The Weavers - Yet another Revolutionary War Patriot

My Grandfather Elisha Jordan Crawford's father was John Woodson Crawford, born 31 Mar 1815 in North Carolina.  He married Mariah Weaver, oldest daughter of Joseph Cephas Weaver and Frances Powell Bledsoe, in 1849 in Laurel County KY.  [Mariah Weaver was born on 11 Apr 1829 in Laurel, Kentucky.]

Joseph Cephas Weaver was born on 24 Nov 1808 in Cookeville, Putnam, Tennessee. He was the son of Samuel Weaver and Mary A Bollinger.  He died on 05 Jun 1889 in Cane Creek, Laurel, Kentucky.  On 29 May 1828 when Joseph Cephas was 19, he married Frances Powell Bledsoe, daughter of Joseph C Bledsoe & Margaret Pearson Powell, in Laurel Co., Kentucky. Born on 13 Aug 1803 in Kentucky. Frances Powell died in Laurel Co., Kentucky on 17 Nov 1847, she was 44

Samuel Weaver was born on 26 Nov 1755 in Cumberland, Virginia. He died on 14 Nov 1842 in Laurel, Kentucky.  On 7 Oct 1783 when Samuel was 28, he married Mary Ann Bollinger, in Washington Co., Tennessee. {Then Washington District, North Carolina} Born on 26 Jun 1764. Mary Ann died in Laurel Co., Kentucky on 25 Sep 1844, she was 80.

Service: NORTH CAROLINA - VIRGINIA    Rank: PRIVATE    Ancestor #: A123419 
Birth: 26 Nov 1755    CUMBERLAND CO VIRGINIA
Death: 14 Nov 1842    LAUREL CO KENTUCKY
Service Source: S*W8998
Service Description:
1) CAPTS JACOB CAMPLIN,WM BOSTIC, NC
2) CAPT GEORGE HASTEN, VA

Samuel Weaver was a Pvt., serving North Carolina in the American Revolution.  Margret Ann Weaver Somerville discovered this, and became a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution based on her geneological link to him.  Her grandaughter, Kimberly Lee Hutchinson Mikeal also became a member of the D.A.R. based on this link, thanks to her precious "Ga Ga's" hard work.  Both Kim and Margret served in the Benjamin Lyon Chapter of the D.A.R. , Natl. Number 698279.

Samuel was living in Rockingham Co., VA, when he enlisted in the Continental Army, Revolutionary War.  After the war, he moved to Tenn.  Here he fought in the Indian Wars against the Cherokee Indians with Col. Sevier and Capt. Wood.  He married Mary Ann Bollinger on 7 Oct, 1783.  She was a descendant of John Gutenberg, who discovered the printing press!  It was on the Gutenberg Bible Mary Ann had inherited that Samuel's cousin, Andrew Jackson, took the oath of office as President of the United States.  In 1814 they came to Ky, and settled in Cane Creek.  They were the parents of 11 children.

Samuel Weaver submitted two ARW pension applications: one dated 15 Apr 1836 and a second dated 26 Nov 1839. The examiner suspended his first pension application because he denied his service as a "Minuteman." The second application was not accepted until a Kentucky Congressman, John White, intervened on Samuel's behalf. His pension was granted in 11 Mar 1840 . He apparently drew this pension until his death on 14 Nov 1842.

 Will, Samuel Weaver
Reba McMillan added this on 11 Nov 2008

WILL BOOK FOR LAUREL COUNTY
Mar 24th day A.D. - 1826
( Page 1) This being the last will & Testament of the under written assignor whereas I this day conveyed by will to my heirs the following Estate I.E. To Peter Weaver the tract of Land where he now lives and bounded as followeth, beginning at the Corner in the Gap of the ridge toward Griffeth between Cain Creek and black Water thence down said ridge to the right hand prong as you go up, of the first branch below his field thence down Said branch to where the path now crosses thence up the said path within fifteen Rod of the Stable thence a South West line to the Lott line thence due South to my Corner on the Lott line, thence North East to the Beginning and that he shall have the title to that Boundery when conveyed from John Rigel
To Samuel Box the one hundred acres of Land including the improvements where he now lives bounded as followeth beginning in the Old road fifteen rod from the upper corner of my pasture fence, thence a strait line to the North bank of the branch between Samuel Box & John Weaver at the old ford near my fence thence a straight line to John Williams Corner North of the road on a Spanish Oak, thence with Williams line to the Corner on the Racoon Branch thence up the right hand fork of said branch to the top of the dividing ridge to Peter Weavers line thence down said ridge with Peters line to the Corner thence to the beginning so as to include one hundred acres for the [sa]id Box to have title when conveyed from John Ridg[el] and the said Box to pay [?]( page 2 )[?] fifty dollars in any trade at its value when able and fifty dollars in trade when able to pay it and the said fifty dollars to be divided equally with all the heirs & himself
To John Weaver the land where he now lives and bounded as followeth, beginning fifteen poles from Boxes corner on the bank of the branch on Boxes line thence with Boxes line to John Williams Corner on a Spanish Oak thence a straight line to the North bank of Laurel twelve poles above where the hill shuts in on the South side of Laurel above the ford between John Weavers and Gadi Grays thence do[wn] Laurel to the Lott line thence South with the Lott lin[e] where it crosses Cain Creek the last time thence a straight line to the beginning, to have the title when conveyed fr[om] John Ridgel then when John Weaver is able to pay he is to pay fifty cent[s] per acre for all in his boundry only one hundred acres, w[hich] he is not to pay for, and the amount that the land comes [to] is to be equally divided with himself and the rest of my he[irs] except Sixteen dollars that he must pay to Mary Jones instead of her Colt and the whole amount to be paid i[n] trade at its value
And also Peter Weaver is to pay fifty cents per acre [for] all the land in his boundery except one hundred acres [?] and the amount to be paid in trade when he is able at its v[alue] when the title is conveyed from Ridgel and the amoun[t] to be equally divided with himself & the rest of my heir[s] except Sixteen dollars he must pay Barbary Williams in room of her Colt
[To] John Williams the land [where he now l]ives and bounded

Codicil to the Will of Samuel Weaver
Laurel County, KY Will Book 1, p 28

Since making my will I conclude to take back from my Son Peter Weaver four hundred acres of the Land mentioned in the will & release him from the payment of two hundred & five dollars & fifty cents and wish this to be entered of record as a part of my last will & Testament Witness my hand & seal this 5th day of July 1830 Samuel Weaver (Seal)
Laurel County sct The above will acknowledged by Samuel Weaver to be his act & deed for the purposes therein mentioned the 5th day of July 1830 And is here duly recorded Lot Pitman Clk

 Sam Weaver Rev War Pensioner
Reba McMillan added this on 11 Nov 2008

Samuel Weaver was a Rev. War.Pensioner (Ky.State Arch.) and a founding member of Davis Creek Church, Oct.01,1797, in Speedwell,Tn. Church still in same location in 1998.

Following is 3 generation of Samuel Weaver Family.

I have been told, that Samuel & Mary had 11 children.  If that is the case, I have information that is incorrect.  I am sure that I am dealing with two different families.

I would appreciate any help that you might be able to give me in this matter.

Descendants of Samuel Weaver
 1  Samuel Weaver   1755 - 1842   d: November 14, 1842 in Laurel County, Ky
   +Mary Bolinger   1764 - 1844     m: October 07, 1783 in Washington Co, Tn 
                     d: September 25, 1844 in Laurel Co, Ky
  2       Hezerkiel Weaver        1784 -        
  2       John Weaver     1786 -        
  2       Elmer Weaver    1788 -        
  2       Elizabeth Weaver        1788 -        
  2       Daniel David Weaver     1791 -        
  2       Sarah Weaver    1792 - 1876             d: September 03,1876
  2       William Samuel Weaver   1795 -        
  2       Peter Alexander Weaver  1798 -        
          +Ann Chestnut Weaver            m: November 04, 1819  
       3       Lavina Weaver Sasser    1825 - 1905    d: 1905
              +Arthur Sasser  1818 - 1899     m: Sept 07, 1840 in Laurel Co, Ky
                      d: January 15, 1899 in Laurel Co, Ky
  2       Charlie Weaver  1799 -        
  2       Daniel Weaver   1801 -        
  2       Mary Weaver     1803 - 1871             d: February 07, 1871
             +?                    
          *2nd Husband of Mary Weaver:                  
              +Evan Jones             m: November 02, 1823  
  2       J.B. Weaver     1804 -        
  2       Barbara Weaver  1805 -        
  2       Joseph Cephas Weaver    1808 - 1889             d: June 05, 1889
           +Francis Bledsoe Weaver 1803 - 1847     m: May 29, 1828 in Laurel Co, Ky   
               d: November 17, 1847 in Laurel Co, Ky
      3       Mariah Weaver Crawford  1829 -        
              +John Crawford          m: in Laurel Co, Ky        d: in Indiana
      3       Mary Weaver Hammack     1833 - 1902   d: January 12, 1902 in Kentucky
              +[1] Newton Evan Hammack        1850 - 1929    m: October 23, 1869  
                        d: July 31, 1929 in Enterprise, Wallowa Co, Or
      3       Gipson Weaver   1830 - 1889             d: March 23, 1889 in Laurel Co, Ky
              +Mary Gilbert Weaver    1836 - 1873   m: 1860 in Laurel Co, Ky    
                       d: January 08, 1873 in Laurel Co, Ky
      3       Joseph Cephas Weaver    1832 - 1915 d: Nov 09, 1915 in Cane Creek, Ky
             +Susan Smith Weaver     - 1953  d: December 24, 1953 in Livingston, Mt
             *2nd Wife of Joseph Cephas Weaver:
              +Permelia Cottongim Weaver       m: November 17, 1853  
      3       Mary Weaver Hammack     1833 - 1899    d: 1899
              +[1] Newton Evan Hammack  1850 - 1929   d: July 31, 1929 in Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon

The following is some information that was provided to me from AnnWeaver Adair of Texas.
First Page:    FAMILY LINE OF SAMUEL WEAVER (1755-1842)
          Soldier of the American Revolution     Compiled by His great-great-grandson W.P. Weaver
"from old records, letters, and facts handed down by word of mouth"

The account written by  (hard to read) Blythe Weaver Schulze (?)
     "A good name is rather to be chosen than great wishes"
     Second Page:
After 200 years, records-family and official-and  "facts handed down by word of mouth" have to be unscrambled. A record from the War Department is  official and explicit: Samuel Weaver, our Revolutionary ancestor was born in 1755 in Cumberland  County, Virginia, son of Daniel. This  record the family did not have until 1922; up to that time,  there had been a tradition that our Rev. ancestor had come from Wales. On shipboard, so the story went, he met a girl from Germany, Mary Ann Bollinger. The difference in language proved no obstacle; they were married as soon as they landed, going to live in a Hugenot colony in North Carolina.  By the time of the Revolution they were said to have six sons of military age who fought in the war. According to War Department Records, our ancestor, born in 1755, was 21 at the time of the Dec. of  Independence. I thought the trandition might have been misplaced, having happened to Daniel Weaver, father of Samuel. Daniel had six sons, counting Samuel, but the last two were born in 1772 and 1779. In order to be credible (and it would be nice to have in the family!) the shipboard romance must of happened to another Samuel Weaver, grandfather of our ancestor Samuel. An old record sent later by a relatives in Kentucky could confirm this, having "of Wales" after the earlier Samuels name (I have this record)

Another family tradition which might call for unscrambling has to do with an incident at Yorktown. John  Weaver, presumably one of the six sons of the first Samuel, was among the American troops drawn up across a muddy stream from the British while terms of the surrender were worked out. An Irish champion of the British army issued a challenge to any American who would meet him at fistcuffs. Our family hero, John, described as something of a boxer, took him up. Certain of the details lend a touch of authenticity: seven times one or the other fighters were knocked into the muddy stream and crawled out to resume the fight.     John (at least in our family version) came out the winner. The Irishman, the story goes, smiled and shook hands.

In the Weaver notebook is a letter dated April 29,1892, from W.D. Weaver of London, Kentucky, a grandson of of Joseph Weaver (1807), youngest son of our Samuel. The writer mentions sending a record "with all the birthdates of my  great-grandfathers brothers and sisters" adding "The record that this was copied from was recopied in 1826 by my  grandfather, Joseph Weaver." These are the dates used when the Weaver family tree was drawn up years ago.   Again some of the unscrambling is needed. Birthdates of the 8 children of Daniel  Weaver range from 1741-1779 - a period of 38 yrs. Either dates were miscopied or there were half  brothers and sisters among Daniel Weavers children.

     This is part 1 of some Weaver information, with  mentions of London, and/or Laruel Co. KY. Samuel Weaver is buried in Laurel Co. I will post more later. .   RICHARD CARPENTER, Cincinnati, OHIO      Sat, 15 May 1999

 I did forget to mention one extra page that had the following the information regarding: Samuel Weaver
     Enlisted    Spring 1780
     Service     3months
     Rank         Private
     Capt:         Jacob Camlin
     State         North Carolina

     Enlist        Spring 1780
     Svc           3months
     Rank         Private
     Capt.        William Bostic
     State         North Carolina

     Enlist        Spring 1780
     Svc           1month
     Rank        Private
     Capt.        George Hastin
     State        Virginia

     Enlist    1781
     Svc        at various times, in all 2 yrs
     Rank      Minuteman
     Capt.      Camplin
     State       North Carolina

   Residence at the time of enlistment, Surry Co. North Carolina and Henry Co. Virginia
   Date of application for pension, April 15, 1836. Claim allowed.
   Residence at time of application, Laurel Co. Kentucky
   Age at date of application... Born 1755, Cumberland Co. VA, son of Daniel
remarks:   After the Revolution he moved to Washington Co. Tennessee and served under Capt. John Wood and Col. Sevier in an expedition against the Cherokees. He died November 14, 1842. Married Mary Ann Bollinger, Oct 7, 1783 and she was allowed a pension application, executed October 26, 1843 while living in Laurel Co. Kentucky

    Children. Hezekiah born Dec 8, 1784 (oldest) and Joseph (youngest) born Nov 24, 1808. There were 11 children.

Samuel's father, Daniel Weaver, immigrated from Wales in the early 1700s and settled in Cumberland County, Virginia.
Samuel James Weaver son of Daniel &Mary(LNU) Weaver
grandson of James Peter &Elizabeth(LNU) Weaver
great-grandson of James &Elizabeth(LNU) Weaver, of Liverpool, England
b: 26 Nov 1755 Cumberland Co, VA
d: 14 Nov 1842 Laurel County, KY
buried: Providence Cemetery, Laurel Co, KY

MARRIED:
Mary Ann "Polly" Bollinger on 07 Oct 1783, in Washington Co, TN
daughter of Isaac &Catherine/Cathrina(Armstrong) Bollinger
b: 26 Jun 1764 York, PA
d: 04 Dec 1844 Laurel Co, KY
buried: Providence Cemetery, Laurel Co, KY

Children of Samuel Weaver and Mary Bollinger are:
                           i.    Hezekiel Weaver, born 04 Dec 1784 in Washington Co, North Carolina (now Tennessee); died 24 Jul in Laurel Co, Kentucky; married Sarah Box; born Abt. 1806; died 1848 in Laurel Co, Kentucky.
                         ii.    Elizabeth Weaver, born 26 Feb 1788.
                         iii.    Daniel David Weaver, born 29 Apr 1791.
                         iv.    Sarah Weaver, born 02 Nov 1792.
                          v.    William Samuel Weaver, born 19 Dec 1795.
                         vi.    Peter Alexander Weaver, born 22 Jan 1798; died 1883 in Birch Tree, Shannon Co, MO; married Anne Chesnut 04 Nov 1819 in Laurel Co, KY; died in Shannon Co, MO.
                        vii.    John Weaver, born 11 Apr 1800.
                       viii.    Mary Weaver, born 30 Jan 1803; married Evan Jones 02 Nov 1823.
                         ix.    Barbara Weaver, born 12 Jan 1805.
        10              x.    Joseph Cephas Weaver, born 24 Nov 1808 in Clairborne Co, Kentucky; died 05 Jun 1888 in Laurel Co, KY


(Obtained from National Archives in 1994 and 1995 by Nell Weaver Davies)
Revolutionary War Soldier's Pension Application - dated 15 Apr 1836 (transcription)
Microfilm Number 0428

                              Laurel County, State of Kentucky

On the 15th day of April 1836, personally appeared before Abraham Hunter, a Justice of the Peace for Laurel Cty ap Samuel Weaver a resident of said County now aged [81] [if 81 in April 1836 then Samuel was born in 1754 -- RE] who being [justly] and 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 June of 1832.

That a few weeks before the fall of Charleston in South Carolina in the Revolutionary War, in the state of North Carolina, Surry County, he was drafted to serve for three months, and was placed under Jacob Camplin[g?] as Capt and was marched from thence toward Charleston in S.C. but on the way he was detached from the Company to guard the baggage waggons...

Microfilm Number 0429

... His Capt marched on to Charleston and in the seige was wounded in the knee - upon his return he was selected to return with him home to Surry County and wait upon him and he did so and at the end of his term of service [3 months] he was discharged by Capt Camplin in Surry County his discharge was in writing but which he has long since lost. He does not now recollect the name of his Col. or Maj. - neither does he remember his Lt. or Ensign. In the Company he belonged to he  remembers the name of Matthew Peggs - he
recollects his name particularly as he was told by his Capt that during the seige of Charleston he stoped shooting and lit his pipe. Four days after his discharge he volientered for three months in the Mallitia ...

Microfilm Number 0430

... of said state in Surry County for three months under Capt Wm. Bostic from there he was marched to Hilsborough in N.C. the place of Rendivou, from thence he was marched to join Genl Marion in S.C. After remaining with Marion a little upwards of four weeks he was marched back to N.C. and when his term
expired and but a short distance from the Moravian Towns he recd a written discharge from his Capt ap which he has long since lost - He does not remember the name of his Col. or Majors. After his return but after serving under Hostin as will be explained he enroled himself as a Minute Man for and during the War under Capt Camplin[g] aforesaid and he was repeatedly caled out under him in scouting parties against ...

Microfilm Number 0431

... the Tories - this time his service under this engagement was almost every month, and sometimes after and during the War near three years or perhaps a little upward. During this time he performed his service in N.C. on the Yadkin and Broad River - Deep River and Haw River. On these trips he got several discharges, which he has lost. The Col. or Majors if any he does not remember. Previous to this he vollentered and whent in to Va. and served a trip of between four and five weeks under Capt George Hastin (afterward caled Col. Hastin) of Henry County Va. This trip was to go to the Battle of Gilford in N.C. but when they reached the Battle ground in about five or six miles, they...

Microfilm Number 0432

...met the American troops retreating. The way this happened he was on a visit to Va at an Uncle [______] Harstin? - Whether he was a Capt or Col he does not rem[em]ber, but supposes he was a Col as he was the Commander and had near six or seven hundred men under him. - He recd a discharge (long since lost) from Hastin and not exceeding two weeks he entered the minute service as ap. For this trip he vollentered for no particular time but served as long as was reqd. He would further state that there were two men of his own name who were drafted as he understood in the _______ of N.C. One of them lived in Surry Coty, the other he does not recollect in what county he lived neither does he know in whose command they were in but...
 
Microfilm Number 0433

... one of them deserted and joined the enemy at Savannah Georgia. He mentions this, for fear it might be supposed he was this man. He would further state that shortly after the close of the War he recd of Capt Camplin a written discharge for his services as a Minute Man as ap - After this he moved to Tennessee, Washington County and vollentered to serve an expedition under Capt John Wood under Col Sevier (formerly Gov. of Ten) in the Chirikee Nation of Indians. The time he served he does not rem[em]ber - but he
remembers that when they started rosen [roasting] ears were not full enough to use, and when he returned corn was generally gathered and cribed, During this trip a Treaty was made with the Cherikees at Little River in Ten. He does not rem[em]ber wheather he got a discharge; but ...

Microfilm Number 0434

... was marched home by his Capt and discharged.
1st. He was born in Cumberland County Va. the year he has stated.
2. He has in his possession a record of his age
3 . He lived in Cumberland or Rockingham County when the Revolution commenced and when caled in to service he lived in Surry County, Va. Since he lived in Ten. and Kentucky where he now lives.
4. The manner he entered the service he has described - he was always a private and upon his own account.
5. He recollects during the service he saw Genl Washington and Genl Marion - He would state that a few years since he remembered his Col and Genl but his memory is almost gone. He hereby relinquishes whatever to a pension...

Microfilm Number 0435

______ (illegible) _______ present ________
_______ pension

The reason why he has not applied sooner is that he had a repugnance to have it said he was paid by the government and he was so advanced in years he thought it hardly worthwhile to apply.
                                               his
                                         Samuel X Weaver
                                              mark
 

                                         Laurel County Ky

I Abraham Hunter a Justice of the Peace for the County of Laurel _______ that this day Samuel Weaver made Oath before me to the foregoing petition according to law. I also certify that he is not able to attend court. I also certify that his memory is frail and greatly impaired. I also certify that he is a man of good character and I have no doubt his statement is true. Given under my hand this 15 day of April 1836.
                                          Abraham Hunter
                                           Laurel County Ky


This day Thomas Robertson, a Preacher of the Gospel, aged 65 years and a resident citizen of Laurel County ap upon his Oath declares.,. [last line of the microfilm is obliterated but the practice was to have a minister vouch for the pension applicant's veracity]





GENERAL  MARION INVITING A BRITISH OFFICER TO SHARE HIS MEAL

The oil on canvas painting, General Marion Inviting a British Officer to Share His Meal, by South Carolina artist John Blake White, was presented to the Senate in 1899. According to the artist’s son, Octavius A. White: “the figure of Marion is a portrait from memory, as my father, when a boy, knew him well. Marion’s farm adjoined the plantation of my grandfather.”

The Senate accepted the work by resolution on February 17, 1899. At that time, Octavius White also presented two other paintings by his father: Sergeants Jasper and Newton Rescuing American Prisoners from the British and Mrs. Motte Directing Generals Marion and Lee to Burn Her Mansion to Dislodge the British. Two years later, Octavius White donated another work by his father, The Battle of Fort Moultrie. In a letter accompanying the first three pictures, he wrote that the series reflects “the heroic spirit which animated our fathers in the stormy days of the Revolution.”

The artist has painted the red-coated British officer and Marion at right center, with a horse. Marion wears a plumed shako. His soldiers present an amusingly motley crew. Of special interest is the African American man behind the table, holding a small pan and, with his right hand, roasting sweet potatoes in the fire. The figure has been recently identified as Oscar Marion, a slave of Francis Marion who accompanied the General into war. While Oscar Marion is seen cooking the meal, Samuel Weaver's pension application maintains that Weaver himself, a white soldier, was the one who cooked the meal. The makeshift table has a number of sweet potatoes on it, and Marion gestures toward them. During his lifetime, White executed several versions of the scene; similar paintings are held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the South Caroliniana Library, Columbia, and the Chicago Historical Society.

White’s portrayal of the sweet potato meal was made into a mezzotint print by John Sartain in 1840 for the Apollo Association for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in the United States, a group that listed as one of its goals “the cultivation and diffusion of correct taste in the fine arts.” [1] The print was the first in a series of engravings made from American paintings that were distributed to the nearly one thousand association members. The image also appeared on Confederate banknotes issued in 1861 by South Carolina. The painting was exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1837 and at the Apollo Gallery in 1838 and 1839. The exhibition catalogue described it this way:

After the business has been arranged, Marion invited the visitor to take dinner with him. The moment chosen by the Artist is when they approach the table, which was composed of pieces of bark, bearing a dinner of sweet potatoes. The expression of surprise on the countenances of the stranger and Marion’s men is finely expressed. The scenery is said to be perfectly characteristic of a South Carolina swamp; and, altogether, it may safely be pronounced one of the best pictures of American history ever produced in this country. [2]

In a surprising piece of historical revisionism, James P. Truluck, Jr., a descendant of the alleged British officer, has raised doubts about this interpretation, as well as the officer’s identity. Truluck has proposed that the roles of Marion as host and the officer as guest were actually reversed. According to Truluck (in an 1989 article in Carologue, the journal of the South Carolina Historical Society), Captain John Brockington, Jr.–-a landowner, slave-owner, and Tory sympathizer, who had fought against the “Swamp Fox”–-was the legendary officer. Brockington was among those Tories to be banned to Nova Scotia, their properties seized after victories by the American forces in South Carolina.

Brockington returned to South Carolina to plead his case in person before the state senate, refuting his former life as a Tory and promising to repay claims against him. He was eventually pardoned. On his way home, he and his slaves traveled through swamps for safety. It was Captain Brockington, posits Truluck, who was cooking his dinner of sweet potatoes when the “Swamp Fox” found him. In this version of the story, Brockington then invited Marion to share his meal–-and Marion invited Brockington to join his army!

1. Anna Wells Rutledge, “Artists in the Life of Charleston through Colony and State from Restoration to Reconstruction,” Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 39, no. 2 (November 1949): 136.
2. Maybelle Mann, The American Art-Union (Jupiter, FL: ALM Associates, 1987), 4.
 
________________________________________
More on General Marion Inviting a British Officer to Share his Meal  
General Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox," was one of the most dashing figures of the American Revolution. He sabotaged the communication and supply lines of the British forces in South Carolina in a series of surprise attacks. With his small band of poorly equipped men trained in guerrilla warfare, Marion lived off the land and hid in the swamps to evade the enemy. While camped on Snow's Island, South Carolina, about 1781, the general was said to have received a British officer who had been sent to arrange an exchange of prisoners. Their negotiations completed, Marion invited the visiting officer to stay for a meal. There are at least three differing accounts of what may have transpired, but recent scholarship has uncovered a document that may shed light on the event. This document is the application of Samuel Weaver, a militiaman in North Carolina and Virginia, for a Revolutionary War pension. Weaver's sworn statement, as recorded by a justice of the peace, suggests that he was present at the Snow's Island encampment:

During the time he was with Gen'l Marion, a British Officer as he was told, came to Camp but for what reason he does not know & he was roasting and baking sweet potatoes on the coles –-Gen'l Marion steped up with the British Officer and remarked he believed he would take Breakfast; he felt proud of the request, puled out his potatoes, wiped the ashes off with a dirty handkerchief, placed them on a pine log (which was all the provision they had) and Gen'l Marion and the Brittish Officer partook of them. He had been told by some that this had been recorded in the log of the Gen'l as dinner but this was breakfast. [1]

Legend says that the officer was surprised by the modest fare, as well as the simple attire and mode of existence that he found in the American camp. He was equally surprised that the American soldiers drew no wage and provided their own rations. General Marion explained that he and the Americans were willing to make these sacrifices to fight for liberty. The British officer was said to be so moved by the Americans' dedication that soon thereafter he resigned his commission and switched allegiances, declaring that it was impossible to defeat soldiers who would serve "without pay, and almost without clothes, living on roots and drinking water; and all for Liberty!" [2] He reportedly served for the last six months of the war as a private under Marion, who later fought with General Nathanael Greene at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, forcing the British retreat from South Carolina.

1. Nell Weaver Davies,  New Facts about an Old Story,  Carologue: Bulletin of the South Carolina Historical Society 15, no. 4 (winter 1999): 20.
2. U.S. Library of Congress, An Album of American Battle Art, 1755-1918 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1947; reprint, New York: Da Capo, 1972), 41.