Caroline There was no draft, but many signed up to fill there town's or counties quota for the war (at least in the Civil war, not sure completely on the Rev. war). But whe they really did not want to go there self it was common to hire another person to take there place. But sending a family of ones own family I had not heard of before, but could easily happen. I would not send a sun in my place if I was around back then. If you get any more insite into this later I think the list members would like to know what you found. Cheers Ray http://www.rays-place.com Caroline McCall wrote: >Hi... > >My g-g-g-g-grandfather served in the Rev. War - Virginia Militia - Captain Throgmorton's Company (under Colonel Page) and later in Dixon's Light Horse Troops. On his pension application, he stated that he served in place of his father - at the age of 18 or 19. > >I don't know why he served in his father's place; he didn't state that on his application. Neither did he state his father's name. I'm wondering why an 18-year-old would serve in place of his father. Though I haven't found any information to lead me to a conclusion, I have thought of several possible reasons: > >1)his father might have been ill or injured and couldn't serve. If so, I've wondered if his father was in the military, received an injury that prevented him from serving but felt so strongly about the war that he sent his son (who was probably not his oldest son - from some other records I have found). > >2) his father might have been too old to serve. > >3) his father might have needed to stay home either to support his family or keep a business going. > >4) his father could have been against the war but was expected to serve so he sent a replacement. > >Do these sound like valid reasons, and does anyone have any other ideas as to why he might have replaced his father in the military? I'm not sure that knowing why would help me discover his father's name, but it might help narrow it down. > >Thanks! >Caroline > > > >==== VA-SOUTHSIDE Mailing List ==== >Problems Subscribing or Unsubscribing ? Contact: >G. Lee Hearl List Adm. at: glh@naxs.com >Hosted by Rootsweb http://www.rootsweb.com > >============================== >New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429 > > > > >