Fulbright Family Association NewsLetter Articles	
THE FULBRIGHT AFFIDAVITS
together with other interesting
Misc. Mish Mash (concluded)
by Ed Stout
Joeline Webber kindly contributes the following valuable insights made possible by her study of the history of the times: "In a most wonderful book, "The Spirit of Seventy-six, Bicentennial edition, A story of the American Revolution as told by Participants", written by General Joseph Graham of North Carolina in 1820, we find an enlightening account, on pages 1119 and 1120. Major Welsh is mentioned clearly as commanding a unit of the Tories, this would be the same Major Welsh who is mentioned by Jacob Fulbright in his deposition as follows:-
"...when he and some others of his neighbors appeared at the battle ground at Ramsours they was called up by Nicholas Welch, Major and was asked if the Sd. Perkins would be their and Isaac Lawrance Sd. Perkinses Brother in law made answer and said that the Sd. Perkins would not be their for he was a Rebel and after the deponent came home and gave up to Col. Brevard he saw the Sd. Perkins and Sd. Perkins gave him a severe reprimand for his conduct and told him that it was the worst thing that he could have done to turn out against his Country ....."
Ms Webber continues, "Moreover, the date of the battle at Ramsour’s Mill was June 20, 1780 and it served to short-circuit General Cornwallis’ ambitious plans to invade North Carolina from his base in South Carolina "after the hot weather had passed". For this, the commander of the Tories in North Carolina was nearly court martialed by Cornwallis.
"The deposition by Jacob also states that he "gave up to Col. Brevard" and Brevard did indeed serve in the Rebel militia in North Carolina, which is further confirmation.
"The rude treatment of the Tory militia by the British Regular Army after Ramsour’s Mill may well have been the point that turned many of the men who had been there to the Rebel side.
"I also just want to offer some food for thought regarding the ‘Tory’ question. It might also be possible that this could explain some fragmentation in the family that seems to have occurred.
"To posit a question: Could there be a ‘Hessian Mercenary’ component here? Even before the Revolution the British crown was importing German mercenary troops (they sort’ve ‘rented’ them from the German Kaiser) mostly due to the fact that both England and Germany had a history of conflict with France; and France was the major competitor with England for New World territory up in the Northeast. During the revolution many of these deserted to the American cause, and many others were captured and voluntarily joined the American army. Before the Revolutionary War many of the German troops who were serving in the British army stayed here after their enlistments ended. 
The final paragraphs of the account of the battle at Ramsour’s Mill, as told by General Graham read thusly:
"In this battle neighbors, near relations and personal friends fought against each other, and as the smoke would from time to time blow off, they would recognize each other. In the evening, and on the next day, the relations and friends of the dead and wounded came in, and a scene was witnessed truly afflicting to the feelings of humanity."
Ms Webber agrees: "This is probably the worst understatement of the whole monograph...."
When considering the circumstances with respect to Jacob Fulbright, he could have hardly been unique in his military service with the Tories. We can forgive his youthful instant of indiscretion and assume he made up for his foolishness by loyal service with the Militia and the Rebels later according to his pension application. After all he, as many others, was born and reared a subject of the King. They all had to feel some basic obligation in that regard -- circumstances finally causing them to rebel.
There are two Leonard Fulbrights found in the early history of Georgia. Leonard Cagle intermarried with the Fulbrights resulting in some of their children being named for him, and also in the naming of John Fullbright Cagle. The Cagle and Fulbright families were associated in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in North Carolina, and in Georgia. Jacob Cagle (1755-14 Aug. 1845) was widowed and remarried to Sarah in 1821, and they lived in the same areas of North Carolina, and at the same times, as did Jacob Shook and Jacob Fulbright. Apparently all three were closely associated during the Revolutionary War.
Jacob Shook was granted a pension, Jacob Fulbright applied and was refused, Jacob Cagle applied and was approved and received the magnificent sum of $40.00 per year presumably until his death, but when Sarah applied, at the age of 76, on 9 Mar. 1853 for a widow’s pension she was refused. According to Cagle’s application he did not serve with either of the other Jacobs but did serve two separate ‘hitches’ as was also claimed by Jacob Fulbright; first by volunteering and second by being drafted, and he, too, did not receive a written discharge from one of the tours of duty. His application describes his service as starting in August of 1780. 
John Cagle in his "Cagle Family in the South" points out that Jacob Cagle also served in the cause of the Loyalists in the Tory Militia! John appears to have made quite a study of such events and has found records of many who begun the War serving as Loyalists then later changed sides and joined the patriot cause. He found that this behavior was especially prevalent among the Germans in North Carolina. This is attributed to the fact that they, as a group, tended to be reluctant to learn the English language, thus were more or less looked upon as ‘outsiders’. Also they may have felt a kinship with King George III of Britain who was himself of German ancestry, since his grandfather, King George the First, was a native born German who, even after he took the throne in 1714, had never troubled himself to learn the English language. For whatever reason, many Germans remained loyal to Britain throughout the War, but many were attracted to and served in the Patriot cause, especially in the later stages of the conflict. Influenced, no doubt, by the fact that the Tory cause was losing ground!
The above would make it appear that Jacob Fulbright’s activities at Ramsour’s Mill were not at all unusual. . . For further reading on the subject try, "The Loyalists in North Carolina During the Revolution" (Hamden, Conn: Archon Books, 1964.)
Also more food for thought regarding Jacob’s pension application is that Benjamin Taylor was named in John William Fulbright’s will when he asked that the will be executed by his son Jacob, and his son (in-law) Benjamin Taylor. Ms Webber points out that in reviewing the material she has on the Battle of Eutaw Springs and about her progenitor, Ben Taylor, and his part in that action, she notes that he originally volunteered to serve under Captain Ephriam Perkins in 1781 (and please note that E. Perkins was one of the J. P.‘s who took Jacob’s deposition, long after the time of Ramsour’s Mill) and he had left the army, under leave, in an attempt to find a substitute to serve in his place, although that attempt failed. Apparently old Ben had little taste for the Army life. 
This raises the interesting historical aspect that Benjamin Taylor, who was brother-in-law to Jacob and John Fulbright, served with the Rebels at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, fighting there with the same Major James Rutherford who defeated the Tories at Ramsour’s Mill. Maj. James Rutherford, the son of General Rutherford, led Rebel troops at both battles; and was killed at Eutaw Springs. (NOTE: This is the same General Rutherford who led troops in a majority of the campaigns against the Cherokee, effectively pushing them out of Rowan county [later Tennessee] . . .
To quote Ms Webber, "However, while Ben was off trying to find a substitute, he took sick and was gone for two or three months recovering. This would place him at home for at least part of the period when Jacob Fulbright was blacksmithing for the Army, so he should have had some knowledge of it. Also Jacob mentions Col. Brevard, as does Benjamin, so they would have been serving in the same command and probably would have known roughly where each other was, if only by word-of-mouth.
"Therefore, why didn’t Jacob Fulbright, or failing that, Abraham, his son, get a deposition from Ben Taylor? I know the distances and that Ben was, by that time, in Missouri. Still, it appears that Jacob spent some effort in attempting to prove his service. Certainly Abraham did the same, having gone so far as to hire an attorney. Benjamin’s pension was granted. I’d think that his testimony would have carried some weight.
"Two things occur to me, firstly that the dates given by Jacob Fulbright may have weighed against him. It is unlikely that he served before June 1780 or he’d have been surely considered a traitor at Ramsour’s Mill, and I doubt that would have passed unmentioned. Second, Jacob uses the phrase "The Officers thought it proper as I was a blacksmith by trade to "take me out of the Army" and put me to work in the blacksmith shop, to shoeing and repairing the shoes of the horses that was in the service.
"Is it possible that in returning Jacob to the blacksmith shop the military considered him not to be in the army, thus not needing a discharge? 
"This could well have been the reason for his pension refusal. Certainly his services as a blacksmith must have lent important support to the cause, blacksmithing in those days extending to gun and equipment repair as well as the care of horses.
"Pursuing further research on the subject of Revolutionary War pensions I have established that the minimum military service which would qualify a veteran for a pension was six months, some exceptions having been made for men seriously wounded before they fulfilled this requirement. If Jacob Fulbright’s service in the early (Cherokee) phase of the war is counted in as military service it would fall short of the required six month minimum, Jacob most likely having served for the months of August, September, and October of 1776.
"In addition, I have now discovered two Revolutionary War pension applications that were refused on the basis of the TYPE of service. One being that of a tailor in North Carolina who had served in that capacity, supplying uniforms to the Revolutionary forces and another being that of a bootmaker in Pennsylvania who supplied both footwear and other leather necessities, including harness. Jacob’s blacksmithing services do appear to fit neatly into the same category as these men.
"In conclusion, I think the refusal of Jacob’s pension was justified. But, I also think that he still qualifies the DAR folks on the basis of his service to the Revolutionary Army. I also think he got ripped off. They should have at least reimbursed him for his out of pocket expenses for taking care of all of those soldiers and horses." 
In addition to the brothers-in-law mentioned by Ms Webber, above, we also believe (or once incorrectly thought we knew) that our John Fulbright was a son-in-law of the Martin Coulter who served with the Rebels during the Revolutionary War as did his son, Martin, Jr. While we like to think John was married to a daughter of Martin Coulter -- unfortunately no documentation has been found to support that thought -- and some people disagree with that idea, including many who have made a study of Coulter family history..
John Fulbright’s position continues to pose a bit of a problem. If he had Revolutionary War military service of any kind, surely it would have been mentioned in some of the documents above. Could he have been a wimp, just standing by and watching his family members and his neighbors do battle for the causes they all believed in? Since the deposition by John was taken at the same time as that of his brother we can be fairly certain that had both of them served with the either the Tories or the Whigs at Ramsour’s Mill, it surely would have been mentioned to substantiate their information about their neighbor, "sd. Perkins." And certainly had John served with the Rebels that would have been a part of his affidavit as he appears to have been very willing to help Perkins in any way possible -- and what could have been better than to claim service with the very Rebels with whom Perkins need to prove his association?
The same thought may apply to Jacob’s pension application. Had John been in the service he may well have been in a good position to support his brother’s application -- and perhaps to file one for himself.
Some D. A. R. members have qualified based on the claim that John Fulbright was a Private in the U.S. Army during the Revolution. Their claims seem generally based on the following from "North Carolina Revolutionary Army Accounts, Vol XII, p.29, Folio 2. No. 1838, in the official custody of the North Carolina Historical Commission showing an account of Specie Certificates paid into the Comptroller’s Office by John Armstrong, Entry Taker for Land in North Carolina, "Granted by Erwin & McKissick, to John Fulbright, on Aug.’83, the Sum of £5.8 with interest of £ .0.5.6, to 25 May 1784, the total amount of principal and interest, being £5.13.5." If this is the only basis for claiming that John Fulbright served the military during the Revolutionary War, then that claim is nebulous at best.
Your comments and any additional information would be very welcome.