Another Revolutionary

Isaac "British" Horton immigrated to the American Colonies in the early 1770's. A British seaman, he jumped ship in the port of Boston, and chose for his destiny the fate of these same colonies. On March 30, 1781 he enlisted in Marshville, Massachusetts in Captain Pillsbury's Company of the 6th Regiment under the command of Colonel Smith. Isaac Horton's enlistment was for a period of three years. His duties while under Captain Pillsbury's command were the conveying of supplies and men in Naval Operations. Later he was transferred to the 3rd Regiment under the command of Colonel Hines. Under this assignment, Isaac Horton was charged with conveying officers and orders up the Hudson River between West Point, New Windsor, and Newburg, New York. He was discharged by Captain Williams under order of General Knox following the peace o f 1783. About 1785 Issac married Hannah Ferris in New York state.

The Civil War

In the autumn of 1845 David Barnett, age 18, came to Arkansas with a group by ox wagon train, leaving his home in McMinn County, Tennessee. The emigrants were seeking a home in the new state of Arkansas. They traveled over a military road from Memphis, tennessee to Buffalo City, Arkansas then followed a country trail leading north west until they came to a little place called Yellville. From there they went southwest to Buffalo River, stopping in the buffalo-Tomahawk section in Dec. 1845 near Gilbert, Searcy Co., Arkansas. This was the only place the Buffalo was crossable at that time of the year. Here they stayed and camped for the winter. David married one of the crew, Flurry Grinder and they settled on the tract of land where they camped. They built a house and homesteaded the land and lived most of their lives at this place.
When the Civil War broke out David and a bunch of other men got together and did not aim to take sides in the war. But the Rebel Army heard of them and sent soldiers to capture them and chain them together two and two like cattle, maklng them walk while the soldiers road at a fast gait. At Little Rock, David and the other men were made to sign up in the Rebel Army. Affidavits to his pension file indicate that in the month of November or December 1861 he had joined an organization know as the(Arkansas Peace Society) Yellow Rag(the spelling is not clear), a Union group, but before the parties that belonged to the organization had time to get to the Union Army, the Confederate authorities took them and chained them together and put them in the Confederate Army under Captain Dawson. This group was also known a a peace group and many parts of thIs group were treated the same way. The choice was to enroll or be shot. The only record of his service is his enrollment.
According to the affidavits in David's pension file, the first chance David got he ran away--came home a few days then went to the Federal Army and joined them. As a reprisal by the Confederates two male members of his family were taken away in the chain gang . One was released six months later but one was never heard of again.

This account may be similar to what happened to William Thomas Fisher. He was listed as a member of the "Arkansas Peace Society". He was a member of a Chain Gang and made to join the CONF. ARMY in Little Rock Ak, in Dec 18, 1861. (His son Christopher Columbus would have been 2 1/2 months old at the time). He served in Co 1, 18th Ark Inf. He was later in 3rd Conf Inf. (18th ArK Inf(Marmaduke), was later redesignate 3rd Conf Inf. Jan 31, 1862. On Feb 28th 1863 he was disignated a teamster. On August 4th, 1863 He deserted at Fynch Station. He was captured the same day at Bridgeport, Al. On Aug 11th he was sent to Louisville KY. He was released upon taking an oath to remain north of the Ohio River. He enlisted on Sept 5th, 1864 at Springfield (D L Ruff), Mo for 6 months in the UNION ARMY. He was a pvt. in Co F, 46th Missouri Volunteer Infantry. He was placed on detached service by special order No 9 on Sept 20th, 1864 to Quarter Master's Office.

The American Revolution

Niles Helm, was probably very typical of the men who fought against the British in the American Revolution. Here is a summary of his time.

His Revolutionary War Pension application summarizes his
activities during and after that conflict. On the night of
December 10, 1777, the British under Sir James Wallace landed
near his home in South Kingston, Rhode Island. Awakened by the
firing of musketry, he seized his arms and went out with other
members of the militia to meet the enemy. However, the British
advanced with such force that the militia was routed, and Niles
returned to his home just in time to remove his wife and
children before the British set his house on fire and destroyed
all his property. Three months later, in March , 1778, he was
drafted in South Kingston to serve a tour of 30 days under
Captain Stephen Babcock, guarding points along the coast. A
year later, in the spring of 1779, he was again drafted to
serve a similar tour of duty, during which the British
attempted a landing with a view to forage and plunder. They
were attacked by Nile's unit and driven off, with much
difficulty. Nile's next tour of duty was with General Sullivan
when he attempted in conjunction with the French fleet to expel
the British from Newport. Niles was first drafted at Newport
for 20 days, subsequently extended to 40 days. His unit,
initially stationed at South Kingston, was subsequently
transported by boat to the north end of Rhode Island to join
the main army. The army remained there for about 15 days, when
it retreated back to Butts Hill. The retreat began near
evening, with a guard of 500 men left to cover its movements.
This guard remained through the night and became lost in the
fog the next morning when it attempted to rejoin the main body
of troops. It was attacked and "much harassed" by the British.
Subsequently a general battle ensued between Butts and Turkey
Hills, beginning about 8 o'clock in the morning and continuing
until mid-afternoon, when the enemy asked for a truce to bury
their dead. General Sullivan granted the request and sent back
word to the British Commander that "before the next morning he
would bury them all." The enemy became alarmed lest their
retreat should be cut off, and the night after the battle
retreated back to their fort near Tommony (?) Hill, which
enabled General Sullivan to affect his retreat without further
molestation. During these actions, Niles was in the right wing
which was partially engaged with the enemy and fought through
the day. Several days later he was discharged and returned
home. Niles then enlisted for 6 months under Captain John
Weeden, who was in charge of a gun defending the Beacon light
on Little Rest Hill in South Kingston. Besides these tours of
duty, Niles, as was the custom of most of the able-bodied
population in those days, turned out as a volunteer for several
days at a time, sometimes to defend or unload vessels, or
"repel predatory incursions of the enemy."
In his pension application he states that two brothers were in
regular service during the war; Peleg, a sergeant, and William,
a lieutenant.
Some time after the war he moved to Amsterdam, Montgomery
County, New York. (This was probably after 1790, since there is
a Niles Helme listed in the 1790 Rhode Island census on page
48. His household consists of 1 free white male over 16; 2
white males under 16; and 2 free white females.) He
subsequently moved to Westmoreland in Oneida County, then to
Fabius in Onondaga County, back to Amsterdam, and finally to
French Creek in Chautauqua County.

The Mayflower

My story starts here, John Billington, his family was not part of the religious group, and therefore he was somewhat of an outsider. His death was surrounded by controversy, was he framed, was it self defense, was it basically a dual, shots fired in the heat of an argument, or was he really guilty of murder.

John Billington came on the Mayflower with his wife Ellen and children John and Francis. The Billingtons are recorded as a contentious family. Young Francis Billington nearly blew up the Mayflower while it was sitting in Provincetown Harbor--he shot off a gun near an open barrel of gun powder inside the Mayflower's cabin. Shortly after settling down at Plymouth, John Billington the elder was charged with contempt when he bad-mouthed and insulted Myles Standish, and was sentenced to have his neck and heels tied together, but he humbled himself and was forgiven. A few months later, John Billington the younger wandered off into the woods, and was taken by the Nauset Indians to Cape Cod, where he lived for about a month before he was returned.
In 1624, John Billington the Elder was implicated in the Oldham-Lyford scandal, in which blasphemous letters were secretly being written and sent to England trying to undermine the Plymouth Colony. However, Billington claimed he was a scapegoat, and there was not enough evidence to show he was a party to the scandal so the matter was dropped.
In 1630, John Billington the Elder was tried and executed for the murder of John Newcomen, whom Billington had shot with a musket in a quarrel over a past dispute between the two. He was found guilty by a grand and petty jury, "by plain and notorious evidence", and became the first Englishman to be hanged in New England.