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From: "Eual D. Blansett, Jr." <>
Subject: [BLANCETT-DNA] BLANSETTS, ETAL, IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:50:47 -0800


Dear Tweeti,

There are at least five Blanchets, etal, who served in the American
Revolution. They are Joel, Thomas, John, Joseph, and Frederick. Their
exploits, or lack thereof, can be found in New Lands, New Dreams, a New
York Times Bestseller by that portrayer of the famous and infamous,
Eual D. Blansett, Jr.

I have included material on each of the DAR-eligible males below.

Yours, Eual

___________________________________________

JOEL BLANCHET

It is believed that Peter had four sons. These are thought to be
Joel, Peter Junior, Archibald, and Henry. It is unknown whether he had
any daughters but this writer had concluded that he did. This
possibility will be discussed shortly. At this point in the research,
we do not know the name (or names) of the mother (or mothers) of
Peter's children.
Joel appears to be the first son of Peter. Joel (as Blancit) listed
his date of birth as April 7, 1761, when he made an application in 1832
for a Revolutionary War pension. The supporting affidavit is dated
December 13, 1832. Joel was 71 years old at the time. It is Joel's
date of birth that makes this writer believe that Peter Senior was born
in or about 1740. Peter is believed to be Joel's father because of
facts contained within Joel's application. There are two important
facts in Joel's application that cement our belief that Joel was the
son of Peter. One, Joel was living in Henry County, Virginia, at the
same time as Peter and, two. Joel described an event that took place at
his unnamed father's house. It is deduced that the father was Peter,
since no other Blanchet appears in the records of Henry County during
this time period except Peter and Joel. (See Virginia Revolutionary
Pension Applications, Volume Seven, Abstracted and compiled by John
Frederick Dorman, Washington, D.C., 1962, pages 61-62.)
Joel gave some general information and some specific details about his
service in the Revolutionary War. His greatest participation in that
war was at the Siege of Ninety-Six in South Carolina, which took place
from May 22 to June 19, 1781. At that time, he was a private in the
company commanded by Captain Curtain. The company was part a regiment
in the North Carolina Continental Line commanded by Colonel Green. He
served a total of six months and 25 days. However, he almost didn't
survive to collect his pension. Joel and five other men were assigned
guard duty in an isolated area of the battlefield during the night.
While they stood guard, the rest of the colonial troops had used the
cover of darkness to retreat, leaving Joel and his companions behind.
When the sun rose the next morning, the six men found themselves
isolated and in perilous danger. The group soon came under fire from
British soldiers. Joel managed to escape and rejoin his militia unit,
but one of the men with him was killed. Joel apparently spent the rest
of his life in the states of North Carolina and Virginia.
Joel saw his first action in the spring of 1778 in a company of
militia from Henry County, Virginia, commanded by Captain Daniel
Carlin. His company apparently kept on the move looking for Tories,
outlaws, or other persons contributing to the anarchy that seemed to
prevail along the Virginia-North Carolina border. Joel recalled places
like Headspeth's, McGowen's, Flower Gap, and Osbern's Mill. He also
served for a short time in a company of militia from Surry County,
North Carolina, commanded by Captain James Gidins. Certificate 23416
was issued on January 17, 1834, and Joel was given a pension of $22.78
per year.

THOMAS BLANCHET, FREDERICK BLANCHET, JOHN BLANCHET

Thomas Blanchet and his brother Frederick present one of the most
interesting mysteries of the Revolutionary War period. However, before
we get to their story, a little background information will be needed.
As every student of history knows, the "shot heard around the world"
happened on April 19, 1775, and it marked the beginning of the American
war for independence. George Washington was chosen to head up the
rag-tag army of the revolution. Each of the states was asked to supply
regular troops to the Continental Army and North Carolina organized ten
regiments as its contribution to the Continental Line. All of the
North Carolina Continentals were sent north in 1777 to bolster the
strength of Washington's command.
The third regiment of the Continental Line from North Carolina was
commanded by Colonel Jethro Sumner. A regiment is normally composed of
two or more battalions and a battalion is normally composed of three or
more companies, plus other attachments. Included in Colonel Sumner's
command was Private Robert Acock, who enlisted on April 20, 1776, and
was discharged later on November 10, 1778. The reader will, of course,
remember Robert Acock. He married Mary Blanchet of Warren County on
July 25, 1780. He was in Turner's Company. Apparently, Robert had a
brother with him. A Moses Acock enlisted sometime in 1777 and
apparently died in May of 1778. In the same regiment was John
Blanchet, who enlisted as a musician on October 11, 1776. In regards
to John Blanchet, there is a note that indicates that he may have
originally mustered into the Second Regiment on March 27, 1776. He was
a member of Emmet's Company. (See Roster of Soldiers from North
Carolina in the American Revolution, published by the Genealogical
Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1977, pages 65 and 66.)
The Tenth Regiment of the Continental Line from North Carolina was
commanded by Colonel Abraham Shepard. Included in his command were
Thomas Blanchett, who entered the service as a Sergeant on June 21,
1777, and was reduced in rank to a Private in June of 1778, and his
brother Frederick Blanchet, who enlisted as a musician on August 20,
1778. Both were in Vanoy's Company. Also in the Tenth Regiment were
Joseph Blanchet, who enlisted as a Private on July 20, 1778, and
included in Blount's Company, and Michaja Blanchard, who mustered in as
a Private on May 17, 1781, included in Hall's Company, and mustered out
on August 1, 1782. (See Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the
American Revolution, at pages 106, 107, and 110.)
Despite early losses, victories in 1777 and the entrance of the French
into the conflict bouyed American hopes of triumph in 1778. In the
summer of 1778, the American army swelled to its largest size since the
start of the war. Almost 17,000 regular troops were under General
George Washington's command, and between 11,000 and 12,000 were
situated in and about White Plains, New York. The army was reorganized
into six divisions, with commands going to Major General Horatio Gates,
Major General Baron De Kalb, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, General
Alexander McDougall, Major General Israel Putnam, and Major General
William Alexander Stirling. It is unknown at this time under which
commander the North Carolina Line served.
In September of 1778, after the army was reorganized, it was scattered
to different locations in the vicinity of White Plains. Apparently,
however, before it was scattered, a roll was taken of all the soldiers
then in camp at White Plains. The roll of Colonel John Patton,
commander of the Second North Carolina Battalion, was taken on
September 9 and 10, 1778. Thomas (as Blanchett) was a private in
Captain Fenner's Company, while Frederick (as Blanchet) was a private
in a company commanded by Colonel Patton himself, with John Craddock
listed as Captain. John Blanchard and Robert Acock were privates in
Captain Thomas Armstrong's Company. General Gates and General
McDougall were sent east to Danbury, Connecticut. General De Kalb was
sent north and slightly east to Fredericksburg (now Patterson), New
York. General Putnam was stationed at West Point, New York, which is
north and slightly west of White Plains and across the Hudson River.
General Stirling occupied a position between Generals Putnam and De
Kalb. Apparently, General Lincoln stayed with his division at White
Plains.
In October, the army was presented with an enormous morale boost. It
received a large shipment of uniforms and shoes from France and,
despite the fact that some of the coats were blue and some were brown,
General Washington had uniforms for his entire army for the first time
during the war. The uniforms were divided by lot and the North
Carolina units received the blue coats.
In November, the army went into winter quarters at several different
places within a forty-mile radius of White Plains. Camps were
established at Middlebrook, Elizabeth, and Ramapo, New Jersey, across
the Hudson River and to the west of White Plains; at West Point and
Fishkill, New York, which are located generallly north of White Plains;
and, at Danbury, Connecticut, which is north and east of White Plains.
It is impossible to determine exactly where Thomas and Frederick were
stationed during the winter of 1778 -1779, but it is very probably that
they were stationed in the area of Ramapo, New Jersey. No doubt, from
these headquarters, the troops were quartered in the surrounding
countryside. Although a map may be misleading, Ramapo appears to be
located today in the County of Rockland in the State of New York. The
County of Rockland is located just to the east of the County of Orange.
The rest of the story as we know it comes from an application for a
Revolutionary War pension made by one Elizabeth Lane, whose maiden name
was Elizabeth Burgess. In the application, she indicated that she
married Thomas Blanchet in December of 1778 while he was encamped at
Hampstead, located in Orange County, New York. She later bore him a
son who was named Levi. It is unknown if Elizabeth succumbed to the
charms of the boy from North Carolina dressed in his new blue uniform
and the wedding was at the end of a shotgun or if it was love at first
sight and the vicissitudes of war championed a shorter engagement
period than was normal. More than likely Thomas stayed in New York
long enough to see his son after the birth, but he never saw his son's
first birthday. Elizabeth indicated that Thomas went to South Carolina
in 1779, where he was captured and later died in a prisoner of war
camp. Her son grew up as Levi Blanchet and he eventually had a son of
his own whom he named Thomas.
It is unknown when Thomas Blanchet went south with part of the
Continental Army. However, we do know that as of the end of May of
1779, there were still units from North Carolina still in New York. In
fact, 70 North Carolinians and their captain were captured by the
British on or about June 1, 1779, while stationed at Fort Lafayette,
which was located on the east side of the Hudson River across from
Stony Point, New York. Additionally, General McDougall was posted in
the highlands west of Stony Point with five brigades of Continental
troops and two North Carolina regiments.
After the British were unable to subdue the northern states, it was
decided to transfer the major theater of action to the southern states.
This strategy was put into effect on December 23, 1778, when
Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell arrived at the mouth of the
Savannah river and soon thereafter disembarked 3,500 British, Hessian,
and Tory soldiers. Campbell was opposed by 700 Continentals and 150
militia under the command of General Robert Howe. The Americans were
easily routed and Savannah, Georgia, was captured.
To counter any attempt by the British to conquer the southern region,
Major General Benjamin Lincoln of Massachusetts was appointed by the
Continental Congress to command the Southern Department. Despite early
successes, the inability of a combined American and French force to
recapture Savannah in September and October of 1779 forced the
Americans back on the defensive. After December 26, 1779, General
Henry Clinton set sail from New York to take command of the British
effort in the south. He was determined to capture Charleston, South
Carolina, as the next step in carrying out the crown's execution of the
war.
General Lincoln commanded the American forces in Charleston.
Initially, he had about 1,200 Virginia and South Carolina Continentals,
about 2,000 militia from North and South Carolina, and an assortment of
other men under arms. In December of 1779, General Washington
transferred 1,500 Virginia and North Carolina Continentals that had
been in the north to General Lincoln's command. The North Carolina
Continentals, under the command of General James Hogun, arrived in
Charleston on March 3, 1780, after a three-month march through heavy
snows and extreme cold. It is very likely that Thomas and Frederick
Blanchet was amongst these soldiers.
General Clinton brought his troops up from Savannah in early February
of 1780 and began the investment of Charleston. General Lincoln was
advised by one of his more courageous officers to retreat and save his
army to fight another day. However, he was dissauded from doing so by
representatives of the state and city governments. Eventually, General
Lincoln surrendered to the British on May 12, 1780, along with 1,500
Continental soldiers. Thomas and Frederick Blanchet were, in all
probability, amongst those troops who laid down their arms before the
British. Their capture at this time would be consistent with the
narrative in the application for a pension made later by Elizabeth
Lane.
Only one list of prisoners has ever been found in the archives of the
British War Department. It is a list of 8,000 prisoners of war who
were kept, at various times, aboard the British Ship of War The Old
Jersey. The only names of mild interest to us on the list are William
Blanchet and Joseph Blancher. Thomas and Frederick Blanchet do not
appear. (See American Prisoners of the Revolution, published by the
Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.) The Joseph Blancher may very well
be the Joseph Blanchet to whom reference was made in an earlier
paragraph.
Elizabeth Lane remarried after Thomas died. She was later awarded a
pension as a result of Thomas' service in the Revolutionary War.
Interestingly enough, the researcher assigned to her application
discovered that Thomas served in Captain Vanoy's Company, but never did
find any record of his service in Captain Fenner's Company. Her
pension was given the number W20395.

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