Zachariah CARWILE was born 11 September 1750 in Goochland County, VA. The
following is part of a narrative put together using Zachariah CARWILE's
Pension Application. It was first published by Anna D. CALLAHAN in her book
"A History of the CALLAHAM and CARWILE Families" 1976.
Zachariah CARWILE was living in Prince Edward Co, VA when first called into
service. He enlisted in the State Troops of Virginia in Prince Edward Co, VA
in 1775 under Captain Charles ALLEN, and served in the 4th Regiment of the
Virginia Line under the following officers: Col. Samuel MEREDITH, Major James
ALLEN, Captain Charles ALLEN, Lt. Joseph PARKS, and Ensign James ALLEN. He
served from December 1775 to the middle of November 1777.
He joined his company at Prince Edward Court House, and later marched to
Manchester on the James River; from there to Williamsburgh and then to
Hampton, where he was stationed for several months, being there when the
Declaration of Independence was declared. He was in the Battle of Gwynn's
Island, where Governor Dunmore was driven off. From Hampton he marched to
Norfolk, where he was in garrison until his term of service was up. He did
not receive a discharge. The troops were paraded and dismissed from service
by order of the commanding officer.
After returning home, he settled on the Holston River in the State of
Tennessee, and in September 1780, he joined Col. CAMPBELL, as a volunteer, and
marched to South Carolina; and, under Col. CAMPBELL, fought at the Battle of
King's Mountain, in which FERGUSON was killed and defeated on the 7th of
October 1780. From there he marched as one of the guard of prisoners to the
Yadkin River, North Carolina, where he parted with Col. CAMPBELL and joined
Gen. Thomas SUMTER at a place called the Black Rock, and marched with him from
there to southern South Carolina, where they remained for some time. They
then marched back up to Blackstock, where the Battle of Blackstock was fought,
in which Gen. SUMTER was wounded and TARLETON defeated, and in which action
applicant to an active part. From there, he marched to the Iron Works on
Fairforest creek and Smith's Ford on Broad River, where his services
terminated. He returned home after having served with Col. CAMPBELL and Gen.
SUMTER about seven months.
Another personal account of a battle in which Zachariah CARWILE took place was
told by a grandson of Zachariah CARWILE and is recorded as follows:
"General WARD cut a road through upper Abbeville County, SC by Shiloh Church,
Level Land, near Little River Baptist Church, by Hook north of due west, on
north of Donalds, and across the Saluda River. He was going East to contact
the British, and his men crossed Hog Skin Creek, where there was a skirmish.
Zachariah CARWILE participated in this fight, and a British Officer was chased
over a rock on Hog Skin Creek, where his horse slipped and fell. The officer
was killed by the fall or by Patriots. Other British soldiers were killed and
buried in graves on the Creek, and small boys and others from the Level Land
area visited these lonely burial places for several generations."
He was in service of the United States during the revolution, as an enlisted
soldier and a volunteer, a little over two years and six months.
After the Revolutionary War, Zachariah resided for a short time in Tennessee
and then moved to South Carolina, where he lived in the Districts of
Spartenburg, Laurens and Abbeville. At the time of his Application for
Pension he was living in Abbeville District. Zachariah CARWILE's Application
for Pension #S-9310, was approved and he received an annual pension of $80.00
until his death in 1841.
Zachariah died at his home in Level Land, South Carolina, on 4 August 1841,
and is said to be buried in the cemetery of Little River Baptist Church near
Level Land.
I hope this is of interest to someone researching the CARWILE surname.
Bobby G. Carwile