Seedlings of William Foster Book II
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Seedlings Of William Foster Book II By Flavius Milton Foster (1909-2006) Updated and revised in 2016 by Adrienne Foster Potter Copyright@2016 by Adrienne Foster Potter **Note: Birthdates of living persons have been omitted in order to protect them from identity theft—a problem that didn’t exist during Flavius’ lifetime but which is now a major concern. Includes additional notes, sources and names added by Adrienne Foster Potter (cousin of Flavius— both are direct descendants of Harrison Foster b. 1776 and Anna Margaret Bartlett. Harrison--son of William b. 1747, the Revolutionary War Patriot who served six years). Harrison Foster was a great- grandson of William Foster “The Elder,” for whom “Seedlings” Book I is named. Spelling is left largely as written to retain the original warmth and humor of the authors and for historical value, except in cases where clarification is needed. Book I -- which was revised earlier -- is a history of the descendants of William Foster “The Elder” b. 1686, son of Robert Foster and Elizabeth Garnett, the Virginia Fosters who first came to Northumberland Co., parent of Stafford Co. from which Prince William County was formed in Virginia. Book II is a history of their great-grandson William Foster b. 1747, the Revolutionary War Hero, and his descendants. He was the son of George Foster and Margaret Grigsby, who was the son of William Foster “The Elder” b. 1686 mentioned above. Note from Adrienne: There is another William Foster who settled in Amelia, Virginia, who many families claim is the son of Robert and Elizabeth, but I believe he is the son of our William “The Elder” and therefore the grandson of Robert and Elizabeth, because of the age difference. The Amelia County William Foster was born 16 Jul 1714 in Northumberland, VA, and married another Elizabeth (last name unknown). He is found in “Seedlings” Bk. I. This book is by no means an indication that Foster research is “finished,” since that word means little to a genealogist. In spite of all the combined research of many Foster descendants there are still many people in this book on whom more research is needed, and many who are not yet included. Special thanks to Flavius, Gen. Ivan Leon Foster, Vivian L. Snyder, LeNora Thomas Foster, Gloria Thompson Foster, Katherine Foster Shepherd, Gertie Wilson, now deceased, and Charles Leary, Julie Richards, Denise Dunn, Wiggi Dietz, and others who contributed years of their lives to this effort. Note: The book is not indexed because Internet Explorer and Google Chrome both have a “find” feature to use when searching for a name or word in digital books. For new online users click on the tiny magnifying glass or binoculars in the top right corner of your screen next. * WILLIAM “Peyton” FOSTER * REVOLUTIONARY WAR VETERAN (Note: I have seen “William P. Foster” in one record, however, Peyton is used to differentiate this William from all the other Williams because his friend Timothy Peyton and Timothy’s family emigrated with William from Prince William Co., VA to Bourbon Co., KY, where Timothy was killed by Indians. William led the group who went to retrieve Timothy’s body, and who knows in what condition it was found?) WILLIAM, eldest son of GEORGE & MARGARET (GRIGSBY) FOSTER (source below under “Additional notes” proves parentage), was born in Prince William Co., Virginia. By the time William reached manhood, relations between the Colonists and the mother country were in a turmoil and growing worse. It was during this period that William met and married SALLIE SLADE, and their two oldest children were born. (Note: William has an 88-page Revolutionary Pension File—No. W2986-- found in the National Archives that details the information found below) The situation came to a boil, when shots were exchanged between British troops and angered farmers in far-off Massachusetts Colony. News of how local citizens – with their privately owned arms had sent a large British force fleeing, created quite a stir. It wasn’t long till the whole country was rising up in arms, and recruiting squads appeared in every village. Brought up during a period of almost continual warfare, first with the French and Indians, then with unnumbered stories of Indian attacks along the not-too-distant frontier, it is doubtful that William thought war romantic. Despite this, and the face he had a wife and family, William couldn’t resist the call to arms. During early February of 1777, William Foster and a group of his neighbors went to Fauquier Co., Virginia, where they signed up with John Green’s Company of Artillery. While skirmishing around Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, John Green was wounded and Thomas Baytop took over the company. Later John Green was made Colonel of Artillery with his own unit. Among those who signed up for William Foster’s battery were his neighbors:- John Hopper, Philip and Gideon Johnson, John Roach, Dale Carter, Sylvester Welch Sr., Edward Shacklett, and James Bailey. (An artillery batter consisted of 20 men.) “William Foster, bombardier, appointed Feb. 8, 1777. Wm. Foster served out his enlistment and returned to his family, then reenlisted and finished out the war. Wm. Foster was on the lists of Company 9 at Valley, June 3, 1778, Thomas Baytop Capt. Of Col. Charles Harrison’s Virginia Regiment of Artillery, as it stood from Nov. 30 1776 to Apr. of 1783. Wm. Foster served with this regiment till the end of the war. ("Sheffell’s Record of the Rev. War," pg. 25) In his pension application, William stated that he reenlisted “In Jersey, about 50 miles from Philadelphia,” and that he was discharged, “May 18, 1783, on Larner Island, a few miles from Charleston, South Carolina.” As stated earlier, William’s unit was in the skirmishing when the British took Philadelphia. His unit was with the army in Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-78. Here the troops hungered, froze, and often left bloody prints in the snow due to lack of shoes. Here, too Baron Stueben, a German army officer joined the American army as drillmaster. Despite the inhuman living conditions, and the good Baron’s outrageous English, the Americans learned to maneuver and use the principal infantry weapon of the day—the bayonet. Many troops died of exposure, others deserted, but those who remained became the backbone of the American army and carried the war to its triumphant conclusion. Meanwhile, the British army in Philadelphia was living off the fat of the land. A break for the Americans came in the spring of 1778, when a French fleet sailed up Chesapeake Bay and the British found they had urgent business in New York City. Near Monmouth, New Jersey the pursuing Americans caught up with the British rear guard and were well on the way to destroying it. At the most crucial point in the fighting, Gen. Charles Lee disobeyed Gen. Washington’s orders by retiring with his troops. The British guard escaped, and Gen. Lee was drummed out of the army. William Foster remained with Washington’s army near New York City, where they engaged in a few minor skirmishes, but the war in that area had reached a stalemate. Early in 1780, William went home to his family, then returned to the army. Meanwhile, the seat of war had shifted to the southern Colonies, where Gen. Cornwallis’ British army was overrunning all opposition. To counter this invasion, Gen. Washington detached all his Virginia and Maryland troops and sent them south under Baron DeKalb. Here, they were joined by Virginia and North Carolina militia, and formed into an army. Over the strong objections of Gen. Washington, Congress placed Gen. Gates in command of this army. During the battle of Saratoga, N.Y. Gen. Gates had remained in his tent, wringing his hands, while the British got set for an attack. Without orders, Gen. B. Arnold and other American officers in Gates’ command met and defeated the British, so decisively they were forced to surrender. After the firing ceased, Gen. Gates emerged from his tent and claimed all the glory. As Gen. Washington feared, Gates walked into a trap, and the British scattered his troops like chaff. Gen. Nathaniel Greene was then given command of the army, which he reorganized into two units. Gen. Greene took one unit and went after Gen. Cornwallis, and sent Gen. Daniel Morgan after Col. Tarleton’s British cavalry. (Gen. Tarleton was known as “The Butcher,” because of his inhumane treatment of American prisoners.) Gen. Morgan met Tarleton Jan. 17, 1781 at a place where drovers held stock sales, called Cowpens. The General placed his troops with the militia in the front lines, backed by the Continental Line and artillery. The militia gave the attacking British two volleys, then retired behind the regular troops, who bore the brunt of the British attack. The British charge was broken, then the Americans attacked in their turn. After a fierce struggle, the Americans got the upper hand. Tarleton got a bad sword cut in his hind end and barely escaped with a few troops. He did so by firing his cannon through the backs of his own infantrymen, who were fighting a desperate bayonet duel with the Continental troops. The British losses at Cowpens caused Gen. Cornwallis to retire to the cover of his fleet at Wilmington, N.C. Keeping enough troops to cover the British in Wilmington, Gen. Greene sent detachments to clear British troops from South Carolina and Georgia. During this cleanup campaign, William Foster was at the battles of Ft. Ninety-six and Eutaw Springs, S.C.