Pension Application of Philip Christ or Crist: S8197

                        Transcribed and annotated by C. Leon Harris

 

Virginia At a Court held at the Court house for the County of Botetourt on Monday the 12th day of August 1833~

On this 12th day of August in the year 1833 personally appeared in open Court (the same being a Court of record for Botetourt County) Philip Christ now a resident of Botetourt County State of Virginia aged upwards of seventy four 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 provisions of the act of Congress passed June the 7th 1832  that he was born in Berks County State of Pensylvania [sic: Pennsylvania] long Swamp Township in the year 1759  that in the year 1776 this applicant was drafted into the service under the command of Captain Philip Mertz and joined a Battallion under the command of Major Sinderwood and Colo. Baker [word illegible] in Redding [sic: Reading] from whence he marched to Amboy in New Jersey at which place this applicant was in a skirmish with the Enemy but received no injury. this applicant remained in Amboy two months and was discharged and returned to Berks County where he remained till the latter part of the summer of 1777 when he was again drafted into service under the command of Capt’n Peter Smith and rendezvoused at Redding and joined a regiment under the command of Colo. Utray from whence he marched to Chester (by way of Philadelphia  this applicant remained at Chester some short time when the Army under the command of Genl. Washington marched by Chester to the Battle of Brandywine [11 Sep 1777] when this applicant under the command of General [Wiliam] Irvine marched on to Brandywine in rear of the main army and remained there during the Battle after which we retreated to Chester where this applicant remained the balance of his Tour and was discharged (having served in this Tour two months) and returned home where he remained some time he does not recollect how long but was drafted sometime afterward under Captain Crown and remained at Redding two months guarding Burgaines [sic: Burgoyne’s] prisoners when he was discharged and returned home and remained till the year 1778 shortly after the massacre at Wyoming [near present Wilkes-Barre PA on 3 July 1778] when this applicant was again drafted into service under Captain Beaver and rendezvoused at Redding under Major Carrisher and Colo. May from whence this applicant marched to Sansbury and from thence to Fort Jinkins where he remained during his Tour with the exception of a short time he was sent as a guard (with provisions to fort Wyoming  this applicant served two months this Tour and was discharged & returned home where he remained to year 1785 when he removed to Sheperdstown in Virginia [now in Jefferson County WV] where he remained five years and then removed to Greenbrier where he remained five years and from thence to Botetourt where he has resided ever since and now resides  This applicant states that he served eight months as a private in the revolutionary war that he has no documentary evidence of his service  that he does not know the number of his regiment  that he never received a written discharge but was discharged by his Captain  that the Militia was drafted in his neighbourhood and served two months at a time  that he has no register of his age nor does this applicant now know any one in this part of the country by whom he can prove his service that he is known in his neighbourhood by Joseph Hannah & William Anderson – he hereby relinquishes every claim whatsoever to a pension or annuity except the present and he declares that his name is not on the pension roll of any agency of any state whatsoever  given under my hand this day and year first above written  sworn to & subscribed in open Court the day & year above written         

[The signature appears to be in a foreign script, and below it is written “Translated, Philip Crist.” Berks County PA was settled largely by Germans.]