Pension S 16145
Date Approved | Society | ACN | SAR Member Info | Lineage via Child | View Application Detail | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022-10-07 | CA | 103070 | William John Gainey (163452) | Mary Ann |
Revolutionary War Service
Henry Harding
Harding was born in 1752 in Overwharton Parrish, Stafford Virgina. He died on September 8, 1834. He married on October 14, 1782 in Shanandoah County to Delilah Allensworth, daughter of Phillip Allensworth. From this union they had seven children. William, Polly, James, Catherine, John, Phillip and Mary Ann.
Harding enlisted or reenlisted three times during the Revolutionary War. While living in Hyco Creek Virginia he served four months as a private under Captain Peter Rogers and Colonel Lewis, second cousin of George Washington, with the Virgina troops.
Harding’s second enlistment was in the winter of 1776 where he served six months under Captain Moore.
Harding’s third enlistment was in 1780 when he served 18 months in Captain Holdam’s Company in Colonel Campbell’s Virginia militia. It was in his last enlistment that he was engaged in the Battles of Camden, South Carolina, Guilford Court House, North Carolina, and Eutaw Springs, South Carolina. Colonel Campbell was a brother in-law to Patrick Henry.
The Battle of Camden
The Battle of Camden occurred in Camden, South Carolina on August 16, 1870. The engagement was led by Major General Horatio Gates against Major General Lord Cornwallis. The Virgina militia was no match for the experienced soldiers of Cornwallis. Both Continental regulars as well militia retreated from this battle. A casualty of this battle was Major General Johann deKalb. This defeat cleared the way for Cornwallis to move to North Carolina. About two months after the Battle of Camden, Major General Nathaniel Greene took command of this Southern Department.
Guilford Court House
On March 15, 1781, Major General Cornwallis with his army of 2,100 men engaged Major General Greene’s 4,500 men. The battle was of a unique design. Greene formed three lines of defense. The first being North Carolina militia, the second being Virginia militia with the third being Continental Regulars. The Virginia militia placed a fierce resistance. Harding would have been part of this second line of militia. Ultimately Cornwallis prevailed, but at a great cost. He lost 25% of his men in this battle. The damage to Cornwallis’ troops was so severe that he could not pursue Greene in his retreat. Even by mid-April Cornwallis’ men did not have the strength to go against Greene.
Eutaw Springs
September 8, 1781 was the last battle that Harding experienced. In this battle there was initial success, but Greene retreated from the field. This was one of the final battles in South Carolina.
Henry Harding fought in some very difficult battles yet survived. He personally did not experience success in any battle where he fought. However, severe damage was inflicted on the British by the efforts of those under the leadership of Major General Nathaniel Greene.
After the war, Harding lived in Woodstock Virginia. From there he moved to Dearborn County Indiana which is near the Southeast corner of Indiana which borders Ohio. He then later moved to Marion County Indiana. Harding served in the Virginia militia thus was not initially eligible for a Revolutionary War pension. However, with the passage of the Pension Act passed on June 7th, 1832, Harding became eligible for a Revolutionary War pension. He filed for this pension on October 16th, 1832. This was granted.
September 8, 1834
Exactly 53 years to the date, Henry Harding died after the last Revolutionary War battle, he fought at Eutaw Springs. The site of his burial is not currently known. It is known that a number of Revolutionary War soldiers were buried in the Bacon Cemetery. Or was the body transferred to Crown Hill Cemetery when this opened in 1864. Maybe in the Crow’s Nest Cemetery. As another location the Mount Jackson Cemetery. There are no definitive records for the Bacon Cemetery. Most of this is under housing, asphalt, or concrete with no regard for who was buried in this location. It is known that Revolutionary War soldiers were buried in this location. In the Crown Hill Cemetery there are 87 Harding’s, Mount Jackson Cemetery 53 Harding’s, and the Crow’s Nest Cemetery 1 Harding. There is a long legacy of Harding’s in the Indianapolis area. This speaks to the strength of this family’s name.
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