Georgia
Oglethorpe County
On this 28th day of January eighteen hundred & thirty three
personally appeared in open court, before the Inferior court now sitting, Joseph Woodall,
a resident of the county & State aforesaid aged sixty nine years, 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 7th June 1832. That he entered the
service of the United States under the following named officers & served as
hereinafter stated. He was born in Buckingham County in the State of Virginia on the 11th
July 1763 according to the information he has always received from his parents, there
being no record of his age that he knows of, but he lived in Wake County N. Carolina from
the time he was eight years old until he entered the service & some time after the war
ended. He was a very poor boy & at the age of fifteen he volunteered his services to
perform a tour of three months in the militia of the State. He thinks he entered the ranks
some time in September 1779 under the command of one Capt. Blakey. His battalion was
commanded by Major Collier & the regiment by Colonel William Moore. Marched from home
to Salisbury where he was stationed for the whole time of his enlistment, to wit, three
months, guarding a parcel of tories said to be 300 in number that had been taken at
Ramsours Mills on the Catawba. He recollects no very striking circumstances which
occurred here beyond the fatiguing routine of guard duty, except that the captain of the
tories, said to be an Englishman & whose name is now forgotten, made his escape one
night from a rock jail in which he was confined. He got a discharge from this tour made
out by one of his officers, but he has long since lost it. He was drafted the next time
for another three months tour of service which he performed under Captain Hillsman. He was
this time under the command of two Majors before the tour ended, one by the name of Graves
& the other by the name of Criddle & his regiment was commanded by Colonel
Caswell. Our first service on this trip was performed at Wake court house where we were
stationed about six weeks guarding the general assembly of the State. From here we marched
to Dupling County intending to fall in with the main body of troops at Willmington. But
before we got told there had been a fight in which our side were considerably worsted
we were stationed at Gotian Swamp till the main forces all met there to rendezvous
2 or 3 weeks. The British run us from here over the Neuse River, near a half mile from
which on the north side we encamped & remained until our time was up & we were
discharged. He thinks this tour was commenced in the month of June of the year 1780. The
reason we retreated before the British as above mentioned was that we were badly provided
with guns & worse off for ammunition. He got a discharge from this service he thinks
in September but does not recollect the precise date & the discharge is lost. He never
was in any battle at all & never got acquainted with any of the regular officers nor
served under any of them. In fact he never saw but one corps of Regulars while he was out,
& if he ever heard what their style was or the name of the commanding officers he does
not now recollect them. He thinks all the documentary evidence he ever had to support this
claim has been long since lost, for he never supposed it would be of any value. He met
with a man by the name of Dodd 7 or 8 years ago who had served with him, but where he now
is & whether he is in life deponent cannot tell. He thinks any of his neighbors who
have been acquainted with him for any length of time will testify cheerfully as to his
being a man of truth & the only minister of the gospel in the neighborhood is not
sufficiently acquainted with him, he expects, to enable him to testify. He hereby
relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present &
declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State in the Union.
Joseph (x) Woodall
Sworn to & subscribed the day & year first aforesaid in open court.
John Landrum, Clk
We, William Galloway and George Lester residing in the county & State
aforesaid hereby certify that we are well acquainted with Joseph Woodall 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.
William Galloway
Geo. Lester
Sworn & subscribed the day & year aforesaid.
John Landrum, Clk