Private Aaron Spelmore (Spellman): Rev War Pension File (S42023), Part 1

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Aaron Spelmore's Declaration claims that he enlisted on May 5, 1781 in the state of North Carolina in the company commanded by Captain Sharpe in the 10th North Carolina Regiment, commanded by Colonel [blank] in the line of the Continental Establishment and served until April 5, 1782 when he was discharged at Wilmington.

It also states that he served at:

1. the Battle of Bacon's Bridge (?),
2. the Siege of Ninety Six (May 21 -June 19, 1781) and
3. the Battle of Eutaw Springs (September 8, 1781).

So, now we begin the task of identifying

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officers, their service assignments, and researching the battles.

The officers, 1781-1782

Captain Anthony Sharpe

On June 1, 1778, Captain Anthony Sharpe was transferred to the 1st North Carolina Regiment.[1]

The Commanders

The known commanders for the 1st North Carolina Regiment were:

• Col. James Moore,
• Col. Francis Nash,
• Col. Thomas Clark, and
• Lt. Col. William Lee Davidson.[2]

Colonel Francis Nash & Colonel James Moore

Nash was commissioned as Brigadier General on February 5, 1777 after Brigadier General James Moore became gravely ill, and died subsequently on April 15, 1777, from a severe attack of Gout in the stomach.

Colonel Thomas Clark

Another Colonel we've read about in conjunction with the service of Private Isaac Perkins and Private Martin Black was Colonel Thomas Clark, who served in New York during the Philadelphia Campaign. But Clark was present at the Siege of Charleston and captured when the town surrendered on May 12, 1780. He was a POW until released on November 26, 1782.

Lieutenant Colonel William Lee Davidson

We briefly looked at Lt. Colonel William Lee Davidson in the post, Private John Carter (Caster): Verifying Claims in a Rejected Pension File (R1749), concerning Captain Michael Quinn's company, 1778-1779. Now our timeframe is 1781-1782. According to J.D. Lewis' bio of him, "Brig. Gen. (Pro Tempore) William Lee Davidson led the Salisbury District Brigade of Militia at the battle of Cowan's Ford on February 1, 1781, where he was killed by a British sniper...."

So, how can it be that none of these Colonels was commanding the 1st North Carolina Regiment in 1781-1782? 

Searching for the unidentified commander may have been a mistake until after researching the battles. 

The "Battle of Bacon's Bridge"

Three sources provided limited information about the bridge and its military importance. Bacon's Bridge nearly thirty miles from Charleston, was the first downstream crossing over the Asheley River. In February 1780, General William Moultrie built a redoubt--a temporary fortification, usually square--on high land on the east side of the river to defend the bridge from the enemy's approaches to and from Charleston.[3] [4]

The old Congregational church known as the White Meeting House--"the social hub of Colonial Dorchester"--was just over a mile from the bridge. For that reason, it was feared that during the British occupation of Charleston (May 12, 1780-December 14, 1782) there was potential for a sneak attack on the village. They also feared that the bridge could be used to access the backwoods route toward Georgetown, the largest village in South Carolina.[5]

"On July 14, 1781, Dorchester was occupied by Col. Lee ('Light Horse Harry') with his legion, capturing many horses and a good supply of ammunition."  Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee III, brother to Major General Charles Lee, was nicknamed "Light Horse Harry" because of his expert horsemanship and commanded Lee's Legion. He served at the Siege of Ninety Six and the Battle of Eutaw Springs under Major General Nathanael Greene.[6]

In an architectural survey which provides history of Fort Dorchester, Richard F. Carrillo gives a bit of history of the fort, including added information about this occurrance on July 14th. Following the Fall of Charleston in May 1780, Dorchester was fortified by the British. The author cites Edward McCrady, The History of South Carolina in the Revolution, 1780-1783, MacMillan & Company, New York, 1902, pages 326-328), and continues: 

Lt. Col. Henry Lee, Wikipedia

"During the Partisan campaign against British outposts
during the spring and summer of 1781 Dorchester was attacked on July 14th by Colonel Henry 'Light Horse Harry' Lee, supported on the east by Colonel Wade Hampton who was to cut off communication with the garrison at Monck's Corner and between that place and Charleston. When Lee arrived at Dorchester he did not encounter the expected resistance due to a greatly reduced garrison which evidently had fled, leaving behind a number of horses and several wagons, one of which contained much-needed ammunition."[7]

At this time, the 1st North Carolina Regiment was attached to Lee's Legion, and this skirmish at Bacon's Bridge most likely took place after the Siege of Ninety Six, when Dorchester

was again occupied by the British when Gen. Greene concentrated his troops prior to the movements resulting in the battle of Eutaw Springs [in September]."[8]

Lt. Col. John B. Ashe, Courtesy Wikipedia[9]

Hugh Rankin states that Lieutenant Colonel John Baptista Ashe's group combined with Major General Nathanael Greene's and the draftees from the Salisbury district into the reorganized 1st North Carolina Regiment. Thankfully, Rankin sourced his writings well, and in the State Records of North Carolina (Vol. 15, p. 533), I found the orders of General Sumner to Lieutenant Colonel John B. Ashe dated July 14, 1781, putting him in command of all North Carolina Continental Troops, including those under Major John Armstrong, incorporating them into the 1st North Carolina Regiment, of the four existing regiments. The next to be reorganized was the 2nd North Carolina Regiment.

Major General Nathanael Greene's troops took back control of the bridge and camped there in March of 1782 while the British occupied Charleston. It was used as a rest and staging area for American troops who held control until July. From these three articles, there was only one mention of an original source: The Papers of General Nathanael Greene, which I should make a trip to Amherst College to examine Volume 10.[10]

Next time I'll examine the battle histories of the Siege of Ninety Six and the Battle of Eutaw Springs in hopes of gaining clarity of Private Aaron Spelmore's Revolutionary War service.

Sources

[1] J.D. Lewis, "The Captains," Carolana.com.

[2] J.D. Lewis, "1st North Carolina Regiment," Carolana.com.

[3] "Build a Bridge: Bring Land Over Water, Bring Worlds Together," Vacation Rick of Charleston (blog), 11 April 2020.

[4] Henry A. M. Smith, "The Town of Dorchester, in South Carolina: A Sketch of Its History," The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, April 1905, Vol. 6, No. 2, p. 84.

[5] Bo Petersen, "Seeking Forgotten Fort on Asheley," Post and Courrier, 13 February 2012, as posted by Steven Steele, Swamp Fox Brigade (blog), 13 February 2012.

[6] Smith, p. 84.

[7] Richard F. Carrillo, "Archeological Investigations at Architectural Fort Dorchester (38DR4): An Architectural Assessment," University of South Carolina, p. 18.

[8] Ibid.

[9] John Baptista Ashe (Continental Congress) [image]. (2023, December 30). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Baptista_Ashe_(Continental_Congress)

[10] "Build a Bridge."