Robert Tharp, Sr

"Declaration In order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June the seventh 1832

The State of Alabama Franklin County

On this the 8 Day of March 1842 personally appeared before G W Hargatt a justice of the peace acting in and for the said county Robert Tharp a privat soldier of the Revolution now a resident of the state County above now near one one hundred years of age, 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 june the 7th 1832 that he entered the Service of the United states at Saulsbury [Salisbury] in the state of North Carolina by contract with Capt William Tempel Cole a reagular officer and agree to serve three months. " I served that term of time fully out at that place while -?- F [Captain William T.] Cole was engaged in recruting Soldiers at the commencement of the Revolution war and when my term of three months expiered I was payed off by the paymaster of that place. I then returned to my fathers house near wilcockses Iron works on Deep River in the state of North Carolina. [Willcox Iron Works. See my second set of notes for Robert Tharp.-- Les Tate] After my return I Robert Tharp entered my second tower [tour] of duty [as] a substitute in the room [in place] of Daniel Methany who was drafted and ordered to serve three months at a station in the settelment known by the name of the Pleasent Gardens at that time for guard agaist the Indians at that station. I Served my tower of three months fully out under Capt Culpepper who Discharged me and paid me off my Monthly wagers this station was in Burk County North Carolina near the Blew [Blue] Ridge on the head of the Cautauba [Catawba] River. During the time I was in service at this station the Indians killed a citizen near that Station and I Robert Tharp was one of the men who brought this Dead man in an Buryed him he was by the name of Battel. Sum time after I was Discharged from this tower of Duty I went to the state of Georgia and there I again entered the service of the United States and was under the Command of Coln [Colonel] Duley and Capt John Clark. These officer had full command of the frunteer parts of the state of Georgia at that time and organised all the rules of spieing against the Indians, and I Robert Tharp engajed with these officers and Did Serve a spieing against the Indians when ever called by either of these officers untill a siege at Savanna when a Call was made for men to rinforce [reinforce] the army at Savanna and the-- officers ordered out a portion of choice men for that purpose, and I Robert Tharp was one of that Detachment of men, and when we joined the army at Savanna this Detachment of men were placed under the immediate cammand of French officers in Seperate Company where I Robert Tharp was put to hard labour and was kept at hard labour for the space of nine weeks prepairing ways and means to blow up the enemys fort and near the end of this nine weeks a Councel was held by the French and Merican {American] officers perscribing the way by which they wold attack the Enemys fort when it was agreed upon that the French officer on thier part that they wold March in frunt up to the Kings gate and they Americans ware to attack at other parts of the fort. This attack was made in my present altho this plan failed in consequence of the grate muler(number?) of the French army being slain in attempting to storm they enemies fort. The American officer which I recollect in part at this late hour is the following ways Genrl [General] Morgan in chief as I Believe and I do Know that an officer by the name of Montgomery had the cammand of Regulars in that attact [and] Coln Washington commanded a ragment [regiment] of horsemen on that day [and] Genl Wayn also Commanded men on horses that day, sum time before this attact was made at a time when a French officer by the name of Count Gillaspey was exerciscing his men on Horses in full view of the enemies forte this officer was killed by a ball shot from the enemies forte this case of Count Gillaspey was done in my presents. [A]fter they Defeate at Savanna I Robert Tharp then returned to [the command of] Duley and Clark and still persued by engagement withe these officers, and again ordered out a spieing of the frunteers for Indians and was Kept in actuel service doing Duty of that kind according to the Special orders of those officer untill the Deathe of Coln Duley and after the Death of Duley who had been permoted to general [. A]fter the Death of this same Genrl Duley John Clark was then permoted and became General. I Robert Tharp still continued in actuel service a Spieing on the frunteers of Georgia and Sheltered at Capt Kars [Carrs] fort near the Line ofthe white settelment and while I Robert Tharp was at that fort kept by Capt Kar a party of British attacked the forte when I Robt Tharp was mad a prisoner of war with eight other soldiers with me and all ware taken off to the British army at Augustune [Fort Augustine?] where I was kept a prisoner of war so that I never got back to my former place of Service untill after a final Ratification of peace was made[, T]he term of Time which I was in actuel service under Col Duley and Clark ad [and] after the Death of Genrol Duley then under Clark alone untill I was made a prisoner of war and the linth [length] of the time which I was a prisoner of war was not less than five months in the whole of the time of my services on the frutiere [frontier] of Georgia and the time I was a prisonar of war I do Know is not less than three years and for the whole of this time Last mentioned which service I never recieved a Discharg nor payt nither in (part?) nor in whole, this declarent furter stats that when he got back from the enemy he setteled in rutherford county and state of North Carolina and I then moved to Tennessee Willson County and from there I moved this where I now live and was living at the passage of the act of 1832 which made provision for officers of the Revolution also the Surviving Soldiers and Indian spies of the Revolution of which I am one, this Declarent further States that the Discharges which I Recieved for the two three months towers is lost or distroyed many years since and that I actuly do not know of any officer or soldier by which I can prove any part of my service and the reason why I have delaied making application for a pension erlyer is for want of a form and proper understanding how to make out a Declaration according to Law untill the present." It is interesting to note that Theophilus Skinner, a clergyman, and Charles Brooks Matlock, a credible person residing in Franklin County [Alabama], both made affadavit that Robert Tharp was widely believed to be near 100 years of age and to have been a soldier of the Revolution. In addition, on 8 July 1852, John Tharp made an affadavit that he was the administrator of the estate of Robert Tharp, late of the County of Franklin, Alabama - this perhaps to obtain any back pay due his father. There was no certificate that this application was actually accepted. The service stated is consistent with events of the Revolutionary War. [From http://www.rootsweb.com/~alfrankl/rejected.txt Rejected or Suspended Applications for Revolutionary War Pensions Name State City, County Reason Robert Tharp, Alabama, Russellville, Franklin, For additional proof of service.] In his application, Robert said his father house was "near Willcoxes* Iron Works on Deep River in the state of North Carolina." Deep River runs through four counties: Guilford, Randolph, Moore and Chatham. Wilcox's Iron Works, I learned, was supposedly near Chapel Hill (in Chatham County). Chapel Hill is actually not on the Deep River, although it is possible Wilcox had other sites for extracting iron. A search of the records of all these counties failed to reveal any Tharps or anything on Mr Wilcox. There were some Tharps who had land dealings in Guilford County in the 1780's. Similarly, I was not able to find any mention of the Robert Tharp family in Rutherford County, NC, or in the records of Wilson County TN (not even the tax records)

• The iron works were in Chatham County NC and owned by John Willcocks; see other note in Robert Tharp's entry-- Les Tate. Date: 7 Jan 2008