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History of Jeremiah in the Revolutionary War

Major Pinketham Eaton

[Jeremiah served with this officer more than once according to his pension request.]

Pinketham "Pink" Eaton, of North Carolina; Captain, 3rd North Carolina Regiment, Continental Line, April 16, 1776; Major, 8th North Carolina, November 22, 1777; retired June 1, 1778; Colonel North Carolina Militia; wounded at Briar Creek, March 3, 1779; was killed at Fort Grierson on May 24, 1781.[1] He "began his military career as a captain in the Third North Carolina Continental Regiment. His commission as captain was dated 16 April 1776, and on the 22d of November, 1777, he was promoted to be major. He had been General Jethro Sumner's most active assistant in raising the new levies, and was the first officer assigned to active service in the campaign of 1781. His early promotion, and the admiration which General Sumner had for him, is sufficient evidence of his skill and courage as a soldier; and Lee testifies to his great amiability of temper, which had endeared him to his comrades."[2] In the May 24, 1781 American assault on Fort Grierson, Georgia that resulted in its capture,[3] "the American loss was small, only a few killed and wounded, but among the former was a life valuable to the American cause. This was Major Pinketham Eaton of North Carolina. He had only been a few weeks with the light corps and fell gallantly at the head of his battalion in the moment of victory." [4]

Note: Thomas Eaton and Pinketham (or "Pinkertham") Eaton are often confused with each other and their names combined as Thomas Pinketham Eaton. From a contemporary personal account of a soldier who served under them, it appears that Thomas Eaton was the General at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and at Ninety-Six. Pinketham Eaton was Captain then Major in the Bute County Militia, was present at Guilford Courthouse, and was killed at the capture of Fort Grierson.[5]
Source: Wikipedia The bracketed "[]" numbers are references found in Wikipedia.

12 April.
Major Pinkertham Eaton marched from Ramsey's Mill1242 with 200 N.C. Continentals, to replace Col. James Read's North Carolina militia, numbering 400, already with Greene. Eaton's men though not well-armed or equipped were to take up the weapons of Read's men before the latter returned home. By the 17th, however, Eaton was down to 140 men. Many of the men having been forced to serve due to alleged cowardice at Guilford Court House, and not given a trial, deserted. Nevertheless, Eaton and those that remained with him subsequently served with distinction.1243

15 April.
(also given as the 16th) to 23 April. [siege] Fort Watson (Clarendon County, S.C.) On the evening of the 15th (Bass says the 16th), Marion and Lee, the latter formally under the command of Marion, laid siege to Fort Watson. Earlier in the same day (or else the day before), Lee sent Capt. John Rudulph, with the Legion cavalry, down the Santee to watch Watson’s movements. This left Lee’s own corps with his Legion infantry and the Maryland company of 100 under Capt. Edward Oldham. Marion, during the Siege, was reinforced by a few men from Col. Abel Kolb, and by is end had 300. As well, Capt. Ebenezer Finley, with a six -pounder, and Maj. Pinkertham Eaton, with 140 N.C. Continentals, had been sent by Greene on the 24th to join Lee and Marion at Ft. Watson, but did not join up with Lee in time to participate. Ft. Watson itself was defended by Lieut. James McKay, of the King’s American Regt., with 5 officers, 73 Provincials and 36 loyalists, with one cannon. One source speaks of some of the South Carolina Rangers and some of Lieut. Col. Watson’s Provincial Light infantry as being present. Marion cut off the forts water supply, but McKay was able to dig a well in the fort on the 18th. Smallpox broke out among some of Marion's men, and a number deserted. By means of a Maham tower, an oblong tower of logs, suggested by one of Marion’s lieutenants Maj. Hezekiah Maham, Marion’s sharpshooters, under Capt. William McCottry, were able to fire down into the fort. After a siege of seven or eight days McKay was forced to surrender on the 23rd. The editor to the Greene Papers notes: “According to a journal that one of the posts British officer’s kept during the siege, it was ‘"the cowardly and mutinous behavior of a majority of men, having grounded their arms and refused to defend the post any longer’” that forced the surrender. The officers and Provincials soldiers were paroled, while the “irregulars” (loyalist militia) were taken prisoner.1254 A large quantity of stores and ammunition were captured also. The ammunition was particularly welcome to Marion who was frequently short of it. Marion reported losing 2 killed, and Lee lost 2 wounded. Lossing says the Americans lost 2 killed, three Continentals and 3 militia wounded, while McCrady gives the total casualties as 2 killed and 6 wounded. After the surrender, the fort was dismantled.1255 Marion on the day of Watson’s surrender (the 23rd), wrote Greene: “Lieutenant-colonel Lee joined me on the Santee the 14th instant, after a rapid march from Ramsey's mills on Deep river, which he finished in eight days. The 15th we marched to this place, and invested it: Our chief hope was to cut off the water: Some riflemen and continentals were, for this purpose, posted between the fort and the lake. The fort lies on a rising ground, about forty feet high, surrounded by three rows of abbatis. There were no trees near enough to cover us from the enemy's fire. The third day after we had begun the siege, we perceived that the enemy had dug a well near the abbatis without meeting with any opposition from us, which was for want of several very necessary implements, without which we could not make trenches in order to make our approach to the fort; we therefore resolved immediately to erect a work as high as the fort, and it was finished this morning by Major Maham; we then made a lodgement on the side of the eminence near the abbatis; this was accomplished with great spirit and address by Ensign Robinson and Mr. R. Lee, a volunteer in Colonel Lee's regiment, who, surmounting every difficulty, got up to the abbatis, and pulled it away: By this the commander of the fort found himself obliged to hoist a white flag. I enclose the capitulation, which I hope will meet with your approbation. Our loss was only two militiamen killed, and three continentals wounded. I shall demolish the fort without loss of time, and then proceed to the heights of Santee, and shall halt at Captain Richardson's plantation to wait for farther orders.”

17 April.
Maj. Pinkertham Eaton, at Little River, N.C. having marched from Chatham Court House, with 180 North Carolina Continentals (twelve months men, mostly from Halifax County), wrote to Greene saying he was on his way to join him. Eaton had only one officer with him, Lt. John Campbell, though another Capt. Robert Smith (of the old 4th N.C. Regt.) was sent later. By the time Eaton reached Greene, his forced numbered only 140.1260

24 April.
Lieut. Col. Edward Carrington, with the army baggage at Upton's Mill (located eight miles north of Little Lynches Creek Bridge), wrote to Greene saying that Maj. Pinkertham Eaton's North Carolina, and Capt. Smith’s1288 detachments had arrived there and totaled 220 men. Carrington said they would march with the artillery to Greene. Both the artillery and Smith may have been with Greene at the time of Hobkirk’s Hill.1289

MILITIA

North Carolina militia: 250 to 254, Col. James Read 150 of these "under Col. Reid [Read], had joined Greene soon after he crossed the Dan, and had faithfully adhered to him from that time." The remainder of the N.C. militia were men who had escorted supplies and were sent to Greene by Davie. According to Seymour, Singleton was at Camden, therefore Eaton with his 140 N.C. Continentals must have been as well, so that these were included in the 254 figure. The militia did not engage and acted as a reserve.1306

27 April.
Their movement having been interrupted by the battle of Hobkirk’s Hill, Eaton and Finley had now marched to join Marion and Lee, and by this date were at the Black River. However, they soon reversed their march, thus causing a delay in forming a junction with Marion and Lee. See 29 April.1340

29 April.
Due either to Greene changing orders or Capt. James Conyers getting lost in reaching them, Eaton and Finley had moved back from Black River, and were within five miles of Rugeley’s on this date. This caused a delay in the detachment’s reaching Marion and Lee, which Johnson blames for the escape of Watson. Eaton and Finley afterward resumed their march south to join Marion and Lee and were with them by the evening of May 2nd. See 2-3 May.1348

29 April.
Due either to Greene changing orders or Capt. James Conyers getting lost in reaching them, Eaton and Finley had moved back from Black River, and were within five miles of Rugeley’s on this date. This caused a delay in the detachment’s reaching Marion and Lee, which Johnson blames for the escape of Watson. Eaton and Finley afterward resumed their march south to join Marion and Lee and were with them by the evening of May 2nd. See 2-3 May.1348

2-3 May.
Maj. Pinkertham Eaton with 140 North Carolina Continentals, and Capt. Ebenezer Finley with a six - pounder1368 joined Marion and Lee at Benbow’s Ferry, on the Black River, after nightfall on of May 2nd. Marion, who was formally in charge of the whole force, moved the next day to attempt intercepting Watson's force headed toward Camden. The effort, however, proved unsuccessful. Respecting others matters, Marion’s force, at the time, suffered from desertion. Also 25 of Eaton's men were detached to Lee's Legion infantry, with whom they served the remainder of their terms under Lieut. Andrew Manning of the Legion. Eaton was short of officers and the measure ostensibly was adopted both to augment the Legion, while training some of the North Carolina men.1369 Johnson: "The time of the year, (being the height of planting,) the unfortunate affair of the 25th [Hobkirk's Hill], the rising of the tories on the Peedee, and the detaching of eighty men, under Colonel Irvine, to Rafting Creek, to cut off supplies from Camden, all had combined to cause a great reduction of Marion's force."1370

6-12 May.
(also given as 8 May) [siege] Fort Motte (Calhoun County, S.C.) In March 1781, Ft. Motte was established as a post after the British abandoned Thompson Plantation, at Belleville, about a mile from Motte’s.1382 Like Thompson’s , Motte’s served as a sanctuary for convoys of supplies coming from Charleston on their way to Camden and Ninety-Six. Defending the post was Lieut. Donald McPherson, of the 71st Regt., with 140 men, 120 of which were Provincials (Greene states British) and Hessians, plus 7 or 8 officers. In his letter to Huntington of 14 May, Greene reported that a carronade was taken at the fort. However, a footnot e by the editor of the Greene papers states that the fort was defended with an enlarged firelock mounted as a swivel, but no had artillery. Possibly then the carronade was not actually in use. Marion and Lee arrived before the fort on the 6th. Initially, there was some uncertainty whether Lee would continue with Marion, but by the 8th it had been decided that he would do so. Marion had 150 men, while Lee had 300 regulars including the Legion infantry, Oldham’s Maryland Company, and 140 North Carolina Continentals under Maj. Pinkertham Eaton. The Legion cavalry was elsewhere keeping an eye on Watson. With them also was a six-pounder (or possibly a four-pounder) under Capt. Ebenezer Finley. After a stalemate of almost a week, the besiegers hit upon the idea of setting the roof of the house, which occupied most of the area within the fortifications. This was done with an incendiary sent by a projectile. Lee states that the projectile was a bow shot arrow, which arrow and bow had been provided by Mrs. Motte herself the owner of the residence. According to William Dobein James account the roof was set alight by one of Marion’s men using a ball of rosin and brimstone thrown by a sling. Bass suggests it was both. In any case, the tactic succeeded, and when McPherson men tried to climb on the roof to put out the fire they were shot at by Marion’s riflemen. Presumably the same day (the 12th) McPherson surrendered, and the fire was put out. McPherson and his garrison were made prisoners, and 140 stand of arms, a quantity of salt, provisions and other stores were taken. The editor to the Greene papers notes that the regulars surrendered to Lee, and the loyalist militia to Marion suggesting there may have been some friction between the two officers. On the other hand the measure may have been devised to avoid McPherson have to report that he surrendered to militia, even though Marion had overall command of the Americans. In terms of casualties, Marion lost 2 killed at Fort Motte, the British none. While Marion was away with Lee against Ft. Motte, Ganey , who had been called out again by Balfour, rose up with his men at Drowning Creek.1383 Lossing: “The prisoners were treated with great humanity, notwithstanding some of them were Tories of a most obnoxious stamp. As soon as paroled, they were sent off to Lord Rawdon, then crossing the Santee at Nelson's Ferry, near Eutaw Springs. The fall of Fort Motte greatly alarmed that officer, and two days afterward [May 14.], he blew up the fortifications at Nelson's Ferry, and hastened toward Charleston. During the day of the capitulation, Greene arrived with a small troop of cavalry, being anxious to know the result of the siege, for he was aware Rawdon was hastening to the relief of the garrison. Finding every thing secure, he returned to his camp, then on the north side of the Congaree, after ordering Marion to proceed against Georgetown, toward the head of Winyaw Bay, near the coast, and directing Lee with his legion, and Captain Finley with his six pounder, to attack Fort Granby, thirty-two miles above Fort Motte, near the present city of Columbia.”1384 William Dobein James: "On the night of the 10th, the fires of Lord Rawdon's camp were seen on the Santee hills, in his retreat from Camden, and encouraged the garrison for a while; but on the 12th the house was set on fire, and the commander Lieut. M`Pherson, and one hundred and sixty-five men, surrendered. This deed of Mrs. Motte has been deservedly celebrated. Her intention to sacrifice her valuable property was patriotic; but the house was not burnt, as is stated by historians, nor was it fired by an arrow from an African bow, as sung by the poet. -- Nathan Savage, a private in Marion's brigade, made up a ball of rosin and brimstone, to which he set fire, slung it on the roof of the house. The British surrendered before much mischief was done to it, and Marion had the fire put out.”1385 Rawdon, on 24 May, wrote Cornwallis: “My first news, upon landing at Nelson's, was, that the post at Motte's house had fallen. It was a simple redoubt, and had been attacked formally by sap. Lieut. M'Pherson had maintained it gallantly till the house in the centre of it was set in flames by fire arrows, which obliged his men to throw themselves into the ditch, and surrender at discretion.”1386

16 May.
Lee received orders from Greene to advance on Augusta. Lee had requested he able to take Oldham’s company with him, but Greene decided against it. Lee with Legion then moved with all speed to Augusta, which had already been under siege by Clark and the Georgians since mid-April. This left Eaton with his 140 North Carolina Continentals, Finley, his six -pounder,1441 2 two-inch pieces, captured at Granby , and artillerymen necessary to man the three guns, to follow Lee and arrive there when they could. In cavalry Lee probably had around 90. In a letter to Greene of 24 May, he said he had 110 Legion infantry.1442

18 May.
Lee's advance party reached Pickens camp on his way to Augusta. Eaton and Finley arrived there the next morning (the 19th .) It was agreed by Lee and Pickens that Lee should take Fort Galphin, located downriver from Augusta few miles. Pickens , Eaton and the artillery in the meantime would move to set things up before Augusta. Although this is what Lee later reported to Greene, it is not entirely clear that this is what happened. According to Johnson it was Pickens who went to Galphin while Lee moved to Augusta. In his letter to Greene, Lee did not state where he joined Pickens , but it would probably have been in modern Aiken County, at a location to the southeast of Ninety-Six.1445

21 May.
(also given as the 19th). [surrender] Fort Galphin, also Fort Dreadnought, and Silver Bluff (Aiken County, S.C.) Ft. Galphin, or as it was also known Ft. Dreadnought, was the fortified plantation house of George Galphin, a veteran Indian trader. It was situated about twelve miles down river from Augusta on the northern bank of the Savannah. The post was commanded by Capt. Samuel Rowarth and contained 70 Kings Rangers (to which unit Rowarth belonged), 42 Georgia loyalist militia, and 61 Blacks many of them armed. While the siege of Augusta had been going on, Col. Elijah Clark initially invested Fort Galphin. Then on the 21st of May, Clark was joined by Pickens (or Lee) with Maj. Samuel Hammond and his regiment minus one company, Col. William Harden, and the infantry of Lee’s Legion, under Capt. Michael Rudulph. They had all moved down from Augusta after Lee (or Pickens) arrived with the main body of troops that morning, which Lee’s speaks of as being “sultry beyond measure.” The fort had recently received the present which the British made annually to the Indians made up of powder ball liquor salt, blankets, sundry small articles, including some fowling pieces and small arms. Despite the account he gives of what happened, Lee himself, as Johnson reasonably demonstrates was not actually with the Ft. Galphin expedition, but remained with his cavalry, Eaton’s North Carolina light infantry, and the remainder of Pickens and Clark’s men at Augusta itself. Also according to Lee, British were tricked out of their fort into an ambush, which then allowed the Americans to enter the fort. Again Johnson disputes Lee’s claim saying that he possessed documents showing that Galphin had been surrendered after some negotiations between the besiegers and besieged. However, what may have happened was that a party was captured using the ruse described by Lee, but either this of itself did not take fort, or was preliminary to the fort’s formal surrender, which, incidentally took place in the evening. Americans lost one from the heat, loyalist 3 or 4 from the skirmish. Not counting the Blacks, 126 were made prisoners, about 70 of them Provincial regulars. The presents to the Indians, as well as the fort’s stores, were captured. Both Lee and Pickens request Greene to use some of the stores taken at Fort Dreadnought for the militia serving with them, which request Greene granted, though Lee later claimed the prizes taken were not all that considerable in quantity. Although it may be reasonable to dispute Lee’s actual presence at Fort Galphin, nevertheless, what is clear is that his swiftness in moving on Augusta made the surprise at Galphin possible, and thus quickened the fall of the main Augusta forts, Cornwallis and Grierson.1459 Tarleton Brown (who was with Col. William Harden): “….we marched1460 for the siege of Augusta. On our way up, we learned that Colonel Brown's (a Tory) boats were going up the Savannah River. We went in pursuit of them, and attacked them about opposite the place of the late Stephen Smith, of Savannah River, but they got on the Georgia side, and we could do nothing with them. From this we marched to Augusta, where we met Generals Pickens and Twiggs, and commenced the work of extermination. The first attack that we made was on the fort at Silver Bluff, now the property of Governor Hammond, of South Carolina. Brown's boats had now arrived, and stowed away their goods in the fort. The British not being willing to yield without a struggle, we stove a cannon ball through the brick house in the fort, and they immediately marched out and surrendered, for fear we would serve them the like trick.”

21 May to 5 June.
[siege] Augusta, which here includes both Forts Cornwallis and Grierson. (Richmond County, GA.) Some of their forces having arrived on the 21st, Pickens and Lee1461 joined their forces with the Georgians under Col. Elijah Clark already before Augusta since mid April. With Clark were Col. Micajah Williamson, Col. John Baker , Maj. Samuel Jackson and Maj. James Jackson. Augusta was made up of two forts within a half mile of each other, a smaller one at Fort Grierson, and the main defenses, Fort Cornwallis (see 24 May for information on the taking of Fort Grierson). In Fort Cornwallis,1462 the larger of the two posts, was Col. Thomas Brown with 240 men, including the King’s Carolina Rangers, and an additional 200 blacks, some of whom may have been armed. Fort Grierson was defended by Lieut. Col. James Grierson with two pieces of artillery and about 80 Georgia loyalists. The ground around Augusta was fairly flat and level, so there was no terrain overlooking the town, though there were some houses situated not far outside Cornwallis. In making their approaches to Fort Cornwallis, the Americans dug trenches, and later used Maham towers, the first erected on the night of 30-31 May, on which they mounted a six -pounder, which disabled Brown's own sixpounder (or else two cannon, one of which was a six-pounder.) Brown had tried unsuccessfully, by means of sorties, to sabotage both the trench (when it was being worked on), and the Maham tower. In the case of one of the towers subterfuge, in the way of British soldier masquerading as a deserter from Brown, was tried as well. At one point in the siege, Brown also had set explosives in a nearby house used by Rebel sharpshooters, hoping to catch them there. However, the explosives were detonated at a time when the house was empty. Compared to earlier sieges of the British outposts, Augusta was long and trying, involving much shelling, and sniping between the besiegers and the garrison. Two of Brown’s field pieces were dismounted on June 2nd. By the 5th, after some exchanges in correspondence between both sides, Brown decided he could no longer hold out against the artillery and riflemen mounted in the towers. Despite what had been vigorous and spirited defense on the part of himself and his provincials, he was force to surrender the fort to Pickens and Lee, the former as ranking American officer, and the latter representing the Continental Army. British casualties, based on immediate after siege reports were 52 killed, and 334 captured, i.e. Brown plus, 7 officers, 7 loyalist officers, 162 Provincials, and 130 Tory militia and "about" 200 Blacks. Lossing says the “Americans had sixteen killed and thirty-five wounded. The loss of the British was fifty-two killed; and three hundred and thirty-four, including the wounded, were made prisoners of war.” The officers taken were paroled to Savannah, while the rank and file were sent north as prisoners. These latter were escorted to Ninety-Six by Maj. Samuel Hammond's regiment, and the detachment of N.C. Continentals, which were now under the command of Capt. Robert Smith. Smith had replaced Maj. Pinkertham Eaton, after Eaton’s death on the 24th. during the fighting before Fort Grierson. No mention is made of the Creek Indians who were present in April, but who apparently were able to escape homeward some weeks before the surrender.1463 Tarleton Brown: “We now commanded the siege of Brown of Brown's fort. In taking this fort, we had great difficulty. We raised a platform fifteen or twenty feet high, and mounted a cannon upon it, and from thence fired at them in the fort. In this way we destroyed a good many of them, but finding we were too hard for them

24 May.
[surrender] Fort Grierson, also Augusta (Richmond County, GA.) On the 23rd of May (Johnson says the 24th), Fort Grierson, was surrounded by Pickens and Lee and Maj. Eaton, and a battery was opened up against it. Maintaining the siege and keeping watch on Fort Cornwallis were the Legion cavalry under Major Eggleston, and some of the militia. Brown tried to make a sortie to thwart the effort, but was himself driven back into Fort Cornwallis where he cannonaded the besiegers instead. A while after, Lieut. Col. Grierson issued from the fort of his name, in an effort to escape to Fort Cornwallis. A sharp skirmish ensued, and upwards of 40 of Grierson’s men were captured, while Grierson with a handful of others, by moving under the cover of the river bank, were able to reach Fort Cornwallis in safety. In addition, the loyalists lost 30 killed. Pickens and Lee captured two cannon from Grierson, which they then proceeded to deploy against Fort Cornwallis. The Americans lost two wounded, and Maj. Pinkertham Eaton killed. Some accounts claim that in the shuffle of what transpired he was taken prisoner and his death occurred moments after the fighting had already ceased. Capt. Robert Smith subsequently replaced him in command of the North Carolina Continental detachment.1465 Lee, in his memoirs, praises the effort of a Capt. Handy who led the “Marylanders” against one of Brown’s forays. Evidently this individual was Capt. George Handy , from Maryland, of the Legion Infantry, and it was that unit (not a detachment from the Maryland Regiment as might otherwise seem to have been implied) which took part in the skirmish with Brown. Further in support of this, there is an unrelated anecdote in Lee’s memoirs suggests that the “Capt. Handy” of Augusta belonged to the Legion.1466 On 5 May, Pickens wrote Greene: "The Lt. Col and forty odd are prisoners and a Major and About thirty others were found dead on the field (Without any loss on our side but Two men slightly Wounded,) Some few of the enemy escaped in the Woods, and the Colonel with a few followers were So fortunate as to escape our fire and reach Brown's fort in Safety. Two field pieces fell into our hands on this occasion and the Troops took possession of the upper fort without any resistance. During the Action, Capt. Armstrong of the Legion drove the enemys outposts from the town, and took possession of their redoubts, thus we are fully masters of the Country and Town and have Circumscribed Colonel Brown to one fort."1467 Kirkwood: "Received express from Col. Lee that he had taken two redoubts [Ft. Grierson, and apparently making reference as well to Ft. Galphin as well] at Augusta in Georgia, making 70 of them prisoners & Killed about 40, taking a Quantit y of stores, Rum, etcs."1468

Tarleton Brown: “The next fort we attacked [after Fort Balfour, see 17 April] was that commanded by the wretched Grason [Grierson], at the upper end of town, This we soon stormed and took -- Captain Alexander shooting Grason [Grierson] for his villainous conduct in the country. Some made their escape from us by fleeing to Brown's fort, near the river. Before we laid siege to Brown's fort, a fellow by the name of Rutherford (a villain withal) took a company and slipped out in the night down the river, opposite Beach Island, and just at the break of day surprised our horse guard. It being in the bend of the river, the British and Tories got round them, and having a superior force, our men took to the river, but they killed several of our brave fellows while they were swimming, some making their escape -- my brother Bartlett Brown, was one among that number. We heard of their trip after our guard, and pushed to cut them off, but were too late by a few momentarily, for as we got within one hundred and fifty yards on the lane, we saw them enter. A few moments sooner, and we would have fixed them smugly.”
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