David Arnott (Arnold
Revolutionary War Pension Application
On February 19, 1829, in Halifax County , NC
He enlisted
in early 1778 to complete the term of a private, Bythal Haynes, who had
deserted. This term was to last until April 1780. His commander was Lieutenant
Fitzgerald or Gerard. The regiment was led by Colonel James Hogun.
Within the regiment, the company of
light horse commanded by Captain Cosmo Medici or Medicie, was severely lacking
in equipment such as bridle bits, stirrups, saddle backs and such. David
Arnott, a blacksmith, was assigned to the Quarter Master General to make the
necessary items. He continued in this job until the North Carolina Brigade
returned from the north on its way to Charleston ,
SC
David
recalled that he marched to Charleston
with Lieutenant Col. Davidson’s company in the 1st NC Regiment
commanded by Col. Clark. He was at Charleston
when it was blockaded by the British and continued to serve until April 1780
when he was discharged in Charleston ,
SC. Charleston
After the War
David
Arnold had returned to Halifax
in 1880 and continued to work there as a blacksmith until he applied for his
pension in 1829 at the age of 75. He had been turned down for a pension in 1827
because of a question about his name and had not applied again because “by his own
labor as a blacksmith he was enabled to provide for himself & family, and
though earnestly urged by his friends, he never could consent to throw himself
upon the bounty of his Country, so long as he was able to provide for his
household by his own exertions: -- neither did he conceive his circumstances so
utterly hopeless as to justify it.”
A schedule
attached to David Arnold’s application for a pension listed the property he had
amassed over a lifetime:
“One tract of Land containing 256
acres
One Negro woman & child
One set of Blacksmith Tools
Three unimproved Lots in
Gainsborough
One cow, calf & yearling
One cart, a few hoes, an axe and
some household furniture of little value.
All the above property except the Blacksmith Tools have been
conveyed by deed of trust now of record in this Court for the benefit of Thomas
Burges Esq. to secure the payment of a debt which is justly due him amounting
to $1245 with interest on $1025 until paid.”
In the end,
“the infirmities attendant on disease & old age render him incapable of
much exertion – that his family residing with him consists of three daughters,
to wit: Mary about 28 years old, Dorothy 21 & Martha 14. -- that they were
tenderly raised & only accustomed to perform the ordinary duties relating
to housekeeping … .”
His Name Was A Problem
Mr. Arnott had difficulty being approved for his pension because he applied as David Arnott while he was listed on the muster rolls as David Arnold. James Grant wrote on David Arnott’s behalf that he had known him as David Arnold for 20 years and had never known that David himself spelt his name Arnot. Grant went on to say that “I found him when I first grew into manhood, a very worthy, respectable man, residing in the County of Halifax, & from the Circumstance of his being uniformly called Arnold, I think the mistake arose,”… from the spelling of his name.
William Hill wrote that he had examined the Warrant Book and found no David Arnot, but had found David Arnold, and that he believed, based on the fact that Arnold received a warrant for 274 acres of land, the quantity allowed for 3 years service, and other facts in the application, that David Arnot was the same as David Arnold.
David
Arnold received a pension of $8 per month for his service during the Revolution.
[Taken from the
Pension application of David Arnot (Arnold or Arnott) S41417 which was
transcribed by Will Graves and can be found on the internet at Southern
Campaigns American Revolution Pension Statements and Rosters]
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