About the time the Derryberrys were obtaining land grants in North Carolina, the Revolutionary War (1775 – 1783) was being fought in the colonies and eventually it affected their area.  From available records, it seems that the only Derryberry to have actually fought as a Patriot in North Carolina was Andrew Derryberry, who was likely the second youngest son of Hans Michael, born around 1765. Perhaps the others were too old to take up arms, or didn’t speak English well enough, or perhaps they remained neutral or loyal to the English crown. The actual reasons are unknown.

It is known that some of the Terryberrys and relations back in New Jersey remained loyal to England, and eventually migrated to Canada through New York by the early 1800s. On the other hand, there was a John Terryberry who applied for a pension from New York state who said he fought for the colonies in New Jersey.  So it was a mixed story for the descendants of Peter Dürrenberger, as it was for all the colonists. Historians have estimated that approximately 40 to 45 percent of the colonists supported the rebellion, while 15 to 20 percent remained loyal to the British Crown. The rest attempted to remain neutral and kept a low profile.

According to Andrew Derryberry’s pension application filed in 1832 from Tennessee, he first volunteered his services to the Burke County, NC militia at the age of 16 in the winter of 1781. He spent several months guarding forts in the area, and occasionally fighting Indians, before returning home. Then in August of 1782 he joined the Continental Army. This time he was sent to Charleston, but never saw any major action and was finally discharged in July 1783.  Subsequently, much later when living in Tennessee, Andrew received a pension of $39.27 per year for his services, and after his death his wife, Sarah, also received a widow’s pension.