Soldier James Breedlove/Breadlove
-
In reply to:
Re: Relationship between Kindness Breedlove and Wm Stembridge did exist.
TOm King 12/16/10
Mr. King is absolutely correct in clarifying that the muster/pay rolls cannot identify which Breedlove man, of identical name, was involved as a Revolutionary soldier.
Lest any reader think otherwise, I meant to imply nothing regarding the Breedlove/Stembridge relationship, under which caption my earlier posting appeared.Instead, I merely want to provide primary source evidence that someone recorded as either James Breedlove or James Breadlove served Virginia in the Revolution.
Reference to the Hoopers and other soldiers who were mustered on the same date is intended to show it is reasonable to think that all the 2nd and 6th regiment muster/pay rolls pertain to the same soldier named James Breedlove.
For what is worth as an age comparison, fellow soldier James Hooper later testified to his own birth on 25 Oct 1746. The first time I find James Hooper on the Lunenburg tithes is in 1764, though his father had begun to appear on tithes in 1750. James Hooper said in pension testimony that he had enlisted, making no mention of having been drafted. His enlistment statement contrasts with the interpretation by Landon Bell that Hooper had been drafted.
James Hooper’s younger brother Richard B Hooper (born May 1758) had served under Captain James Johnson [6th Virginia regiment] in 1776. Someone named James Johnson was mentioned by Landon Bell [see Anne Anderson’s post #1099 above] and appears on the manuscript roll below:
http://www.footnote.com/image/#9564808http://www.footnote.com/image/#9564808
6th VA, John Gibson's regiment, Sept 1778,
#59 James Johnson [to serve until] 17 Feb 1779
I do not know whether Private James Johnson was identical to the Captain James Johnson of 1776. Newspaper records suggest that Captain Johnson had significant difficulty with the men of his 1776/7 company, so it would be conceivable that Johnson returned to service later at a reduced rank. Thus, if this had been an identical James Johnson, it would also be conceivable that this experienced soldier James Johnson was somewhat older than were some of the other privates of 1778. I would guess that the men DRAFTED as privates in February 1778 couldhave been between 18 and 50. My basis for this is the later Virginia legislation of October 1780 that made men between 18 and 50 subject to being drafted.
[See the statute at pages 326ff athttp://vagenweb.org/hening/vol10-16.htmhttp://vagenweb.org/hening/vol10-16.htm ]
VOLUNTEER soldiers might have spanned a wider age range, since I am aware of a SC Continental Line volunteer who was only 12 when he enlisted in February 1778. A holdover from the French and Indian war, say someone offering blacksmith or guide services, perhaps could have been as old as 60 upon volunteering for service.
Again, none of the above is meant to do anything other than provide links to primary source documents and give context for the service by Private James Breedlove of Lunenburg County.