Folks, this is a little longer post than normal, but it contains a lot of historically important information to help put our ancestors lives in perspective. Sorry, but you gotta learn some history.

The Revolutionary War started in Massachusetts in 1775.  However, by 1779, the British had been slowly driven from most of the North, and in frustration shifted their hopes to military campaigns in the South.  They were hoping to take advantage of much loyalism in the Southern back-country.  In 1780, after first taking South Carolina, the British Army, commanded in the South by Lord Cornwallis, was ordered to reclaim North Carolina from the rebels and push on into Virginia.  Refer to the map at the end of this post for battle locations.

As mentioned earlier, Thomas Ayers had several sons in his family.  While residing in Surry County, NC, they were drawn into the war.  Although much of the time they were involved in informal, but violent, battles between loyalists and rebels, one of them also participated in two major battles with regular British troops which turned the tide of the war in the South.

It is not known if Thomas’ family, like his father’s, were also Quakers who were against violence. However, it is known that some Quakers, out of necessity, temporarily suspended their memberships during the war and then rejoined afterwards.

The extreme delay of providing pensions to veterans after the war was a sad, drawn out affair, and not until a Special Act of Congress in 1832 were pensions made available to the majority of surviving veterans. Fortunately, due to these detailed pensions applications in which they had to explain when and where they fought, we are able to get a glimpse into the lives of our Ayers ancestors during the war.  I’ll try to capture some of the significant highlights below.

In 1780, Thomas Ayers Sr., was about 46 years old, his son Nathaniel about 25 years old, son Elihu about 19 and son Thomas Jr. about 9.  While it would be unthinkable today, Thomas Jr., when still only a young lad, saw much violence and fighting action as he later stated in an affirmation for another pension applicant:

“I was too young to be put on a list of soldiers but I prefomed a voluntary servitude as hard as any soldier that is against Tories.  I had to run many a time when over powered by them to save myself.  I fought in my Father’s place he being old. Old and young had to fight it was a time of trouble in this country as I before stated the Tories was so bad.”

Elihu Ayers saw the most service.  He first entered as a volunteer private in the militia in January 1778.  He served a little over 12 months during which he only participated in skirmishes against the Tories (loyalists) and not against the foreigners.  He traveled the area around Surry and Wilkes counties defending Whigs (rebels) and their property from the ravages of the Tories.  During this term of service, he was present and assisted in “half hanging” William Combs whom they let off on promise of better behavior, and in hanging two other men condemned by a Court Martial.  He obtained a discharge from this term of service which was some years afterwards burned in his Father’s House.

Elihu entered his next tour of duty in April 1780.  Initially, he again was employed in the surrounding country to keep down the Tories and retaking and restoring property to the Whigs taken by the Tories.  Then in the Fall of 1780, he was marched to South Carolina where he participated in the famous Battle of King’s Mountain. The British, under Colonel Ferguson, fought in their traditional close-packed European fashion. The frontiersmen, however, played by different rules, moving from tree to tree picking off Ferguson’s men with their long and much more accurate frontier rifles. Many British were killed with few prisoners taken, and Elihu Ayers personally witnessed the death of Colonel Ferguson. King’s Mountain was a stunning defeat for Lord Cornwallis. After that General Washington sent one of his most experienced officers, Nathaniel Greene, to the South to drive the British out.

Elihu returned to North Carolina for a short furlough, but in the Spring of 1781, he was marched to the very important battle of Guilford Courthouse in Guilford County, NC, which was only 50 miles from his home in Surry County. There, he was part of the militia who panicked and ran from the scene of action. It was a terribly bloody battle from which the Americans, led by General Greene finally retreated, but it left both sides grieviously wounded. The battle was significant, however, in that Cornwallis began to fully realize that he could no longer count on the Loyalists for help, and that victories in the Carolina territory would always elude him.  Frustrated he turned his attention back to Virginia where he was also unsuccessful and the war finally ended with an American victory at Yorktown later in 1781.

In 1786 Elihu married Lydia Owen and they later moved to Patrick County, VA.  He finally received a pension beginning in 1834 until he died in 1844.  You can read a complete transcription of Elihu Ayers’ pension application in his own words here (R335).

Meanwhile, Thomas Ayers’ oldest son, Nathaniel, who is our direct ancestor, was also called into service as a militia man in August of 1780.  He too was marched to South Carolina to the Battle of King’s Mountain.  However, he did not participate in the battle, as he had been sent to a powder maker, for powder.  As it turned out, the Tories had already taken the powder maker, and his powder and the main battle was over before Nathaniel returned.  He met the victorious soldiers with the prisoners and marched with them and was held in service until some time in November or December and was discharged.

In February, Nathaniel was again called into service with the same militia company.  The object was to join General Greene’s forces, but they kept missing them as Greene, endeavoring to avoid an early engagement with Cornwallis kept changing his positions.  As a result, they never did join with Greene before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. On the other hand, they frequently fell in with parties of the enemy and had little skirmishes. He was then discharged in May 1781.

Since Nathaniel Ayers did not complete at least six months service, he was deemed not eligible for a pension.  You can read a complete transcription of his pension application in his own words here (R336).

I wonder if the Ayers clan in North Carolina, was aware that some of their cousins back in New England and New Jersey also fought and helped win the Revolutionary War.

I heartily recommend viewing “The Patriot” movie released in 2000 starring Mel Gibson, which does a very creditable job in depicting the horrific conditions and events in the Carolinas during the Rev War.