Display Patriot - P-175562 - John HARRELL

John HARRELL

SAR Patriot #: P-175562

The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
 

State of Service: MD      Qualifying Service: Private

Birth: 1758 / Charles / Maryland
Death: 24 Jul 1837 liv / Fauquier / VA

Qualifying Service Description:
  1. Private, Capt William Bruce's Company, Colonel Peter Adams First MD Regiment, enlisted in Charles Co, MD in 1778 to Spring 1783
  2. Served in the Battles of Camden, Guildord Court House and Eutaw Springs

Additional References:
  1. Revolutionary military history of John Harrell naming wife, date of marriage, place of enlistment,pension, application date, unit,officers served under and battles fought (file W77998) Widow's Pension dated July 1843
  2. Archives of MD, Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of MDTroops in American Revolution 1775-1783, pg 118, 358, 431, 498, 539
  3. Rev War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File #W7798

Spouse: Martha Davis
Children: James; John;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
Date Approved Society ACN SAR Member Info Lineage via Child View Application Detail
2015-05-05 SC 63323 Edward Michael Harrell (170191) James   
2020-07-10 MD 92628 Vincent Audley Hackley (216092) John   
Location:
Markham / Fauquier / VA / USA
Find A Grave Cemetery #:
n/a

Grave Plot #:
Grave GPS Coordinates:
Find A Grave Memorial #:
Marker Type:
SAR Granite
SAR Grave Dedication Date:
15 May 2022

Comments:
  • per Find-a-Grave - Jan 2025 - Burial Details Unknown, Specifically: Belived to be burried at the farm he leased (Harrell Corner) headstones were removed by land owner.
  • Photo of a memorial stone taken and provided with permission of compatriot Thomas "Chip" Daniel (VA).
  • John Harrell is buried on top of Rattlesnake Mountain, Fauquier Co., VA. The cemetery is not accessible by vehicles and the mountain is so named due to the number of rattlesnakes who inhabit the area. The stone was installed at Harrell's Corner, site of the patriots farmhouse. The original house is still standing. Owner is a direct descendant of the patriot.
  • youtube video of Cgrave marking ceremony titiled - John Harrell, Patriot Grave Marking by Sons of the American Revolutio, 15 May 2022


Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:



Author: Vincent Audley Hackley

John Harrell was born in Charles County, Maryland about 1758. He was residing in Charles County when he enlisted in 1778. He served as a Private in Captain William Bruce’s Company of the 1st Maryland Regiment of the Maryland Line commanded by Colonel Peter Adams. In 1780 the 1st Maryland was attached to the Southern Army and participated in the Southern Campaign under Generals Horatio Gates and Nathaniel Greene mostly in the Carolinas. According to his 1818 pension application, John participated in the battles of Camden, Guilford Court House, and Eutaw Springs among other unnamed skirmishes. 

A brief history of the 1st Maryland states that the regiment “launched a critical bayonet charge that broke well-trained British regulars” at Guilford Court House and Eutaw Springs. His regiment also participated in the battle of Cowpens, Hobkirk’s Hill, and the siege of Ninety-Six, all occurring during 1781 when John Harrell was in service. John served until 15 November 1783, when he was honorably discharged at the house of General Smallwood in Charles County, Maryland.

His whereabouts following his discharge are unclear until he marries Martha Davis (ca.1770-1847) on 12 February 1789 in Fairfax County, Virginia. By 1800 the family moves west to Fauquier County, Virginia, where John appears on the personal property tax list. They remained in Fauquier County near the town of Linden (west of Marshall) where he was a tenant farmer at a location that became known as Harrell’s Corner. Their known children are:

  • James D. (1789-?).
  • William S. (1792-1825).
  • John Jr. (1795-1877).
  • Peter (1798-?).
  • Nancy (1801-?).
  • Isaac D. (1803-?).
  • Matthew (1806-?).
  • Hugh (1809-1849).
  • Martha (1811-?).
  • Patsie (ca. 1812-?). 

In 1818 and 1821, John applies for a pension based on his service in the Maryland Line. On 16 May 1828, John receives a warrant for bounty land based on his service in the Revolutionary War. John Harrel appears in various records in Fauquier County, Virginia until his death on 24 Jul 1837.

His burial site is not known exactly but is generally claimed to be located at Harrell’s Corner. On 15 May 2022, the Colonel James Wood II and Culpeper Minutemen Chapters of the Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution co-sponsored a Revolutionary War Patriot Grave Marking Ceremony for John Harrell in Linden at the Harrell Family Farm next to the house that John Harrell built in the 1790s and in which a Harrell descendant still resides.

Source: 

  1. Revolutionary War Pension File W7798, 29 November 1838, containing the original pension and bounty land warrant applications dated 1818 and 1821 by John Harrell, National Archives and Records.
  2. Administration. Archives of Maryland, Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution 1775-1783, pages 118, 358, 431, 498, 539.
  3. Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872 (Family Search, 22 Sep 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, Image 85 of 377.
     

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