Author: Scott Eugene Sallee
James Cox was born on February 24th, 1763 at Fort Chiswell, which at the time was in Augusta, afterward Botetourt, and now Wythe County, Virginia. He was the first of eight children born to life-long Indian fighter and Frontier regulator Capt. John Cox (1739-1818) and his wife Margaret Davis (1736-1816). Capt. John Cox was, at the time of his oldest child’s birth, the commander of the outpost at Fort Chiswell, which is now a census designated place at the intersection of Interstates 77 and 81 in Wythe County, Virginia, and is noted on the interstate signs.
During the Revolutionary War, Capt. John Cox commanded a company of the Montgomery County, Virginia Regulators (Militia/Home Guard), which was under the command of Col. Walter Crockett. In his later years, James Cox recorded in his family bible the following events from his father’s pre-Revolutionary War life – “JOHN COX the father of James Cox was born in tha yar of our Lord 1739 Jennary the 25 & desest in 1818 December 24 was taken prisoner by the [Delaware] indins [in Pennsylvania] at the age of 16 mad his a scape at the age of 18 and want in tow Burds [Bird’s] Campain and Sarved the howl Campain then cume to fort Chissel [Chiswell] in the yar of 1762 then went to North Carilina then moved to New River to the mouth of Pech [Peach] bottom crick in tha yar 1765”
The following is a transcription of a document discovered by James Cox’s descendant Emma Pearl (Day) Bach in the attic of the Montgomery Co., Virginia courthouse at Christiansburg in 1936:
CHRISTIANSBURG, MONTGOMERY COUNTY, VIRGINIA
We whose names are hereunto subscribed do swear or affirm that we renounce and refuse all allegiance to George third King of Great Britain; his heirs and Successours, and that, I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Commonwealth of Virginia, as a free and independent State, and that I will not at any time, do or cause to be done, any matter or think that will be prejudicial or Injurious to the freedom and Independence thereof, as declared by Congress; and also, that I will discover and make known to some one Justice of the Peace for the said State, all treasons or traterous conspiracies which I now or hereafter shall know to be formed against this or any of the United States of America.
CAPT. JOHN COX COMPY – Sep 30
DAVID COX
Oct. 4th ‘77
JOHN COX
JOHN HAMON
- - - - - - - - - - - -
CAPT. OZBURN COMPY – Sep 29
Oct. 6th CAP: ENOCH OZBURN
JNO. HASH
The above was sworn before me
JAS MCORKLE – Dec. 1777
In 1778, at the age of 15, James Cox enlisted as a private in his father’s company, and that same year assisted in building a fort on New River near the mouth of Peach Bottom Creek. (According to a letter written to this author in 1992 by James Stamper of Independence, Grayson County, Virginia, the remains of this fort were visible until just a few years prior.)
From the time of his enlistment, and over the next two to three years, James Cox acted as a Tory spy and Indian scout under his father. Because of his intimate knowledge of the area’s terrain, James was often sent as a “pilot,” or guide, to conduct and lead those who were sympathetic to, and willing to lend a hand to, the Patriot cause, but who were unacquainted with the rugged, mountainous region along the Southwest Virginia/Northwestern North Carolina border.
The Revolutionary War, in this time and place, was not a fight between those who were struggling for American independence and the British/Redcoats, but one against the Tories/Loyalists and Indians. In many cases it was neighbor against neighbor. The Tories, when circumstances were on their side, were quick to stir up the Indians against those who were fighting for separation from Great Britain. The war for American independence had originated in New England, and spread to the Mid-Atlantic Colonies. The Southern Colonies, however, overall had little to no interest in the rebellion taking place to their north.
(This is the reason that George Washington, a Virginian and therefore a Southerner, who had previously proven and well established that he was by no means a tactical genius, was chosen to command the Continental Army. It was in large a decision made by the Continental Congress with the hope of pulling the more reluctant Southern colonies of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, into the fight.)
At the time James Cox entered the Patriot service, the British, who were not having any success against Washington and his Continental Army in the North, began swinging their strategy to the South. The reason for this was that, unlike in the North, they knew they had considerable local support, especially in the Carolinas and Georgia. After capturing the coastal cities of Charleston and Savannah, the British began pushing into the Carolina backcountry. This emboldened the Tories in Southwest Virginia, who often assembled with others along the northwestern North Carolina border.
According to a deposition dated September 24, 1832 in Grayson County, Virginia, and obviously made by a clerk for James Cox’s pension application, “He [James Cox] had very few neighbors who were not Tories…. His father, the said Capt. John Cox, Enoch Osbourne and his family, Benjamin Phipps, Peter Hart and William Hardin were the only Whigs who would render any assistance when required. In this situation, surrounded by Tories, he and a few others had to combat the whole neighborhood…”
At one point, where the patriots found themselves too weak to counter the Tory threat, James Cox was expressly sent to Col. Benjamin “Ben” Cleveland’s camp on the Yadkin River (near where the current town of Wilkesboro, North Carolina now stands) to inform him that the Tories were assembling in large bodies. On his return, James Cox was captured by the Tories, who then intended to turn him over to the British.
But before they could accomplish this, Cleveland and Maj. William Love had assembled their forces and overtook the Tories at the Big Glade/The Glades in what is now Grayson County, Virginia. In their panic to escape the Tories fled, leaving James Cox who sped to the “Whigs,” and informed them what the Tories had done. The Whigs then pursued the Tories, overtook them, and “wounded some and took others prisoners, whiped or flogged several severly & hanged one...”
Sometime after this, when his father was away on an expedition against the Indians, the Tories under a Captain Green made an excursion into the mountains. James Cox then assembled his father’s company and pursued and engaged Green and his Tories, mortally wounding Green and killing and capturing his entire company, of which only one survived. The sole survivor was a brother of the said Captain Green, who later enlisted in the patriot cause.
Later, in James Cox’s pension declaration, after this affair a Tory captain named Roberts came into the area with six “Hessians.” James Cox and Major Love then pursued them into North Carolina near the head of the New River, determined to overtake them. However, a Captain Baker of North Carolina, who had received intelligence of the situation, intercepted Roberts and his Tories, and killed or wounded the whole party except Captain Roberts, who successfully escaped.
On September 1, 1837, at the age of 74, James Cox wrote the following statement in Grayson Co., Virginia in an affidavit for his application for a military pension - “I am varey olde and infurm & my mamrey is all most goyn. I Cant Remamber hardeley a nothing but ona thing I dow know that I Sarved in tha malatarey sarvis aganst tha Toreys for more than 2 yars. I was in severl scrimeges where we cild & made sevarl prisoners. I was allways a vollinteer Both against the Torreys and indns…”
On May 15, 1783, at age 20 years, James Cox married Elizabeth Terrell, the widow of Timothy Terrell, who was killed by Indians in Tennessee. She was born on February 24, 1753 (10 years to the day before James was born) in the Carolinas. The maiden name and parents of the widow Elizabeth Terrell are not recorded, but evidence points to the fact that she was Elizabeth Robertson, the daughter of William Robertson and his wife Elizabeth Crockett of Fort Chiswell, Virginia. This is based not only on the geographic proximity of the Cox, Robertson, Crockett, and Terrell families, but also the fact that James and Elizabeth named their youngest son James Robertson Cox.
However, it is possible that they were simply admirers of James Robertson, famed explorer of western North Carolina and Tennessee, and who along with Col. John Donelson, established Fort Nashborough on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, which eventually became the city of Nashville, and are considered the co-founders of “The Athens of the South.” (Sons in this era were often named after local and national heroes.) Then again, it could be that this James Robertson was a relative. Though the exact identity of the “Widow Terrell” is not recorded, enough evidence exists to safely assume that she was Elizabeth Robertson, the daughter of William and Elizabeth (Crockett) Robertson.
According to some sources, Elizabeth brought six children into the marriage, but according to James bible, only four: 1)William Terrell (B.1773); 2)Obedience Terrell (B.1774); 3)Anne Terrell (B.1776); Sarah Terrell (B.1779).
James and Elizabeth Cox had eight children, all born in Grayson County, Virginia: 1)John Cox (1784-1863), married Judith Sexton (1782-1860), daughter of Benjamin Sexton Sr. (1752-1831), who had served in Capt. John Cox’s Company, and his wife Comfort Smith (1756-1846), all of whom removed to what eventually became the Cox’s Mill Settlement in current Wolfe County, Kentucky (my ancestors SeS); 2)Susannah Cox (B.1785); 3)Joshua Cox (B.1787); 4)Mary Elizabeth Cox (B.1789); 5)Catharine Cox (B.1791); 6)Hiram Cox (B.1794); 7)Solomon Cox (1795-1884); and 8)James Robertson Cox (B.1797). (The last two sons followed their oldest brother John to Kentucky.) Elizabeth Cox died on February 4, 1811 in Grayson County, Virginia.
James Cox then married Sarah “Sally” Fielder (B.1778) on February 4, 1815 in Grayson County, Virginia. According to some sources they had four children, but according to the bible, only two, both born in Grayson County, Virginia: 1)Sinthey/Cynthia Cox (1816-1817); 2)Margery “Margie” Cox (B.1818).
James Cox, who served in the cause of securing American independence, died on April 17th, 1842, in Grayson County, Virginia, probably near the current town of Galax. His burial site is unknown, but probably in the vicinity of Galax. In 1832, when Congress authorized such, he applied for a pension for his military service, but never received it. His claim was rejected due to the fact that the pension board declared that his service was not “military,” due to the fact that he “Did not serve in any regularly organized corps.”
According to the requirements, a militia member had to serve with a unit that was on continual active duty for a certain period of time to be eligible. In James Cox’s situation, he was only on active duty as the immediate situation demanded it, and though he had adequate eyewitness testimony to his service, had no official enlistment papers, discharge or other documentation to prove it. After his death, his widow Sarah continued to apply for it throughout the 1850’s (the last document is dated 1860), and even hired an attorney, but the pension board never reversed its decision.
The file, designated R2412, (Revolutionary War veteran pension files were designated S with a number to indicate a soldier who was approved, W with a number to indicate a widow who was approved, and R with a number to indicate a rejected claim) is 120 pages. Considering that most approved Revolutionary War veteran’s and widow’s pension applicant’s files are in the vicinity of 30 pages, it can be assumed that not only James but also his widow Sarah fought long and hard for it. Though it is unfortunate that neither received it, the file does provide valuable information and insight into his service and experiences.
An affidavit in James Cox’s pension records dated September 24th, 1832, states that “He has a record in a large family Bible which was given to him by his father. He lived in Montgomery County when he entered the service, now Grayson Co., Va., where he has lived ever since the war.” I, the author of this biography of James Cox, have a transcription of the records in this bible, which was made by a direct descendant of James Cox, Emma Pearl (Day) Bach, on October 11th, 1936.
At the time Mrs. Bach made the transcription, this bible was in the possession of Mrs. Thomas Vaughn of Galax, Grayson County, Virginia, whose father, Mr. John Collins, was then residing with her and nearly the age of 97. John Collins’ mother, Margery (Cox) Collins, was the daughter of James Cox and his second wife, Sarah “Sally” Fielder, and therefore a grandson of James Cox. The transcription of these bible records was found by the author in the Bach Papers at Morehead State University Library, Morehead, Kentucky.