================================================ By HDE 28 Mar 2018 Estimate of Francis Ethington's ("FE") military service 19 Apr 1775: Battles of Lexington and Concord 14 June 1775: Continental Army created by congress 15 June 1775: George Washington appointed Commander-in-Chief 1775: Abraham Buford musters a group of Minitmen at the outbreak of war. Culpeper County VA. Fall, 1776 Spotsylvania County VA Captain Stubblefield's company of militia petitions for more central muster locations in the county. Among those signing are (copy in Jos. Ethington file): William Etherton Joseph Etherton David Pulliam Clayton Coleman Rolings Pullaim and about 30 others May 1778: Abraham Buford promoted to rank of Colonel. Sep 1778: Abraham Buford assumes command of the 11th VA Regiment Sep 1779: Assume FE enlistment date based on renlistment in Dec 1780. April 1780: Abraham Buford assigned to 3rd VA Regiment 1780: Col. Buford "is sent South to relieve the British siege of Charleston SC 6 May 1780: Buford's regiment close to, but not engaged in, the Battle of Lenud's Ferry Berkley County SC. 12 May 1780: American forces surrender to the British at Charleston SC. Francis's brother John is taken captive there. 29 May 1780: Buford trapped by Col. Banastre Tarleton. Five hundred American soldiers were sabred to death. Known as "The Waxhaw Massacre". https://www.sciway.net/sc-photos/lancaster-county/bufords-massacre-site.html 31 Dec 1780: Francis Etherton noted as "REINLISTED" in list for 1780 compiled by by Ensign Smith, signed by Col. Buford 31 Dec 1780. 19 Oct 1781: Buford commands at seige of Yorktown. British surrender. 1783: Army was disbanded 1 Nov 1785: Francis Etherton declared killed in the Revolution by Spots Court. ============================================== HDE at National Archives in Washington DC 22 Sep 1984 National Archives Rev War Records shows the following: comment: "List of Men in the 11th Va. Reg. under Col. A. Buford" roll: #881-1091 Year: 1780 (card sequence number is #1784) Name: Etherton, Francis State: Virginia War: Revolutionary Card Numbers: 37410013 Date Listed: "Not Dated" Enlisted by: "Reinlisted by Ensign Smith" Number of Record: 56 Copist: J.B. Sitler (21) ============================================ Note by HE: 28 Mar 2018 I think that Francis enlisted in the Army in September of 1779. He would have then marched to South Carolina with Buford, where they missed the battle of Lenud's Ferry by being on the wrong side of the river. He would have then been in the battle of Waxhaw, where 500 of Buford's 530 men were killed by the British after a mistaken surrender attempt. Given these facts, it is most likely that Francis was killed in this Battle of Waxhaw on 29 May 1780. If however, Francis survived Waxhaw, he would have marched north to Yorktown, where Buford commanded and won the seige of Yorktown. If Francis did survive Waxhaw, he may have been killed at Yorktown. ================================================ The 3rd Virginia Detachment would be formed under Colonel Abraham Buford and was composed of elements of the 7th Virginia, as well as various pieces of other units. https://revolutionarywar.us/continental-army/virginia/ ============================================= From: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Buford Abraham Buford (July 21, 1747 – June 30, 1833) was a Continental Army officer during the American Revolutionary War, best known as the commanding officer of the American forces at the Battle of Waxhaws. Biography Born in Culpeper County, Virginia, Buford quickly organized a company of minutemen upon the outbreak of war in 1775, eventually rising to the rank of colonel by May 1778. Assuming command of the 11th Virginia Regiment in September, he would be assigned to the 3rd Virginia Regiment in April 1780 and sent south to relieve the British siege of Charleston, South Carolina. Buford's men were on the north side of the Santee River, unable to help during the Battle of Lenud's Ferry.[1] Forced to withdraw following the surrender of Charleston on May 12, the 3rd Virginia Continentals were trapped on May 29 by a British and American Loyalist force under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. When Buford refused Tarleton's demand he surrender, Tarleton ordered an assault which inflicted casualties so severe that the Americans tried to surrender. While Buford was calling for quarter, Tarleton's horse was struck by a musket ball and fell. This gave the loyalist cavalrymen the impression that the rebels had shot at their commander while asking for mercy, and thus engaged in what Tarleton later described as "a vindictive asperity not easily restrained"; Many American soldiers were sabred to death as they attempted to give up. The incident became known as the Waxhaw Massacre, and became strong propaganda story in the southern states.[2] From that time onward, "Tarleton's Quarter" (meaning give no quarter) was an American battle cry in the Southern theater. Escaping on horseback with his remaining men, Buford was not found culpable for the action and continued to serve as an officer in the Continental Army through the Siege of Yorktown. He eventually settled in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky, on military bounty lands in excess of several thousand acres, where he helped found that state's horseracing industry and where he lived until his death at his home, which he called "Richland" (National Register of Historic Places) in Scott County, Kentucky on June 30, 1833. On Flag Day, June 14, 2006, descendants of Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton sold Colonel Buford's regimental flags, taken at the Waxhaw Massacre, at Sotheby's New York for over $5,000,000 (US).[3] Buford was one of six sons of John and Judith Early Beaufort (Buford), all of whom served with distinction as officers during the American Revolution. Their Civil War descendants included Union Major Generals John Buford, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Gettysburg, and Napoleon Bonaparte Buford and Confederate General Abraham Buford. ========================================= Spottsylvania County Court Orders of 1 Nov 1785, page 154 state the following: "It appearing to the court that Francis Atherton inlisted in the Continental army during the war and that the said Francis died in the service of the states and that Wm. Atherton Jr. is the legal their and representative of the said dec'd." The inheritance laws of Virginia in effect as of the above date state the following: "Prior to 1786, a will in Virginia did not have to name the wife or the eldest son. Their inheritance was set by lay... If a man was unmarried, his heir at law was his eldest brother, never his father or is uncle." Blue Grass Roots, Winter 1987 via Genealogical Aids Bulletin V.18 issue 2 From this we see that William Ethington Jr. was the eldest (living) brother to Francis Ethington, killed in the revolutionary war. Since William Ethington was a Jr., we can assume that his father was William Ethington Sr., and that both William Jr. and Francis are his sons. While it was the custom to call unrelated men of the same name by Jr. and Sr., I feel that geographical considerations and the surrounding evidence support the conculsion that William and Francis are brothers, and sons of William Sr. There is no further reference to Francis in Spots Co Va records. The National Archives does list Francis as a veteran of the war, but there is no detail. - Harold D. Ethington 19 Nov 1989 =========================================