In a message dated 97-11-15 14:14:53 EST, cjohn@tznet.com writes: << Antoher legend said that some of CORNWALLIS' men believing that Simon DIXON possessed a money box tortured him with red hot lron tongs to make him reveal its location. >> Hi Group, Thanks for posting your war stories! I enjoyed each of them very much! My favorite is about Ann Moody McCuiston, whose husband, Thomas was a wagon driver at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and died there. The story goes that Ann Moody was the grand aunt of the future president of the United States, Andrew Jackson, and ALL of young Andrew's family had died after Gen. Lincoln surrendered Charleston, SC to the British. Ann Moody found out somehow about the death of her relatives, and sent her young son, Alexander McCuiston, to find his cousin, which he did, and brought him to live with Ann Moody McCusiton, who lived across the road from Dr. David Caldwell, the minister of the North Buffalo Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. The story goes that when Ann Moody was 8 years old she inherited a keg of gold from her grandfather's brother, Capt. Alexander McQuiston in Scotland, and she and young Andrew Jackson rolled the keg of gold into the Duck Creek behind their home to keep the British Army from taking the gold. A messinger had been intercepted by the British Army, and Cornwallis knew about the keg of gold, and he camped his army on both farms a day or two before the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, and his troops almost totally destroyed the McCuiston home looking for the gold. The story goes that Lord Cornwallis had Ann Moody brought to him and he asked her about the keg of gold, and Ann Moody is reported to have said that the rumor of the gold was rediculious, would she be living like this in the wilderness if she had a keg of gold! In 1818 Robert McCuiston, the son of Ann Moody McCusiton inherited his mothers keg of gold, and she had never taken a single coin from the keg! In 1836, President Andrew Jackson told his friend, President Sam Houston, about the keg of gold, that their friend, Robert McCuiston had inherited, and Robert had moved to Texas, so Sam Houston sent an invitation to Robert McCuiston and 15 other men thought to own gold, to attend a "State Dinner." President Sam Houston is reported to have given a 4 hour rousing speech and at the end, ask who would give their gold to save Texas, and all 16 men jumped to their feet and shouted, Aye! Robert McCusiton was given 10,000 acres of almost worthless land for his gift, and his ancestors still live on the land in Robertson County, Texas. I am told that his 90 year old descendant still lives on the ranch. She wrote a book about her family in 1979 and it is from this book that I got most of the above story. I am president of the Sons of the Republic of Texas chapter in my home town, and that is one of my favorite stories to tell to my patriotic friends! Keep History Alive! Tom Green TBGreen3@aol.com ==== NCORANGE Mailing List ==== Larry Noah - lrnoah@bigfoot.com - Listowner - NCORANGE mailing list Orange Co, NC USGenWeb site is at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncorange GENDEX at http://www.gendex.com/gendex/ has over 1500 databases on line