A Legacy of Service

The Call to Arms

Campaign of the South

Civic Foundations

Commissioned as an officer in the Wake County Militia, organizing local defenders as the southern campaign intensified.

Led his company through critical skirmishes, securing supply lines and resisting Loyalist incursions in the Carolinas.

Returned to his estate as a respected magistrate, laying the civic groundwork for the newly formed state of North Carolina.

Sarah Lane McCullers tells the story of her husband’s service in her pension application

After Captain McCullers’s death, his widow Sarah Lane McCullers filed a pension application with the federal government in recognition of his service. That document — preserved today in the Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters database — is the most complete first-person account we have of his time at war.

In her own words, Sarah recounts where her husband served, who he served with, and what he endured for the cause of independence. For descendants seeking to document a Revolutionary ancestor, and for historians studying the Southern Campaigns, the pension file is both a primary source and a personal letter from one generation to the next.

The full transcribed pension file is hosted at the Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters Database, which currently makes more than 30,000 pension applications and bounty land claims from Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia freely available and fully searchable.

HIS STORY IN HER WORDS

The Widow’s Pension Application

Born June 14, 1759 to John and Mary Jones McCullers, Mathew Jones McCullers was one of eight known children. Records indicate that he grew up in Johnston and Wake Counties. As a young man, he joined the State Militia and when the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge occurred between Patriot and Loyalist forces in North Carolina on February 27, 1776 he was present with the Militia. In preparation for the battle, the Militia had removed the stringers from the bridge leaving only the framework. (Legend has it that the remaining framework was greased causing the British troops to fall into the creek below.)

Loyalist forces anticipated support from a British army arriving along the coast. In mid-February, the Loyalists under British Brig. Gen. Donald MacDonald began a march from the area of Fayetteville toward the coast. The Patriots chose to make a stand at Moore’s Creek (near Currie in Pender County). Ignoring the standard British warfare practice, the Patriots used guerilla tactics resulting in 50 British Loyalists casualties compared to 2 Patriots. This battle achieved a victory that solidified the Patriots control of North Carolina. Additionally, their victory served as a major deterrent for Loyalist support.

Our next story of Captain McCullers comes from the Battle of Brier Creek in Georgia. On land that is now a part of the Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area, the Battle took place on March 3, 1779, near the intersection of Brier Creek and the Savannah River in eastern Georgia. This battle did not go well for the Americans with 377 casualties compared to only 16 British. Fortunately, Captain McCullers survived and found his way to Charleston, SC.

The 1780 Siege of Charleston (March 29 – May 12) was a pivotal Revolutionary War battle where British forces under General Sir Henry Clinton trapped and captured over 5,000 American soldiers under General Benjamin Lincoln. It was the largest surrender of American troops in the war, marking a massive defeat for the Patriots and establishing a strong British presence in the South as they opened their “Southern Campaign” of the Revolutionary War. As British forces moved into the area, civil war between patriots and loyalists spread through the Carolinas. Again, Captain McCullers survived both the siege and the surrender.

The final recorded record of Captain McCullers is at the Battle of Lindley's Mill on Cane Creek (near Graham, NC) on September 13, 1781. This little known battle was the largest engagement of North Carolina's so-called Tory War, a prolonged civil conflict following Lord Charles Cornwallis' invasion of the state during the American Revolution. After Loyalist David Fanning's surprising victory on September 1 over superior forces at Bettis's Bridge, the Loyalists were encouraged to rally in large numbers. Fanning, a leader of the Loyalist militia, had received approval from Maj. James H. Craig, the British commander at Wilmington, for a raid on the state capital, then located in Hillsborough.

Fanning rendezvoused the troops, a total of 1,200 men. The Whigs were led to believe that the Loyalists would attack Gen. John Butler's militia camp on Deep River. Instead, Fanning's army was able to enter Hillsborough undetected in the foggy dawn of September 12. They quickly secured the town, capturing over 200 prisoners including Governor Thomas Burke. While plundering the town, Fanning's men opened its liquor stores and left around noon in a somewhat unruly column, bound for Wilmington via the Cape Fear Road.

Receiving news of the disaster at Hillsborough, Butler rode immediately to intercept the Loyalist force where the Wilmington Road crossed Cane Creek at the ford at Lindley's Mill in present day southern Alamance County. On a plateau overlooking Stafford's Branch, Butler and Col. Robert Mebane laid an ambush to stop the Loyalists and possibly recover the prisoners.

On the morning of September 13, as the unsuspecting vanguard of struggling Loyalists crossed the branch, a volley tore into their ranks, instantly killing McNeil and pinning down Capt. Archibald McKay's company of Highlanders. After securing the prisoners in the rear at Spring Friends Meetinghouse, Fanning rode forward to organize a flanking attack on the Whig position. Under assault from both front and rear, the Whigs stubbornly held their ground for several hours but were finally driven from the field. When he was seriously wounded in the arm late in the battle, Fanning gave the command to McDugald, who safely reached Wilmington with the prisoners. The killed and wounded, more than 250 on both sides, were buried and cared for by Quakers in the surrounding community. The hard-fought battle was the bloodiest of the war in North Carolina, with more casualties for the numbers engaged than the Battle of Guilford Courthouse.

The raid on Hillsborough and the subsequent battle proved to be a turning point. The Loyalists expected the Whigs to succumb to this double blow, but the effect was quite the opposite; incensed by the audacity of the raid and the loss of the battle, the Whigs redoubled their efforts to suppress the Loyalists and win the war.

Once again, Captain McCullers survived to eventually return to Wake County following the surrender at Yorktown in October, 1781.

Captain McCullers returned home at the end of the war. He eventually married Sarah Lane on February 15, 1784 in Edgecombe County, NC. They were blessed with 10 known children.

I found one reference in the testimonials to Mathew McCullers serving as “High Sheriff” in Wake County. The listing of Wake County Sheriffs shows that Mathew served as Sheriff from 1812 – 1814. It may be that he returned to service before the end of the war in 1815.

An Account Of Captain Mathew McCullers' Revolutionary War Service

Verified Primary Sources

Every biographical detail on this page is cross-referenced with primary Revolutionary War pension files, land grants, and state records. We maintain rigorous standards of evidence to assist descendants with lineage society applications.

Our research committee works in coordination with the State Archives of North Carolina and local historical societies. By preserving these original documents, we ensure that the legacy of Captain McCullers remains an indisputable part of our shared history.

Write your text here...