More than 230,000 Americans served in the Continental Army and Navy during the eight year Revolutionary War. After the war, many of these young veterans looked to the lands of the Northwest Territory for new opportunities. Southwest Ohio became an early site for settlement, after the 1795 Treaty of Greenville reduced the threat of conflict with Native Americans. Hundreds of veterans came to what would become Clermont County.
Starting in 1776, Congress passed a series of "pension" laws to compensate Revolutionary War veterans for service connected disabilities and general service. These laws were modified many times, reflecting eligibility changes and amounts of compensation. There were 80,000 pension applications filed nationally with 300 coming from Clermont County.
Reviewing these applications gives the reader a unique opportunity to learn about the life of the common soldier from an era that seems remote to many of us. For family historians, they are an invaluable resource.
"Our" veterans were largely from New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Most were soldiers, although there were a few sailors. They participated in the major battles of Bunker Hill, Trenton, Saratoga and Yorktown. Some fought the Shawnee at Old Town, located at Xenia, Ohio. They served under all of the well-known generals: George Washington, Horatio Gates, Benedict Arnold and the Marquis De Lafayette.
The following vignettes represent a sampling of the Clermont veterans' experiences:
Robert English remembered when several of his comrades tapped into a barrel of hard cider in the morning, becoming so drunk they couldn't march.
Jonas Meeker's grandfather mustered a "family" army of himself and seventeen of his sons and grandsons to battle the British at Springfield, New Jersey.
William Ginnings was struck by a musket ball in his calf while re-shoeing Washington's horse as the general remained seated on the horse.
John Smith claims that Lafayette forbade his men to go "a-swimming" because several of the men had drowned in the river.
James Leeds recalled that the men of his unit took up a collection to purchase a cannon. He kicked in a $1.00 donation.
Morgan Ford was paid $2.00 per month as a "minuteman".
The most intriguing entry reported that Elizabeth Leedom received a pension for acting as a courier for General Washington. Unfortunately, no further information is available.
Most of the time the pension application process was fairly routine: fill out the form, testify before the judge in the county of your residence, and wait. But there could be complications such as the case of Obadiah Smith, a fifty-nine year-old shoe cobbler from Williamsburg, Ohio. He stood before Clermont County Judge John Morris on May14, 1818. He raised his hand and swore an oath upon "the Holy Evangelists" to tell the truth. Smith was hoping to be awarded a monthly pension of $8.00. He told the judge that he had enlisted as a private in the 4th New York Regiment of the Continental Army. Smith was involved in a number of skirmishes in the White Plains, New York area. He fought under General Horatio Gates in the decisive American victory of Saratoga in October of 1777.
At the time Smith filed his pension application, applicants had to show financial need. Some, like Virginia-born John Aldridge, provided a list of their property and financial obligations. Aldridge's list consisted of the following: 2 horses-$35.00, one pig- 25 cents, 5 knives and forks-$1.00, 1 gun-$6.00, and 1 cow and two calves-$10.00. He claimed he owed certain unnamed people $55.00 and "sundry" others owed him $32.00.
Smith did not present such a list. He asserted that he was living under "reduced circumstances" and that he needed the assistance in order to live. He received his pension.
Dr. John Dunleavy of Williamsburg wrote a letter to the War Department disputing Smith's claim to the pension. He alleged that Smith fraudulently conveyed real estate worth $700.00 to a woman, not his wife, with whom he lived in order to appear impoverished. (Smith's wife Lucy filed for divorce in 1821) The doctor further claimed that Smith was healthy and able bodied.
Based upon Dunleavy's letter, Smith's pension was suspended.
Smith's friends rallied to his cause. Justices of the Peace George Ely and David Morris, Daniel Kain-colonel of the local militia, and Clermont County prosecutor T.S. Foote wrote letters on his behalf, declaring Smith to be a "credible witness and a man of truth and veracity, Dr. Ralph Sharp and cabinet maker Job Stockton provided a signed affidavit sworn under the oath "the Holy Evangelists of Almighty God", declaring that Smith was a man of good character and that he didn't fraudulently convey any property. For good measure Stockton wrote a letter to the War Department, calling Dunleavy a ..."violent and personal enemy of said Smith." Seven other men from Williamsburg signed an affidavit stating that Smith was unable to support himself.
The issue was still unresolved five years later. A frustrated Smith sent another letter to the War Department, asking about the status of his application. He wrote, "My pressing need of pecuniary (aid) at this time urges Me in the Most Imperious Maner to Make this application for an answer." He wished that his two enemies that had accused him of fraudulent behavior "...would have Dragged Me before a Trybuneral that have Juris Diction of High Crimes and Misdemenors- instead of Perplexing the Secretary of War."
That's the last we hear from Private Smith. Apparently he moved from the county. It is not known if he ever received his pension.
Smith, like many of his comrades, was often sick with intestinal ailments such as dysentery caused by poor food, inadequate sanitation and close quarters living. Often these chronic diseases roared through an army, leaving many soldiers unable to report to duty. Smallpox was also a major concern during the war.
Smallpox was a deadly disease, often killing half of those infected. Some survivors lost their eyesight. Most were left with pock marks on their faces. An epidemic of this ancient scourge killed 130,000 people in North America during the war.
Washington learned that the British were planning to weaponize the virus and release it upon his troops. He considered his options. Doing nothing or withdrawing his army to a safer area were unacceptable. He decided upon inoculation-inducing a milder version of the disease to develop immunity against the more virulent strain. This option wasn't without its own risks as the general knew well, being a smallpox survivor himself. Even the milder strain left its victims very sick and unable to perform their duties.An attack by the British under these circumstances would be disastrious . He ordered all 40,000 members of the Continental Army, Private Smith included, to be inoculated. This decision is considered to one of the most consequential in Wasinton's career,
On a personal note, the author would like to recognize New Richmond genealogist Aileen Whit for her work on researching, recording, preserving and distributing the contents of these pension applications . She spent countless hours in the dank courthouse viewing the mouldering records, deciphering 19th century handwriting and typing the contents into a three volume set. Aileen was a tireless advocate of saving our old records. She would be very pleased to see our modern records facility and the professional, dedicated staff of archivists who manage it.
