Georgia
Oglethorpe County
On this the third day of September eighteen hundred & thirty two personally
appeared in open court before the justices of the Inferior court while sitting for
ordinary purposes, William Leslie, a resident of the county & State aforesaid, aged
sixty nine years & eight months, who being first duly sworn according to law doth on
his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of
Congress passed on the seventh of June of the present year entitled an act supplementary
to the act for the relief of certain surviving officers & soldiers of the Revolution.
That he entered the service of the United States against England in the war of the
Revolution under the following named officers & served as hereinafter stated.
That he was born in Guilford county North Carolina on the twenty fifth day of
November seventeen hundred sixty two ~ has a transcript of his age which he took from the
family bible ~ was living in Guilford when he was drafted to serve in the revolutionary
war between England & America ~ he entered the service in the militia of North
Carolina under General Davidson in the year seventeen hundred & eighty ~ does not
recollect the day but it was in the month of August in that year, as he marched from
Guilford to Charlotte he met General Gates’ men returning from their defeat near
Camden ~ marched on from Charlotte to bushy camps toward Ninety-Six. After arriving here
Generals Greene & Morgan took command of the southern army & applicant’s
commanding officers were Colonel Pacely, Major Moore & Captain Forbes. He belonged to
the third regiment of North Carolina militia. Was acquainted with the Maryland line who
were the first regular troops of infantry that joined them there, were commanded by one
Howard who was said to be a Virginian ~ an officer by the name of William Washington (he
thinks) & another by the name of Lee commanded the cavalry & overtook the southern
army on Sloan’s ferry on the Yadkin as they were advancing toward Charlotte. This
tour was of three months duration & its duties as it happened consisted principally in
marching from point to point ~ there was not so much as a skirmish during the whole tour.
He was discharged from this tour at McCoppin’s Creek in North Carolina ~ his step
father drew his discharge & kept it so that applicant never got it, indeed his step
father claimed it as a matter of right in as much as applicant was not twenty one years
old, contending that he was entitled to the proceeds of applicant’s labor until he
was of age. In a very few days after his discharge from the first tour, he volunteered in
the militia army in the same regiment & under the same officers, Greene the commanding
General. A circumstance which assists his mind in arriving at the fact that the time
between his discharge & his volunteering was only a few days is this, before he was
discharged Howard & Washington went on to the Cowpens in So. Carolina where the
defeated Tarleton & he recollects while acting as a volunteer that he guarded some
prisoners taken by them at the Cowpens from near Salisbury to fifteen miles below Guilford
courthouse & there gave them up to another party. He recollects that it was a cold wet
day & that the guard called at the home of Colonel Pacely where they had plenty of
liquor & a good fire ~ among the prisoners was a Colonel Burks, a Tory, who thrust
himself in to get the benefit of the fire ~ Pacely asked him what he came in for ~ Burks
replied to warm himself ~ Pacely showed him the door & as he retreated took a chair
& knocked him out of the door into the lane. From this place the detachment went back
& joined the main army again at Sloane’s ferry. By this time Cornwallis was said
to be at Charlotte & our Colonel beat up for volunteers to go & stop a party of
Tories who they heard were about to go & join him ~ he mustered about 300 of whom
deponent was one. They set out & struck for the fork of the Yadkin, crossed over into
it & went up to a place called the Crossroads about a mile from shallow ford and there
while they were preparing for breakfast the Tories came up on horseback shouting praises
to King George & gave some appearance of being intoxicated. The detachment fired on
them & killed sixteen, the rest fled rapidly through the woods. One man belonging to
the detachment was mortally wounded but deponent does not know whether he received his
wound from the Tories or whether he was shot by carelessness in his own ranks. They moved
from there to Shallow ford & encamped near the river ~ next day they went on to Salem
or Moravian Town where the staid & dried their clothes & that night deponent stood
centinal four hours in an old field ~ thinks this was some time in December. Marched from
that place to the main army at Sloane’s ferry ~ not many days after this Greene
commenced his retreat to Virginia ~ on the retreat march they passed through Guilford,
crossed Haw river at High rock ford & went on by the red house, crossed Dan river at
Boyd’s ferry, waded Staunton & crossed Bannister on a bridge & after passing
some short distance beyond the old courthouse in Mecklinburg county Virginia they stopped
some days, took rest & got provisions. During this whole route Cornwallis was close in
pursuit & the forces of the Americans he thinks were not more than 2000 men. Having
got a few days rest Washington & Lee with the cavalry went back in to North Carolina
to keep the British from pillaging, plundering & getting provision & the Infantry
also went back ---- Greene to recruit in Virginia. On their return march they scoured the
country in every direction until Greene returned when they joined him & marched on to
Guilford to wait for Cornwallis. The night before the battle of Guilford Cornwallis laid
at a place called New Garden meeting house & a detachment under the command of Lee
& Washington & some riflemen commanded by a Colonel Cleveland went out there &
gave the British a smart skirmish before breakfast ~ Cornwallis arrived at Guilford
courthouse between twelve & one o’clock on the 15th March 1781 ~ just
before the battle commenced Colonel Lee rode up to the lines where deponent stood &
read something like these words, "My brave boys, your lands, your lived & your
country depend on your conduct this day ~ I have given Tarleton hell this morning & I
will give him more of it before night." & speaking of the roaring of the British
canon he said "You hear damnation roaring over all these woods & after all they
are no more than we." & we went on to flank the left of the American army ~ this
deponent’s place in that battle was on the left of the artillery not far from it ~
the 33rd & 71st British regiments ----ed the 4th
regiment of militia to which deponent then belonged ~ their object seemed to be to take
the artillery ~ the battle was commenced by the militia & two lines of them fought
before the regiment came up. Deponent believes that this tour of volunteer service
exceeded three months in duration but for the purpose of being entirely safe in his
statement he is willing to place it at three months which together with the three months
tour heretofore described make six months service performed by this deponent in the
Revolutionary war. He got no discharge from this last service ~ his captain was mortally
wounded at the battle just mentioned & died in about a week. Both before & after
the services above mentioned deponent was engaged in several scouting expeditions but he
cannot recollect any time with certainty & does not ask compensation for any more than
the six months to which he has particularly alluded. Deponent does not know of any man
living by whom he can establish his services. He had a brother two years older than
himself who was said to be alive four years ago & who would be a good witness ~ but
deponent knows not where to find him. This deponent hereby relinquished every claim
whatever to a pension or annuity except the present & declares that his name is not on
the pension roll of any State in the Union.
Wm. Lesley
Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid.
William H. Smith, clerk
We, Benjamin Blanton a clergyman residing in the county of Oglethorpe &
John Moore of the same place hereby certify that we are well acquainted with William
Lesley who has subscribed & sworn to the above declaration that we believe him to be
of the age therein mentioned, that he is reputed & believed in the neighborhood where
he resides to have been a soldier of the Revolution & that we concur in that opinion.
Benjn. Blanton, MP
John Moore
Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid.
William H. Smith, clerk
