Pension Application

S.23379
Declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832.
State of New York
Onondaga County SS.
            On this 14th day of September in the year 1832 personally appeared in open court before Daniel Moseley Esqr, Vice Chancellor of the 7th circuit of the said state at a court now sitting at Onondaga David Quackenbush a resident of the town of Marcellus in said County aged 72 years 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 in the New York State Troops and served as a Corporal under the following named officers, that he enlisted and served under one Captain McKean, Lieutenant Walter Vroman & Ensign Henry Fonday, in Lieut Col. Marinus Willett’s Regiment, in the Summer of 1779 (1) for the term of 9 months, that he enlisted at Charlestown Montgomery County in said State, that he marched from thence to the northward along the North River to Lake Champlain, that he frequently was detached on Scouting parties as Indian spies that he was at last marched to Mayfield and there was discharged at the end of 9 months service it was in the spring of 1780 he thinks and that he went immediately home to Charlestown aforesaid, and was soon after and early in the summer of 1780 either drafted or else he volunteered as a private soldier in the Militia and served in the company of Captain Jacob Gardinier (2) & Lieutenant Abraham Quackenbush, in Col. Marinus Willett’s Regiment, who had been promoted, and & [sic] under Lieutenant Col. Frederick Fisher and that he served in this manner during the Term of One year and six months and that he was stationed during said term in Montgomery County, in said State of defend against the Indians and Tories, and that he frequently went on scouting parties, and that after serving in this way one year and a half as near as he can recollect and while he and several others were on a scouting party they were attacked by the Indians and Tories and some British and taken prisoners at Canajoharie in said County of Montgomery, and that the next day this party of the enemy was attacked by Col. Willett’s men and they had a battle, and that neither side succeeded in a victory but each receded that when the battle commenced all the prisoners that were taken with him were killed except one Peter Quackenbush and himself and they were tied to a tree, and that after the battle the rope was put around their necks and they were led by the Indians to Fort Niagara that he thinks it was on the 8th (3) of July 1782 [1781] that he was taken prisoner and that he was kept at Fort Niagara in the County of Niagara in the State of New York by the British as a prisoner until he was discharged or exchanged which was on the 16th day of July 1784, he thinks.
            That he was born in the town of Charlestown in the County of Montgomery in the State of New York in the year 1760, and that he has no record of his age, that he resided in Montgomery County aforesaid for several years after the Revolution, and that he then moved to the County of Onondaga in said state in which he now resides in the town of Marcellus that at the end of the first 9 months service he received a discharge in writing that he left it with his father but has not seen it since, and that he has never received any other written discharge, and that he has no documentary evidence of his services in the revolution; and that he knows of persons whose testimony he can procure excepting that testimony of Abraham VanDusen, Abraham P. Quackenbush, and John Wood hereto annexed whose testimony are each and all in relation to his services and imprisonment.
            And that he is acquainted in the neighborhood where he now resides with the Rev. Levi Parsons, Philo Goodwin, John Bixby, Deacon Nathan Healey, William Rosier, Stephen Kellogg &c and that he relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except to the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state. (Signed) David Quackinbush
            Sworn this 14th day of Sept 1832 before me, Daniel Moseley, Circuit Judge + vice chancellar

David enlisted in 1779 in Captain Robert McKean’s Company in Colonel Henry K. Van Rensselaer’s Regiment of New York State Levies.
There is no listing for a David Quackenbush as serving in Captain Jacob Gardinier’s Company in Colonel Frederick Visscher’s Regiment of Tryon County (Third Regiment). Colonel Willett was not in the Mohawk Valley in 1780. He was in command of the Fifth New York Continental Regiment. There is a David Quackenbush listed as a Sergeant in Captain John Visscher’s Company in Colonel Visscher’s (they were brothers) Regiment. This company after Captain Visscher’s death was commanded by John Wemple.
David was captured by Lieutenant John Dockstader’s Party of Loyalists and Indians, in July 1781. On July 9th they destroyed Currytown and the surrounding area. During the night the British forces encamped near a cedar swamp in what is now Sharon Springs (then called New Dorlach), Schoharie County, NY. The prisoners were tied to trees during the night. In the morning of July 10th, Colonel Willett with his force of Levies and Tryon County Militia attacked the British encampment. The Indians at that time killed most of their still bound prisoners.

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