William Brookshire, my 5x great-grandfather, served several tours of duty in the American Revolution. He was drafted for his first tour in Rowan County, North Carolina in August of 1775 or 1776. Under the command of General Griffith Rutherford, his militia company marched upon the Cherokee Nation, but found that the Indians had fled. General Rutherford took a portion of the troops and marched on to the Valley towns. The remainder, including William’s troop, stayed to guard the troops’ supplies. They were also directed to scour the countryside, destroying all the Indian’s property that they found. This three-month tour ended when the troops returned to North Carolina. He was discharged at Salisbury.
About 1778 or 1779, William was called to service against the Tories, who were being troublesome on the waters of the Yadkin and Deep River in the section of North Carolina where he lived. His class traversed the countryside for about three weeks, under the command of Captain Williams and Major Crump, in search of Colonel Fanning.
Sometime in the summer of the following year, his class was again called to suppress the Tories on the Deep River. Under the command of Captain Aaron Hill, they traversed the counties of Guilford, Randolph, and Anson, but the Tories soon desisted from further action. The tour lasted four weeks.
During the following winter, his class marched, again under the command of Captain Hill, to aid in suppressing the Tories under Colonel Fanning. Fanning escaped and the Tories dispersed. This tour lasted four weeks.
About 1781, just after the battle of Guilford, the Tories, encouraged by the approach of Cornwallis, became active in the area of the Yadkin and Deep River. William joined the company of mounted infantry commanded by Captain William Cole in Rowan County. They spent three weeks keeping the Tories in check, then were discharged.
He was not called upon again during the Revolution.
Source: “Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files,” database and images, Footnote.com, iArchives, (www.footnote.com : NARA), File of William Brookshire (North Carolina), pension no. S.6706; accessed 04 Jan 2009.
