The Skaggs-Files

17 NOV 1849: VIRGINIA REVOLUTIONARY PENSION APPLICATIONS by John Frederick
Dorman, Vol. 32, page 44-45.
"DYE, William (Sarah Reynolds, former widow). R8719.
17 Nov. 1849. Pulaski Co., Ky. Sarah Reynolds of said county, aged 67,
declares her maiden name was Sarah Gordon. She resided in Caswell Co., N.C.,
and there on 16 June 1798 was married to William Dye by Archd. Samuel, a
justice of the peace. She had a memorandum of her marriage in a Bible but she
gave the Bible to one of her sons who moved to Missouri and she supposes he
took it with him. William Dye died in 1823. After that she married Matthew
Reynolds, and he died six years ago last December.
William Dye stated he resided in Halifax Co., VA and was in Gen. Greene's
army and in the battle of Guilford. She thinks his captain's name at that
battle was Thompson. She heard him speak of the battle of Brandywine but does
not remember whether he was in that battle himself. He and John Yeates talked
about the scenes of that battle as if they were both eye witnesses. He
described the place where the battle commenced as being in an old field where
an old apple orchard had been turned out and that there were gullies or drains
where the battle was fought, that ran with blood as the water would after a
shower of rain. He said in the service he performed in augmenting Gen.
Greene's army he was engaged about two weeks in marching through the country
to Gen. Greene and then at night was marched back in to the country to obtain
more recruits. At the battle of Guilford his captain (Thompson) was killed
and his colonel was badly wounded, shot through the thigh.
She saw his discharge and a printed paper which purported to be his oath of
allegiance. These two papers were burned. The night before they started from
North Carolina to Kentucky her husband had a friend helping him to examine his
papers. They saved all the papers they thought would be of value to him and
when they came to his discharge and oath of allegiance it was siad he had
better save them, but he said, No, he had kept them about twenty-five years
and they had never done him any good and they were cast into the fire with the
other useless papers.
He stated he was at the siege of Yorktown at the close of the war. They
labored twenty-odd days and nights carrying forward the entrenchments.
Washington wrote a deceptive letter designed to fall into the hands of the
British and started the officer with it and the British took him prisoner and
examined the letter and were deceived by it as Washington designed. Her
husband was present at the surrender of Cornwallis and saw that officer come
out and surrender his sword to Washington. He said Cornwallis walked up to
where Washington stood and struck his sword into the ground near Washington.
Washington took his sword and turned it about and looked at it and then handed
it back to Cornwallis again.
She resides ten miles from the Court House of her county and cannot go to the
Court House. She is afflicted with phthysick.
18 Aug. 1851. Pulaski Co., Ky. Shaderach (X) Dye of said county, aged 69,
declares he was present at the house of Polly Randal in Caswell Co., N.C., in
June 1799 when the marriage ceremony was performed of William Dye to Sarah
Gordin. She was afterward married to Matthew Reynolds. The marriage was
performed by a justice of the peace, Archd. Samuels. The affiant was a son of
William Dye and heard him speak of his services in the Revolutionary War and
recollects that the captain who commanded him at the battle of Guilford was
named Thompson. William Dye said he was killed in the battle."