This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: strflwr1 Surnames: Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.westvirginia.counties.preston/2747.1.1.1/mb.ashx Message Board Post: I'm pretty sure there weren't many "rules" for enlistment. The way I understand things worked is that a person (the Captain) recruited enough men to form a company (not a specific number, just enough to seem reasonable). This person might have been asked to do this by the state/colonial legislature or might just do it and then try to get his group in a state/colonial regiment. The states/colonies offered their regiments to be part of the "Continental Line". At first, there was no American government. Then the Articles of Confederation were enacted which created a very weak central government which didn't work very well. The Constitution wasn't written until 1789, well after the Rev War. The men of the Continental Line didn't get paid very often because the states/colonies wouldn't cough up much/any money and the government under the Articles of Confederation didn't have much in the way of enforcement powers. Some states/colonies offered bounty land and/or pensions (m! ostly just for wounded soldiers or widows). VA actually offered more than PA from what I've seen. Sometime after the war, the Fed Gov't (after there was one) offered pensions and bounty land, but I do not think the soldiers knew they would get this at the time they enlisted. The local county militias did actually get paid by their counties. There are pre-Revolutionary records I've seen giving amounts paid to militiamen. See the Draper manuscripts and Henings Statutes at Large for some of these. My understanding is that recruits were supposed to be 16 but even in this there are exceptions. From Monongalia Co, Cap David Scott's son James was a fifer at about 12 or 13 years of age. A good many enlisted in neighboring states and I'd guess that at this time, the majority of Mon Co residents over 16 were born elsewhere. There just weren't that many folks living there in 1760 or earlier. I'm sure that place of birth had nothing to do with enlistment. Place of residence mattered only in the sense that most didn't travel very far to enlist although some did. We live in a time of far more laws, rules and regulations than existed then. Furthermore, it was a brand new country. Nobody had had the time to establish much in the way of law and order, except what had existed under the Colonial system which is what they were fighting to overturn. I don't suppose you can ever know for sure why Amos Roberts enlisted in PA but my first guess would be that when he decided to join, there was a Captain across the line in PA recruiting. IOW, I'd guess it was just a matter of timing. It could be he didn't like Cap David Scott! Scott had his problems and eventually ! his company got combined with another and into another Regiment. It's complicated and irrelevant here except to say that lots of soldiers die in all wars and units are constantly reorganized. I found the same sort of problem when I tried to research a WW2 soldier for a friend and although she knew the Reg number, I couldn't find it. Finally, I found this huge list of how regiments were combined and renumbered due to loss of personnel. Another point to make is that soldiers were transfered from county militias to Continental Line Regiments. I've seen a list of them transferred from the Mon Co Militia. I've spent a lot of time at Footnote.com searching and browsing through Rev War records. As to Amos Roberts.... Were there 2 of them, father and son? Lots of people say Thomas Chipps wife (Joanna, Johanna, Joannah) was a daughter of Amos Roberts. I keep asking for documentation, marriage records, something, but to no avail. Anyway, an Amos Roberts lived close to them after the Chipps moved from what is now Preston Co to closer to Morgantown and definitely in Mon Co. The Chipps' youngest son was named after him, apparently. I've seen mention of Amos Roberts in deed and court records in Mon Co and my impression has been that he wasn't old enough to be the father of Joanna. She was probably born around 1750. So, I'm wondering if Amos' father was also named Amos and what, if anything, you know about Joanna. -------Jo Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.

Would the author of the Amer. Revolutionary War article please contact me via regular email. Thanks (and thank you for a good article - also remember that at the time of the Rev. Virginia and Pennsylvania lay claim to the western counties of Pa.) ronwall@whitsett-wall.com Ron & Sue Wall Visit our family at www.whitsett-wall.com ----- Original Message ----- From: <gc-gateway@rootsweb.com> To: <WVPRESTO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 2:53 AM Subject: Re: [WVPRESTO] American Revolutionary War Enlistment Requirements > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Author: strflwr1 > Surnames: > Classification: queries > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.rootsweb.com/localities.northam.usa.states.westvirginia.counties.preston/2747.1.1.1/mb.ashx > > Message Board Post: > > I'm pretty sure there weren't many "rules" for enlistment. The way I > understand things worked is that a person (the Captain) recruited enough > men to form a company (not a specific number, just enough to seem > reasonable). This person might have been asked to do this by the > state/colonial legislature or might just do it and then try to get his > group in a state/colonial regiment. The states/colonies offered their > regiments to be part of the "Continental Line". At first, there was no > American government. Then the Articles of Confederation were enacted > which created a very weak central government which didn't work very well. > The Constitution wasn't written until 1789, well after the Rev War. The > men of the Continental Line didn't get paid very often because the > states/colonies wouldn't cough up much/any money and the government under > the Articles of Confederation didn't have much in the way of enforcement > powers. Some states/colonies offered bounty land and/or pensions (m! > ostly just for wounded soldiers or widows). VA actually offered more than > PA from what I've seen. Sometime after the war, the Fed Gov't (after > there was one) offered pensions and bounty land, but I do not think the > soldiers knew they would get this at the time they enlisted. The local > county militias did actually get paid by their counties. There are > pre-Revolutionary records I've seen giving amounts paid to militiamen. > See the Draper manuscripts and Henings Statutes at Large for some of > these. > > My understanding is that recruits were supposed to be 16 but even in this > there are exceptions. From Monongalia Co, Cap David Scott's son James was > a fifer at about 12 or 13 years of age. > > A good many enlisted in neighboring states and I'd guess that at this > time, the majority of Mon Co residents over 16 were born elsewhere. There > just weren't that many folks living there in 1760 or earlier. I'm sure > that place of birth had nothing to do with enlistment. Place of residence > mattered only in the sense that most didn't travel very far to enlist > although some did. We live in a time of far more laws, rules and > regulations than existed then. Furthermore, it was a brand new country. > Nobody had had the time to establish much in the way of law and order, > except what had existed under the Colonial system which is what they were > fighting to overturn. I don't suppose you can ever know for sure why Amos > Roberts enlisted in PA but my first guess would be that when he decided to > join, there was a Captain across the line in PA recruiting. IOW, I'd > guess it was just a matter of timing. It could be he didn't like Cap > David Scott! Scott had his problems and eventually ! > his company got combined with another and into another Regiment. It's > complicated and irrelevant here except to say that lots of soldiers die in > all wars and units are constantly reorganized. I found the same sort of > problem when I tried to research a WW2 soldier for a friend and although > she knew the Reg number, I couldn't find it. Finally, I found this huge > list of how regiments were combined and renumbered due to loss of > personnel. > > Another point to make is that soldiers were transfered from county > militias to Continental Line Regiments. I've seen a list of them > transferred from the Mon Co Militia. I've spent a lot of time at > Footnote.com searching and browsing through Rev War records. > > As to Amos Roberts.... Were there 2 of them, father and son? Lots of > people say Thomas Chipps wife (Joanna, Johanna, Joannah) was a daughter of > Amos Roberts. I keep asking for documentation, marriage records, > something, but to no avail. Anyway, an Amos Roberts lived close to them > after the Chipps moved from what is now Preston Co to closer to Morgantown > and definitely in Mon Co. The Chipps' youngest son was named after him, > apparently. I've seen mention of Amos Roberts in deed and court records > in Mon Co and my impression has been that he wasn't old enough to be the > father of Joanna. She was probably born around 1750. So, I'm wondering > if Amos' father was also named Amos and what, if anything, you know about > Joanna. -------Jo > > Important Note: > The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you > would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link > above and respond on the board. > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > WVPRESTO-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message