Revolutionary Brothers

Joseph entered service of the US in 1776, drafted as a private in the militia of North Carolina for a three-month tour. Then early in 1779, he volunteered as a private from Rutherford County, NC, joining a light horse company that marched through South Carolina towards Georgia, joining Colonel Pickens near his farm in South Carolina.

Colonel Pickens was assembling troops to oppose a group of Tories that had gathered in the back parts of South Carolina. When they began their march, encountering 600-700 Tories at Kettle Creek. The Tories were defeated – Colonel James Boyd, their leader, was among the killed. Several who escaped were captured and tried as traitors, and Joseph thinks 5 of them were executed.

After this battle, Joseph’s company returned to North Carolina and soon after was ordered to join the company of General Charles McDowell and try to intercept a party of local Tories. That night, McDowell’s camp was attacked with several killed on each side. Joseph’s brother, Andrew, First Lieutenant, was one of the ones killed during that attack.

“Those who do not look upon themselves as a link, connecting the past with the future, do not perform their duty to the world.”

~Daniel Webster

Joseph continued in his service until the “end of the War in the South¹” and was discharged in the latter part of 1781.

Following the war, he lived in North Carolina for several years before moving to Georgia. He lived in Georgia for 14 years before moving to Caldwell County, Kentucky.