Author: Charles Edward Adams
One of my great-great-great grandfathers is Josiah Dickson. Born in Scotland, Josiah came to America just before the start of the War. In 1775, he enlisted in the Continental Army. 1776 and the start of the War found him in Pittsburgh, where he was detailed to a party of five to take supplies down the Ohio River to outposts in Kentucky. Two of the party were mounted; three, including Josiah, were on foot. While in Kentucky, a band of Shawnee Indians attacked the party. During the skirmish, the two horsemen escaped, one of those on foot was killed and the other two men on foot, including Josiah, were captured.
The prisoners were at first harshly treated by the Indians, but later, conditions improved. Josiah and the other prisoner remained with the Shawnee for about 18 months. Then they were taken to Detroit, where the Indians sold the prisoners to British forces for a bundle of store goods.
Josiah remained in Detroit for some time, during which he had relative freedom, only having to check in with British authorities morning and night. During the day, he could hire out to do work. This portion of his prisoner experience came to an end when he and another prisoner came under suspicion of plotting an escape. They were placed in irons and taken to a prison in Quebec, where he remained for about a year. Once, during the midst of a Quebec winter, several of Josiah’s fellow prisoners escaped the prison, but Josiah declined to join them.
From Quebec, he was taken in a prison ship to the West Indies (exact location uncertain) where he and his fellow prisoners suffered greatly. He remained in the ship until he gained his liberty after the British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
After the war, he settled first in Kentucky and then Missouri. He died in 1834 at the age of 84, survived by his wife Isabella, and ten children (seven sons and three daughters).
Information on Josiah Dickson comes from a long letter written by his son John, based on conversations with his father, to John’s niece Harriet Powers and from testimony, recorded in legal proceedings, that Josiah gave in support of his application for a veteran’s pension in 1832.
I am descended from Josiah Dickson through his daughter Margaret, who married David Adams in 1807.


Added 20 April, 2017: excerpts from a letter describing the life and activities of Patriot Dickson/Dixon, as contributed by DAR member and Find A Grave Contributor #46541723, Cassie Hill. This letter was written 21 May, 1860, by one John Dickson.
“He was the oldest son of Peter Dickson, born in the town and parish of Suanquhar, Scotland, in the year 1750. While growing up, a part of his
time was employed in taking care of sheep, his father having a large number. When a young man, he came to America, shortly before the Revolution, and remained in the western part of Pennsylvania until General Rodgers Clark obtained from the state of Virginia ammunition for
the forts in Kentucky, when my father and six others were employed as a guard down the Ohio river from Pittsburg. They landed at the mouth of Limestone creek, now Maysville, Kentucky; there they pushed their boat out and let it float off. They divided the ammunition in different
parcels and buried it in the sand, then went into the country to give notice to the forts and raise a party sufficient to guard it in. The first fort they came to was Ruddles Station on the south fork of Tickenir, four miles below where Paris now stands. Here they found the fort so bare of
ammunition that hearing of Gen. Todd and Col. Trigg with a surveying party, Gen. Clark waited a few days with a view of raising a party sufficient to bring in a part of the ammunition, but failing in finding the surveying party, Gen. Clark proceeded with part of his former guard to
notify the other forts. Soon after the surveying party came in and raised a company of ten men and seven horses and started, riding and walking alternately, the three men on foot to go about 200 yards before the horses. If they saw Indians, they were to ascertain their number and if too numerous, retreat, if not call back to the horsemen to tree and fight. They went on to near the lower Blue Lick, where they came to a fire burning small dry sticks not yet burned in two, and then they knew the Indians were near. They were secreted in a half circle round the path and fired on the three in front before they saw them. As soon as they fired, they jumped up and gave the war whoop. There were ten Indians. They had not killed any of the three footmen, and these called back to the horsemen to tree and fight. My father and a man named Johnson were the two front riders. They each took a tree. When my father looked around to see what trees the others had taken, he saw the last man (Gen. Todd) and nearly out of sight. They had crossed a creek a little piece back. The idea struck my father that the horsemen who ran off would make a stand there, as a more favorable position. By this time, the Indians had fired again and killed the three in front. My father ran for the creek, and when he got in sight of it there was no one there. In the meantime, the Indians had mounted the two horses and pursued them. They caught Johnson first, and overtook my father near the creek, when he turned around and set down his gun, and when they rode up he handed them the gun and his tobacco box. They were not satisfied, and he gave them all he had in his pockets. They they stripped of his clothes and gave him an old Indian blanket and marched him back to where Johnson was. They had stripped him and were whipping him unmercifully.” “The prisoners were then taken to the Piqua plains, now in the state of Ohio. At night the Indians would cut down a sapling cut notches in it, lay the prisoners on their backs, separate their feet, put them in the notches and lash them in with tug rope; then stretch their arms, tie a tug rope to each wrist and tie it to a tree on each side, then an Indian would lie on each side of these ropes. Thus they were taken far into the state of Ohio in the winter, bare of clothing and the ground being frozen. When they got there they ran the gauntlet.” “After this, they had more liberty; were adopted into families, and while not allowed to carry arms or accompany them on their hunts, they always shared in the game that was killed, which was sometimes plentiful and sometimes scarce.” “About this time, they went to Detroit for the purpose of
organizing and making a raid against Gen. Clark on the Wabash. Here they sold father” (Dickson/Dixon) “to the British for a bundle of store goods. Johnson joined the Indians in their expedition against Gen. Clark and was killed in the battle on the Wabash. Father was now a British prisoner with a number of others, in Detroit. They were at liberty to hire themselves to do any work they chose, but must report night and morning to the officer. Soon after this a report was circulated that the prisoners had made a plot to run off, and that father and one James Calloway were at the head of the same.” “the consequence was that father and Calloway were put in irons and shipped to Quebec and put in a strong prison built of stone, the walls being four feet thick. Here were a number of American prisoners.” “father was taken out of the Quebec prison and put on board a prison ship; was taken to the West Indies, and was never landed until after Cornwallis was captured off Yorktown in Virginia, which was near the end of the Revolution. Father suffered much on the prison ship. Several imes he and his fellow prisoners carried water in their hats to put out the fire in the ship in different attacks. Soon after the surrender of Yorktown, father was landed and obtained his
liberty, and after peace was made, returned to Scotland to visit his parents and friends. He returned to America in 1784, and came to where Paris, Kentucky, now stands. He helped to build the first cabin Paris. He bought land one-and-a-half miles from Paris, but on account of the Indians it was too dangerous to improve. He then bought out-lots in Paris (seven acres), which he improved, and married Isabella Reid, then of Nelson county, Kentucky, daughter of Alexander Reid, born in the eastern part of Scotland, north of Edinburg. My parents settled in Paris in 1787. In 1790, they removed to their land about one-and-a-half miles from Paris. About this time, father made a profession of religion and joined the Presbyterian church, then under the care of Rev. McCure.” “In 1804, father having lost his land in Bourbon county, by a prior claim, removed to Mercer county, Kentucky, where he lived until 1819, when he removed to Missouri and settled in Cooper county. He died on the
27th of August, 1834, of congestive fever, leaving ten children living, (seven sons and three daughters,) one son having died in infancy. Their names according to birth are as follows: Margaret, Alexander Reid, John, James, Katherine, Robert, William, George, Josiah and David,
and Nancy. Josiah and David were twins, but David died at the age of six weeks. Father's children, grand-children, and great-grand-children numbered 70. His height was five feet, eight inches. He had black hair, blue eyes, and fair complexion.”