John Gaulden Jr. provided Civil Service as a Petit Juror during the Revolutionary War
- Catherine Gauldin
- Jun 23
- 12 min read
Susan Gaulden was the daughter of John Gaulden and Susannah Brumfield and her obituary states she was a native of Sumter District, South Carolina and the daughter of "Captain John and Susan Gaulding, natives of Prince Edward, Virginia. Captain Goulding served in the Revolutionary War under General Marion and died of smallpox. The elder brother of the deceased served under General Green."
See also Gaulding Origins, Samuel, Alexander, John and William Gaulding in the Revolutionary War
In 1965 Dr. Sherburne Anderson submitted a supplemental application to the Sons of the American Revolution as a lineal descendant of CAPTAIN JOHN GAULDEN of South Carolina who was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia about 1736 and died in Sumpter District, South Carolina on 20th January, 1782 and who assisted in establishing American Independence.
Captain Gaulden is listed on the application as a Captain of South Carolina troops under General FRANCIS MARION the "Swamp Fox".
Was he really with Marion?
The DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) recognizes John Gaulden as a man who served the cause of the Revolution in Civil Service rather than directly as a member of the company of General Marion.
Below is the current entry on the DAR website for John Gaulden:
Service: SOUTH CAROLINA; Rank(s): CIVIL SERVICE
Birth: CIRCA 1742 AMELIA CO VIRGINIA
Death: ANTE 4-18-1782 CAMDEN DIST SOUTH CAROLINA
Service Source: HENDRIX AND LINDSEY, JURY LISTS OF SC 1778-1779, P 48
Service Description: 1) PETIT JURY, CAMDEN DIST, SC 1778-1779
Dr. Anderson gave a number of sources for his claim that John Gaulden was a Captain with General Marion, but none of them are substantiated.
One of the sources Anderson gave was the pension application of William Abbott. William "Buck" Abbot was born in 1740 in Rutherford, North Carolina and died 28 Jan 1819 in Chesnee, Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. He married Mary Sarah Dennard and he is listed in the Index of the Rolls of Honor in the Lineage Books of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vol. IV. (2)
He filed in absentia for a pension in 1835 : Source: http://revwarapps.org/s30239.pdf
"Pension application of William Abbott S30239 f38SC Transcribed by Will Graves 42810: rev'd 1/15/18 .. "State of Mississippi Wilkinson County} On this 11th day of October A.D. 1835 Personally appeared before me John McCrea a Justice of the Peace in and for said County William Abbott a resident of Wilkinson County and State of Mississippi aged seventy-five years who by reason of bodily infirmities [is unable] to appear in open Court, who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration, in order to obtain the benefit of the Provision made by the Act of Congress passed June 7th 1832. That he entered in the South Carolina Militia in the year 1778, under Captain James Clark, the Lieutenant's name was Clark also under the command of Colonel M. Singleton [sic, Richard Singleton], it was a General call for all the militia and we marched off to Augusta in the State of Georgia General Williamson [Andrew Williamson] commanded there some days after our arrival at Augusta, a draft took place for a company to go on an expedition down the Savannah River. I was one that was drafted, Colonel Eli Kershaw commanded said company, we took possession of a Fort which the Enemy had left and destroyed the same. On our return to Augusta we were attacked by Colonel Sharp & Major Spurgeon, the latter was killed and the former was mortally wounded & died next morning about day light, a Captain McCormic was taken prisoner. In the month of May I returned home, having been out from February say four months soon after that this Captain Clark died the Company was for a short time without a Captain, and some confusion ensued, in fact the County in that section being overrun with British soldiers & Tories I was told if I did not join them I would be hanged at my own door, this I refused to do and went off to General Marion's [Francis Marion’s] Army and attached myself to Captain Armstrong's [John Armstrong’s] Company for a few days until Richard Singleton was appointed Captain of the company formally commanded by Captain Clark, the Lieutenant was by the name of Kields. In all I served 8 months, and 14 days under these officers having been in several skirmishes, and at the Battle of Watbow [sic, Wadboo?] 1 and one at Parkers Ferry,2 at the time of the Battle at Eutaw [Eutaw Springs] 3 I was sick & unable to be there being about 8 miles off the officers belonging to Marion's Army which comes within my recollection at present were Colonel Horry4 Colonel Joseph McCanty Colonel Coakly, Colonel Mayham [sic, Hezekiah Maham], Major Mulean [?] who was brigade Major a Frenchman, Captain Hill Captain Armstrong Captain Draukes [?] Lieutenant Bradley of Colonel Armstrong's Company Captain or Lieutenant Joor not positive which, 1 An engagement occurred on Wadboo Bridge on January 31, 1781 September 8, 1781. 4 Both Lt. Col. Hugh Horry and Lt. Col. Peter Horry were at Eutaw Springs. Hugh was wounded there. Captain Simons Lieutenant John Richburgh, Major Benson5 who was surprised and afterwards killed at Santee River by some British dragoons. I was in camp near Charleston at the time the enemy evacuated that place. I recollect the following who were in the Camp of General Marion Captain Snipes, Sergeant McDonald also the following Privates Reddin McCoy, William Pringle, Roger Bradly, Nathan Maply, Benjamin Hodge, Francis Richardson who belonged to the Dragoons, Jasper Harrell, Jas. Dickey, Josiah Firman, Henry Haynesworth, Colt Simmons, Fed L. Sam, Peter Mashow, John Canty, Capt. Jas. Gaulden, Josiah Gale, John Malam, Thomas Bradford, Thomas Neile, William Baglin, William Mitchell, John Candle, William Russ, Randall Singleton, Benjamin Guess, Shadrach Inman the 3 were with me in the first Campaign Ambrose Gayle, John Singleton, Abram Pool, John Wheeler, Adval Atkinson, John Odell, Horrice Mitchell [Horace Mitchell?], John Chany, W. P. Brown, Jacob Felder, Able Bagdell, Henry Bates, James Bates, John Molet & William McConico. I William Abbott do hereby relinquish every claim what ever to a pension or annuity except the present & declare that my name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any State. Sworn to & subscribed the day & year aforesaid. S/ John McCrea, JP S/ William Abbott, X his mark
Interrogatories the first
· Where and in what year were you born? Answer I was born in South Carolina on the High of Santee Clarramont County Sumter District
· 2nd Have you any record of your age and if so where is it? Answer -- it was in a Family Bible and left with some of my Family in South Carolina
· 3rd Where were you living when called into service: where have you lived since the Revolutionary War and where do you now live? Answer Where I was born at which place I lived until the year 1818 since that time where I now live.
· 4th How were you called into service; were you drafted; did you volunteer or were you a substitute, and if in substitute, for whom? Answer The whole of the militia were called out
· 5th State the names of some of the regular officers who were with the troops when you served, such Continental and militia regiments as you can recollect and the general circumstances of your service. Answer. Colonel Maham and Colonel Horry commanded the Cavalry under General Marion
· 6th Did you ever receive a discharge from the service, and if so, by whom was it given and what has become of it? Answer At the time a troops were troops discharged a Sergeant & Fourteen were sent about fifteen miles on Black River to guard some Boats to prevent the British from getting provisions at that place we received a message from our officer to go home that is all the discharge I ever got --
· 7th State the names of persons to whom you are known in your present neighborhood and who can testify as to your character for veracity and their belief in your services as a soldier in the revolution. [p 13] William Gaulden being duly sworn says that he has known William Abbott ever since he deponent was about 8 years of age with the exception of about 5 years. I know that the said William Abbott was raised in Sumter District in South Carolina where I was also raised. I also know that the said William Abbott was a soldier under the command of & attached to the Company of Captain Richard Singleton who was an officer under the command of General Frances Marion. I do not know the precise length of the time of the service of Mr. Abbott but I know that it was for a long time for he was in service off and on from the first to the close of the war I was at the time a boy it being about 7 5 Majors John Benson, William Benison and Thomas Benison were all killed in the action at Wambaw."
Abbot doesn't mention John Gaulden; only Captain James Gaulden.
William Gaulden, who at the age of 60 gave testimony is probably William Geers Gaulden, the son of John Gaulden and Susannah Brumfield. He was born about 1764 in North Carolina and died in 1839 in New Orleans, Jefferson, Louisiana.
The application continues:
"I will not speculate as to which of these officers the affiant intended to name. years young then Mr. Abbott once I went down to the camp to fetch his horse back. This I did for Mr. Abbott as I was well acquainted with him & only lived about a mile & a half from him. I know that he was in that neighborhood always spoken of as a good soldier of the Revolution. I now live about 7 miles from Mr. Abbott's residence in this State & County & now believe & always have believed Mr. Abbott to be a man of the strictest veracity & I believe that his word has never been doubted by any one that is acquainted with him & I believe him to be a man of strict veracity and as any that I ever knew & I have known him for near 60 years as I am myself near 68 years of age. S/ Wm Gaulden [William Winans, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church gave the standard supporting affidavit.] [p 23] The State of Mississippi County of Williamson William Abbott who by reason of bodily infirmity is unable to appear in open court & who wishes to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th, 1832 in relation to & making provision for pensions for certain surviving officers & soldiers of the Revolutionary War makes the following declaration – viz. He was born in South Carolina in Sumpter [Sumter] District on the 24th day of September A.D. 1760. From about the year A.D. 1778 when he was about 18 years of age he first entered the service under one Captain James Clark he thinks the Lieutenant was of the same name. Matt Singleton was their Colonel he says that this was a general call for all the militia & that they marched off to Augusta. Williamson he says was general there. He says that they were sent on an expedition down Savannah River in Georgia under Colonel Eli Kershaw that they there took and destroyed a fort which the enemy had left. On their return from this fort to Augusta they were attacked by Colonel Sharp & Major Spurgein whom they defeated & killed & took Captain McCormick prisoner. He speaks in very unfavorable terms of General Williams [Andrew Williamson?]. After this campaign which lasted from February until May they returned home. Shortly after which Captain Clark died. They then remained a while without any officer as the country was overrun by the British & Tories who in fact enrolled the militia & required them to fort & do duty which he refused to do until they sent him word that if he did not they would come & hang him at his own door. After this he went off to General Marion’s camp & remained about two months until the country was in some measure liberated when Richard Singleton was appointed there Captain. He says that he thinks Kields was the Lieutenant. He says that the company was dived [divided] into two divisions & that they served alternately & that he was always with the Captain & knew but very little about the lieutenants. He says that after this when he was out he was always under Captain Singleton & General Marion. He says they went for tours of one month at a time and that he thinks that he served eight or nine months or more.
He says that the battles & skirmishes which he was in under Marion were Wybaw, Parker’s ferry, at the battle of Eutaw he was in camp but he was sick & unable to attend he was about eight miles off. He says that the Officers whom he knew in Marion’s camp were Colonel Horry, Colonel James, Colonel McCauley, Colonel Cokely, Colonel Maham, Maj. Mullin who was brigade major he was a Frenchman – Captain Hill, Captain Armstrong, Captain Dukes, Samuel Bradley was Lieutenant and Captain John Armstrong’s company also a Captain Simons was then there was a Mr. Joon who was a Captain or Lieutenant who was the father of General John Joon now living in this County. John Righboungh was a Lieutenant. Major Benson was killed at Santee River by the British horse who surprised him. He says that he was in camp near Charleston at the time the British evacuated that place [December 1782]. He says that he also knew in Marion’s Camp Captain Snipes, Sergeant McDonald, Sergeant Jasper, Reddin McCoy, Mr. Pringle, Rayer Bradley, Nathan Maples, Benjamin Hodge, Francis Richardson was in the horse. Jasper Harroll, James Dickey, Josiah Forner, Henry Hanesworth, Cato Simmons was an officer he thinks aid to the general & Mitchell the other Catan [?] was also there Frederick La Sane & Meshow Captain John Canty, James Gaulden, Josiah Gale, John Maham, Thomas Bradford, Thomas Niell, William Raglin, William Mitchell, John Caudle, William Reese, Randall Singleton, Benjamin Guess, Shadrach Inman, he says were with him in the 1st campaign. Ambrose Gale, John Singleton, Abraham Pool, John Whalen, Adville Atkinson, John Odle, Harris Michael, John Chaney, William P. Brown, Jacob Felder, William McCorico, Abel Baynell, Henry dates, James Bates & John Molett are other who he recollects to have been acquainted with while in service. I William Abbott do hereby relinquish every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present & declare that my name is not on the Pension roll of the Agency of any state. Witness S/ G. D. Boyd S/ William Abbott, X his mark
[Veteran was pensioned at the rate of $20 per annum commencing March 4th, 1831 for 6 months service in the South Carolina militia.] [Note: I think the following relates to this veteran but I can’t be absolutely positive] South Carolina Audited Accounts6 relating to William Abbott AA8 Audited Account Microfilm file No. 4 [p 5: form Indent dated August 31, 1784 issued to William Abbott for Eighteen pounds ten Shillings and four pence Sterling for provisions provided for use of the Continental army “and fifty nine days Militia duty served in One thousand seven hundred and Eighty two in General Marion’s Brigade….”] [p 4] high hills 6th April 1785 Gentlemen Please deliver to Captain John Malone or Order such Indent or Indents as may appear due to me from the State of South Carolina or the United States and this shall be a Sufficient Receipt for the Same. To the Commissioners of the Treasury of South Carolina done in presence of me S/ William Abbott, X his mark S/ William Murrell, JP 6 The South Carolina Audited Accounts are available on microfilm at the South Carolina Department of Archives & History in Columbia, SC. They will eventually be available online at http://www.archivesindex.sc.gov/. The “SC” file number has been assigned by the administrator of this website for indexing purposes only and is not an officially recognized file number.
Citation information
Transcript
"...A number of DAR papers list (Captain John Goldinge) and his son, James Goldinge, as fighting in the battle of Eutaw Springs, SC, which was September 8, 1781. This information is family tradition and not proven...The springs are now covered over by the lake system. Francis Marion's gravesite is near the Eutaw Springs battleground." He is also recorded in the same publication as being with his father in the service of General Francis Marion "The Swampfox" "Pension files in the Mississippi State Archives made by soldier, William Abbot mention John and James Goldinge being in the camp of Francis Marion." This information (according to Dr. Goldinge) was passed down by his son John, born in 1808. James' sister was Sarah Goldinge Freeman. Her obituary in Montgomery, Alabama states : "The elder brother of the deceased (James) served under General Greene." A pension file by William Abott (S.30,239) states that the applicant also knew in Marion's camp, James Gaulden. (3)
Actually, Laura Gaulden's publication "History of the Gaulden Family" is not on file at the DAR Library because I went there in 2019 expecting to be able to access it but it is nowhere in the Archives of the DAR. There are however more than 25 women who have filed applications and have been approved for membership in the DAR based on their direct lineage from John Gaulden, a Patriot in the American Revolution.
It is unlikely that every soldier who served with Marion will ever be identified. See Gaulding Origins The Military Record of John Brumfield, Jr., the son of John Watson Brumfield and also Samuel, Alexander, John and William Gaulding in the Revolutionary War
I also published the following in 2019:
The DAR Magazine updated its file on John Gaulden in May 1996 to not only patriot service (battle) but also civil service (supplied provisions). A number of DAR application papers list him AND HIS SON JAMES GAULDEN as fighting in the BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS, SC..
On page 343 of that issue is this: CS SC meaning "Civil Service South Carolina"
Conclusion:
John Gaulden, born 1735 Prince Edward County. He provided Civil Service during the Revolutionary War. He served on a Petit Jury in the Camden District, SC (1778–1779). Jury service required an oath of allegiance and is recognized as Patriotic Service under DAR rules. (Hendrix & Lindsey, Jury Lists of South Carolina 1778–1779, p. 48; DAR Ancestor #A127234)
Even though supporting records are sparse regarding the men who served with General Marion, there is no evidence to support the claim that John Gaulding was with his son James at the Battle of Eutaw Springs. Abbot’s pension application only lists James Gaulden in Marion’s camp.
Works Cited
1. Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783; Microfilm Publication M246, 138 rolls; NAID: 602384. ancestry.com. [Online] War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records, Record Group 93; The National Archives in Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4282/records/144302?tid=163174124&pid=422121228675&ssrc=pt.
2. Another action occurred at Wadboo on August 29, 1782 . [Online] http://gaz.jrshelby.com/wadboobr.htm.
3. The Gaulden, Gauldin, Gaulding Family History by Dr. Charles H. Gaulden. ancestry.com. [Online] Chapter 4, p 39. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/163174124/person/422121230858/facts.
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