Johnston was born in Scotland about 1742. He was the son of Henry Johnston. He was married to Jane Ewart, the daughter of Robert Ewart. Before the Revolution, he purchased a large tract of land on the Catawba River in Tryon County, North Carolina. He built a home, called Oak Grove, there in 1782. A North Carolina highway marker shows the location where his home stood, which is now near Lucia in Gaston County, North Carolina.[2]
Military serviceEdit
James Johnston was a Captain in the Tryon County Regiment (1775-1779) and Lincoln County Regiment (1779-1780) in the North Carolina militia. James first entered the service of his country, as a company captain in 1775 under Colonel William Graham. (Note: The Tryon County Regiment was disbanded on February 8, 1779, and split into the Lincoln County Regiment and Rutherford County Regiment. He was in many notable battles, including the Battle of Great Cane Brake in South Carolina on December 22, 1775, the Snow Campaign in South Carolina from December 23 to 30, 1775, the Cherokee Expedition in western North Carolina from August to November 1776, and the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina on October 7, 1780. In the battle of Kings Mounty, he led the rear guard, as one of ten captains. This rear guard consisted of about 90 men, under his command. He was called into the battle within the first 20 minutes.[2][1][3] He and his fellow captains had a complete victory over the British and Tory forces. His militia units became part of the Salisbury District Brigade on May 4, 1776.[4]
A 1877 publication by Hunter[5] reports that James Johnston was promoted to colonel in the North Carolina militia. He was an aide to General Griffith Rutherford and commanded a reserve unit at the Battle of Ramseur's Mill.
Political career and homeEdit
He was chosen as a delegate to the North Carolina Provincial Congress, which met on 4 April in 1776 in Halifax. He was a fellow delegate with Colonel Charles McLean, who also served in the Lincoln County Regiment.[2][6]
He was also a state senator from Lincoln County between 1780 and 1782 and reportedly acted as a disbursing agent for the Western Division of the army. He was also a representative at the Convention of 1788.[7][8][2][5]
He was a respected elder of his church==probably the Goshen Presbyterian Church, which was the oldest in the area where he lived.[2][5]
He died on July 23, 1805, in Lincoln County, North Carolina. He was buried on his farm at Oak Grove.[6][2]
ReferencesEdit
^ abLewis, J.D. "The Revolutionary War in North Carolina, Captain James Johnson". Retrieved March 8, 2019.
^ abcdefAsbury, Hayden (2013). "Johnston, James (ca. 1742-July 23, 1805)". NCPedia. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
^"DAR Database for James Johnston, DAR No A063851". DAR database. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^Unverified text. There was no Mecklenburg Military District and no Col James Johnston in North Carolina
^ abcHunter, Cyrus L. (1877). "Sketches of Western North Carolina, Historical and Biographical". The Raleigh news steam job print. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
^ abN.C. Office of Archives & History. "Oak Grove, N.C. Highway Historical Marker O-39". Retrieved October 21, 2014.
^Connor, R.D.D. (1913). A Manual of North Carolina(PDF). Raleigh: North Carolina Historical Commission. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
^"The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina". 1874. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
Lewis, J.D. "4th Provincial Congress, April 1776". North Carolina in the American Revolution. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
Hunter, C.L. "Biography of Colonel James Johnston". Retrieved June 6, 2019., copied from C.L. Hunter
August 29, 2023
james, johnston, colonel, james, johnston, 1742, july, 1805, officer, tryon, county, regiment, lincoln, county, regiments, north, carolina, militia, american, revolution, delegate, north, carolina, provincial, congress, 1776, state, senator, 1780, 1782, james,. James Johnston c 1742 July 23 1805 was an officer in the Tryon County Regiment and Lincoln County Regiments of the North Carolina militia in the American Revolution a delegate to the North Carolina Provincial Congress in 1776 and a state senator in 1780 1782 1 James JohnstonBornc 1742ScotlandDiedJuly 23 1805Lincoln County North CarolinaPlace of burialOak Grove Farm Lincoln County now Gaston County North CarolinaAllegianceUnited States of AmericaService wbr branchNorth Carolina militiaYears of service1775 1783RankCaptain Major ColonelUnitTryon County Regiment Lincoln County RegimentSpouse s Jane EwartChildrenState Senator Robert Johnston Sarah JohnstonOther workstate senator delegate to North Carolina Constitutional Convention politician Contents 1 Early life 2 Military service 3 Political career and home 4 ReferencesEarly life EditJohnston was born in Scotland about 1742 He was the son of Henry Johnston He was married to Jane Ewart the daughter of Robert Ewart Before the Revolution he purchased a large tract of land on the Catawba River in Tryon County North Carolina He built a home called Oak Grove there in 1782 A North Carolina highway marker shows the location where his home stood which is now near Lucia in Gaston County North Carolina 2 Military service EditJames Johnston was a Captain in the Tryon County Regiment 1775 1779 and Lincoln County Regiment 1779 1780 in the North Carolina militia James first entered the service of his country as a company captain in 1775 under Colonel William Graham Note The Tryon County Regiment was disbanded on February 8 1779 and split into the Lincoln County Regiment and Rutherford County Regiment He was in many notable battles including the Battle of Great Cane Brake in South Carolina on December 22 1775 the Snow Campaign in South Carolina from December 23 to 30 1775 the Cherokee Expedition in western North Carolina from August to November 1776 and the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina on October 7 1780 In the battle of Kings Mounty he led the rear guard as one of ten captains This rear guard consisted of about 90 men under his command He was called into the battle within the first 20 minutes 2 1 3 He and his fellow captains had a complete victory over the British and Tory forces His militia units became part of the Salisbury District Brigade on May 4 1776 4 A 1877 publication by Hunter 5 reports that James Johnston was promoted to colonel in the North Carolina militia He was an aide to General Griffith Rutherford and commanded a reserve unit at the Battle of Ramseur s Mill Political career and home EditHe was chosen as a delegate to the North Carolina Provincial Congress which met on 4 April in 1776 in Halifax He was a fellow delegate with Colonel Charles McLean who also served in the Lincoln County Regiment 2 6 He was also a state senator from Lincoln County between 1780 and 1782 and reportedly acted as a disbursing agent for the Western Division of the army He was also a representative at the Convention of 1788 7 8 2 5 He was a respected elder of his church probably the Goshen Presbyterian Church which was the oldest in the area where he lived 2 5 He died on July 23 1805 in Lincoln County North Carolina He was buried on his farm at Oak Grove 6 2 References Edit a b Lewis J D The Revolutionary War in North Carolina Captain James Johnson Retrieved March 8 2019 a b c d e f Asbury Hayden 2013 Johnston James ca 1742 July 23 1805 NCPedia Retrieved March 8 2019 DAR Database for James Johnston DAR No A063851 DAR database Retrieved June 6 2019 Unverified text There was no Mecklenburg Military District and no Col James Johnston in North Carolina a b c Hunter Cyrus L 1877 Sketches of Western North Carolina Historical and Biographical The Raleigh news steam job print Retrieved October 21 2014 a b N C Office of Archives amp History Oak Grove N C Highway Historical Marker O 39 Retrieved October 21 2014 Connor R D D 1913 A Manual of North Carolina PDF Raleigh North Carolina Historical Commission Retrieved April 27 2019 The Legislative Manual and Political Register of the State of North Carolina 1874 Retrieved April 9 2019 Lewis J D 4th Provincial Congress April 1776 North Carolina in the American Revolution Retrieved June 6 2019 Hunter C L Biography of Colonel James Johnston Retrieved June 6 2019 copied from C L Hunter Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Johnston Colonel amp oldid 1166909976, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
