Revolutionary War Pension of Ancil Goodman

Page 3-9

State of Kentucky
Russell County

On this twenty ninth day of October 1832 personally appeared in open court, it being a court of record setting in and for the county aforesaid, Ancil Goodman , resident of said county ages about eighty years, who being first duly sworn according to Law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benifit of the Act of Congress passed 7th June 1832.

That in the state of Virginia in the County of Stafford in the year as well as he can now remember 1777, he entered into the service of the United States, under Captain Charles Watkins, and was ordered to Kentucky with the balance of the company for the purpose of assisting the inhabitants in their battle against the British and Indians.

That the company was composed of fifty odd men, that they were promised forty schillings per month and the period of their enlistment was for six months. That very soon after their enlistment the were marched to Kentucky by their Capn. and arrived at Boonsborough on the Kentucky River in the now state of Ky. which was a Fort, sometimes called a station at which place we found Col. Daniel Boon, and some men and families under his command. We were placed under the command also, of Col. Boon and acted in the capacity of defenders of the Fort against the enemy and also as Indian spies.

Some considerable time after being so employed upon constant duty and very short allowance himself and as well as he can now recollect about twenty others under the command of Col. Boone were ordered out upon an expedition to make salt for the use of those in the Fort. They marched to a place about 70 or 80 miles from the Fort then and now known and called the Blue Licks after being there about three weeks, engaged making salt.

Col. Boone was absent from the company hunting and trapping, when a party of the Shawnees of about one hundred Indians commanded by their chief Blackfish fixed several guns at him as he, Boon, told this applicant, and run him some distance and he, Boone, discovering he would be taken, stopped, put his gun behind a tree, stepped out and gave up. The Indians then marched with Col. Boone to where the balance of us were, and we were ordered by Col. Boone to stack our guns and surrender. We did so.

We were all taken first to the Indian towns over the Ohio River on the Little Miami. Some of the company were taken to the British. This applicant and a few others were retained by the Indians, and from the day he was taken up to the time he run off, a period of eight months, he suffered misery and wretchedness, hunger, cruelty and oppression of almost every sort. The night after he was taken his arms were tied behind him, a rope or buffeloes leg tied fast around his middle, and the other made fast to an Indian on each side of him, and the one around his arms was made to go around his neck, and tied fast to a tree, and in that position he had to sleep upon the snow. A little while before he reached the Indian Town, he was compelled to strip himself, cold as was entirely naked, his arms again made fast and a load of bone meat packed upon him. It was a heavy load. Indeed he was packed heavily, from the time he was taken until he arrived at the town and just as he got there, he was met by many Indians from the town, and run the gauntlet with the load of meat, and was very severely beaten and bruised in the race. Before they got in sight of the Town, he was made to sing as loud as he could hollow. The object of that he afterwards learnt was to give notice of their approach. After running the gauntlet, he and the other prisoners were ordered to dance like the Whites. A Negro who was prisoner with them, acted as interpreter. Col. Boon was taken a while to the British and they give him a little horse and a saddle, and he returned with the Indians, and was taken off with a party mostly of squaws to make salt. There he made out to run off and got back to Boonsborough safely. This applicant, having stayed as he before mentioned eight months, he in company with two others, George Hendricks and Aaron Ferman, run away, and having learnt from some of the Indians before they started, that there was some white men at the Falls of Ohio, they made their course that way.

Before they arrived there, being pressed with hunger, they were getting some red haws when a party of Indians come upon them, and after a chase retook George Hendricks, but his other companion and himself arrived at the Falls. he remained there upwards of two months, having engaged as a soldier and performed duty under Capn. Wm. Harrod. He has no discharge, no written evidence of his services whatever. From the time of his enlistment, until he got back to Virginia, was one year and nine months .

He can prove by a living witness, Arabia Brown of the county Garrard the fact of his enlistment and his service.
Publish Post
He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or an annuity except the present and declares his name is not on the Pension Roll of the agency of the agency of any state.

Sworn to and subscribed the day and year aforesaid.

Ansel Goodman