
dred and eighty one or two the aforesaid
regiment - he being with at the time - attack-
ed a British Scooner in what is called Wycom-
ico Bay and brought her to and boarded
her and run her up into Bomley [Bromley inserted] Creek-
He does not know became of the said
Schooner after this-  He does not know the 
precise organization of the militia of the State
of Maryland at the time he entered the ser-
vice aforesaid but he is confident that he
and the regiment to which he belonged were
called into the said service by compe-
tent authority-and did not go into it
spontaneously without a regular call-
He was in no other battles than the above
affair with the said Schooner-He remain-
ed in the said service till the last of the afore-
said year of 1781 or 1782 (the year he entered
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the said service) never being absent therefrom
any part of [following word struck through: the] his time on his own or or any Civ
il business from the time of his entering till
that of his leaving of the said service--to wit
from the first of March 1781 or 1782 till
some time in December of the same year
doing and performing a [begin underline] tour of nine
months duty complete.  When he left the said [end underline]
service and went home having received a 
written discharge from his said Captain
Francis Miller aforesaid, which he has
long since lost never thinking it would be
of any use to him he never took any care
of it and don't know what has come with
it.  It was not long after left the said
service till hostilities measurably ceased be-
tween Great Britain & the United States.
He don't know the names of any other
regular officers with whom he was acquaint-
ed not having served [words struck out] in immediate
conjunction with any part of the regular ar-
my of the U. States.  He was very well
acquainted in the said service, with Col.
Jack [begin underline] alias [end underline] John Thomas who command-
ed a regiment of Maryland Light Horse
and was frequently back and forth
from his own command to that of the
aforesaid Col. Jeremiah Jorden who com-
landed the regiment to which this declar-
ant belonged.  And that he has no documen-
tary evidence and knows of no person whose
testimony he can procure who can testify to his
said service.  And that the [begin underline ] reason why he has
not applied before this time for his pension is
he being a person that can neither read nor write [end underline]
and being in remote parts of a frontier coun-
try was never [word struck out] informed till about a year ago that he
was entitled to a pension, and since he was
so informed he has till very recently believed
that he would be obliged to prove his said ser-
vice by the testimony of one or more witnesses in order
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to entitle him to a pension which he believes
he is not able to do.  There is no clergyman liv-
ing in this declarants neighborhood & he knows
of none is his county with whom he is suffi-
ciently acquainted to procure his certificate of
this declarants veracity and of his being believed
in his neighborhood to have been a soldier
of the revolution.  That this declarant was
born in St. Mary County State of Maryland
in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred
and sixty two and is consequently about seven-
ty six years old.  He has no record evidence of
his age, but supposes his name & age were re-
corded in the said St. Mary County (Md.)
Since the Revolution War he has lived in St.
Mary County Maryland, in Nelson County
Kentucky, in Lincoln County Missouri and 
now lives in Hempstead County Arkansas.
He was called into the said service aforesaid by
rotation or by drafting he does not know
or recollect (if he ever knew) which.  He does not
know the names and ranks of any regular
officers nor the number of any continental
or militia regiments (nor the names or ranks
of the officers thereof) except of Cols. Jorden
and Thomas and Capt. Miller aforesaid
and a Captain Mills of the aforesaid re-
giment of infantry to which this declarant
belonged. That he received a written discharge
given by the afd. Capt. Miller under whom
he served but he has never taken any account
of it and has long since lost it.  He never
received any commission or appointment
while he remained in the said service but
was a private all the time.  The names of per-
sons in his present neighborhood with whom
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he is acquainted that can testify to his char-
acter for veracity and their belief of his servi-
ces as a soldier of the Revolutionary War he
says are John W. Williams Esqr. & Saml.
Moore
both of the county of Hempstead
and State of Arkansas afd.
And that he is the same Philip Graves whose name might
to be in the muster rolls of the said regiment in the [illegible] U.S.

He hereby relinquishes any claim whatsoever
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.

Sworn to and subscribed       Philip X his mark Graves
the day and year afore-
said.

Allen M. Oakley
Clerk

We John W. Williams Esqr. residing in the County
of Hempstead and State of Arkansas aforesaid
and Samuel Moore residing in the
said County of Hempstead and State of Ar-
kansas hereby certify that we are well ac-
quainted with Philip Graves who has sub-
bribed and sworn to the above declaration--
that we believe him to be seventy six 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.

Sworn and subscribed     John W. Williams
the day and year afore-   Saml. Moore
said.

Allen M. Oakley
Clerl

And the said court do hereby declare
their opinion after the investigation of this
matter and after [illegible] the interrogatories
subscribed by the War Department that the
above named applicant was a revolutionary
solider and served as he states.

[Following sentence seems to be from another page of the document]
would have recollected it consequently if
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And the Court further certifies that it ap-
pears to them that John W. Williams Es. and
Samuel Moore who have signed the pre-
ceding certificate are creditable persons and that
their statement is entitled to credit.

Bukett D. Jett JP & Judge
of the County Court
Jos. Stuart JCC
S. T. Sanders JCC

Allen M. Oakley clerk of the County Court
of Hempstead County aforesaid do herby cer-
tify that the foregoing contains the original
proceedings of the said Court in the mat-
ter of the application of Philip Graves
for a pension.

[Blurred image of the Seal of the
County Court]

In testimony whereof
I have hereunto set my
hand and seal of office
this second day of
July in the year of our
Lord eighteen hun-
dred and thirty eight.

Allen M. Oakley
Clerk
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[Following lined through:
Acts of July 14, 1862, and March 3, 1873.]

4211

P.O. ________
Philip Graves
Service: ________

Enlisted: ______ ,18
Discharged: _____, 18

Application filed: _______, 18

Alleges: ________________
________________________
Re-enlisted: _____________
________________________

Attorney: _______________
P.O. ____________________
________________________
_______ Recognized.  _________ Contrac
_______ Cert. of Dis.  Searched for _______, 18
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V
Philip Graves
Arkansas
Act of June 1832
Rejected
See let: 31st Aug

1839 S. Moore

4211
did not serve
six months.
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Land Office, Annapolis 29th August 1838,

Sir, 

Yours of the 20th [illegible], with the declaration
of Philip Graves enclosed was received. He alleges to
have been drafted in 1781 for nine months as a militia man 
of Maryland under Captn Francis Miller and Corporal Jeremiah
Jordan, Cor Jeremiah Jordan, commanded the Upper Battal-
-lion of select militias in Saint Mary's County
and Captain Miller commanded a company in that Regiment.
I do not find that either of them ever served in the Drafted
Militia for nine months, nor do I find the name
of Philip Graves upon any of the notes of the drafted
militia, the rolls afford no evidence of his service. There
is no roll to be found of Captain Millers company, but on 
comparing this declaration of Graves with the rolls of the 
Militia. I should think, if he performed any service, it
must have been in the Select Militia, - the Select Militia, 
I believe, did not perform continuous service. The declara-
-tion is herewith returned.

Very respectfully, 
[illegible]
G. G. Brewer

J. L. Edwards, [illegible]
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[Mail Stamp]
HEMPSTEAD CH
JULY
4

Arkansas July 27
Philip Graves
Oct 1832

Mail

Hon. Joel R. Poinsette
Secretary of War of the U. States
Pension Office
Washington City
D.C.
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Hon. Joel R. Poinsette
Secretary of War of the U. States
Pension Office
Washington City
D. C.
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Washington, Hempstead Co Arkansas
July 20th 1838

Hon. Joel R. Poinsette

Hon Sir, I hereby
enclosed forward my application for a
pension. You will please return the
result of your determination to me at the
above place in care of S. Moore Esq. attorney
at law.

Yours very respectfully
Philip Graves