Author: Sanford Payton
William Whitt was born in Halifax County, Virginia, in 1756, the son of John Whitt and Anne Pettypoole. He was the oldest of at least eight children named in his father’s will. At the time of his birth his family had been in Virginia at least 86 years. His great grandfather, John, had been born in Herefordshire, England.

In 1776 or 1777, William and his friend, Varney Andrews, wanted to join the local militia, but William’s father was so opposed that William backed out and let Varney go without him. During 1778, William joined the militia as a substitute for his uncle, Samuel Whitt, and served nine months. During that time, he marched to Stono Ferry, then to Charleston and back near Stono. He then went to Sunbury, GA, and on to Augusta where he was discharged.

By 1779, when he was about 22 years old, William was drafted into the Halifax County, Virginia militia and was sent to Salisbury, North Carolina under the command of Captain Peter Rogers. After that 120-mile march they marched another 120 miles to Camden, South Carolina. That was followed by a 130-mile march to Stono Ferry, South Carolina where he was in a battle on June 20, 1779, led by American General Benjamin Lincoln, against the rear guard from a British expedition retreating from an aborted attempt to take Charleston. During that battle, future U.S. president Andrew Jackson fell due to heat and exhaustion and his brother, Hugh Jackson, died of wounds. Nine months after being drafted, William returned home where he was drafted again.

During his second term of service William was under the command of Captain Morris Fontaine and was again sent to South Carolina. At Rugeley’s Mill, just north of Camden, his militia unit joined other patriots under the command of General Horatio Gates. Realizing the importance of Camden, General Cornwallis rushed 1,000 British troops to Camden to reinforce the 1,000 already there. Gates had about 4,000 troops, but only half were fit for duty due to heat exhaustion and dysentery from eating green corn. On August 16, 1780, Gates aligned his untested militia, his weakest forces, on his left flank against the most experienced British regiments, while his best troops would face the weaker elements of the British forces. Rather than fight a sustained battle with heavy losses, Cornwallis ordered Tarleton's cavalry to charge the rear of the Continental line. The cavalry charge broke up the formation of the Continental troops, routing the American forces.

After being chased back to Halifax County, Virginia, William’s militia unit was reinforced under the command of General Nathanael Greene and marched toward Guilford Courthouse, which is now Greensboro, North Carolina. About a mile and a half south of the court house the Americans were positioned in three lines facing the British. William was in the second line with the Virginia militia. The British were outnumbered more than two to one, yet defeated the American force; however, in doing so they lost over a quarter of their men. Cornwallis decided to move toward Virginia instead of chasing Greene’s army in the backwoods of North Carolina.

William returned home and volunteered under Commander Peter Rogers and Captain John Faulkner. They marched from Halifax County to Petersburgh, Williamsburg, and on to Yorktown, Virginia. He remained at the siege of Yorktown until the surrender of Lord Cornwallis [28 Sep - 19 Oct 1781], and was then sent to Richmond to guard the refugees. When his duty at Richmond ended he returned to Halifax County to gather his crops.

After the war, William married Lettice “Letty” Atkinson and they had ten children together. Letty died before William applied for his military pension in 1832. When he wrote his will in 1837, he essentially disinherited his nine oldest children and left all his worldly possessions to his youngest son, David Whitt. He died before 1846 without changing his mind.