Morrison's Pensions


Pension Application For Lodowick [Ludwig] Kring

 

State of New York
Montgomery County

On this twentieth day of September one thousand eight hundred & thirty two, personally appeared in open court before Aaron Haring, Abraham Morrell, Henry I. Deivendorff, John Hand, & Samuel A. Gilbert, Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in and for said county now sitting Lodowick Kring, a resident of the town of Ephratah (1), County of Montgomery & State of New York, aged seventy three years two months and four days, who being first duly sworn according to law doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.

That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated.  That the first officers that he served under were Colonel Jacob Klock, Lieutenant Colonel, Peter Waggoner, Major John Frey (2), Captain Nicholas Richter (3), Lieutenant Johannes Shull, Ensign Honyost Shull.  That he was enrolled in the summer of 1774 (4) under the aforesaid officers but was not called into actual service until the summer of 1776.  That the company that he belonged to was marched down on the Mohawk River under an order of General Herkimer (5) and that we paraded on the ice & while there General Schuyler sent an express to Sir John Johnson to surrender & it terminate that he the said John Johnson (6) did surrender together with all his forces  without exchanging a shot from either side, that he the said deponent continued in said service through the winter & spring a major part of the time until about the first of August that he the said deponent enlisted into a company of Rangers commanded by Captain Christian Getman, Jacob Sammons 1st Lieutenant and James Bellington Second Lieutenant for and during the war if not sooner discharged. And this deponent further say, that while in this company they were order[ed] to Ticonderoga a distance of about one Hundred & forty five miles –the route we went was by way of Albany.  The time we started from our homes was about Christmas in 1776 & we staid there until the latter part of March he thinks it was the 24th 1777, that they got back to Johnstown.

The officers that we were under at Ticonderoga were Colonel Ebenezer Cox (7) & Major Eisenlord. After he the said deponent returned from this expedition together with others were discharged, there having been a resolution passed by a Convention at Kingston the 27th of March 1777 to discharge the several companies of Rangers in the State of New York of which there is a copy annexed to this declaration.  And this deponent further says that this Spring (after discharged as Ranger) he volunteered to go with Colonel Van Schaick & Colonel Dayton (8) who were stationed at Johnstown to the German Flatts while at this place General Schuyler arrived here &gave orders to go farther west to build forts.  That Colonel Dayton with Colonel Van Schaick started from this place & proceeded up the Mohawk & that he this deponent returned with General Schuyler as far as Canajoharie acting as a guard for him and this deponent further says that he had but just got back when the received orders to march to Oriskany to defend that post and he together with the company that he was enrolled in was put under march immediately and was in that memorable battle on the 6th day of August 1777 and this deponent further says that after the Battle of Oriskany the Regiment to which he belonged commanded by Colonel Jacob Klock (9)returned to Fort Paris at Stone Arabia except the dead & wounded, and this deponent further says that he was in actual service the whole of this year from its commencement to its close.

And this deponent further says that he continued in the service through the year 1778.  That is to say not on duty all the whole but frequently called out to defend & protect the inhabitants that were living along the frontier from the depredations that were making by the Indians and Tories that were scattered through the woods & settlements.  That in the fall of this year he went to Cherry Valley (10) in company with his fellow soldiers to aid and assist the inhabitants at that place from depredations of the same nature and this deponent further says that in the spring of 1779 opened the scenes of war in a more hostile manner than was.  On the 20th of April the captain (11) was wounded at his farm after a small skirmish with the Indians & Tories at this skirmish there was one killed and two wounded [Americans], One officer privates in said company which was commanded by Captain Richter.  And this deponent further says that the inhabitants then moved with all thire [sic] affects to Fort Paris a distance of about 8 miles leaving but one family behind which was a Tory.

And this deponent further says that after he was removed to Fort Paris he the said deponent volunteered with his team to transport boats from Canajoharie to Lake Otsego (12) by land a distance of about 20 miles & that it was sometime in the summer before he returned to Fort Paris.  This service was performed under General Clinton.  And this deponent further says that after he returned from this expedition he continued in the service the remainder part of the summer & fall performing various kinds of duty such as guarding forts, running scouts, standing century [sic][sentry] &c &c, at different places part of the time at Fort Paris, part of the time at Fort Plank, part of the time at Fort Herkimer, & that while at the latter place, myself together with two other soldiers while running scouts took ten head of cattle & brought them to the fort which the enemy had undertook to drive off.

And this deponent further says that in the spring of 1780 (belonging to said Klock's Regiment) he continued in the service (13) guarding the frontier along the Mohawk at different Forts as before stated, stationed principally at Fort Paris.  And this deponent further says that sometime in the first of August this year he together with a number of other soldiers volunteered to the assistance of Col. Willett at Fort Plain who was then in an engagement with Butler & Brandt (14) however not arriving in time.  The engagement having ceased we returned again to Fort Paris and remained there untill the battle at that place running scouts & guarding the frontiers.

While at this place we had an engagement on the 19th October 1780 with John Johnson.  Col. Brown (15) commanded the American forces who was slain together with thirty of [sic-or] forty of his little band.  And this deponent further says he continued in the service all the fall and winter running scouts probably here it will be well to state the duty of a soldier that had to turn coates our country was infested with parties of Indians & Tories & would watch the inhabitants & whenever they could find one at labour on his farm, the party would sally forth & take prisoners & in this manner a great many of the inhabitants were sacrificed.  The running of Scouts rendered this evil in a measure, parties of three or four would start one morning & the same number the next morning and continue sending out untill the first returned & in this measure a number of Tories & Indians were taken prisoners.

And this deponent further says that in the year 1781 in the morning on the 22nd (16) of October he together with a number of his fellow soldiers mounted horses at Fort Paris & rode to Johnstown a distance of about 10 miles having received the order the night before.  We were not there a great while before the Battle commenced & a pretty hot engagement followed.  The American forces were commanded by Col. Willett & the British by Major Ross and Butler, the Americans having gained the victory.  The day following the battle the deponent together with others pursued the enemy to West Canada Creek and finally took the British commanders Butler who was hot at the place.  And this deponent further says that he continued in the service untill the close of the war & that he the deponent further says that he believes that the service that he rendered during the war far exceeds four years.  He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.

To the questions directed to be answers as follows.

That he was born in the County of Orange & Town of Orange, year 1759, on the 8th day of July

That he has no other record of his age except the one that is attached which is in a [measure?] destroyed.  That he lived in the County of Montgomery (then County of Tryon & that that [sic] he still lives there & has ever lived there since.

That he still lives in the County of Montgomery.

That he entered the service as a volunteer until l he enlisted into Captain Christian Getman & after he returned from Ticonderoga & that he continued as a volunteer through the whole of the service as is stated in the aforesaid declaration.

The names of some of the officers that I was acquainted were General James Clinton, General Philip Schuyler, General Nicholas Herkimer, General [Anthony] Wayne, Col. Klock, Col. Willett, Col. Brown, Col. Cox, Col. [Peter] Bellinger.

That he once had a discharge & that it is lost.  That I am acquainted with Samuel Waters, William Smith, John F. Empie, Peter Getman & a great many others that will attest to my veracity &c.

Sworn to and subscribed this day and year aforesaid.  (Signed) Lodowick Kring.

 

Typed letter in the file is dated November 8, 1929 to Mrs. Ivan G. Brasie, 710 Broadway, Newburgh, New York from Earl D. Church, commissioner.  Additional information date of death for Lodewick is December 6, 1835.

End Notes

1.     Town of Ephratah is not part of Fulton County

2.     John Fry was promoted to Brigadier Major.  He was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Oriskany on the 6th of August 1777.

3.     Nicholas Richter [Righter, Rechtor] was Captain of the Sixth Company.  First Lieutenant Johannes Scholl and Ensign HanYost Scholl.

4.     There were companies of militia in 1774 but the officers were not commissioned until August of 1775.  The changes were not recognized by Governor William Tryon who soon became the last Royal Governor of the Province of New York.

5.     Colonel Nicholas Herkimer did not become the Brigadier General until September 1776.  He was the Chief Colonel [senior in rank].  Afterwards his promotion the Tryon County Militia became a separate militia brigade from the Albany County Militia Brigade then under General Philip Schuyler.

6.     Sir John Johnson, Baronet the son of Sir William Johnson.

7.     Colonel Ebenezer Cox of the First Regiment of Tryon County Militia and Major John Eisenlord of the Fourth Regiment of Tryon County Militia.  Both men were killed at the Battle of Oriskany on the 6th of August 1777.

8.     Lodowick is mistaken as to the year of this event; it occurred in 1776.  Colonel Elias Dayton of the Third New Jersey Continental Regiment.  Colonel Goose Van Schaick was the Colonel in 1776 of the Second New York Continental Regiment.

9.     Colonel Klock commanded the Second Regiment of Tryon County Militia.

10.  Cherry Valley in now Otsego County was destroyed on the 11th of November 1778.

11.  Captain Richter and his wife were both wounded and their son Henry was killed.  Jacob Apply and several others went to Captain Richter's house to help him save his family but they were too late.  Jacob Apply was killed in the brief skirmish and Peter Shite [Scheet] was the other militiaman who was wounded.

12.  This is the starting point [present day Cooperstown] for Brigadier General James Clinton's army to begin their journey to join Major General John Sullivan.  Together they attacked the western New York Iroquois villages who were allies of the British.

13.  After Captain Richter was wounded, he with the remainder of his family moved out of Tryon County.  The militiamen now became part of Captain Henry Millers' company in Colonel Klock's Regiment.

14.  Ludwig is mistaken about the incident.  The present day Village of Fort Plain and parts of the Town of Minden were destroyed on the 2 of August 1780 by Captain Joseph Brandt and Cornplanter.  Colonel Marinus Willett then [1780] in Command of the Fifth New York Continental Regiment was not even in the Mohawk Valley in that year.  Colonel John Butler and Captain Walter Butler of the British Butler's Ranger Crops. Were not present either at Fort Plain.

15.  Colonel John Brown of a regiment of Massachusetts State Levies.  This Battle is usually referred to as Brown's Battle or the Battle of Stone Arabia.

16.  The date of the Battle of Johnstown is the 25 of October 1781.  The British forces were led by Major John Ross and Captain Walter Butler.

17.  Captain Butler was killed on the 30 of October 1781.

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