In Black and White: Cross-Cultural Genealogy

An addition to my LibraryThing.com When I began my in-depth research on the battles and skirmishes in which our free black Patriots from Craven County, North Carolina had participated, I came across a book title contained within an end note of a book on the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse. I quickly checked on the Barnes and Nobel and Amazon.com sites to compare availability and prices and found what I was looking for! Not only was I able to purchase a "Like New" hardcover copy of this book, but much to my joy, it arrived at my mailbox two days later! Available at Amazon.com The book's title is, The North Carolina Continentals , by Hugh F. Rankin. Check it out on Amazon.com's "Click to Look Inside!" feature. It appears to be quite thorough in its footnotes and bibliography, which is great for me, because I'm always checking sources to glean additional details. Contained within its twenty chapters, I found information concerning every battle in w

Encampment at Valley Forge It is difficult to imagine the conditions, the time and energy expended by these heroic soldiers from New Bern, North Carolina, who were marched some 463 miles to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and then another 670 miles to Charleston, South Carolina,only to be taken as prisoners of war and held on a prison ship in the harbor. By today's standards we think of a trek of this nature in terms of hours; but, in the 18th Century we're looking at months of walking, waiting, fighting, and walking some more. As we look at the next documents in Isaac Perkins' Revolutionary War pension application, we begin to see the framework of his military experience. We are also introduced to a new participant, one Osborn Clark. A quick search at Fold3.com uncovered a pension file for this soldier, who fought in the same regiment as Isaac Perkins on his second tour of duty. You can find more about Osborn Clark here . Isaac Perkins 7/35 www.Fold3.com

Pension Applications can give us insight to the everyday life of our ancestors. The following documents include an inventory of Isaac Perkins' real and personal property used to determine if he was truly an indigent veteran of the Revolutionary War, a certificate sworn by the clerk of courts that the names of the men who conducted the inventory were true, and a sworn statement that the inventory itself is true. They were signed and sealed in April and November 1829. [Transcription] Isaac Perkins/Image 3/35 www. Fold3.com At the request of Isaac Perkins of Craven County in the state of North Carolina an old Revolutionary Soldier and a claimant for a petition under the former act of Congress Granting petitions for the releaf [ sic ] of Indigent Soldiers of the Revolutionary war--we the undersigned have met and have valued all the property he the said Perkin[s] is now [           ] off--which we apprise and value as follows--  --that is to say 100 acres of poor pine

Available at Amazon.com As I read military histories about the skirmishes and battles in which our ancestors fought, I try to look for specific information about their regiments so I can piece together the movements and experiences they might have had. For instance, I am currently reading the book, Monmouth Courthouse 1778: The last great battle in the North, by Brendan Morrissey. From our last  post , you'll note that we found the names of Isaac Perkins' commanding officers: Captain Stevenson and Colonel Sheppard (North Carolina Militia), and Captain Clement Hall and Colonel John Patten (2nd North Carolina Regiment). According to Morrissey, Col. John Patten and the 2nd North Carolina were part of the main body of General George Washington's troops, serving in the right wing under Major General Nathanael Green (p. 86). There were seven Brigadier Generals commanding the right wing: Brigadier General William Woodford (Virginia),  vice Brigadier General Lachlan Mc

Washington Crossing the Delaware River, 25th December 1776, by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1851) What kind of clues might be found by the family historian within the pages of a pension application or a regimental history that could be used to piece together the overlapping activities of Revolutionary War servicemen from a given community? Let's take another look at the Pension Declaration for Asa Spelmore, Part 3, where we found an affidavit sworn by Isaac Perkins (Image 9) : " Isaac Perkins maketh oath that he was a private  Soldier in the Second Regiment, North Carolina line in the Continental establishment in the War of the Revolu:  :tion -- that while on Service at White Plains in the  State of New York , a detachment of Continental troops  [passed] that place on duty, and [       ] then he saw  the petitioner Asa Spelman or Spelmore , whom he  had been long acquainted with in No Carolina -- that  said Spelmore was then serving as a Continental Soldier  but d