Author: Rigsby B. Barnes, Jr.
Brief Background:
Captain John Milner, born 1746 in England or Virginia, fought at Kettle Creek in 1779. John was part of a large family of Milner’s that served in the military both in England and America as early arrivals into Jamestowne, Virginia. His wife, Elizabeth Godwin, born 1748 in Virginia, was also descended from a long line of military men and land owners in the very early days of the Jamestowne.
Virginia to Georgia:
John and Elizabeth married in 1765 in the Norfolk area of Virginia and eventually made their way to Georgia, probably in or near Augusta. At some point in the early 1770s John was made a Captain by the Governor of Georgia to build a fort that he would live in and defend west of Augusta where emigrants were starting to settle. We know they were in the Oglethorpe area in 1775 because that is where they were when their son John III was born.
Georgia to South Carolina:
Sometime after 1775 John and Elizabeth acquired land in South Carolina and relocated. We know they were there in 1779 when the S.C. State Militia camped on their property and used wood for fencing and fires, plus took 27 head of cows for food for which the Milner’s were to receive compensation. Lord Cornwallis with his troop of Tories were in hot pursuit of the Patriots and showed up at John’s property the day after the Patriots had moved on. John did not file for compensation until 1784.
John Becomes a Patriot:
John was known by neighbors to be a staunch Whig, and he was harassed for this by some of those neighbors. One day several Tories came to a field where John was working and at gun point said they were taking his horses and workers, and if he raised a hand to stop them they would kill him on the spot.
Returning home Elizabeth met the men being marched off their property and her husbands workers asked her what to do. She told them to turn around and go home. The men were frightened and told her the Tories would shoot them if they did that. She told them “No they want.” The men turned around and went home. The Tories hung their heads and walked away.

I don’t know if that was the tipping point, but John joined the South Carolina Militia after that and served under Generals Pickens, Sumter and Marion. At this point I am not sure of the battles where he saw action, other than Kettle Creek, where I am very proud to see his name listed with the South Carolina Militia on the battle site memorial.
To me, a Sons of the Revolution filing by Charles Witmer Milner of Atlanta, Ga. In 1887 says it best about John Milner:
“My ancestor’s services in assisting the establishment of American Independence during the War of the Revolution were as follows: Fought under Pickens, Sumter and Marion. During one winter he was barefooted and had only one garment, a buckskin suit and his sword. His patriotism and his fidelity to his vows made him prefer to wear a handmade buckskin suit rather than wear a suit made of goods manufactured in England, because the patriots had vowed they would not purchase England’s goods.”
John and Elizabeth move back to Georgia:
After the war John and Elizabeth moved to the Wilkes County, Ga. area where he received land grants for his service. They became very active supporters of the early Baptist Church in Georgia and John became a preacher in the Fishing Creek Church. Later they became members of the the Sardis Baptist Church which is still in the same location in Rayle, Ga.
Both John and Elizabeth passed away in 1812 and are believed to be buried in unmarked graves on the Ralph W. Bridges property which was once part of the old Milner Plantation. In 1998 the DAR held a memorial service there and dedicated a monument in the memory of John Milner, Revolutionary War Soldier.

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